Also, Concern's emphasis upon primary fellowship found expression, however indirectly, in the development of koinonia groups within existing congregations. And theological education for the pastorate, while proceeding at Mennonite seminaries in the general direction of the professional ministry, included a search for alternative patterns within the tradition of the plural ministry. Furthermore, one of the most significant services of Concern to the Mennonite church was the opportunity it provided for young theologians and potential church leaders to express their thoughts and convictions. Few avenues for expression existed in the 1950s and 1960s except in the field of church history. Although Concern seemed to have lost much of its unity and revolutionary zeal by 1972, as the inner circle branched out into active church work of various kinds, it nevertheless made a mark upon the Mennonite church, along with the inevitable confluence of numerous historical developments.
Concern illustrates the strength and the weakness of ideological thinking.
Ideological thinking may be appreciated for its capacity to epitomize essential truths. But it is invariably too simple to communicate the whole truth. But Concern lacked the imagination and the experience to understand the pathos of its own strengths and weaknesses and the historical logic of the Corpus Christianum Ironically, while some of the most enthusiastic leaders of Concern found their way vocationally into positions of responsibility within the Mennonite church as pastors, teachers, and missionaries, others joined faculties of Catholic and state universities. Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia , Vol. 5, p. 177-180. All rights reserved.