Former Fundamentalist Speaks Out Again

Joseph Zichterman, a former Fundamentalist (of the Bob Jones, Pensacola, Northland stripe) turned Seeker/Emerging, who recently explained why he left his separatist roots and joined Willow Creek Community Church and entered the Emergent conversation, has now released a lengthy piece entitled “A Tale of Two Amishmen: Inside the Mind of a Spiritual Defector,” which is “dedicated with love to a group of people [he] can never stop caring about.”

Here’s his closing paragraph (remember that this a parable):

While the true fundamentals of the gospel must be defended, God hates the sowing of discord among brethren, and dogmatism on disputable matters is a clear violation of Romans 14. When are the leaders of the Amish community going to stand up and deal with this catastrophic problem in their group? When are they going to set aside time to read broadly and educate their consciences to get to the radical center on every issue? When are they going to get aggressive about helping their people do the same, and make the changes that need to be made? When are the leaders going to step up and band together to stop being intimidated by the radical, right-wing fringes of the movement? How can they possibly justify separating themselves even from the leaders within the Mennonite community and other godly Christians around the world? When are they going to shake off the paranoia of purity, get off the slippery slope of disunity, and fight their way back toward oneness and interdependence with the rest of the body of Christ-or die trying? That decision may mean that the Amish institutions would lose so many members that they would end up folding financially and the power brokers lose all their control, but as an Amish leader once said, ‘Our institutions do not have to continue to exist, but we do have to do what’s right.’ Pastor Don, the Amish are a group of people I can never stop caring about. I dearly love them all. But I hate that blasted Amish hyper-separation heresy—with all my heart!”

You can find out more about Joseph at his Life of Faith Ministries website by reading a brief synopsis on his About page or listening to an 81-minute lecture given at TEDS (where he is currently working on a Ph.D. in Church History) entitled “Why I Joined Willow Creek Community Church” (75 MB!).

The first announcement back in early May created no small stir in the Fundamentalist world. This most recent appeal has been met mostly with silence.

Here are the responses so far:

• Chris Anderson: My Two Cents on Zichterman’s Horses
• Ellis Murphree: Joe Zichterman (again)

For more information, see our previous post: Former Fundamentalist Explains Why He Joined Willow Creek.

Correction: This piece was actually written by Joseph’s wife, Jocelyn.

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