Development to a Different Drummer: Anabaptist/Mennonite Experiences and Perspectives

by Richard A. Yoder

Each of the authors has spent years doing development, as wll as in academia.

Genres: Nonfiction

362 pages, Paperback

First published November 25, 2004

Reviews

[TEAR Australia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review by Alana Flentje

READ MORE AT:
http://www.tear.org.au/education/revi...

Underlying this very accessible Christian reflection on the process of development is the apparently obvious, but often unnoticed, conviction that some ways of doing development are better than others.

The authors are from the Anabaptist/Mennonite peace church tradition, a church tradition with a strong record of engagement in creative and peacebuilding approaches to development. They have taken the trouble to be critical and self-reflective about churches' engagement in the aid and development process. They have then brought together that reflection in a helpful and easily understood format for those interested in the moral undergirding of development practice and policy-making.

The authors begin with a basic outline of what development is and how it is measured, and then move to an account of the Mennonite involvement in aid and development through to some stories of people's engagement in development.

The heart of the book is a collection of stories by people who have engaged in grass roots/village level development projects, as well as those who have been involved in high level policy-making. These stories provide the basis for identifying common themes and patterns in understanding Christian engagement in development. Out of these reflections they distil an ethic of development that is rooted in the commitments and practices of this particular branch of the Christian community.

This is a book for those engaged with the struggle for justice, whether as on-the-ground grass roots workers, international policy-makers or as Christians engaged in the campaign to make poverty history. This is a book that can be highly recommended to Christians interested in exploring the connections between the Christian faith and the ambiguities of engagement in the struggle for justice.

Readers of this magazine will, I suspect, find many points of contact between the forms of Christian witness and engagement that underpin TEAR's engagement with development, and the approach to development that has found expression in the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

If spending 3 years in Haiti was a major in college, this book would constitute "Working with MCC 101." Produced after a conference at Eastern Mennonite University in the late 1980s, it comprises a brief history of MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) and MEDA (Mennonite Economic Development Associates), essays by professional development workers, and analysis and summary by the book's editors. Although the writing style is choppy at times, it provides a basic overview of working as an international volunteer.

I found that the most challenging sections were those that discussed responsibilities of personal financial and advocacy. (I suppose that's to be expected, since I don't consider myself to be a long-term development worker; I view my time here as preparation for advocacy work in the U.S.) Finding an appropriate standard of living is a major struggle for me at the moment, and this book gives insight into how that struggle has been met by others.

I recommend this book for those interested in international development or in choosing a lifestyle with a consciousness of those who live outside the U.S. borders.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is useful for Anabaptist/Mennonite international development practitioners, as a means of stimulating thought about how we work. Part II with personal accounts from Anabaptist development practitioners is particularly interesting, as are some of the analysis and discussions in Part III that touch on many of the challenges and dilemmas faced by Anabaptists working in the field of development.