{"id":44496,"date":"2020-01-07T12:42:14","date_gmt":"2020-01-07T17:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=44496"},"modified":"2020-01-08T12:06:00","modified_gmt":"2020-01-08T17:06:00","slug":"honoring-richard-a-showalter-68-a-humble-stalwart-in-the-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2020\/honoring-richard-a-showalter-68-a-humble-stalwart-in-the-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Honoring Richard A. Showalter ’68, a humble stalwart in the faith"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article is published courtesy of Eastern Mennonite Missions.<\/em> Richard A. Showalter<\/strong> is a 1968 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University. His wife Jewel Wenger Showalter<\/strong> is a 1969 graduate.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

On Dec. 14, 2019, the Lord welcomed home his faithful servant, Richard A. Showalter. Having served as the sixth president of Eastern Mennonite Missions (EMM) from 1994 to 2011, Showalter left a lasting legacy on both the organization he served and the Global Anabaptist church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt seemed that all I had ever dreamed, and\nmore, began to appear before my eyes,\u201d Showalter wrote in his final EMM Missionary Messenger <\/em>magazine column in\nOctober 2011, when referencing visiting the leaders of the young churches of\nthe Majority World. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRapid growth despite persecution and all\nkinds of other difficulties. A deep sense of comradery in Christ. Potential for\npartnership in mission that I had never imagined. Honduras, Guatemala,\nTanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Indonesia, the Philippines \u2014 here I met more\nstalwarts in the faith. The legacy of a church. Your legacy,\u201d wrote Showalter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"

In 2004, Richard A. Showalter (fifth from left) leads prayer for the International Missions Association gathered in Honduras. (Photo courtesy of EMM Archives)
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While Showalter was quick to recognize the\nlegacy that EMM and LMC \u2014 A Fellowship of Anabaptist Churches \u2014 left around the\nworld, his humble leadership played a significant role in shaping that legacy.\nHe too became a humble stalwart in the faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among Showalter\u2019s greatest contributions to\nthe Global Anabaptist church was the creation of the International Missions\nAssociation (IMA) with four founding organizations, the mission arm of the\nMeserete Kristos Church in Ethiopia; PIPKA, the mission board of Gereja Kristen\nMuria Indonesia; the mission leaders of Amor Viviente in Honduras; and EMM in\nthe U.S. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IMA was not a North American mission board\nrelating to the overseas churches it had planted. Rather, it was a peer group\nof Anabaptist mission leaders from around the world. There are currently 25\norganizations and networks around the world that are members of the IMA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 1997, Showalter, the IMA\u2019s first\npresident, described IMA\u2019s core convictions as \u201cprayer, dependence on the\nSpirit, the centrality of the Great Commission in our missions, and taking the\ngood news to those who have not yet heard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRichard would listen to anybody and\neverybody,\u201d said Tilahun Beyene Kidane, IMA executive secretary. Tilahun\ndescribed how Showalter tried humbly to learn from every part of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2008, Showalter and EMM leadership took the\nunusual and unprecedented step of inviting five leaders from churches in the\nMajority World to speak into the work of EMM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In response to this peer review, Showalter\nasked Missionary Messenger <\/em>readers,\n\u201cIs it too much to hope that Eastern Mennonite Missions might be shaped as much\nby our partners from the Global South as by our own cultural preferences?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One EMM worker serving in Central Asia, Maria\n\u2014 whose name has been changed due to sensitivity concerns \u2014 reflected, \u201cI will\nnever forget the time he went to dinner with [my husband] and I and a leader\nfrom Central Asia.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAfter the meal, our acquaintance asked us his\nposition in the company. When we shared he was the president, our acquaintance\nwas floored. He had no idea and expressed great amazement at his humility and\ndesire to listen and learn,\u201d said Maria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI experienced him as a man of humility and\ngodly spontaneity,\u201d said current EMM president Gerry Keener. Highlighting both\nof these values, Keener recalled the time that Showalter and he were visiting\nleaders from the Vietnam Mennonite Church. While talking with Showalter, one\npastor indicated that he had never experienced foot washing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Showalter responded, \u201cLet\u2019s do it right now!\u201d\nKeener described how participants from five different continents engaged in\nthis moving and spontaneous time of foot washing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis foot washing moment has become a signature\nmemory of mine of Richard\u2019s sensitivity to the Spirit\u2019s leading in a particular\ncontext and to make a practical application of a Christian value,\u201d said Keener.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe said that the best Christian leaders are\nthose that, first and foremost, know that they are loved by God. Only then can\nthey love others well,\u201d said Showalter\u2019s daughter \u2014 whose name is not used due\nto sensitivity concerns. She, along with her husband and family, serve with\nboth EMM and Rosedale International in East Asia. \u201cHe knew he was loved and\nextended that love to others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to Showalter\u2019s tenure as EMM\u2019s\npresident, he was the president of Rosedale Bible College from 1989 to 1994. He\nalso served for many years as a pastor, church planter, and professor. The\nShowalters served with Rosedale International in the Middle East in the 1980s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Showalter held a Doctor of Ministry from\nGordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity from Anabaptist\nMennonite Biblical Seminary, a Master of Theology from the University of\nChicago, a bachelor\u2019s degree from Eastern Mennonite University, and took\ncourses at Fuller School of Intercultural Studies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following Showalter\u2019s retirement from EMM,\nRichard and his wife, Jewel, continued to serve with EMM as long-term\nmissionaries in East Asia and Kenya, and as non-resident volunteers resourcing\nthe global church through both Rosedale International and EMM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Showalter left a lasting legacy beyond the\nchurches directly connected to EMM. \u201cI want to share my deep gratitude for\nRichard\u2019s life and ministry in our global church,\u201d said Mennonite World\nConference General Secretary C\u00e9sar Garc\u00eda. \u201cRichard\u2019s leadership, attitude, and\ncommitment to Christ and to our global church is a source of inspiration for\nmany leaders across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article is published courtesy of Eastern Mennonite Missions. Richard A. Showalter is a 1968 graduate of Eastern Mennonite University. His wife Jewel Wenger Showalter is a 1969 graduate. On ... read more about Honoring Richard A. Showalter ’68, a humble stalwart in the faith<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":44500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,17562,8845,265],"tags":[],"feature":[17241],"class_list":["post-44496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-digest","category-emu-at-lancaster","category-seminary","feature-news-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nHonoring Richard A. 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