Answering Your Assumptions About Mennonites

[Music] hello and welcome back to my channel if you're new around here my name is Megan Fox it's nice to meet you and so today I'm going to be brave I'm gonna jump in here and answer a whole bunch of your assumptions that you guys have about my nights I'm a little terrified but I've gotten so many questions and things since I started my youtube channel I mean you realize that there are a lot of just assumptions that you guys have that might not not always be correct so I've put a little pool out on my community tab and I got so many responses I actually was sitting here with I printed them out so that I have a hard copy I have 12 pages of assumptions and so I sat down to record this the other week and I was talking for an hour and I still hadn't completed them all and I felt like I wasn't even doing a very good job rushing through them so I'm sitting down again today and I'm just gonna set the timer on my phone for 20 minutes and however many I get answered in those 20 minutes that's how many I'm gonna do as Mennonites traditionally we don't believe in women in leadership or like women preachers so I'm not just gonna sit here and preach at you today I just want to share maybe my perspective I am privileged to live in Lancaster County where there are a plethora of like so many different kinds of Mennonites different varieties and upbringing I have a lot of friends from varying upbringing xand backgrounds and yeah there's just a lot of different types of Mennonites out there and living in Lancaster County it's kind of like this big melting pot of Amish Mennonites and of course non non Mennonites as well so I kind of have a different perspective in that area and to those of you Mennonites who are watching I'm sorry if some of these answers are not what you would have said or what has been your experience I guess go make your own YouTube video just kidding but I'm just gonna answer from honestly how I feel or what's been my experience and yeah we'll just see what happens please be respectful in the comments I don't mind people I'm having conversations down there I really enjoy that I do try to monitor them pretty closely so please just be respectful and if there's something you really think you need clarification on don't be afraid to DM e through Instagram I will put my link down below so you can def contact me there as well also don't forget to subscribe if you are new it really means a lot to me to have our my little community growing here and I just appreciate all these that are out there that take the time to watch or click on my videos also make sure you like this video if you'd like to see me continue this and answer the rest of the assumptions that I've gotten because I am probably going to do that at some point if I can find the time so let me set my timer here I'll set it for 20 minutes and then I'm gonna go start supper okay so what I'm going to do is read the ones that are actually worded as assumptions and then all the questions random questions that got thrown in there I'm will main the answer in a later video we'll see how far I get so someone assumed that Mennonites could not use modern technology such as internet or computers or TV they wondered what our roles are in that area and of course that varies among churches but for the most part the Mennonites that you see here on YouTube obviously we're not going to be the most conservative the string because we can't have computers and the internet and stuff like that but yeah there are men like churches who do not accept the Internet and there are Mennonite churches that allow TV so you see it's like a broad spectrum and it just depends I guess which church you feel like you most are most aligned with and the kind of rules that you want to implement in your family Anabelle six says I always assumed Mennonites were just less conservative Amish and yes that is an incorrect assumption actually if you go to the whole back to Europe I'm not gonna get into the whole church history of things we are two completely separate groups and I think for the most part we would believe the same things we both try to follow the Bible but my husband has worked with Amish in the past with his job he actually have an Amish boss and they do differ with us in the way they look at salvation and I don't know sometimes it's kind of sad when you think about it but it's been my understanding that they believe you cannot know that you are saved they think that that that you just live the best life you can and try to follow God the best you can and then you just hope that you can get into heaven and maybe that's like splitting hairs but to me as a Mennonite we were brought up that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you're gonna be saved he's gonna love you through your sin we don't believe in eternal security or anything like that but we do believe that you know in your heart that God has forgiven you of your sins and that you will be in heaven with him someday so maybe yes sounds like I'm splitting hairs but that's one major difference also yes then the Amish are usually a lot more conservative they don't allow me as much modern technology but we do often get confused in Lancaster County all the time we get questions are you Amish or whatever and sometimes it's like just easier to say yes but you just say no or very similar we're Mennonites I assume many women do not wear their hair down only pulled back yes for the most part yes that's how I do it and that's how most Mennonites do although there are some churches out there that would have their hair down but they would cover a least a portion of their hair or sometimes there's even Mennonite churches where they don't actually cover their head at least during the week but they still call themselves Mennonites so you do have a huge variation yeah it's just there's a whole difference there's a whole wide spectrum again I feel like I'm gonna say that a bunch in this video there's a whole wide spectrum of like applications but the principle is comes from 1st Corinthians 11 and I'm not gonna get into that all here but you can look it up and read it and we interpret that portion of Scripture very literally and we try to cover our heads because of that I assume that being a Mennonite or even Amish is a way of life and not a religion like so many people think that is a correct assumption we are Christians first and Mennonites second the difference between Mennonites and the rest of Christians is probably just the way we apply some of the principles that we read in the Bible and that's why we look a little bit different because we try to be maybe a little bit more hardcore when it comes to modesty or things like that and so that's why we look different and maybe live differently and I hope that if you run into a Mennonite they are like the most happy cheerful God loving people you've ever met I know I'm sure that's not always true but that's what we try to be this is a nice one I assume Mennonites have a strong work ethic seek to live simply and live with humility I see these qualities and use so it encourages it so it encourages those assumptions well thank you Julian yeah Mennonites are known for their strong work ethic for the most part when my husband are you know other guys in our community will go to like work projects and disaster services and stuff I know it they often surprise the people by how much they can get done in a week's time you know cleanup from hurricanes or building rebuilding that kind of stuff and I think that's definitely a principle that was given to me and I definitely pass that on to my children I'm working hard and being a good citizen and not expecting hands at hand look and not expecting handouts and things like that but to pull your weight and to work hard huh have you ever heard the assumption that Mennonites can all cook and bake perfectly somebody I think it was a fellow man and I actually put that one in here and that is definitely an assumption I think people have a lot of and I like to think that it's true I like to think that I mean especially since Mennonites we have a really strong emphasis on like family and fellowship and a lot of that happens around the table with food and so I feel like it is kind of a thing that gets passed from Grandma to mom to daughter and down the line not doesn't mean that we can all cook at all but I feel like cooking is more of a sport could you say or a pastime in the Mennonite world because we value family and fellowship so much I know that Mennonite traditional midnight nosh cooking like with all the brown butter and the noodles and lots of heavy starches and stuff I know it's like really rich and good food I myself don't necessarily cook like in the traditional midnight sense of the word I like to you know incorporate Italian or even some like Mediterranean types of foods into our meals but I would say that if you want to make a total blanket statement about Mennonites that we're all good cooks great we'll take it I had the assumption that all Mennonites are thrifty I was wondering where that comes from I like the word thrifty I hope we're thrifty I think that's a good thing to be just acknowledging that everything that you have comes from God and then wanting to spend it wisely and to not just you know live totally lavishly or whatever is a good thing but sometimes I can catch myself and I know it's kind of a stereotype among some people to that Mennonites are not just thrifty but they're downright stingy and that is something that I'm really trying hard to like break in myself I'm not saying that all Mennonites are stingy I myself and my husband was not at all so I feel like we kind of he's kind of like helping me and realizing that it doesn't always have to be fair and you don't always have to keep record of you know oh I did this for them so now you know I have to expect it and return from them later on or something like that but just to give with like hold your things with open arms and open hands and not always be keeping score or trying to get the best deal all the time sometimes your witness is just way more important than saving in you know five bucks or whatever so yeah I hope we're thrifty and if we come across a stingy at all I'm so sorry I know that's a weakness of mine and I'm trying to improve it another one that I will address is the assumption that Mennonite men do not have to dress differently than men like women do I will just point you to another video that I mean I feel like I answered that pretty well in a different Q&A I would put it in the cards up top here and you can go click on that one later but basically I would just say Society has come so much further and so that's why ice men might stick out so much more on the women's side of things because societies just come so far from you know the traditional skirts and bonnets of the 1900s and whereas men it's pretty much stayed the same for hundreds of years and so they technically don't stand out as much so yeah you have to go watch that video I feel like I explain it a little bit better there a lot of Mennonites on here saying you were brave yeah I'm feeling a little bit brave right now I feel like I'm not nervous because I'm just sharing my perspective I'm not like the end-all-be-all Mennonite or anything but I'm hoping that I'm making sense to you all some one assumes that Mennonites don't like bright colors in their homes and they wonder why we always have black white or gray walls and our clothing is a very colorful either I said I'm not trying to be rude they're just curious I'm not taking that as being rude that's a totally fine question I had to laugh though I don't know why it's not that we can't have bright colors and stuff I just I guess maybe Mennonites have their own style and what we think is style right now is like the maybe the farmhouse or the more like sleek modern look and so that's why you're seeing a lot of Mennonites with dull colors in their homes but personally for myself I don't like to spend a ton of money on decor and so it's so much easier to have like neutral colors and then swap you know if I decide I want some color or never I can pop it in and just like cheaper ways and they can go in and out with the seasons kind of - so I think that kind of goes for nine minutes as well I think there's a lot of people that do that just because it's easy and you don't spend as much money and as far as clothing that's just my preference I look horrible and like lime green and orange and yellow and stuff but it's also just like what I prefer at the time and maybe it'll change but I don't think there's any rule about it in fact if you would come to Lancaster County and drive down the road you would see like the most brightly colored Amish girls walking down the road to church on Sunday mornings in like yellow and bright red and yeah very cheerful colors so I don't know I think that's very very perceptive to pick that up but no we don't have any certain rules about break colors or things like that I think it's just personal preference so one assumes it's hard to join a Mennonite Church and that you kind of have to be born into it not at all not at all um but we do try to only give church membership to like-minded believers it's not like it's a little Club you have to join or anything but when you join a church it's kind of like accepting accountability of everybody that goes to the church that you go to and so that's why it often looks like you know a certain little club or whatever because everybody's kind of like-minded and we believe the same things that we were trying to want each other accountable but no anybody can become a Mennonite if you would like to a lot of times those that want to become a Mennonite have to change you know a lot of their lifestyle around depending where they came from in the world but yeah we always rejoice so much if we get our first generation you know Mennonite family that wants to come join because it means that yeah people see the value in our lifestyle and we yeah we just love the diversity and that kind of thing so know anybody can become a Mennonite doesn't mean it's gonna be easy necessarily because like I said you have to give up some things probably but I believe that it's totally worth it and yeah I hope we don't come across that way that were just like this little cult or anything because we are not we're definitely open to new people an assumption is that we get tired of putting our hair up for me myself personally I'll answer that question no I do not get tired of putting my hair up and I think those of you that are not Mennonites out there but you are a mom you understand the whole beauty of the whole mom thing you know messy hair don't care take me stuff putting your hair up out of the way is just so practical in general so honestly I feel like I would probably be doing that whether I was a Mennonite or not but no it's not uncomfortable at all it doesn't take me long and yeah the times that I do have my hair down because I do you know around the house sometimes we'll have it downards you know in the mornings I don't comb my hair instantly what I would get out of bed or anything it just is annoying to me ins in the way but maybe I would get used to it I have no idea I do not mind it at all and I actually find it very practical and another thing to go with the hair I assume you will never let us see you with your hair down probably not I mean at least not in a long extended way or ever ever on YouTube I just feel naked that way to put it very bluntly I don't want to have to sit there and edit myself looking like like when I see with me with my hair down or whatever it just looks like sloppy and messy like I'm half dressed and so that's just my personal opinion it doesn't maybe go for everybody else I don't know but yeah you're right you probably will not see too much of that on my channel someone assumes that Mennonites do not wear any makeup and we're kind of in like the whole appearance section of questions I guess that's true there's a lot of Mennonites that you do not wear any makeup but there's also a Mennonites that would wear like needing minimal make-up you could say I personally wear some once in a while like if I'm getting dressed up - wow it's just fun to feel like girly and special and you know dressed up once in a while but yes as a whole I would say Mennonites either wear no makeup or kind of go for the no makeup makeup look but yeah as for me now I have a daughter I definitely don't want her to think that she has to have makeup on all the time to feel beautiful and that physical appearance is what matters the most so I feel like as Mennonites do a pretty good job of not putting the emphasis too much on our outward appearance I have an assumption that Mennonites don't use or play music in church yeah there's my church personally we don't play instruments too much except for me like special services but then again this is like one of those whole spectrum things like some people absolutely no instruments ever like you get outside of church like that's how actually so many denominations would be and then you have the whole way up to you know having a drum kit and everything and still says men and I out front so yeah it can be it could vary very widely but I think for the most part most people stick to acapella singing and I hope this stays this way I feel like this a really cool part of our Mennonite heritage it's like a sport for us almost like the four part singing if you've ever heard it's just beautiful I used to be in a chorus and I really miss those days where we have you know soprano alto tenor and bass and so I really enjoy seeing with the four part singing at like church on Sundays and so I hope that doesn't change I really like that but yes I play instruments and stuff just not necessarily at church I actually can play piano autoharp and mandolin and my very conservative grandpa taught me most of those instruments so yeah I feel like music is a big part of our lives that being said if anybody if there's anyone nights watching that you would have access to the copyrights to choral music or bluegrass or instrumental music and would want to contact me or send me some files I would love to have them playing the background to some of my videos but yeah it's hard to get copyrights to some of those things so yeah if you have access to any of that and would like to get in touch with me I have my information down below and I'd love to talk I assume that Mennonites do not drink adult beverages such as wine whiskey or beer I'll put up our stand here that um I believe it says about not like we're not suppose to be given to drunkenness so we definitely believe that it is wrong to get drunk and everybody draws the line maybe with wear if it's zero alcohol or just a little bit but for the most part I would say that amendments do not drink as a whole but secondary again from church to church kind of along the spectrum and it's very interesting actually some of the most conservative Mennonite Church has include alcohol in their weddings and things like that and so that's really interesting to me so I would say your assumption is correct for the most part I assume that Mennonites believe that works factor inches of salvation and not just grace alone as the Bible says I don't know if this person was trying to be argumentative or not because I did get a whole giant like sermon typed out to me later on about how Mennonites do not believe in the Bible because we say that you have to have works and stuff so I'm not gonna sit here like I'm not the person to talk to if you want to know all the little details of theology and things like that I was just a 26 year old Mennonite girl from Lancaster County but I will say that we believe that faith and works do go hand-in-hand as bombers that says believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved so that's what faith is you also believe that faith without works is dead and that you will bear fruit if you are a true Christian and so it just kind of like it's a result of your faith it's not like we believe that you have to have works to be a Christian you can't earn salvation at all but if you are alive thriving Christian you're gonna see works being manifested in some way in a Christians life and definitely the Holy Spirit will change you and you will you know your lifestyle might change your things that become important your priorities you know they all change so we believe that salvation comes through Jesus alone and that when we become a Christian our life it starts to bear fruit not that we're gonna be perfect food right off the bat we're never gonna be perfect but we can strive to be more like Christ and yeah hopefully his Holy Spirit flows through us and you will see good works coming out of that oh all my Bible talk teachers if anybody's watching I'm sorry if I didn't say that correctly but I think I got the gist generally yeah read your book guys someone assumed that we cannot go out on dates without a chaperone that is not true of my upbringing and pretty much anybody that I would know Mennonites usually trust their teenagers maybe that's not a good thing I don't know but I think they usually trust them for the most part to you know control themselves and to and to not really need a shepherd and every time they go away that being said family is a big thing hopefully if you're dating a girl you're dating her family as well I know that's how it was in our relationship it's not like we were sneaking around you know behind her parents backs and things like that we kind of had both families very much involved also there's a lot of group dating that goes on just like youth group stuff things like that and so yeah I definitely can see the danger of being by yourself and I admire those church groups that do that the whole Shepherd thing I think it's a great idea in some ways but I'm personally very glad I didn't have to do deal with that just because to me it just sounds a little bit awkward and I feel like I think it taught us to just be there take responsibility for our actions and also just remember that God is watching at all times he never leaves you and so no I would say for the most part Mennonites do not believe in the whole Shep or anything not that we'd have a problem against it we just don't put a high value on that I guess and we just hope that we raise our children to have good moral standards and it's self-control I think I'm running out of time here the timer just went a little bit ago um somebody wants to know about birth control if we use it or not and that's again a personal choice some preachers would preach against it some preachers are just like stay away from that whole topic that's kind of what I'd like to do right now just stay away from the whole topic in general but I did for myself I guess I'll just be really honest I myself personally was on birth control for two years like the standard traditional pill I don't know if I'll actually ever go back to that again because I'm not quite sure what I believe about it um I know it could be a little bit iffy and I know that I'm 100% pro-life and so I'm still kind of weeding through that where my stance is on that but that's just me personally I'm not going to speak for any other Mennonites I know all types that would do no family planning at all and then there's you know the types that would use any traditional birth control that there is out there yeah I'm getting awkward answering this question but yeah that's personally I guess I'll just answer for myself and leave it at that but something that I think most Mennonites do believe is that children are a blessing from the Lord I know we traditionally it will help start families so younger ages then maybe the rest of the world and I think that's great I mean society needs good upstanding families you know to raise the next generation and so I'm all for it doesn't mean I want 20 kids oh okay there are so many more here that I could answer but I'll end on that juicy one right there I guess and maybe I'll come back to this at another time and answer the rest of the questions that I got because this could become like a little mini series I'll see how this one goes over if I get a lot of negativity or something I probably won't address too much more just because I want this to be a positive place but thank you so much for watching and for taking an interest in my upbringing and my lifestyle heritage and the way we choose to live our lives I know there are so many different ways that you can choose to live out your Christian walk and I'm not anybody who does it differently than I do I'm still learning as well but I do appreciate your interest and participation on my channel so whoever you are a Mennonite not men like whatever go out today and just just shine your light where you're at I hope that this video gets in some way strengthen your beliefs and your a Christian walk and that you could go on with the rest of your day I mean a amazing mom an amazing way and I will see you all in my next video [Music]

Channel: Megan Fox Unlocked

Views: 655,340

Rating: 4.8775125 out of 5

Keywords: mennonites, answering your assumptions, answering your assumptions about me, answering your assumptions about my religion, answering your assumptions about mennonites, assumptions tag, mennonite mom, mennonite youtuber, amish, amish q and a, mennonite q and a, megan fox unlocked, mennonite, mennonite vs amish, growing up mennonite, growing up amish, plain living, simple living, what do mennonites believe, are mennonites christians, what do amish believe, the mennonite mom

Id: tCGKJ-hqo5I

Length: 22min 8sec (1328 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 11 2019