Assessment Letter of MRBF’s Health
March 30, 2004
As we assess our fellowship we do believe that there is an unhealthy diversity and division among us. While we desire growth we are wholly unwilling to compromise our original position and application of fundamentalism and separation. We believe that we are as viable as we have ever been based upon our continued subscription to our Biblical and historical position as a fellowship of Baptist and separatist churches. This unhealthiness is a result of too great of a diversity among us as to how we understand and apply our convictions as fundamentalist, Baptist, separatist and it seems limited to only a few churches that have chosen to move into areas that the majority of our churches and pastors have resisted in a sense of faithfulness to our Biblical and historical position. It is our belief that a robust health cannot be attained in this atmosphere of so great a diversity that stresses our roots around which we fellowship.
We therefore as the Council of Six invite our churches to reexamine their relationship to this Biblical and historical position that serves as the root of our fellowship and re-commit to those historical convictions and the historical application of those convictions upon which our fellowship was formed. If after examining this statement of our assessment you wish to meet with your Council of Six or a representation of this group we are willing to discuss this for your clarification, we are not however interested in debating this matter.
Your Council of Six:
Jerry Buchanan/Chairman
David Pestel/Vice-Chairman/Secretary, Treasurer
Rudy Ringhoff
John Weber
Charles Wood
