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BBFI compromise
- Thread starter bb_baptist
- Start date
Doc,
Have you read the Plains Baptist Challenger lately?!?! Now the BBF is on his hit list, are you kidding me, the BBF!?! If I am intolerant because I point out that E.L. B. has a very biased viewpoint then so be it. From the very beginning I stated that if it was coming form him this great compromise was probably not that big of a deal, which it isn't. If you want to play silly little word games then go ahead, I respect that you are defending your friend, but I'm not the one who called his paper a "rag".
Have you read the Plains Baptist Challenger lately?!?! Now the BBF is on his hit list, are you kidding me, the BBF!?! If I am intolerant because I point out that E.L. B. has a very biased viewpoint then so be it. From the very beginning I stated that if it was coming form him this great compromise was probably not that big of a deal, which it isn't. If you want to play silly little word games then go ahead, I respect that you are defending your friend, but I'm not the one who called his paper a "rag".
VoiceInTheWilderness
New Member
Couldn't have been stated any better...
Our Pastor says people are always asking him leave the BBF. How can you leave something that you have never joined? The BBF doesn't control his church, so how can it control others to make them do what's right? All Independent Baptist's run their own churches. The BBF doesn't.
Hi, Abbey. I'm not out to fight the different independent Baptist fellowships out there, including BBFI. But there are some things that I disagree with in the BBFI program. For example:
ARTICLE III - AFFILIATION
Affiliation with the Baptist Bible Fellowship International is open to any Baptist pastor of a supporting Baptist church believing in and adhering to the Word of God, on the basis of the Articles of Faith appended hereto. A supporting Baptist church is one that financially supports our missions or colleges.
In theory the BBFI may be only a fellowship, but some kind of entity exists that requires support of our missions and our colleges. Notice also this is a fellowship of PASTORS, not churches. Can anyone explain who actually owns our missions and our colleges? Is it the pastors of the BBFI?
ARTICLE V - VOTING RIGHTS
Each church shall have one vote. Recognizing that this is a fellowship of pastors, this vote shall be cast by the pastor, or in his absence, by his authorized alternate.
Because it is a fellowship of pastors, no one has a right to cast a vote unless a supporting pastor, or someone authorized by that pastor.
ARTICLE VI - OFFICERS
Section 1. Any elected officer of this fellowship shall be a pastor of a supporting church.
Because it is a fellowship of pastors, no one can hold office except supporting pastors.
ARTICLE VII - SUBSIDIARIES AND PROPERTIES OF THE BAPTIST BIBLE FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL
The BBFI claims to be a fellowship of pastors, but SOMEBODY owns subsidiaries and properties.
The above [italicized portion] is from the BBFI Constitution and By-Laws. Below is part of the requirement for Applications to be a BBFI Missionary: Candidate must be a graduate of a BBF owned or approved college (Baptist Bible College or Baptist Bible Grad. School of Theology - Springfield, MO; BBC - Boston, MA; Atlantic BBC - Chester, VA; Louisiana Baptist University - Shreveport, LA).
I think they do allow for some exceptions, but in the main they require not only the education, but that you get it in their schools.
I just point these out as just a few reasons why I would not participate in a Fellowship structured like the BBFI. While they purport to be an independent Baptist Fellowship, they have a denominational structure in many ways like an association or convention. They own things separate and apart from the churches and they place stipulations which the churches must meet. Yes, the churches are autonomous - they don't have to do these things. They just have to do them to participate in the BBFI. Doctrinal differences aside, why would BBFI people do a lot of complaining about the SBC structure? Why should the BBFI not just be honest about it and explain that they are not just a simple IB fellowship?
[edited to try to clarify that the italicized portions are from BBFI's own materials]
[ September 11, 2002, 10:41 AM: Message edited by: rlvaughn ]
ARTICLE III - AFFILIATION
Affiliation with the Baptist Bible Fellowship International is open to any Baptist pastor of a supporting Baptist church believing in and adhering to the Word of God, on the basis of the Articles of Faith appended hereto. A supporting Baptist church is one that financially supports our missions or colleges.
In theory the BBFI may be only a fellowship, but some kind of entity exists that requires support of our missions and our colleges. Notice also this is a fellowship of PASTORS, not churches. Can anyone explain who actually owns our missions and our colleges? Is it the pastors of the BBFI?
ARTICLE V - VOTING RIGHTS
Each church shall have one vote. Recognizing that this is a fellowship of pastors, this vote shall be cast by the pastor, or in his absence, by his authorized alternate.
Because it is a fellowship of pastors, no one has a right to cast a vote unless a supporting pastor, or someone authorized by that pastor.
ARTICLE VI - OFFICERS
Section 1. Any elected officer of this fellowship shall be a pastor of a supporting church.
Because it is a fellowship of pastors, no one can hold office except supporting pastors.
ARTICLE VII - SUBSIDIARIES AND PROPERTIES OF THE BAPTIST BIBLE FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL
The BBFI claims to be a fellowship of pastors, but SOMEBODY owns subsidiaries and properties.
The above [italicized portion] is from the BBFI Constitution and By-Laws. Below is part of the requirement for Applications to be a BBFI Missionary: Candidate must be a graduate of a BBF owned or approved college (Baptist Bible College or Baptist Bible Grad. School of Theology - Springfield, MO; BBC - Boston, MA; Atlantic BBC - Chester, VA; Louisiana Baptist University - Shreveport, LA).
I think they do allow for some exceptions, but in the main they require not only the education, but that you get it in their schools.
I just point these out as just a few reasons why I would not participate in a Fellowship structured like the BBFI. While they purport to be an independent Baptist Fellowship, they have a denominational structure in many ways like an association or convention. They own things separate and apart from the churches and they place stipulations which the churches must meet. Yes, the churches are autonomous - they don't have to do these things. They just have to do them to participate in the BBFI. Doctrinal differences aside, why would BBFI people do a lot of complaining about the SBC structure? Why should the BBFI not just be honest about it and explain that they are not just a simple IB fellowship?
[edited to try to clarify that the italicized portions are from BBFI's own materials]
[ September 11, 2002, 10:41 AM: Message edited by: rlvaughn ]
DocCas
New Member
Interesting theory. However, the Baptist Bible Fellowship International Directory, published by BBFI Missions Office, P.O. Box 191, Springfield, MO 65801-0191, seems to indicate differently. Starting on page 1 we see the heading, "Baptist Bible Fellowship Churches." Now, if it is a "fellowship of pastors" how can there be "Baptist Bible Fellowship Churches?"
