In some ecclesial areas, brethren and sisters are greatly disturbed about the continued activities of the Christadelphians For Unity. They worry about a division in their own ecclesia, about the possibility of being separated from loved ones in other ecclesias or about the danger of being cut off from whole segments of the international community of ecclesias.
Until the Lord comes, our lives will be fraught with uncertainties both within and without the ecclesial world. It would be foolhardy to say that none of our fears could possibly develop. But the activities of the CFU should be kept in perspective.
They view themselves as facilitators. They have no intent of deciding that a reunion should occur or of setting a date upon which it should commence. The most they intend to do is call a convention of ecclesial delegates if results of the on-going referendum should justify such a convention.
The CFU Has No Intentions to Override Our Procedures
They are fully aware that no committee has any authority to implement changes in the fellowship practice of any ecclesia. Such decisions can only be made by the individual ecclesias themselves and the CFU has no intention of trying to override our procedures in this regard. As they have spelled out in their letters, they plan to dissolve themselves either after the referendum results are known or at a convention of ecclesias. If there is a convention, activities to facilitate a reunion would be carried on after that point by a committee appointed at the convention by a vote of the ecclesial delegates.
These are the plans they have announced and, as one who has been involved with them in a consultative capacity, I can say that they are most anxious to bring to a close their part as facilitators of any reunion activity.
The taking of a referendum is no occasion to panic!
Information Needed
For years the reunion committees were working without an adequate factual base for their discussions. While they came from different parts of the continent, some committee members were not well-traveled and did not have a good feel for the thinking in the ecclesial area they represented. Furthermore, as brethren holding strong personal convictions, some often upheld their own point of view rather than reflecting the consensus thinking of those they were to represent. In this context, it was very difficult to determine where the brethren and sisters as a whole really did stand on the issues.
On one occasion in each community, a polling was taken to see if the mind of the brethren and sisters could be determined. In both cases, it was later learned that serious ambiguities existed in the material to which the brethren and sisters responded.
Therefore the results were not accurate.
Now the CFU referendum is in process. The results of the current polling should be very useful in letting the ecclesias know whether or not any further attempt should be made for reunion on this continent. To their credit, the CFU has made every effort to ensure that the referendum is not ambiguous. The very large response to the questionnaire they sent out certainly helped in this regard. In addition, the revised proposal was reviewed by over a hundred brethren of various opinions and they caught some additional problems. The resulting proposal is surely the clearest yet in saying what it intends to say. The information gained from the current process should therefore accurately reflect the thinking of the brethren and sisters who participate.
A complaint has frequently been made that the ecclesias have had insufficient time to study the issues. On the one hand, some of the doctrinal areas involved in the discussions seem difficult to grasp and the various arguments over specific Bible passages can be confusing. On the other hand, any issue that justifies a separation in fellowship should be a first principle of the gospel. Presumably we all knew the first principles when we were baptized! How is it that we suddenly need so much time to sort out first principle issues?
Reunion discussions are not new; they have existed on and off for nearly 90 years. Over the past 20 years, a number of brethren have been quite deeply involved in the various committees. How is it that some of these very brethren are saying that they personally need more time to study the issues?
While personally one might desire more time for study on a specific passage, or might like to have better understanding of some particular phrase, in many instances the appeals for more time reflect a worry over what the CFU might do with the referendum results. In these cases, the appeals are well-meant attempts to stall the CFU process. As has been indicated, however, the CFU has no intention of unilaterally precipitating a reunion.
It should also be noted that the issues are not as complex as they might appear. Much of the confusion comes from specialized, non-biblical terminology that is used to quickly summarize a position. When one is not familiar with the special terms employed, one has considerable difficulty, knowing what the other person is talking about. The CFU proposal has done a good job in avoiding the use of such words and is phrased in a manner that all brethren and sisters should be able to understand.
An Opportunity to be Exercised
Now is not a time to panic.
Now is a time to express one’s conviction on the issues involved and then thoughtfully and prayerfully weigh future action based on the results of the referendum. By so doing, we should be able, with God’s help to do a better job of honoring both the principles of the purity of the faith and the unity of the body. We want to be a people who are holding fast to the Truth when our Lord returns, but we want to be doing it in the bonds of love for one another. If we act with compassion, understanding and godly wisdom, the months ahead could help us better implement this goal.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One