The Church
The Fellowship’s Unity Crisis
A few days ago 8 churches were excommunicated from Fellowship Pacific—and thus, from the national Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Canada (FEB).[1] They were removed for maintaining that churches within the FEB reserve the roles of elder/pastor, and the office of preaching to biblically qualified men. Bethany Baptist Church of Barriere, First Baptist Church of Kamloops, New West Community Church of New Westminster, Providence Baptist Church of Kelowna, Renfrew Baptist Church of Vancouver, Salt Spring Baptist Church of Salt…
Pushing Politics: The Unpardonable Sin
Tomorrow our church is hosting an event entitled “For the Good of the City: A Christian Perspective on Alberta Independence.” The event itself has generated some “discussion” on social media and correspondence to our church. With the religious zeal of the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, many are indignant that our church enters the realm of public policy discussion. It is like we’ve committed an unpardonable sin and breached the impregnable wall of separation between church and state. For many, Christians…
Fellowship National Conference Votes Down Complementarian Policy
A few weeks ago, I wrote an article which was published by The Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. That article was written because several churches within the Fellowship—ours included—brought forward a motion to re-affirm our 1997 position statement, “On the Gender Issue in Pastoral Leadership In Fellowship Churches.”[1] The statement is not a binding policy but was followed up by a binding bylaw in 2004, which says, “In member churches, the pastoral office is reserved for qualified men recognized…
Psalms for Singing
This week we are introducing a new songbook we’ve recently published as a supplement to our hymnal. It is called Psalms for Singing: A Selection of Psalms Ancient and Modern. This new songbook contains 38 psalms set to music designed for congregational singing. A few of the tunes will be familiar but most of the tunes are unique and composed exclusively for each psalm. While this means it will take a little more time to learn a new psalm, it…
63 Years Serving God in the Fairview Community
Fairview Baptist Church met in the community of Fairview from 1960-2023. The last service at the original location was May 21, 2023. This brief history was shared that Sunday. The Beginning of a Church in Fairview In 1930 a new missionary work began in Alberta. Two pastors, Morley Hall and Howard Phillips led their churches to form a new mission society to plant fundamental Baptist churches in Alberta. Morley was educated at Toronto Bible College (now Toronto Baptist Seminary) and…
A Call for Unity in Diversity
A common conversation has entered the halls of our church. Doubtless some of you have heard or been involved in discussions about election or predestination. These are terms that are used and taught in Scripture yet have been the occasion for discussions that turn into sharp divisions. In our day, online personalities enflame these divisions and turn disciples of Christ against one another. It is important that we discuss these issues and bring light rather than heat lest his blood-bought…
Preaching is Bricklaying
Consecutive expository preaching through entire books of the Bible (lectio continua) best prepares people to go through the ups and downs of life. Like a methodical bricklayer, the preacher lays a brick with each sermon that over time stands as a fortress providing refuge in the storms of life. Not every brick laid is remembered. Not every sermon stands out. Not every brick will be smooth, not every sermon eloquent. A single brick has little utility by itself, nor can…
What Men’s Ministry Looks Like
Men’s ministries are ubiquitous in the modern evangelical church. Like women’s ministries or children’s ministries these are typically programs or events designed for the men as a ministry or service to them. That is, these outings, adventures, studies, and programs are designed to minister to the men rather than see the men serve as ministers. The biblical model certainly include times of equipping and discipleship, but men’s ministry ought to be ministry of the men rather than ministry for the…
What Women’s Ministry Looks Like
The Calgary Pride Parade took place this past Sunday. As our city (and the Western world) celebrates sexual perversity and rebellion against God and his creational norms, it is easy for us to articulate what we are against. But do we know what we are for? Could we articulate a vision of masculinity, femininity, sexuality, marriage, children, family and so forth? Could we give biblical warrant or would we base our answers on “traditional” values, however they may be defined? One…
Tell It to the Church
This article is part two in a series of articles on Church Discipline. You can see the previous article here. When the Scriptures instruct us to judge those in the church and purge the evil person (1 Cor 5:13), how should such an action take place? In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives the follow instructions, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained…
Purge the Evil Person
This article is part one in a series of articles on Church Discipline. The entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 5 is devoted to the subject of purging evil people from the church. Paul, used by the Holy Spirit of God to give us God’s infallible word, elaborates on a previous letter to the church in Corinth by saying, “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this…
Why We Don’t Baptize Infants
The following four reasons give sufficient warrant to tell us that baptism should only be given to those who repent and believe and not infants. For a fuller treatment than the summary here, see the essay on the proper recipients of baptism here. 1. The “newness” of the new covenant Baptism is the sign of entrance into the new covenant. This is agreed to by both those who baptize infants and those who just baptize believers. Those who baptize infants…
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