FFBC - 2005 Annual Conference Overview - Wednesday & Thursday

Fellowship of Fundamental Bible Churches - Conference Overview - Wednesday and Thursday

[b]Wednesday, August 17

Wednesday morning consisted of a message from God's Word, a business session, and a workshop. Pastor Frank Sansone of Messiah Baptist Fellowship of Salisbury, Maryland gave the morning message and focused on the need to be faithful men of God, following the example of Epaphras as found in Colossians and Philemon - dealing with the descriptions of the man of God (fellowservant, faithful minister, etc.), the demeanor of the man of God (humble, zealous, identified with his people), and the duties of the man of God (to proclaim the Word of God, to protect the flock of God, and to pray for the people of God).

The Wednesday morning business session included the introduction of Mr. Chris Jenkins as the new Program Director for Tri-State Bible Camp, reports and other business items, and the passing of two resolutions - Resolution #1 - "The Legacy of Billy Graham" and Resolution #2 - "The Pope and Christianity Today." (These resolutions are posted separately.)

Following the morning business session, Pastor Mark Franklin, President of the F.F.B.C. and Executive Committee member of the American Council of Christian Churches, held a workshop entitled "Trends in Fundamentalism." In this presentation, Pastor Franklin dealt with positives and challenges that we see in Fundamentalism today.
Listed by Pastor Franklin as some positives in Fundamentalism today included the following:
1. Good, open discussion taking place with allowable disagreement,
2. The identifying of some of the non-issues in Fundamentalism, and
3. An openness to a discussion within the family of Fundamentalism.

Other positives listed in the discussion time that Pastor Franklin encouraged included the growth and development of good Fundamental colleges and seminaries, the emphasis upon expository preaching, a depth in preaching and teaching, and the number of men who have a desire to stand true.

Listed by Pastor Franklin as some challenges within Fundamentalism today included the following:
1. There is still a need for clarity regarding Fundamentalism,
2. There is a need to distance ourselves from those men and ministries who are hurting our cause while claiming our label, and
3. There is a need to be relevant without compromise.

Other challenges brought out during the discussion included a danger to follow personalities, a propensity to overly divide, a need to reaffirm the bench marks of what is open for discussion, and the need to shore up the priority of purity.

Pastor Franklin then observed that doctrine is essential to the life of the church (Acts 2:42, 2 Tim. 3:16) and that "words" are important for they are that which we are to study (2 Tim. 2:14-15) and wrong words are to be shunned (2 Tim. 2:16-18). Pastor Franklin concluded that there is a great need in our Fundamental churches for (1) Sound doctrine, (2) Clarity and precision, and (3) Exposing false teachers.

Wednesday is "Family Day" at the Annual Conference, so Wednesday afternoon was reserved for families to go swimming, fishing, relax around the campsite, play games or take short sight-seeing trips to nearby attractions.

On Wednesday night, Dr. Tony Fox gave his last message of the week as he preached on Our Struggle to Compromise in the Ministry. Dr. Fox indicated how that one of the issues in Poland and the Eastern Block during the early days of those nations becoming "open" to the Gospel was the trend to accept everything that called itself Christianity. Dr. Fox emphasized the three "But Thou" expressions in this passage (2 Tim 3:10, 3:14, 4:5) and encouraged us to watch and continue and to proclaim all of the scripture in light of the coming day (2 Tim. 4:1).

Thursday, August 18

On Thursday morning, the conference included a message from God's Word, a business session, and a time of testimonies and prayer as we dismissed. Pastor Robert Rogish of Faith Fellowship Baptist Church gave the morning message as he challenged us to take up the stones of Prayer, Joyful Service, Separation, Standards, and Protecting the Family.

The Thursday morning business session included some final reports and other similar items of business, as well as the passing of six additional resolutions - Resolution #3 - "Progressive Creationism," Resolution #4 - "Judicial Dilemma," Resolution #5 - "Thankful for God's Goodness," Resolution #6 - "Salvation by Christ Alone," Resolution #7 - "A Faithful Servant" (honoring Mr. Keith Lambertson and his family - the property manager of Tri-State Bible Camp), and Resolution #8 - "In Appreciation of our Host". Resolutions # 3, 4, and 6 are posted separately.

Following the meeting there was a time of testimony and prayer at the "Fellowship Circle" (a tradition dating back over fifty years) and the conference was closed with the singing of "Blest Be the Tie that Binds."