EIGHTY-FOURTH
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
ADJOURNED
SESSION (I) of the 84th ANNUAL CONFERENCE
of
the
BIBLE
FELLOWSHIP CHURCH
Twelfth
Meeting
Saturday
Morning, January 6, 1968
The meeting was
opened with Carl C .Cassel directing the singing of "Lead On, 0 King
Eternal." Frank L. Herb, Jr., led in prayer.
Carl C. Cassel
gave the devotional address based upon Joshua 1. Leader ship was the subject
emphasized. Each leader must be aware of God's commission upon them. Each must
in turn respond accordingly to the commission and pass the message on to those
who must be led and then they must respond to the God appointed leadership.
The Roll was
called.
Resolved, that
absent members be excused, and, further, that alternate delegates be seated.
The Committee to
study Church Government requested 45 minutes to present three papers relative
to the report.
C. E. Kirkwood
presented material outlining the background of the report and a brief history
of the Committee.
Carl C. Cassel
presented the Major thrust of the report.
James A. Beil
presented areas of change.
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE TO STUDY CHURCH
GOVERNMENT (See Report, page 94).
ARTICLE
IV MINISTERS
The Lord of the
Church has given gifts to men called ministers in His church. The office of the
ministry is the first in the church in both dignity and usefulness. The one who
fills the office is described in the Scriptures by several terms. As he has the
oversight of the flock of Christ, he is termed bishop. As he feeds them with
spiritual food, he is termed pastor (shepherd). As he serves Christ in the
church, he is termed minister. As it is his duty to be an example to the flock
in godliness and to govern well in the church of Christ, he is termed elder. As he is sent to declare the will of God to
sinners, and to beseech them to be reconciled to God through Christ, he is
termed an evangelist.
It was adopted.
ARTICLE
V ELDERS
In the New
Testament church, Christ has provided men called elders whom he has enabled and
commissioned to govern with ministers in His church.
Men who bear
this office share equally with ministers the authority in and responsibility
for the life of the church; but in contrast to ministers, whose primary
authority and responsibility is in the Word and doctrine and secondarily in
ruling the primary authority and responsibility of elders is ruling and
governing and secondarily in the Word and doctrine.
Those who fill
this office should be examples to the flock of their sound faith, their
blameless life and conduct and their wisdom and discretion.
Elders, as
representatives of the people, are chosen by the membership of the church on
the basis of Scriptural qualifications.
It was adopted.
Resolved that we adjourn to meet at 1:15 p.m.
Adjourned at 11:50 a.m.
Thirteenth
Meeting
Saturday
afternoon, January 6, 1968
ARTICLE
VI DEACONS
The office of
deacon is presented in the Scriptures as an office not of ruling, but of
service. A deacon should be a man of deep spiritual life, exemplary conduct and
sound judgment. His office is one of sympathetic service to the church and to
the distressed, friendless or sick, after the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.
It was adopted.
ARTICLE
VII CHURCH GOVERNMENT
By providing
spiritually qualified overseers, called elders, Christ enables each particular
church to govern itself.
But though the
churches are autonomous, they are not independent because they are a part of a
fellowship of churches. The basis of this fellowship is mutual conviction of
the body of truth set forth in the Scriptures.
The Authority
of the fellowship is secondary, being derived from the particular churches, and
is limited to matters which pertain to the churches in fellowship or to common
concerns which churches agree to take care of together.
All authority in
the church, whether in particular churches or in the denomination, is moral and
spiritual, ministerial and declarative ; it is moral and spiritual, negatively,
in that it is unable to use civil force to compel obedience, and positively, in
that obedience is incomplete unless it is inward and real as well as outward
and apparent; it is ministerial and declarative in that the Holy Scriptures are
the only rule of faith and conduct and therefore all decisions and laws must be
understood as being servants of the Word, announcing that which the body
believes the Scriptures to teach with the constant recognition that
"councils may err" through frailty inseparable from humanity.
It was adopted.
ARTICLE
VIII BOARD OF ELDERS
The Board of
Elders shall be composed of the Minister and all the active elders of the
congregation. The lay elders shall be elected by majority vote of the
congregation. They shall be mature men who meet the qualifications of Scripture
(I Tim. 3; Titus 1; I Peter 5). The number of elders chosen to serve on the
Board shall be established by the congregation by ballot vote upon the
recommendation of the Board of Elders.
The Minister
shall serve as chairman of the Board of Elders; they shall elect one of their
members to serve as Secretary.
Two-thirds of the membership of the Board shall constitute a quorum.
The duty of the
Board of Elders is the general oversight of the life and work of the church
including the worship, preaching, ordinances, evangelism, visitation,
discipline, finances and maintenance of the properties.
Because they are
"under shepherds" and not "lords" the elders shall rule the
congregation according to the direction of Christ, the Chief Shepherd, as
expressed in the Scriptures and the needs of the membership. They shall hold
semi-annual congregational meetings to report the status of the work to the
congregation; and when they deem it advisable, present recommendations to the
congregation. The congregation shall have the power to accept, to suggest
changes or to reject such recommendations.
The Board of
Elders shall be the channel of communication between the particular church and
the fellowship of churches and its organizations. The elders shall nominate
from their number and the congregation elect the
representative(s) from the particular church to the fellowship-wide level.
It was adopted.
ARTICLE
IX ANNUAL CONFERENCE
The church consists
of many congregations which need mutual counsel and assistance to preserve
soundness of doctrine and discipline, to enter into joint efforts for the
advancement of the work of Christ and to prevent infidelity, error and
immorality. From this arises the
importance and usefulness of assemblies of particular churches.
The assembly of
churches shall represent, in one body, all the particular churches of this
denomination and shall be called the Annual Conference of the Bible Fellowship
Church.
The Annual
Conference shall consist of every ordained minister laboring in direct
relationship to the Bible Fellowship Church, every ordained minister who is
retired, every probationer who has been called to pastor a church, and one lay
elder from every properly constituted church with the membership of two hundred
or less and one additional lay elder for two hundred members in excess of the
first two hundred. Ordained ministers who retain membership in one of our
churches and who are engaged in Christian service not directly related to our
Annual Conference, probationers who have not been called to pastor a church and
missionaries who hold membership in one of our churches and are under the
supervision of the Board of Foreign Missions, shall be advisory members of the
Annual Conference. They shall not participate in the deliberations of the
sessions except by permission by the chairman.
The Annual
Conference shall provide legislation, govern the affairs of the churches on the
denominational level and receive appeals, complaints or other references from
churches about doctrine or government. It alone shall have the power to amend
the FAITH AND ORDER. It shall decide issues as a final court of appeal.
Although it is responsible for these duties, it shall not invade the autonomy
of the particular churches.
The Annual
Conference shall have the power to resolve questions of doctrine or discipline
seriously and reasonably proposed; to reprove, warn or bear testimony against
error in doctrine or immorality in practice in any church; to examine and
license candidates for the ministry; to ordain, install, judge and remove
ministers; to examine and approve or censure the records of particular
churches; to unite or divide congregations
at the request of the people; to provide for supervision of vacant pulpits and
to give counsel in calling pastors.
It shall keep
and publish a record of the proceedings of its sessions and make them available
to the membership of the churches.
Each meeting of
the Annual Conference shall be opened and closed with prayer. The business
sessions shall be conducted according to the Standing Rules (Business Rules of
the Conference).
The parliamentary
procedure shall be according to Robert's Rules of Order except in places where
our legislation provides otherwise.
It was adopted.
Resolved, that
Article X be referred back to the Committee on Church
Government.
Resolved, that
Article XI be referred back to the Committee on Church
Government.
Resolved, that we suspend the rules and adjourn. Adjourned at 4:00 p.m. with prayer by Donald T. Kirkwood.
Fourteenth
Meeting
Saturday
Morning, April 6, 1968
The meeting was
opened with the singing of "Spirit of God, Descend Upon
My Heart" led by Harvey J. Fritz, Jr., and F. B. Hertzog led in prayer.
F.B. Hertzog
brought the devotional message. Remarks were based upon Luke 10:16. It was
emphasized that compassion, not fear, must be manifested by the servants of God
in their work for Him in these times of trouble. Courage is to be derived in knowing that
those who hear the messenger (you) hear Jesus Christ (me).
A time of prayer
was spent for various conference needs and for our government at this time of
national crises.
Resolved, that we accept the excuses of the absent members
and seat the alternate delegates in the conference bar.
The following
were elected:
Superintendent: A.L. Seifert
Vice
Superintendent: John H. Riggall
Whereas, the
Nominating Committee and Conference Body have been unable to procure any
nominees for the office of Director of Church Extension, therefore,
Resolved, that by use of the Rule of Exception, the Board of Church Extension
supervise the work of church extension for the 1968-1969 conference
year, and further,
Resolved, that the
Board of Church Extension make a study of the office of the Director of Church
Extension, its duties and potentiality, and further,
Resolved, that a
report be submitted to the 1968 Annual Conference.
The vote was
"yes" 63, "no" 15.
The following
were elected:
Vice-Chairman
of Annual Conference: Carl C. Cassel
Secretary of
Annual Conference: Ernest B. Hartman
Robert Eckland,
Norman B. Jerome and Donald J. Ritter briefly addressed the conference body.
Resolved, that a
nominating committee be elected by using two nominating ballots. .. one for ministers and one for laymen. From the nominees, the 8 ordained ministers
receiving the highest number of votes shall be considered candidates. The 6
laymen receiving the highest number of votes shall be considered candidates.
Resolved, that we suspend the rules and adjourn to meet this
afternoon.
The meeting
adjourned at 12:35 p.m. with prayer by Mark T. Smith.
Fifteenth
Meeting
Saturday
Afternoon, April 6, 1968
The meeting was
opened at 1:45 p.m. at the call of the Chair.
The Chairman
appointed the following:
Committee on
Statistics: Willard E. Cassel, Donald T. Kirkwood, LeRoy S. Heller, John Dunn.
The following
were elected:
Nominating
Committee: John H. Riggall, James G. Koch, David E. Thomann, Daniel G. Ziegler,
Robert W. Gehret, Horace A. Kauffman, Clyde W. Snyder.
REPORT OF THE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS - Administrative Budget:
The Conference
Administrative Budget for the year beginning on October 1, 1968 is presented
herewith:
1. Publication and
Printing $1, 500. 00
2. Conference
Entertainment 640.
35
3. Beneficiary
Fund 800.
00
4. District
Superintendent:
(a) Annual Support 7,000.00
(b) Travel & Utility Grant 3,400.00
5. District
Superintendent's Parsonage 4, 362. 17
6. Ministers'
Retirement Fund 5, 000.
00
7. Moving Fund 3,200.00
8. Expenses for
Boards and Committees while
transacting Conference Business 800. 00
9. Other Expenses
of Board of Directors 290. 00
10. Contingencies 500.
00
11. Ministerial Convention Expenses 400.
00
$ 27,892.52
Subscriptions to Administration Budget 1968-1969
Allentown (Bethel) 1,800. Mount
Carmel 696.
Allentown (Cedar Crest) 600. Nazareth 576.
Allentown (Salem) 350. Phila. (Calvary) 500.
Bethlehem 2,160. Phila. (Emmanuel) 376.
Blandon 500. Paradise 360.
Catasauqua 372. Quakertown 1, 105.
Coopersburg 800. Reading 1,920.
Denville 350. Royersford 650.
Easton 450. Scranton 450.
Emmaus 1,500. Shamokin 480.
Ephrata 100. Sinking
Spring 216.
Fleetwood 862, Staten
Island 300.
Graterford 650. Spring City 600.
Harleysville 400. Stroudsburg 258.
Harrisburg 800. Sunbury 1,200.
Hatfield 1,280. Terre Hill 700.
Lancaster 500. Wallingford 1,200.
Lebanon 380. York 850.
Lehighton 401.52 Zionsville 300.
Maple Glen 900. Total
$ 27,892. 52
The Budget was adopted.
Whereas, David Hendershot,
who served faithfully as a member of the Youth Fellowship General Committee has
submitted his resignation due to other responsibilities,
Resolved, that
the members of the adjourned session elect a member to serve the one and one
half year unexpired term of Mr. Hendershot.
The following
was elected: Benjamin Pattison
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CREDENTIALS:
Whereas, Roy
Hertzog has served commendably under the Board of Foreign Missions and is
recommended by them for ordination, and,
Whereas, the Ministerial Candidate Committee
has recommended that he be ordained, and,
Whereas, after
examination before this Committee we are convinced that he is in accord with
our Faith and Order, and is called of God to the Gospel Ministry,
We therefore, Recommend that Roy Hertzog be ordained at a service to be
held in Bethel Bible Fellowship Church of Allentown, Pa., on the evening of May
5, 1968.
(C.E. Kirkwood, Frank L. Herb, Jr., A. L. Seifert, John
H. Riggall, W.B. Hottel, Committee)
Resolved, that
we adjourn to meet Saturday, April 13, at 9:00 a.m. at the Bethel Church, 529
N. 8th Street, Allentown, Pa.
Adjourned with prayer by Carl C. Cassel at 4:30 p.m.
Sixteenth
Meeting
Saturday
Morning, April 13, 1968
The meeting was
opened by James A. Beil, who directed the singing of "The Day of
Resurrection" and led in prayer. A devotional meditation based on Acts
15:1-29 was given by Jansen E. Hartman, depicting the life of the Jerusalem
church council and its relationship to the present day church.
The roll was
taken.
Resolved, that
we accept the excuses of absent members, and alternate delegates be seated.
REPORT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF BEREAN
BIBLE SCHOOL
On behalf of the
Board of Directors of Berean Bible School I submit the following action to the
Adjourned Session of the 84th Annual Conference meeting in Bethel
Church, Allentown, Pa., on Saturday, April 13, 1968 for ratification:
The election of
Rev. Jansen E. Hartman as President of Berean Bible School for the term beginning
on June 30, 1968 and ending on June 30, 1969. This action was taken by the
Board at a special meeting on Saturday, February 17, 1968.
- Donald R.
Knauer, Secretary
The report was
accepted and the election ratified.
Resolved, that
we adjourn to meet again at l:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Seventeenth
Meeting
Saturday
Afternoon, April 13, 1968
The meeting was
opened at 1:30 p.m.
Resolved, that the
Annual Conference empower the Board of Directors to negotiate for the purchase
of the Bible Conference grounds known as Pinebrook, as well as the adjoining 40
acres and buildings owned by Richard Crawford, and, if a suitable price can be
agreed upon, to empower the Board of Directors to make such a purchase.
Resolved, that
the above question require a 2/3rd majority for adoption.
The vote was
"yes"- 45; "no"- 19.
Resolved, that
we extend the time.
REPORT OF THE
FIRST CAMP
Chairman: John
H. Riggall
Recording
Secretary: Willard E. Cassel
Financial
Secretary: Donald T. Kirkwood
George E.
Herb, Sec.
REPORT OF THE
SECOND CAMP
Chairman:
James G. Koch
Recording
Secretary: Leon K. Overpeck
Financial
Secretary: John Dunn
Leon K.
Overpeck, Sec.
Chairman of Erection, John H. Riggall
Chairman of Dismantling, William A. Heffner
Resolved, that
the Board of Directors shall have, and they hereby are, given authority to
arrange for such financing as will be involved in the purchase of Pinebook.
Resolved, that
we adjourn.
Adjourned at 4:15 p. m. with prayer by Frank L. Herb, Jr.