The one hundred-plus of members that made up the Restore FCCF group wrote the quote below to fellow members. Other hundreds of members simply left the church without involvement. Despite the size of the group asking for change, the decision of three elders and one senior minister prevailed. The senior minister was put on a six-month sabbatical and returned to the pulpit after the dust settled. By then the congregation was about one tenth what it once had been in previous years. How does one judge the health of the church? At what point did the membership lose their voice and the power of their vote? Should the membership care? If the major cause of the deterioration returns, will the church face yet another repeat episode? Does the addition of new members mean the church is healed? I’m just asking.
From the book:
“It has become apparent that FCCF has developed major faults in the integrity of the church body—faults that continue to widen daily. We understand that failure to return to our founding purpose will inevitably lead to the collapse of the church we love. The church body is—and has been—in a poor state of health for quite some time. Many know this, many suspect this, and still others remain blind. The reemergence of the Milburn case was simply the flashpoint that moved many of us to act.” (Taylor, Joy S., A View from the Pews — The Inside Story of a Broken Church, 2022, Lily of the Valley Publishing, Santa Claus IN, p. 111.)
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