I reported earlier that a motion has been proposed for the Business session of the 2008 Australian Christadelphian Conference which would require new ecclesias to obtain the permission of five other local ecclesias in order to be recognised as a bona fide ecclesia meeting on the basis of the Unity Agreement.
Fortunately common sense has prevailed and the ecclesia proposing this has now withdrawn their motion.
This is very encouraging indeed. It tells me that we don't have to put up with the bullying intimidation of a vocal minority, and that the voices of moderate Christadelphians can still have an effect in stopping the progressive spread of extremism and fundamentalism in the Christadelphian community.
I've also heard that one or two ecclesias in the Brisbane area who were previously members of the G13 have now distanced themselves from that pressure group. The G13 was a group which met to discuss other (uninvited) ecclesias to devise ways of either bringing them into line with their own views or excluding them from the wider fellowship of the Christadelphian community. Such groups are described in clause 44 of the Ecclesial Guide as "collective despotism which would interfere with the free growth and the true objects of ecclesial life".
It's very encouraging to see that some ecclesias which were previously associated with this bunch of bullies have come to their senses and withdrawn from the group.
I am sure that these two recent developments have partially come about as a result of blogs like this and the considerable number of Christadelphians who have been saying "enough is enough" and making it clear that such conduct is un-Christadelphian and unacceptable. Let's hope that these moderate Christadelphians will have an even louder voice in the future and that the controlling and intimidating elements in the Christadelphian community will eventually be silenced.
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Steve, yes it is indeed good news that common sense prevails!! Also if God has not asked for it, why make up their own rules?? This is Legalism and the cause of so much division. The 'bully' tactics are divisive and the only way to stop it is to expose them.
We know that if it is not of God then it will not prosper or come to pass.
Sadly we see that the brethren who oppose such (new) meetings are the ones who are divisive. New meetings are popping up everywhere and they try to stop it - why? Because they are not in control and they are fearful of GOD's truth going down the gurgler!!
How small their GOD must be in their eyes!! They must forget it is GOD's ecclesia/church, not their's, HE is in control, not them. We are in the hands of the Creator of the whole universe - it is to HIM that we look for direction and security.
If only they would submit to HIM instead of trying to get others to submit to them. Let the spirit guide us to do good at all times.
Wonderful things are happening with people coming to the Lord, let's put all our collective energy into the only task we have been given, and that is to SPREAD the WORD!!
These brethren's mouths should be stopped (Tim 1:11) at the spreading of false rumours. We are all trying to do the RIGHT thing before GOd, so who are they to tell us otherwise?
May Truth prevail at all costs.
LIJ Abigail
Abigail
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