Fellowship Family of Churches

A CALL FOR REPENTANCE AND A RENEWED COMMITMENT TO GOD-CENTERED THEOLOGY AND SOUND PREACHING AMONG MONTANA’S BAPTIST PASTORS

PREAMBLE:

Baptists are the heirs of a rich tradition of renewal and reformation among Christ’s Church. Written in part by the blood of Baptist martyrs, history gives witness of the devotedness of Baptists to particular doctrines that are today long forgotten among our brethren in contemporary times. As with our Baptist forbears of four centuries past, Baptists of this age who defend God’s sovereign nature find ourselves calling for repentance that we may turn our eyes to God and His Scripture and away from the irreverent religious myths of our day.

 Foundational convictions of faith that have for ages past marked the unique and peculiar group of Baptists have been abandoned by many of those claiming our heritage. Proving the Gospel effectually preached remains an offense, those still holding to these Biblical, God-centered, and precious doctrines are often ostracized, ridiculed, and marginalized into denominational obscurity. It is the paramount ambition of those holding to the traditional Baptist emphasis on the Doctrines of Grace to not exculpate our own mortal pride, but rather to proclaim the Glory of God over all things.

Trading the sovereignty of God for the sufficiency of man, many of our Baptist brethren in this age find an accurate portrayal of the Gospel as offensive as do the demonstrably lost. Genuine repentance has been replaced by manufactured revivalism. Expository preaching has been replaced by impertinent babbling talks that have more to do with the vain imaginations of man than the sufficiency of Scripture. Reliance upon God to bring down His effectual Spirit during fervent prayer and solemn pleading has been replaced with the latest strategies of marketing from the work of human hands. Regeneration has been replaced with decisionism. Sanctification has been replaced by the Sinner’s Prayer. The Doctrine of Election has been ignored as though unfit for spiritual consumption by either Christian or heathen.  Church discipline has been replaced with willful sin, as pastors demonstrate that they often fear mortal man more than Almighty God. Sound doctrine has been replaced with sound systems. A God who victoriously saves all those whom He intends is replaced with a failing deity who can only try his best, hoping the efforts of man can redeem what Christ’s blood could not.

Baptists in agreement with this Declaration of Reformation do not believe these symptoms of man-centered theology are unique to Montana Baptists; Western Christianity as a whole has succumbed to profane notions of man at the center of salvation. Baptists in agreement with this Declaration of Reformation also do not believe that our denominational ties should be strained by our convictions. Just as our first Southern Baptist forbears widely accepted the Doctrines of Grace in such documents as The Abstract of Principles and yet led their fledgling denomination in unity and toward a more-evangelistic future, we desire to do the same. Even concerning those who hold man’s choice and assumed good nature as key to his own salvation, there is more that unifies us than separates us – and it’s around these similarities that we will continue to coalesce. Finally, Baptists in agreement with this Declaration of Reformation, who earnestly desire the Gospel be properly proclaimed regardless of the sensitivities of sinful man, do not believe that they are themselves above reproach or lacking the need for genuine repentance. May we all be subject to the authority of God’s Holy Word, and may His Spirit equally impress upon us all the need for His grace and convict us of our sin.

ARTICLE I: NAME

As God’s Providence has burdened Montana pastors to begin an organization for the reasons listed in the Preamble to this document, the organization shall be known as Reformation Montana. The word Reformation encapsulates the ambition for which we strive – reformation of our faith as local churches earnestly seek conformity with the Holy Scriptures in all matters relating to theology, salvation, and the Body of Christ.

ARTICLE II. MEMBERSHIP

SECTION 1: GENERAL MEMBER

General Membership shall consist of all Southern Baptists in the state of Montana who have who have subscribed to its support.

Special fellowships may be recognized for those who are among other Baptist denominations or Baptistic groups, but general membership shall consist of those only belonging to Southern Baptist Churches in Montana or in churches sponsored or planted by, or under the care of, Southern Baptist Churches in Montana.

SECTION 2: CONFESSIONAL MEMBERS

Confessional Members are those who have signed this Declaration and subscribed to its support. As “God-Centeredness” is the goal of this body and not any particular creed, in order to sign this document, confessional members need to merely confess support for the Baptist Faith and Message (a Reformed document itself) or any number of historic Baptist confessions that proclaim the sovereignty of God over salvation and to agree with the mission as put forth in this Declaration.

SECTION 3: COVENANTAL MEMBERS

Covenantal members are those who have signed this Declaration, subscribed to its support, and have entered into covenant to support missional Gospel outreach through Reformation Montana in the amount of $100 dollars per month or beyond. This amount can be paid by the covenant member personally or by their church. This financial partnership will provide aid for missionaries sent by Reformation Montana churches and church plants sponsored by Reformation Montana churches. One-hundred percent of these funds will be directly contributed to said missionaries and church planters.

ARTICLE III: ADMINISTRATION

A board of directors shall be chosen by confessional and covenant members at a meeting annually. This board of directors will choose an editor for the Reformation Montana Journal who shall be responsible for the journal’s publication. The board of directors shall also choose officers as necessary and in accordance to bylaws adopted at the annual meeting. They shall divert funds to missionaries and church planters as approved by confessional and covenant members at a meeting annually. Those serving on the Board of Directors must be covenant members.

ARTICLE IV: FUNCTIONS

The following shall be functions of Reformation Montana:

SECTION 1: SPONSORING FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR LIKE-MINDED BAPTISTS BOTH DURING SOUTHERN BAPTIST EVENTS AND AT OTHER TIMES

This organization will provide various avenues for fellowship at events hosted by the Montana Southern Baptist Convention and other Southern Baptist entities. The organization will also encourage fellowship opportunities at an associational level.

SECTION 2: SPONSORING REGIONAL TRAINING OR EDUCATIONAL EVENTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

This organization shall sponsor men’s retreats, seminars, conferences, and other similar programs periodically throughout the year to train, teach, and edify both pastors and lay-people.

SECTION 3: ENCOURAGING EXEGETICAL, EXPOSITORY PREACHING, SOUND DOCTRINE, AND BIBLICAL SCHOLARSHIP THROUGH A DISTRIBUTED JOURNAL

This organization shall operate a journal that will solicit various items from Montana pastors for publication; sermon manuscripts, articles on the MTSBC and SBC matters, scholastic papers, seminary theses, and other scholarly or academic work relating to God-centered theology and sound doctrine.

SECTION 4: PROMOTING NETWORKING AND DISSIMINATION OF INFORMATION THROUGH A DISTRIBUTED JOURNAL.

The organizational journal shall strive to allow the free passing of information relating to events of various churches and matters of interest to organizational members.

SECTION 5. CHANNEL FUNDS DIRECTLY TO MISSIONARIES AND CHURCH PLANTERS AS DIRECTED BY REFORMATION MONTANA MEMBERSHIP

This organization shall strive to raise support for missionaries who preach the Doctrines of Grace and to support church planters sponsored by membership churches. As we are accused of being un-evangelistic, we should continue stellar support of missions and use our funds to send missionaries and church planters from Montana to the world.