Why is it that today we do not see at least 30 plus Bible Pattern Church Fellowship Churches in the UK? I will do my best to explain this difficult question with love, mercy and grace!
You will remember in my last article updated 8/5/13 that I mentioned the reason for the split with Elim. There is an article written by Principle George Jeffreys in November 1954 entitled Cleaning and power for all Churches, The sovereignty of the Local Church. This can be found at the bottom of the website, this article shows that Pastor Jeffreys was sincerely trying to do what he believed to be the right thing by separating from Elim and setting up the Bible Pattern Church Fellowship and therefore being able to implement the Biblical principle of Matthew Chapter 18, verses 15 to 20 within the remit of the sovereignty of the Local Church.
Part of this enabled safeguards for the local church including a trust deed, or a lease, or a contract, to secure the place of worship for the use of the local church. The system of voting by postal ballot should of course, be above suspicion. Therefore unsigned voting papers enclosed in envelopes containing the names of the voters on the outside should not be addressed to, or be kept in the custody of a person or persons interested in the vote. Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2Corinthians 8:21 providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. With the above safeguards the local church can protect itself against a dictatorship that might attempt to take control from within, and against the danger of a central totalitarian organisation taking legal control from without. Once men find themselves in positions of authority over pastors, people, finance and property of the churches it calls for great grace to resist the temptation to do evil in order to retain and extend authority.
The only outside influence or authority that existed was called an Advisory Committee elected periodically by the members of the Churches as a whole. For some years this was the means for seeking direction from God e.g. who might be called to succeed any Pastors leaving a particular fellowship with the involvement of the local church and other fellowship matters. (This was normally a Pastor from another Bible Pattern Church Fellowship or a member of one of the Bible Pattern churches being called into the ministry for the first time).
You will remember in my last article updated 8/5/13 that I mentioned the reason for the split with Elim. There is an article written by Principle George Jeffreys in November 1954 entitled Cleaning and power for all Churches, The sovereignty of the Local Church. This can be found at the bottom of the website, this article shows that Pastor Jeffreys was sincerely trying to do what he believed to be the right thing by separating from Elim and setting up the Bible Pattern Church Fellowship and therefore being able to implement the Biblical principle of Matthew Chapter 18, verses 15 to 20 within the remit of the sovereignty of the Local Church.
Part of this enabled safeguards for the local church including a trust deed, or a lease, or a contract, to secure the place of worship for the use of the local church. The system of voting by postal ballot should of course, be above suspicion. Therefore unsigned voting papers enclosed in envelopes containing the names of the voters on the outside should not be addressed to, or be kept in the custody of a person or persons interested in the vote. Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2Corinthians 8:21 providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. With the above safeguards the local church can protect itself against a dictatorship that might attempt to take control from within, and against the danger of a central totalitarian organisation taking legal control from without. Once men find themselves in positions of authority over pastors, people, finance and property of the churches it calls for great grace to resist the temptation to do evil in order to retain and extend authority.
The only outside influence or authority that existed was called an Advisory Committee elected periodically by the members of the Churches as a whole. For some years this was the means for seeking direction from God e.g. who might be called to succeed any Pastors leaving a particular fellowship with the involvement of the local church and other fellowship matters. (This was normally a Pastor from another Bible Pattern Church Fellowship or a member of one of the Bible Pattern churches being called into the ministry for the first time).
This also meant that after a Pastor left a particular fellowship a decision could have been made to invite a Pastor from outside the Bible Pattern Church Fellowship or a member of one of the Bible Pattern Churches. Then it seems that this Pastor could make a proposal at a church business meeting to separate from the Bible Pattern Church Fellowship and become an independent church. And this could be done because the local Church may have a Trust Deed, or a lease, or a contract, to secure the ownership of their own property for the use of the local church.
From having a grandfather and an uncle who were pastors in the Bible Pattern Church Fellowship and with them being on the Advisory Committee, as well as other Pastors confirming these matters this seems to be an explanation as to how some of the churches ended up as they are today.
I appreciate some of you might be reading this and say Pastor Jeffreys should have never listened to Pastor Lewi Pethrus and left Elim! But it seems that what Pastor Jeffreys saw in Stockholm and after much prayer and study of his Bible convinced Pastor Jeffreys that he had not set up Elim in the correct biblical manner. I will try to post an article called "The 9 Points of Dr. Lewi Pethrus" ASAP and let you decide.
As mentioned before I have since met with some Church leaders who believe in Theocracy and would have not even consulted the members of the local church and would have gone ahead and invited a person to take up the position to become the Pastor a local church and then told the members! And then we have Elim somewhere in the middle.
This has been a very upsetting process for me personally as I can remember as a young boy going from Ilford Bible pattern Church with a coach load of brothers and sisters in Christ to Newbury Bible Pattern Church for a wonderful time of fellowship. As you will read in the articles which I hope to include as I tell the story of each church. These meeting were wonderful days of working together with the body of Christ to either reach out to the local community to share the love of Christ and the Good News of the Gospel or a time to be built up in a greater knowledge of Gods word as we grow as children of God.
As some of you may be reading this I can understand the hurt you may feel about the split due to the fact that a number of brothers and sisters in Christ were torn apart as they were forced to choose between Elim or The Bible Pattern Church. I also appreciate the distress caused to some by the fact that you were turned out of your church building by Elim when you decided to stay with Principle George Jeffreys. My Grandfather and the members of the Barking Church had to build a new church building with their own hands. (The process of this ended with my grandfather being admitted to hospital due to cement poisoning).
Some may lay the blame with a breakdown between some of the churches and the Advisory Committee of The Bible Pattern Church. All I can comment on is the fact that when Principle George Jeffreys died the advisory committee consisted of Pastors R. Mercer, R. G. Tweed, A. W. Edsor, G. I. Francis and E. March. Unfortunately I am unsure as to who all existing members are today.
In my next article I will ask the question what is the best way forward?
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