State of Affairs at Fairhaven

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I just drove by the complex. They are selling off their soccer fields. What is the latest on this school/church?
 
I just drove by there myself Tuesday and wondered what was going on.
I did not know that they owned that plot right by 49.
I usually avoid that place.
I was good friends with Kenny, the pastors deceased brother since the 70s.
That is quit the place according to him.
FBCH has not been on good terms with those folks for years.
We avoid them they avoid us even though their buses go right down State st.
 
I live south of Dyer but travel up and down 49 several times a month.
 
Word on the ground is something is stirring in Chesterton.
 
IFB X-Files said:
bgwilkinson said:
Word on the ground is something is stirring in Chesterton.

Would that have anything to do with the church or is it just a geological disturbance?

It has to do with a leadership realignment. Awaiting confirmation, only have one source.  :)
 
Apparently Voegtlin was voted out this past Sunday.
 
IFB X-Files said:
FSSL said:
Apparently Voegtlin was voted out this past Sunday.

Voted out of what?  Damron has been pastor there since 2013.
Yes, I was there, a member, and voted for Pastor Damron, and he was phased in over the next year.

Doing great, too, from what I hear.
 
http://www.fundamentallyreformed.com/2015/05/01/a-fairhaven-fallout-and-how-hyper-fundamentalism-harms-families/
 
Thanks for the additional confirmation.
The original person I heard it from has given me bogus info in the past.
 
Things are going great at Fairhaven, I like the way Pastor Damron is leading the Church, God is really working, people are getting saved and lives are being changed.

One of my buddies has been working with a wife and her two kids for the last year or so, the two kids got saved last year and the mom did too, earlier in the year the Dad refused to allow the kids to come to the Christian school, the mom had a stroke a few months back, and the Dad came to church on day and finally got saved, he then got baptized and brought a handful of friends to see him get baptized.

say what you want about Fairhaven, But God is really working in that Church.
 
FSSL said:
http://www.fundamentallyreformed.com/2015/05/01/a-fairhaven-fallout-and-how-hyper-fundamentalism-harms-families/
Apparently this link has been removed.
 
A Fairhaven Fallout and How Hyper-Fundamentalism Harms Families
Posted by Bob Hayton on
May 1st, 2015
FairhavenImageSome of my readers will remember that my alma mater is a small Independent Fundamental Baptist (IFB) Bible college named Fairhaven Baptist College (in Chesterton, IN). I wanted to make people aware of a significant development that has happened at Fairhaven. I also want to take the opportunity to discuss the sad treatment of families in some IFB circles.

Fairhaven Fall Out

First of all, the news item. I have learned from a few different sources, that Fairhaven Baptist Church had a members? meeting this past Sunday night and voted to remove both Roger Voegtlin (the founder of the church, and pastor up through 2013) and Don Whitecar (Roger?s son-in-law and former assistant pastor of the church) from membership. Apparently there was a disagreement between Steve Damron (another Voegtlin son-in-law), the current pastor (for around 18 months), and Roger on the direction of the church. Roger is planning to go out west and help a Fairhaven alumnus start a church. Don  took his father-in-law?s side, and apparently was voted out with him. (Roger?s son Jeff is backing Steve Damron in this, it would appear.) Another significant point is that this was not a unanimous church vote.

UPDATE: Some have disputed if a vote actually happened. But there was at least a ?private issue? between two men (Damron and Roger Voegtlin evidently) and this is a ?minor matter? not to be made public ? see this comment and my reply. Also, Fairhaven still supports the Whitecars as missionaries. With these new developments, perhaps the news is not all that earth-shattering. Still there has been some kind of fallout and what follows is still pertinent: hyper-fundamentalism does harm families.

I do not know any more specifics than that. Obviously this is a local church issue and the specifics would be to some degree confidential. Voegtlin being a public leader does make this move of interest to the wider world. This particular event could end up with a restoration, or it could remain a breach in the family (and the church). I do not know. In any case this is surprising, since Voegtlin had a tight grip on the leadership of the church for more than 40 years.

Reactions

I have previously shared my strong disapproval of the ministry at Fairhaven. There have been child abuse allegations and a public ridiculing of those allegations ? aired out on a CNN News program, no less. Rather than leading to a period of soul-searching, the public controversy is viewed as a stamp of God?s approval. No moderation. Stay the course! This approach to Christianity (the old-fashioned, standards-emphasizing, hard-line IFB mentality) is damaging, and can tend toward legalism. This is why I left Fundamentalism and think it should be reformed (hence my blog?s title).

Some who have left Fairhaven are rejoicing in this news. Voegtlin gets his due! The church that split up so many families now has its leading family split!

I don?t think that is the proper response. I am saddened that Fairhaven has devolved to this. I do hope this might be a tool God uses to wake some people up who still think that church is the best in all America (a common theme in messages I heard during my time there). Are people following a man or Christ? Is this approach to Christianity really as perfect and rosy as they make it seem? Or is this fallout proof that the IFB old-fashioned way does not work?

I would also think that this invalidates something. It either calls into question the 40 years prior to this action, or it invalidates whatever future things will be done by the pastors there. Roger Voegtlin made a key pillar of his ministry around a belief that Prov. 22:6 teaches that children who ?go bad? do so ultimately because of bad parenting on the part of the parents. So either Voegtlin is wrong, and his children were raised right (and are rightly resisting him). Or his children are wrong, and Voegtlin failed in his child-rearing duty. Either way, I think it illustrates the practical problems with treating the generic maxim presented in Prov. 22:6 as a universal dictum that can allow us to determine the success or failure of parenting models.

How Hyper-Fundamentalism Harms Families

Anyone who knows Fairhaven, knows they stress the importance of raising kids according to the Bible. They aim for godly families. What is not as commonly known is how the ministry has harmed families. For families with one parent saved and another unsaved, there is a pressure in some cases for the saved partner to divorce and find a godly mate. The church intrudes on the family and at times parents are publicly chided or called out by name for the lack of parental discipline.  There is pressure to have the children in youth group, and the youth group will dole out its own discipline. There are some children who grow up at Fairhaven and stay there and contribute to the ministry, but a majority of children (by my estimates) end up leaving Fairhaven and its brand of Christianity. When that happens, more often than not, the parents are pressured to ostracize their children and sever all ties with them. And I have witnessed occasions where the pastor has insinuated that these parents are second-class Chrsitians because their kids have gone bad ? as if he is holding this over their heads. I have heard stories of kids turning 18 and being turned out on the street ? no more welcome at home ? abandoned and left for whatever ? all because church leadership thinks the kid has crossed some line that deserves a shunning. I?ve heard of grandparents never having met their grandkids, even though the family is in a Bible-believing church that just doesn?t share Baptist polity or has a different stance toward alcohol. I?ve seen families hurt by their children effectively ignoring them through a greater allegiance to Fairhaven, and the ministry there, than their God-ordained call to ?honor? their parents ? who also happen to be IFB Christians serving God. Fairhaven encourages taking personal family vacations away from your extended family ? especially if they are not as ?committed? to strict IFB fundamentalism. College students are encourged to stay home over summer or winter break, and the implication is going home will be detrimental to their spiritual growth.

Through my blog, I have encountered a number of stories from other people coming out of hyper-fundamentalism. One story is from a lady whose son no longer visits her due to his involvement with IFB. Her comments are that of a heart-broken mother who is directly affected by the kind of teaching on the church and family that Fairhaven provides.

I?m all for exercising church discipline ? many churches don?t follow through with this necessary element of church life. But as my dad constantly taught me growing up: God gave you your family. Don?t let a church downplay your love for your family. For a time I did just that. I became more separated and more holy than my family and began to view them through a condescending and distant perspective. Thank God I was rescued from that pride and foolishness. I can still tend toward pride, but I?ve been freed from an isolationist approach to Christianity.

We should be willing to separate from our family for the sake of Christ and the Gospel (Matt. 10:37) ? but not for the sake of petty differences on standards and other small matters. Isn?t the Gospel big enough to unite around? And doesn?t the goodness (or kindness) of God lead people to repentance (Rom. 2:4)? Cannot a love for family coupled with a witness against their sin, be a better way of handling wayward children then a complete dismissal of them and writing them out of our lives?

I don?t intend to allow unfettered speculation and gossip about Fairhaven in the comments. But feel free to discuss this matter of how hyper-fundamentalism relates to families. If I hear any official statement from Fairhaven on this matter, I will be sure to share it. May God restore that church and its ministry to a more Bible-centered and graceful experience of Christianity. May this be a catalyst for heart-searching and change.
 
I don't encourage or make it a practice to copy verbatim from other sites. Since the urls above are malformed and this was archived, here it is...
 
I believe Steve Damron is a step in the right direction there.

Heard positive feedback from several friends.

Earnestly Contend

 
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