Letters to Brethren Revival Fellowship—2005

From Ohio:
I am writing to thank you for the literature you have kept sending to us for many years. I have been to some of your meetings at Annual Conference and agree with your interpretations of the Bible. May God continue to use BRF for His glory.

From Indiana:
Your article, "The New Testament Doctrine of Nonresistance," in the BRF Witness states clearly your view and that of the Church of the Brethren that any act of violence is out of the question for God's people anytime and anywhere. Though this is the view of a fair number of people in the denomination, I find support lacking for such a view either in the Word of God or in the history of the church. For about 1600 years the dominant view of the Christian church has been that of a "just war," which recognizes that under certain conditions war is both morally right and necessary...

From Virginia:
I have a question about 1 Thessalonians 5:26, "Greet one another with a holy kiss." I understand well the place of the holy kiss in Brethren practice of old... [but] I am of the mind that if Paul were writing to Americans today, he would have said "Greet one another with a holy handshake." The handshakes and hugs and warm greetings of our congregations today seem to capture the spirit of this verse quite well. I think the command to "greet one another" deserves as much emphasis as does the "holy kiss."

From South Africa:
(Brethren Mission Church of South Africa): I found your address in the computer website. I want to know more about the Brethren Church—where it started and about the history of the church. Our church here was established in 1906 and we aim to make relationship with other Brethren to spread the Gospel in Africa. We need your support, training, advice, ideas, and prayers. We have a project called Brethren Revival Fellowship...the youth here are glad to hear that there is a church called by this name. Our mission is to spread the good news all over Africa.

From Maryland:
Please send the two latest copies of Harold Martin's work on the commentaries—1 Corinthians, and 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. (There are many such orders.)

From Indiana:
I receive and appreciate the BRF Witness. I appreciate the contribution BRF makes to our denomination, and while I don't always agree with the BRF position, I always find your materials thought-provoking and conveying love for Christ and the Church.

From Tennessee:
We just wanted to say "Thank You" for sending the awesome book about Brethren Beliefs. We loved it! Please make sure that we are on your mailing list for BRF materials. We very much support your beliefs.

From Virginia:
Jim Myer gave me, as a gift, a copy of your 1 Corinthians commentary. I glanced into it and read a number of sections. Well done! It is explicit, careful, well-researched and excellently formatted. It should be of great help to S.S. teachers and preachers. I commend your work. It is a credit to your good mind, hard work, and devotion to the Lord and His work.

From Pennsylvania:
I was receiving literature from the Brethren Revival Fellowship up until about ten years ago. I used to be an ordained minister in the CoB, but left because I was disheartened. I got caught up in the Pentecostal-charismatic euphoria and hype. I later joined the Church of God that is Pentecostal, but I was disillusioned and did not agree with some of their main doctrines. I no longer consider myself a Pentecostal. I miss receiving the BRF Witness, because I still hold to the basic evangelical tenets of the CoB. Would you please put my name back on your mailing list?

From Missouri:
Let me express my gratitude for what you personally have meant to me! Your witness and presence within the CoB, a Brethren minister who believes that the Bible is the actual Word of God has had a great impact on my life and ministry. Further, the existence of the BRF within the CoB has proved decisive for my continuing membership in the local congregation of the Brethren. Without an organized entity like the BRF, the larger Brotherhood's apostasy would be more than I could bear. On a personal level, I could easily be tempted to be Dunkard Brethren (but they remain a small and splintering group). I know that God has called me, for the time being, to be a minister in the CoB.

From Florida:
I feel a need to thank you for your issues of the BRF Witness. I attend the CoB in Florida. I look forward to reading the Witness the day it arrives in my mail. I am 84 years old and thankful to the Lord for allowing life all these years.

From Maryland:
I have long admired the stand that Brethren Revival Fellowship has taken, but it wasn't until I entered the ministerial training program and was confronted with the depth of the reach of the liberal wing in the church that I saw the need to stand up for the Word! As I completed the training orientation I felt like I was being sent as a missionary to the Church of the Brethren, to help bring the church back to the Word of God.

From Virginia:
I am extremely pleased with the new commentaries. Your approach, as led by the Holy Spirit, provides for good application in daily life. I appreciate your direct and literal approach to the Scriptures. We are so thankful for the BRF. It gives us hope and encouragement. When my wife and I see you at A.C. it always makes us feel all warm inside.

From Nebraska:
The latest BRF Witness (Volume 40 Number 5) was the best yet. Your point on unity was well taken because actually there is no unity in the CoB. The liberal cry of "unity in diversity" is absurd when considering Christian doctrine. Jim Myer's report on Annual Conference at Peoria was informative especially because I was not there—-but the Conference was not any different from what I've seen before. The article by Tom Zuercher was on target, except for the emulation of Alexander Mack, who was a universalist, and Mack's universalism is alive and well in the CoB today.

From Iowa:
The BRF Witness came yesterday... on the dilemma of finding unity among the Brethren. The CoB is a peace church. I was dismayed to see your article use a military illustration about a new recruit who was headed to boot camp. The church has many examples of peace-making that could have been used. I found it jarring that you would pick the military as an example, when so many over the years have suffered to maintain the peace position in the face of enormous military aggression. Then too, you concluded with words about a soldier who follows orders without question. That is not the way the church works. We do not check out our brains when we come to church...a bumper sticker says "God said it, I believe it, that settles it." I can't see a more "closed mind" than that. People in totalitarian countries are told what to do, or else. That is not what Jesus taught. I see God working in the church. I wish you did.

From Indiana:
This morning I read the editorial by Craig Alan Myers in the Sept/Oct 2005 BRF Witness that is titled "The Dilemma of Finding Unity." Myers states that one of the goals of the BRF is "saving the Church of the Brethren and not fragmenting it by splintering into many small independent groups." To this I say, "Oh, really!" All the BRF has achieved in the past 46 years is the continued disintegration of our beloved denomination, and in the process attracted a few more people to their cynical point of view. The doctrine that the Bible is the inerrant word of God is an evil and idolatrous doctrine which must be eliminated from the thinking of the church. It has no part in the thought of Jesus, and to own the doctrine is to deny the Lord Jesus. The church must reclaim Jesus as the only Word of God, the hope for humankind, and the salvation of the world. May God be glorified forever.

From North Carolina: (Duke Divinity School)
The permissions department on behalf of Stanley Hauerwas: wants to include the BRF Witness article on "Humanistic Tendencies in the Peace Churches" by Harold S. Martin in his course-pack for 46 students enrolled in the "War in Christian Tradition" course during the Fall, 2005 semester. (They have just faxed another request for permission to use the article again in the Spring 2006 course.)

From Virginia:
What a wonderful day at the BRF annual meeting in Ohio. I really was blessed by both Fred Keener's and Jim Hardenbrook's sermons—along with other things too. It was great to see so many from BRF once again.... It was a blessing. The man who flew us to the meeting from Virginia was really blessed by the meeting too. He mentioned the speakers...and seemed to be refreshed by the conservative influence of BRF.

From Virginia:
Thank you for your continuing excellence in ministry. We look forward to each issue of the BRF Witness and appreciate the labor of love that goes into each one. We praise God for some evidence of the increasing return of the CoB to its conservative roots and the influence of BRF has had a major part in that trend. We pray for God's continued blessing, encouragement, and guidance for BRF and for the CoB in the years ahead.

From New York:
Please send me a copy of your Handbook as described and offered on the website at brfwitness.org. I found this site to be very interesting and want to learn more.

From Ohio: (A review of the Glimpses from the Past--Study in Brethren Heritage book): This concise yet comprehensive treatment of Brethren history is a good read for historical facts and clear understanding of where the Brethren were and where they are. The first ten lessons cover quite well the history of the Brethren up to modern times. The rest (three lessons) of the book is a candid treatment of the Church of the Brethren. The book presents a "Brethren evangelical view" and is written in a format that includes Scriptural studies with questions for research and discussion. Beginning with "The Background that Led to Schwarzenau," The book ends with "Recent Changes in the Church of the Brethren." This is an impartial history that reveals much that is good in the Brethren's past. Brethren Heritage Center, Brookville, Ohio

From Virginia:
The article, "The Three-fold Plan of Salvation" (Volume 12, Number 4, 1977), was a great help to me in strengthening my understanding of salvation and its progressive nature. I have been a believer in Jesus Christ for almost twenty years now, and come from an evangelical/charismatic background. Even so, I found the direct and concise nature of this article, supported by biblical truth, to be a wonderful reminder of the beautiful simplicity of God's plan of salvation. Thanks for publishing this material on the internet. I found the article through a Google search.