I am grateful for ChristianWeek and the good work of its editor Doug Koop. I was taken aback, however, by the editorial, "Fissures in the Fellowship" (Nov 26/02). It came across to me, a Fellowship Baptist, as a patronizing, "paternalistic" lecture.

The fact that we would dare to debate the role of women in ministry is "troubling" to Doug. Of course, since our main claim to fame, according to him, is "stridently" quarreling over doctrine and suffering "periodic eruptions," we are only being "true" to our "fractious…tradition." We are also guilty of "upholding ‘right' doctrine" which "runs against the tenor of our times" and "is a serious flaw."

I take issue with both the attitude and accuracy of the editorial. I believe it draws a caricature of who we really are. I speak as one who has been a part of the Fellowship since its inception and a pastor and leader in its churches for more than 35 years.

Our Fellowship was founded by those who took a stand for historic Christianity. Our statement of faith says "the Bible is our sole rule of faith and practice." We, like any other denomination, have been buffeted by various "winds of doctrine" throughout our history. Through the years we have taken positions on issues that have reflected our understanding of Scripture. It is the right, after all, of any denomination to define what it believes and practises. It is the duty of Christians who profess the Bible as their supreme authority to obey its guidance.

It is a sad commentary on the state of contemporary evangelicalism that we are chided by the editor of a Christian newspaper that claims to uphold "historic Christianity" for doing that very thing! Some Canadian denominations seek to be culturally relevant at the expense of being true to the Bible. They usually suffer spiritual and numerical erosion as a result. A recent ChristianWeek article on the decline in the United Church illustrates that fact.

Despite what ChristianWeek implies, the Fellowship is not a denomination deeply divided. Yes, we have differences at times on some issues. What denomination doesn't? There is within us, however, a true sense of unity and common purpose. If the editor of ChristianWeek really knew us, I think he would understand that. And if he had attended our convention of which he wrote, he would have discovered it to be a very positive, inspirational event.

The discussion of the gender issue was handled with dignity and grace. The participants spoke with conviction but also with respect for others and concerns for the common good. The convention was preceded by a day of prayer that mobilized thousands to pray for God's presence and guidance to be evident among us. God answered and continues to answer those prayers!

ChristianWeek's editor warned that we are in danger of giving up on Christian mission to fight internal battles, of "circling the wagons" and becoming a "gated community."

This may be a danger for some of us, but I believe our Fellowship is overwhelmingly committed to positive outreach to our country and our world. The gates of our churches are wide open to the spiritually hungry and hurting. People from a wide variety of backgrounds are being reached for Christ. One church where we served had people from more than 40 nationalities represented!

Our Fellowship has planted 86 new churches since 1990 with more on the way. In that same period we had a dozen "Quick Builds," church buildings erected in one week by teams of volunteers. These projects have had a tremendous impact upon communities.

Our foreign missionary outreach has grown significantly through the years. We have 90 missionaries serving with our own FEB International and several hundred more serving with a wide variety of other agencies. We have one of the highest per capita rates of missions giving of any denomination in Canada.

Our churches give themselves constantly to the core issues of exalting Christ in worship, teaching the Word of God, making disciples, ministering to the hurting and reaching a lost world for Christ.

Are we perfect? No. Have we issues to deal with? Yes.

"Fissures in the fellowship?" Perhaps.

Faithfulness to Christ and His mission? I think so.

Alan G. Silvester is a retired pastor and former president of the Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Canada.