Historic church struggles with splits and suits
No stranger to controversy, Jarvis Street Baptist church is weathering another storm.
By
Doug Koop
ChristianWeek staff
 |
TORONTO–One of
Toronto’s oldest and best-known churches is
working to settle a lawsuit launched by former
pastor Daniel G. Lundy, who is seeking $2.7
million for grievances including libel, wrongful
dismissal and conspiracy. Lundy, who became pastor of historic Jarvis Street Baptist Church in February 1994, was dismissed from the position in April 1997. After reviewing a variety of allegations against Lundy, the board of deacons concluded that some of his actions were "unbecoming of a Christian" and "contrary to biblical principles." Although pressured to resign in March, Lundy refused and was fired a month later. A statement of claim filed by Lundy’s lawyers (Brunner and Lundy) in June 1997 accuses the deacons of holding a secret meeting "for the sole purpose and intent of removing" him from his positions. At the time Lundy was serving as pastor of the church, professor, president and board chair at Toronto Baptist Seminary, and editor of the church’s publication, The Gospel Witness. |
| In
the shadow of the steeple: Toronto Baptist Seminary stands next to Jarvis Street Baptist Church in downtown Toronto.The historic church is working for an out of court settlement to a potentially crippling lawsuit. |
Less than six months later Lundy was back in business, launching Metropolitan Baptist Church, establishing The Pastors’ College (a three-year, tuition-free pastoral program) and beginning publication of a quarterly journal, The Metropolitan Messenger. "I’m in a new church which started last year," Lundy told CW last March.
Although reluctant to discuss the situation at that time, Lundy did say "there was a significant number of people who left Jarvis over events of last year and issued a call to me in July. Obviously there was a split in the church. A new church formed and called a pastor. Given all of the circumstances I don’t feel free to comment. I can’t comment on the litigation," he said. CW has tried repeatedly but unsuccessfully to speak with Lundy this summer.
His lawyer has been no more forthcoming. In mid-July John Brunner still could not discuss the current status of the action. "There’s nothing new happening that’s on the record," he said.
Not that the Jarvis Street people are any more eager to talk. After months of phone calls and a surprise personal visit by CW to the school last May, the deacons authorized a short statement for release on July 13. "We are optimistic the issue can be resolved out of court," says board chair Glenn Kushla. "We expect things to be resolved shortly. That would be our desire."
Principles and pugnacity
The conflict is yet another episode in the life of a 180-year-old church with a storied and sometimes cantankerous history. The second oldest Baptist church in Toronto moved to its present location in 1875.
According to church historian Ian Rennie, in the first quarter of the 20th century Jarvis Street Baptist became "the centre of militant fundamentalism" in Canada under the leadership of T.T. Shields, who served as its pastor from 1910-1955. Shields established Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College, and stood adamantly for the authority of the Bible and salvation through Jesus Christ.
Known widely as the "Battling Baptist," Shields kept the church in the spotlight for half a century. Over the years he feuded bitterly with McMaster University and led Jarvis Street out of the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec. As head of the Canadian Protestant League he was a vociferous opponent of Roman Catholic influences. Shields was party to an unending stream of schisms and controversies. Newspapers routinely sent reporters to publish accounts of his colorful sermons.
Rennie refers to the "terrible sectarianism" and "intense confrontationalism" that have marked Jarvis Street Baptist this century as the "tragic story of good, godly, praying people who lost a sense of perspective and balance."
Much quieter
Today the church is a much quieter place, surviving with a multi-ethnic congregation of as many as 250 in a difficult neighborhood, immediately adjacent to Toronto’s gay and lesbian district.
In 1995, under Lundy’s leadership, Jarvis Street severed one of its few remaining formal ties to the broader church when it withdrew from the Association of Regular Baptist Churches over concerns about legal risks. It rejoined in May this year.
Toronto Baptist Seminary principal Andrew Fountain maintains that Shields did "tremendous things in his day." If he were alive today he would be championing different issues in a relevant way, says Fountain. "He lived in a day when leaders were expected to be champions."
Fountain is quietly optimistic about the future of both church and seminary. The church’s new mission statement is a call "to be a witness to the love and truth of Jesus Christ, especially in downtown Toronto, by: living as a multi-cultural community of believers, faithfully teaching and practicing God’s Word..." Kids’ clubs, a food bank, open air preaching and home Bible studies augment the regular worship services.
The church continues to publish The Gospel Witness 14 times a year "for the propagation of the Evangelical principles of the Protestant Reformation and in defence of the faith once delivered to the Saints." The magazine was founded by Shields in 1922.
Not far away at Metropolitan Baptist Church, the inaugural issue of The Metropolitan Messenger aims "to spread the message of the Bible, God’s Word," because "the most pressing need today is a recovery of biblical teaching. Even in the church there is most appalling ignorance of what the Bible actually says."
As for a settlement, once the lawyers conclude their negotiations church members at Jarvis still have to approve the results.
