Santa Fe River Baptist Association

Gainesville, FL

September 28, 2001

Parkview Baptist Church

3403 NW 13th Street
Gainesville, FL 32609-2172

Pastor Magruder,

We regret to inform you and Parkview Baptist Church that the Santa Fe River Baptist Association's Credential Committee is of the opinion that  Parkview Baptist Church is currently out of fellowship. We  have enclosed the Committee's recommendation to the Association that will be considered at the Annual Meeting.

As brothers in Christ, we seek reconciliation with Parkview Baptist Church. The Committee is available for further counsel with the Church's representatives. 

In behalf of the Credentials Committee,

Eric K. Benson, Chairman

The Report of the Credentials Committee in Response to the Allegation Raised Against Parkview Baptist Church

The Credentials Committee in fulfillment of its Constitutional obligations found in Article III Section III Paragraph B wherein is written, "The Association reserves the right to withdraw membership from any church found to be out of fellowship with the Association, the Florida Baptist Convention, or Southern Baptist Convention, in their doctrine, principles, practices, policies, and programs, and deny voting privileges and seats to the messengers from such churches" and paragraph C that states, "It shall be the responsibility of the Credentials Committee to investigate and counsel with those churches who are alleged to be out of fellowship with the Association, Florida
Baptist Convention, or Southern Baptist Convention. The Credentials Committee shall bring recommendation to the Association as to the disposition of membership with said church" and By-Law Sec. III J 5, which assigns to the
Credentials Committee the responsibility to: "Recommend actions for dealing with reported irregularities in churches that may threaten the Association’s fellowship including withdrawal of membership from
Associational churches" the Credentials Committee will state in accordance with a motion passed in Committee September 28th  2001 its conclusions and recommendation in response to the allegation that Parkview Baptist Church is out of fellowship predicated on  the Constitutional and By-Law provisions and their application to those facts known by the Committee.

The Committee fully recognizes the rights reserved to the Association under Article III Section III Paragraph B and borne by its messengers in session that upon its finding a church to be out of  fellowship it may exercise its right to withdraw membership from the church,  to deny seats to that church s messengers, or to deny voting privileges to the church’s messengers for so long as it deems appropriate.  Should the Association find Parkview Baptist Church out of fellowship, the Committee ask that the messengers might only exercise those rights with prayerful solemnity. 

It is the Credentials Committee s unanimous opinion., after more than thirteen hours of testimony, deliberation, and much prayer, that Parkview Baptist Church is out of fellowship with the Association in its doctrine, principles, practices, policies and programs.  The Committee finds three specific areas of concern. 

The first concern is the degradation of ministerial ordination by its application to an individual to function only in an unbiblical, restricted, and subordinate church office. This has created within the church's ministry an ordained office having no biblical support both distinct from and beneath the pastorate, and thus a graded  ministry
entirely foreign to the Biblical doctrine and practice.

The second concern is the ordination of women to the Gospel ministry. The doctrinal arguments advanced by Parkview Baptist Church promote women serving in all church offices, including the pastorate.  Parkview Baptist Church's "Ordination to the Gospel Ministry (Education)" of a woman is wholly without Biblical command, apostolic precedent, or support in Southern Baptist confessions, and is contrary to the overwhelming weight of Southern Baptist history and the established norms of Southern Baptist practice.

The third and greatest concern is that women’s ordination has served to further identify Parkview Baptist Church with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and its published agenda, which disrupts the harmony of our
Association and brings into question well founded and long established  Southern Baptist doctrine and practice.

Southern Baptist confessions have consistently stated, 'That the sole authority for faith and practice among Baptists is the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments." The Committee finds absolutely no Biblical authority for the practice of ordaining women to the Gospel ministry, and no Biblical authority to ordain anyone to other than the two offices of pastor and deacon. 

The allegation has been properly raised, the charges of violating the Word of God and the Associational Constitution Article III Section III Paragraph B have merit., and the irregularities reported threaten the Association s fellowship. The Credentials Committee recommends that Santa Fe River Baptist Association declare Parkview Baptist Church presently out of fellowship with the Association, all rights associated with its membership be suspended indefinitely, and it not have voice in this Association through messengers, contributions, or other avenue. Given opportunity, the Credentials Committee shall labor with Parkview Baptist Church to affect reconciliation.

Eric K. Benson, Chairman
Henry L. Schol, Member
Steven Matchett, Moderator and thus Ex-officio voting member

(Transcribed from a fax of the original Report issued September 28, 2001)