Fellowship of Concerned Mennonites
The Fellowship of Concerned Mennonites (FCM) had its beginning with a mass meeting held in connection with Mennonite Church (MC) general assembly at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1983. It was formally organized under a constitution adopted at Landisville, Pennsylvania 7 September 1984, and is guided in its activity by a self-perpetuating board selected from the active membership of the group.
Formation of this organization was occasioned by the conviction of individuals throughout the church that some Mennonite scholars were either neglecting or rejecting such basic Anabaptist and Mennonite expressions of faith as biblical inerrancy, the blood atonement, and biblical nonresistance. The immediate crisis was occasioned by the booklet, Crisis Among Mennonites, by George R. Brunk II, and the reaction to the booklet by the denominational leadership of the Mennonite Church. In his booklet Brunk primarily addressed theological liberalism among Mennonite academics at the denomination's post-secondary institutions.
The fellowship was formed to preserve and promote the true doctrine and practice of biblical faith through: (1) open dialogue and conversation among Mennonite scholars and teachers, (2) promotion of sound teaching through area Bible conferences, (3) a vigorous campaign of literature as represented in the Biblical Heritage pamphlet series and other publications. It has also published a bimonthly newsletter, FCM Informer, since 1986.
While not organizationally identified with the Fellowship, two independent Mennonite publications: The Sword and Trumpet, published in Virginia since 1929, and Guidelines for Today, published at Johnstown, Pennsylvania since 1965, promoted the group's concerns. In 1990 Sword and Trumpet and Guidelines for Today merged under the name of Sword and Trumpet.
In 1999 Paul Emerson became Executive Director and was still serving in that role in 2010. The chair of the FCM board in 2010 was Todd Neuschwander.
See also Fundamentalism; Evangelicalism; Association of Evangelical Mennonites.
Bibliography
Kniss, Fred. Ideological Conflict in an Intentional Peripheral Community: The Fellowship of Concerned Mennonites. Chicago, IL: Kniss, 1986.
Mennonite Weekly Review (23 August 1984): 4.
Neuschwander, Todd. "F.C.M. Turns Twenty Years Old." The FCM Informer (July/August 2003): 4. http://www.fcminformer.org/issues/2003-v4-Jul-Aug/index-4.html (accessed 1 September 2009).
Additional Information
Address: PO Box 106 Harrisonburg, Virginia 22803.
Website: Fellowship of Concerned Mennonites
| Author(s) | Linden M. Wenger |
|---|---|
| Samuel J. Steiner | |
| Date Published | September 2009 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wenger, Linden M. and Samuel J. Steiner. "Fellowship of Concerned Mennonites." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2009. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Fellowship_of_Concerned_Mennonites&oldid=165597.
APA style
Wenger, Linden M. and Samuel J. Steiner. (September 2009). Fellowship of Concerned Mennonites. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Fellowship_of_Concerned_Mennonites&oldid=165597.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 5, p. 296. All rights reserved.
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