April 6, 2001 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061-0368, fbns@wayoflife.org) - On December 31, 2000, the Carmel Logos Baptist Church of Toronto withdrew its membership from the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec (BCOQ). In a public letter describing this action, the Carmel Logos Baptist Church stated:

"In May 2000, we discovered and confirmed that BCOQ is a member of the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) and the CCC is a non-voting member of the World Council of Churches (WCC). Other members of CCC include some Catholic and Orthodox churches. In 2000, CCC has elected a Catholic bishop, Bishop Andre Vallee, as president.

"In recent years, the Roman Catholic Church has played an active role in the ecumenical movement. They may have modified their practices, yet their doctrinal beliefs remain completely unchanged. Vatican II (1962-65) continues to uphold the 125 curses placed against Protestant Christians in the Council of Trent. &Mac183; The Roman Catholic teachings of sacramental faith, Mary as co-redeemer and co-mediator, and purgatory stand in clear contradiction to what the Scripture teaches. They have changed the content of the gospel, and are indeed preaching a different gospel (Gal. 1:7-9). They cannot be called the true Church of Jesus Christ.

"In obedience to the teachings of the Scriptures, we cannot be yoked together with unbelievers, nor can we fellowship with one another. Between June and September, we have both written to and met with BCOQ representatives. BCOQ maintains a different position than our own. On September 17, 2000, members of our congregation decided to withdraw membership from BCOQ, and to become an independent church."

The Carmel Logos Baptist Church has prepared a 10-page report describing their communication with the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec and the reasons why they separated from it.

One of the reasons why more churches do not leave conventions and associations is finances. MONEY! Carmel Logos Baptist Church was not exempted from this problem. Their pastors lost their retirement and health benefits. Furthermore, the Baptist Convention of Ontario held the mortgage on the Carmel Logos Baptist Church's property. The Chinese brethren did not stumble at this matter. They trusted God to help them, and in a matter of only two weeks this small body of some 200 Christians raised $238,000 to pay off their mortgage!

Pastor Peter Lam and some of the members of Carmel Logos Baptist Church attended our Bible conference at Bethel Baptist Church in London, Ontario, last month, and I had the privilege to meet them. We commend them for taking this step of obedience in the face of much opposition, and we need to pray for them to stand firm in the truth.

Copies of the booklet describing their decision are available from Carmel Logos Baptist Church, 225 Consumers Road, North York, Ontario M2J 4G9. 416-499-7178 (voice), clbc@carmellogos.org (e-mail), www.carmellogos.org (web site).