A word (or two) about anonymity

Some have complained, protested, or refrained from making comments here due to the anonymity of this blog. I have to admit there is something altogether pathetic about people who fire off salvos of criticism and slander from their computers and then walk away without taking responsibility for their words due to the guise of a pseudonym.

So what’s my excuse? Historical precedent. That’s right, surely you remember the “Federalist Papers” from your U.S. History class. Madison, Hamilton, and Jay wrote together under the name Publius to address the major issues surrounding the Constitution. I’m not a heavyweight like any of those guys nor am I an aristocrat like Sir Percy Blakeney of The Scarlet Pimpernel. So don’t look for me to take my mask off at the Midwinter Ministerial, frankly the trip is too expensive for me to make. Some of you hate surprises, I do too, but I assure you that my identity is nothing to lose sleep over. I recently “googled” my name and almost 18.5 million hits came up, and it’s true I did not look at every single link, but the ones I skimmed had nothing to do with me. Since the whole anonymous thing annoys some of you, I’ll let you know who I am when I hear back from those who have gone to the Midwinter, and I promise you it will be the most uneventful moment of all of our lives. Until then I will remain anonymous because my concern is not for you to know what I think as an individual, but for us to begin a conversation that does not appear to be taking place anywhere else.

I know that I’m not the only pastor in the EFCA who can’t make it to Apple Valley, MN but that doesn’t mean that how the proposed revision is discussed is any less important to me. I look around the “blogosphere” and see a lot of silliness; my personal favorites are all of the conversations that regurgitate all the classic straw-man arguments pertaining to Arminianism and Calvinism. If I wanted to waste my time, I’d start arguing with these people but I’d rather do something constructive, like create a forum for serious-minded Free Church ministers and laypersons to discuss what will undoubtedly change our denomination if it is embraced: the Proposed Revision to the Statement of Faith.

Changes, as you all know, can be both good and devastating. Chances are that if you are a firm supporter of the proposal you will find me to be a harsh critic. Conversely, if you think the document is appalling you may wish that I would fire off those salvos I mentioned earlier. There are some things that I don’t like about the proposal and there are some things that I do like; I want to bring all of it to the surface not just my own theological hobbyhorses. So I invite you to discuss it all right here and invite others who belong to the Evangelical Free Church of America (and can remain within the parameters I set in my first post, “Twin Dangers”). You may post a comment on any of the articles here with any personal information about yourself that you may want known, or you may wish to post anonymously, but if I think that your comments are mean-spirited expect to see them removed. If you find my thoughts to be of that vein then let me know and I will reexamine what I’ve written.


For the Church and for the glory of God through Jesus Christ our Lord,


Freechurchman