Report of the Historical Committee
The distinction between urgent and important is subtle but significant. The urgent demands immediate attention. The important is ultimately necessary.
Very little of the duties and agenda of the Historical Committee is urgent. Most of it waited years even to get noticed, much less acted on. People who dwell on the urgent are not normally given to interest in historical matters and often wonder at the time and effort given to preserving the past. While urgent things need attention, the urgent must not crowd out the important.
What do we gain from preserving our past? We learn who we are. Who or what is the Bible Fellowship Church today? If we are to know and understand who we are today, it will be important to know who we have been. We need to know the stops on the journey that brought us to where we are. Why do we do what we do? Why do we think the way we think? The answers to questions like these help us as we make decisions about what we will be and the changes that we need to make. This is pretty important stuff. Our knowledge of the past is not an anchor but rather a rudder that gives direction as we proceed to the next stops on the journey.
The Historical Committee believes its work is important and understands that little of what it does is urgent. The preservation of documents and the presentation of written research and reports will continue to be important to us as we seek to follow God’s leading to our future.
Several matters need your attention if we are to do this important work. The matter of preserving our records needs to be taken seriously. Individual churches and the boards and committees of Annual Conference should consider putting their older records in storage in the archives. This will assure that they will be available for future generations if the Lord should tarry. We must continue to invest in storage capacity. Our more valuable records are stored in fire-resistant cabinets which tend to be very expensive. We could not afford these items without the allowance granted by the Annual Conference through the Administrative Budget. We are glad for the past provision and encourage Annual Conference to continue its provision of financial support. And we must continue to tell the story. We need more people to gather the facts and details of our churches and our organizations and preserve the story they tell.
Historical Committee: Jill Davidson, Chairperson; Richard E. Taylor, Secretary and Archivist; Carl C. Cassel, Harold P. Shelly, Robert W. Smock, and David E. Thomann.