Turbulent times at Fairhaven

They don’t call themselves the “fighting Fundamentalists” for nothing. I grew up in Chesterton, and even back in the 1970s, people were thinking it was basically a cult. Mentioned my growing up to David Levy when he was at 4th, and he noted he hated to play soccer against Fairhaven because the FFs more or less thought it was the NHL on a bad day. I’ve got relatives who attended there and even graduated from their high school, and suffice it to say that they’re Southern Baptist now. Fairhaven cured them of hyperfundamentalism but good.

Very strong culture of aggression there, too—I once got nearly run off the road by one of their vans while bicycling. That was the only time I ever walked through their doors. to point out that if you want to reach out to cyclists, you need to give them some room on the road. They did not respond well. Another interesting story was how a step-cousin of mine found she had been subjected to so much legalism, she was having trouble appreciating her husband.

So this might be a good move, but I’m not holding my breath waiting for them to become a place where I wouldn’t mind my shadow being seen on their doors.

Unfortunately, Damron has seemed as hard nosed as his predecessor. I just wish it might be able to cause some to question things and perhaps find there is a less caustic version of biblical fundamentalism. Not that everyone has to become a conservative evangelical, just to see there is more grace to Christianity than what is found in hyper-fundamentalism.

I came out of that brand of fundamentalism. We have a young family which will we be joining our church in two weeks, and their story is eerily similar. The wife comes from a long line of Fairhaven/Hyles fundamentalist Pastors. She is a Fairhaven graduate. The husband has been shunned as a heretic from her side of the family because he’s a Calvinist now.

I spoke to a former Youth Pastor a few weeks back, and he shared a similar story.

That destructive brand of fundamentalism is toxic.

I’m C.

Fairhaven is A+