Personally I think the merger was a mistake. Ben Pemberton said "this marriage was not made in Heaven." The focus of evengelizing the world with the
Acts 2:38 message was noble and both camps were fervent doing so and together they did a good job at this, but the fundamental differences were bound to affect them with each other and it did so from the beginning in many areas of the country. Churches that changed pastors not knowing that two different schools of thought were put into utter confusion. Preaching to the world was one thing but getting along with each other was another.