March 10, 1999
Vestal cites 'unfair' criticism of CBF
___By Bob Allen
___Associated Baptist Press
___ATLANTA (ABP)--Opponents of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are spreading unfair and harmful criticism about the moderate group, its top executive told elected leaders Feb. 25.
___"There is in our midst a concerted, well-funded effort to undermine the integrity of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship," Coordinator Daniel Vestal told the group's Coordinating Council, meeting Feb. 25-27 in Atlanta.
___Adversaries of the moderate group falsely accuse it of not believing the Bible, Vestal said, and also of promoting a gay-and-lesbian agenda and supporting abortion.
___He said he often is asked what is the Fellowship's "real" agenda, and he responds by quoting its mission statement that the group exists to "network, empower and mobilize Baptist Christians."
___"That is our real agenda," he said.
___Vestal said the attacks create a dilemma. "How much do you respond to the accusations, and how much do you engage those making the accusations, and how much do you ignore it?"
___"We face some unfair criticism that hurts a lot of good people," he said.
___Vestal said the 8-year-old Fellowship is continuing to grow, adding more than 100 new contributing churches last year.
___"The most dramatic growth that is taking place in CBF life is taking place at the state and regional levels," Vestal said. Sixteen state and regional Fellowship groups now have paid coordinators. Fourteen have been hired within the last two years.
___Finance Chairman David Currie of San Angelo reported that overall contributions to the national CBF are up 3.3 percent this fiscal year to date, totaling more than $7.8 million. The global missions offering is up 10 percent, and a category of "other" gifts totaling $909,000 is up 15 percent. But undesignated gifts, the main portion of the Fellowship's spending plan, are down 1.6 percent from last year.
___Vestal attributed that, in part, to the growth of the state and regional organizations that are drawing off money to pay coordinators.
___The Coordinating Council approved a proposed budget for 1999-2000 anticipating income 5 percent above this year's spending plan.
___The $15.58 million budget proposal includes $669,530 in new dollars for priority needs identified in extensive discussions by Fellowship staff. Other identified needs will go unmet in 1999-2000 because of lack of funds, Vestal said. Funding all the priority needs would require an additional $2 million in undesignated receipts.
___The budget projects expenditures of $9.8 million for global missions; $2 million for Baptist principles, which includes Fellowship-supported seminaries and divinity schools; and $1.6 million for administration.
___In other business, the Coordinating Council voted to tap reserve funds to grant $50,000 next year to the independent newspaper Baptists Today. The 16-year-old paper, which nearly went under last year, has restructured its board, hired new staff and been redesigned but still needs help with marketing, council members were told.
___The committee seeking a new missions leader for the Fellowship reported that it has completed a candidate profile and is ready to begin narrowing its search.
___Global Missions Coordinator Keith Parks will retire this summer.
___Meanwhile, a native Texan was among four people appointed to missionary service by the Fellowship during the meeting.
___Brian and Claire McAtee were appointed as career missionaries to do international-student ministry in Boston after serving two years in CBF's Global Service Corps in a similar role in Athens, Ga.
___She is a native of Gladewater and a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.Frontpage / Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!