July 31, 2000
Vestal disputes BP reports, says
CBF never has supported homosexuality
___By Mark Wingfield
___Managing Editor
___ATLANTA--The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship "has never issued any statement, taken any action or spent a single dollar that was intended in any way to condone, endorse or promote the gay-lesbian lifestyle," Coordinator Daniel Vestal said in a statement released July 26.
___He was responding to a series of reports in Baptist Press, the public relations arm of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee. Those recent reports by Russell Moore, a student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., characterized the Atlanta-based Fellowship as funding and supporting homosexual activism.
DANIEL VESTAL
___The Baptist Press reports, which have been widely circulated on the Internet, accuse the Fellowship of advancing pro-homosexual causes by funding the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America and Baptist Women in Ministry. The stories told of a pro-gay piece of literature found at the Peace Fellowship's booth during the CBF general assembly in June and of pro-gay statements by one individual affiliated with Women in Ministry.
___"The so-called news stories produced by Baptist Press about the 2000 general assembly ought to be an embarrassment to any self-respecting news organization," Vestal said. "I call upon the leaders of the SBC to put an end to the mean-spirited assault on fellow believers who are part of the Fellowship. There ought always to be room for disagreement among Christians, but our commitment to honesty, integrity and fairness ought to reflect the spirit of Christ."
___Vestal said he cannot speak for either the Peace Fellowship or Women in Ministry, but he does want to "set the record straight" on the Fellowship.
___"The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has never issued any statement, taken any action, or spent a single dollar that was intended in any way to condone, endorse or promote the gay-lesbian lifestyle," Vestal said. "In fact, both retired Coordinator Cecil Sherman and I have made unequivocal public statements expressing our personal views on the subject of homosexual behavior.
___"This includes the following comment from me in a question-and-answer brochure published by the Fellowship: 'I believe the practice of homosexuality violates the teaching of Scripture. ... But I will not throw stones at those who live a homosexual lifestyle--or any other lifestyle I believe to be outside the will of God. As a follower of Jesus, I should offer them my love and friendship. I should do this in a spirit of humility that grows from my own need for forgiveness and grace.'"
___Further, Vestal added, the Fellowship's relationship with the Baptist Peace Fellowship and Baptist Women in Ministry "has nothing whatsoever to do with the issue of homosexuality. To suggest otherwise is untrue."
___Although the Baptist Press accounts claim CBF has renewed funding for the Baptist Peace Fellowship, this is not an accurate statement, Vestal said.
___"The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship does not contribute to the operating budget of the Baptist Peace Fellowship," he explained. "In fact, five years ago CBF's Coordinating Council chose to discontinue a modest allocation to the Peace Fellowship's operating budget after concluding that some of the (agency's) statements and actions constituted an advocacy for the gay-lesbian lifestyle."
___The CBF budget for 2000-2001 does include one line item of $9,900 for a designated contract with the Baptist Peace Fellowship to develop three specific projects, Vestal said. "These projects ... have nothing to do with the issue of homosexuality. Rather, they focus on developing congregational resources dealing with issues of church conflict and reconciliation, restorative justice and biblical teachings about peace, justice and reconciliation."
___The CBF budget also allocates $30,000 to Baptist Women in Ministry, which is one of CBF's partner organizations. This funding "has nothing to do with the issue of homosexuality," Vestal asserted.
___"The Baptist Press story attributes some comments on homosexuality to a board member and past president of Baptist Women in Ministry," he noted. "If she was quoted directly, I personally disagree with some of her statements. But her comments on that issue have nothing to do with the nature of our cooperative work with Baptist Women in Ministry."
___Although the Baptist Press stories focused heavily on the Baptist Peace Fellowship and Baptist Women in Ministry, these organizations were only two of 93 exhibitors at the CBF general assembly, Vestal said.
___"CBF has not attempted to screen and approve each of the thousands of resources on display at the resource fair. Instead, all resource fair vendors are asked to exhibit in ways that support and complement the mission statement of CBF and the purpose and objectives of the general assembly," he said. "If any of the materials displayed at the resource fair are determined to be in conflict with CBF's mission and core values, then future participation by that vendor will be re-evaluated."
___Vestal accused Baptist Press of continuing a pattern of guilt-by-association reporting used by other critics of CBF.
___Using this kind of logic, the SBC itself could be characterized as supporting homosexuality, he said.
___"The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest contributor to the Baptist World Alliance," he said by way of example. "The BWA has cooperated closely in recent years with the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America to help mediate hostilities among warring factions of the Naga people in northeast India who are predominantly Baptist. Using the same kind of connect-the-dots logic that Baptist Press and other opponents of the Fellowship have consistently employed, one could argue that the SBC is condoning or supporting a 'pro-homosexual organization' through its ongoing support of the BWA.
___"Now, one could defend such a conclusion as based on fact," he said. "But it is unfair, and it is certainly not the whole truth. Indeed, this perpetual 'look-who's-keeping-company-with-whom' finger pointing is enough to make the Pharisees proud."
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