June 25, 2001

Six words characterize CBF's
first decade, Shruden says
___By Marv Knox
___Editor
___ATLANTA--Six words--beginnings, diversity, Bible, ecumenical, leadership and identity--characterize the first 10 years of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, church historian Walter Shurden noted during the William Whitsitt Baptist Heritage Society’s annual meeting June 28 in Atlanta.
___"A Decade of Destiny: 10 Years of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship" was the theme for the Whitsitt Society meeting, which convened just hours before the start of the CBF’s 10th anniversary general assembly in Atlanta.
___Shurden, professor of Christianity at Mercer University in Macon, Ga., spoke at the 1990 "Consultation of Concerned Southern Baptists," which led to the formation of the CBF.
___He reflected on the past 11 years in the Whitsitt Society’s keynote address, offering six words as points to ponder:
___ Beginnings. "Let me begin by tweaking our 10-year celebration. CBF began in 1990, not 1991," he said, referencing the first gathering, which also happened in Atlanta.
___"I am aware, of course, that moderates did not organize CBF until 1991," he said. "But the specific CBF strand of history is a clear continuation from what began in 1990, not simply what happened in 1991. Historically, in terms of continuous history, we are 11 years old, not 10."
___The 1990 gathering "may have been the most exhilarating Baptist meeting I’ve ever attended," Shurden recalled.
___ Reflecting on moderate Baptists’ sense of disaffection with the Southern Baptist Convention and hope for the future, he quoted sociologist Nancy Ammerman from 1991: "This is one free Baptist who had rather be in the desert with you than be back in Egypt making bricks."
___ "Her allusion to the (ancient Israelites in the) desert indicated that we all knew we were going somewhere, but we did not yet know where or how," he said. "Some did not want to go. Leaving the SBC was too much for them. Some of us had already left."
___ Diversity. "If we thought we had escaped controversy by leaving the SBC, we were wrong," he noted. "Moderate Baptists have always had a left and a right and a middle, or to say it another way, a high church, a low church and a broad church. …
___ "What we had in common when we came together in 1990 was a bruising defeat (in the SBC). We also had a common concern to be free from fundamentalist domination. But from the very beginning, we brought different agendas into the tent we call CBF."
___ Those agendas variously placed emphasis on missions; theological education; "Baptist convictions" such as the priesthood of all believers, separation of church and state, and soul liberty; and "justice issues" such as gender equality, racial equality, peacemaking, alleviation of hunger and religious liberty.
___ "There is little reason to think this contention for priorities will cease," Shurden predicted. "I doubt you can talk so freely about freedom the way we have in CBF and not have remarkable diversity.
___ "Thus far, we have been able to move on together even after the debates produced winners and losers. One hopes we can move together into the future without too much uniformity."
___ Bible. The CBF’s first statement on the Bible was produced by its interim steering committee in 1991, he said.
___ "Many of our differences come from a different understanding and interpretation of holy Scripture," that statement noted, and he quoted it. "But the difference is not at the point of the inspiration or authority of the Bible.
___ "We interpret the Bible differently, as will be seen … in our treatment of the biblical understanding of women and pastors.
___ "We also, however, have a different understanding of the nature of the Bible. We want to be biblical--especially in our view of the Bible. That means that we dare not claim less for the Bible than the Bible claims for itself. The Bible neither claims nor reveals inerrancy as a Christian teaching.
___ "Bible claims must be based on the Bible, not on human interpretation of the Bible."
___ He called for "a far more serious investigation of biblical issues" and predicted Baptist people will respond enthusiastically.
___ Ecumenical. The CBF has affirmed that "great ideas of theology are the common property of all the church" and advocated for stronger relationships with other Christians, he noted.
___ "I wish we had been much more deliberate over the last 10 years in our ecumenical commitments," he said, citing some relationships with American Baptists and European Baptists.
___ "But we could have done so much more," he said, calling for strengthened relationships with American Baptists, the African-American Baptist conventions and Canadian Baptists, as well as Christians outside the Baptist tradition.
___ "It is not too late for this," he said. "It could be a point of spiritual renewal for us to link arms with other Christians."
___ Leadership. Shurden praised the selection of CBF’s first two key leaders, Cecil Sherman as overall coordinator and Keith Parks as missions leader, as well as Sherman’s replacement, current Coordinator Daniel Vestal.
___ "Eventually, other capable ministers were added to the Atlanta staff," he observed. He also praised the CBF moderators and "hundreds of talented people" who have volunteered to serve on the organization’s coordinating council.
___ Identity. "As much as some have resisted it, CBF surely has been identified by its relationship to the SBC," Shurden said, noting the first identification was that CBF sent some of its money to the SBC until the SBC declined to receive it in 1994.
___ "The SBC did us a favor," he claimed. "They sharpened our identity by doing for us what some were reluctant to do--delineate SBC from CBF." The SBC further delineated that relationship in 2000 by revising the Baptist Faith & Message statement, he said.
___ CBF has "self-identified" as a missions-delivery system and a religious-endorsing body, he said. It is not a full-fledged convention, but it is not simply a missions society, he added.
___ Throughout its history, the CBF’s adversaries, particularly in the SBC, have sought to define the organization, he noted.
___ "It is a necessity that CBF not let their adversaries fully define them," he urged. "If CBF does not speak up, its adversaries will have a field day with negative definition. That is why it remains crucial for CBFers to articulate how they differ from SBCers. We are still too close to the turbulence of birth to let distorted descriptions of CBF go unchallenged."
___ As a description, he harked back to a refrain, "We are Baptists." The CBF no longer is Southern Baptist, but it is comprised of Baptists who have a "vigorous missionary program," who partner in theological education, who partner with a variety of specially focused ministries, who encourage shared leadership among men and women and clergy and laity, who have resisted "a tightly drawn doctrinal or ethical statement," who honor self-government of congregations.
___ The Whitsitt Society presented two courage awards this year. Recipients were former President Jimmy Carter and Glenn Hinson, retired professor at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Va., and former longtime professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. The award recognizes Baptists who have championed Baptist history and heritage.
___ Officers for the society are Shurden, president; Rob Nash, dean of the School of Religion and International Studies at Shorter College in Rome, Ga., president-elect; and Doug Weaver, chair of the division of religion and philosophy at Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon, Ga., secretary-treasurer.


Get printer-friendly version of this story


Send this story to a friend

News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!