July 1, 2002
CBF leader pledges support for Baptist General Convention of Texas
___By Marv Knox
___Editor
___FORT WORTH—The Texas chapter of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship will do its part to ensure the strength of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, its new staff leader pledged.
___"We have an exciting role to support and undergird our state convention," Judy Battles, administrative coordinator of CBF-Texas, told a statewide gathering during the national CBF general assembly in Fort Worth June 27.
___"I want you to know CBF-Texas is alive and well," said Battles, a lay member of First Baptist Church in Arlington. "We are working to fulfill the Great Commission in Texas."
___CBF-Texas is comprised of churches and individuals that support the national Fellowship organization, which conducts missions activity, provides church resources and fosters theological education. The national organization began 11 years ago in reaction to increasingly fundamentalist positions taken by the Southern Baptist Convention. CBF-Texas is not affiliated with the
___A key strategy for strengthening the state convention will be developed by creating partnerships to do ministry and undertake missions endeavors, Battles explained. She also advocated church-to-church partnerships statewide.
___The state CBF organization also has a role to play in strengthening the national Fellowship organization, she added. "We are the extension of national CBF. … Other states expect a great deal from Texas."
___CBF-Texas is in the process of incorporating with the state of Texas, she said. Randy Fields, an attorney and member of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, announced articles of incorporation were to be filed in early July, with the state CBF coordinating council certified as the organization's board of directors.
___David Currie, executive director of a sister organization, Texas Baptists Committed, urged CBF-Texas members to maintain their support for the BGCT.
___Texas Baptists Committed's history has somewhat paralleled the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's. TBC was created more than a decade ago to thwart the fundamentalist movement in Texas; a similar movement nationwide gained control of the SBC. CBF has existed to do ministry and support missions, and it has not had a specifically political role.
___ "We really need to have a strong turnout at the (BGCT) state convention" this fall in Waco, Currie said, appealing for political support of the BGCT.
___One concern is to maintain a strong support for the BGCT and its leaders so that the convention cannot be controlled by fundamentalists, he noted.
___Another concern is to maintain the strength and vitality of the BGCT, he added. "We need to keep our numbers up to show our support for the BGCT."
___Currie linked the future health of both the CBF and Texas Baptists Committed, which has spawned a nationwide organization called the Mainstream Baptist Network.
___"The future of the Mainstream Baptist Network is CBF; the future of CBF is the Mainstream Baptist Network," he insisted.
___ During its Fort Worth meeting, CBF-Texas elected a slate of officers and its coordinating council, or governing board.
___ Bob Newell, pastor of Memorial Drive Baptist Church in Houston, became moderator, replacing Kerry Horn, pastor of First Baptist Church in Covington.
___ Scott Walker, pastor of First Baptist Church in Waco, was chosen moderator-elect, and Bill Shiell, pastor of Southland Baptist Church in San Angelo, was re-elected recorder.
___ State coordinating council members were elected to staggered terms. New members are:
___Terms expiring in 2003--David Corbin, Houston; Jesmarie Hurst, Tyler; Larry Reynolds, Denton; John Petty, Kerrville; Bill Ballou, Abilene; William Byrd, Kerrville; and Werth Mayes, Abilene.
___ Terms expiring in 2004--Ann Bell, San Antonio; Bill Shiell, San Angelo; Brent Beasley, Eagle Lake; Debbie Ferrier, Houston; Pat Amistead, Harker Heights; Steve Vernon, Levelland; David Currie, San Angelo; Jaundelle Roberts, Midland; Doug Tipps, Austin; and Martin Knox, Grandview.
___Terms expiring in 2005--Karen Gilbert, Dallas; Kerry Horn, Covington; Johnnie White, San Antonio; George Gaston, Corpus Christi; Nancy Burton, Amarillo; Lavonn Link, Arlington; Gwen Sherwood, Houston; Rodney McGlothlin, College Station; Argye Hillis, Waco; Candy Smith, Richardson; Hulitt Gloer, Waco; and David Wright, Houston.
___ CBF-Texas also elected Karen Gilbert and Kerry Horn to three-year terms on the national CBF Coordinating Council and re-elected Mark Newton, pastor of Baptist Temple in San Antonio, to the national Coordinating Council nominating committee.
___ During the meeting, Buckner Baptist Benevolences received a check for $10,000 from CBF to help implement the Rural Poverty Initiatives Project, designed to alleviate poverty in the 20 poorest counties in the nation.
___ Seven of those counties are in Texas, noted Tom Ogburn, a CBF mission strategist and member of First Baptist Church in Lewisville. In Texas, the partnership involves the CBF and Buckner, with support from the Baptist General Convention of Texas through its Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas missions, as well as many churches.
___ "We are pleased and honored to be a partner in this effort," said Buckner President Ken Hall.
___ The partnership underscores an important principle, Ogburn said, stressing, "We will not accept poverty within our boundary."
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