August 5, 2002
RESPONSE:
Setting the record straight on the Alliance of Baptists
___Editor's Note: The following statement is the response of Stan Hastey, executive director of the Alliance of Baptists, to comments made by Cecil Sherman, retired coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, at a meeting held during the CBF general assembly this summer in Fort Worth. A news account of Sherman's speech was published in the July 15 edition of the Baptist Standard.
___With rare exceptions during my 13-year-tenure as executive director of the Alliance of Baptists, I have declined to comment publicly on criticisms of the Alliance by its detractors, nearly all of whom detest what we stand for. Yet when an erstwhile ally and friend such as Cecil Sherman goes on the attack, a clear response is in order if not necessary. It is certainly important to set the record straight when history is reconstructed to one's own ends, which is precisely what Sherman did in a portion of his June 27 speech in Fort Worth to the Mainstream Baptist Network.
___In recalling merger discussions between the nascent Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the then 4-year-old Alliance a decade ago, Sherman said that an Alliance representative declared, "Every church in CBF should hold our position on the wome
| "The ranks of moderate-to-progressive Baptists are simply not strong enough that we have the luxury of attacking one another." |
n's issue." To which Sherman said he responded, "Then we'll never merge." As one of the Alliance delegates in those merger talks, I can say unequivocally that no such exchange took place during our negotiating sessions. Nor is it true that the Alliance demands conformity of its own churches on women's issues or other matters, as if we could.
___In his Fort Worth address, Sherman also warned against "elitist groups," another epithet he and some other "moderate" Baptist leaders have thrown out to describe the Alliance, among others. For the record, it was CBF and not the Alliance that killed the proposed merger of the groups in 1991-92. During an 18-month period overlapping those two years, representatives of the Alliance and CBF held two merger sessions. During the first of these, held in July 2001 in Raleigh, N.C., the negotiators agreed to merge the two groups into a new entity that would choose a new name. A 10-point framework for merger was unanimously approved, including agreement that the Alliance Covenant—described by historian Walter Shurden as one the last century's most significant Baptist pronouncements—would be the founding document of the merged group. We all left Raleigh after that initial two-day meeting convinced we had achieved the desired objective of merging the two groups.
___Between July 1991 and September 1992, however, CBF took no formal action to approve its negotiators' recommendation to merge with the Alliance. Repeatedly we in the Alliance asked CBF when we would get together again to consummate the union. Finally, and reluctantly, CBF officials agreed to let our merger team meet with them in September 1992, 15 months after the agreement to merge had been reached. It was only then that we were informed the merger was off. At the second meeting, none of CBF's original negotiators was at the table. Several CBF representatives at the second meeting spoke generally about perceived disadvantages to merging with the Alliance. Finally, as the meeting was winding down, it was Daniel Vestal who had the courage and honesty to say openly that it was our promotion of women in ministry and our welcoming of gays and lesbians into the Alliance that had scared off other moderate Baptists, including many in Texas, where he then was serving as a pastor.
___Looking back on those days and discussions, nearly all Alliance people I've talked with believe it was a good decision not to merge, despite our eagerness at the time to do so. Still, more than 80 percent of our churches are also affiliated with CBF. Knowing there is no benefit to the Alliance in doing so, I have made it my personal policy not to criticize CBF in public. The ranks of moderate-to-progressive Baptists are simply not strong enough that we have the luxury of attacking one another.
___In the decade-plus since the merger talks collapsed, we in the Alliance have gone about our mission and ministry with little fanfare. We have provided seed money for most of the new ventures in Baptist life during that period of time. We founded a school, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, that has been successful beyond our imagination and essentially bequeathed it to Virginia Baptists and CBF for its continuing and essential support. We have lived up to our ecumenical commitment by joining the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and by engaging in a formal dialogue with the United Church of Christ and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).
___We have collaborated with CBF, the American Baptist Churches in the U.S.A., and the Progressive National Baptist Convention Inc., in a variety of projects. We paved the way for CBF to participate in the annuity programs of the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board of the American Baptist Churches. We have worked together with CBF in the placement of pastors and other church staff in the churches. We have entered into partnerships with the Fraternity of Baptist Churches of Cuba and the Baptist Convention of Zimbabwe. In 1990, we adopted a ground-breaking statement of confession and repentance having to do with our denominational roots in slavery and racism. Five years later, we adopted an historical statement on Jewish/Christian relations from a distinctively Baptist perspective and presently are at work on a similar declaration on Muslim/Christian relations. Beyond the statements themselves, we are engaging in joint activities and projects with both Jews and Muslims in the hope of fostering better relations among the nation's major faith groups.
___These are worthwhile contributions by people of substance, I submit. We deserve better than to be dismissed as "nuts" and "fruitcakes."
___--Stan Hastey
___Executive Director
___The Alliance of Baptists
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