Editorial: Paynter’s election splendid news from CBF

How is Suzii Paynter’s selection to lead the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship great news? Let me count the ways.

Before that, some background: CBF’s executive coordinator search committee nominated Paynter to lead the nationwide Baptist organization. If confirmed by the CBF Coordinating Council, she will succeed Daniel Vestal, who retired after 16 years at the helm.

Paynter, a San Antonio native, is director of Texas Baptists’ Christian Life Commission and head of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Advocacy Care Center. Her husband, Roger, is pastor of First Baptist Church in Austin. They’re both widely admired for modeling a host of Christian virtues—faithfulness, compassion, winsomeness with the gospel, intelligence, creativity, peaceableness, cooperation, love for people, advocacy for the poor and disenfranchised, reconciliation, passion and vigor, to name a few.

Now, for counting the ways Suzii Paynter’s CBF selection is great news …

First, she’s a tremendously effective leader and will guide CBF through transition toward renewed strength.

Throughout her career—as an educator, as a volunteer in countless capacities and, more recently, as leader of the Christian Life Commission and Texas Baptists’ key contact with the state legislature—Paynter has provided sterling leadership. She’s gospel-centered, enormously smart and possesses terrific people skills. She’s skilled at helping diverse people identify common goals and then directing them toward those goals and inspiring them along the way.

CBF is going through perilous transition and needs her steady, sensible and sensitive guidance. Revenue has eroded over several years, necessitating repeated staff cutbacks. Attendance at the summertime general assemblies has been less than stellar. In some quarters, morale has been poor.

But CBF approved a major reorganization last year, which re-energized thousands of the faithful across the nation. Paynter’s skills and experience make her the best person to implement those changes. And that will put the organization on more solid footing and provide the possibility for growth and strength.

Second, even though Paynter’s departure from the Christian Life Commission represents short-term pain for Texas Baptists, it also signals long-term gain.

Of course, not all Texas Baptists affiliate with, much less affirm, CBF. But CBF has been a major missions partner with the BGCT for more than 20 years. Significant numbers of loyal Texas Baptist churches look to CBF as their partner for being Baptist beyond our state borders.

That matters on at least two significant levels. Practically, CBF provides opportunities to do missions and engage in ministries across the United States and around the world. More elementally and passionately, CBF provides a touchstone for broader Baptist identity. They point to the BGCT and CBF as models for being Baptists. And, of course, a stronger, more vibrant CBF enhances that identity.

Over time, Paynter also will help Texas Baptists relate more harmoniously. Although both her CBF predecessors—Cecil Sherman and Vestal—were native Texans and maintained strong Texas connections, Paynter joins CBF directly from Texas. She leaves one of the most important Texas Baptist jobs to take the CBF position. She will commute to her new job in Atlanta from Austin, where her husband will continue to serve as pastor. She knows Texas Baptists currently and well, and Texas Baptists know her well, too.

This doesn’t mean all BGCT-affiliated congregations will sign up for CBF. But they’ll have reason to diminish their suspicions and turn down their rhetoric. Even if they never join, they can appreciate CBF because they respect Paynter.

Suzii Paynter speaks to a press conference while George Mason listens.

Third—and most obviously—Paynter’s elevation to become the first female to lead a Baptist body in the United States is tremendous news for women, and particularly for women in ministry.

The CBF did not choose Paynter because she’s a woman. They chose her because she’s the very best person for the job. And that’s just plain terrific: A woman has been selected for an extraordinary place of leadership based on her skills, training, experience. She wasn’t held back because she’s a woman, and she wasn’t put forward because she’s a woman. She was elevated because she’s excellent.

Paynter’s selection stands as an unprecedented pillar of promise for Baptist girls and women. They can see at least some Baptists will relate to them as people and fellow believers, regardless of gender. They can see God’s calling upon their lives need not be filtered by prejudice or politics. They can see that when God calls them, and they study and train, and they serve faithfully and well, great responsibility and opportunity will be open to them, too.

A corollary: Paynter’s selection is good news for her Baptist brothers, too. We more fully reflect the Spirit of Christ when we respect and treat our sisters as equals. Paynter’s selection elevated all of us.

Fourth, as Paynter leads CBF, young Baptists should be enormously encouraged.

A significant number of CBFers wanted the search committee to choose someone 20 or more years younger than Paynter. They feel the hope for CBF and the larger Baptist movement lies with the rising generation of leaders. Their case is strong. But few people that young have encountered enough of life’s trials and tragedies and myriad experiences to be fully prepared for such a complex and demanding assignment.

The good news is Paynter is keenly attuned to young adults and youth. She’s a teacher at heart, and she spent much of her career training, grooming, loving and caring for students. She has maintained that passion and relates exceptionally well to young adults. She has worked splendidly with them as staff and volunteers. More importantly, she respects them and listens to them. And she is youthful, vigorous, creative and open—all qualities that will strengthen the cause of young Baptists.

Fifth, Paynter’s leadership of CBF is good news for people in need of the Good News.

Paynter’s life is Christ-centric and church-centered. She’s committed herself to sharing the gospel as good news to all people. People who need to hear the gospel and people who need the feel the love of Christ through Christians have been drawn near because of her ministry.

She will help CBF—its staff, its state and regional affiliates, its church partners and the legion of people for whom CBF is home—to maintain a focused, balanced approach to sharing the gospel and caring for people near and far. By strengthening CBF and its partnerships, she will enable Baptists to extend themselves more effectively, to be the presence of Christ more authentically in more places to more people.

Sixth, Paynter’s selection is wonderful news for other Baptists and other people of faith, too.

She’s a natural-born networker and collaborator, and that bodes well for all who want to work alongside and partner with CBF. She’s already a strong advocate for the Baptist World Alliance and its national groups around the globe. Through her years with the Christian Life Commission, she’s demonstrated a knack for cooperating and building coalitions of faith groups to touch lives, improve communities, meet needs and spread the gospel. All these groups will benefit because of Paynter’s leadership of CBF.

Ironically, even the Southern Baptist Convention—historically adversarial toward CBF—will benefit, too. She’s not a stone-thrower, and she wasn’t a general in the “Baptist battles.” She’s likable and easy to work with if you want to work with her.

And here’s another benefit: Most people don’t keep up with all the “inside baseball” of Baptist denominational politics. They don’t know the difference between a Southern Baptist, a Cooperative Fellowship Baptist, a Primitive Baptist, or a you-name-it Baptist. But many of them instinctively think Baptists treat women as second-class citizens. So, when they see a strong, winsome, Christlike woman, Suzii Paynter, leading the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, all Baptists will rise a little in their eyes.