DOWN HOME: Cecil Sherman: No other like him

Baptists lost one of our true giants when Cecil Sherman died April 17.

Cecil will go down in history as the first coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, advancing the movement of “free and faithful” Baptists. But that’s only part of his story.

He was a bastion of courage, integrity, wisdom and faithfulness. He embodied Baptist principles and distinctives, such as fervent belief in soul competency and the priesthood of all believers, and their corollary, the autonomy of the local church. He modeled authentic, respectful evangelism. He lived out a lifelong commitment to ministry and missions.

Several years ago, I heard Cecil speak on “true Baptists.” I wish every Baptist who bears the name could have heard him. He explained that true Baptists distrust church hierarchy, abhor forced religion, view experienced religion as their centerpiece, place confidence in ordinary people and tolerate dissent.

Cecil was a practical-yet-passionate pastor. I remember him talking about moving to Fort Worth to lead Broadway Baptist Church. The old downtown church was suffering the declines that have afflicted many congregations. Cecil knew and respected the church’s traditions for exemplary worship. He was an excellent preacher, and he contributed mightily as that church enjoined God. But he also understood the church would dwindle and die if it did not attract young families. And so he set out to do that. The hard-but-effective way. He got in his car and drove all over the city and sat in their living rooms and visited with the parents and joked with the children and loved them into the church. He would say you can’t cut corners on doing church right. And he never did.

For years, he wrote Sunday school lessons. They were simple and approachable by all laity, and yet they were deep and profound. He wrote simple, direct sentences so well, he would make Hemingway jealous.

Early in his recent bout with cancer, the Associated Baptist Press board of directors presented its Religious Freedom Award to Cecil. At the time, he could not move among crowds, and so I was privileged to visit his room in M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where I stood with his daughter, Eugenia, and his brother, Bill, to present the award. We talked about how many people love and admire him. About how we have taken strength from his courage and guidance from his integrity. Standing in his presence, talking about values that have provided Baptists with backbone for four centuries, was one of the holiest moments of my life.

Cecil rallied then and returned to a productive life in Richmond, Va., where friends and colleagues from ABP later presented that award publicly. He served and encouraged folks up until the end, when he was felled by a heart attack.

We will not know another like him.