Chapter 21

If we stand for authentic Baptist beliefs in our local churches, in our state conventions,
in our district associations, around the dinner table with friends and neighbors,
we will find ourselves at odds with others at times.
But, living as an authentic Baptist seems to inevitably bring conflict.
—Gary Parker, former Coordinator for Baptist Principles, CBF, Atlanta, Georgia.^{^[125]}

At the 1990 SBC Convention in New Orleans, the moderates were handed their most devastating defeat of the controversy, as Daniel Vestal, then pastor of the Dunwoody Baptist Church in Atlanta, was defeated by Morris Chapman by the widest margin of any Fundamentalist candidate: 57 percent to 43 percent. The defeat was doubly painful because it marked the eleventh election since the beginning of the controversy. Judge Pressler had determined early on that the Fundamentalists needed to win only ten elections in a row to create a Fundamentalist majority on every board and agency of the Convention. This eleventh election sealed the Fundamentalist victory.

Dialogue Among Moderates Begins. After Fundamentalists steamrolled moderates in New Orleans , Vestal called for a dialogue among moderate Baptists concerning their future in the SBC.^{^[126]} Over 3,000 Southern Baptists answered his call and met in Atlanta, Georgia, August 23-25. Jimmy Allen, chair of Baptists Committed to the Southern Baptist Convention, a group organized in Texas in 1988, moderated the Atlanta meeting. Those assembled created a new funding mechanism, the Baptist Cooperative Mission Program (BCMP). This funding mechanism was primarily used to channel mission giving specifically to those Southern Baptist causes that these moderate Baptists could support in good conscience. Dr. Vestal was named chair of the steering committee for “The Fellowship.” They voted to meet again the following year.^{^[127]}

In May 1991, 6,000 Southern Baptists met again in Atlanta and adopted the name, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), approved a constitution, a budget, and a plan for world missions that went beyond the work of the Southern Baptist Convention. Vestal told the enthusiastic gathering: “We’re here because we’re sensing that God is doing a new thing.”^{^[128]}

The CBF is a place where Baptists who do not see themselves as Fundamentalists can do ministry together with like-minded moderates. Many CBF supporters are people who liked being Southern Baptists in the days when the SBC was more inclusive and had a mixture of progressive as well as conservative elements. The CBF has avoided matters of extreme controversy and is genuinely centrist or conservative in its theology and practice. Much of the CBF’s work gets done through dynamic partnerships that may seem like the old Baptist “society” model, rather than through centralized ownership of institutions.

CBF elected Cecil Sherman, then pastor of Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas, as national coordinator in early 1992.^{^[129]} CBF appointed its first missionaries, Charles and Kathie Thomas, who had resigned as FMB missionaries the previous October. Ruschlikon seminary president John David and Jo Ann Hopper were appointed in May 1992 when they resigned as FMB missionaries.

SBC Rejects CBF Giving. In April 1992, seven SBC agencies who had planned to sponsor exhibits at the CBF Assembly in May canceled those plans after receiving phone calls from Morris Chapman, president-elect of the SBC executive committee.^{^[130]} Chapman led an anti-CBF effort which eventually led the 1994 Southern Baptist Convention to refuse any and all CBF funds. The CBF had been sending financial contributions to specific SBC agencies, particularly the mission boards. All SBC agencies and boards have been directed since 1994 to return any such contributions.

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship offered a no-strings attached gift of $100,000 to the Southern Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union in 1994 in appreciation for the excellent work the WMU does in missions education. FMB president Rankin urged the WMU to refuse the money. (In 1995, Rankin would send out 11,500 letters criticizing the WMU for producing CBF-related mission material.)

The WMU is not an agency of the SBC, but an auxiliary, and thus not controlled by the SBC. The WMU executive board was not intimidated and voted to accept the gift.^{^[131]}

In 1993, CBF adopted a global missions program, devised by Keith Parks, who had retired as FMB president in October 1992, that focused on “World A” people groups, or ethnic-linguistic groups who have had little access to the gospel.^{^[132]} The plan was to avoid duplicating efforts already in place by Southern Baptists. Dr. Parks in particular wanted to send missionaries to the most difficult places, where Baptist mission work is not normally done.

Many Fellowship members at the 1994 General Assembly wanted to respond in some way to the March 1994 firing of Southwestern Seminary president Russell Dilday. In 1993, the CBF had sent $492,037 to the six SBC seminaries, including $164,871 to Southwestern. One motion at the General Assembly suggested that the CBF protest the Dilday firing by excluding all SBC seminaries from all future CBF budgets. Following a healthy debate, the CBF determined to “take the high road” and continued to offer funds to all the seminaries.^{^[133]}

SBC actions just a few weeks later eliminated any gifts to SBC seminaries or missionaries from CBF. In 1994 CBF was on track to have provided about $2,000,000 to support SBC missionaries but the SBC leadership decided those funds were not needed if they came from the Fellowship.

Cecil Sherman retired as CBF coordinator in June 1996. The Coordinating Council of the CBF unanimously elected Daniel Vestal, the son of a Southern Baptist evangelist and pastor of Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston since 1991, as the second coordinator in September 1996. He began his leadership with “a deep conviction God has called me to this place and this task” on December 1, 1996.^{^[134]}

There are several ways to track the continuing development of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship:

125. Gary Parker, “Being Baptist in 21st Century Means Standing for Principles,” Baptists Today, September 18, 1997, 19.

126. Jack U. Harwell, “Fundamentalist steamroller flattens SBC in New Orleans ; moderates ponder options,” SBC Today, July 1990, 1.

127. Jack U. Harwell, “Moderates create new funding mechanism for SBC fellowship; set spring convocation,” SBC Today, September 1990, 1.

128. Amy Greene, “Cooperative Fellowship formed in Atlanta ,” SBC Today, May 31, 1991, 1.

129. Jack U. Harwell, “CBF calls Sherman ; will fund Europeans,” Baptists Today, January 23, 1992, 1; “ Sherman accepts CBF post as coordinator,” Baptists Today, February 6, 1992, 1.

130. “SBC leaders convince agencies to cancel Fellowship exhibits,” Baptists Today, April 23, 1992, 15.

131. Steve Wright, “The battle of wills: WMU 1, fundamentalists 0,” Baptists Today, April 14, 1994, 8.

132. Jack Harwell, “CBF sets new mission strategy; elects Law,” Baptists Today, March 4, 1993, 1.

133. Greg Warner, “Fellowship names 10 missionaries,” Religious Herald, May 12, 1994, 3.

134. “Vestal sounds theme of freedom after election as CBF executive,” Religious Herald, October 3, 1996, 10.





Chapter 21 Out of the Wreckage . . . Hope If we stand for authentic Baptist beliefs in our local churches, in our state conventions, in our district associations, around the dinner table with friends and neighbors, we will find ourselves at odds with others at times. But, living as an authentic Baptist seems to inevitably bring conflict. —Gary Parker, former Coordinator for Baptist Principles, CBF, Atlanta, Georgia.^{^[125]} At the 1990 SBC Convention in New Orleans, the moderates were handed their most devastating defeat of the controversy, as Daniel Vestal, then pastor of the Dunwoody Baptist Church in Atlanta, was defeated by Morris Chapman by the widest margin of any Fundamentalist candidate: 57 percent to 43 percent. The defeat was doubly painful because it marked the eleventh election since the beginning of the controversy. Judge Pressler had determined early on that the Fundamentalists needed to win only ten elections in a row to create a Fundamentalist majority on every board and agency of the Convention. This eleventh election sealed the Fundamentalist victory. Dialogue Among Moderates Begins. After Fundamentalists steamrolled moderates in New Orleans , Vestal called for a dialogue among moderate Baptists concerning their future in the SBC.^{^[126]} Over 3,000 Southern Baptists answered his call and met in Atlanta, Georgia, August 23-25. Jimmy Allen, chair of Baptists Committed to the Southern Baptist Convention, a group organized in Texas in 1988, moderated the Atlanta meeting. Those assembled created a new funding mechanism, the Baptist Cooperative Mission Program (BCMP). This funding mechanism was primarily used to channel mission giving specifically to those Southern Baptist causes that these moderate Baptists could support in good conscience. Dr. Vestal was named chair of the steering committee for “The Fellowship.” They voted to meet again the following year.^{^[127]} In May 1991, 6,000 Southern Baptists met again in Atlanta and adopted the name, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), approved a constitution, a budget, and a plan for world missions that went beyond the work of the Southern Baptist Convention. Vestal told the enthusiastic gathering: “We’re here because we’re sensing that God is doing a new thing.”^{^[128]} The CBF is a place where Baptists who do not see themselves as Fundamentalists can do ministry together with like-minded moderates. Many CBF supporters are people who liked being Southern Baptists in the days when the SBC was more inclusive and had a mixture of progressive as well as conservative elements. The CBF has avoided matters of extreme controversy and is genuinely centrist or conservative in its theology and practice. Much of the CBF’s work gets done through dynamic partnerships that may seem like the old Baptist “society” model, rather than through centralized ownership of institutions. CBF elected Cecil Sherman, then pastor of Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas, as national coordinator in early 1992.^{^[129]} CBF appointed its first missionaries, Charles and Kathie Thomas, who had resigned as FMB missionaries the previous October. Ruschlikon seminary president John David and Jo Ann Hopper were appointed in May 1992 when they resigned as FMB missionaries. SBC Rejects CBF Giving. In April 1992, seven SBC agencies who had planned to sponsor exhibits at the CBF Assembly in May canceled those plans after receiving phone calls from Morris Chapman, president-elect of the SBC executive committee.^{^[130]} Chapman led an anti-CBF effort which eventually led the 1994 Southern Baptist Convention to refuse any and all CBF funds. The CBF had been sending financial contributions to specific SBC agencies, particularly the mission boards. All SBC agencies and boards have been directed since 1994 to return any such contributions. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship offered a no-strings attached gift of $100,000 to the Southern Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union in 1994 in appreciation for the excellent work the WMU does in missions education. FMB president Rankin urged the WMU to refuse the money. (In 1995, Rankin would send out 11,500 letters criticizing the WMU for producing CBF-related mission material.) The WMU is not an agency of the SBC, but an auxiliary, and thus not controlled by the SBC. The WMU executive board was not intimidated and voted to accept the gift.^{^[131]} In 1993, CBF adopted a global missions program, devised by Keith Parks, who had retired as FMB president in October 1992, that focused on “World A” people groups, or ethnic-linguistic groups who have had little access to the gospel.^{^[132]} The plan was to avoid duplicating efforts already in place by Southern Baptists. Dr. Parks in particular wanted to send missionaries to the most difficult places, where Baptist mission work is not normally done. Many Fellowship members at the 1994 General Assembly wanted to respond in some way to the March 1994 firing of Southwestern Seminary president Russell Dilday. In 1993, the CBF had sent $492,037 to the six SBC seminaries, including $164,871 to Southwestern. One motion at the General Assembly suggested that the CBF protest the Dilday firing by excluding all SBC seminaries from all future CBF budgets. Following a healthy debate, the CBF determined to “take the high road” and continued to offer funds to all the seminaries.^{^[133]} SBC actions just a few weeks later eliminated any gifts to SBC seminaries or missionaries from CBF. In 1994 CBF was on track to have provided about $2,000,000 to support SBC missionaries but the SBC leadership decided those funds were not needed if they came from the Fellowship. Cecil Sherman retired as CBF coordinator in June 1996. The Coordinating Council of the CBF unanimously elected Daniel Vestal, the son of a Southern Baptist evangelist and pastor of Tallowood Baptist Church in Houston since 1991, as the second coordinator in September 1996. He began his leadership with “a deep conviction God has called me to this place and this task” on December 1, 1996.^{^[134]} There are several ways to track the continuing development of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship: Visit the CBF’s website — www.thefellowship.info. Request a complimentary subscription to fellowship! by calling 770.220.1600. Contact the CBF state or regional center near you. Previous Chapter \| Next Chapter 125. Gary Parker, “Being Baptist in 21st Century Means Standing for Principles,” Baptists Today, September 18, 1997, 19. 126. Jack U. Harwell, “Fundamentalist steamroller flattens SBC in New Orleans ; moderates ponder options,” SBC Today, July 1990, 1. 127. Jack U. Harwell, “Moderates create new funding mechanism for SBC fellowship; set spring convocation,” SBC Today, September 1990, 1. 128. Amy Greene, “Cooperative Fellowship formed in Atlanta ,” SBC Today, May 31, 1991, 1. 129. Jack U. Harwell, “CBF calls Sherman ; will fund Europeans,” Baptists Today, January 23, 1992, 1; “ Sherman accepts CBF post as coordinator,” Baptists Today, February 6, 1992, 1. 130. “SBC leaders convince agencies to cancel Fellowship exhibits,” Baptists Today, April 23, 1992, 15. 131. Steve Wright, “The battle of wills: WMU 1, fundamentalists 0,” Baptists Today, April 14, 1994, 8. 132. Jack Harwell, “CBF sets new mission strategy; elects Law,” Baptists Today, March 4, 1993, 1. 133. Greg Warner, “Fellowship names 10 missionaries,” Religious Herald, May 12, 1994, 3. 134. “Vestal sounds theme of freedom after election as CBF executive,” Religious Herald, October 3, 1996, 10.
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