Barnabas File

In the spring, my wife often involves the grandchildren in an interesting activity.   Over the previous months, various seeds have accumulated in our home from a multitude of sources.   Sometimes she knows what they are and sometimes she doesn’t.   She gets the grandchildren to help her plant them and then the waiting begins to see what will grow.   This produces some surprises. I thought of this as I attended the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly this week.  As CBF celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary, many speakers reflected on the beginnings of the movement.  Scholar and author Diana Butler Bass praised CBF noting that “risk and courage are the antidote to fear and anger.”  Moderator Matt Cook pointed out that the initial participants believe that they were “following Jesus” and asked, “When Jesus is leading, are we following?”  New moderator Doug Dortch’s comment is what got me thinking about seeds.  He co...

In this second blog reflecting on the recent Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in Greensboro, NC, I want to share some personal impressions related to trends that seem to be emerging in the movement.  This is not meant to be definitive or even objective, but just some things that seem to be bubbling to the surface. First, leaders of CBF are being good stewards of the resources placed in their hands.  The national organization is now leaner and more focused.  This comes not only from necessity but from good management principles.  One example is the three emphases of the 25 th Anniversary Endowment Campaign—sustaining global missions, forming healthy churches, and nurturing young Baptists.  These are key aspects of the future of the movement. The sustainability of a global mission strategy empowered by long-term mission personnel was presented repeatedly at the meeting.  Missions is what got many people into the F...

Author on CBTS panel at 2014 General Assembly How many Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assemblies have I attended?   I have lost count.   I started attending before I was elected coordinator for Tennessee CBF and, of course, never missed a session while I served in that position.   I continue to attend, however.   Like most lay persons who attend, I pay my own way and devote three days to the meeting and a couple of days to travel.   Why do I continue to go to Fort Worth, Greensboro, Tampa, Atlanta, and other cities for these meetings? First, I go because that is where my friends are.  They are not only friends I made through being part of the Fellowship movement, but men and women who were students I came to know through my service on three college campuses and through denominational work.  Others are lay people and clergy whose paths have crossed mine in fifty plus years of ministry.  We are all older and a bit wiser, but we shar...

How does ritual function as individual and communal practices of care?   This was one of the questions addressed by Dr. Nichole Phillips during a continuing education workshop sponsored by the Pastoral Counseling Centers of Tennessee.   Dr. Phillips explained how rituals (including but not limited to worship practices) can reaffirm meaning, bond community, deal with ambivalence and emotional conflicts, and establish a sense of order.   Those practices that are most meaningful to us in communities of faith can be very important to pastoral care as well. As we discussed this idea, I reflected on my experiences during Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s annual General Assemblies.  The recent meeting in Forth Worth was like those of previous years but even more so than usual.  Planners seemed to have intentionally built in additional time for us to practice some of those rituals.  There are rituals that take place during plenary sessions—voting on the budge...