The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship was born out of conflict and hope. The conflict was over historic Baptist doctrines but also established Baptist institutions. The hope was a desire to save the best of the old but to find a new way to express it. The motives for starting something new were complex. About five years ago, I talked with a young pastor who was being considered as pastor of a church in our state. I explained that although the church was progressive—women deacons, ordained women as ministers, a commitment to diversity, etc.—there were still many who clung to the identification of being Southern Baptist even though most of their mission dollars were going to CBF. I suggested that he needed to be ready to answer questions about his own denominational commitment. I should not have been surprised when he said, “I was 10 years old when I came to Christ in a CBF church. I came to maturity in that church and attended a...
Comments from a Christ-follower on things that matter to him