New Denomination Takes 2 More Steps

                                                                                                                                                                           Vol. V, No. 1, March 1992

[The "Cooperative Baptist  Fellowship recently has taken two more steps marking it more and more clearly as a new denomination.] 

Step 1: The "Fellowship" coordinating council voted 11 January to offer to hire SBC missionaries in Europe who no longer wish to work for the Foreign Mission Board. (See article on Ruschlikon in this issue.) Cecil Sherman told fellow council members, "What we need is the nerve – the faith – to go to Isam Ballenger and to go to Keith Parker and say, `You've got a place to land,'...and (ask them), `Where are the good missionaries in Europe?' and we'll buy them too." [Comment: Interesting concept, buying missionaries.] The council's decision represents more of a commitment than a plan of action, since it came without specifics. It is unclear how much the Fellowship will be able to spend on the initiative and which projects and missionaries they would like to "buy." [Based upon ABP as printed in Word and Way 16 January 92.]     

Step 2: Cecil Sherman has accepted an offer to become executive director of the Fellowship. [BP]