CBF Excerpts from Short Spots

                                                                                                                                                                            Vol. IX, No. 4, April 1996

Concems for CBF? The 7 March Baptists Today, the liberal newspaper carries on p. 4 an article by Associate Editor Steve Wright titled "A Word to CBF: Don't Shoot the Doctor for Telling You that You're Sick."

The 22 February issue had contained a piece by long-term moderate Pastor Bill Self in which he pointed out "several significant problems facing the fledgling organization," to use Wright's words. Self "warned that unless these issues were addressed -- and addressed soon -- the Fellowship will not last. Self's points were: The Fellowship needs to do more for the local church. ... [Moderate] churches have literature and curriculum needs that are not being met. ... There is a serious aversion to strong leadership. ... CBFers are trying to relive and recreate the glory days of the old Southern Baptist Convention, only calling it another name -- CBF"

Wright says, "Reactions to Self's remarks were predictably angry. CBF moderator Patrick Anderson termed them 'inappropriate.'" Wright's evaluation includes the following: "We, too, have heard pastors complain about the very things Self mentioned, but nobody has talked about them publicly. They are real problems and should be addressed. There are warning signals flashing at Cooperative Baptist Fellowship headquarters. Financially, receipts plateaued unexpectedly this year, and there are those who predict CBF cannot maintain its rapid rate of early growth. Churches are not signing on as quickly as before."

Mixed Results for CBF: The March issue of Fellowship News notes that at the January meeting of the CBF coordinating Council Dr. Cecil Sherman reported that 1995 saw contributions from 1450 churches compared to 1377 churches in 1994. The 1450 fell short of his personal goal of 1500 churches giving. He also noted that 202 churches give about 70% of the Fellowship’s income. In 1995 also 2751 individuals contributed compared to 2307 in 1994.

The dollar figure for 1995 was $11.3 million, up 26% from 1994. Total receipts for the first six months of fiscal year 1996 were up 11.5% but below the amount budgeted. Sherman said, “the easy work is done” in terms of attracting new churches.