CBF church count called 'overstatement'

by   David Roach                                                                                                                                 Vol. XX, No. 7, September 2007

Despite claiming 1,899 partner churches and 700,000 members on the opening day of its annual General Assembly in Washington, D.C., the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship says confidentiality policies prevent it from revealing what churches are included in that count.

CBF executive coordinator Daniel Vestal declined to speak with Baptist Press about the issue of the organization's church counting practices, but the CBF released a statement to BP. "If a check comes from a church or an individual, they are included in our statistics as a member," the statement said. "In keeping with our organizing principle as a Fellowship, respect for the autonomy of the local churches leads CBF to enact no further limitations or expectations on affiliation. As autonomous bodies, local churches can decide to whom they send support."

But at least one pastor whose church forwards money from a few members says it would be a flagrant exaggeration to label his church as affiliated with the CBF in any way. Temple Baptist Church in Ruston, LA, is a 3,500-member church with a $2.8 million budget that supports only the SBC but sent money to the CBF last year as a favor for two families in the church, pastor Rick Byargeon said. But according to the CBF policy, Temple could be among the 1,899 churches counted because it sent those CBF contributions, totaling $3,600, on a church check.

"If they [CBF] said we were a partnering church, that would be a gross overstatement," Byargeon told BP. "In reality it would be an absolute fabrication."

In fact, the church adopted new bylaws June 27 stating its affiliation with the SBC only. The deacons also recently were "adamant" that the church should use only SBC Sunday School material, the pastor said.

A list of churches provided by the CBF listed Temple as a church "represented" at the General Assembly. CBF officials indicated, however, that a church's presence on that list does not necessarily mean it is counted among the 1,899 contributing churches. The list indicates merely that at least once member of each church listed is in attendance.

"Our church is completely and totally not involved in CBF whatsoever," Byargeon, who has taught Old Testament at both Southwestern and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminaries, said. He added, "There's no way I would ever pastor a church that's a CBF church."

Byargeon estimated that many other churches probably also send money to CBF as a favor for a few people within the congregation and would be shocked to learn that they are included in the count of CBF churches.

"That's a great way to inflate their numbers," he said of CBF.

The CBF "Data Sharing & Confidentiality Procedure" says the organization will not release a list of what churches it is counting because "we are bound ... by the standard of Christian ethics in the acquisition and handling of confidential information pertaining to individuals and congregational partners."

The confidentiality procedure continues, "We accumulate personal information about individuals, churches, and other entities that provide financial support to CBF.... To protect the confidential information about CBF's financial supporters, we maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with or exceed normal standards of practice."

The CBF statement to BP said its estimation of 700,000 members is not a claim that 700,000 people support the Fellowship. The claim is merely that 700,000 people belong to churches that send money to CBF, according to the statement.

"The Fellowship also makes no claims of exclusivity in relationship with the churches that send contributions, since this clearly would be contrary to historic Baptist polity and practice," the statement said. [BP]