Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal explains how to best respond to the earthquake in Haiti.
Baptists appeal for aid after typhoon hits Southeast Asia
By ABP staff
Published: September 29, 2009
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) -- Baptists in the Philippines are appealing to the global Baptist community for donations as they gear up for relief efforts in the wake of a Sept. 26 typhoon that has killed 300 people there and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.
"For Christians, every disaster is a call to action," said Joel Raner, president of the Luzon Baptist Convention, a regional body affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance that serves in an area of the Philippines hard hit by Typhoon Ketsan. "We are called to help those who are suffering when they need it, and this is certainly the time of most need."
Baptist World Aid, the BWA's relief-and-development arm, urged Baptists around the world to respond to drastic needs of victims of flooding.
"We are also concerned that Typhoon Ketsana is now heading for the Mekong Delta in Vietnam," said Paul Montacute, BWAid director. Montacute said the BWA has also relationships with some Baptist groups in Vietnam, and BWA president David Coffey has visited with Baptist leaders there.
BWAid's Rescue 24 team, operated by Hungarian Baptist Aid and made up of trained international volunteers, is trying to work out details to offer services to the Philippine government, the Luzon convention and Vietnam.
Donations can be made online at the BWA website.
PDA Response
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is working with our partners, the United Church of Christ in the Philippines and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP). The NCCP has been monitoring the situation through its member churches, regional ecumenical councils and people’s organizations in the affected areas. Local churches in the affected communities have been immediately opening their premises as evacuation and relief centers and providing basic humanitarian assistance of food, drinking water, nonfood relief items, basic medicines and personal hygiene necessities.
Action by Churches Together (ACT) is cooperating to provide assistance to poor urban communities in the riverside areas of Quezon City; there, in addition to the loss of homes and possessions, most residents have also lost their means of livelihood as factory workers, tricycle drivers and small vendors. ACT is preparing a package of relief goods, including food, water, clothes, candles, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, pots and pans, etc., that will be distributed to the most vulnerable families affected in this region.
ACT is preparing an international ACT appeal to provide additional assistance of food, drinking water, nonfood relief items, basic medicines and personal hygiene items. Support for local partners will include transportation, communications and operational support for volunteers and relief coordinators as well as design of relief packages that are compliant with Sphere Minimum Standards of disaster relief, monitoring and reporting.
Philippine churches work frantically on relief for storm victims
Wednesday, 30 Sep 2009
More news
By Maurice Malanes
Churches and church-based organizations in the Philippines are helping thousands of families, who have lost relatives, homes and other properties after a tropical storm unleashed torrential rains for nine hours, flooding Metro Manila and neighbouring provinces.
As of 28 September, the government's National Disaster Coordination Council reported 144 people killed, four missing and 23 injured as a result of the storm "Ketsana" two days earlier, locally known as "Ondoy". It said the numbers of victims are expected to increase.
"We are concentrating on massive relief operations. The system is overwhelmed, local government units are overwhelmed," the disaster council's head, Anthony Golez, told reporters. "We were used to helping one city, one or two provinces but now we were following one after another. Our assets and people are spread too thinly."
The nine-hour deluge left some areas of Metro Manila, a sprawling city of 12 million people, under six metres (20 feet) of water.
Protestant and Roman Catholic churches and organizations such as Caritas Manila, a Catholic agency, immediately responded, delivering at least 1000 bags of relief goods to hundreds of families on 27 September.
(Read on: Here).
I wholeheartedly agree with Leonard's concerns about the Baptist movement, but I was too busy preparing for the Norman New Baptist Covenant meeting to respond at that time. Now, in a series of blogs, I plan to offer my suggestions for Baptist Identity in the 21st Century.
I would begin by reasserting the Baptist emphasis on liberty of conscience. Baptists began by dissenting from the established church and asserting their right to a free conscience on matters of religion. Our appeals for liberty of conscience were made on behalf of all people and not for ourselves alone. 78 years before the enlightenment philosopher John Locke wrote his first Letter Concerning Toleration, Thomas Helwys was writing:Men's religion to God is between God and themselves; the king shall not answer for it, neither may the king judge between God and man. Let them be heretics, Turks, Jews or whatsoever, it appertains not to the earthly power to punish them in the least measure.
45 years before Locke said it was "necessary above all to distinguish between the business of civil government and that of religion, and to mark the true bounds between the church and the commonwealth," Roger Williams warned that whenever "a gap" was opened "in the hedge or wall of separation between the garden of the church and the wilderness of the world, God hath ever broke down the wall itself . . . and made his garden a wilderness."
While John Locke could never bring himself to extend religious toleration to Catholics and atheists, revolutionary era Baptist evangelist John Leland boldly asserted:Let every man speak freely without fear, maintain the principles that he believes, worship according to his own faith, either one God, three gods, no god, or twenty gods, and let government protect him in so doing.
I value Frederick Buechner's thoughts on abortion, and I think they really ring true with what I have seen and heard today:Speaking against abortion someone has said, "no one should be denied access to the great feast of life," to which the rebuttal, obviously enough, is that life isn't much of a feast for children born to people who don't want them or can't afford them or are one way or another incapable of taking care of them and will one way or another probably end up abusing or abandoning them.
And yet, and yet. Who knows what treasure life may hold for even such children as those, or what treasures even such children of those may grow up and become? To bear a child even under the best of circumstances, or to abort a child even under the worst-- the risks are hair-raising either way and the results are incalculable.
How would Jesus himself decide, he who is hailed as Lord of life and yet who says that it is not the ones who, like an abortionist, can kill the body we should fear, but the ones who can kill body and soul together the way the world into which they are born can kill unloved and unwanted children (Mt. 10:28)?
There is perhaps no better illustration of the truth that in an imperfect world: there are no perfect solutions. All we can do, as Luther said, is 'sin bravely', which is to say, (a) know that neither to have the child nor not to have the child is without the possibility of tragic consequences for everybody, yet (b) be brave in knowing also that not even that can put us beyond the forgiving love of God. (Beyond Words: Abortion Entry. Emphasis his)
Religion Notes
Published: Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 at 8:58 p.m.
Lee called as pastor at Providence Baptist
Providence Baptist Church, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship congregation, voted unanimously May 3 to call Julie Merritt Lee as pastor. Lee, who will assume her pastoral duties following the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in July, is the church’s second woman pastor.
The Rev. Gail Coulter was assistant pastor at First Baptist Church in Asheville before becoming Providence’s first pastor in 2002. In addition to being the church’s pastor, Coulter also served a term as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship moderator before retiring from the pastorate in 2008.
Lee, a 2005 graduate of Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, currently works as a pastoral resident at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas. Wilshire began its residency program in 2002 for the purpose of preparing future ministers for moderate Baptist churches.
Providence Baptist Church, 1201 Oakland St., Hendersonville, was featured in the lead article in this week’s Associated Baptist Press e-newsletter.
Brueggemann to be lecture series speaker
The Rev. Walter Brueggemann, the first speaker in the semi-annual Walter E. Ashley Memorial Lecture Series of 2009, will be featured at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, June 6, and 3 p.m. Sunday, June 7, at Hendersonville First Congregational United Church of Christ, Fifth Avenue West at White Pine Drive. A world-renowned Old Testament scholar and author, as well as a United Church of Christ minister, Brueggemann will be speaking on “The Psalms: Singing Trust and Telling Truth,” with each of the three lectures being a different aspect of that topic.
The June 6 topic at 10 a.m. is “Hard Road from Obedience to Praise.” The 2 p.m. topic is “Faith in the Depths.” The June 7 topic at 3 p.m. is “Faith as Gift and Impossibility.” The sermon’s title at the 11 a.m. service is “Being Present When the Will Is Read.”
Tickets to each lecture may be purchased in advance for $10 at the Main Street Visitor Center, Malaprops in Asheville, Highland Books in Brevard and at the church. If available at the door, tickets will be $20.
Scholarships available for conference
Montreat Conference Center has announced the availability of scholarship funds for “Faith and Environment: Embracing God’s Call to Be Green.” Scheduled for July 7-11, it is a new conference at Montreat.
Located on 4,000 acres in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, 2,500 of which are protected wilderness, Montreat Conference Center is a picturesque setting for this national gathering of environmentalists and all who share a sense of responsibility for the well-being of creation. The program includes keynote lectures, worship and a variety of workshop on topics ranging from stream ecology to photography and facility greening to global hunger.
For more information about the conference, to register online and to apply for scholarships, visit www.montreat.org/current/2009-faith-and-environment.
Compiled by the Times-News staff.
All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged.
Snyder Memorial Members = Servants
20. March 2009 by J. Shore Traveling alone isn't something I normally do. I panic when I can't find my way, feel like I'm lost or even just get turned around. But when I found out that Fred Craddock was going to be at the CBFNC General Assembly, I knew I'd have to brave my fears for the chance of a lifetime.
I'd not been to Fayetteville before and was surprised at the traffic I encountered. I missed my exit to my hotel and ended up driving too far. Flustered and scared, I finally made it, checked in and rushed to find the church. Luckily, that was easier and I made it without incident.
As I pulled into the parking lot, I had a "Dorothy entering the land of Oz" experience. A nice man flagged my car down with a smile and asked me how I was. He wanted to make sure I found not just a parking space, but a good one. He inquired if I needed to unload anything and then sent me to another smiling and waving man. That gentleman, too, asked me how I was and welcomed me to the church (that I hadn't even entered yet). I parked and started walking in to be greeted by two more men who showed me where registration was. I felt like royalty!
Registering for the conference was a breeze and as soon as I got my nametag, another person was there asking me where they could help me go. Literally, every corner of the church was covered by a volunteer. It was amazing and helped ease my stress from my travels right away.
My night continued on in similar fashion, every time I even thought about something I might need, someone from Snyder Memorial was right there. At dinner time, a sweet lady named Olivia insisted that she take my tray and put it away for me. I tried to explain to her that my mother would have me insist on putting my own dishes away and her response was, "but if you don't let me do it, I won't have anything to do!" I felt guilty for not letting her take it the first time she asked!
Worship was fulfilling. Hearing Fred Craddock was amazing. My brain is still trying to absorb all the information I received. But the members of Snyder Memorial Baptist Church - the "red shirt crew" - will forever be etched in my mind beside the word "servant".
The New Baptist Century in Historical Context: Conscience and Dissent
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship North Carolina
February 9, 2009
Bill J. Leonard
On the eve of the American Revolution, Anglican Parson Charles Woodmason, a
good Englishman, described the carryings on among the people called Baptists in the
"Carolina backcountry". He wrote:They don't all agree in one Tune. For one sings this Doctrine, and the next1
something different---So that people’s brains are turn'd and bewildered. And then
again to see them Divide and Sub divide, split into parties---Rail at and
excommunicate one another---Turn (members) out of one meeting and receive
(them back) into another. And a Gang of them getting together and gabbling one
after the other (and sometimes disputing against each other) on abstruse
Theological Questions. . .such as the greatest Metaph[ys]icians and Learned
Scholars never yet could define, or agree on--To hear Ignorant Wretches, who
cannot write . . .discussing such Knotty Points for the Edification of their
Auditors. . .must give High offence to all Intelligent and rational Minds.
Woodmason was as correct as he was condescending. Indeed, many 21st century observers
would concur that contemporary Baptists still give “high offense” in the church and the public
square. In the United States, when a Virginia congressman calls Americans to tighten immigration
laws in order to keep out Muslims who MIGHT be elected to high office and MIGHT take the oath
of office on the Koran, didn’t he just have to be a Baptist?2 When members of a stem family church
in Kansas show up at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, and shout that such deaths are the result
of God’s judgment on the nation, don’t they just have to be Baptists?3 And then there are all those
2
internecine “Baptist battles” fought incessantly in the pew and the press. Take Southern Baptists, at
14 million the largest sub denomination of the 30 million Baptists in the U. S. For almost three
decades Baptists in the nation and especially the South have debated issues related to the Bible,
ordaining women, control of Baptist related schools, public schools, private school vouchers, trips
to Disneyworld, glossolalia, praise choruses, baptizing homosexuals, rebaptizing Presbyterians,
salvation for Jews and Muslims, the “rapture,” drinking wine at communion or at dinner, and the
gospel benefits of something called “Christian heavy metal” music.4 When 21st century Baptists in
the U. S. “divide and sub divide, split into parties, rail at and excommunicate each other,” not just in
the “Carolina back-country,” but on CNN, wouldn’t any self respecting believers want to distance
themselves from their Baptist origins as quickly as possible?
.....
Given these transitions in (dare we say it) postmodern theology and ecclesiology, and on the
400th anniversary of Baptist beginnings (Amsterdam, 1609), how might Baptist history inform
identity in the present and, more importantly, the future? As a historian who happens to be a Baptist,
I would suggest that aspects of the Baptist past are worth considering whether we use the infamous
“B” word in our public statements or not. Rather than excise or exorcise all remnants of Baptistness
from our past, however, are there segments of that heritage worth acknowledging that continue
inform the future? To own the best contributions does not require claiming the entirety of Baptist
history, nor does it mean scrambling to find something worth retaining in order to be historically
correct. Rather, we could be intentional about revisiting the Baptist past with appropriate research
before we jettison the movement uncritically. What in the Baptist vision offers insight toward the
future whether we reference these embarrassing forebears or not?
My own reading of Baptist history compels me to encourage a reexamination of what seems
to me the heart of Baptist identity in the modern/postmodern world: the importance of uncoerced
faith grounded in the power of conscience and the inevitability of dissent.10
.....
As a historian, I am impressed by the early Baptist courage and dissent in behalf of
uncoerced faith, freedom of conscience, and religio-political dissent, and I hope that Baptist
churches, societies and denominational groups will find ways to own their Baptist roots, even if
they bear witness to only a tiny spark of progressivism. We owe it to ourselves to reference the
identity of those 16th and 17th century dissenters obsessed with conscience and voice for heretic
and atheist alike. They spoke out because they could not remain silent, whether anyone paid
much attention to them or not. Indeed, as a religious community, Baptists have never done well
with privilege, whatever form it takes. Parson Woodmason was right then and now, we don’t all
“agree in one tune,” you see, it's a matter of conscience. (Read More: Here).
Missional Collaboration in a New Baptist Century
By Larry Hovis, Executive Coordinator
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina
New Baptist Century Convocation
First Baptist Church – Greensboro, North Carolina
February 9, 2009
Introduction
Many of you know that prior to taking on my present role with Cooperative Baptist
Fellowship of North Carolina, I had the privilege of serving as pastor of The Memorial Baptist
Church in Greenville. We were often teased about our name – “THE” Memorial. In common
conversation, we would simply call ourselves, “Memorial,” but the use of the definite article is
not accidental, for it commemorates a significant event very early in the church’s history. That
church provided the physical meeting place and supplied three of the fourteen leaders who
founded the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, an organization which has done
tremendous good, and which has made an enormously positive difference in the lives of
countless persons in our state and beyond – including most of us here this evening.
The Memorial Baptist Church appreciates its history. Its main concern, however, is not
what happened in the past, but ministering in the present and planning for the future. The
primary hallmark of healthy churches is faithfulness to the mission of God. Healthy churches
realize that faithfulness to God’s mission required particular actions and structures and
relationships in the past that may need to be changed or abandoned in order to be faithful to the
mission of God in the present and in the future. And so, as this particular group of North
Carolina Baptists gathers in Greensboro on a winter night in 2009, celebrating the first four
Baptist centuries, we need to ask ourselves, what will be required of us in order to be faithful to
the mission of God in the next Baptist century? Allow me to suggest three critical factors: Baptist
principles, missional renewal and missional collaboration.
Foundation – Historic Baptist principles
To begin with, the New Baptist Century will be built on the firm foundation of Baptist
principles. Baptists, at our best, have been a principle-centered movement. The Baptists in the
first Baptist century in Europe, and in the second Baptist century in America, did not suffer
persecution for nominating committee reports or giving plans. They lived, fought, suffered, and
sometimes died for bedrock principles. Though there is no single way to articulate Baptist
principles, for our purposes this evening, I would reduce them to six main ideas.
First, Baptists believe in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This is a basic Christian belief.
Baptists share this belief with other Christians. We are not so arrogant to believe that we are the
only Christians, but before anything else, we are persons made in the image of God and sinners
saved by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. We are followers of Jesus, seeking to live our
lives in the way of Jesus. Christ is the center of our lives, individually and collectively.
Second, we believe the Scriptures are our final authority for faith and practice. We are
people of the Book. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are authoritative for
individuals, congregations, and in shared ministry beyond congregations. We may voluntarily
choose to confess a shared faith based on a common understanding of the Scriptures, but we
understand that any human words about the Scriptures are always subordinate to the Scriptures,
and therefore must never be used in a coercive manner. We understand that as we interpret the
Scriptures together, we humbly acknowledge that “we see through a glass darkly.” We always
remain open to the possibility that “God hath yet more light to shed forth from his word.”
Third, we believe that every believer in Jesus Christ is a priest before God. All believers
stand equally before God’s throne of grace. There is no multi-class system in the church.
Distinctions such as clergy and laity are practical but not theological. As believer priests, we
have both the privilege of relating directly to God through our great high priest, Jesus Christ; but
we also have the responsibility of ministering on behalf of God in the world. Priesthood is never
an excuse for individualism. We are priests to each other in the community of faith, and we
exercise our priesthood for the sake of a lost, dying world. The symbol for our priesthood is
baptism, upon profession of faith, in deep water where possible to show that we have been united
to Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection.
Fourth, we believe that congregations should be self-governing. No outside entity may
have authority over the local church. Neither association nor convention nor fellowship may
control or coerce congregations. Congregations are made up of believer-priests, who come
together in community, to read, study and interpret the Scriptures together. Based on Scripture as
they understand it, they are free and responsible to shape their own governance structure,
develop their own requirements for membership, call their own leadership, order their own
worship, and pursue their unique mission in the world, in concert with partners of their own
choosing. For Baptist congregations, one size does not fit all.
Fifth, we believe in religious liberty for all people. Baptists were birthed in the battle for
religious liberty, for ourselves and for others, including those whose beliefs are very different
from ours. Unless all are free, none are truly free. Some scholars say this is our greatest
contribution to civil society. We believe that the best way to cultivate religious liberty is through
the separation of the institutions of government and the institutions of religion. But we also
believe that our voices, and the voices of people of all faiths and no faith, should freely be
proclaimed in the public square.
Sixth, we believe in cooperating with others to engage in God’s mission in the world. We
realize that no individual Baptist, and no single congregation, can accomplish God’s mission
alone. We partner with other Christians and other churches to establish and support ministries
that will enable us to fulfill both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. (Read On: Here).
“Tribal People” 2/8/09
Mike Queen, CBFNC Convocation
Numbers 2:1-2, 34; John 21:15-22
We are a tribal people. We gather with like-minded others and identify ourselves as such.
Along ‘tobacco road’ you will find the Wolf Pack tribe and the Tar Heel tribe…the Blue
Devils and the Demon Deacons. To the east you will find a tribe of Pirates and to the
west a tribe of Mountaineers. Among the Baptists, you find Angels and Hawks…Camels
and Lions…and even a tribe of Runnin Bulldogs.
We gather in other tribes, too. There exists a tribe of people who revere Eastern NC
Barbeque and an apparently ‘lost tribe’ that worships Western NC Barbeque. Even in the
church of Jesus Christ we have divided ourselves into tribes of Methodists,
Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Catholics and a host of others,
including the Baptists. And the Baptist family has its own set of tribes developed over
these last 400 years.
This is how it has always been in the Kingdom. Even when the children of Israel were in
the earliest years of their wanderings in the wilderness, God acknowledged their tribal
nature. God instructed Moses and Aaron to have them set up their camp by tribes…using
terms like regiment, clan and ancestral houses to describe how they organized
themselves. Each camp was to face toward a tent of meeting…or tabernacle…in the
center. But each tribe was to hang their ensign or tribal banner out in front of their site for
the purpose of identification.
Their oneness and unity was found in the geographical orientation toward the center…the
tent of meeting…the place of worship. But their differences …their uniqueness was
celebrated by banners that flew in the winds of the wilderness. They had both a corporate
identity as the children of Israel and a particular identity in their tribal divisions. It was as
though God knew they needed some separateness to accomplish their ultimate and unique
calling.
.........
While there are a few ‘loners’ in this world, the reality is that most of us are looking for
places to connect…to belong…to find a sense of identity that is true and authentic to who
we are. We see it all the time in the people who visit and worship in our churches. They
are looking for the same thing. When they find it, they join up with us…and fly the
banner of our local church tribes.
Perhaps this is why we come to gatherings such as this…to connect with others in our
tribe…to embrace a sense of belonging to others who are like us…and to craft and shape
and an identity where, like the children of Israel, we can fly our banner, too. CBF of NC
is my tribe in the Baptist nation.
This tribe is not a denomination to be won or lost. It is a fellowship to be celebrated and
built on trust.
This tribe does not function like a denomination. It is a movement re-engineered for the
21st century.
This tribe is not about buildings and control. It is all about mission and freedom.
It is exciting to be a part of something still new…something that is consistent with our
cherished Baptist heritage…and which is yet a new kind of Baptist community filled with
a hope we can scarcely imagine. That hope is found in Jesus Christ…and in Jesus alone.
But just as it is in all tribes, we must always and forever hold one another accountable.
We cannot afford to allow this movement to lose its way. The relationships in tribes are
far too precious to squander. We need to be vigilant in maintaining our focus on mission.
As I have counseled our Coordinator, Dr. Larry Hovis, maintaining focus is one of the
hardest parts of being a leader. He and we must be relentless in this pursuit.
At the end of John’s account of the gospel he told the story of a post-resurrection
encounter that took place on the beach between Jesus and Peter. Repeatedly Jesus asked
Peter if he loved him. Repeatedly Peter said that he did. Each time Jesus countered by
telling Peter to feed his sheep. Finally Jesus reminded Peter that following him could
ultimately cost him his life and result in a martyr’s death.
As that sobering possibility began to sink in to Peter’s consciousness and as he began to
nervously contemplate his own mortality, he looked up and saw John standing close by
on the beach. In that moment Peter pointed to John and blurted out to Jesus…in rather
childish fashion, ‘Lord, what about him?’
Jesus with all the infinite patience he could muster responded to Peter saying, ‘If it is my
will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!’
In the span of a heartbeat Peter had lost his focus. Like so many of the youthful protests
and questions that came from the mouths of the disciples, Peter forgot his unqualified
avowal of love for Jesus and all the promises he made. Thus, fearing for his own life
questioned the fate of his friend…his brother…and perhaps…his rival… John. ‘Lord,
what about him?’
It does not take much to turn us away from the call and claim of Jesus on our lives, does
it? If we are not careful, we can end up pointing fingers at others while forgetting our
responsibilities in the Kingdom. Absent a clear focus, we will find ourselves chasing after
things that have nothing to do with the Kingdom or with Jesus’ plan for our lives…our
churches…or our tribes. I stand before you as one who has spent too much time on lesser
matters.
In a recent meeting with some of our church leaders questions were raised about the idea
that we might have to reduce our church budget in the face of the current economic
depression. After listening to some hand-wringing dialog, I reminded them that our
ability to follow Jesus has nothing to do with the size of the church budget.
More money…as important as it is…can only expand the breadth of our reach. We can
still follow Jesus without a nickel in our pockets. This is why a ‘clear mission focus’
trumps abundant resources every single time.
Management guru Seth Godin says, “When you fall in love with the system, you lose the
ability to grow.” Put another way, when you fall in love with an institution, you may just
lose the ability to follow Jesus.
We must never abandon the pursuit of a ‘clear mission focus’. The tribe can provide that
focus for the individual and the individual can I turn provide it for the tribe. My brothers
and sisters, to believe is the easy part of faith. But to follow…this is the hard part…of
faith. This is also why we need one another.
Someone has said that if you want to get some place quickly, by all means, go alone. But
if you are taking a journey, it is best to travel with others. CBF of NC you are my tribe.
You are the ones with whom I want to journey. And I will set up camp under your banner
all the rest of my days.
May we never lose the focus of our Jesus-given mission…
May we always hold one another accountable before our God... (Read The Full Sermon: Here).
CBFNC is grateful to be part of the larger CBF movement of God's people. Though funded and organized separately from CBF, we seek to be the face of CBF in North Carolina by supporting and promoting CBF ministries in our state and beyond, including global missions and theological education.How to break this down to non-CBFers: I'd describe CBFNC and it's relationship to the larger CBF or CBF (National) as being like:
The polity of autonomy is closely related to the polity of congregational governance. Just as each Baptist priest with soul competency is equal to all other Baptists in a church, so each church is equal to every other church. No church or ecclesiastical organization has authority over a Baptist church. Churches can properly relate to each other under this polity only through voluntary cooperation, never by any sort of coercion. Furthermore, this Baptist polity calls for freedom from governmental control.[10] Exceptions to this local form of local governance include a few churches that submit to the leadership of a body of elders, as well as the Episcopal Baptists that have an Episcopal system.Baptist polity also carries over into our various other assemblies as well.
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Inc. (CBF) — "a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission of Jesus Christ and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice." CBF does not consider itself a denomination, but rather a fellowship of churches and Christians. According to its Website, CBF does not have or exercise authority over its partnering churches and individuals. It cites its valuing of autonomy and freedom as a reason for its type of organization.[1] However, it shares certain characteristics of a religious denomination, including national offices; theological seminaries that, while their boards are not appointed by the CBF, are recommended for their seminarians; missions funding; and distinct philosophical and theological views.
In contrast to the Southern Baptist Convention from which it emerged, there are a number of philosophical and theological differences. For example, in its 2000 Baptist Faith and Message, the Southern Baptist Convention stated that women should not serve as pastors. However, the belief that God calls both men and women into ministry—including that of pastor— was one of the founding principles of CBF.
....
[edit] Leadership
All members are entitled to vote at the General Assembly. The General Assembly elects a Coordinating Council, which meets three times a year to plan missions and ministries. This council is led by a moderator, who also is elected annually by the General Assembly.
A Coordinating Council elected by the General Assembly meets three times a year to plan the Fellowship's missions and ministries. The council is led by a moderator, elected annually by the General Assembly. A CBF Resource Center staff of approximately 62 persons provides leadership and support services through offices in Atlanta and Dallas. Chief executive officer is Daniel Vestal, who assumed the position of coordinator in December 1996 after nearly three decades as a Baptist pastor.
History
CBF began as a grassroots movement of Baptists in May 1991 after years of strife within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), and ultimately the fundamentalist takeover (also called "conservative resurgence")[2] of the Convention by theological conservatives.[3] The conservative resurgence leaders considered biblical inerrancy and a perceived liberal drift at Southern Baptist seminaries as the primary issues in their struggle against moderates in the SBC. The strategy of the conservative takeover was to elect the SBC president a sufficient number of times to gain a conservative majority on the boards and agencies of the Convention. This was accomplished through the president's power to make appointments.[4] Conservative leaders have successfully elected all presidents of the SBC from 1979 to the present.[5]
The new Southern Baptist Convention leadership continued addressing social issues, but took a more conservative perspective than in years past. These included abortion, where support for Roe V. Wade in the 1970's was replaced with a more conservative view, as well as conservative views on religious liberty, church-state separation, roles in marriage, and women in ministry. Frustrated moderates met in 1990 in Atlanta, Georgia, and organized the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. It was the opinion of the moderates that the conservatives had departed from Baptist distinctives.[6].
Core values and other beliefs[7][edit] Four freedoms
CBF maintains that it exists because of the belief in historic Baptist principles of soul freedom, Bible freedom, church freedom and religious freedom.
Soul freedom is the belief in priesthood of the believer and the affirmation that every person has the freedom and responsibility to relate directly to God without the imposition of creed or control of clergy or government.
Bible freedom is the belief in the authority of scripture, which under the Lordship of Christ, is central to the life of individuals and churches. Every Christian has the freedom and right to interpret and apply scripture under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
Church freedom is the belief in the autonomy of every local church as free, under the Lordship of Christ, to determine their membership and leadership, to order their worship and work, to ordain whomever they perceive as gifted for ministry, and to participate as they deem appropriate in the larger body of Christ.
Religious freedom is the belief in freedom of, for and from religion, as well as separation of church and state. CBF supports this principle through its affiliation with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.
CBF's other core values include biblically-based Global Missions, the resource model of discovering and providing resources to empower churches and individuals to their mission and calling, a commitment to justice and reconciliation, a belief in lifelong learning and ministry for both laity and clergy, trustworthiness and effectiveness.
[edit] About the Bible
The Fellowship believes in the divine inspiration of the Bible and its authority in the lives of Christians, who are free to follow and interpret it under the Lordship of Christ. Christians are responsible under God for their interpretation of Scripture. In regards to scriptural inerrancy, the Fellowship's position is that the Bible neither claims nor reveals inerrancy as a Christian teaching.
[edit] About women in ministry
Affirmation of women in ministry was one of the founding principles of the Fellowship. The New Testament is acknowledged as providing two views of the role of women—a literal approach of submission to men or an inclusive approach. A key biblical passage is Galatians 3:27-28:
As many of you as are baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (NRSV).
CBF interprets this passage as affirming that men and women are created by God, redeemed by Christ, and gifted by the Spirit truly without distinction or partiality. Therefore, they encourage both men and women to exercise their Spirit-given gifts in the church’s work, worship, and leadership, and to celebrate the truth that the Spirit grants such gifts without respect to gender. A number of CBF partner churches have women pastors and women deacons.
[edit] About evangelism and missions
CBF engages in global missions, believing that each person is called to help fulfill Christ's Great Commission. Furthermore, CBF Global Missions believes the Bible teaches that God is the one triune God who created people in God's image. People are separated from God by sin for which Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer for all people. The Holy Spirit is instrumental in convicting, teaching and empowering individuals and churches to the mission of Christ in the world. Each believer and every church is responsible for sharing the gospel with all people through redemptive ministry to the spiritual, physical and social needs of individuals and communities.
It’s not enough for believers to “walk the walk,” Fred Craddock told participants attending the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina’s 2009 General Assembly Mar. 20-21. “Somebody needs to talk the talk.”
Craddock, a retired professor perennial cited as one of America’s top preachers, spoke to an enthusiastic group of more than 1,000 registrants to Snyder Memorial Baptist Church in Fayetteville. In two sermons packed with his trademark stories, he focused on the difficulty of hearing Christ’s message and the challenge of sharing it with others.
“The principle pain in hearing is that we just don’t want to hear some things,” Craddock said. “We avoid things we don’t want to hear because they might disturb us.”
Read More: Here.
Preaching Style
There are at least three major features of Craddock's new homiletic that distinguish it from traditional homiletics. First, instead of using a traditional deductive approach, in which three points are named and illustrated, in his sermons, Craddock advocates an inductive style. Critiquing traditional homiletics--called the "old homiletic"--Craddock turned toward induction, in which the preacher re-creates for the listener the inductive process of study used to create the sermon itself. A second unique feature of Craddock's new homiletic is that a sermon should seek to create an experience for the listener, rather than attempting to gain the listeners' assent through sermons utilizing deductive, linear logic. As a result of Craddock's inductive model, the role of the listeners fundamentally changes: no longer are listeners passive recipients of a conclusion already reached by the authoritative preacher, to which they must acquiesce. Rather, in Craddock's scheme, the listeners are active participants in the sermon by virtue of the sermon form itself, which enables the hearer to "finish" the sermon that is intentionally left open-ended. Third, Craddock emphasizes that the form or genre of the biblical passage to be preached should shape in some way the form taken by the sermon. While Craddock does not require that a sermon slavishly adhere to the biblical form--a psalm need not be preached entirely as a poetic sermon--he argues that various biblical forms seek to accomplish a variety of rhetorical aims and as such, the sermon should attempt to "do what the text does" in both the "what" (content) and the "how" (rhetorical strategies) of the text.Craddock offers an inductive approach to preaching with an aim of active participation by the listener in the movement of the sermon as well as in the discerning of the message. His grounding principle is that good preaching is a socializing force that creates community.[3]
Often characterized as preaching with a style that is "folksy,"[4] Craddock is a strong supporter of using humour in sermons.[5] Newsweek ranked him as one of America's greatest preachers.[2] Craddock's new homiletic has influenced further generations of homileticians who have developed new sermon forms while holding to certain values found within the new homiletic: narrative preaching, phenomenological preaching, and conversational preaching, to name a few.
She is a dear friend of our family as she kept me in the nursery when her husband Lamar was the pastor of our church at FBC-Laurinburg in the early 80's. See also: Baptists Today Blogs: BWIM NC celebrates preaching without words. A deli lunch was provided for the exhibitors which my mom, my grandmother and I assisted with and Snyder Memorial Baptist Church of Fayetteville, NC for non-exhibitors. After lunch, people milled around and/or attended various breakout sessions. My grandmother and I attended these 2 breakout sessions: Charles Barrett Howard: Preacher, Professor, and Philanthropist, Glenn Jonas ...............................................................B1052I'll blog more on them later. All through the day I ran into old friends, Campbell people, blogging buddies and new friend which is a testimony to the openness of CBF. At dinnertime, we ate in the Fellowship Hall with Jim Everette---we have to get ideas for the 2013 General Assembly as FBC-Wilmington is hosting that one. Following dinner was our evening worship service with Dr. Fred Craddock preaching on “Hearing What is Said.” The main theme of Craddock's sermon was truly listening to what people say. An audio and video of the service should be available soon on the CBFNC official website. Sitting beside us on the front left pew with us was a family friend, Steve DeVane, taking pictures for the Biblical Recorder. Tony Cartledge was taking pictures and blogging from the front right pew for Baptists Today.
(2:15 p.m. - Annual Meeting of the NC Baptist Historical Society - Room B1052) and New Church Start Track
Emerging Faith Communities in the 21st Century, Beverly Hatcher and Pete Zimmerman ............................................ A2002.
In a closing message, Mike Queen, pastor of First Baptist Church in Wilmington, said Baptists are “tribal people.” Christians have divided themselves into many tribes, he said, and Baptists have developed tribes of their own, but “that’s how it’s always been in the Kingdom of God.
Queen noted how Moses instructed the Israelites to encamp by tribes surrounding the tabernacle, each flying its distinctive banner. Thus, “both unity and uniqueness were celebrated” in the peoples’ “corporate identity as children of Israel and particular identity as members of their tribes.”
As a former president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (BSCNC) General Board, Queen was a tireless advocate for unity within the BSCNC during the 1990s, an effort that ultimately ran aground in the rising conservative tide that now dominates the state convention. During the same period, CBFNC emerged as an alternative nexus of cooperation and fellowship for those who felt disenchanted with or disenfranchised by the BSCNC.
“I spent a long time chasing the wrong things in Baptist life the past 25 years,” Queen told the congregation. “CBF of North Carolina is my tribe in the Baptist nation,” he said, “but it is not a denomination to be won: it’s all about mission and freedom.”
“It’s exciting to be a part of something that is still new and filled with hope we can scarcely imagine,” Queen said. That hope can be found in Jesus alone and calls for vigilant focus, he said, for “When you fall in love with an institution, you may lose the ability to follow Jesus.”
“The easy part of our faith is to believe,” Queen concluded. “The following part gets hard: that’s where we need one another.”
In a key component of the convocation, representatives from 23 organizations recognized as CBFNC ministry partners joined CBFNC leaders and the congregation in a litany of common mission and mutual support.
...Don't run back inside
darling you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking
That maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey you're alright
Oh and that's alright with me
You can hide 'neath your covers
And study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers
Throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain
For a savior to rise from these streets
Well now I'm no hero
That's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl
Is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey what else can we do now
Except roll down the window
And let the wind blow back your hair
Well the night's busting open
These two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back
Heaven's waiting on down the tracks
Oh oh come take my hand
Riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road
oh Thunder Road
Lying out there like a killer in the sun
Hey I know it's late we can make it if we run
Oh Thunder Road, sit tight take hold
Thunder Road
(Read the full lyrics: Here).
In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway American dream
At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines
Sprung from cages out on highway 9,
Chrome wheeled, fuel injected
and steppin' out over the line
Baby this town rips the bones from your back
It's a death trap, it's a suicide rap
We gotta get out while we're young
'Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run
Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend
I want to guard your dreams and visions
Just wrap your legs 'round these velvet rims
and strap your hands across my engines
Together we could break this trap
We'll run till we drop, baby we'll never go back
Will you walk with me out on the wire
'Cause baby I'm just a scared and lonely rider
But I gotta find out how it feels
I want to know if love is wild
girl I want to know if love is real
(Read the rest: Here).
...Workin' in the fields
till you get your back burned
Workin' 'neath the wheel
till you get your facts learned
Baby I got my facts
learned real good right now
You better get it straight darling
Poor man wanna be rich,
rich man wanna be king
And a king ain't satisfied
till he rules everything
I wanna go out tonight,
I wanna find out what I got
Well I believe in the love that you gave me
I believe in the love that you gave me
I believe in the faith that could save me
I believe in the hope
and I pray that some day
It may raise me above these
Badlands, you gotta live it everyday
Let the broken hearts stand
As the price you've gotta pay
We'll keep pushin' till it's understood
and these badlands start treating us good
(Read the rest: Here).
...
I got a job working construction for the Johnstown Company
But lately there ain't been much work on account of the economy
Now all them things that seemed so important
Well mister they vanished right into the air
Now I just act like I don't remember
Mary acts like she don't care
But I remember us riding in my brother's car
Her body tan and wet down at the reservoir
At night on them banks I'd lie awake
And pull her close just to feel each breath she'd take
Now those memories come back to haunt me
they haunt me like a curse
Is a dream a lie if it don't come true
Or is it something worse
that sends me down to the river
though I know the river is dry
That sends me down to the river tonight...
(Read the full lyrics: Here).
The Promised Land
(Bruce Springsteen)
On a rattlesnake speedway in the Utah desert
I pick up my money and head back into town
Driving cross the Waynesboro county line
I got the radio on and I'm just killing time
Working all day in my daddy's garage
Driving all night chasing some mirage
Pretty soon little girl I'm gonna take charge
CHORUS
The dogs on Main Street howl
'cause they understand
If I could take one moment into my hands
Mister I ain't a boy, no I'm a man
And I believe in a promised land (The chorus particularly speaks to hope in the midst of desperate times.)
I've done my best to live the right way
I get up every morning and go to work each day
But your eyes go blind and your blood runs cold
Sometimes I feel so weak I just want to explode
Explode and tear this whole town apart
Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart
Find somebody itching for something to start (Here the call to a new start is the key to putting hope in action.)
CHORUS
There's a dark cloud rising from the desert floor
I packed my bags and I'm heading straight into the storm
Gonna be a twister to blow everything down
That ain't got the faith to stand its ground
Blow away the dreams that tear you apart
Blow away the dreams that break your heart
Blow away the lies that leave you nothing but lost and brokenhearted (Here the hopeful action takes place.)
CHORUS
I believe in a promised land... (The refrain ties the narrator to the Ancient Israelites and their search for the Promise Land though sometimes our own "Promise Lands" are right before our eyes but we wander blindly and aimlessly pass them.)
Copyright © Bruce Springsteen (ASCAP)
My Deliverer
(Rich Mullins and Mitch McVicker)
Exodus 2:23, Exodus 3:8, Second Samuel 22:1-7
Psalm 40:16-17, Psalm 70, Isaiah 53:5
Matthew 2:13-21, Luke 4:18-19, Revelation 6:13
Joseph took his wife and her child and they went to Africa
To escape the rage of a deadly king
There along the banks of the Nile, Jesus listened to the song
That the captive children used to sing
They were singin'
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
Through a dry and thirsty land, water from the Kenyon heights
Pours itself out of Lake Sangra's broken heart
There in the Sahara winds Jesus heard the whole world cry
For the healing that would flow from His own scars
The world was singing
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
He will never break His promise - He has written it upon the sky
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
I will never doubt His promise though I doubt my heart, I doubt my eyes
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
He will never break His promise though the stars should break faith with the sky
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming - my Deliverer is standing by
My Deliverer is coming
Our Mission and Vision
“Heritage & Hope”
Standing on the shoulders of those who have come before us, and believing that the best is yet to be for our congregation, we the members of First Baptist Church, Wilmington, North Carolina, commit to living out the following:
Our Mission: To honor God by becoming and helping others to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
Our Vision: To become a community of believers that is open and welcoming to
anyone, no matter where they are on their faith journey, and is intentionally joining with Christ in his redemptive work and purposes in the world.
Our Core Values: We are intentional in our efforts to be …
* BIBLICAL - We believe the Bible is true and that its teaching is the catalyst for life-change in an individual's life and in the church. (2 Timothy 3:16-17; James 1:22-25; Hebrews 4:12; Acts 20:32)
* EVANGELISTIC - We believe unchurched people matter to God, and therefore ought to matter to the church. (Luke 5:30-32; Luke 15; Matthew 18:14)
* RELEVANT - We believe the church should be culturally relevant while remaining doctrinally sound. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)
* TRANSFORMATIONAL - We believe followers of Jesus should live authentic Christian lives and strive for continuous spiritual growth. (Ephesians 4:25-26 & 32; Philippians 1:6; Hebrews 12:1)
* PURPOSEFUL - We believe the church is a unified community of servants, each one exercising their unique spiritual gifts, and structured according to the nature and mission of the church. (Romans 12; Ephesians 4; 1 Corinthians 12 & 14; I Peter 4:10, I Peter 5; Acts 6:2-5)
* LOVING - We believe loving relationships should permeate every aspect of church life. (1 Corinthians 13)
* RELATIONAL - We believe life-change happens best through relationships. (Acts 2:44-47)
* EXCELLENT - We believe excellence honors God and inspires people. (Philippians 3:12-16; Colossians 3:17; Proverbs 27:17)
* SPIRITUAL - We believe the pursuit of full devotion to Christ and His cause is expected of every believer. (Philippians 2:1-11)
* FREE – We believe in religious liberty for all people, the separation of church and state, and the autonomy of the local church. (Galatians 5:1; Matthew 22:21)
Squandered Missions
JOURNAL EDITORIAL STAFF
Published: November 16, 2008
Those darned moderates. Just when the conservatives at the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina must have thought they'd routed them all, the moderates came tiptoeing back last week. At the convention's annual meeting in Greensboro, the moderates mounted serious opposition to a motion to remove the progressive Cooperative Baptist Fellowship as a giving option for member churches, and tried to reinstate funding for the Woman's Missionary Union of North Carolina, which has had the gall to assert more autonomy over its operations.
The moderates ultimately lost out, and more of the last holdouts will almost surely now leave the convention. But the convention is the real loser, because it could reach a lot more people through missions with the CBF and the Woman's Missionary Union. Yes, the convention does a lot of good missions work, but it could do so much more.
As it is now, churches that like CBF and the Woman's Missionary Union and are unhappy with the state convention may well support those groups instead of the convention.
Some conservatives in the convention probably voted to keep up the CBF option, realizing that they would lose moderate churches if they didn't. But, true to form, most of the conservatives in the convention left no room for compromise. After all, the CBF is willing to work with churches that put gay Christians into leadership positions. And the organization doesn't require a belief in biblical inerrancy. "If we don't take a stand, this is tolerance," Eric Page of Victory Baptist Church in Columbus said at the meeting, according to the News & Record of Greensboro.
Heaven forbid that a Christian organization would show tolerance.
Draw the line in the sand instead, even if that means losing the opportunity to maximize mission-work opportunities -- and even if it means declining attendance at the annual meetings of the convention. Attendance last week was down an estimated 1,000 delegates from the last couple of years.
"Don't ever forget a Baptist will only do one thing because you tell him to, and that's to stay home," Vic Ramsey of Moyock Baptist Church in Currituck County said at the meeting. "Looking at these seats, a lot of us have taken the hint. To be that broad convention, we need lots of people."
Nah. All they need is a relatively small group of committed conservatives, even if the convention has strayed from the key historical Baptist principles of autonomy of local churches and the right of all believers to interpret and follow Scriptures as they see fit, not as they're told to do. That's moderate talk, anyway.
After last week, more of the last remaining moderates will probably give up on the convention and give their money to other Baptist organizations. So be it. Why would the convention want to preach to the masses when it can preach to the choir?
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