CBF lists churches ‘represented’ at assembly

WASHINGTON (BP)–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 one member of each
church listed is in attendance.

The complete list of churches “represented” is printed below.

“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.

In other news from the General Assembly’s opening day:

—
A video with Wanda Lee, executive director of Woman’s Missionary Union,
celebrating the School of Social Work at Baylor University in Waco,
Texas, was shown during the CBF sessions. In addition to WMU, CBF also
provides support for the school.

“We’re grateful that the Baylor
School of Social Work is there today to pick up the mantle of what was
started 100 years ago,” Lee said, speaking of WMU’s training of women
for missions and ministry.

— CBF moderator Emmanuel McCall told
Fellowship Baptists they have a “covenant-keeping God” and must be a
people who fulfill their covenant with Him.

An important
component of fulfilling that covenant is doing ministries to bring
about social justice, said McCall, who serves as pastor of The
Fellowship Baptist Group and professor of theology at McAfee School of
Theology of Mercer University in the Atlanta area.

“Covenant
people take God’s Great Commission seriously,” McCall said. “We are not
only to preach and proclaim, but to help in spiritual formation, to aid
in the development of mind, spirit, heart and however you best prefer
to refer to the inner being. I remind you that people are not [merely]
souls to become the objects of evangelistic head counting.”

—
Attendees heard a motion that the Fellowship adopt a $16.5 million
operating budget for 2007-08, down from $17.1 million in 2006-07.

–30–

Readers:
Baptist Press makes no claims regarding the list included below. The
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is circulating this information. Pastors
concerned about their respective churches being named on the list
should inform Baptist Press, BPress@hotmail.com, and contact the CBF
communications office, contact@thefellowship.info. — Baptist Press

NOTE:
The information below is presented as it appears on the CBF list,
“Churches Represented at the 2007 General Assembly.” Numbers in
parenthesis indicate members/staff attending.

Churches represented at the 2007 General Assembly

ALABAMA

Alabaster

Westwood Baptist Church (2/0)

Auburn

First Baptist Church (1/1)

Birmingham

Baptist Church of the Covenant (12/0)

Dawson Memorial Baptist Church (2/0)

Mountain Brook Baptist Church (3/1)

Riverchase Baptist Church (0/1)

Shades Crest Baptist Church (3/0)

Southside Baptist Church (1/1)

Vestavia Hills Baptist Church (6/1)

Elba

Covenant Community Church (1/1)

Elmore

Mt Hebron Baptist Church (1/0)

Florence

Central Heights Baptist (1/0)

Heflin

Heritage Baptist Church (3/3)

Hoover

Fellowship of the Valley (3/1)

Hope Hull

Pintlala Baptist Church (1/1)

Huntsville

First Baptist Church (2/2)

Jacksonville

First Baptist Church of Williams (1/1)

Madison

Trinity Baptist Church (0/2)

Mobile

First Baptist Church (1/2)

Montevallo

University Baptist Church (0/1)

Pelham

Crosscreek Baptist Church (2/3)

Trussville

Deerfoot Baptist Church (0/1)

ARKANSAS

Arkadelphia

First Baptist Church (1/1)

Benton

First Baptist Church (4/0)

Bentonville

First Baptist Church (1/0)

Camden

Zion Hill Baptist Church (0/1)

El Dorado

First Baptist Church (2/0)

Fayetteville

Rolling Hills Baptist Church (2/1)

Fort Smith

Fianna Hills Baptist Church (1/0)

Jonesboro

Magnolia Road Baptist Church (1/1)

Little Rock

Immanuel Baptist Church (1/0)

Providence Baptist Church (1/0)

Pulaski Heights Baptist Church (1/3)

Second Baptist Church (8/2)

Malvern

FSBC-Magnet Cove (2/0)

ARIZONA

Peoria

First Baptist Church (2/4)

Tucson

Pantan