RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Friends and family members of Cecil Sherman filled the spacious sanctuary of River Road Church, Baptist, in Richmond, Va., April 20 to celebrate his life in the first of two scheduled memorial services.
“We seem to think that our loved ones belong to us, but they are only loaned to us," Bill Sherman, pastor of First Baptist Church in Fairview, Tenn., said during the meditation for the occasion. "We found that out last Saturday morning,” he said, referring to his brother’s death at age 82 from a massive heart attack.
“I was always proud that he was my brother, for he always told the truth,” Sherman continued. “And he always stood his ground” — on the race issue, on the women’s issue and on issues of Baptist principles.
One of Cecil Sherman’s ambitions was to live long enough to finish the manuscript of a new book he was writing for pastors and church leaders. With his voice husky with emotion, Bill shared that Cecil completed the book and sent it to the printer exactly one week before he died. It is expected to be released by Smyth & Helwys in June.
Though illustrated by different scenarios from Sherman’s life, speakers including Jim Slatton, former pastor of River Road Church; Tom Graves, former president of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, where Sherman taught in recent years; and Sherman's grandson, Nathaniel Brown all referred to the integrity that was a hallmark of the man.
Several mentioned his commitment to equal rights when he marched in the streets of Asheville, N.C., where he was pastor of First Baptist Church, following the death of Martin Luther King Jr. As a consequence of his courageous stand, he received death threats and open condemnation from some of his fellow pastors.
Also common to each speaker’s comments was Sherman’s stand for time-honored and biblically based Baptist principles which he believed to be largely abandoned by those who took control of the Southern Baptist Convention during the days referred to by some as the takeover and by others as the conservative resurgence.
Still another common thread woven into each speaker’s remarks was the tenderness with which he cared for his wife, Dot. Her 10-year illness prior to her death 20 months ago required a great deal of effort and sacrifice from Sherman, but he eagerly and lovingly tended to his wife’s needs, they reported. Her death came one month after Sherman’s discovery that he suffered from acute myeloid leukemia — a disease which, with expert medical care and abiding faith, he overcame.
Sherman, who served as the first coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, was also remembered for his leadership in helping form that organization, which was initially credited with providing places of service for Baptists disenfranchised by their own denomination.
A second memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Friday at First Baptist Church in Asheville, N.C.
Jim White is editor of the Religious Herald.