By Daniel Vestal
On April 17, 2010, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship said farewell to a founder and friend, Cecil Sherman. He was a leader among us even before we began and then served as our first coordinator from 1992 to 1996. He can never be replaced or replicated, but he will be missed.
I can’t remember the first time I met Cecil, but I have admired and respected him for more than 40 years. I have never known a more principled person than Cecil. He was uncompromising when it came to issues of conscience. Unlike the ancient king of Israel who asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here?” we who knew and loved Cecil could say that we have known a modern Baptist prophet.
His unwavering protest against fundamentalism was prophetic. His resistance to legalism and his clarion call to freedom in Christ were prophetic. His leadership of CBF was prophetic. His preaching was prophetic. And though death has silenced his voice and his pen, his prophetic witness will live on. Like all true prophets before him, “he still speaks even though he is dead.”
Cecil was a prophetic role model, especially for those of us who say we are called to preach and teach. A great temptation for pastors, professors and professional ministers is “to go along to get along,” to chart a career path, to “be at ease in Zion” or to seek success. This is not the role of a prophet. Rather our role is to remind people of God, to speak for God and to be true to God. And when we are faithful to the prophetic calling there will be some who like Naaman will say, “Now I know there is no God in all the world except in Israel.”
But Cecil Sherman was not only a modern Baptist prophet, he was a modern Baptist pastor. He shepherded several churches in his life with love and is honored by those churches as a “beloved pastor.” He led CBF in those early years with a tenderness and “life wish” that resulted in growth and fruitfulness. He nurtured students at Baptist Theological Seminary of Richmond in his teaching and personal interest. He pastored a host of colleagues and former church members with his abiding friendship.
And then, through the years he “fed the sheep” of the Baptist family with his written commentaries on Scripture. His influence and impact through Bible study lessons is inestimable. Tens of thousands of lay people have been formed in their faith and enriched in their life because of Cecil Sherman. My wife, who for many years taught an adult Bible study class, told me, “I could soar as a teacher because of the foundation Dr. Sherman gave me in his writings.” Many others could say the same.
I was with Cecil on the SBC Peace Committee in the mid ’80s, and I shall never forget a poignant moment. One fundamentalist pastor kept bullying Cecil and other moderates, and after Cecil “stood up” to him, he said, “Cecil, you wouldn’t be allowed to teach Sunday school in my church.” It is more than ironic that one of the greatest and lasting legacies of Cecil Sherman will be his love of Scripture, his study of Scripture and his teaching of Scripture to clergy and laity. He was a pastor who knew that God’s flock needed the spiritual nourishment that comes from thoughtful, reverent Bible study.
But Cecil was even more than a prophet and pastor. He was a friend to so many of us. His constancy and integrity inspired us. His faithfulness and friendship encouraged us. His devotion to family humbled us. His life was, and continues to be, an example of Christ likeness. We say farewell to him with sadness, but we do so in the anticipation of resurrection and reunion.