It is time for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship churches to end the double standard of ordaining women to the ministry but refusing to allow them to serve. I am a Baptist female trying to be faithful to God’s call upon my…
CBF joins hands to help Newtown clergy
By Bob Allen Multiple Cooperative Baptist Fellowship organizations are joining forces to offer support for clergy in Newtown, Conn., struggling to minister to congregations still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. A daylong…
Suzii Paynter on life, Lent and CBF
By Jeff Brumley Since her nomination as executive coordinator in January, Suzii Paynter has been traveling at a breathless pace helping guide the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship into a new organizational and missional era. The pace only increased with her election…
Small church embraces diversity
By Daniel Wallace Allendale, S.C., is one of the most economically challenged counties in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau can testify to that. But it’s also one of the most ethnically diverse. And First Baptist Church of Allendale…
CBF, a candle in search of darkness
Every good story needs an antagonist, a villain, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship story doesn’t have one. I was a graduate student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville when the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship was founded in 1991. I…
CBF ends Haiti disaster response
By Jeff Brumley The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has gotten out of the disaster-response business in Haiti, but churches planning long- or short-term mission trips there needn’t be worried, a Fellowship official said today. “Churches can still engage” in outreach with…
NABF retools disaster-relief network
By Jeff Brumley The stream of volunteers coming through La Place, La., these days ebbs and flows, says Reid Doster, coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Louisiana. A large group of Stetson University students is currently rehabbing some of…
Rising stress boosts clergy depression
By Jeff Brumley Bryan Hatcher was a Baptist pastor once, so he gets it when ministers buckle under the strain of long work weeks, budget pressures and that feeling of constantly being in a fish bowl. And because he has…
ABC, CBF explore closer ties
By Bob Allen Leaders of American Baptist Churches USA and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship met recently in Philadelphia and Atlanta to explore closer cooperation between the two groups, interim Coordinator Pat Anderson told the CBF Coordinating Council Feb. 22. Anderson…
Texas House honors Suzii Paytner
By Bob Allen The Texas legislature honored incoming Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leader Suzii Paynter Feb. 28 with a House resolution recognizing her advocacy work on numerous social issues during more than a decade of service with Texas Baptists. The resolution…
Building relationships in China
By Daniel Wallace Retirement for David and Ann Wilson looks a little bit different than it does for most. For them, it means going to China – and trying to get others to go with them. The Wilsons are the…
A new theme song for CBF?
On a recent Sunday, our church choir sang “Find Us Faithful” as the anthem in the traditional worship service. I have always liked this song that was written by Jon Mohr and popularized by Steve Green. In fact, we used…