Baptists: 
If you haven’t been to CBF General Assembly . . . THIS is what you’re missing! 
by Bill Jones

I spent last week in Birmingham, Alabama, at Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) General Assembly. Whether in Birmingham, Dallas, Atlanta, Greensboro NC, Grapevine TX, Fort Worth, or any of its other venues over the years, CBF General Assembly has long been a highlight of ANY year for me. Last week was no exception. Following are a few things that made this year’s CBF General Assembly so special for me:

TUESDAY

T. B. Maston Foundation CBF Scholars Retreat
My week at CBF began upon arrival in Birmingham at around 11 a.m. Tuesday. After checking into my hotel (and discovering that none of the electronic room keys were working, so I would have to wait awhile for a room to become available), I walked over to the Sheraton, where MATTHEW BROYLES, RICK MCCLATCHY, and participants in the T. B. Maston Foundation CBF Scholars Retreat had gathered. We soon headed to lunch at a nearby eatery. This is my 12th year serving on the Maston Foundation Board of Trustees, and I’ve made it a point to attend this retreat most of those years. After getting to know the students over lunch, we headed back to the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex for the retreat. Matthew, who chairs the Retreats Committee for the Maston Foundation, facilitated the retreat, and Rick was the speaker. Rick – who has served as field coordinator for CBF Texas for many years – has long been one of my favorite Baptists. At my retirement dinner from Texas Baptists Committed last year, I cited Rick as one of my three primary mentors – the others being SUZII PAYNTER and GEORGE MASON – in my leadership of TBC (as well as that of the Maston Foundation, which I chaired from 2012-2016).

Rick engaged these young ministry students in discussion about the cultural changes that have caused a decline in church membership in the U.S. at the same time there is a rising interest in spirituality, and how to adapt and respond to those changes. Rick has studied these issues in detail over the years and worked to help CBF churches respond to these same challenges. He and the students engaged in a vigorous discussion, and he gave them a lot to chew on as he responded to their questions and comments.

WEDNESDAY

 

 

 

 

Baptist Women in Ministry (BWIM) Service and Celebration
On Wednesday morning, many of us took shuttle buses to the historic 16th Street Baptist Church, where four African-American girls died in a racism-motivated bombing in September 1963, just two weeks after the March on Washington. Just being in that building was awe-inspiring. We were there for the annual Baptist Women in Ministry Service and Celebration, led by PAM DURSO, celebrating her 10th anniversary as BWIM executive director. We were inspired and challenged in both word and song. OSSIE X. MCKINNEY led us in music that was both inspiring and motivational. CAROLYN MCKINSTRY preached a powerful sermon, “Empowered by Faith.” After taking communion together, we celebrated those receiving BWIM awards for their ministry service.

Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice Trailblazer Awards Dinner

That evening, I attended the Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice Trailblazer Awards Dinner. CBF began the Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice and Leadership Initiative – named for EMMANUEL MCCALL, pastor of FBC, East Point, GA – in 2018, focusing on “creating ways for God’s imperfect church to move toward unity between racially diverse communities.” In an article on the CBF blog announcing this initiative, JEFF HUETT wrote, “To stave off racial tensions during the 1960s, Dr. McCall was part of a pioneering team of African-American and Anglo pastors who intentionally met regularly in Louisville to read, study and pray together. Because of the forward thinking and action of these clergy, the rise of racial conflict was limited in their community.” During the dinner, awards were presented to individuals and organizations that had made significant contributions to the cause of racial justice.

Later that evening, I spoke briefly with Dr. McCall. He and I had sat next to each other at the New Baptist Covenant luncheon at CBF several years ago and at that time I learned that he had known my dad, A. JASE JONES, when both served with the SBC Home Mission Board in the 1970s. When I spoke with him Wednesday evening, I shared with him how pleased I am that he will be receiving the T. B. Maston Christian Ethics Award at our Foundation’s biennial dinner this coming October, and he said that he’s honored to be associated with the name of T. B. MASTON. For his courageous and prophetic ministry service over the years, Dr. McCall is a worthy recipient of the Maston Award.

Worship
CBF General Assembly officially began with the opening worship service that evening. Worship focused on racial justice, and videos were shown of those who received awards at the McCall Dinner earlier that evening. Testimonies were presented by CBF pastors ERICA WHITAKER and SCOTT DICKISON regarding their own churches’ and communities’ efforts toward achieving racial justice. Erica and Scott are both alumni of the Pastoral Residency program of my home church, Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas.

THURSDAY

The Fellowship at Work
At Thursday morning’s opening business session, an ambitious budget proposal was presented, in addition to motions and nominations. These were voted on and approved at Friday’s business session. Suzii Paynter was brought to the podium as CBF recognized – and thanked her for – her leadership of CBF from 2013-2019.

New Baptist Covenant Luncheon
At the New Baptist Covenant Luncheon, HANNAH MCMAHAN KING introduced her new co-executive director, AIDSAND WRIGHT-RIGGINS. The luncheon featured a panel discussion, moderated by the two executive directors, with NBC Covenant Partners located in Washington, D.C.; Dallas, TX; and Macon, GA. The panel discussed the powerful impact of their partnership across racial lines, as they agreed that we have far to go in achieving racial justice in this country. I spoke with Dr. Wright-Riggins afterward, telling him that we have been Facebook friends for some time now and that I wanted to finally meet him face-to-face. Ah, the confusing intricacies of 21st-century “friendship”!

Workshop – Combating Christian Nationalism (Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty) 
That afternoon, I attended the workshop of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, which focused on the subject of Christian Nationalism. Presenters were AMANDA TYLER, BJC executive director; and HOLLY HOLLMAN, BJC general counsel. After their presentations, they took questions and comments from the gathering. I piped up with my own observation of what Christian nationalism looks like within the church walls, from my own experience at the church my wife and I attended from 1987-2004. Those memories are still potently painful.

CBF Texas Meeting
Following the BJC workshop, I attended the CBF Texas meeting, led by Rick McClatchy, CBF Texas field coordinator. In addition to electing officers, we heard from MARV KNOX, field coodinator for Fellowship Southwest, about that entity’s activities and progress over its first two years. For over two decades, we in Texas had the privilege of reading Marv’s work – including his prophetically bold editorials – in The Baptist Standard. Marv has taken that same bold approach to the ministry of Fellowship Southwest, leading it to care for “the least of these,” as Jesus commanded.

A Celebration of Suzii Paynter: The Right Leader at the Right Time
At a dinner Thursday evening, hundreds of us celebrated the leadership of Suzii Paynter during her six-year tenure (2013-2019) as CBF’s executive coordinator. XIOMARA REBOYRAS-ORTIZ and ANDY HALE emceed the program as 29 speakers paid tribute to her leadership in four areas:

• Governance
• The Local Church & CBF Ministries
• CBF State & Regional Organizations
• Advocacy & Global Missions

Though I had been in her church (FBC Austin) many times beginning in the mid-1990s when visiting my parents after they moved their membership there, I didn’t really get to knowing Suzii until the early 2000s when I began attending the annual meetings of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. At the time, Suzii was in charge of public policy for the BGCT’s Christian Life Commission. My wife, JOANNA, and I were still members of an SBC church in Plano, TX, that had long been headed in the direction of Fundamentalism, and I had tried (unsuccessfully) to educate folks there on Baptist principles and why the SBC’s actions were egregious violations of Baptist distinctives as well as a betrayal of the spirit of Christ. To say the least, I was frustrated. When I went to the BGCT annual meetings, I always made a point of stopping by the Christian Life Commission booth and sharing my concerns with Suzii Paynter and PHIL STRICKLAND, CLC director. Suzii and Phil were great at listening to what I was experiencing, sharing my concerns over my church’s actions, and giving me encouragement to stay the course.

After Phil passed away in 2006, CHARLES WADE – then BGCT executive director – asked Suzii to succeed Phil as CLC director. Suzii has continued to be a friend and encourager to me through the years. After I became executive director of Texas Baptists Committed in 2011 and then chair of the T. B. Maston Foundation Board in 2012, I needed people I could “bounce things off of,” people who had more experience in leadership positions than I did. I was able to call Suzii Paynter (who serves with me on the Maston Foundation Board) and Rick McClatchy whenever I needed and be sure that they would listen patiently and then share their wisdom with me.

Following Suzii’s dinner, I hugged her and encouraged her to soak in all those words spoken about her that evening and realize what an impact she has had on so many lives, including mine, through the years. Then I got my picture taken with her, followed by a picture with both Suzii and CHARLES FOSTER JOHNSON. In 2008, as CLC director, Suzii asked Charlie to lead a CLC initiative to advocate for public schoolchildren in Texas. In 2013, around the time Suzii left Texas for Georgia to lead CBF, Pastors for Texas Children became a standalone entity, separate from the CLC. Under Charlie’s leadership as executive director, PTC’s impact has far outstripped the size of its membership, which itself has grown to over 2,000. When Suzii left CBF, she joined Charlie as co-executive directors of PTC. I’ve had the privilege of serving on the PTC Board of Trustees since its inception, and my passion for this ministry continues to grow. I was proud on this Thursday evening to have my picture taken with my friends Charlie and Suzii, two outstanding advocates for Texas’ public schools. With the team of Charlie Johnson and Suzii Paynter in place, I’m excited to see what God has in store for Pastors for Texas Children in the years to come.

Worship
At worship following Suzii’s dinner, we heard PAUL BAXLEY, CBF’s new executive coordinator, preach on “The Most Compelling Witness.” Paul came to the CBF staff after serving for many years as pastor of FBC, Athens, GA. His powerful sermon urged Fellowship Baptists to love with the “relentless, sacrificial, and active love” modeled and commanded by Jesus Christ. What he called “the holiest thing to happen in CBF worship” followed his message: the commissioning of chaplains and pastoral counselors; commissioning of church starters; re-appointment of field personnel; and commissioning of a Global Service Corps candidate, all followed by the blessing and laying on of hands by the entire Fellowship assembled, which is my personal favorite time of worship at General Assembly every year. It is, as he said, a truly holy moment in time, as we bless these whom God has called and sent out for service in the name of Christ.

Book Signings
Thursday night is traditionally the night for author signings at The Gathering Place, and I succumbed to temptation as usual, buying several books that intrigued me and visiting briefly with the authors as they autographed my copies of their books:

• Living a Narrative Life: Essays on the Power of Stories; by KEITH HERRON
• Of Mice and Ministers: Musings and Conversations About Life, Death, Grace, and Everything; by BERT MONTGOMERY
• Laugh your way to Grace: Reclaiming the Spiritual Power of Humor; by SUSAN SPARKS, America’s only female stand-up comedian with a pulpit
• A Baptist Vision of Religious Liberty & Free and Faithful Politics: The Words and Writings of James M. Dunn; by AARON DOUGLAS WEAVER, Editor

I also bought two books by authors who were not present, both friends of mine whom I hold in high regard (and hope to eventually get THEIR autographs on these books):

• Do You Still Do Things with Clay? by RAGAN COURTNEY
• Faith, Hope & Politics: Inspiring a New Generation to Community-Changing Political Engagement; by BRENT MCDOUGAL

FRIDAY

The Fellowship at Work
As I mentioned earlier, Friday was the day we voted to adopt the proposed 2019-2020 Missions and Ministries Budget, as well as the Nominating Committee Report and Governing Board Recommendations. We heard from leaders of various areas and initiatives throughout CBF, including recognition – by DEVITA PARNELL (who reminded us that, despite its name, the Young Baptist Ecosystem that she leads does NOT denote a focus on “green” initiatives) – of the Young Baptist Award; 25 Young Baptists to Know (all of whom appeared on the podium); and Vestal Scholars and Leadership Scholars.

29th Annual BJC Luncheon
At the luncheon celebrating the ministry of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, we were welcomed by Amanda Tyler, BJC executive director, who unveiled the BJC’s new logo and the new look of the BJC’s Web site. It is distinguished by the simple description of its mission: Faith. Freedom. For All. After we elected new Religious Liberty Council officers and BJC Board members, Holly Hollman, BJC general counsel & associate executive director, introduced the keynote speaker, JONATHAN MERRITT, award-winning faith and culture writer, and author of Learning to Speak God from Scratch, which was also the subject of his address. We heard Jonathan speak at Wilshire last year, and I got his autograph on my copy of his book (there seems to be a theme here, doesn’t there?). Jonathan has a unique, thoughtful, and incisive way of addressing faith and culture. His address got right to the heart of the way we communicate our faith and how we can do it more effectively and authentically.

Ye Olde School Ties
Friday afternoon, I spent an hour reliving old times at Oklahoma Baptist University with friends LAYNE SMITH and STEVE GRAHAM, who were students at OBU when I was there in the early 1970s. This is the second consecutive year we’ve gathered at CBF to reminisce about professors, classes, students, and a few extracurricular happenings that are best kept within this small circle! Two years is too short a time to call it a tradition, but maybe it will become one. What fun getting together and talking over old OBU memories – memories of a time when we all learned and grew by questioning the faith with which we had grown up, questioning the literal interpretations of scripture, being challenged by professors as well as fellow students to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. And believe me, at least in my case, there was a lot of fear and trembling in working through all those things. Over the years, I’ve discovered that many others were going through the same thing. At OBU back then, we were encouraged to question and to give voice to our doubts – and, in most cases, we came through it with a stronger and more authentic faith than the one with which we had entered those “hallowed halls.” Had a great time visiting with Layne and Steve!

Closing Worship
On Friday evening, we heard KRISTA TIPPETT, Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and  The New York Times bestselling author, speak on “The Adventure of Civility.” She was quick to explain that the civility that she is encouraging is not that of a doormat, not one of meek submission, but an active engagement in dialogue and relationship, involving listening, learning, and caring. Tippett is the creator and host of National Public Radio’s On Being (www.onbeing.org), which airs on over 400 public radio stations nationwide and globally via podcast.

As we do every year, we concluded the week by taking communion by intinction and singing a closing hymn. Communion at CBF is always a holy, moving moment.

Weekly Baptist Roundup e-news
Throughout the week, I found time (usually following the evening worship sessions, in addition to a little “down time” late Friday afternoon) to work on my Weekly Baptist Roundup e-newsletter, which is opened by around 900 Baptists every Saturday morning, on the computer in the hotel lobby. For over 8 years, this has been a commitment for me. I’ve published the Roundup from hotel rooms, hospital waiting rooms, and from locales as distant as Israel and Hong Kong. Since I would need to start driving home (about a 10-hour drive) early Saturday, I was bound and determined to finish this week’s issue of the Roundup before going to bed Friday night (and schedule it to be sent out early Saturday morning). I was real pleased with myself when I finished it at around 11:30 p.m. I went back up to my room and dressed for bed. Then I checked my email and discovered that CBF had posted an article on the closing worship service at around 11:45, or 15 minutes after I had “finished.” So I got dressed again, went back down to the lobby, and added that article to the Roundup. It was finally finished – this time for good – around 12:30!

As I spoke with people in the hallways, at meals and other functions, etc., throughout the week, I was gratified by the many people who expressed appreciation to me for Weekly Baptist Roundup. It was affirmation far beyond what I could have imagined in 2011, when God gave me the idea for a weekly e-newsletter that would link to Baptist news and opinion from a wide variety of sources (and the variety has only grown wider and wider through the years). God’s imagination is much, much bigger than mine! Thank you to all of you who faithfully read Weekly Baptist Roundup, and especially to those of you who support it financially, and the many who have expressed their affirmation to me at CBF and elsewhere.

After I got home, I joked to my wife that – after years of working booths for Texas Baptists Committed and the Maston Foundation, I have found that I don’t need any booth to promote Weekly Baptist Roundup – I’m sure I gave out my new WBR business card (with subscription instructions) to more people personally than ever happened by my booth in years past!

Concluding Comments

It was a wonderful week – so many special events, recognitions, worship, and so forth. But what makes CBF General Assembly such a special experience is the people – and the Spirit of God that is evident in our Fellowship. I can’t begin to count the number of people with whom I personally spoke this week – both old friends and new. The relationships you build at General Assembly are what makes it such a special experience every year. Thanks be to God for our CBF family.