Very light reading on CBF, not much from ABP

[Tim Bonney]

Sandy, while you are painting doom and gloom for the CBF you may want to leave out a change of organizational structure as a sign of decline. A lot of church groups restructure regularly and many of them have gone to smaller more tightly focused leadership as opposed to large unwieldy boards. Often such decisions about about tighter focus and not always about dollars.

Also the departure of more than one executive staff members is often a sign of a new leader at the top and not a problem.

[Sandy]

I think I'm on pretty safe ground here in saying that if the SBC lost three of its agency executives, experienced a 45% decline in the Cooperative Program, moved its executive offices out of the building at Ninth and Commerce into old, unused space in the Lifeway complex, and downsized the executive board, most everyone here would be clicking their tongues and evaluating that as a sure sign of a decline that they predicted as a result of the alleged, but absolutely unproveable "takeover." So an honest appraisal of CBF, which won't be forthcoming from anyone involved with it, or its propaganda arm, ABP, has to come from outside. "Happy spin" and "put the best face on" are the bywords for CBF discussion here.

[William Thornton]

I'm thinking that the problem you have with Sandy on this is that he has some facts.

[Dave Roberts]

[Tim Bonney]

[Sandy]

[Sandy]

[Tim Bonney]

[Sandy]

[Tim Bonney]

Sandy I'm finding that you are someone that I really can't have a discussion with. You assume you have no biases making you one of the most biased people here because you are blind to your own biases. I know what mine are. You are welcome to assume that anything I say about the SBC comes from either my mistreatment within the denomination, mistreatment of my family, or my colleagues.

I'm not "turning it around the other way." You are biased against the CBF, it is clear in nearly every post you make about the organization, and it is as predictable as the sun rising in the morning. If you said something positive about the CBF I'd be tempted to check to see if you account had been hijacked.

You are right that this is a forum mostly consisting of people who aren't friends of the SBC. Again, so what. We all have our own experiences and biases that shape our viewpoints. But again, I'm not going to over look the fact that your negativity of all things CBF is a known factor in any post you make. I'm not going to assume you are unbiased and factual when you have so clearly displayed bias towards the organization.

The only person here I can think of that has no bias towards the CBF, or SBC are people here like Hauro who have never been members of either. Anyone else has a personal bias.

[TrudyU]

Ed: TIm, I have never been a member of the KKK but I am biased against them. And I am not sure about Haruo's lack of bias regarding either the SBC or CBF . Otherwise you post above is right on target. But we do need to keep in mind that Sandy did have some experience in CBF not all of which was pleasant for one with his Baptistic bent. Some times the strength of our Baptist diversity, becomes a hindrance to our practice yet I have found nothing better for me. That is one reason we paticipate in both ABC and CBF.

I

[Sandy]

[TrudyU]

[William Thornton]

Sandy is right in the facts he gives but I'm intrigued by the larger picture of the CBF.

As I read Dave explain things, it looks like the CBF has a very slender national presence and budget and it looks like a few state organizations is where the action really is. It makes sense to me seeing that their support of schools is modest as is their missionary support.

I'm curious as to what the largest state organization's budget is.

We can all be right here once in a while.

[Tim Bonney]

Sandy, this isn't about facts it is about spin. You look at reorganization as a sign of disaster and others see it as an opportunity to fix an unwieldy structure that the CBF has had since the beginning. The fact is restructuring, the spin is your interpretation of the value and purpose of the restructuring which, as another outsider, you have no better idea of than I do.

[Sandy]

[Dave Roberts]

[Big Daddy Weaver]

My colleagues and I (a team of 4) covered so many events, meals, plenary sessions, workshops, etc. etc. that I lost count. I'm still recovering.

But, our news releases - one each day, Tuesday thru Friday - added up to well over 6,000 words. We wrote ALOT!

Also, I recruited CBF Fellows (the Fellows program is for pastors in their first years of post-seminary ministry) to write blog posts on the workshops and sessions that they attended. We have quite a few blog posts - I don't even know how many.

You can find ALL of our coverage including the blogs and news releases at CBFBlog.com. We post new material to CBFBlog.com each and every day of the week and have been doing an increasing number of news releases (compared to what CBF did in years past).

I'm also the new editor of fellowship! magazine. The next issue will be my first issue as editor (I was the associate editor on the previous two issues). If you don't get that magazine, it's free at http://www.thefellowship.info/fellowship (I know most here already receive it, although the SBCers and Methodist here might not - be sure to get it)

The easiest way to keep up with CBF news coverage is by liking our page on Facebook and following us there - unless, of course, you are like me and still keep up with news the old-fashioned way, via a RSS reader (RIP Google Reader).

Here are the major news releases but do check out the blog if you are interested in reading some of the blogger posts:

[William Thornton]

[Dave Roberts]

[Neil Heath]

[William Thornton]

[TrudyU]

[Stephen Fox]

Of all my cousins who are Baptist affiliated, it splits about half CBF and SBC. And both our grandparent sets were strongly SBC in their day, we're talking seminary, preachers, deacons, Sunday School teacher the whole cult.

As Baptist bred as Jerry Vines.

Recently a relative whose longterm church membership has been totally aligned with SBC, on his facebook wall made a shoutout to the preacher to read about the good assembly and good work the CBF was doing.

Thornton and Sandy have their indices, here's mine.

Have influentials in the congregation,the literate ones ever mindful that God is no respecter of persons, have them read Giberson and Stephens The Anointed. Take FBC Spartanburg S.C. Those Tea Party/Billy Graham Southern Baptists who are oh so proud of Trey Gowdy, send their Children to Baylor, Wofford, Furman, Davidson and don't think twice about it.

Until you have all the congregation writing off Ga Tech, UGA etc, then this whole Inerrancy thing was a Ruse. In every SBC church where nobody bats an eye at the children going to notable liberal arts school of higher ed, well you got a lot of denominational hypocrisy goin on.

Now, William and Sandy, tell me it aint so. And both of you are about four years behind reading Giberson and Stephens!

[Stephen Fox]

http://www.abpnews.com/opinion/commenta ... f-darkness