2014 General Assembly Guidebook

2014 CBF General Assembly Atlanta, Georgia

Woven Together Threads of faith and fellowship

A cord of three strands is not easily broken - ECClesiastes 4:9-12

Woven Together

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Atlanta, Georgia June 23 - 27

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2014 General Assembly

Our Graduates.

TRUETT SEMINARY

Truett graduates pastor large and small congregations. They spearhead international missions organizations and local ministries.

They minister to children, adults, and seniors. They feed the hungry, house the homeless, and care for the sick. They lead nonprofits, write books, and build discipleship programs. Truett graduates respond in mighty ways to Christ’s command to proclaim the gospel.

Living the Great Commission.

BRADY HERBERT MDIV ‘08

LEAD PASTOR HARRIS CREEK BAPTIST CHURCH

Built on a strong biblical foundation, George W. Truett Theological Seminary equips the next generation of congregational leaders and ministry professionals to reach people in an ever-changing global community.

LEARN MORE baylor.edu/truett

Welcome to

•ATLANTA• GEORGIA

and the 2014 Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly!

FOR 23 YEARS, the Fellowship has been weaving together stories of how Cooperative Baptists are being the presence of Christ around the world. I am glad and grateful that you have joined us to celebrate and also add to our shared narrative.

There are so many wonderful events happening this week!

On Wednesday night, we will commission and bless new CBF field personnel, church starters, chaplains and pastoral counselors. And we will do so in a new way — around the dinner table.

Our Thursday and Friday evening worship sessions will be made more memorable and meaningful thanks to featured speakers Andrew Young and Chuck Poole along with world-renowned musicians Indra Thomas and Cynthia Clawson.

There will be many diverse and relevant workshops from which to choose Thursday and Friday with topics for ministry support and personal growth. We are especially appreciative of our CBF partners and networks that have recruited notable names like Melissa Rogers and Allan Boesak to be luncheon speakers.

Bill McConnell is a layperson Don’t forget the many opportunities for fellowship at the Missions Market and in The Gathering from Knoxville, Tenn., where he is a partner at the manufacturer’s Place. What a fantastic week we will have together! agency Rogers & Morgan.

It is also my privilege to welcome Steven Porter to his first General Assembly as the new CBF McConnell and his wife, Carolyn, Global Missions Coordinator. Steven has hit the ground running to cast his vision for the exciting are members of Central Baptist future of our global missions enterprise. As you see Steven around, I encourage you to extend a word Church of Bearden in Knoxville. of welcome and affirmation.

The scripture which guides this year’s Assembly is Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 and it says that we are stronger when we act together. The storied threads of our faith and fellowship make a cord that is not easily broken.

This week, I invite you to consider your own personal story or the story of your church. Think deeply about the vibrant threads in your memories of people, experiences and places. I challenge you to share this story with your Fellowship family and to weave an even bigger and stronger tapestry of God’s work in the world.

Bill McConnell, CBF Moderator A S S E M B LY 2 0 1 4 G U I D E B O O K

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2014 GENERAL ASSEMBLY GUIDEBOOK GENERAL ASSEMBLY COORDINATOR Bo Prosser EDITOR Aaron Weaver GRAPHIC DESIGNER Travis Peterson PHONE (770) 220-1600 E-MAIL fellowship@thefellowship.info WEBSITE www.thefellowship.info CCLI LICENSE # 11210383

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Contents Daily Schedule Wednesday Co-Missioning Celebration Church Starters Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors Field Personnel Business Session I (Thursday) Business Procedures Workshops (Thursday) Worship Session I (Thursday)

48 50 54 57 60 66 69 72 78 87

#EndHunger — 2014-15 Offering for Global Missions New Global Missions Coordinator Business Session II (Friday) Nominating Committee Report Workshops (Friday) Worship Session II (Friday) Worship and Business Session Leaders Featured Content Directories Constitution and Bylaws

Is God calling you?

The partner-funded model of CBF Global Missions unleashes the power of personal relationships in a hyper-connected and socially-networked world to transform lives in congregations and on the field.

These field personnel are commissioned ministers who engage in close, collaborative relationships with churches, agencies, small groups and individuals like you to faithfully answer God’s call to serve among the most neglected around the world.

EXPLORE

Learn more at: thefellowship.info/missions/serve/asyougo

Join an ongoing discernment cohort to explore your call to mission.

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Timely News, Thoughtful Analysis, Helpful Resources and Inspiring Features

B

aptists Today is an autonomous, national news journal that provides fresh information that helps keep Baptists informed across the broader Baptist landscape. With a circulation of approximately 12,000, freedom of the press is cherished and protected by Baptists Today’s board of directors who assure complete editorial freedom.

Baptists Today views our collaboration with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship as a sacred trust as we share a common commitment to serve congregations.

This collaboration is squarely aimed at providing a quality news journal — with important information on trends and resources that impacts congregational life, as well as a superb Bible study curriculum for adults and youth.

The Nurturing Faith Bible Studies by Tony Cartledge of Campbell University Divinity School are used in a growing number of CBF partner congregations. These materials assure church leaders that participants are learning from a trusted Baptist Bible scholar who respects the intelligence of class members.

Visit the Baptists Today booth to receive a free copy of Baptists Today, your news source for Baptist life, and to register for a free samsung Galaxy Tablet.

Call 1-877-752-5658 or visit baptiststoday.org to start your subscription.

“Freedom of the written word is embodied by Baptists Today

“As a pastor I need a trusted resource that promotes, articu-

in every issue. It is an unfettered network that seeks to en-

lates, and interprets a positive Baptist, Christian ethos. For

lighten the assorted and wide range of folks in Baptist life.”

our congregation, Baptists Today is that trusted resource.”

—woodie and winnie williams Clemson, S.C.

—l. JaCK GlasGow, Jr. Senior Pastor, Zebulon Baptist Church, Zebulon

Build Your Own General Assembly

Thursday

Friday

Breakfast:

Breakfast:

Lunch:

Lunch:

Workshop I:

Workshop I:

Workshop II:

Workshop II:

Dinner:

Dinner:

Other:

Other:

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ANSWER THE CALL

It’s worth a life. divinity.campbell.edu Christ-Centered | Bible-Based | Ministry-Focused

Daily Schedule Wednesday, June 25

*Unless otherwise noted, room locations are in Hyatt Regency

Noon – 5 p.m.

Registration — Come to the Assembly registration area in Grand Hall and receive your name tag, Assembly Guidebook and a reusable bag.

LOCATION: Grand Hall

1:30 – 4 p.m.

Leadership Institute — Join Dave Odom from the Leadership Education Initiative at Duke Divinity as he leads us into practical tools for assessing our communities. One aspect of the CBF Dawnings process is to engage our neighborhoods. Often we do not know the needs in our neighborhoods or how to collaborate with existing agencies to provide meaningful ministry. Through presentations and small-group conversations, pastors, ministers and lay leaders will discuss ways to get a clearer vision of what’s needed, what’s already being done and what individual congregations can contribute. Members of the newly-formed CBF Ministries Council will also be present to listen to stories of congregations and to hear what church leaders need for more effective ministry.

COST: $25 LOCATION: Regency V

4 – 5:30 p.m.

CBF Governing Board Meeting LOCATION: Kennesaw

7 p.m.

Wednesday Night Banquet and Co-Missioning Service — Join us Wednesday evening for A Celebration of Co-Missioning! Begin your General Assembly by sharing a family meal and fellowship around the tables with your CBF community. After dinner we will hear inspiring stories of how our field personnel and Fellowship congregations are co-missioning around the world — being the presence of Christ in tangible, creative, sustainable ways. Hear what is happening in churches recently started and also hear about the ministries of our chaplains and pastoral counselors. The highlight of the evening will come as we join together in the blessing and commissioning of newly-endorsed chaplains, pastoral counselors, new church starters and new field personnel. We will also hear from CBF Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter and new CBF Global Missions Coordinator Steven Porter.

COST: $25/adult, $10/child (10 and under) LOCATION: Regency Ballroom

Thursday, June 26

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7 - 8 a.m.

Zumba® — Maira Talik, a certified Zumba® instructor, will lead this class. Zumba® is a dance fitness program that involves Latin and international dances and aerobic elements. It is a fun, energetic and dynamic way to exercise. Come join us.

LOCATION: Embassy Ballroom E

7 a.m.

Running Group — Randy Shepley, pastor of First Baptist Church of Tucker, Ga., will lead a group on a three-mile run through downtown Atlanta. If you prefer a shorter or longer run, that’s ok! Meet at the Hyatt Regency concierge desk and start together!

COST: Free LOCATION: Hyatt Regency Concierge Desk

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7:30 – 9 a.m.

Networking Breakfasts — Looking to connect around your passion or practice? Want to become better at what you “do”? Wish you could find a community of support and encouragement? Join one of the following networking breakfasts for conversation, fellowship and learning. Networking — it’s what Cooperative Baptists do!

COST: $18 (Tickets available for purchase Wednesday at the Event Sales kiosk) LOCATION: Hanover Rooms Children’s Ministry Network — All who work with and love preschoolers and children are invited to this breakfast as we support one another in our ongoing commitment to nurturing faith in the families whom God has called us to serve!

FACILITATOR: Becky Caswell-Speight Co-Pastors Network — For co-pastors, those who have co-pastored in the past and those thinking of doing so in the future, join us for breakfast. Meet others who have walked the path of shared ministry.

Children are welcome to attend as the primary goal for this meal is fellowship!

FACILITATORS: Amber and John Inscore Essick Dawnings Churches Network — Churches who are exploring or are already “on the way” in the Dawnings process of seeking new life for their congregations are invited to share the journey of vision, formation and engagement with one another.

FACILITATOR: Josh Speight Festival of Young Preachers — Young preachers registered for the Festival of Young Preachers will gather for orientation and prayer. Breakfast is included with their Festival registration. Mentors and CBF Fans (those who want to offer support and encouragement) are welcome to register and join us!

FACILITATOR: Wyndee Hollbrook HIV/AIDS Network — Being the presence of Christ in a world touched by HIV/AIDS is always about real people. Join with the HIV/AIDS Network and learn about CBF’s presence. Speakers include CBF field personnel Mark and Sara Williams (South Africa), Ronnie Adams (New York City) and Nirobi Thomas (Knoxville, Tenn.).

FACILITATOR: Wayne Smith Polyphony ~ Fellowship of Pastoral Musicians — Join in a network breakfast with the Polyphony ~ Fellowship of Pastoral Musicians who share a passion for sacred choral and instrumental music, hymnody and the arts.

FACILITATOR: Randy Brittain Youth Ministry Network — Join the CBF Youth Ministry Network (YMN) for breakfast. This will be a time to re-connect with friends and learn more about what’s going on with YMN. Members and those who are curious are welcome.

FACILITATOR: John Uldrick

7:30 – 9:15 a.m.

CBF Peer Learning Group Convener Breakfast — CBF Peer Learning Groups leadership will gather over breakfast for a time of encouragement and fellowship. The event is free for current conveners or designated group members. Assembly attendees with an interest in joining or forming a new PLG are also welcome.

COST: Free for PLG Conveners LOCATION: Regency Ballroom V

8 – 9:15 a.m.

CBF Encourager Church Thank You Breakfast — A thank you breakfast for Encourager Churches.

COST: (reservations required) LOCATION: International Ballroom South

8:30 – 9:15 a.m.

Newcomer Continental Breakfast — A continental breakfast and fellowship for first-time Assembly attendees — a great time to meet new friends and ask questions.

COST: Free (for first-time Assembly attendees) LOCATION: Dunwoody

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8:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Preschool Assembly Morning Session LOCATION: Embassy Hall

8:45 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Children’s Day Camp LOCATION: Embassy Hall

8:45 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Youth Assembly LOCATION: Embassy Hall

9 a.m. – 7 p.m.

The Gathering Place — Throughout the day when you want to relax and chat with new and old friends, visit The Gathering Place located in the Grand Hall of the Hyatt Regency. There, you can rest your feet or talk with CBF partners and other exhibitors waiting to greet you. Also, you can shop for items such as church resources or handmade crafts in the Missions Market!

LOCATION: Grand Hall

9:30 – 11 a.m.

Business Session I — The 3 Inspirational Tenors will open the 2014 General Assembly at 9:15 a.m. A variety of CBFers will imagine what life would be “Without Church” and Dock Hollingsworth will share “Why I Love My Church” before our time of business begins. We will introduce the Governing Board, present the 2014-2015 Budget and receive the Nominating Committee Report before Suzii Paynter shares “The Hope and Promise of the Fellowship in Christ.”

LOCATION: Centennial Ballroom

11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Free Health Screenings — Mercer University student pharmacists will be checking blood pressure, glucose, BMI and more.

LOCATION: The Gathering Place

11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Campbell University Alumni and Friends Luncheon COST: $20 (reservations required) LOCATION: Hanover A

11:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.

New Baptist Covenant Luncheon — Join the New Baptist Covenant for lunch. The keynote speaker is the Rev. Dr. Allan Boesak, the Desmond Tutu Chair of Peace, Global Justice and Reconciliation Studies at Butler University and Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis, Ind. Boesak is a world-renowned theologian, humanitarian, prolific author and tireless advocate for social justice. His early activisim and service led to international recognition as an influential leader in the fight against South Africa’s apartheid system.

COST: $40 (tickets available for purchase at the Missions Market) LOCATION: Regency Ballroom

1:15 – 5:30 p.m.

Preschool Assembly Reopens — Preschoolers are welcomed back to their Assembly session.

LOCATION: Embassy Hall

1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

Thursday Workshops: Session I — See pages 37-38 for a list and detailed descriptions of workshops.

LOCATION: Various Locations

2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

Thursday Workshops: Session II — See pages 39-40 for a list and detailed descriptions of workshops.

LOCATION: Various Locations

4:15 – 5:15 p.m.

State and Regional Meetings — It’s time to hear the local story — don’t miss your state or regional CBF meeting!

Alabama Baker Arkansas Courtland Florida Hanover F & G Georgia International South Heartland Spring Kentucky Hanover E Louisiana University Mid-Atlantic Piedmont Mississippi Roswell

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North Carolina International North North Central Lenox Northeast Hanover D Oklahoma/Kansas Techwood South Carolina Kennesaw Tennessee Inman Texas Hanover C Virginia Dunwoody West Marietta

5:30 – 7 p.m.

Wake Forest University School of Divinity Reception — Wake Forest University School of Divinity invites alumni and friends to renew their Wake Forest connections and receive an update on the School of Divinity.

COST: Free LOCATION: Hanover A & B

5:30 – 7 p.m.

Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond Dinner — Are you a member of the BTSR Family? Please join us for dinner! Meet outside the Virginia state meeting room (Dunwoody) immediately following Thursday afternoon’s meeting. We will then depart to nearby restaurants for a time of fellowship and community.

COST: Free LOCATION: Dunwoody

5:30 – 7:15 p.m.

Friends of ABPnews/Herald Dinner — The annual gathering of advocates for a free press for free Baptists. Celebrate the historic merger of Associated Baptist Press and the Religious Herald. A limited number of tickets are available at the ABPnews/Herald exhibit in The Gathering Place.

COST: $40 LOCATION: Regency Ballroom

7 – 9 p.m.

Preschool Assembly and Children’s Day Camp — Preschoolers and children are welcomed back to their Assembly sessions.

LOCATION: Embassy Hall

7:30 – 9 p.m.

Worship Session I — Andrew Young’s career as a politician, diplomat, activist and pastor gives him a unique perspective from which to preach on “The Church’s Mission in the World.” The Broadway Baptist Church Chapel Choir from Fort Worth, Texas, Andrea Dellinger Jones, and Indra Thomas, one of the world’s leading sopranos, will lead us in worship. Each session will celebrate the music of adoration, the poetry of scripture and the goodness of God’s family.

LOCATION: Centennial Ballroom

9 – 10:30 p.m.

George W. Truett Seminary Alumni Reception — Dr Pepper floats and conversation for all friends of Truett Seminary.

COST: Free LOCATION: Hanover A & B

9 – 10:30 p.m.

Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology Alumni and Friends Reception COST: Free LOCATION: Hanover C & D

9 – 10:30 p.m.

Assembly Reception — Enjoy Krispy Kreme donuts at this Dawnings-sponsored reception in The Gathering Place. All are welcome! Stop by the Dawnings table to learn more about this exciting initiative for congregational renewal.

Friday, June 27 7 - 8 a.m.

Zumba® — Maira Talik, a certified Zumba® instructor will lead this class. Zumba® is a dance fitness program that involves Latin and international dances and aerobic elements. It is a fun, energetic and dynamic way to exercise. Come join us.

COST: Free LOCATION: Embassy Ballroom E

7 a.m.

Running Group — Randy Shepley, pastor of First Baptist Church of Tucker, Ga., will lead a group on a three-mile run through downtown Atlanta. If you prefer a shorter or longer run, that’s ok! Meet at the Hyatt Regency concierge desk and start together!

COST: Free LOCATION: Hyatt Regency Concierge Desk

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7:30 – 9 a.m.

Networking Breakfasts — Looking to connect around your passion or practice? Want to become better at what you “do”? Wish you could find a community of support and encouragement? Join one of the following networking breakfasts for conversation, fellowship and learning. Networking — it’s what Cooperative Baptists do!

COST: $18 (Tickets available for purchase at the Event Sales kiosk on Wednesday and at the Missions Market on Thursday) LOCATION: Hanover Rooms Baptist Women in Ministry — Join Baptist Women in Ministry for breakfast and a time of fellowship.

Among BWIM’s core values are networking and connecting — that is, we seek to assist women ministers in building networks of support and to connect women with others who share common ministry roles or life situations. This breakfast offers time for conversation around the table. During our time together, we will also have a guided discussion about the value of networking for women ministers, provide information about current support structures and offer ideas about how women can be intentional and strategic in building networks.

FACILITATOR: Pam Durso South Africa Network — The South Africa Network is a collection of individuals, churches and ministries committed to working with local organizations and CBF field personnel in South Africa who minister to the most neglected. Our work centers on HIV/AIDS, poverty relief and orphan care. All are welcome to attend.

FACILITATOR: Chris Ellis Together for Hope Network — Anyone interested in knowing more about Together for Hope and its communities should join us for great regional music, shared stories and opportunities for future engagement. We are walking alongside many great folks who are changing the future for their communities. It’s an honor to share their stories with you!

FACILITATOR: Stephanie Vance

7:30 – 9 a.m.

Baptist Peace Fellowship Peace Breakfast — In 1813, Adoniram and Ann Judson arrived in Burma as the first Baptist foreign missionaries. Learn about the celebrations held by the Burmese Baptists in December 2013 and see what life is like today in this predominantly Buddhist society. Evelyn Hanneman, BPFNA Operations Coordinator who spent three weeks in Burma/Myanmar, will share her slides and experiences.

Visit our exhibit in The Gathering Place for more information.

COST: $30 LOCATION: Courtland

8 – 9:30 a.m.

Baptist House at Duke Divinity School Alumni and Friends Breakfast — The Baptist House at Duke Divinity School invites all alumni, family and friends to our seventh annual gathering. Tickets are free. Visit our exhibit in The Gathering Place for more information.

COST: Free LOCATION: Dunwoody

8 – 9:15 a.m.

CBF Foundation Heritage Society Breakfast — The Fellowship Heritage Society gathers annually for breakfast at CBF’s General Assembly. If you are interested in hearing stories of passionate ministry made possible through the generosity of long-term giving, come join us for breakfast. There is no business, just celebration!

COST: $25 (Tickets available for purchase at the Event Sales kiosk on Wednesday and at the Missions Market on Thursday) LOCATION: International Ballroom South

8:45 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Preschool Assembly Morning Session LOCATION: Embassy Hall

8:45 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Children’s Day Camp LOCATION: Embassy Hall

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8:45 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Youth Assembly LOCATION: Embassy Hall

9 a.m. – 7 p.m.

The Gathering Place — Feel free to wander about throughout the day! Be sure to visit the Missions Market!

LOCATION: Grand Hall

9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Ministers on the Move — Are you serving on a minister search committee at your church? Are you a minister seeking a new place of service? Come by and meet with CBF folks who can be a resource for you.

Drop by and sign up for a time.

COST: Free LOCATION: Hanover G

9:30 - 11 a.m.

Business Session II — Cynthia Clawson, Grammy Award-winning gospel singer, will begin our worship and planning at 9:15 a.m. Preston Clegg will offer his version of “Why I Love My Church.” Our business will include reports from the Missions and Ministries councils, Governing Board and CBF Foundation. Bill McConnell, the outgoing moderator, will offer his reflections and Kasey Jones, the new moderator, will share her dreams for CBF. LOCATION: Centennial Ballroom

11 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Free Health Screening — Mercer University student pharmacists will be onsite checking blood pressure, glucose, BMI and more.

LOCATION: The Gathering Place

11:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty’s Annual Religious Liberty Council Luncheon — Join friends of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty at the annual Religious Liberty Council Luncheon with keynote speaker, Melissa Rogers, Special Assistant to the President and Executive Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Previously, Rogers was the Director of the Center for Religion and Public Affairs at Wake Forest University Divinity School and a nonresident Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution. Her prior experience also includes serving as Executive Director of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and General Counsel of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.

COST: $40 LOCATION: Regency Ballroom VI & VII

11:30 a.m. – 1:15 p.m.

Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling Luncheon — David Gushee, distinguished ethics professor from Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology, will facilitate a dialogue on: “Doing Ministry in Specialized Settings in Post-Christian America.” Attendees will discuss the opportunities and challenges for their ministries in an increasingly secular and pluralistic milieu. Come prepared to share best practices and discuss concerns from your context. Attendees will also have an opportunity to meet and learn more about new CBF Chaplain and Pastoral Counselor Endorser Gerry Hutchinson.

COST: $15 (reservations required) LOCATION: Regency Ballroom V

11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

WE Lunch — The WE Lunch “welcomes everyone” who wants to share a lunch time and space with others from CBF. Attending General Assembly alone? A first-timer? Would you enjoy meeting others from the Fellowship? Sign up for the WE Lunch.

COST: $10 (Tickets available for purchase in the Missions Market of The Gathering Place) LOCATION: Hanover C & D

Noon – 1:30 p.m.

Church Benefits Board Member Luncheon — Come to the annual Church Benefits Board members luncheon. This year’s special guest speakers include Bob Patterson, associate pastor of First Baptist Church, Warm Springs, Ga., and Sam Coates, associate pastor of Pelham Road Baptist Church in Greenville, S.C. COST: Free (reservations required) LOCATION: Hanover A & B

1:15 – 5:30 p.m.

Preschool Assembly — Preschoolers are welcomed back to their Assembly session.

LOCATION: Embassy Hall A S S E M B LY 2 0 1 4 G U I D E B O O K

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1:30 – 2:30 p.m.

Friday Workshops: Session I — See pages 60-61 for a complete list and detailed descriptions of workshops.

LOCATION: Various Locations

2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

Friday Workshops: Session II — See pages 62-63 for a complete list and detailed descriptions of workshops.

LOCATION: Various Locations

4 – 5 p.m.

Central Baptist Theological Seminary Gathering — Gather with friends of Central for a word from President Molly T. Marshall and an update on exciting new initiatives.

COST: Free LOCATION: Hanover B

4 – 5 p.m.

Gardner-Webb University Alumni, Students and Friends Gathering — A gathering of Gardner-Webb alumni, students and friends.

COST: Free LOCATION: Hanover A

5:30 – 7 p.m.

CBF Latino/Hispanic Network Dinner — A gathering of Latino/Hispanic pastors, leaders and friends coming together for inspiration and learning.

COST: $10 (pay at the door) LOCATION: Hanover D

5:30 – 7 p.m.

Current Dinner Party — Join us for the Current Dinner Party at General Assembly! It is a young Baptistfriendly, family-friendly, budget-friendly, vegetarian-friendly dinner at Max Lager’s. Stop by the Current area in The Gathering Place for more details and to RSVP. Pay with cash or check at the door. Space is limited.

COST: Cost is $20 per person and kids 12 and under eat FREE! LOCATION: Max Lager’s restaurant, located at the corner of Peachtree and West Peachtree just one block north of the Hyatt Regency

7 – 9 p.m.

Preschool Assembly and Children’s Day Camp — Preschoolers and children are welcomed back to their Assembly sessions.

LOCATION: Embassy Hall

7:30 – 9 p.m.

Worship Session II — The CBF Georgia/Atlanta Choir will open this service of call and communion. Julie Whidden Long will tell us why she loves her church. Cynthia Clawson will invite us to the table through music. Chuck Poole will call us to the Lord’s Supper through the preached word. Worship will close with the bread of life and cup of grace that make the Fellowship a family.

LOCATION: Centennial Ballroom

9 - 10:30 p.m.

Ice Cream Fellowship at The Gathering Place — Join us for ice cream treats and fellowship at The Gathering Place following evening worship.

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General Assembly Event Map

Exhibit Hours Thursday and Friday

Open 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Closed for Worship 7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

Open 9:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.

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Congregational Visioning Leadership Coaching Staffing Opportunities Speaking, Workshops, Educational Events Conflict Intervention

How do you grow a church in the 21st century?

336.970.3578 healthy-churches.org info@healthy-churches.org

Belmont University Thanks CBF for Our Long-Term Partnership in Christian Development Work in Haiti. “All things were created by Christ and for Christ, and in Him all things hold together.� Colossians 1:16 www.BELMONT.edu

A Celebration of

Co-Missioning E

very year at General Assembly, we have a time where we come together as a family and give our blessing to those called out from our midst to serve in specific areas of ministry.

We have blessed chaplains and pastoral counselors who have been endorsed by CBF to serve as the presence of Christ all over the world — in the military, in prisons, in hospitals and hospices, in corporations and on university campuses.

We have set apart church starters who have begun all kinds of CBF congregations across our nation, from Round Rock, Texas, to Durham, N.C. And, we have appointed new CBF field personnel who share the message and love of Christ to the most neglected and marginalized people around the world.

Tonight, we will have this privilege again, as we celebrate those whom God has called to these ministries. We will commission those who have been called to these new works, and we will also hear from several who have been commissioned in recent years and have returned to share with us what is happening in their ministries of chaplaincy, pastoral counseling, church starting and missions. We will celebrate how we as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship have been on mission together, co-missioning, through the ministries of these individuals and through our partnership with them.

As we share a meal together and celebrate our Fellowship, we also celebrate how we are on mission together through the lives and ministries of those we commission, and through our unique callings as individuals and congregations co-missioning together.

At the 2013 General Assembly in Greensboro, N.C., CBF commissioned new field personnel, church starters and honored newly-endorsed chaplains and pastoral counselors.

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Wednesday, June 25 7 p.m., Regency Ballroom

Dinner music

Café Mezclao

Welcome and Opening Prayer

Mike Oliver

Co-Missioning — A Chaplain’s Story

Renée Owen

Co-Missioning — A Church Starter’s Story

Andy Hale

Video Presentation

Meet our New Church Starters

Commissioning of Chaplains, Pastoral Counselors and Church Starters

Gerry Hutchinson, Bo Prosser

Co-Missioning — Stories from the Field Video Presentation Introduction of Speaker Acts 10 and the Continuing Conversion of Mission Commissioning of Field Personnel

Jennifer and Trey Lyon and friends Meet our New Field Personnel Linda Jones, Suzii Paynter Steven Porter Steven Porter, Jim A. Smith

Call to Give

Steven Porter

Benediction

Jim A. Smith

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Meet our new

Church Starters KYLE TUBBS

GRACE BAPTIST CHURCH ROUND ROCK, TEXAS What led you to start a church?

The desire to start a church that was committed to historic Baptist principles and affirming the callings of both my wife and me was incredibly important. We felt God calling us to step out in faith and start this type of church in our specific context, which did not have a congregation that prioritized these principles and values.

How would you describe Grace Baptist Church?

Grace is a Christ-centered community of believers that cherishes thinking deeply and loving widely. We are a safe, contemplative place for people to engage God with their minds, no matter who they are or where they come from.

Kyle Tubbs is the lead pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Round Rock, Texas. A graduate of Logsdon School of Theology at Hardin-Simmons University, Tubbs is currently pursuing a doctorate in leadership studies from Dallas Baptist University.

His wife, Kaily, is an educator at a middle school in nearby Georgetown.

Partnering with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship as a church start, Tubbs and Grace’s core group began meeting in the summer of 2012 and launched in early 2013. The vision of Grace Baptist is to impact Williamson County and beyond by joining God in God’s extraordinary work of reconciliation and the redemption of all creation. Grace’s mission is to be a Christ-centered community, empowered by the Spirit, engaged in intentional worship, spiritual formation and holistic ministry for the glory of God.

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Our people embrace being the church. We are truly missional in our community and we all play missionary roles in our everyday lives in Williamson County.

Why partner with CBF? We strongly resonate with CBF in a couple of ways — in our shared commitment to historic Baptist freedoms as well as in our shared desire to be missional in our community and around the world.

What do you do for fun?

I love competitive games (cards, dice, sports, etc.) and exercising. I love to appreciate all of God’s creation, especially pets. We have two dogs and my wife and I enjoy living in the world with them!

How can we pray for you and your community?

Please pray that we will remain faithful to the core values God gave us: worshiping with reverence and joy, affirming the freedom to question openly and think deeply, nurturing authenticity, maturing in faith, valuing both women and men in ministry and embracing and serving all people with the love of Christ.

GEORGE LINNEY

What led you to start a church?

TOBACCO TRAIL CHURCH DURHAM, N.C.

I was without a pulpit and a people. God and I could not find the right fit among more traditional churches that were looking for a pastor. So, as I was riding my bicycle along the American Tobacco Trail in south Durham, God whispered in my ear, “Come out here and pray.” The whisper became louder and louder in the winter and spring of 2010 and until we were meeting weekly for worship.

How would you describe Tobacco Trail Church?

I explain to others that we meet on the Trail. They ask, “Where is the building?” And my reply is, “We don’t have one.” They ask, “What do you do when it rains?” And, I say, “Sometimes we meet outside anyway!”

We call the Trail “our church.” When you are using the Trail, you are a welcomed guest at our church. The Tobacco Trail Church has a close connection to the running community and most of our members came to know the church through their experience with various local George Linney is pastor of Tobacco Trail Church in specialty running retail stores.

Why partner with CBF? We are a decidedly missional congregation and focused on what God is doing outside the classic church walls. So, we naturally resonate with the Fellowship and its commitment to being missional. I come from a Baptist heritage and I am thankful for such roots.

What do you do for fun?

I am still a runner after 32 years of competition, from distances ranging from 800 meters to 26.2 miles. I hope to run faster in the coming years than I have ever run previously!

How can we pray for you and your community?

We are discerning the vocational development and the possible ordination of two members of our community. Pray that God would show us the way. We are also feeling a push to start a second and possibly a third church, and we need patience and clarity.

Durham, N.C. A native of Charlotte and graduate of Duke Divinity School, George is married to Kristen and they have three children: George IV (10), Kathryn (8) and William (6).

George and his family started Tobacco Trail Church in May 2010. The church has witnessed an outdoor worshiping community that has grown organically over the past four years as they continue to welcome members in their outdoor, athletic and recreational context. Known in its community as the “running church,” TTC gathers for worship along a 6.5-mile recreational trail in south Durham each Sunday afternoon. TTC aims to continue to share the love of Christ outdoors as well as start new outdoor churches and equip new leaders, and do so in partnership with CBF.

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Celebrating

newly-endorsed CBF Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors

Kate Blackshear

The following individuals have been endorsed as chaplains or pastoral counselors in the last year by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship:

United States Navy Reserves

Leah Boling

United States Army

Hawaii Air National Guard Waipahu, Hawaii

Thomas M. Cantwell Baptist Health Paducah, Ky.

David Christensen United States Army

Matthew Hanzelka

United States Air Force Reserve

Philip Johnson

Wake Forest Baptist Health Winston-Salem, N.C.

Brenda Pace Jones

Barry Click

Teresa Darnell

Air Force National Guard Martindale, Texas

East Tennessee Children’s Hospital and Parkwest Hospital Knoxville, Tenn.

Gale Dollar

DePaul Health Center Bridgeton, Mo.

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Jarrod Foerster

Wellspring Counseling Service Hendersonville, N.C.

AAPC Diplomat (retired) Austin, Texas

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Thomas Everett

Heart to Heart Hospice Austin, Texas

John Lassitter

Kenneth LeBon United States Army

Timothy Mayhall St. Vincent’s Hospital Birmingham, Ala.

Gerry Hutchinson

CBF Endorser for Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors

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hat thoughts come to mind when you see the word “chaplain”? “Pastoral counselor”? Do you imagine a minister with specialized training?

Do you see someone serving in a unique ministry setting such as a prison or hospital, ministering to sailors aboard a ship or on the flight line with airmen or alongside marines and soldiers during combat operations? Do you recall a pastoral counselor who worked with your family during a difficult time? Do you think of a hospice chaplain who ministered to someone in your family during the last weeks of their life?

Our more than 700 chaplains and pastoral counselors embody the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s vision of being the presence of Christ. We welcome and celebrate the following newly-endorsed CBF chaplains and pastoral counselors!

Not only do we encourage you to extend a warm welcome to these individuals, but also to pray for each chaplain and pastoral counselor. Pray for their families too. Pray that God will continue to work in and through them in mighty ways!

Christopher McDaniel

Ronald Nordan

David McDaniel

Chaplain Candidate US Air Force

Roper Saint Francis Healthcare Charleston, S.C.

Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas City, Mo.

James McNeal

United States Navy Reserve

United States Navy

Ansia Picou

Heather Rothermel

Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville, Ga.

Chan Shaver

Michael Metcalf

Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center Augusta, Ga.

Greener Pastures for Seniors and Novant Health Clemmons, N.C.

Linda Moore

David Simmons

Vidant Medical Center Greenville, N.C.

Chad Mustain

Baylor University Medical Center Dallas, Texas

LouRae Myhre-Weber St. James Healthcare Butte, Mont.

Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Hershey, Penn.

Solon Smith

Madison State Hospital Madison, Ind.

Gary Strickland

Association for Clinical Pastoral Education Supervisory Candidate Sioux Falls, S.D.

Michael Strickland Civil Air Patrol

Christopher Towles

CBF Minister for Wake Forest University Winston-Salem, N.C.

Mark Traeger

United States Air Force

For additional information on CBF’s chaplains and pastoral counselors, visit: http://www.thefellowship.info/chaplaincy

Craig Stevens

Self Regional Hospital Greenwood, S.C. A S S E M B LY 2 0 1 4 G U I D E B O O K

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A look at our new

Field Personnel SCARLETTE JASPER

TOGETHER FOR HOPE SOMERSET, KY.

What made you feel called to explore the process to become CBF field personnel?

I was drawn to CBF’s intentional inclusion of community partners and other organizations in addition to the church. We can all work together to try to address the needs of the most neglected. CBF wants to include and utilize everyone’s gifts to do the work.

What are you most excited about in starting your ministry with CBF? Scarlette Jasper joins the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Together for Hope Initiative as a rural poverty advocate in Somerset, Ky., in one of the nation’s poorest counties and located in the Appalachian foothills of Southern Kentucky. As a part of the Poverty and Transformation and Economic Development Mission Communities, Jasper works with individuals and families suffering from financial and medical crises, victims of domestic violence as well as homeless men and women in Somerset.

Generational poverty persists in many parts of the United States. While governmental aid ebbs and flows, the local churches’ sustained impact on a community can be priceless. Drawing on local assets, Jasper organizes grassroots campaigns to enable the materially poor to gain traction in society. While she assists families with financial counseling, job readiness skills, applying for additional benefits and services, she also coaches others to meet emotional and spiritual needs through classes, counseling referrals and Bible study.

Jasper is supported in ministry by her husband, Charles, and three children: Amoreena (16), Layla (22) and Roger (29), who is the pastor of Living Faith Baptist Fellowship, a CBF partner congregation in Elizabethtown, Ky. 24

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I’m excited about developing partnerships and growing the CBF presence in my community. One of the things that drew me to CBF was Together for Hope. I am excited about that partnership and serving as a part of that important initiative.

How have you been encouraged along the way?

My family has been extremely supportive. I have been encouraged by the Global Missions staff who have helped to affirm and support my decision.

How can churches and individuals in the Fellowship best support you?

I would just like people to pray for collaboration in the community, that we can work together. I would ask that they not just pray for me and my ministry, but for those that the ministry needs to reach.

What other new experiences are coming up for you along the way?

I recently started seminary at Baptist Seminary of Kentucky.

I would ask for prayers as I continue this journey into theological education, that it will be beneficial to my ministry and to the people I serve. I’ve already been doing this work for many years, but I’m at a point in my life where I feel the need to bring a more spiritual aspect into the work I do and with the people that I serve.

What made you feel called to explore the process to become CBF field personnel?

Phil: Micah Center is an extension of the work of the Church of the Beatitudes. All of the issues that we see there on a local level are issues that are about us together as a community of faith. The call came to expand that ministry of mission to include not just the Church of the Beatitudes, but all the churches in St. Petersburg, all the churches in Florida, all the Cooperative Baptist family — all in the ministry family.

Janel: I was called to the ministry with an emphasis on social work, and I know that CBF has an emphasis on the social gospel and actively doing mission work for those who are marginalized and neglected.

JANEL AND PHIL MILLER-EVANS MICAH CENTER OF PINELLAS COUNTY ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.

What are you most excited about in starting your ministry with CBF? Janel: I’m excited about helping our underemployed adults receive more encouragement in their lives and to make choices to better themselves. I’m looking forward to helping them develop as leaders in our community and to begin advocating for themselves.

Phil: I think that what I’m most excited about is developing within the community a sense in which they can work together to change some things that have been systematically keeping them oppressed.

I think we have great potential and momentum for starting those conversations.

How have you been encouraged along the way?

Phil: I’ve been really excited about the support and encouragement that has come from CBF of Florida. Ray Johnson, CBF Florida’s coordinator, has helped us to see next steps of Janel and Phil Miller-Evans direct the Micah where we should go.

Center of Pinellas County in St. Petersburg, Fla. As Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel, the How can churches and individuals in the couple will join the Economic Development and Fellowship best support you?

Poverty and Transformation Mission Communities, Janel: I’d ask for prayers for our summer day camp and serve on the Urban Team of field personnel from program, that it will help us to reach families. Pray for across the United States. our mission teams that come down this summer, that they will experience a new understanding of poverty The Micah Center is an outgrowth of the ministry and the most neglected. Pray that our ministry will help of the Church of the Beatitudes, a CBF partner lift up the dignity of underemployed folks and share the congregation where Phil has served as pastor for unconditional love of God in their lives. the past 11 years. With his ministry experience and

Janel’s background in social work, the team is well poised to advocate for, educate and assist families who are underemployed and in need of affordable housing. They begin this ministry in partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida.

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What made you feel called to explore the process to become CBF field personnel?

Brooke: Having been overseas before, I knew I wanted to go with an organization. We knew we didn’t want to go by ourselves. So, what drew us to CBF was the Fellowship’s witness of love to communities and the affirmation that both of us are serving as ministers.

Mike: I would echo that. This work that we’re called to is bigger than we are, and we need the fellowship of other believers to be partners in our work: to send us, support us, pray for us and work alongside us. This Fellowship offers a platform to do just that.

What made you choose to work in Southeast Asia?

BROOKE AND MIKE

JUSTICE AND PEACEMAKING SOUTHEAST ASIA

Brooke: It really is a perfect uniting of our shared passions. Since I have lived there before, I have a love for the people and the country, and Mike has a passion for serving and connecting with people of other faiths. And, part of how we got to know each other is working with students. So all those things collide together in this ministry.

What are you most excited about in starting your ministry with CBF? Brooke: I am excited about being out in our community, meeting the women and children in the neighborhood and inviting them into our home.

Mike: I am excited about helping students find and fulfill their God-given passion. I’m also excited about working with members of other faiths, and helping Christians and other faith communities reconcile their differences and work toward the betterment of their communities.

How have you been encouraged along the way?

Mike: The partner-funded process has been very affirming as we’ve seen churches and individuals acknowledge our call and acknowledge their call to come alongside us in this ministry.

Brooke and Mike, along with their children, will move to Southeast Asia in September to serve as Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel on the Arts, Advocacy, Development and Education Team.

They join the Education and Justice and Peacemaking Mission Communities as they live out their call to service in Southeast Asia.

Brooke and Mike have served in Southeast Asia before and return as a couple to be the presence of Christ in a community where Christians make up less than 10 percent of society. They go in CBF’s partnership model of service working alongside local leaders to wage peace. Mike is a graduate of Baylor University’s George W. Truett Theological Seminary, a CBF partner school, and Brooke brings with her experience in secondary math education.

How can churches and individuals in the Fellowship best support you?

Mike: Allow us as field personnel to encourage you at home in ministry. So, while we’re out doing interfaith relations, you’re looking at your communities and saying, “Who can I reach out to?”

While we’re doing student work, look at the college students in your community and find ways to reach out to them as they walk through this transition period in their lives.

Brooke: People can pray for us as we prepare to leave and prepare for our new lives overseas. When we get there, pray for the hearts of our neighbors, that we will form good relationships with them, and that Mike and I will have our hearts open to the people who need us.

What are your hopes as you move to Southeast Asia and start your ministry?

Mike: My hope and prayer for all Christians is that they are witnesses to love and peace, and I hope that this ministry is a witness to the love afforded to us and offered to us. We hope that we as Christians will be seen as love and peace.

Because of security concerns, the couple’s last name and specific ministry roles cannot be shared.

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Since 1879, Buckner International has been transforming the lives of orphans, vulnerable children, families and elders in the United States and around the world. Today, Buckner serves half a million people worldwide through a variety of programs designed to protect children and build strong families. These programs include foster care and adoption, family transition programs, community-based family preservation programs and retirement services for the elderly. Buckner also provides humanitarian aid and crisis relief to poverty-stricken families in the United States and worldwide. Learn more and get involved at buckner.org.

Missions Market

Missions Market is a magical place where folks come to learn about Cooperative Baptist Fellowship missions, meet field personnel and purchase items that will support their ministries as well as local artisans.

Stop by the Missions Market in The Gathering Place – there is always interesting jewelry, clothing, artwork and even food for purchase!

Formerly known as the Marketplace, Missions Market began as a means for field personnel to bring items from their ministries and ministry partners to be sold during General Assembly. From its inception, the Missions Market has served to expose Assembly attendees to global enterprises and also generate income for these local ministries and artisans.

Imagine being able to have in your home a beautiful item from Jerusalem or Thailand. Wear apparel from Uganda, India or traditional clothing of the Karen. Wear handcrafted jewelry from artisans that are part of CBF’s Together for Hope initiative. Purchase an “art-that-feeds” plate — part of an art project to benefit the ministries of Touching Miami with Love.

You can find these items and more at the Missions Market!

CBF field personnel will be available to speak with you about their ministries and how you can be involved on a more personal level. The Missions Market is a hub of activity — come wander through our aisles of merchandise displays, connect with old friends and make new ones.

Stop by. We’ll be ready and waiting to serve you!

An Invitation to

Worship Brett Younger

2014 Worship Committee Chair Atlanta, Ga.

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lanning the General Sessions has been a fun adventure. We decided against ribbon dancers, disco balls, one-man bands, a rotating stage, religious ice sculptures, blessing of the animals, CBF T-shirt cannons and worship sponsorships.

Instead, we asked Suzii Paynter, Andrew Young, Bill McConnell, Kasey Jones and Chuck Poole to speak about what it means to truly be Christ’s Fellowship. CBF pastors will speak about why they love their congregations. CBF writers will share meditations on being God’s people. Videotaped Baptists will finish the sentence, “Without church . . .” Choirs will offer praise to the Almighty. Indra Thomas and Cynthia Clawson will sing of the goodness of God. Each one of us will have to decide if we will go through the motions or sincerely engage.

Most of us have sung lots of hymns, read lots of scripture, heard lots of prayers and, perhaps, more sermons than we really wanted to hear. We know when to stand, when to sit and to read the bold print on the litanies.

We have an opportunity. We can do more than sing the words; we can sing from our hearts.

We can do more than listen to prayers; we can honestly pray. We can do more than hear the scripture; we can listen for God’s voice. We can eat the bread, drink the cup and love Christ all over again. We can do more than sit through these worship services; we can give ourselves to God.

The Broadway Baptist Church Chapel Choir (pictured below) will perform Thursday evening as a part of Worship Session I.

Our theme for worship, Woven Together: Threads of Faith and Fellowship, is an invitation to hear Christ’s call and be Christ’s church. I am grateful for the insight of CBF staff members.

I am thankful for the imagination of Don Nixon, who has generously shared his artistic gifts. I’m encouraged by the creativity of the people of this Fellowship. I feel blessed by God’s goodness in the midst of who we are and who we are becoming.

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Thursday Morning, June 26 9:15 a.m., Invitation to Gather 9:30 a.m., Centennial Ballroom

Business Session I Invitation to Gather

The 3 Inspirational Tenors, Atlanta, Ga. Down From His Glory, E. di Capua Surely The Presence, Lanny Wolfe Ole Time Religion, S. J. Willis You Raise Me Up, Graham/Lovland In My Dream, Daryl Coley

Meditation on the Church

What would you say about the church if you were given only 100 words? During our four plenary sessions, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship writers will call us to thoughtful reflection with a word of preparation.

“What church do you attend?” a stranger asked.

Shocked, I could hardly respond.

Regularly, I gather with other followers of Christ. We sing and worship together, but that is not just “attending” church.

Within the heart of my community of faith I experience the amazing ways imperfect, flawed and sometimes flailing humans become instruments of grace and mercy to each other.

In our various ways and with our different gifts, we are Christ to each other, week after week.

It’s a glorious irony, isn’t it?

Church.

It’s something to celebrate.

Jeanie Miley

“Without Church . . .”

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Call to Praise Randy Brittain

All (sung): Songs of praises, songs of praises, I will ever give to thee, I will ever give to thee.

One: O come, let us sing to the Lord!

Many: Let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

One: Let us come into God’s presence with thanksgiving!

Many: Let us make a joyful noise with songs of praise!

All (sung): Songs of praises, songs of praises, I will ever give to thee, I will ever give to thee.

One: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands!

Many: Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into God’s presence with singing!

One: Light dawns for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart.

Many: Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning!

All (sung): Songs of praises, songs of praises, I will ever give to thee, I will ever give to thee. (adapted from Psalms 30, 95, and 100) Welcome and Invocation

Bill McConnell

“Why I love my church . . .”

Dock Hollingsworth

I Believe Celebration of Faith

Call to Order and Adoption of Agenda

The 3 Inspirational Tenors Bill McConnell

Introduction of the Governing Board and Its Work Presentation of 2014-2015 Missions and Ministries Budget

Jean Willingham

Nominating Committee Report as submitted to the Governing Board (see report on page 57)

Keith Herron

Governing Board Recommendations

Kasey Jones

Church Benefits Board Report

Gary Skeen

Assessing the CBF Brand

Jeff Huett

Motion(s) from the Floor

Bill McConnell

Adjourn Business

Bill McConnell

The Hope and Promise of the Fellowship in Christ

Suzii Paynter

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Hymn of Hope

Speak, O Lord

SPEAK, O LORD

Speak, O Lord, as we come to you To receive the food of your Holy Word.

Take your truth, plant it deep in us; Shape and fashion us in your likeness, That the light of Christ might be seen today In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.

Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us All your purposes for your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience, Holy reverence, true humility; Test our thoughts and our attitudes In the radiance of your purity.

Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see Your majestic love and authority.

Words of pow’r that can never fail Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds; Help us grasp the heights of your plans for us Truths unchanged from the dawn of time That will echo down through eternity.

And by grace we’ll stand on your promises, And by faith we’ll walk as you walk with us.

Speak, O Lord, till your church is built And the earth is filled with your glory.

Congregational Benediction (from St. Francis)

Bill McConnell

May God bless our churches with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that we will live deep within our hearts.

May God bless our churches with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation, so that we work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless our churches with tears to shed for those who suffer from rejection, starvation and war, so that we will reach out our hands to comfort and turn their pain into joy.

May God bless our churches with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.

Postlude

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Anne Brittain

Business Procedures For recommendations received in advance from the Governing Board and officers or other source and printed on the approved agenda —

Business Session I – Thursday, 9:15 a.m.

• Each recommendation is presented with supporting information.

• Opportunity is provided for questions, for information or clarification on each recommendation.

• Does the moderator determine that immediate action on the recommendation is prudent?

• Yes — Immediate actions is taken on the recommendation.

OR No — The moderator refers the recommendation to a business breakout and announces the time and place for the meeting.

Business Breakouts – Thursday, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

• Opportunity for additional information, discussion and presentation of any amendments.

• Proposed amendments coming from a business breakout must be representative of a majority viewpoint of the business breakout participants.

• Amendments are reviewed by the Officers in consultation with the Governing Board Legal Committee and approved as is or modified for presentation at the Friday morning Business Session.

• If time permits, copies of proposed amendments are distributed at the Friday morning Business Session.

• Budget Breakout Workshop — Auburn (LL3)

Business Session II – Friday, 9:30 a.m.

• Each un-amended recommendation is discussed (eight minutes maximum) and voted on.

• Each recommendation amended during a Business Breakout is presented. The proposed amendment(s) and then the full recommendation are discussed (eight minutes maximum) and voted on.

The Fellowship conducts its business openly and encourages full participation of its members. Guests are welcome to attend Business Sessions and Business Breakouts, but please keep in mind that only CBF members are entitled to vote.

For motions received from the floor and thus not printed on the approved agenda —

Business Session I – Thursday, 9:30 a.m.

• Motions must be presented in writing to the past moderator (Keith Herron) or the parliamentarian (Bart Tichenor) by 9:45 a.m. on Thursday. Each motion must be legible and should include the motion maker’s name and the name of the church, with city and state, of which the maker is a member.

• By the close of the Business Session, the moderator and the officers in consultation with the Governing Board Legal Committee, will assign each motion to an appropriate subgroup of the Governing Board that will host a business breakout. The moderator will announce the time and place of each Business Breakout session.

Business Breakouts – Thursday, 1:30-2:30 p.m.

• Opportunity for additional information, discussion and presentation of any amendments.

• Each Business Breakout determines whether to recommend passage of its motion as presented or in an amended form.

Each recommendation must be representative of a majority viewpoint of the participants.

• The Officers in consultation with the Governing Board Legal Committee determine whether to recommend passage of the motion as presented or in an amended form, giving consideration to the deliberations and recommendation of the Business Breakout.

• Additional breakouts will be announced as needed.

Business Session II – Friday, 9:30 a.m.

• The moderator shall report for each motion the recommendation of the Business Breakout and the recommendation of the Officers.

• If either group or both groups recommend(s) passage of the motion in its original form or in an amended form, that motion is discussed, allowing for up to three minutes per speaker on a given question. At the close of the time allotted for action on a given motion, a vote is taken in order on all pending questions.

• If neither group recommends passage of a motion in its original form or in an amended form, no further action shall be taken on that motion unless the maker of the motion appeals to the moderator to poll the General Assembly as to his or her desire to have the motion brought to the floor for a discussion and a vote. If the appeal to consider the motion is seconded, a vote will be taken without discussion. The motion then will be considered or set aside in accordance with the vote of the General Assembly.

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Workshops Frank Granger

2014 Workshops Chair Athens, Ga.

T

his year’s offering of workshops to our CBF family, friends and colleagues represents the variety of gifts, voices, expertise and passions that are woven together in this community we call “The Fellowship.”

We received many workshop proposals for this year’s General Assembly. The strength of these proposals combined with our desire to provide for a wide array of opportunities for attendees has resulted in an incredibly diverse schedule of quality workshops!

I wish to thank the members of the 2014 General Assembly Workshop Team: Courtney Allen, minister of community ministry and missions at First Baptist Church of Dalton, Ga., and Chris George, pastor of Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Ga. Their focus, insight and responsiveness made for joyful work. I am thankful for their investment and commitment.

Additionally, I am grateful to Devita Parnell, CBF staff liaison for workshops planning. Devita is creative and collaborative and brings a graceful tenacity to her work that seeks excellence while not sacrificing compassion.

On behalf of this wonderful team, I encourage you to take advantage of the workshops offered this year and the opportunity to make new connections both personally and professionally.

May your experience inspire and inform you in ways that benefit you and your congregation.

Workshop offerings include a Bible study during each session led by noted CBF scholars on the four Gospels. Each session also features a worship service with an Atlanta-area CBF church.

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Thursday Workshops Session I The Church According to the Gospel of Matthew

BIBLE STUDY The Learning Center (LL1)

In the context of today’s efforts to “do” church in new ways, Matthew’s account of Jesus’ emphasis on integrity — on a holistic unity of being and doing, which extends beyond the individual believer to include the church — offers an important reminder that, in essence, the church is an organism, not an organization.

Facilitator: Mark Biddle, Russell T. Cherry Professor of Old Testament Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Richmond, Va.

Worship with Johns Creek Baptist Church

Biddle

WORSHIP International Ballroom North (LL1)

In Christ, there is never NOT a next. This worship service, hosted

by Johns Creek Baptist Church, will provoke the imagination of worshippers to consider what new and next step of faith Christ may be bidding them to make. Music will be led by a full choir and orchestra, and the sermon, based on Genesis 1:1-2, will King employ the creative use of multimedia technologies.

Preacher: Shaun King, Senior Pastor, Johns Creek Baptist Church, Alpharetta, Ga.

Poverty and Transformation: Confronting Poverty with Radical Hospitality

MISSION COMMUNITY Techwood (LL3)

Learn how intentional Christian communities are confronting poverty, homelessness, hunger and addiction through simple yet powerful practices such as radical hospitality and generosity, community decision-making, relationship-building and Hutchinson Hearne missional neighborhood involvement. Not just for those who want to join or start an intentional community, this conversation is also for more traditional congregants who want to join God in working wonders in their own neighborhoods.

Facilitator: Lynn Hutchinson, CBF Field Personnel, West Africa Presenter: Joshua Hearne, CBF Field Personnel, Danville, Va.

Education: Interfaith Dialogue Learn about how one church is building interfaith relationships and educating its members to build bridges of understanding and dialogue by using the Baptist heritage, hearts dedicated to following God, the church’s ministry and community involvement.

Facilitator: Wayne Martin, Member, Smoke Rise Baptist Church, Stone Mountain, Ga.; Chair, CBF/GA Interfaith Task Force

CBF Festival of Young Preachers

MISSION COMMUNITY Spring (LL3)

Thursday, June 26 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Changed Leaders Change Churches

Dunwoody (LL3)

Learn from one expert’s 30 years of coaching and church consulting experience about five ways leaders can change in order to change their churches.

Facilitator: Eddie Hammett, Church and Clergy Coach, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, Hendersonville, N.C.

His Own Received Him Not: Jimmy Carter, the Religious Right and the 1980 Presidential Election

Hammett

Hanover E (LL2)

Jimmy Carter rode to the presidency on the twin currents of his “born again” credentials and his reputation as a “New South” governor. This lecture explores how and why some of Carter’s fellow believers turned so rabidly against him.

Facilitator: Randall Balmer, Mandel Family Professor in the Arts & Balmer Sciences and Chair of the Religion Department, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., Episcopal Priest and Author, Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter

Christian Churches Together: A Model for Christian Reconciliation

Greenbriar (LL3)

Christians and our culture are divided on theological and moral issues, yet the church is called to be an agent of reconciliation.

Should dialogue and reconciliation be a priority for the church?

Christian Churches Together offers a model for inter-Christian healing and reconciliation as well as a model for Christian unity.

Facilitator: Carlos Malavé, Executive Director of Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT), Indianapolis, Ind.

Spiritual Care at the End of Life

Malavé

Fairlie (LL3)

This interactive workshop provides training for ministers and lay leaders who visit their chronically ill and dying parishioners.

Participants will learn how to practice the art of pastoral presence, overcome fear and anxiety and learn practical tips on visit etiquette.

Facilitator: Cindy Wallace, Hospice Chaplain Supervisor, Alexian Brothers Hospice, Hanover Park, Ill.

Wallace

Martin

The Economics of Ministry: From Classroom to Congregation Kennesaw (LL3)

The Academy of Preachers sponsors its third annual CBF Festival of Young Preachers, a twoday event (Thursday and Friday afternoons) featuring 16 CBF young people (ages 14-28) preaching sermons inspired by the 2014 theme, TELL ME A STORY. Come and support these young preachers.

Presenters: CBF Young Preachers and Brittany Krebs, Worship Leader, Georgetown, Ky.

Lenox (LL3)

Increasingly, personal financial pressures are making it impossible for seminary graduates to follow where God is calling. At the same time, congregations are trying to cope with balancing the reality of diminishing budgets and the desire for seminarytrained ministers to lead them. Explore creative ways to address Jackson both realities.

Facilitator: Angela Barker Jackson, Co-Pastor, Gage Park Baptist Church, Topeka, Kan. A S S E M B LY 2 0 1 4 G U I D E B O O K

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FutureBaptists: A Collaborative Missional Movement

Baker (LL3)

This presentation and dialogue is a follow-up to the North American Baptist Fellowship’s 50th anniversary convocation in March 2014 in Philadelphia, Pa., and focuses on a collaborative missional movement among Baptists from the base of North America and with a worldwide impact.

Facilitator: George Bullard, President, The Columbia Partnership and General Secretary, North American Baptist Fellowship, Columbia, S.C.

How to Have a Difficult Conversation

Bullard

Inman (LL3)

Local congregations increasingly find themselves facing a myriad of complex and challenging issues. Typical topics include human sexuality, health care reform, baptism requirements, staffing models, financial Phelps Wilson decisions and the list goes on. Most congregations struggle to engage such topics without destroying the fellowship and spirit of the church. This workshop will explore guiding principles for having difficult conversations and will hear from one congregation about its efforts to address the issue of human sexuality in a redemptive and constructive fashion.

Facilitators: Bill Wilson, Director, The Center for Healthy Churches, Winston-Salem, N.C., and Joe Phelps, Pastor, Highland Baptist Church, Louisville, Ky.

Mission Engagement Portfolio

Weaving the CBF Story into the Local Congregation

Hanover G (LL2)

Are congregations and individuals called to “give up our lives” as Jesus called his disciples to do? What would that even look like?

This session will help churches think about our congregational life in theological terms. For example, what does “death” mean at a congregational level? How can a church be resurrected? As Brittain churches think about institutional issues of survival and mission, how does our understanding of Christ’s death and resurrection play into that?

Come join the conversation!

Facilitator: Aaron Brittain, Pastor, Talbot Park Baptist Church, Norfolk, Va.

Hanover F (LL2)

Engaged congregations are the heart of the Fellowship. Working together, Cooperative Baptists serve the least evangelized and most marginalized and develop missional identity through participation in ministry opportunities. Session attendees will see results of recent CBF brand research and become better CBF ambassadors to help increase congregational involvement in CBF. Facilitator: Jeff Huett, Associate Coordinator of Communications and Advancement, CBF, Decatur, Ga.

Dawnings: Welcoming a New Day in Your Church’s Missional Journey

Death and Resurrection: Living the Christian Story as a Congregation

Piedmont (LL3)

Making strategic decisions about our mission engagement is more important than ever. This breakout introduces the Mission Engagement Portfolio — a church resource you can use to evaluate your congregation’s mission impact. Come celebrate what God is doing through your congregation and gain a process Clark for clarity about planning and serving in the future.

Facilitator: Ryan Clark, Partner-funded Field Personnel Specialist and Training Manager, CBF, Decatur, Ga.

Huett

Courtland (LL3)

Tired of predicting, planning and inventing a church vision and asking God to bless it as you try to gain congregational buy-in? Experience this organic, contextual and collaborative process for visioning, forming and engaging. The rhythm of prayer, Prosser Rowland preparation and discovery helps shift from doing a church-shaped mission to being a mission-shaped church. Hear from those using Dawnings in their churches.

Facilitators: Bo Prosser, Coordinator of Ministries, and Harry Rowland, Director of Missional Congregations, CBF, Decatur, Ga.

Business Breakouts

Building Bridges During the Interim

Hanover B (LL2)

Lay leaders can make a difference in guiding their respective congregations through the interim. This workshop will help you consider what to expect during the interim and what role you, as a lay person, can play in building a substantial bridge to the next pastor.

Facilitator: John Lepper, Coordinator, Kentucky Baptist Fellowship, Louisville, Ky. 38

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Lepper

Business Breakout 1: The 2014-15 Budget Business Breakout 2

Open (for motions that may come from the floor) Business Breakout 3

Open (for motions that may come from the floor)

Auburn (LL3) Marietta (LL3) Roswell (LL3)

Current, CBF’s young leaders network, will host workshops with this logo and invite further conversation.

Thursday Workshops Session II Designs for the Church in the Gospel According to Mark

BIBLE STUDY The Learning Center (LL1)

The Gospel of Mark yields important insights when we read it with a new question in mind: What does it tell us about the blueprint for the church? Together we will explore the earliest Gospel’s “design” for the church.

Facilitator: Alan Culpepper, Dean, McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University, Atlanta, Ga.

Worship with Friendship Baptist Church

Culpepper

THRIVE: Successfully Negotiating the Search Process

Marietta (LL3)

THRIVE will feature a panel of lay church leaders and ministers who have recently journeyed through the search process and navigated its challenges. They will share lessons learned along the way and this discussion-based workshop will focus on practical assistance for both candidates and congregations.

Facilitator: Pam Durso, Executive Director, Baptist Women in Ministry, Atlanta, Ga.

Durso

WORSHIP International Ballroom South (LL1)

Friendship Baptist Church is pleased to present a worship experience illustrating the music styles often heard in African-American worship. Pastor Emmanuel McCall will present a brief review of how worship is changing in our churches.

Preacher: Emmanuel McCall, Pastor, Friendship Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga.

Justice and Peacemaking: Transformative Initiatives Facing conflict? We do it every day. What tactic do you use? Counter violence? Accommodation?

Withdrawal? Unengaged piety? Jesus’ Third Way? This workshop will look at the conflict and oppressive violence Jesus faced during his life in first-century Ruble Palestine and how he chose to respond.

Facilitator: Cindy Ruble, CBF Field Personnel, Malaysia Presenter: Evelyn Hanneman, Operations Coordinator, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, Charlotte, N.C.

Internationals: A Christian Response to Immigration Reform

New Baptist Covenant: How to Make a Covenant of Action McCall

MISSION COMMUNITY Techwood (LL3)

Hanneman

MISSION COMMUNITY Spring (LL3)

This workshop will provide participants with a biblical basis for a Christian response to the issue of immigration reform, give a legislative update and suggest practical ways in which churches can engage immigrants and immigrant communities in a ChristRomero Smith honoring way.

Facilitator: Sue Smith, CBF Field Personnel, Fredericksburg, Va. Presenter: Jesús Romero, Director of Immigration Service and Aid Center (ISAAC), San Antonio, Texas

CBF Festival of Young Preachers

Thursday, June 26 2:45-3:45 p.m.

Kennesaw (LL3)

The Academy of Preachers sponsors its third annual CBF Festival of Young Preachers, a twoday event (Thursday and Friday afternoons) featuring 16 CBF young people (ages 14-28) preaching sermons inspired by the 2014 theme, TELL ME A STORY. Come and support these young preachers.

Presenters: CBF Young Preachers and Brittany Krebs, Worship Leader, Georgetown, Ky.

Lenox (LL3)

The New Baptist Covenant is calling on Baptist churches across the nation to make Covenants of Action and to partner together in collaborative ministry projects. In this workshop, we will outline what it means to make a Covenant of Action and give participants more information about how they can join these efforts.

McMahan Facilitator: Hannah McMahan, National Coordinator, New Baptist Covenant, Washington, D.C.

Religious Liberty and the U.S. Supreme Court: Current Cases

Fairlie (LL3)

Get an update on the latest religious liberty developments, including Supreme Court decisions on government-sponsored prayer and the religious liberty implications in the contraception mandate.

Learn what these decisions mean and gain an Walker Hollman appreciation for the necessity of protecting the free exercise of religion while refraining from its establishment.

Facilitators: Brent Walker, Executive Director, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and Holly Hollman, General Counsel, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, Washington, D.C.

Tea for the Soul: Caring for Those Who Give Care

Greenbriar (LL3)

This session combines presentation with experiential practice to offer a way to create sacred space. Tea for the Soul utilizes art, music and human connection as a simple, yet powerful ritual for busy professionals to take time out from their intense work to refresh their Hill minds and spirit.

Facilitators: Rachel Hunt Hill, CBF-endorsed Chaplain, Shelby, N.C.; Kat Spangler, CBF-endorsed Chaplain and Associate Minister, University Baptist Church, Hattiesburg, Miss.; Justin Williamson, Hospice Chaplain, Cleveland County, N.C.

Spangler

Williamson

A S S E M B LY 2 0 1 4 G U I D E B O O K

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Crime, Punishment and Redemption

Hanover G (LL2)

During this age of mass incarceration, more people have been imprisoned in our country than ever before. In the last 30 years, the number of people incarcerated in federal prisons has risen over 800 percent. In this context, what does redemption mean?

What does social and individual redemption look like in 21st century America? As Christians, what are we called to do?

Facilitator: Pat Anderson, Former Moderator and Former Interim Coordinator, CBF, Beech Mountain, N.C. Presenters: Wendell Griffen, Pastor, New Millennium Griffen Church, Little Rock, Ark; DeeDee Coleman, Pastor, Russell Street Missionary Baptist Church, Oak Park, Mich.; Susan Bishop, Chaplain, Lee Arrendale State Prison, Habersham County, Ga.; Doug Ammar, Executive Director, Georgia Justice Project, Atlanta, Ga. Bishop

Telling Stories on the Lord’s Day: Worship and Narrative Ritual

Anderson

Try This at Home: Five New Ways to Help Your Church Learn Ammar

Inman (LL3)

Baker (LL3)

Feeling frazzled? Chronically stressed? Like you don’t have enough time for the things that really matter? Matthew Sleeth, MD, shares how his family was dramatically transformed when it began adopting Sabbath practices and helps us better understand how our own lives can be enriched — physically, Sleeth emotionally, relationally and spiritually — by adopting a 24/6 lifestyle. Participants will leave the workshop with an individual Sabbath Living Plan as well as a free 24/6 small group leader’s kit, including a DVD. Facilitator: Matthew Sleeth, Author, 24/6: A Prescription for a Healthier, Happier Life and Executive Director, Blessed Earth, Lexington, Ky.

Conversation with the New CBF Global Missions Coordinator

Auburn (LL3)

Serving on church staff in the areas of youth, education, children, counseling or other supportive ministry can be challenging. This seminar will help senior pastors and staff/ministers to work more effectively together using family systems theory and best church staff practices.

Facilitator: Alan Rudnick, Author of The Work of the Associate Pastor, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Ballston Spa, N.Y.

Rudnick

Coleman

Worship is about telling the story of God, the community and the world. But, it seems many congregations have lost these narratives in their weekly rituals. This presentation will give an overview of these claims and then provide practical suggestions for telling the story of God, people and the world in public Mathis Christian worship.

Facilitator: Eric Mathis, Assistant Professor of Music and Worship and Director of anima: the Forum for Worship and the Arts, Samford University School of the Arts, Birmingham, Ala.

Burned Out! A Sabbath Prescription for Healing Rest

Not a Second Chair: Effective Church Staff and Associate Ministry

Roswell (LL3)

Join the Center for Teaching Churches for “show and tell,” as five congregations share new approaches to educational ministry. Hear about Atlanta Metropolitan Christian Church creating church-wide curriculum, First Baptist Church, Athens, Ga. helping Grizzle Younger young adults discern their call, First Baptist Church, Carrollton, Ga. taking faith education outside their doors, First Baptist Church, Gainesville, Ga. ministering to millennials who then minister and Salem Bible Church of Atlanta bringing seminary training to lay leadership.

Facilitators: Ron Grizzle, Director, Center for Teaching Churches, McAfee School of Theology and Carol Davis Younger, Writer/Editor, Center for Teaching Churches, McAfee School of Theology, Atlanta, Ga.

Developing a Biblical Basis for Advocacy

Dunwoody (LL3)

CBF is committed to advocacy at a national level, and many CBF-related congregations and individuals share this commitment. But what exactly is the biblical basis for this advocacy? This seminar offers seven Gushee Reeves foundational biblical themes for Christian advocacy in the public arena.

Facilitators: David Gushee, Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and Director, Center for Theology and Public Life, Mercer University, Atlanta, Ga., and Stephen Reeves, Associate Coordinator of Partnerships and Advocacy, CBF, Decatur, Ga.

What Are Young Adults Saying About Church?

Many will tell you that young adults are not interested in belonging or investing in church. This workshop will provide a generational overview and an opportunity for a guided conversation with several young adults willing to give personal insights.

Facilitator: Wanda Kidd, Collegiate Initiative Manager, CBF, Cullowhee, N.C.

Piedmont (LL3)

Kidd

Courtland (LL3)

Come and meet Steven Porter, the new Coordinator of Global Missions, and hear our vision for the future of CBF Global Missions.

Porter 40

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Current, CBF’s young leaders network, will host workshops with this logo and invite further conversation.

In recognition of our shared commitment to the church, Brite Divinity School celebrates the 2014 Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly.

SCHOLARSHIP

JUSTICE

Brite Divinity School educates women and men to lead in the ministry of Christ’s church, the academy and public life as witnesses to God’s reconciling and transforming love and justice.

PRACTICE

I AM THE

CHURCH BENEFITS BOARD The reason I chose the Church Benefits Board over another denominational plan or a friend’s investment person is because I am committed to the Fellowship. I trust the investments and benefits that have been put into place. I trust they have the same values and beliefs that align myself as a Cooperative Baptist.

I’m not in this to get rich. The people of Royston Baptist Church have given me a part of their incomes to be their pastor. I want to be faithful with the dollars entrusted to me and be a good steward.

I think it’s important for us to associate with someone who wakes up every day and sees it as their ministry to take care of CBF pastors – that’s the Church Benefits Board.

If we preach to this end and live this way, why not align our retirement practices with our beliefs?

— Jonathan Barlow, Pastor Royston Baptist Church Royston, Ga.

churchbenefits@churchbenefits.org 1-800-352-8741

Thursday Evening, June 26 7:15 p.m., Invitation to Gather 7:30 p.m., Centennial Ballroom

Worship Session I Invitation to Gather

Broadway Baptist Church Chapel Choir, Fort Worth, Texas Dianne Findley, Choral Director Processional of Praise arr. Findley/Hayes No Hands But Yours, Teresa of Avila/Peterson Be Thou My Vision, arr. Hayes True Light, Hampton

Meditation on the Church

If this thing we call “church� did not already exist when we came to know Jesus, we would have to invent it. But if not for the church, who among us would have come to believe? For all of its vagaries and vanities, the church of living stone and stream remains the wellspring of faith, the workshop of love, and the herald of our hope.

Thanks be to God. Tony Cartledge

Welcome and Invocation

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Bo Prosser and Frank Broome

Hymn of Adoration

All Creatures of Our God and King

LASST UNS ERFREUEN

All creatures of our God and King lift up your voice and with us sing, Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou burning sun with golden beam, Thou silver moon with softer gleam!

O praise God! O praise God! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along, O praise God! Alleluia!

Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice, Ye lights of evening, find a voice!

O praise God! O praise God! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou flowing water, pure and clear, Make music for thy Lord to hear, O praise God! Alleluia!

Thou fire so masterful and bright, That givest us both warmth and light.

O praise God! O praise God! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

All ye who are of tender heart, Forgiving others, take your part, O sing ye! Alleluia!

Ye who long pain and sorrow bear, Praise God and on God cast your care!

O praise God! O praise God! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Reading from Hebrew Poetry

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12

Alyssa Aldape

“Why I love my church . . .”

Processional of God’s People, Woven Together

Andrea Dellinger Jones Southern Crescent Dance Academy

Reading from the Pentateuch Exodus 33:7-11

Ragan Courtney

We’re Marching to Zion Hymn of Celebration

MARCHING TO ZION

Come, we that love the Lord, and let our joys be known; join in a song with sweet accord, join in a song with sweet accord and thus surround the throne, and thus surround the throne.

We’re marching to Zion, beautiful, beautiful Zion; we’re marching upward to Zion, The beautiful city of God. CBF Offering for Global Missions

Steven Porter

Introduction of the Speaker

Suzii Paynter

A Spiritual Journey Sermon

“The Church’s Mission in the World”

Indra Thomas Andrew Young

A S S E M B LY 2 0 1 4 G U I D E B O O K

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Hymn of Commitment We Are Called to Be God’s People

AUSTRIAN HYMN

We are called to be God’s people, showing by our lives God’s grace, one in heart and one in spirit, sign of hope for all the race.

Let us show how God has changed us, and remade us as God’s own, let us share our life together as we shall around God’s throne.

We are called to be God’s servants, working in God’s world today; taking God’s own task upon us, all God’s sacred words obey.

Let us rise, then, to God’s summons, dedicate to God our all, that we may be faithful servants, quick to answer now God’s call.

We are called to be God’s prophets, speaking for the truth and right, standing firm for godly justice, bringing evil things to light.

Let us seek the courage needed, our high calling to fulfill, that the world may know the blessing of the doing of God’s will.

Congregational Benediction May God bless our churches with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that we will live deep within our hearts.

May God bless our churches with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation, so that we work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless our churches with tears to shed for those who suffer from rejection, starvation and war, so that we will reach out our hands to comfort and turn their pain into joy.

May God bless our churches with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.

Postlude

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Bo Prosser

From the world to the church: create Scholars connect Central Seminary’s

Global Christianity emphasis to ministry in the local congregation “It is impossible to visit Ywama Baptist Church, to partake in their ministry efforts, and not be challenged to do something more radical in your own faith context.”

— Ashton Wells, Central create scholar Ashton Wells and Adam Cooper, Central create scholars, interact with the street children who are a part of the ministry of Ywama Baptist Church of Yangon, Myanmar, during their recent pilgrimage to Myanmar.

Beginning the 6th year of training creative, entrepreneurial, challenge-engagers in fall 2014 Staging area. Do Not place text or graphics beyond this line.

Visit cbts.edu for more information about Central’s create Master of Divinity program

#EndHunger

2014-15 Offering for Global Missions If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

– Isaiah 58:10

CBF Global Missions The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is transforming the world by engaging God’s mission with and among the most neglected.

About 125 Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel stand with and among the poorest of the poor in locations across the United States and around the world. They are sharing the love of Jesus Christ in more than 30 countries on five continents through communities and networks that emerge from God-given passions.

CBF engages in a large portfolio of missions supported by networks of churches, individuals, field personnel and partners focused on global engagement around eight primary mission passions to impact the world.

Much of CBF’s global missions impact is funded by the Offering for Global Missions. The Offering is the foundational means of support for the CBF missions enterprise and provides access to a wide array of tools and resources to continue to serve people and equip churches.

Support the Offering for Global Missions through a financial contribution, or promote the Offering in your church! Details and resources are available at thefellowship.info/OGM. When you support the Offering for Global Missions, you make ministry possible by supporting all CBF field personnel.

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CBF works to…

• Promote leadership and ministry among the least evangelized – develop the local church among the least evangelized – provide Bible translations and digital resources in partnership – reach the international community • Seek justice/reconciliation among the most marginalized – end extreme poverty – develop and transform communities – transform conflict situations – restore natural environments

All field personnel receive • Support for technology and travel

• Member care and wellness services • Exploratory conferences and the discernment process for candidates seeking missions as a life call • Annual retreat for the children of field personnel

Lebanon Spreading the peace of Christ Since civil war broke out in Syria three years ago, more than 2.5 million refugees have fled the country. More than a million of those have settled in Lebanon, creating a burden on the nation’s public services and doubling unemployment among Lebanese citizens. Hunger is widespread, and there are no official refugee camps. Families are struggling to resettle in a foreign land.

Chaouki and Maha Boulos, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel serving in Lebanon since 2002, are working to #EndHunger for Syrian refugees through food distribution to more than 300 participants of a women’s Bible study, more than 350 students ages 4 to 13 years old at a school in the Bekaa Valley and to internally displaced Syrians in Damascus.

2014-15 CBF Global Missions Offering Emphasis:

#EndHunger

One in eight people in the world are hungry.

That’s 842 million people — more than double the population of the United States.

Through the work of field personnel and through its rural poverty initiative, Together for Hope, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is working to #EndHunger with global partners. Throughout his ministry, Jesus often provided those around him a meal. As CBF field personnel seek to be the presence of Christ, they follow that example.

The Offering for Global Missions helps support about 125 field

personnel in their work in the United States and around the world.

In 2014-15, CBF will focus on the work of our field personnel to #EndHunger. Your Offering gifts will support these efforts and CBF global mission work meeting other needs worldwide.

CBF’s hunger ministries can be found in 20 nations across four continents. The CBF Offering for Global Missions supports field personnel working to #EndHunger here in more than 10 states in the U.S. and in 19 other nations around the world.

Fredericksburg, Va. A holistic Christian response A Christian response to #EndHunger requires more than providing food.

It’s about protecting the dignity of those in need. It’s helping to meet physical, social, spiritual, mental, and emotional needs. For Greg and Sue Smith, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel serving the Latino community of Fredericksburg, Va., it’s meeting people wherever they are. With support from CBF’s Offering for Global Missions, since 2006, the Smiths have worked in partnership with the Fellowship, the Virginia Baptist Mission Board and Fredericksburg Baptist Church to meet the challenges of immigrants with a holistic Christian response. The Smiths founded LUCHA ministries, which in English means “struggle.” To combat hunger, LUCHA ministries maintains a food pantry and partners with the local food bank as well as with churches and individuals to regularly provide culturally appropriate food to the Latino community.

Strategic, innovative leader named CBF Global Missions Coordinator DECATUR, Ga. – A strategic and innovative former field personnel and former director of one of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s flagship urban ministries was named CBF’s new Coordinator of Global Missions at an April 30 press conference.

Steven Porter, who served as the executive director of Touching Miami with Love from 2001 to 2005, will lead CBF’s 125 field personnel in the United States and around the world, as well as the organization’s Decatur, Ga., -based Global Missions staff.

Touching Miami with Love was founded in 1995 and aims to share the love of Christ by providing hope, opportunities and resources with the city’s Overtown community.

Porter holds ordination in the National Baptist Convention, USA, and currently teaches the history and theology of Christian mission, including a course titled Evangelism: A Contextual Approach, at one of CBF’s partner schools, George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University.

His academic pursuits have provided connections to other CBF partner schools as well. Porter earned an M.Div. at Candler School of Theology at Emory University and is pursuing a Th.D. from Duke University Divinity School, where he has been involved in the Baptist House of Studies. He has also taught courses in evangelism at William Jewell College, in Liberty, Mo., and served as a teaching assistant at Duke Divinity.

Porter was commissioned as a field personnel on CBF’s Urban Team in 1998 and served in Miami until 2005. In his work with Touching Miami with Love and through his various academic pursuits, Porter has connected with many of CBF’s state and regional organizations, including CBF of Florida, the Kentucky Baptist Fellowship, CBF of Missouri (now CBF Heartland), CBF of Texas and CBF of North Carolina. In North Carolina, Porter served on the Wealth 50

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PHOTO COURTESY OF BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

By Jeff Huett

and Poverty Task Force; and in Texas, on the national CBF Missions Council. He was chair-elect of the council.

CBF Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter lauded Porter’s strong connection to the Fellowship and its state and regional organizations, as well as his effective leadership at Touching Miami with Love.

“Steven is the right person at the right time to lead CBF’s Global Missions efforts into the future,” Paynter said. “His commitment to collaborative mission efforts, to recognizing and replicating best practices and to investing in long-term mission engagement has me excited about where we’ll go and what impact we will make together as a Fellowship and with our mission partners.”

Paynter also pointed to Porter as the right person to lead CBF’s Global Mission efforts as the organization carries out the 2012 Task Force Report that calls on the Fellowship to continue to follow its passion to obey the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:34-40) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), through global missions engagement “with the least evangelized and most neglected persons of the world through sending vocational and volunteer missionaries.”

While in Miami, Porter served as a chaplain in a federal prison and a street

Steven Porter, a former field personnel who directed Touching Miami with Love, will begin his work as CBF Coordinator of Global Missions on September 1.

pastor for a homeless congregation. He was pastor of Downtown Mission, Central Baptist Church, in Miami from 1998 to 2005.

In his leadership at Touching Miami with Love, Porter focused the organization on its core strengths — ministry to the homeless community and families at risk in the Overtown neighborhood. Part of the decision to narrow the ministry’s focus also included a concern to identify more closely with their neighbors — to be the presence of Christ in that place.

Consequently, Touching Miami with Love relocated from downtown to a new ministry center in the heart of Overtown, which opened doors for expanded advocacy and community organizing.

Internationally, Porter has developed a passion for building relationships with Christians from the Global South having served three stints as an international student, leading an international student ministry in Miami and participating in the work of the Baptist World Alliance and the International Association of Mission Studies.

In 2010, he was the recipient of a Henry Luce Foundation Research Grant for work

at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

At CBF, Porter looks to build on the organization’s strengths to help it become more collaborative in its Global Missions work, including closer integration with local congregations and the congregational ministries side of CBF. “There are incredible people giving their lives away every day in some of the most difficult contexts imaginable through CBF Global Missions — but the same can be said of Christians in CBF congregations,” Porter said. “We must do a better job of learning from each other within and beyond the Fellowship to leverage that wisdom and wise practices to advance God’s reign in the world.”

To help select CBF’s new Coordinator of Global Missions, a 12-member search committee chaired by CBF of North Carolina Missions Coordinator Linda Jones formed in October. The committee was made up of individuals from across the Fellowship, including pastors, former field personnel and staff members from CBF state and regional organizations.

Jones said Porter is precisely what CBF Global Missions needs at this time.

“The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship needs a shared vision for mission engagement for the future,” she said. “This requires someone with strategic vision who understands CBF, the local church and understands our field personnel — their passion, commitment and difficulties of being Porter, pictured below with CBF Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter and CBF Moderator Bill McConnell, will be introduced to the Fellowship at this summer’s General Assembly in Atlanta. Porter will give the keynote address at the June 25 commissioning banquet for field personnel, church starters, chaplains and pastoral counselors.

on the field. It requires an understanding of our culture and what we need as an organization to lead us forward to effective, strategic, innovative and holistic ministry in our world. Our team believes that Steven Porter is that person.”

Members of the committee were: • Linda M. Jones, (chair) Missions Coordinator, CBF of North Carolina, Winston-Salem, N.C. • Ryan Clark, Specialist and Training Manager for Global Missions, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Decatur, Ga. • Bill Coates, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Gainesville, Ga. • Arville Earl, Retired CBF Field Personnel, Talmo, Ga. • Chris Ellis, Minister of Mission and Outreach, Second Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark. • Beverly Greer, Retired Missions Coordinator at CBF of South Carolina, Belton, S.C. • Bill McConnell, CBF Moderator, Knoxville, Tenn. (Ex-officio member) • Michael Oliver, Senior Pastor, Trinity Baptist Church, Madison, Ala. (Missions Council representative) • Joe Phelps, Pastor, Highland Baptist Church, Louisville, Ky. • Rob Sellers, Professor of Theology and Connally Professor of Missions, Logsdon School of Theology, Hardin-Simmons University, Abilene, Texas

Steven Porter shared his vision for CBF Global Missions at an April 30 press conference to announce his appointment at the CBF headquarters in Decatur, Ga.

• Rachel Gunter Shapard, Associate Coordinator, CBF of Florida, Jacksonville, Fla. • Steve Wells, Pastor, South Main Baptist Church, Houston, Texas (Governing Board representative) Jim Smith has served as CBF’s interim coordinator of Global Missions since Rob Nash left CBF to be professor of missions and world religions and associate dean at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology.

Nash led CBF’s Global Missions work from 2006 until June 2012.

During Nash’s tenure, Global Missions implemented a new strategic plan that reiterated CBF’s commitment to the most neglected while building innovative structures for engagement. Under Nash’s leadership, the Fellowship commissioned the first network of field personnel, churches and individuals as a ministry team among people in China at the 2009 General Assembly.

CBF Global Missions has also implemented eight mission communities through which churches and individuals can engage alongside field personnel.

For more information on Steven Porter, including photos, endorsements and a video, visit www.thefellowship.info/porter.

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Something Good Is Growing!

urturing Faith Bible Studies with Tony Cartledge is proud to be a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship partner in providing an innovative Bible study curriculum for adults and youth. The Bible studies are conveniently published inside Baptists Today news journal and include abundant, free teaching resources at nurturingfaith.net. Rick Jordan, church resources coordinator for CBFNC, provides an online teaching plan for each weekly lesson. This creative approach includes a fellowship question, information and a transformational exercise.

Visit the Nurturing Faith exhibit to receive free samples and to register for a free Samsung Galaxy Tablet.

Call 1-877-752-5658 or visit baptiststoday.org to get started.

“The Nurturing Faith study is a staple in several of our discipleship groups. It offers the teachers excellent preparatory materials and guidance which is a tremendous blessing to busy volunteers. The study is great for classes of all sizes and ages as it encourages everyone to engage the Bible passages in ways that honor the Story of God and is also meaningful to them in their contexts.”

—heaTheR ThomaS FollIaRd Associate Pastor, Director of Discipleship, Hillsong Church, Chapel Hill, N.C.

T

ony brings the mind of a scholar, the heart of a pastor and the communication skills of an experienced writer and teacher to each weekly Bible Lesson. While sensitive to the stages of learning, Tony respects the intelligence of those engaged in weekly Bible study. Therefore, he doesn’t avoid difficult texts or “dumb down” the lessons. A broader scope of the Bible is studied throughout the year since the texts come from the Revised Common Lectionary.

Tony develops the themes and writes the lessons always with a focus on how biblical truth is applied to daily living.

The Mid-Atlantic Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and The John Leland Center for Theological Studies join together to celebrate our own

Rev. Kasey Jones as Moderator for CBF! May the grace of our Lord continue to guide and sustain her in these days ahead!

Please join us for a piece of cake on Thursday at 5:00pm in the Piedmont room to celebrate with our region and greet Kasey!

Friday Morning, June 27 9:15 a.m., Invitation to Gather 9:30 a.m., Centennial Ballroom

Business Session II Invitation to Gather

Cynthia Clawson

Meditation on the Church

Like Doris Day’s character in Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much, searching for her kidnapped son, singing a familiar song, and hoping he hears it and responds, so is the mission of the Church. The Church sings her songs of love, forgiveness, grace and mercy, and hopes beyond hope that we hear it, and that it will resonate deep down within us, and that we will soon find ourselves wrapped in the arms of Love.

Bert Montgomery “Without Church . . .”

Hymn of Praise

Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee

HYMN TO JOY

Joyful, joyful, we adore thee, God of glory, Lord of love; hearts unfold like flowers before thee, opening to the sun above.

Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away.

Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

All thy works with joy surround thee, earth and heaven reflect thy rays, stars and angels sing around thee, center of unbroken praise.

Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow, flashing sea, chanting bird and flowing fountain, call us to rejoice in thee.

Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest, well-spring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!

Loving Spirit, Christ our brother, all who live in love are thine; teach us how to love each other, lift us to the joy divine.

Mortals, join the mighty chorus which the morning stars began; love divine is reigning o’er us, binding all within its span.

Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife; joyful music leads us sunward, in the triumph song of life.

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Welcome and Invocation

Paul Baxley

“Why I love my church . . .”

Litany on the Church

Preston Clegg

Erica Lea

Lord of divine communion, We give you thanks for your church.

For its radical hospitality, We give you thanks for your church.

For its responsiveness to its community, We give you thanks for your church.

For its encouragement of peace, We give you thanks for your church.

For its advocacy for justice, We give you thanks for your church.

For it is in this gift of community in which we find ourselves over and over again, In the presence of the holy. Thank you, God, for your church.

Preview of the Baptist Center for Ethics’ Through the Door

Patrick Anderson

Call to Order

Bill McConnell

Votes

2014-15 Missions and Ministries Budget

Nominating Committee Report

Governing Board Recommendations

Bill McConnell

Action on Floor Motions

Bill McConnell

Missions Council Report

Mimi Walker

Ministries Council Report

Michael Cheuk

Governing Board Report

Matt Cook

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Foundation Report Special Presentations

James R. Smith Bo Prosser Suzii Paynter

Reflections from the Moderator

Bill McConnell

Dreams from the New Moderator

Kasey Jones

Adjourn Business

Kasey Jones

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Hymn of Thanksgiving The Church’s One Foundation

AURELIA

The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord; she is his new creation by water and the Word.

From heaven he came and sought her to be his holy bride; with his own blood he bought her, and for her life he died.

Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth; her charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth; one holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses, with every grace endued.

Though with a scornful wonder we see her sore oppressed, by schisms rent asunder, by heresies distressed, yet saints their watch are keeping; their cry goes up, “How long?”

And soon the night of weeping shall be the morn of song.

Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forevermore; till, with the vision glorious, her longing eyes are blest, and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union with God the Three in One, and mystic sweet communion with those whose rest is won.

O happy ones and holy! Lord, give us grace that we like them, the meek and lowly, on high may dwell with thee.

Congregational Benediction

Kasey Jones

May God bless our churches with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that we will live deep within our hearts.

May God bless our churches with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation, so that we work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless our churches with tears to shed for those who suffer from rejection, starvation and war, so that we will reach out our hands to comfort and turn their pain into joy.

May God bless our churches with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.

Postlude

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Anne Brittain

Nominating Committee Report 2014 Governance

Ministries Council

Matt Cook, Moderator-Elect, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Wilmington, N.C. Josh Hunt, Nominating Committee Chair-Elect, Associate Pastor, First Baptist Church, Anderson, S.C.

Tommy Bratton, Minister of Christian Formation, First Baptist Church, Asheville, N.C. Greg Dover, Associate Pastor, Earle Street Baptist Church, Greenville, S.C. Leonard Ezell, Pastor, Northwest Baptist Church, Ardmore, Okla.

Jillian Farmer, Minister to Youth, Kirkwood Baptist Church, St. Louis, Mo. Dixie Ford, Minister of Worship and Families, Crosscreek Baptist Church, Pelham, Ala. Exter Hardy, Pastor, Pole Line Road Baptist, Davis, Calif.

Cynthia Insko, Children’s Minister, First Baptist Church, Frankfort, Ky. Shaun King, Pastor, Johns Creek Baptist Church, Alpharetta, Ga. Griff Martin, Co-Pastor, University Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, La. Christina Perkins, Associate Pastor, University Baptist Church, Baltimore, Md. Thomas Quisenberry, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Chattanooga, Tenn.

Brittany Riddle, Minister to Adults, Vinton Baptist Church, Vinton, Va. Bob Searl, Pastor, North Stuart Baptist Church, Stuart, Fla. Paul Soley, Vice President, Real Estate Services, Dwellworks Property Advisors, Wilton, Conn.

Kat Spangler, Associate Pastor, University Baptist Church, Hattiesburg, Miss.

Chester Thompson, Pastor, Zion Hill Baptist Church, Pine Bluff, Ark. Cindy Wallace, Chaplain, Alexian Brothers Medical Center, Hanover Park, Ill.

Governing Board Paul Baxley, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Athens, Ga. Daniel Carro, Professor of Divinity, John Leland Center for Theological Studies, Falls Chuch, Va. Charles Fuller, Minister of Congregational Life/Administration, Second Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark. Steve Little, Attorney, Little and Lattimore P. A., Marion, N.C.

Missions Council Allan Clark, Retired, First Baptist Church, Leland, Miss.

Christy Edwards, Second Baptist Church, Liberty, Mo. Frances Ford, Executive Director for Sowing Seeds of Hope, Perry County, Ala. Beverly Greer, Retired, Belton, S.C. Daniel Johnson, Associate Minister of Students and Missions, Second Baptist Church, Memphis, Tenn.

Rickey Letson, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Laurens, S.C. Jeremy Lewis, Group Facilitation - Urban Agriculture, Clarkston Development Foundation, Clarkston, Ga. Caleb Oladipo, Professor of Christian Mission, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Richmond, Va. Ruben Ortiz, Pastor, Primera Iglesia Hispana de Deltona, Deltona, Fla. Alan Rudnick, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Ballston Spa, N.Y. Amy Wilkins, Missions Minister, Valley Ranch Baptist Church, Coppell, Texas

GOVERNING BOARD RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendation — Recorder: Jason Coker, Pastor, Wilton Baptist Church, Wilton, Conn.

Recommendation — Nominating Committee: John Daugherty, Pastor, CityGate Ministries, Fort Myers, Fla. Susan Fendley, Attorney (retired), Knoxville, Tenn.

Josh Hunt, Associate Pastor, First Baptist Church, Anderson, S.C. Tamara Tillman, Minister of Education/Administration, First Baptist Church, Rome, Ga. James Touchton, Protestant Campus Minister, Ithaca College, Ithaca, N.Y.

CBF 2014-2015 PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET

The Finance Committee of the Governing Board proposed an operating budget of $12.4 million for the fiscal year 2014-2015, which begins October 1. The Governing Board approved this budget and recommends passage by the General Assembly.

CBF Foundation George Bowling, Engineer and Professor, Kirkwood, Mo. Charles Cantrell, Attorney, Mountain View, Mo. Tom Leland, Pastor Emeritus, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va. Joel Penny, Certified Financial Planner, Suwanee, Ga. Robert Prator, CPA, Atlanta, Ga. Macon Sheppard, Telecommunications Executive and Investor, Clemson, S.C. Jean Willingham, Real Estate Investor/Broker, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Church Benefits Board Ron Mullennix, Attorney, Liberty, Mo. Ron Rooks, Retired CPA, Tampa, Fla.

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Friday Workshops Session I The Church According to the Gospel of Luke

BIBLE STUDY The Learning Center (LL1)

This workshop raises and responds to this intriguing, important question — How might the late first-century writing known to us as the Gospel of Luke shape the church’s understanding of Christ and Christ-following near the dawn of the 21st century?

Facilitator: Todd Still, William M. Hinson Professor of Christian Scriptures, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University, Waco, Texas

Worship with First Baptist Church of Decatur

Still

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It’s a Risky Business!

Roswell (LL3)

It is no secret that the church is facing an unprecedented time of change, and congregations are facing risky decisions as they navigate into an uncertain future. However, few churches are looking at risk theologically. This workshop will engage participants in practical theological reflection on risk and change. Hartman Facilitator: Tracy Hartman, Daniel O. Aleshire Professor of Practical Theology and Homiletics, Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, Va.

Ministering to Multiple Generations

Courtland (LL3)

Every generation has its own needs, style and issues. Churches are multigenerational and potentially trying to serve as many as five different generations with one set of programming. Come and discuss what we need to do among the various generations.

Facilitator: David Key, Director of Baptist Studies, Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga.

Key

MISSION COMMUNITY Techwood (LL3)

This session will explore HIV from a neighborhood perspective. We will review disease trends and research and developments toward a cure for HIV. Critical to the discussion will be the role of the local church in facing stigma and partnering in the Stocks Smith community to help those infected with HIV. Facilitator: Tammy Stocks, CBF Field Personnel, Bucharest, Romania Presenter: Wayne Smith, Director of Samaritan Ministry, Central Baptist Church of Bearden, Knoxville, Tenn.

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Kennesaw (LL3)

The Academy of Preachers sponsors its third annual CBF Festival of Young Preachers, a twoday event (Thursday and Friday afternoons) featuring 16 CBF young people (ages 14-28) preaching sermons inspired by the 2014 theme, TELL ME A STORY. Come and support these young preachers.

Presenters: CBF Young Preachers and Brittany Krebs, Worship Leader, Georgetown, Ky.

MISSION COMMUNITY Piedmont (LL3)

Attendees will learn about predatory lending practices common in most communities today including payday and auto title lending. Come learn the basics of how these products work, why they Foreman Reeves are so harmful and how CBF, churches and other Christian organizations are responding through both public policy advocacy and direct service.

Facilitator: Brian Foreman, Youth Ministry and Social Media Consultant, Raleigh, N.C. Presenter: Stephen Reeves, Associate Coordinator of Partnerships and Advocacy, CBF, Decatur, Ga.

Healthcare: We all have HIV — Welcome to the Neighborhood

CBF Festival of Young Preachers

WORSHIP International Ballroom North (LL1)

“Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” In this postmodern worship experience hosted by First Baptist Church of Decatur, our text from Mark’s Gospel invites us to honor our God-given need to pause and rest. Postmodern worship (a.k.a. “alternative,” “emerging,” and/or Pennington“experiential” worship) is marked by organic movement through Russell the liturgy, experiential elements designed to challenge or decode dogma and tradition, hands-on congregational participation and non-linear modes of thinking.

Preacher: Julie Pennington-Russell, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Decatur, Ga.

Economic Development: Predatory Lending

Friday, June 27 1:30-2:30 p.m.

Women’s Leadership Development

Inman (LL3)

While we celebrate significant strides for women, the “stainedglass ceiling” still exists. Central Seminary is calling for radical transformation of the horizon for women called to leadership in ministry. While many women lead in CBF organizations and congregations, there is more to be done!

Holt Facilitator: Sally Holt, Coordinator, Central Seminary’s Tennessee site and Associate Professor of Christian Ethics, Belmont University, Nashville, Tenn.

The Arts of Ministry: How Art Bridges the Divides of Congregations and Communities

Auburn (LL3)

Art is an effective tool for bridging the generational, ethnic and economic divides that affect churches and their local environments. This workshop will explore how churches can use art in specific ways to facilitate worship, build fellowship and engage the wider Thomasons community.

Facilitators: Todd Thomason, Pastor and Kristen Thomason, First Baptist Church, Hyattsville, Md.

Setting Deacons Free Hear the story of how one church failed miserably using the Deacon Family Ministry Plan and how moving to the Team Ministry Plan (capitalizing on spiritual gifts and passion) led to vibrant success by energizing deacons and laity involvement in ministry at unprecedented levels.

Facilitator: Tom Stocks, Field Strategist – Valley Region, Virginia Baptist Mission Board, Roanoke, Va.

Zombies, Vampires and the End of the World

Affordable Care Act 2014 Fall Enrollment: What Did We Learn and What Is New? Stocks

Dunwoody (LL3)

Spring (LL3)

Built on the premise, “In Christ…there’s never not a next,” iMAGiNEXT is a comprehensive methodology that equips church leaders to mobilize congregations. Session participants will leave with the understanding and tools necessary to catalyze White King others to deliberately discern and intentionally act on their new and next step in faith.

Facilitators: David White, Connections Pastor and Shaun King, Senior Pastor, Johns Creek Baptist Church, Alpharetta, Ga.

The Changing Face of Ministry with Senior Adults

Baker (LL3)

Worship is not meant to be a show, nor is worship meant to be a lifeless ritual. This presentation discusses the values of tradition and innovation and suggests a practical framework for integrating the two without compromising the integrity of either.

Mathis Facilitator: Eric Mathis, Assistant Professor of Music and Worship and Director of anima: the Forum for Worship and the Arts, Samford University School of the Arts, Birmingham, Ala.

Fairlie (LL3)

This workshop will examine: 1) the popular fascination with zombies and vampires, 2) the deep underlying social anxieties about dystopic and apocalyptic scenarios, 3) the Christian understanding of human existence and the hope of the resurrection of the dead as a way of addressing questions of Freeman popular culture.

Facilitator: Curtis Freeman, Research Professor of Theology, Director of the Baptist House of Studies, Duke Divinity School, Durham, N.C.

iMAGiNEXT: Mobilizing Love in Individuals and Congregations

Imagineering and the Art of Worship Ministry: Merging Tradition and Innovation

Lenox (LL3)

October brings the second year of the new healthcare law. We will share what we have learned this past year and how some churches have found coverage for staff and individuals. We will also discuss how your church can assist a vital ministry helping Skeen people in the community enroll for healthcare.

Facilitators: Gary Skeen, President, Church Benefits Board; Victoria Whatley, Manager, Church Benefits Board; Patterson Coates, Assistant Manager, Church Benefits Board, Decatur, Ga.

Spanish Speaking Workshop 1

Whatley

Coates

Greenbriar (LL3)

To address the needs of the Latino community, CBF’s Latino Network is coordinating two workshops to be presented in Spanish. They will be offered to registered participants of the General Assembly as well as to Latino churches in the greaterAtlanta area who wish to attend for the day.

Cueller

Teniendo en cuenta las necesidades de la comunidad latina, la Red de Latinos de CBF estará presentando en la Asamblea General dos talleres educativos en español. Estos se ofrecen a los participantes ya inscritos en la Asamblea General, así como a las iglesias latinas en el área metropolitana de Atlanta que deseen asistir este día.

Facilitator: Ruth Cueller, Pastor, Iglesia Bautista El Buen Pastor, Newnan, Ga.

Marietta (LL3)

The senior adult population is growing more rapidly than any other age group. Are we ready for the opportunities and challenges facing the aging church? Join us as we discuss ways to engage the increasing number of active senior adults in our churches while nurturing their gifts and honoring their Riddle experiences.

Facilitator: Brittany Riddle, Associate Pastor and Minister to Adults, Vinton Baptist Church, Vinton, Va.

Current, CBF’s young leaders network, will host workshops with this logo and invite further conversation.

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Friday Workshops Session II The Church According to the Gospel of John

BIBLE STUDY The Learning Center (LL1)

More than any other Gospel, John pushes us to wrestle with the provocative story of Jesus at a deeper level. It is not enough to understand “just the facts” — we must confront the divine dimensions of Jesus’ entrance into the world and his all-ornothing claim on our lives.

Facilitator: Andy Wakefield, Dean, Campbell University Divinity School, Buies Creek, N.C.

Wakefield

Friday, June 27 2:45-3:45 p.m.

CBF Festival of Young Preachers

Kennesaw (LL3)

The Academy of Preachers sponsors its third annual CBF Festival of Young Preachers, a twoday event (Thursday and Friday afternoons) featuring 16 CBF young people (ages 14-28) preaching sermons inspired by the 2014 theme, TELL ME A STORY. Come and support these young preachers.

Presenters: CBF Young Preachers and Brittany Krebs, Worship Leader, Georgetown, Ky.

Worship with Northside Drive Baptist Church

WORSHIP International Ballroom South (LL1)

Liturgical worship enacts the sacred drama of God’s pilgrim people. The crucifer’s slow walk with the processional cross, the Bible carried high and the frail but tenacious candle all joyfully join with litanies, lectionary lessons, chanted Psalms, the Gospel reading among the people, plus the sermon’s outing of a Lamkin transcendent/immanent intersection. These carry a reverent community’s dense theological freight and grace.

Preacher: James Lamkin, Senior Pastor, Northside Drive Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga.

Disaster Response: The Question is not “If?” but “When?”

MISSION COMMUNITY Techwood (LL3)

Some of the most innovative expressions of the Kingdom’s vision are coming from new church starts. Two examples come from this year’s commissioned church starters, Kyle Tubbs and George Linney. Join Kyle and George for a conversation about what they Hale are doing in their contexts. In addition, we will discuss how the Fellowship provides support for church starters exploring or engaging in a new church start vision.

Facilitator: Andy Hale, CBF Church Starter, Mosaic of Clayton, N.C. Presenters: Kyle Tubbs, CBF Church Starter, Grace Tubbs Linney Baptist Church, Williamson County, Texas and George Linney, CBF Church Starter, Tobacco Trail Church, Durham, N.C. 62

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Auburn (LL3)

CBF’s endorser for chaplains and pastoral counselors will lead a discussion and information session on the process of becoming endorsed as a chaplain or pastoral counselor. Attendees will also learn about the Fellowship’s programs to support chaplaincy and pastoral counseling ministries and the general ministry of Hutchinson chaplaincy and pastoral counseling.

Facilitator: Gerry Hutchinson, Endorser for Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors, CBF, Decatur, Ga.

MISSION COMMUNITY Piedmont (LL3)

Cooperative Baptists are passionate people. We want to do something to help others, particularly those who are hurting.

How do we participate in disaster response efforts? How can you be a part of this? How do we partner with others for the greater good? How can you prepare for a disastrous event in your Deal community and neighborhood? How can your church prepare?

These are just some of the questions to be addressed during this workshop.

Facilitator: Tommy Deal, U.S. Disaster Response Coordinator, CBF, Decatur, Ga.

Church Starts and Faith Sharing: Innovative Expressions

Understanding Endorsement for Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling

His Own Received Him Not: Jimmy Carter, the Religious Right and the 1980 Presidential Election Jimmy Carter rode to the presidency on the twin currents of his “born again” credentials and his reputation as a “New South” governor. This lecture explores how and why some of Carter’s fellow believers turned so rabidly against him.

Facilitator: Randall Balmer, Mandel Family Professor in the Arts & Sciences and Chair of the Religion Department, Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H., Episcopal priest and Author, Redeemer: The Life of Jimmy Carter

Claiming the Future of Mission

Hanover F (LL2)

Balmer

Inman (LL3)

Christian understanding of mission is changing. The “sending” body is no longer thought to steward all the resources, nor all the truth. Learn what Central Seminary has discovered through its global partnerships about how this “flattening” mission invites holistic transformation with a Binkleys special video introduction by President Molly T. Marshall.

Facilitators: Duane and Marcia Binkley, CBF Field Personnel, De Soto, Kan.

Making Community Work

Greenbriar (LL3)

How do you get a community to work? Reconsider the missional possibilities in your immediate community and begin to list an inventory of community resources available to your congregation right now. Hear the story of one church’s effort to bring an entire city together for one mission project.

Facilitator: Bryon LePere, Pastor, Buena Vista Baptist Church, Buena Vista, Va.

LePere

Born Again, Again: Revisiting Religious Experience in a Believers’ Church

Dunwoody (LL3)

This session explores the nature of religious experience for Baptists, the meaning and process of conversion in a believers’ church. Questions: 1) What do Baptists mean when they claim to be a believers’ church? 2) What processes of conversion have they developed? 3) Are there new ways of retelling the “old, old story”? Leonard Facilitator: Bill Leonard, James and Marilyn Dunn Professor of Baptist Studies and Professor of Church History, Wake Forest School of Divinity, Winston-Salem, N.C.

Five Healthy Attributes of Youth Ministry We Have A Website. Now What?

Baker (LL3)

Using strategies and best practices in content marketing, social media and user experience, your website can generate interest in the good work you do and make connections with your community.

Avoid common mistakes and strategically use online Moore Aho technology to convert online opportunities to faceto-face connections, benefiting both your congregation and community.

Facilitators: Brandon Moore, Director of Digital and Web Marketing, Georgetown College, Georgetown, Ky. and Natalie Aho, Interactive Communications Specialist, ABP News/Herald, Alabama CBF and the Center for Healthy Churches, Oxford, N.C.

Pastors, youth ministers and lay leaders will benefit from this discussion-based session which explores research and writing from the CBF Youth Ministry Network (CBFYMN).

Facilitators: John Uldrick, Past President, CBFYMN, Uldrick Rome, Ga.; Jen Van Camp, Youth Pastor, 19th Avenue Baptist Church, San Francisco, Calif.; Greg Harrell, Resource Coordinator, CBFYMN, Blacksburg, Va.

Fairlie (LL3)

To address the needs of the Latino community, CBF’s Latino Network is coordinating two workshops to be presented in Spanish. They will be offered to registered participants of the General Assembly as well as to Latino churches in the greaterAtlanta area who wish to attend for the day.

Cueller

Courtland (LL3)

This workshop will discuss the texture of worship as a “seamless liturgical garment” regardless of worship style choice. Emerging from the recently published Gathering Together: Baptists at Work in Worship (Pickwick, 2013), conversation will center on Hatch Kennedy intentional reflection on worship practices as well as aid in planning worship services.

Facilitators: Derek Hatch, Assistant Professor of Christian Studies, Howard Payne University, Brownwood, Texas and Rodney Kennedy, Lead Pastor, First Baptist Church, Dayton, Ohio

Co-Pastors: A Picture of Ministry

Van Camp

Harrell

Spanish Speaking Workshop 2

Gathering Together: Baptists at Work in Worship

Spring (LL3)

Marietta (LL3)

Many Baptists who have never experienced the ministry of co-pastors will be interested to hear how it works for churches and ministers. Also, those who have co-pastored will be interested in comparing notes. Join us as we talk with some co-pastors about Inscore Inscore Essick Essick their experiences in church ministry.

Facilitators: Amber and John Inscore Essick, Co-Pastors, Port Royal Baptist Church, Port Royal, Ky.

Teniendo en cuenta las necesidades de la comunidad latina, la Red de Latinos de CBF estará presentando en la Asamblea General dos talleres educativos en español. Estos se ofrecen a los participantes ya inscritos en la Asamblea General, así como a las iglesias latinas en el área metropolitana de Atlanta que deseen asistir este día.

Facilitator: Ruth Cueller, Pastor, Iglesia Bautista El Buen Pastor, Newnan, Ga.

Trail Marks

Lenox (LL3)

Trail Marks is a ministry model that invites parents, students and ministers into close communication and collaboration in an effort to provide consistent, holistic spiritual formation for the entire faith journey. By intentionally working together to achieve shared goals, we Bratton create partnerships for life-long discipleship of our children and youth.

Facilitator: Tommy Bratton, Minister of Christian Formation, First Baptist Church, Asheville, N.C.

Current, CBF’s young leaders network, will host workshops with this logo and invite further conversation.

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LEARN

what CBF churches and individuals are doing

NETWORK with other Fellowship people

DISCOVER

ministries to which God may be calling you

Friday Evening, June 27 7:15 p.m., Invitation to Gather 7:30 p.m., Centennial Ballroom

Worship Session II Invitation to Gather

CBF Georgia/Atlanta Choir Marc Burcham, Choral Director God Is Here, Green/Taylor I Must Tell Jesus, Hoffman/Larson When in Our Music God is Glorified, Stanford/Hopson How Shall I Sing to God? Wren/Larson

Meditation on the Church

Church life is brimming with God, so seize the moment, if not the day. Rub shoulders with salty saints. Sing Gospel when the Spirit moves you. Wade in the water again. Always go to the funeral. Imagine the whole world eating from the same loaf. Fill the cup until it overflows. Risk silence.

Bear witness to another’s pain. Lose yourself in prayer. Extend invitations with abandon. Collect epiphanies. Conspire with prophets and dreamers.

Give away more than makes sense. Take heart that, in all of these things, you are in good company.

Sharlande Sledge Welcome and Litany on the Church

Ruth Perkins Lee

Young and old, daughters and sons of God, all you who are the diverse creations of God’s imagination and love, join in praise and thanksgiving of the One who brings us together.

We bring our varied stories, our unique gifts, and our distinct calls to serve.

We are here in partnership and mission, knowing that we are called to be the church: to celebrate God’s presence, to serve others, to offer the hope of the Resurrected Christ.

We are called to be the body of Christ—a community of believers, a household of faith, a communion of saints.

We are called to the one hope of our high calling—one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God. As members of the body of Christ, we covenant together to build on our sure foundation of Jesus Christ our Lord and to seek the vision of Christ’s hope for the world.

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Cynthia Clawson

Invocation Hymn of Adoration

Sing Praise to God, Who Has Shaped Centre Strings Ensemble, Newnan, Georgia

Chris George LOBE DEN HERREN

Sing praise to God, who has shaped and sustains all creation!

Sing praise, my soul, in profound and complete adoration!

Gladsome rejoice organ and trumpet and voice joining God’s great congregation.

Praise God, our guardian, who lovingly offers correction, Who, as on eagle’s wings, saves us from sinful dejection.

Have you observed, how we are always preserved by God’s parental affection?

Sing praise to God, with sincere thanks for all your successes.

Merciful God ever loves to encourage and bless us.

Only conceive, what godly strength can achieve; strength that would touch and caress us.

Sing praise, my soul, the great name of your high God commending.

All that have life and breath join you, their notes sweetly blending.

God is your light! Soul, ever keep this in sight; amen, amen never ending.

Reading from the Hebrew Scriptures Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, 12 (The Message)

“Why I love my church . . .”

I Love Thy Kingdom, Lord The Response

I love thy church, O God! Her walls before thee stand, Dear as the apple of thine eye, and graven on thy hand.

Call to Give, “Together for Hope” Offering and Preparation for the Table Litany on Communion and Prayer of Confession

Mary Beth Foust Josh Hunt Julie Whidden Long Cynthia Clawson

Stephen Cook Cynthia Clawson Ragan Courtney Charles Qualls

Friends, this is the joyful feast of the people of God. They will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the kingdom of God. When Jesus was at table with his disciples, he took the bread, and blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. This is the Lord’s table, set for all of the family.

Our Savior invites those who love one another to share the feast which he has prepared.

‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus Promise of Assurance Isaiah 25:6-9 Reading from the Prophets Gospel Reading Luke 14:12-14 Threads of Home

Cynthia Clawson Chuck Poole Brittany Riddle Cynthia Clawson A S S E M B LY 2 0 1 4 G U I D E B O O K

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“One Small Taste” Sermon The Lord’s Supper

Chuck Poole Chuck Poole and Suzii Paynter

The Ties That Bind The ties that hold us together are a gift of Christ’s table.

As we hold the threads of God’s grace, we share our spirits with one another and the Spirit of God. Congregational Benediction

Suzii Paynter

May God bless our churches with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that we will live deep within our hearts.

May God bless our churches with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation, so that we work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless our churches with tears to shed for those who suffer from rejection, starvation and war, so that we will reach out our hands to comfort and turn their pain into joy.

May God bless our churches with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done. Amen.

Postlude

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2014 CBF General Assembly Worship and Business Session Leaders

Alyssa Aldape

Mary Beth Foust

Suzii Paynter

Director of Youth Ministries, Northside Drive Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga.

Networking Coordinator, CBF Virginia, Richmond, Va

Executive Coordinator, CBF, Decatur, Ga.

Patrick Anderson

Chris George

Former Interim Executive Coordinator, CBF, Cedar Key, Fl. and Beech Mountain, N.C.

Pastor, Smoke Rise Baptist Church, Stone Mountain, Ga.

Senior Pastor, Northminster Baptist Church, Jackson, Miss.

Paul Baxley

Mark Green

Pastor, First Baptist Church, Athens, Ga.

Pianist / Associate Pastor Music, First Baptist Church, Gainesville, Ga.

Anne Brittain Organist/Music Associate, First Baptist Church, Athens, Ga.

Randy Brittain Minister of Music, First Baptist Church, Athens, Ga.

Frank Broome

Jeff Huett Associate Coordinator of Communications and Advancement, CBF, Decatur, Ga.

Chuck Poole Steven Porter Global Missions Coordinator, CBF, Decatur, Ga.

Bo Prosser Ministries Coordinator, CBF, Decatur, Ga.

Charles Qualls

Dock Hollingsworth

Associate Pastor, Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga.

Senior Pastor, Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga.

Brittany Riddle

Coordinator, CBF of Georgia, Macon, Ga.

Josh Hunt

Minister to Adults, Vinton Baptist Church, Vinton, Va.

Valerie Burton

Associate Pastor, First Baptist Church, Anderson, S.C.

Gary Skeen

Minister for Christian Formation, Baptist Church of the Covenant, Birmingham, Ala.

Centre Strings Ensemble

Andrea Dellinger Jones Pastor, Millbrook Baptist Church, Raleigh, N.C.

Newnan, Ga.

Kasey Jones

Michael Cheuk

Moderator-Elect, Senior Pastor, National Baptist Memorial Church, Washington, D.C.

Pastor, University Baptist Church, Charlottesville, Va.

Cynthia Clawson Vocalist, Houston, Texas

Preston Clegg Pastor, Second Baptist Church, Little Rock, Ark.

Matt Cook Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Wilmington, N.C.

Stephen Cook Senior Pastor, Second Baptist Church, Memphis, Tenn.

Ragan Courtney Artist/Playwright, Houston, Texas

Erica Lea Interim Pastor, Houston Mennonite Church, Houston, Texas

Ruth Perkins Lee

President, Church Benefits Board, Decatur, Ga.

James R. Smith President, CBF Foundation, Decatur, Ga.

Southern Crescent Dance Academy Newnan, Ga.

Indra Thomas Vocalist, Atlanta, Ga.

The 3 Inspirational Tenors

Congregational Services Manager, CBF, Decatur, Ga.

Atlanta, Ga.

Julie Whidden Long

Mimi Walker

Associate Pastor and Minister of Children and Families, First Baptist Church of Christ, Macon, Ga.

Pastor, Druid Hills Baptist Church, Atlanta, Ga.

Bill McConnell

Real Estate Investor/Broker, St. Petersburg, Fla.

Moderator, Knoxville, Tenn.

Andrew Young

Robert Parham

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Atlanta, Ga.

Executive Director, Baptist Center for Ethics, Nashville, Tenn.

Jean Willingham

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Educating leaders for justice, reconciliation, and compassion in Christian ministries.

“I came to seminary not only to sit in class and learn about God, but to be immersed in opportunities to engage human hearts around me and respond to social injustice.”

Monique S. Ellison

(MDiv ‘15)

Monique’s response will be creating a faith-based non-profit focusing on service, discipleship, and teaching.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina divinity.wfu.edu | : wakediv

Degree Programs

Master of Divinity MDiv/MA in Bioethics MDiv/MA in Counseling

MDiv/Master of Arts in Education MDiv/MA in Sustainability Juris Doctor/MDiv

MONTREAT NORTH CAROLINA

CONFERENCES

CHURCH RETREATS

EVENT FACILITIES

PERSONAL SABBATH

WELCOMING ALL TO THE MOUNTAINS SINCE 1897. LEARN MORE AT MONTREAT.ORG

W

for

her

oven Toget 2 0 Y e a rs

Celebrating CBF Foundation partnerships with CBF churches Fund management services Estate planning/planned giving services Promoting church financial health through: • Long-term income streams • Strategies to develop stewardship as a spiritual discipline • Promotion and growth of robust memorial gift and legacy programs • Developing mission, building, scholarship and other endowment funds

“After our 50th Anniversary we started dreaming about the next 50 years of ministry. We saw the need to grow our endowment and build an income stream through legacy giving. The spiritual discipline of planning and giving generously will help us do creative ministries in the community and sustain what was started decades before this time. The Foundation is our partner in planning, promoting and investing.”

– Ben Boswell, Pastor

Greenwood Forest Baptist Church, Cary, N.C. “Rolling Hills has a substantial endowment from a generous neighbor which we used to keep in CDs! Our participation with the CBF Foundation has provided income to our church that has not only relieved us of nagging capital concerns but, most importantly, has allowed us to do missional work at the national, state and local levels. The Foundation assisted us in developing documents that govern its use, assisted us with investment services and is currently helping us to develop a memorial and legacy gift program. God has blessed us beyond our dreams. The Foundation is a vital partner.”

– Steve Sheely, Pastor

Rolling Hills Baptist Church, Fayetteville, Ark. Other pastors and church leaders add: • “We would not be this far along without the partnership of the Foundation.”

• “Last year our endowment earned 17.8 percent after fees and provided us a steady income of just over 5 percent. The balance was reinvested to protect the fund for years ahead.”

• “Monthly statements are easy to understand.”

• “Our church is supported by tithes and offerings. The Legacy Fund provides added financial health.”

www.cbff.org

CBF congregational initiative invites transformation

Y

OU WON’T FIND a simple checklist. You won’t find a how-to booklet. You won’t find pre-fab goals. You won’t even be guaranteed that your church will add numbers to its rolls.

But you will find questions. Who is God calling us to be? What is God calling us to do?

Dawnings, an initiative of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, is a discernment process guiding churches to seek their identity and purpose in God’s calling and in God’s work.

The process offers a way to respond to the changing culture around us. Understanding that many congregations are facing great challenges, including declining memberships and aging facilities, Dawnings provides a way out of this perceived crisis. Dawnings invites churches to listen for the voice of God and to open up to God’s presence in life together as a congregational community. The invitation to join in the Dawnings process is an invitation to life together in God’s work and identity.

CBF launched Dawnings in 2012 with several churches participating in the pilot process. The process begins with a retreat that includes representatives from six to eight congregations. Each church brings a small leadership team of three to five and all participants discern together, pray together and dream together. This is not your standard leadership retreat!

Following the retreat, churches are invited to engage in the process as a congregation, focusing on the three central aspects of Dawnings: vision, formation and engagement. During the vision stage, conversations, prayers and scripture focus on the following questions: “How do we see as Jesus sees?” and “How do we see as God sees?”

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Dawnings encourages participants to seek God’s movement and God’s plan in the midst of those questions. By looking at ways God has worked in the past through scripture and stories, participants imagine how God might work in the surrounding world. Churches move through this aspect with a shared vision and sense of identity as God’s people.

Formation is critical to Dawnings, recognizing that spiritual formation is a constant process and a constant seeking.

With the understanding that we are all continuously being formed as disciples, Dawnings incorporates spiritual disciplines and practices to further the individual and congregational discernment process.

Finally, a focus on engagement helps churches discern ways to become missional communities and develop missional identity and work. Dawnings invites churches

By Meredith Holladay

Charles Krause, minister of discipleship at Grandin Court Baptist Church in Roanoke, Va., takes a moment to reflect during a Dawnings retreat in Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 1-4, 2012.

to engage the world locally and globally.

Recognizing that spirituality is often defined by a strictly inward search or a personal experience alone, the engagement aspect, along with vision and formation, ensures a holistic perspective on how God works in our lives — as individuals and as churches.

For many churches, participating in Dawnings may be a dramatic change.

Instead of offering individuals and churches step-by-step plans to guarantee an increase in membership, attendance or financial commitment, Dawnings asks congregations to participate in shared spirituality and to be together in what God is doing.

Dawnings looks different for each congregation that participates because it is

is intended to be contextual. At each step of the way, those who participate work to develop a contextual design — focused on the current resources and needs of the church and its community.

Providence Baptist Church in Hendersonville, N.C., was one of the first churches to participate. Julie Lee, who serves as Providence’s pastor, noted that during her first Dawnings retreat most of the time was spent developing spiritual practices and just listening and praying. From the outset, Lee knew this would be different than any other “strategic planning” process or plan that her congregation had used.

“The vision, formation and engagement aspects of Dawnings helped give needed structure to our congregation and helped give us a rhythm for our church life together,” Lee said.

In Memphis, Tenn., Second Baptist Church felt at a high point in 2012, as they celebrated the congregation’s 50th anniversary. The Memphis church began to ask what God was calling the congregation to do for the next 50 years. So, in May 2013, senior pastor Stephen Cook invited Bo Prosser, CBF’s ministries coordinator, to visit and give an introduction to Dawnings to a group of the congregation’s leaders.

A few months later, Prosser returned and led a retreat at Second Baptist as the congregation began the Dawnings process.

In reflecting on the process, Cook remarked that together Second Baptist had become really good at doing, but participating in Dawnings helped them to become more intentional in developing spiritual Dawnings participants discern together at the Ignatius House Retreat Center in Atlanta, Ga. Pictured are leaders from the following churches: First Baptist Church, Abilene, Texas; College Park Baptist Church, Orlando, Fla.; and Centerville Baptist Church, Chesapeake, Va.

conversations and focusing on formation as a piece of discipleship.

Kevin Ritter, pastor of Centerville Baptist Church in Chesapeake, Va., echoed this reflection. One of the shifts that has happened for him comes in assessing resources.

“As part of the congregational design team’s work, we have taken an inventory of the resources that we have at the church already, and it has helped me to work from a position of abundance instead of scarcity,” Ritter explained. “God has already given us every resource that we need to do the work God is already doing and the work God is calling us to do. It has lessened my stress — I am not the one who has to create out of nothing. I am a co-partner with God leading the way in what needs to be done.”

Cook sees deep transformation happening in the lives of his congregation — from the way he preaches, to the way church leaders work together, to the way they talk about relating to the surrounding community.

“The experience of Dawnings has uncovered a deep level of honesty in our church,” said Karen Pope, a Second Baptist member. “In the process of being vulnerable before God, we seem to have found a new freedom to be honest with each other about faith.”

As the clergy participants in the process have attested, Dawnings is an added value to their pastoral ministry.

“Dawnings helped me realize the significance of gathering leaders, praying together, engaging in spiritual disciplines together, which aided a really organized process of where we, together, sense the church should go and what we needed,” Lee emphasized. “It takes a lot of pressure off me as pastor because we are working together in very intentional ways.”

“This isn’t a prescription for strategic planning,” Cook added.

“Instead, it is an opportunity for deeper formation and meaningful engagement.”

For Prosser and CBF Missional Congregations Director Harry Rowland, Dawnings is an invitation to find newness in the shared life of a church.

Pictured is Matt Cook, pastor of First Baptist Church, Wilmington, N.C., who will begin his term as CBF Moderator-Elect at the 2014 CBF General Assembly in Atlanta. The Assembly will begin with a Dawnings retreat (June 23-25).

Upcoming retreats are being planned for Kansas City, Kan., Rome, Ga. and Eastern North Carolina.

“CBF’s Dawnings initiative is an invitation into a spiritual conversation about congregational renewal. This is about people with a deep passion for their church pulling apart for a while and really seeking the heart of God for their church,” Prosser said. “Every congregation that has participated has come away with a newness of spirit, of ministry and of fellowship!”

“There is a counter-cultural rhythm to Dawnings,” Rowland said. “Rather than relying on predicting, planning and inventing to determine how the church navigates, Dawnings invites the church into the spiritual rhythm of prayer, preparation and discovery. This rhythm places the church in rich dialogue with God and one another where the Spirit acts and the next step in the journey ‘dawns.’ The realized shift is from doing a church-shaped mission to being a mission of God shaped church.”

Dawnings is an innovative and holistic approach to church visioning, which seeks to engage the whole person and community, while seeking God’s kingdom already at work in the midst of God’s people. To learn more, visit www.cbfdawnings.org.

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CBF Peer Learning Groups Encouraging growth and fellowship among ministers

G

rowing up as a pastor’s kid, I watched as my dad struggled through the difficult days of ministry and celebrated the triumphs — and there were many of both. Sitting around the dinner table, my family shared the stories of our time apart from one another.

Though there was much my dad could not share with us, I noticed certain days when the tone behind the stories was different. These were days when he seemed to be experiencing more calm and living into a deeper sense of hope.

By Emily Holladay

Paying attention, I realized that a common thread held these days together — they were the days my dad gathered with other pastors in the area for fellowship and a journey through spiritual disciplines.

Getting together with these friends and colleagues gave my dad much joy. Ask him and he’d tell you that this time spent with peers was the most meaningful part of his self-care as a minister. Twenty years after the group’s first meeting, they continue to gather every Monday.

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is committed to facilitating this same kind of life-giving camaraderie among ministers. In 2003, CBF launched the Peer Learning Groups (PLGs) initiative to provide an environment that leads to healthier ministers who embody excellence in their field.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CBF PEER LEARNING GROUPS

“Though all PLGs are different, the common tie that binds each together is that they allow ministers to take time for themselves to grow together and to become better stewards of the ministry shared with the people they serve.”

Peer Learning Groups are small communities of ministers that meet monthly for discussion and fellowship. Pictured above is a PLG that met for a picnic and history program at the historic Polegreen church site in Hanover County, Va.

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PLGs are small communities of ministers that meet monthly for discussion of ministry-related issues, fellowship, Bible study and other formational activities. These groups are typically small, which allows for more familiarity and comfort within the community, and are led by a trained convener. Currently, CBF sponsors more than 100 peer groups and the initiative continues to expand.

PLGs are each different in make-up and function and include all types of ministers. Some are comprised of pastors, while others include music ministers or education ministers and the list goes on. Janice Haywood, childhood ministry specialist and adjunct professor at Campbell University Divinity School in Buies Creek, N.C., convenes a PLG for women ministers in North Carolina and Virginia.

“I have a group of ministers that understand ministry, especially the challenges of women in ministry, and I have learned from all of them, although our situations are different,” Haywood noted. “We also are different ages and that has stimulated mutual learning.”

This Missouri PLG invites a professor each year to lead the group in a discussion of important topics in church life from nearby Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kan. To celebrate their 10th anniversary as a PLG, Central Seminary President Molly Marshall (pictured center) joined for the group’s celebration.

Haywood’s group meets six times a year, with a weekend retreat every October led by a guest from outside the group. Because the members are spread across two states, the group alternates between the mountains and the beach, so everyone has the opportunity to “get away.” These meetings create a sense of safety and openness between the women and, says Haywood, a bond for life.

In Missouri, Doyle Sager, pastor of First Baptist Church, Jefferson City, and his PLG are celebrating their 10th year of learning and growing together as pastors and associate pastors.

“Over the past 15 years, Missouri has been a very difficult setting insofar as denominational identity,” Sager said. “Fierce battles have been fought over the soul of our Baptist life and suspicion has been cast on many of us moderate pastors who do not toe the line with those who took over the state convention. Our peer learning group has given pastors a safe place to ‘be,’ and has provided encouragement and assurance that we are not alone.”

Sager’s group participates in enrichment events, where they use CBF’s yearly $500 grant to invite a professor from Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kan., to lead the group in a study of important topics in church life.

This group of PLG ministers from North Carolina occasionally goes on a theme-focused retreat — their 2013 retreat theme was “Coming home to our own personal Bethany.”

“Recently, we studied with a professor about the unique claims of Christ in a pluralistic culture. The group felt free to ask tough questions and explore ‘what ifs.’ Some of us had not had that kind of opportunity to ruminate, probe and test boundaries since our seminary days,” Sager explained.

Though all PLGs are different, the common tie that binds each together is that they allow ministers to take time for themselves to grow together and to become better stewards of the ministry shared with the people they serve.

Brian Hill is pastor of First Baptist Church, Littlefield, Texas. His peer group has enabled him to become more intentional about the ways he engages spiritual practices in his congregation.

“I have gained some great, creative ideas about how to make particular practices more meaningful for our people,” Hill shared.

“For instance, I have a personal mandate for myself that I never want communion to become routine. I want it to be fresh and moving each time we observe it. I have received some helpful ideas from the other folks in the group.”

Hill emphasized that PLGs aid in breaking down barriers that prevent ministers from caring for one another.

“The most meaningful aspect of being part of our PLG is the brotherhood that has formed. So often there is competition among pastors — almost a one-upmanship that occurs. I am not saying there is never a healthy sense of competition, but I feel there is a real bond,” Hill said. “I trust them and feel I could share just about anything with the group.”

CBF is committed to expanding the PLG initiative because of the overwhelming impact it continues to have on ministers across the Fellowship. If you are not in a PLG, CBF is eager to help you find or start one. If you are a church member, encourage your ministers to connect with a local PLG. My dad’s story is far from unique. He is just one of many ministers whose life has been transformed through a peer learning group!

Want to find out if there is a PLG in your area? Looking to start a PLG? Visit www.thefellowship.info/peerlearninggroups or connect with CBF Missional Congregations Director Harry Rowland at hrowland@thefellowship.info.

Two Arkansas PLGs joined together last year for a relaxing weekend of learning and growing at Mount Eagle Retreat Center in Clinton, Ark.

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CBF prays to

By Aaron Weaver

T

he Cooperative Baptist Fellowship joined with partner Bread for the World, the Catholic Church and other faith groups in prayer to end world hunger on Dec. 10, 2013.

Pope Francis, in conjunction with Caritas Internationalis, issued a worldwide ‘wave of prayer’ against world hunger that began at noon, Dec. 10 on the South Pacific island of Samoa.

Churches and individuals from across the Fellowship participated in this ‘wave of prayer’, and CBF staff in Decatur, Ga., gathered for prayer at noon. The CBFblog (www.cbfblog.com) featured prayers from CBF Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter and Mark Buhlig of Together for Hope, CBF’s rural poverty initiative, as well as a 20-part blog series highlighting the stories of CBF churches, ministry partners and field personnel working to #EndHunger in their communities. Read the series, titled “At the Table: Baptists Fight Hunger,” at www.cbfblog.com/featured.

CBF’s hunger ministries can be found in 20 nations across four continents. The CBF Offering for Global Missions (www. thefellowship.info/ogm) supports field personnel working to #EndHunger in more than 10 states in the United States and in 19 other nations around the world.

These hunger ministries provide emergency food assistance to countless individuals and families, including those affected by human trafficking in Macedonia, Syrian refugees seeking safety in Turkey and Syrians trying to survive in their homeland.

Macedonia — Emergency food assistance for families affected by human trafficking Turkey — Syrian refugees as well as other displaced people are assisted with food and water San Antonio, Texas — Emergency food and clothing closet for students at Baptist University of the Americas

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#EndHunger

Philippines — Food and water for survivors of Typhoon Haiyan Syria – Food distribution to Syrians in Syria through a local church.

Lebanon — Food packages are distributed to Syrian refugees and others in and around Beirut Slovakia — Emergency food aid in Vazec, food programs in Lucenec and Cinobana Czech Republic — Food costs for a summer camp for Roma students Food distribution and feeding programs are another area of emphasis for CBF. From providing food packages to the Dom in Israel and Palestine to meals for Albanian immigrants to families in Barcelona, Spain, still recovering from that nation’s economic crisis, CBF field personnel are focused on ending worldwide hunger.

Canada — Community food box program in Chateauguay, Quebec Spain — “Kilos of Care,” a food distribution program in southern Spain provides food each week to 100 families Greece — PORTA’s Buke and Bekim, “Bread and Blessing,” feeds and encourages Albanian immigrants in Athens Israel and Palestine — Food distribution among elderly Dom people in shantytowns Romania — A lunch program at the Ruth School in Bucharest provides a daily lunch for 220 Roma students Spain — Food distribution in Barcelona to struggling families suffering from the economic crisis China — Meal subsidies for children with cerebral palsy in Nanning Kenya — Early childhood feeding program in eight locations in Kenya, feeding 500 children each day The CBF Offering for Global Missions also supports numerous ministries addressing the problem of hunger here in the United States: Waterbury, Conn. — Weekly food ministry for homeless and low-income individuals and families

Fredericksburg, Va. — Latino-specific food pantry for first-generation immigrant families St. Louis, Mo. — Facilitation of a food pantry for immigrants from Slavic backgrounds in the Greater St. Louis-area Northeastern North Carolina — Distribution of 850 monthly food boxes to families in Halifax County, 7-day-a-week soup kitchen, community garden, daily bread give-away to the elderly Danville, Va. — Weekly open meal and weekly breakfast, “Roving feast” Homestead, Fla. — After-school feeding program, community garden, supplemental food distribution, summer meals Miami, Fla. — SNAP (food stamp) recertification assistance, youth dinners, school snacks, meals on teacher planning days Texas — Together for Hope has helped a colonia church construct a building in Parr that receives food for distribution in Progreso Mitchell, S.D. — Weekend snack program delivers 250 weekly packs to four local elementary schools; Tree of Life Ministries provides free hot meals to residents of Rosebud Reservation, the second poorest county in the United States Bridger, S.D. — Chickens and coops provide eggs for the community of Bridger Other efforts to #EndHunger by CBF field personnel include: Ethiopia — Sustainable living groups Moldova — Garden seed project North West Africa — Small animals are raised and distributed and drip irrigation gardens installed in poverty-stricken areas of arid regions Southeast Asia — Home gardens for tsunami survivors South Africa — Chicken coop and gardens for widows San Francisco, Calif. — Food distribution during holiday season to refugees

Day of Prayer to end hunger

Hunger ministries supported by the CBF Offering for Global Missions

Join CBF as we pray and serve to end hunger around the world

MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE HUNGRY

GET INVOLVED PARTNER WITH CBF TO

HELP END HUNGER 14.5% 49 million

Americans (14.5%), including 16 million children, live in households that lack consistent access to adequate food

12.5%

of the world’s

quantity of nourishment for proper health and growth

PRAY

Join CBF and other faith-based groups in a “Global Wave of Prayer,” not just today but every day at thefellowship.info/pray

LEARN

Read the award-winning blog series about how CBF at cbfblog.com/featured

GIVE

Financially support CBF hunger ministries and help Global Missions at thefellowship.info/OGM

Steering Committee Renée Bennett

Grace P. Freeman

Wanda Kidd

State Representative

Age Group Assemblies Coordinator

General Assembly Collegiate Coordinator

CBF Director of Global Missions Operations

CBF Collegiate Initiative Manager

Macon, Ga.

Decatur, Ga.

Cullowhee, N.C.

Mary Jane Boes

Deanna Fry

Preschool Assembly

Tony Lankford

Early Childhood Educator

Preschool/Children’s Assembly Risk Manager

Elizabethtown, Ky.

Katy, Texas

Assistant to the Coordinator for Networking CBF of Georgia

Local Arrangements (Co-Chair) Lead Pastor, Park Avenue Baptist Church

Atlanta, Ga.

Chris Boltin Logistics Coordinator CBF Partnerships Manager

Decatur, Ga.

Frank Broome State Representative CBF of Georgia Coordinator

Macon, Ga.

Frank Granger

Ruth Perkins Lee

Workshops Planning (Chair)

Worship Planning

Minister of Christian Community First Baptist Church

CBF Congregational Services Manager

Athens, Ga.

Decatur, Ga.

Becky B. Hall

Ged Matthews

The Gathering Place Coordinator

General Assembly Hotels

CBF Global Missions Finance and Administration Specialist

Alpharetta, Ga.

S. Stewart and Associates

Decatur, Ga.

Blake Clark Youth Assembly Youth Pastor First Baptist Church

St. Marys, W.Va.

Amy Derrick Field Personnel Commissioning CBF Global Missions Personnel Selection Manager

Decatur, Ga. 78

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Martha Kate Hall

Bill McConnell

Current (Chair);

CBF Moderator

Associate Coordinator CBF of Georgia

Knoxville, Tenn.

Macon, Ga.

Mary Kaylor

Devita Parnell

Children’s Assembly

Workshops Planning

Student.Go Intern

CBF Networks Manager

Decatur, Ga.

Decatur, Ga.

Bo Prosser

Aaron Weaver

General Assembly Coordinator

General Assembly Guidebook Editor

CBF Ministries Coordinator

CBF Communications Manager

Decatur, Ga.

Decatur, Ga.

Christa Sfameni

Candice Young

General Assembly Administration/Registration

General Assembly Promotion Coordinator

CBF Ministries Associate

CBF Marketing Manager

Decatur, Ga.

Decatur, Ga.

Randy Shepley

Brett Younger

Local Arrangements (Co-Chair)

Worship Planning (Chair) Associate Professor of Preaching, McAfee School of Theology

Pastor, First Baptist Church

Tucker, Ga.

Atlanta, Ga.

Susan Stewart Event Planner S. Stewart and Associates

Alpharetta, Ga.

Acknowledgements As with any large event, an extensive cast of talented individuals and cohestive teams are needed to make the CBF General Assembly a success. In addition to CBF’s Decatur staff, we would like to thank the following chairpersons: Tony Lankford, Randy Shepley, Brett Younger, Frank Granger, Joyce McCartney, Ann Smith, Marc Burcham and Kathryn Wood. Each always went above what was asked of them and their respective teams. Our partners also deserve a heartfelt thank you: CBF of Georgia and its dedicated staff, Freeman Decorating, Production Resource Group, Meetings on Cue, S. Stewart and Associates, Bart Tichenor and his parliamentarian team. And to our friends at the Hyatt Regency, thank you for your gracious hospitality.

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Nominating Committee Bruce Gourley

Michael Smith

Executive Director The Baptist History & Heritage Society Manhattan, Mont.

Senior Pastor Central Baptist Fountain City Knoxville, Tenn.

Chris Aho

Josh Hunt

Carolyn Staley

Pastor Oxford Baptist Church Oxford, N.C.

Associate Pastor First Baptist Church Anderson, S.C.

Associate Pastor Pulaski Heights Baptist Church Little Rock, Ark.

Ruth Cuellar

Christopher Ingram

Dennis Young

Pastor Iglesia Bautista El Buen Pastor Newnan, Ga.

Senior Pastor Yates Baptist Church Durham, N.C.

Pastor Missouri City Baptist Church Missouri City, Texas

John Daugherty

Stacy Nowell

Pastor CityGate Ministries Fort Myers, Fla.

Associate Pastor Harrisonburg Baptist Church Harrisonburg, Va.

Valerie Burton (Chair) Minister for Christian Formation Baptist Church of the Covenant Birmingham, Ala.

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Jason Edwards

Susan Reed

Senior Pastor Second Baptist Church Liberty, Mo.

Associate Pastor Broadway Baptist Church Louisville, Ky.

Anne Vestal England

Tamara Tillman Smathers

Minister of Youth Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church Jacksonville, Fla.

Minister of Education/ Administration First Baptist Church Rome, Ga.

Ex Officio Keith Herron (Past Moderator)

Senior Pastor Holmeswood Baptist Church Kansas City, Mo.

Governing Board Bill McConnell

Paul Baxley

Wayne Patterson

Moderator

Senior Pastor First Baptist Church Athens, Ga.

Professor Emeritus Clemson University Clemson, S.C.

Kasey Jones

Daniel Carro

Moderator-Elect

Professor of Divinity John Leland Center for Theological Studies Falls Church, Va.

Camille Allen Snyder

Partner Rogers & Morgan, Inc. Knoxville, Tenn.

Senior Pastor National Baptist Memorial Church Washington, D.C.

Recruiting Director Allen Financial Group Jackson, Miss.

Keith Herron

Matt Cook

Steve Wells

Past Moderator

Pastor First Baptist Church Wilmington, N.C.

Pastor South Main Baptist Church Houston, Texas

Jason Coker

Gary Dollar

Recorder

Jean Willingham

Partner EMD Consulting Group Edwardsville, Ill.

Real Estate Investor/Broker St. Petersburg, Fla.

Doug Dortch

Patricia Wilson

Senior Minister Mountain Brook Baptist Church Birmingham, Ala.

Professor of Law Baylor University Waco, Texas

Susan Fendley

Joy Yee

Attorney (retired) Knoxville, Tenn.

Senior Pastor Nineteenth Avenue Baptist Church San Francisco, Calif.

Senior Pastor Holmeswood Baptist Church Kansas City, Mo.

Pastor Wilton Baptist Church Wilton, Conn.

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Ministries and Missions Councils At the 2013 CBF General Assembly in Greensboro, N.C., attendees adopted a new constitution and bylaws that called for a different organizational structure and replaced the Coordinating Council with four smaller bodies — Governing Board, Nominating Committee, Missions Council and Ministries Council.

The Missions Council and Ministries Council serve as advisory councils to the Governing Board. The Missions Council provides vision, strategy, education and sustainability to CBF’s mission enterprise, and the Ministries Council collaborates with individuals from throughout the Fellowship to identify, develop and deploy the assets of the Fellowship and to empower shared ministry networks. Both councils serve the Fellowship in accordance with policies set by the Governing Board.

Last year in Greensboro, the following individuals were elected to serve on the Missions Council and Ministries Council. Attendees to this year’s General Assembly in Atlanta will vote to complete the populating of these new councils.

Ministries Council

Missions Council

Michael Cheuk (Chair)

Mimi Walker (Chair)

Senior Minister University Baptist Church Charlottesville, Va.

Pastor, Druid Hills Baptist Church Atlanta, Ga.

Emily Hull McGee (Chair-Elect)

Mike Oliver (Chair-Elect)

Minister to Young Adults Highland Baptist Church Louisville, Ky.

Senior Pastor Trinity Baptist Church Madison, Ala.

Leta Tillman

Alice Mull

Education and Interlibrary

Laity, Living Faith Fellowship Elizabethtown, Ky.

Professor (retired), Hardin-Simmons University Fort Worth, Texas

Alan Sherouse Senior Pastor First Baptist Church Greensboro, N.C.

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State and Regional Leadership Alabama

Louisiana

Coordinator, Terri Byrd Moderator, Mary An Wilson Moderator-Elect, Alvin Pelton www.alabamacbf.org

Byrd

Doster Arkansas

Florida

Mississippi

Tennessee

Coordinator, Christian Byrd Moderator, Rusty Edwards Moderator-Elect, Martha Strong www.cbfms.org

Georgia

Coordinator, Terry Maples Moderator, Melissa Roysdon Moderator-Elect, Amy Cook www.tncbf.org

Maples North Carolina

Coordinator, Frank Broome Moderator, Paul Baxley Moderator-Elect, Sarah H. Murray www.cbfga.org

Texas

Coordinator, Larry Hovis Moderator, Ray Ammons Moderator-Elect, Lisa Rust www.cbfnc.org

Hovis Heartland

Coordinator, Rick McClatchy Moderator, Patricia Wilson Moderator-Elect, David Russell www.thefellowship.info/Texas

McClatchy North Central CBF

Coordinator, Harold A. Phillips Moderator, Michael Olmsted Moderator-Elect, Nancy Thompson www.cbfheartland.org

Phillips

Coordinator, Jay Kieve Moderator, Mac McMillin Moderator-Elect, Boo Sheppard www.cbfofsc.org

Kieve

Byrd

Broome

South Carolina

Coordinator, Trisha Miller Manarin Moderator, Joey Rosas Moderator-Elect, Sean Roberds

Coordinator, Ray Johnson Moderator, RubĂŠn Ortiz Moderator-Elect, Ramona Reynolds www.floridacbf.org

Virginia

Coordinator, Gilbert Sanders Moderator, Nikki Schofield

Sanders Kentucky

Coordinator, Rob Fox Moderator, David Turner Moderator-Elect, Kathy Shereda www.cbfva.org

Fox Northeast

Coordinator, John Lepper Moderator, Bob Fox Moderator-Elect, Iraline Craig www.kybf.org

Lepper

Graham

Manarin

Johnson

Coordinator, Steve Graham Moderator, Larry Stevens Moderator-Elect, Tommy Fetzer www.cbfok.org

Mid-Atlantic

Coordinator, Ray Higgins Moderator, Jennifer Wylie Moderator-Elect, Preston Clegg www.cbfar.org

Higgins

Oklahoma/Kansas

Coordinator, Reid Doster Moderator, Terry Ellis Moderator-Elect, Ron Perritt www.cbfla.org

CBF West

Coordinator, Phyllis Boozer Moderator, Ronald Adams Moderator-Elect, Alan Rudnick

Boozer

Coordinator, Glen Foster Moderator, Bruce Gourley Moderator-Elect, Exter Hardy www.cbfwest.org

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CBF Staff

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Alyssa Aldape

Ryan Clark

Grace P. Freeman

aaldape@thefellowship.info Next Generation Mission Assistant 770-220-1688

rclark@thefellowship.info Field Personnel Training Manager 770-220-1611

gpfreeman@thefellowship.info Director of Global Missions Operations 770-220-1614

Carmen Beard

Patterson Coates

Jennifer Graham

cbeard@thefellowship.info Data Administration Manager 770-220-1651

pcoates @churchbenefitsboard.org Church Benefits Board Assistant Manager 770-220-1672

jgraham@thefellowship.info CBF Foundation Vice President 770-220-1662

Ryan Berlin

Tarryl Daniels

Andy Hale

rberlin@cbff.org CBF Foundation Associate 770-220-1663

tdaniels@thefellowship.info Technical Support Manager 770-220-1676

ahale@thefellowship.info Church Starts 770-220-1600

Chris Boltin

Tommy Deal

Becky B. Hall

cboltin@thefellowship.info Partnerships Manager 770-220-1607

tdeal@thefellowship.info Disaster Response Coordinator 706-313-5066

bbhall@thefellowship.info Global Missions Finance and Administration Specialist 770-220-1624

Christa Buice

Amy Derrick

Karen Harwell

cbuice@thefellowship.info CBF Store Assistant 770-220-1660

aderrick@thefellowship.info Global Missions Personnel Selection Manager 770-220-1667

kharwell@thefellowship.info Ministries Associate 770-220-1654

Tere Canzoneri

Ron Fairley

Emily Holladay

tcanzoneri@thefellowship.info Member Care and Wellness Manager 770-220-1600

rfairley@thefellowship.info Director of Information Technology 770-220-1665

eholladay@thefellowship.info Communications Associate 770-220-1639

Jeff Huett

Bruce Minett

Stephen Reeves

jhuett@thefellowship.info Associate Coordinator of Communications and Advancement 770-220-1683

bminett@thefellowship.info Director of Development 770-220-1600

sreeves@thefellowship.info Associate Coordinator of Partnerships and Advocacy 770-220-1606

Tawanda Hughes

Devita Parnell

Harry Rowland

thughes@thefellowship.info Accounts Payable Associate 770-220-1632

dparnell@thefellowship.info Networks Manager 770-220-1619

hrowland@thefellowship.info Director of Missional Congregations 770-220-1604

Luzzola R. Hunt

Suzii Paynter

lhunt@thefellowship.info Payroll Assistant Specialist 770-220-1657

spaynter@thefellowship.info Executive Coordinator 770-220-1601

Laura Sejud-McConnell

Gerry Hutchinson

Alysia Pennington

Christa Sfameni

ghutchinson @thefellowship.info Endorser for Chaplains and Pastoral Counselors 770-220-1612

apennington @thefellowship.info Accounting Assistant Manager 770-220-1690

csfameni@thefellowship.info Ministries Associate 770-220-1640

Lori J. Irons-Crenshaw

Travis Peterson

Meredith Shaw

tpeterson@thefellowship.info Graphic Design Specialist 770-220-1653

mshaw@thefellowship.info Ministries Assistant 770-220-1603

Ruth Perkins Lee

Steven Porter

Gary Skeen

rlee@thefellowship.info Congregational Services Manager 770-220-1675

sporter@thefellowship.info Global Missions Coordinator 770-220-1600

gskeen@churchbenefits.org Church Benefits Board President 770-220-1621

Wanda Kidd

Bo Prosser

Jim A. Smith

asyougo5@aol.com CBF Collegiate Initiative Manager 770-220-1600

bprosser@thefellowship.info Ministries Coordinator 770-220-1631

jsmith@thefellowship.info Director of Field Ministries 770-220-1618

lcrenshaw@thefellowship.info Global Missions Personnel Selection Assistant Manager 770-220-1682

lsejud-mcconnell @thefellowship.info Executive Coordinator Associate 770-220-1623

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James R. Smith

Stephanie Vance

jrsmith@cbff.org CBF Foundation President 770-220-1622

svance@thefellowship.info Together for Hope Manager 770-220-1600

Josh Speight

Aaron Weaver

jspeight@thefellowship.info Missional Congregations Services Manager 770-220-1637

aweaver@thefellowship.info Communications Manager 770-220-1610

Adam Stovall

Victoria Whatley

astovall@thefellowship.info Assistant Controller 770-220-1655

vwhatley@churchbenefits.org Church Benefits Board Manager 770-220-1638

Judy Strawn

Rebecca White

jgstrawn@thefellowship.info Global Missions Assistant 770-220-1628

rwhite@thefellowship.info Global Missions Finance Assistant 770-220-1633

Clarissa Strickland

Betsy Young

cstrickland @thefellowship.info Networking Specialist 770-220-1635

eyoung@thefellowship.info Ministries Assistant 770-220-1605

Jamie Strom

Candice Young

jstrom@thefellowship.info Cash Application Associate 770-220-1636

cyoung@thefellowship.info Marketing Manager 770-220-1648

Deidra Sullivan dsullivan@thefellowship.info Cash Application Assistant 770-220-1664

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Constitution PREAMBLE The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is a nonprofit organization of Baptist Christians and churches. As a fellowship, we celebrate our faith in the One Triune God. We gladly declare our allegiance to Jesus Christ as Lord and to His gospel as we seek to be the continuing presence of Christ in this world.

Our mission is to obey the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:34-40) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) of our Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit, and to uphold Baptist principles of faith and practices as we partner with one another and other Christians.

ARTICLE 1. NAME The name of this organization is “Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Inc.”

ARTICLE 2. PURPOSE The purpose of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (hereinafter “the Fellowship”) is to serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission. The Fellowship shall fulfill its purpose in keeping with its commitments to the historic Baptist principles of soul freedom, Bible freedom, church freedom, and religious freedom; to biblically-based global missions; to a resource model for serving churches; to justice and reconciliation; to lifelong learning and ministry; to trustworthiness; and to effectiveness.

ARTICLE 3. MEMBERSHIP The members of the Fellowship shall be Baptist churches and the members thereof and individual Baptists, as set forth in the Bylaws.

ARTICLE 4. MEETINGS The Fellowship shall meet annually in General Assembly, as set forth in the Bylaws.

ARTICLE 5. REPRESENTATION In the nomination and election of officers and in all nominations, elections, and appointments to the Governing Board, the Nominating Committee, the Ministries Council, the Missions Council, and other committees or subgroups, a balance shall be sought that reflects the diversity of the Fellowship’s membership. Consideration shall be given to, but not limited to, the following factors: clergy, laity, gender, race/ethnicity, age, and geographical place of residence.

ARTICLE 6. GOVERNING BOARD A. Authority Except to the extent that certain rights are reserved to the members of the Fellowship by this Constitution and the Bylaws, the affairs of the Fellowship shall be managed under the direction and authority of a board of directors that shall be known as the Governing Board, which shall have the legal and fiduciary responsibility for the Fellowship, and shall provide fiscal and legal oversight to the Fellowship.

The Governing Board shall have the authority to conduct the business of the Fellowship, as more fully set forth in the Bylaws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Governing Board shall not alter actions of the General Assembly, except to alter the budget if the Governing Board finds such action necessary to maintain the financial integrity of the Fellowship, or to remove a member of the Governing Board, the Missions Council, or the Ministries Council, as more fully set forth in the Bylaws.

B. Composition The Governing Board shall consist of 16 members, including the Moderator-Elect, Moderator, the immediate Past Moderator, and the Recorder.

C. Nomination and Election The members of the Governing Board shall be nominated by the Nominating Committee and elected by the General Assembly, as more fully set forth in the Bylaws.

D. Term and Term Limits of Non-Officers 1. The members of the Governing Board shall be elected for terms of three years in duration, with approximately one-third of the terms expiring at the conclusion of each fiscal year.

2. A Board member may be elected to a second consecutive term. At the conclusion of a second term, a Board member must rotate off the Board for a least one (1) year before he or she is eligible for re-election to the Governing Board. A Board member who is completing an unexpired term of less than two (2) years may then be elected to his or her first full term without a break in service.

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ARTICLE 7. NOMINATING COMMITTEE A. Authority The Nominating Committee shall have the authority to nominate members of the Governing Board, the Missions Council, and the Ministries Council for approval by the General Assembly; the authority to nominate the Moderator-elect and the Chair-Elect of the Nominating Committee for approval by the General Assembly; and the authority to recommend for approval by the General Assembly any persons needed to fill unexpired terms on the Governing Board, the Missions Council, and the Ministries Council, as set forth in the Bylaws.

B. Composition The Nominating Committee shall consist of 16 members, including the immediate Past Moderator, who shall serve as an ex-officio, voting member of the Nominating Committee.

C. Nomination and Election The members of the Nominating Committee shall be nominated and elected as set forth in the Bylaws.

D. Term With the exception of the immediate Past Moderator, the members of the Nominating Committee shall be elected for terms of three years in duration, with approximately one-third of the terms expiring at the conclusion of each fiscal year. A member may be re-elected to the Nominating Committee after a one (1) year break in service. A committee member who is completing an unexpired term of less than two (2) years may be elected to serve a full term without a break in service.

The immediate Past Moderator shall serve for a one year term.

ARTICLE 8. MISSIONS COUNCIL A. Function The Missions Council shall exist as an advisory council to the Governing Board to provide vision, strategy, education, and sustainability to the Fellowship’s missions enterprise in accordance with policies set by the Governing Board.

B. Composition The Missions Council shall consist of both voting members and non-voting ex officio members. The voting Members shall include a chair, chair-elect, the immediate past chair, and twelve (12) individuals who have been identified as leaders in missions-related activities. Non-voting, ex officio members shall include the Coordinator of Global Missions or his or her designee and the Fellowship’s Executive Coordinator or his or her designee.

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C. Nomination and Election The voting members of the Missions Council shall be nominated by the Nominating Committee and elected by the General Assembly, as more fully set forth in the Bylaws.

D. Term The voting members of the Missions Council shall serve for three-year terms and may be re-elected to the Missions Council after a one (1) year break in service. However, a Missions Council member’s election to chairelect will extend his or her term until the end of the year such individual serves in the role of immediate past chair. A council member who is completing an unexpired term of less than two (2) years may be elected to serve a full term without a break in service.

ARTICLE 9. MINISTRIES COUNCIL A. Function The Ministries Council shall exist as an advisory council to the Governing Board to collaborate with individuals from throughout the Fellowship to identify, develop, and deploy the assets of the Fellowship community and to empower shared ministry networks in accordance with policies set by the Governing Board.

B. Composition The Ministries Council shall consist of both voting members and nonvoting ex officio members. The voting Members shall include a chair, chair-elect, the immediate past chair, and one member of each state or regional organization of the Fellowship. Non-voting, ex officio members shall include the Coordinator of CBF Ministry Networks or his or her designee, the Fellowship’s Executive Coordinator or his or her designee, the Coordinator (or equivalent) of each state or regional organization, a representative from the CBF Consortium of Theological Schools, a representative of each partner included in the Fellowship’s funding plan, and a representative of the CBF-endorsed chaplains and pastoral counselors.

C. Nomination and Election The voting members of the Ministries Council shall be nominated by the Nominating Committee and elected by the General Assembly, as more fully set forth in the Bylaws.

D. Term The voting members of the Ministries Council shall serve for three-year terms and may be re-elected to the Ministries Council after a one (1) year break in service. However, a Ministries Council member’s election to chairelect will extend his or her term until the end of the year such individual serves in the role of immediate past chair. A council member who is completing an unexpired term of less than two (2) years may be elected to serve a full term without a break in service.

ARTICLE 10. OFFICERS A. Officers and responsibility The officers of the Fellowship and of the Governing Board shall be the Moderator, Moderator-Elect, Recorder, and the immediate Past Moderator.

For purposes of corporate law, the Moderator shall be the President, the Moderator-Elect shall be the Vice President, and the Recorder shall be the Secretary-Treasurer.

B.

Duties 1. The Moderator shall preside at meetings of the General Assembly, shall serve as chair of the Governing Board, and shall be an exofficio member of all Governing Board subgroups.

2. The Moderator-Elect shall perform the duties of the Moderator in the absence of the Moderator.

3. The Recorder shall maintain minutes of the meetings of the General Assembly and of the Governing Board.

ARTICLE 11. AMENDMENT

This Constitution may be amended by a two-thirds vote of Fellowship members present and voting at a business session of the General Assembly, provided that the proposed amendment shall have been submitted in writing to the Governing Board thirty (30) calendar days prior to the first day of the Governing Board meeting immediately preceding the meeting of the General Assembly and made available to Fellowship members attending [the meeting of] the General Assembly at least one (1) business session prior to voting on the amendment.

ARTICLE 12. REVIEW

The Governing Board shall review the Constitution in all years ending with the digits zero (0) and five (5) (e.g., 2015, 2020, 2025, and so on) for the purpose of reconciling the Constitution to changes in and growth of the Fellowship.

C. Nomination Election The officers shall be elected by the General Assembly. The Nominating Committee shall present nominations for the Moderator-Elect. The Governing Board shall present its nomination for the Recorder. Additional nominations may be made from the floor of the General Assembly, provided that any such nominees must have given their consent prior to nomination.

D. Officer Succession The Moderator-Elect shall succeed to the office of Moderator at the conclusion of the Moderator’s term of office or in the event of the resignation or removal of the Moderator. The Moderator shall succeed to the office of Immediate Past Moderator at the conclusion of the Moderator’s term of office.

E. Officers’ Terms on the Governing Board A Board member who is elected to serve as Moderator-Elect shall commence a new three-year term on the Governing Board upon his or her election. A member who is elected to serve as Recorder shall vacate his or her term as a Governing Board member and shall commence a new oneyear term.

F. Moderator’s Term of Office The Moderator shall serve a one-year term as Moderator except that if the Moderator-Elect serves part of an uncompleted term of the Moderator, the Moderator-Elect may serve the succeeding full term.

G. Recorder’s Term Limit The Recorder may serve up to three (3) consecutive one-year terms as Recorder.

H. Immediate Past Moderator’s Term Limit An individual who serves as the Immediate Past Moderator must rotate off of the Board for a least one (1) year at the conclusion of his or her term as Immediate Past Moderator before becoming eligible for re-election to the Governing Board.

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Bylaws 1.

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Definitions a. The Fellowship shall refer to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Inc. b. The Executive Coordinator shall refer to the individual charged with serving as the chief executive officer of the Fellowship. c. The Coordinator of Global Missions shall refer to the individual charged with primary responsibility for managing and coordinating the missions work of the Fellowship or his or her successor. d. The Coordinator of CBF Ministry Networks shall refer to the individual charged with primary responsibility for managing and coordinating the Fellowship’s ministries initiatives or his or her successor.

2.

Membership a. Members of the Fellowship shall be Baptist churches and the members thereof who contribute annually to the ministries and operations of the Fellowship; Baptist churches and the members thereof who have chosen to formally identify with the Fellowship by outlining in writing the details of their partnership with the Fellowship; and individual Baptists who contribute annually to the ministries and operations of the Fellowship.

All members with the exception of churches shall be entitled to vote at meetings of the General Assembly. b. Only individuals who are members of the Fellowship are eligible to serve on the Governing Board and the Nominating Committee. Only individuals who are members of the Fellowship are eligible to serve as voting members of the Missions Council and Ministries Council.

3.

Meetings of the Fellowship a. Annual Meetings. The Fellowship shall meet annually in General Assembly for worship, inspiration, education, fellowship, and business at a time and place fixed by the Governing Board.

The Governing Board shall give public notice of the time and place of each meeting at least six (6) months prior to the first day of the meeting. b. Special Meetings. The Governing Board by a two-thirds vote may call special meetings of the General Assembly upon giving thirty (30) calendar

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days public notice and shall state the purpose of the meeting in the public notice.

4.

Resolutions a. No motion in the form of a resolution, policy statement, communication, or other statement of position on issues including, but not limited to, moral, ethical, theological, doctrinal, political, or public policy shall be introduced from the floor in a business session at a meeting of the General Assembly. b. A member of the Fellowship may present a written motion described in paragraph (a) of this Section to the Governing Board for referral to the appropriate sub-group of the Governing Board for consideration. If approved by a three-fourths vote of the membership of said sub-group in the form received by it, or as amended by it, the motion shall be referred to the Governing Board. If the motion is approved by a three-fourths vote of the membership of the Governing Board in the form received by it, or as amended by it, the motion shall be referred to the General Assembly. The motion shall require a three-fourths vote of the members of the General Assembly present and voting in business session to be approved.

5. Quorums a. General Assembly. Two hundred (200) members of the Fellowship attending a business session at a meeting of the General Assembly shall constitute a quorum for that business session. b. Board, Committee, and Councils. A majority of the membership of the Governing Board, Nominating Committee, Missions Council, and Ministries Council shall constitute a quorum.

6. Governing Board a. Responsibility and Authority As the board of directors of the Fellowship, the Governing Board shall have the following responsibilities and the authority to carry out such responsibilities: 1. To organize itself in ways that most effectively support the Mission Statement of the Fellowship. This includes the authority to create, alter, or abolish Governing Board subgroups, except that the Governing Board shall continuously maintain a Personnel Committee and Finance Committee to provide oversight on personnel and finance matters.

2. To provide fiscal and legal oversight to the Fellowship.

3. To recommend an annual budget for adoption by the General Assembly.

4. To provide fiscal oversight regarding the administration of the finances of the Fellowship and to alter the budget of the Fellowship but only as necessary to maintain the financial

integrity of the Fellowship.

5. To employ and to terminate the Executive Coordinator and to provide supervision of the Executive Coordinator, provided that the Executive Coordinator shall have authority to employ and terminate employees of the Fellowship and to delegate their employment and termination to other members of the Fellowship staff.

6. To work with the Executive Coordinator to set strategic vision for the organization.

7. To conduct an annual evaluation of the work of the Fellowship in conjunction with the annual performance appraisal of the Executive Coordinator.

8. To develop policies which guide the Fellowship, including but not limited to finance, personnel, and conflict of interest policies.

9. To develop the policies which guide the practice of the Missions and Ministries Councils and to provide oversight for and receive reports from the Missions and Ministries Councils, including providing feedback for the Councils regarding their fulfilling the mission of the Fellowship.

10. To serve a leadership role within the Fellowship with state/ regional organizations, partners, and congregations.

11. To enter into cooperative agreements regarding state/regional and congregational giving plans and to periodically review such agreements, provided that such agreements shall be reviewed no less frequently than every three years.

12. To recommend for approval by the General Assembly individuals to serve on the Nominating Committee by submitting a slate of names that consists of two individuals submitted by the Ministries Council, two individuals submitted by the Missions Council, and one individual recommended by the Governing Board.

13. To recommend for approval by the General Assembly an individual from among the current members of the Governing Board to serve as the Recorder.

14. To plan and coordinate meetings of the General Assembly.

15. To receive nominations from the Nominating Committee for the Moderator-Elect and members of the Governing Board, and Missions Council, and Ministries Council, and to present such nominations to the General Assembly for approval.

16. To serve as the forum for developing and executing cooperative agreements between the Fellowship, state/regional CBF bodies, and partner entities.

17. To designate, as necessary, an individual to serve as acting Moderator-Elect, acting Moderator, or acting Immediate Past Moderator, provided that such designation shall not extend past the next meeting of the General Assembly.

18. To take such other actions as reasonably necessary to implement the directives of the General Assembly and to otherwise conduct the business of the Fellowship. b. Regular Meetings 1. The Governing Board shall meet at such times and places and in such manner as it shall determine.

2. Meetings of the Governing Board shall be called by the Moderator, or by the Moderator-Elect in the absence of the Moderator, or by a majority of the Governing Board.

7.

3. Written notice of each Governing Board meeting shall be given to Governing Board members at least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the first day of the meeting. c. Emergency Meetings Emergency meetings may be called by the Moderator or a majority of the Governing Board.

Persons authorized to call emergency meetings shall provide at least five (5) calendar days written notice of the time and location of such meetings and state the purpose thereof, and no other matter shall be considered by the Governing Board at such emergency meeting except upon unanimous vote of Governing Board members present. d. Waiver of Notice Attendance by a Governing Board member at any meeting for which the member did not receive the required notice will constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting unless the member objects at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of business on the grounds that the meeting was not lawfully called or convened. e. Removal Any member may be removed without cause, at any time, by a two-thirds vote of the entire Governing Board at a meeting called for that purpose. Any member under consideration of removal must be notified about the consideration by written notice at least fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting at which the vote takes place.

Nominating Committee a. Responsibility The Nominating Committee shall have the responsibility to recommend for approval by the General Assembly the following each year: 1. One member of the Fellowship to serve as the Moderator-Elect, who shall commence a new three-year term on the Governing Board upon approval by the General Assembly.

2. Four (4) individuals to commence new terms on the Governing Board, plus one additional individual to complete the unexpired term, if any, of the individual selected to be the Moderator-Elect and one individual to complete the unexpired term, if any, of the individual selected to be the Recorder.

3. Four (4) individuals to commence new terms on the Missions Council.

4. Individuals to commence new terms on the Ministries Council, as needed from each of the state and regional organizations.

5. An individual to serve as the Chair-Elect of the Nominating Committee.

6. Individuals, as necessary, to fill any vacancies on the Governing Board, Missions Council, A S S E M B LY 2 0 1 4 G U I D E B O O K

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and Ministries Council. b. Meetings 1. The Nominating Committee shall meet at such times and places and in such manner as it shall determine.

2. Meetings of the Nominating Committee shall be called by the Chair, or by the Chair-Elect in the absence of the Chair, or by a majority of the Governing Board.

3. Written notice of each Nominating Committee meeting shall be given to Nominating Committee members at least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the first day of the meeting. Attendance by a Nominating Committee member at any meeting for which the member did not receive the required notice will constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting unless the member objects at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of business on the grounds that the meeting was not lawfully called or convened. c. Removal Any Nominating Committee member may be removed without cause, at any time, by a twothirds vote of the entire Nominating Committee at a meeting called for that purpose. Any member under consideration of removal must be notified about the consideration by written notice at least fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting at which the vote takes place.

8. Missions Council a. Responsibility As an advisory council to the Governing Board, the Missions Council shall have the following responsibilities: 1. To recommend vision and direction for the Fellowship’s global missions.

2. To consider best practices for mission engagement and work together with the Fellowship staff to implement these practices.

3. To work with the Fellowship staff to ensure that CBF Global Missions or its successor is focused on the most strategic places and people groups around the world for field personnel assignments.

4. To encourage the most effective and sustainable partnerships with congregations for commissioning, training, and supporting global field personnel.

5. To serve as the forum for developing cooperative agreements between the Fellowship and congregations and missions sending organizations to sustain a vital Global Missions field personnel presence globally 92

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8.

9.

10.

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and to encourage the engagement of congregations in global missions.

To work with Fellowship staff to ensure the future of the CBF community by forming networks that nurture future missions leaders (lay and clergy), that engage young leaders in the decision making bodies of the CBF community, that start new churches and missional communities, and that increase the numbers of churches in our fellowship.

To establish priorities for funding missions, including the Offering for Global Missions, that will be recommended to the Governing Board.

To recommend communication priorities about missions, global and local, within the Fellowship community.

To undertake such other tasks as referred to the Council by the Governing Board.

To establish committees, teams, task forces as needed, to accomplish the work of the Council.

To submit to the Governing Board the names of individuals to make up the slate of individuals to be recommended by the Governing Board for service on the Nominating Committee.

b. Meetings 1. The Missions Council shall meet at such times and places and in such manner as it shall determine.

2. Meetings of the Missions Council shall be called by the Chair, or by the Chair-Elect in the absence of the Chair, or by a majority of the Missions Council.

3. Written notice of each Missions Council meeting shall be given to Missions Council members at least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the first day of the meeting. Attendance by a Missions Council member at any meeting for which the member did not receive the required notice will constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting unless the member objects at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of business on the grounds that the meeting was not lawfully called or convened. c. Removal.

Any Missions Council member may be removed without cause, at any time, upon a recommendation to the Governing Board by two-thirds of the voting members of the Missions Council taken at a meeting called for that purpose that is approved by a two-thirds vote of the Governing Board at a regular meeting or a meeting called for that purpose. Any member under consideration of removal must be notified about the consideration by written notice at least fifteen (15) days prior to the Missions Council meeting at which the vote on the recommendation takes place and written notice at least fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting of the Governing Board at which the vote will take place.

9.

Ministries Council a. Responsibility As an advisory council to the Governing Board, the Ministries Council shall have the following responsibilities: 1. To identify needs of congregations and the CBF community to be resourced collaboratively.

2. To identify assets that reside in the various areas of the CBF community that can be deployed for collaborative ministries.

3. To develop and coordinate ministry networks as a primary way of resourcing congregations and the CBF community.

4. To ensure the future of the CBF community by forming networks that nurture future leaders, both lay and clergy; encouraging the involvement of young leaders in the decision making bodies of the CBF community; starting new churches and missional communities; and involving increasing numbers of churches in the CBF community.

5. To develop and refine communication efforts between and among ministry networks and across the CBF community that will strengthen collaboration and resourcing.

6. To establish committees, teams, task forces as needed, to accomplish the work of the council.

7. To submit to the Governing Board the names of individuals to make up the slate of individuals to be recommended by the Governing Board for service on the Nominating Committee.

8. To serve as the forum for developing cooperative agreements between the Fellowship, congregations, networks, and other ministry bodies to sustain collaboration of ministry resources. b. Meetings 1. The Ministries Council shall meet at such times and places as it shall determine.

2. Meetings of the Ministries Council shall be called by the Chair, or by the Chair-Elect in the absence of the Chair, or by a majority of the Ministries Council.

3. Written notice of each Ministries Council meeting shall be given to Ministries Council members at least fifteen (15) calendar days prior to the first day of the meeting. Attendance by a Ministries Council member at any meeting for which the member did not receive the required notice will constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting unless the member objects at the beginning of the meeting to the transaction of business on the grounds that the meeting was not lawfully called or convened. c. Removal Any Ministries Council member may be removed without cause, at any time, upon a recommendation to the Governing Board by two-thirds of the voting members of the Ministries Council taken at a meeting called for that purpose that is approved by a two-thirds vote of the Governing Board at a regular meeting or a meeting called for that purpose. Any member under consideration of removal must be notified about the consideration by written notice at least fifteen (15) days prior to the Ministries Council meeting at which the vote on the recommendation takes place and written notice at least fifteen (15) days prior to the meeting of the Governing Board at which the vote will take place.

10.

Meetings a. Open Meetings. All meetings of the Fellowship, the Governing Board, the Missions Council, the Ministries Council, and any subgroup of the Governing Board, with the exception of the Personnel Committee, shall be open to any member of the Fellowship.

However, a meeting pertaining to legal matters, contracts, or personnel matters shall be open only to those admitted by the group which is meeting.

b. Nominating Committee Meetings. Meetings of the Nominating Committee shall be closed to all except members of the Committee unless a majority of the Committee votes to open the meeting generally or to specified individuals. c. Proxy Voting. Proxy voting is not permitted. d. Unless otherwise restricted by these Bylaws, any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the Governing Board, Nominating Committee, Missions Council, or Ministries Council, or of any subgroups thereof may be taken without a meeting if two-thirds (2/3) of the voting members of the Board, Committee, or Council, as the case may be, consent thereto in writing or by electronic transmission, and the writing, writings, electronic transmission or transmissions are filed with the minutes of proceedings of the Board, Committee, or Council. e. Unless otherwise restricted by these Bylaws, members of the Governing Board, Nominating Committee, Missions Council, or Ministries Council, or of any subgroups thereof may participate in a meeting of the respective Board, Committee, or Council, as the case may be, by means of conference telephone, video conference, or other means of communication by which all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other, and such participation shall constitute presence in person at the meeting.

11.

Parliamentary Authority The rules contained in the latest edition of Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised shall govern the Fellowship in all cases to which they are applicable and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws, the Fellowship’s Constitution, and any special rules of order the Fellowship may adopt.

12.

Conflict of Interest No employee of the Fellowship shall serve as a member of the Governing Board or the Nominating Committee. Any member of the Governing Board, Nominating Committee, Missions Council, or the Ministries Council with a conflict of interest shall disclose that fact to the relevant Board, Council, or Committee prior to a vote being taken and shall not vote on such matter. A conflict of interest exists when a member has any personal or financial interest which may interfere with the member’s ability to vote on a matter solely on the basis of the best interests of the Fellowship.

A S S E M B LY 2 0 1 4 G U I D E B O O K

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Indemnification a. Governing Board Same as Board of Directors. For purposes of this Article, Governing Board members shall be directors, and the Governing Board shall be the Board of Directors. b. General provision. The Fellowship shall indemnify its officers and directors for those amounts authorized by Title 14, Chapter 3, Article 8, Part 5 of the Code of Georgia; provided, however, indemnification shall only be made upon compliance with the requirements of such statutory provisions and only in those circumstances in which indemnification is authorized under those provisions. c. Insurance. The Fellowship may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of those persons for whom it is entitled to purchase and maintain said insurance under Code of Georgia, Section 14-3-857 against any liability asserted against such persons and incurred by such persons in any capacity as described in said statutory provision, or arising out of such persons’ status as described in said statutory provision, whether or not the Fellowship would have the power to indemnify such persons against such liability under the laws of the State of Georgia. d. Reimbursement. The Fellowship may pay for or reimburse the reasonable expenses incurred by a director who is a party to a proceeding provided for hereunder in advance of a final disposition of the proceeding if the director submits to the Moderator of the Corporation a written request which complies with the requirements set forth in Georgia Code Section 14-3-853. The Moderator of the Corporation, upon receipt of such a request for indemnification, shall promptly advise the Board of Directors in writing that such director has requested indemnification, and the determination of such director’s entitlement to indemnification shall be made by the Board of Directors within a reasonable time after the receipt of such written request. e. Continuing benefit. The indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by or granted pursuant to this Article shall, unless otherwise provided when authorized or ratified, continue as to a person who has ceased to be a director or officer and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs, executors, and administrators of such a person.

Amendment a. In general. The Bylaws may be amended by a two-thirds vote of Fellowship members present and voting at a business session of the General Assembly, provided that notice of the proposed amendment shall have been made available

to Fellowship members attending the meeting of the General Assembly at least one (1) business session prior to voting on the amendment. All motions from the floor to amend the Bylaws shall be referred to the Legal Affairs Committee. b. By the Governing Board. The Governing Board may amend the Bylaws only to meet legal requirements for incorporation or to maintain tax exempt status by a two-thirds (2/3) vote at a duly called meeting of the Governing Board, provided the proposed amendment shall have been submitted to the members of the Governing Board at least ten (10) calendar days prior to the meeting in which the amendment is to be considered.

15.

Notice.

Unless otherwise prohibited by law, any notice required by these Bylaws may be given by any method reasonably calculated to provide actual notice, including, without limitation, electronic mail.

16.

Review The Governing Board shall review the Bylaws in all years ending with the digits zero (0) and five (5) (e.g. 2015, 2020, 2025, and so on) for the purpose of reconciling them to changes in and growth of the Fellowship.

Are you enjoying General Assembly this year?

Make plans now to attend future assemblies.

June 15-21, 2015 — Dallas, Texas

June 19-26, 2016 — Greensboro, N.C.

Notes

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McAfee School of Theology

M e r c e r Un i v e r s i t y

Di s cover your s elf in the s tory

MDiv (7 track options) • MDiv/MS Clinical Mental Health • MDiv/MBA • MDiv/MS Nonprofit • MACM • DMin theology.mercer.edu

theoadmiss@mercer.edu

3001 Mercer University Drive, Atlanta, GA 30341

678-547-6474

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