Pastors' experiences confirm BP report on CBF church count

NASHVILLE (BP)--Southern Baptist pastors in North Carolina and Arkansas have confirmed an Aug. 11 Baptist Press story about the manner in which the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship counts its member churches, each claiming that a church he served previously or currently pastors has been named among the members of the moderate Baptist group -- despite the fact that the churches never agreed to such an affiliation.

Membership in the CBF, according to the group's spokesman Ben McDade, is based solely on financial contributions. A donation to the CBF in any amount -- even as little as $1 -- on the part of an individual results in his or her entire congregation being counted as a partner church. In the Baptist Press article, Southern Baptist scholars claimed that the practice violates the democratic process of the local church, allowing one member to decide an affiliation for the entire church body, and also inflates the number of churches the CBF claims as partners.


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