Read up on what’s happening in the CBF corner of the blogosphere on the CBFblog and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship channel at Patheos. Below you will find links to and snippets from recent installments of the Illuminations series, a reflection on missions as identity and an update from the Clergy Sexual Misconduct Task Force.

Becoming a missional people: Missions as Identity

Mission as identity is not about short-term or long-term missions. The efficacy of a missional identity has little to do with how much time one spends being missional. When it comes to a missional identity, the focus rests on how we see ourselves as actors in a troubled world; actors seeking out meaningful relationships and thinking critically in order to engage and impact our world.

Naming Our Nation’s Idols

Perhaps we can all channel the spirits of St. Paul and Martin Luther King, Jr. We can begin by asking tough questions. Who in our community is profiting from unacceptable housing? Who is making money off of so-called payday loans? Who is financially advantaged by war? And here may be the most difficult question to ask: How am I, without even realizing it, contributing to a system which supports oppressive idolatry?

May They Be One

Considering the events of 2016, would you say community has been built in your life? Or do you feel more like an island? What about in your church? As I reflect on the year, I immediately am reminded of ‘social media’ posts of division and anger. So in my own reflections I have been convicted and challenged to spend time studying this prayer of Jesus.

Straddling Two Worlds

The Illumination Project will likely show that there are a spectrum of diverse views on human sexuality under the CBF tent. That’s not anything we don’t already know, but the question is, can we straddle those worlds while still holding on tight to one another? If love always wins and if Jesus has his say, I think we know the answer. After all, the one who is the master of straddling two worlds chose to hold on tight to us, even to the point of death.

The Clergy Sexual Misconduct Task Force: An Update

In April 2016, we gathered a group of concerned Cooperative Baptists for face-to-face meeting with the intent of forming a Task Force. It soon became clear that this Fellowship-wide initiative, working alongside a partner organization, is the type of endeavor for which CBF’s Ministries Council was designed.

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