PINE MOUNTAIN, Ga., – Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal and Baugh Foundation President Babs Baugh convened a retreat for a number of leaders of Baptist organizations that make up the Fellowship Baptist Movement April 27-29 at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Ga. 

Financed by a generous gift from the Baugh Foundation, the retreat included 84 attendees who took on five questions:

• What would not have happened or would not exist if it weren’t for the Fellowship Baptist Movement?
• How are lives being transformed through the work of the movement?
• What are the significant challenges the movement faces in the future?
• What audacious dreams do you have for the future of the movement?
• How can we move from dreams to actions?

The meeting was convened as a first step toward celebrating the Fellowship’s 20th anniversary in 2011. Baugh has agreed to serve as chair of the Fellowship’s General Assembly Steering Committee, and worked closely with Vestal to plan the agenda for the three-day retreat.

“I knew this could be good, but I had no idea how truly wonderful it would be to share this time with these incredibly creative people,” said Baugh of San Antonio, Texas. “I feel like God has given us new marching orders. We’ve done what we’re supposed to do so far, but we have much, much more to do.”

The gathering received ministry reports from Diana Garland, dean of the Baylor School of Social Work; David Burroughs, president and co-founder of Passport, Inc.; and Molly Marshall, president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kansas.

Presentations on lessons learned from the past 20 years were made by Bill Leonard, dean of the Wake Forest Divinity School; Suzii Paynter, director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas’ Christian Life Commission; and Alan Culpepper, dean of Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology.

On the topic of significant challenges facing the Fellowship Baptist Movement, presentations were given by Marv Knox, editor of The Baptist Standard; Robert Parham, executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics; Pam Durso, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry; and Bill Underwood, president of Mercer University.

The final session of reports on the way forward were made by Larry Hovis, coordinator of CBF of North Carolina; Colleen Burroughs, president and co-founder of Passport, Inc.; and Connie McNeill, CBF’s coordinator of administration.

Reports and presentations were followed by group discussion times and reporting out by a representative from each of the discussion groups.

“This gathering was an important step in a process of celebrating our history and dreaming for our future,” Vestal said. “The two simply can’t be separated. The invited participants represented some of the leadership within the Fellowship Baptist Movement, and we talked candidly about our identity, mission and structure. It was a very hopeful and encouraging meeting, and the Coordinating Council will receive a report in June.”

Editor’s note: For a gallery of photos from the event and a high resolution version of the attached photo, visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/thefellowship/sets/72157623949169846/.