ISBN 978-1-934741-13-9 By being involved in Baptist voluntary cooperation, churches provide a constructive response to conflict that may exist in the denomination. By taking part in Baptist voluntary cooperation, churches demonstrate that voluntary cooperation is not only about what a church receives but also about what it is able to contribute to causes such as evangelism, missions, and benevolence. By staying with denominational voluntary cooperation, a church retains the oppourtunity to help shape such cooperation to be more effective and efficient. By carrying out voluntary cooperation, churches follow the model of New Testament churches; this is a way of affirming their belief in the authority of the Bible. Conclusion A rope of sand with strength of steel–that is the way James Sullivan, long-time Baptist leader, described Baptist voluntary cooperation. Although fragile, it is highly effective. It enables churches to maintain their autonomy while effectively ministering in Christ’s name. For further information, see cbhh.dbu.edu The basic material in this leaflet originally appeared in a series of articles in theBaptist Standard in 2005. Wanting to share information about Baptist distinctives, Noble Hurley, shortly before his death in 2004, established the Jane and Noble Hurley Baptist Identity Fund to provide for publishing the series. He asked William M. Pinson, Jr. and Doris A. Tinker to prepare the articles. The financial assistance of The Prichard Family Foundation and Vester T. Hughes, Jr. enabled this series of nineteen leaflets to be produced based on the articles. Skyler G. Tinker designed and formatted the leaflets for publication. Each leaflet is for both individual and group study. The topics in this series: (1) Baptists: Who? Where? What? Why? (2) What Makes a Baptist a Baptist? (3) The Lordship of Christ; (4) The Bible as Authority for Faith and Practice; (5) Soul Competency; (6) Salvation Only by Grace Through Faith; (7) The Priesthood of All Believers; (8) Believer’s Baptism; (9) A Regenerate Church Membership; (10) Congregational Church Governance; (11) Church Autonomy; (12) Baptist Church Life: Organization, Worship, Officers, Ordinances; (13) Voluntary Cooperation; (14) Evangelism; (15) Missions; (16) Ministry; (17) Christian Education; (18) The Application of the Gospel; (19) Religious Freedom. © Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
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