Editor's Note: The following is the full text of Dr. Vestal's letter to Moran's pastor, Gary Taylor, asking him "for help in resolution to what [Vestal] believes is a serious problem in the body of Christ." This letter was dated April 7, 1999 and was carbon copied to Roger Moran. Bold print emphasis added.

Dear Gary,

            I am writing to you as a fellow pastor, asking for help in resolution to what I believe is a serious problem in the Body of Christ.  Recently, Roger Moran produced a video and distributed literature in which Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is accused of being pro-homosexual, pro-abortion, and pro-child pornography.  The implication from this material is that CBF has no moral compass, no theological integrity, and no biblical convictions.  What is even worse, is that the video and publications insinuate that there is duplicity and deception in leadership of CBF i.e. our real purpose is not what we declare in our mission statement, but to encourage theological liberalism, promote a certain social/ethical agenda and advocate the destruction of the Southern Baptist Convention.

            Besides the fact that these accusations are false, they are also harmful to a wonderful group of Baptist Christians and churches.  These vicous attacks impugn the motives of some godly fold and create great division in Baptist life.  What is tragic is that they are made in the name of Christ.

            Despite what Roger Moran is saying about us, let me restate a few of our basic convictions and commitments.  In our mission statement, we declare the following:

            “We are committed to biblically based global missions.  All of us are called to be co-laborers in the task of fulfilling our Lord’s Great Commission.  We believe the Bible teaches that:

·        God is the one triune God, Creator of all people in God’s own image.

·        All people are separated from God by sin.

·        Christ is the Savior and Redeemer for all peoples.

·        The Holy Spirit convicts and converts all who believe in Christ, teaches the church in the voice of the Living Christ, and empowers the church and all believers for the mission of Christ in the world.

·        Christ calls us to minister redemptively to the spiritual, physical, and social needs of individuals and communities.

·        Every believer and every church is responsible for sharing the Gospel with all people.”

In addition to these doctrinal and missiological commitments, we have strong commitments to Baptist Principles.  Again, let me quote from our mission statement:

            “We are committed to Baptist principles.  As Christians, the tie that binds us is our common faith in Jesus Christ.  As Baptist Christians, we also share a commitment to those principles that have shaped our unique Baptist heritage and polity.  These include:

·        Soul Freedom – We believe in the priesthood of all believers.  We affirm the freedom and responsibility of every person to relate directly to God without the imposition of creed or the control of clergy or government.

·        Bible Freedom – We believe in the authority of Scripture.  We believe the Bible, under the Lordship of Christ, is central in the life of the individual and church.  We affirm the freedom and right of every Christian to interpret and apply Scripture under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

·        Church Freedom – We believe in the autonomy of every local church.  We believe Baptist churches are free, under the Lordship of Christ, to determine their membership and leadership, to order their worship and work, to ordain whomever they perceive as gifted for ministry, and to participate as they deem appropriate in the larger Body of Christ.

·        Religious Freedom – We believe in freedom of religion, freedom for religion, and freedom from religion.  We support the separation of church and state.”

Gary, these foundational commitments are the basis for common mission.  We don’t decide who is “worthy” or “correct” but invite all kinds of Baptist who share these commitments to partner with us.  We are not a convention of churches that owns and operates institutions.  We are a partnering network, a resource center, a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission and a commitment to Baptist principles.  We do have varying perspectives in many social and ethical issues.  We have theological, hermeneutical, and methodological differences in our midst.  We have cultural and political diversity, but we do not view this as a sign of weakness but as a sign of strength.  We do not believe that this lessens our commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ or to the truthfulness of Scripture.  It only illustrates why we cling so closely to our foundational commitments and our common mission.

I have appealed to Roger Moran on a personal basis to publicly apologize for his statements and to do what he can to repair the damage that has been done.  I’m appealing to you as his pastor to intercede on our behalf and do what you can to bring resolution.  The other night as I was reflecting on this dilemma, I thought again of the words of Jesus, “Judge not that you be not judged.  For with what judgement you judge, you shall be judged and with what measure you mead, it shall be measured to you again.  Why do you behold the moat in your brother’s eye but consider not the beam in your own eye.  Or how will you say to your brother, ‘Let me pull the moat out of your eye,’ and behold, a beam is in your own eye.”

It is beyond my understanding how Roger Moran can presume to be a judge, so clearly disregarding the words of Jesus.  What he is doing is judgementalism at its worst.  Are there individuals in the CBF who have views and viewpoints that differ from mine?  Yes.  Are there individuals whose public statements are controversial and even contrary to many others in CBF?  Yes.  But the same could be said about individuals in any large movement or institution.  This does not mean that those views or public statements represent the views of the leadership of CBF. 

I could quote leadership in the SBC whose view would be controversial (God doesn’t hear the prayer of a Jew).  But that doesn’t mean that those views represent the SBC.  I personally know of leadership in SBC churches who are racist, even refusing people of color to join the church.  But that is not necessarily representative of the SBC.  I know SBC leaders who are separated from their wives, but that doesn’t represent the SBC.  I know SBC leaders who have associated with organizations whose political views are narrow and even called dangerous, but that doesn’t represent the SBC.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is not your enemy.  We are your brothers and sisters in Christ.  Please help in any way you can.  I wait your response.

                                                            Yours in Christ,

                                                               Daniel Vestal