Por Aaron Weaver
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — “There is a power in the world greater than party affiliation, that there is still a possibility for people to come together on the common ground of faith in Jesus and do things that would otherwise be impossible.”
This was the message from CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley during Thursday afternoon worship at the 2026 CBF General Assembly in Jacksonville. As the Fellowship marked its 35th anniversary, Baxley called Cooperative Baptists to r
ecognize and deepen a “compelling boldness” already present throughout CBF life.
The bilingual service moved between English and Spanish through song and Scripture, pairing Isaiah 61’s call to justice and healing with Acts 4’s witness to Spirit-filled courage.
“I want you to know that I see signs of compelling boldness at work all across the life of our fellowship already,” Baxley said.
“I see congregations courageously asking new questions. I see congregations considering new ways of doing ministry. I see congregations standing courageously in the face of opposition. I see congregations making possible ministries of healing in this world that would otherwise be impossible without them.”
Baxley pointed to CBF congregations convening and supporting collaborative ministries that offer healing, housing and shelter. He also highlighted churches that continue to gather people who do not vote alike or share the same political views, describing such congregations as increasingly rare and important spaces.
“I see a community of congregations uniquely equipped to offer a word of advocacy to the world that polarizing partisanship is not the most excellent way,” he said. “I see people of courage from different backgrounds and different political persuasions coming together to do justice and love kindness. Some people say that’s powerful. I say it’s compelling boldness.”
Baxley grounded that vision in Acts 4, where Peter and John stood before religious and political authorities after healing a man. The disciples, who had fled when Jesus was arrested, now refused to beintimidated or silenced.
“That’s the boldness of Peter and John,” Baxley said. “It’s a compelling boldness. It’s an astonishing boldness. It’s almost a mesmerizing boldness.”
Their courage did not arise from natural confidence or an established record of bravery, he said.
“There’s only one explanation and it is that the risen Jesus has gotten a hold of them, that the boldness they’re exhibiting is a fruit of the Spirit,” Baxley said. “The boldness they are exhibiting is a sign that Christ is alive and at work in them and that as Christ has worked on them, Christ has helped them overcome their fears so that they are then able to do what they could not do before.”
Baxley said he sees that Spirit-shaped courage in CBF-endorsed chaplains and pastoral counselors, career field personnel, women responding to calls to ministry and Black and brown leaders offering their gifts within the Fellowship.
“As we enter our next 35 years and we consider God’s call to a compelling boldness, we’re not working out of nothing,” he said. “God is already at work forming us to be a bold community.”
That boldness, Baxley emphasized, is sustained through community rather than practiced alone.
“You are surrounded by a community of praying, believing, encouraging, empowering, compelling disciples,” he said.
Baxley envisioned a Fellowship whose common life and ministry would lead others to say, “By the power of Jesus, congregations can still be instruments of healing in communities.”
“The only way to account for this,” he said, “they’re companions of Jesus.”
Commissioning of chaplains and pastoral counselors
CBF commissioned eight chaplains and pastoral counselors serving in health care, hospice, the military, education and community ministry. Renée Owen, CBF’s endorser for Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling Ministries, led the commissioning with Charlie Reynolds, associate endorser for Military Chaplaincy, and Carrol Wilson, manager for Chaplaincy and Pastoral Counseling Ministries.
“Since January 1998, CBF chaplains and pastoral counselors have boldly been going into spaces and places where others are not able to go, offering compassion, a calming presence, and hope in specialized ministry settings,” Owen said.
Commissioned were Kanisha Billingsley of Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Fla.; Scott P. Boyles of Bristol Regional Medical Center in Bristol, Tenn.; Marilyn Buhlig of Saint Luke’s Home Care and Hospice in Kansas City, Mo.; Heather Carlton of the United States Naval Reserves in St. Augustine, Fla.; Laurel Cluthe of Memorial Hermann-Memorial City Medical Center in Houston; Ana Maria Podgaiskaya of Naomi’s House in Wheaton, Ill.; Meghan Shin of Bristol Hospice in Watkinsville, Ga.; and Christie Thadikonda of Richmond Christian School in Chesterfield, Va.
Celebrating 35 years with gratitude and renewed commitment
The service also celebrated CBF’s 35th anniversary and highlighted its Holy Ambition Campaign, a $3.5 million effort supporting new generations of congregational and global mission leaders, racial justice and reconciliation partnerships, and public witness rooted in the life and mission of Jesus.
Meg Rooney, a recently ordained Baptist minister and 2024 Vestal Scholar, reflected on growing up in a Cooperative Baptist congregation where she regularly saw women serving as pastors and preachers. Relationships formed through CBF, she said, became a “lifeline” as she discerned her call and pursued ministry and doctoral research in Baptist history and identity.
“For young adults like myself, this kind of support is essential to keep us connected to the church,” Rooney said. “For female ministers like myself, this kind of support is invaluable. And I know that this support didn’t happen by accident or without risk. It has been over 35 years of bold and faithful Baptists that believed being Baptist meant something different than calculated power moves. It has been the intentional boldness of individuals, congregations, chaplains, state and regional leaders, field personnel, journalists, nonprofit leaders, deacons, and so many more that have formed the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to become what it means to me — a fellowship that affirms the calling and holy ambition of every person.”
Rooney invited Cooperative Baptists to recognize the people whose investments of time, leadership and financial resources helped build the Fellowship.
“Through this offering, we give thanks for those who recognized God’s holy ambition to them and said yes,” she said. “I know I would not be standing here today without them.”
“Please join me in celebrating 35 years of CBF with deep gratitude, and in renewing our commitment for the next 35 years as we help lay a strong foundation for those who will come after us,” Rooney said.
Watch the video below and give today at www.cbf.net/holyambition.
2026 CBF General Assembly continues through Friday, June 19. Watch livestreams of plenary and worship sessions, along with ongoing news coverage at www.cbf.net/general-assembly-26
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Led by the love of Christ, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship invites churches and individuals to partner in transforming God’s world, working together as a global community to spread good news, justice and hope through impactful ministries, missions and resources.