Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

Christian Century, June 19, 2002

* The first Southern Baptist to oversee chaplain work for Veterans Affairs hospitals nationwide has been endorsed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Jeni Cook, who in 1999 became the first woman to head the Department of Veterans Affairs' National Chaplain Center, is among 55 new chaplains and pastoral counselors endorsed by the Atlanta-based CBF.

An ordained minister, Cook previously was endorsed as a chaplain by the Southern Baptist Convention. But the SBC's North American Mission Board, which handles chaplaincy endorsements, decided in February that it would no longer endorse women who are ordained. NAMB officials attributed the policy change to interpretation of the 2000 "Baptist Faith and Message," which limits the office of pastor to men. The faith statement doesn't mention ordination, but NAMB leaders said most SBC churches view ordination as reserved for senior pastors.