RICHMOND, Va. — Cecil Sherman, one of the most visible moderate leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) controversy of the 1980s and first coordinator of the breakaway Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), died April 17 from complications of a heart attack. He was 82.
Sherman was born Dec. 26, 1927, in Fort Worth, Texas.
He married Dorothy “Dot” Hair, who was 10 years his senior, Dec. 23, 1953, in Greer, S.C.
Sherman was pastor of First Baptist Church, Chamblee, Ga., from 1956 to 1960. While there Dot Sherman gave birth to Eugenia, their only child, who survives.
He moved to First Baptist Church, College Station, Texas, where he began his first work in larger denominational life, speaking at Baptist Student Union retreats.
He joined the staff of the Baptist General Convention of Texas to coordinate campus evangelism, where he worked until Aug. 1, 1964, when he was called to become pastor of First Baptist Church, Asheville, N.C.
In 1985, Sherman left Asheville to become pastor of Broadway Baptist Church, Fort Worth, Texas, a position he held until 1992.
When disenfranchised moderates decided to form their own organization following the 1990 SBC annual meeting in New Orleans, they turned to Sherman. He took the job as first coordinator of the CBF at age 64.
Sherman was preceded in death by his wife.
In addition to his daughter, he is survived by a grandson, Nathaniel, and two siblings.
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