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| Classification | Protestant |
|---|---|
| Orientation | Baptist |
| Polity | Congregationalist |
| Geographical area | United States |
| Separated from | Southern Baptist Convention |
| Official Website | www.thefellowship.info |
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) is a Christian fellowship of Baptist churches formed in 1991. Theologically moderate, the CBF withdrew from the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) over philosophical and theological differences, such as the SBC prohibition of women serving as pastors. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship claims approximately 1,900 partner churches. The CBF is involved with the Baptist Center for Ethics, Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty, and the Baptist World Alliance. Its headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia.
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History
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship began as a grassroots movement of Baptists in May 1991 after years of strife within the Southern Baptist Convention and ultimately the resurgence/takeover of the Convention by theological conservatives.[1][2] The resurgence leaders considered biblical inerrancy and a perceived liberal drift at Southern Baptist seminaries as the primary issues in their struggle against moderates and liberals in the SBC. The strategy of the conservative takeover was to elect the SBC president a sufficient number of times to gain a conservative majority on the boards and agencies of the Convention. This was accomplished through the president's power to make appointments.[3] Conservative leaders have successfully elected all presidents of the SBC from 1979 to the present.[4]
The new Southern Baptist Convention leadership continued addressing social issues, but took a more conservative perspective than in years past. These included abortion, where support for Roe V. Wade in the 1970s was replaced with a more conservative view, as well as conservative views on religious liberty, church-state separation, roles in marriage, and women in ministry. Frustrated moderates met in 1990 in Atlanta, Georgia, and organized the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. It was the opinion of the moderates that the conservatives had departed from Baptist distinctives.[5].
Beliefs
The beliefs and values of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are articulated as their Core Values. Beginning the Core Values are four items the CBF considers Baptist principles of faith and practice.
- Soul freedom is the ability of all people to relate directly with God. The belief in the priesthood of all believers is an important basis for this principle.
- Bible freedom is the principle of recognizing the authority of Scripture and the right of every Christian to interpret it as the Holy Spirit directs.
- Church freedom is the idea that every local church is autonomous and empowered to choose its own leaders and direct its own affairs.
- Religious freedom is the principle of separation of church and state. CBF supports this principle through affiliation with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.
The CBF believes the Bible teaches that there is one triune God who created all people. Because of sin, humanity is separated from God but can be saved and redeemed through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit convicts and converts those who believe in Christ and empowers the Church to fulfill its mission. The CBF believes that every Christian and every church is called to fulfill the Great Commission, share the gospel of Jesus Christ, and minister to the spiritual, physical, and social needs of people and communities.[6]
The CBF believes that both men and women may be ministers and pastor churches.[7] On social issues, the CBF does not issue position statements. It believes that as it is a fellowship of autonomous churches, that issuing statements would be beyond its purpose. However, it does have an organizational policy on homosexual behaviour. This policy expresses the CBF's belief "that the foundation of a Christian sexual ethic is faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman and celibacy in singleness."[8] However, this policy is in no way binding on individual congregations which are free to make their own decisions regarding social issues such as homosexuality.
Organization
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship does not consider itself a denomination but rather a fellowship of churches and Christians. The CBF does not exercise authority over its partnering churches and individuals. It cites its valuing of autonomy and freedom as a reason for its type of congregational organization. It does share certain characteristics of a religious denomination, including national offices, theological seminaries that are recommended for their seminarians, missions funding, and distinct theological views.
Membership is open to Baptist churches and the members of those churches and individual Baptists who contribute annually to the ministries and operations of the Fellowship. All members are entitled to vote at the General Assembly. The General Assembly elects a Coordinating Council which meets three times a year to plan the Fellowship's missions and ministries. This council is led by a moderator who also is elected annually by the General Assembly. A CBF Resource Center provides leadership and support services through offices in Atlanta and Dallas. Chief executive officer Daniel Vestal assumed the position of coordinator in December 1996 after nearly three decades as a Baptist pastor.
The CBF does not own or operate educational institutions nor does it elect trustees to govern those institutions. Rather, the Fellowship partners with like-minded institutions that operate autonomously. The Fellowship partners with 14 theology schools and seminaries with a combined enrollment of about 1,800 students. It also partners with 18 state and regional CBF organizations. It has provided ecclesiastical endorsement for chaplains who serve in the armed forces and specialized settings requiring pastoral counseling and ministry.
Churches often direct a portion of their offerings to their state or regional CBF organization, which then sends a percentage of funding on to the national CBF. CBF Global Missions collects an annual Offering for Global Missions to provide additional funding for field personnel and ministries around the world.
Communications
A free newsletter named fellowship! is published seven times a year. CBF also publishes an E-newsletter, Fellowship Weekly, distributed every other Friday. The Associated Baptist Press is a partner of the CBF.
References and notes
- ^ The term "conservative resurgence" is preferred by the current leadership; the term "fundamentalist takeover" by its detractors.
- ^ Kell, Carl L. Exiled: Voices of the Southern Baptist Convention Holy War. Univ Tennessee Press, 2006.
- ^ Merritt, John W. The Betrayal: The hostile takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention and a Missionary's Fight for Freedom in Christ. R. Brent and Company, publishers, 2005.
- ^ Kell, Carl L. In the Name of the Father: The Rhetoric of the New Southern Baptist Convention. Southern Illinois University press, 2001.
- ^ Hankins, Barry. Uneasy in Babylon: Southern Baptist Conservatives and American Culture. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2002.
- ^ Cooperative Baptist Fellowship - Who We Are
- ^ Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. "Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Southern Baptist Convention Differences: A Conversation with CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal". http://www.thefellowship.info/Files/About-Us/CBF_SBC_differences.aspx. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
- ^ Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. "Organizational Policy on Homosexual Behavior Related to Personnel and Funding". http://www.thefellowship.info/Files/About-Us/Homosexuality. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
External links and partners
| Part of a series of articles on Baptists |
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Historical Background |
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Doctrinal distinctives |
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Pivotal figures |
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