October 28, 2002
CBF says it's distinct
from SBC but not a convention
___By Bob Allen
___Associated Baptist Press
___ATLANTA (ABP)--The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is a "Baptist association of churches and individuals" separate from the Southern Baptist Convention but declines to define itself as a convention or denomination, according to a new statement by CBF leadership.
___The statement, adopted by the CBF Coordinating Council Oct. 19, responds to a request by a Baptist World Alliance membership committee that the Atlanta-based group affirm publicly that it is not an "integral part" of any current BWA member--specifically the SBC.
___The CBF, which formed in 1991 as a result of SBC controversy, first voted to apply for membership in the BWA, a worldwide fellowship of Baptists, in 2000. A BWA membership committee denied the group's first application last year, saying the Fellowship did not appear to qualify for membership as a traditional Baptist convention or union.
___A second application this year, however, got a more favorable hearing when the BWA General Council met in Seville, Spain, in July. The group overwhelmingly approved a report that the CBF could qualify for membership by next year if its leaders would"affirm publicly ... that they have separated themselves from the structures and organization of the SBC and have a distinctively diverse understanding to the SBC of what it means to be an organized body of Baptist churches and individuals in covenant relationship."
___The CBF council responded with a statement listing 20 indicators that the Fellowship is "no longer integral" to the SBC, including the fact that the SBC has in effect recognized CBF as a separate entity by refusing to accept funding from the Fellowship for the past seven years.
___The CBF also has its own organizational structure, missionaries, foundation and benefits board and endorses chaplains, according to the statement. More than 150 CBF churches have no formal membership in the SBC. The United Nations recognizes the CBF as a non-governmental organization, and several Baptist state conventions allow churches to give to CBF through their budgets.
___Consistent with earlier statements, however, leaders of the Fellowship insisted the moderate breakaway group is not a denomination.
___"Though fully independent of the SBC or any other union, we do not declare that we are a denomination or convention," the statement says. "Rather, we are Baptist by conviction, and we are a partnership of churches and individuals by philosophy. We have chosen instead to define ourselves as a 'fellowship,' which means that we are a 'Baptist association of churches and individuals' in partnership for the advancement of God's kingdom."
___Founded in 1905, the Baptist World Alliance represents more than 200 Baptist unions and conventions that include 44.5 million baptized believers in 193,000 Baptist churches around the world.
___CBF leaders believe membership in the BWA would expand opportunities for ministry through overseas partnerships and add legitimacy to the CBF by affirming it is more than a "splinter group."
___"I believe it is important for us to be a part of the BWA," said CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal. "I believe it is important for the BWA, and I believe it is important for the kingdom of God."
___Leaders of the SBC oppose the CBF's membership application. Members of the SBC delegation voted against the BWA membership committee report in Spain, commenting that the Fellowship should first declare itself a new convention in order to sufficiently separate from the SBC.
___"I think there are some people who desperately want us to declare ourselves a convention of churches rather than a fellowship of individuals and churches," Vestal told the CBF Coordinating Council. "I don't think we want to go down that road."
___CBF leaders said the new identity statement is significant not only for the BWA application, but it also gives the organization a chance to define itself more clearly to the general public.
___Jim Baucom, past moderator of the CBF, said before attending the BWA General Council meeting in Seville, he assumed everyone understood the organization is not "an integral part" of the SBC.
___Baucom said he soon discovered, however, that "almost no one outside of our movement understands that."
___"They believe we are part of the SBC, sort of a shadow organization, but not a separate organization," said Baucom, pastor of Rivermont Avenue Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Va.
___Compounding that perception is the CBF's evolving self-awareness. A public statement announcing the CBF's formation in 1991 said differences with the SBC did "not require that we sever ties with the old Southern Baptist Convention."
___Five years later, following a yearlong study, the Fellowship voted against forming a new convention.
___Over time, however, leaders say CBF supporters have increasingly come to view the organization as distinct from the SBC. Symbolic of that trend, former President Jimmy Carter two years ago renounced his SBC ties and declared allegiance to the CBF.
___Leaders say the newest identity statement doesn't so much break new ground for the CBF as it accurately describes present realities.
___"I don't think we're making a significant statement that changes who we are," said CBF Moderator Phill Martin of Richardson. "We're just clarifying our identity."
___"I think for some people it will be perceived as a declaration of independence," Martin said. "Personally, I did that 10 years ago."
___SBC leaders have indicated they might leave the BWA or reduce funding if the CBF is allowed to join. The SBC is the largest BWA member, with 16 million members, and provides funding for about 20 percent of the BWA's $2.1 million annual budget.
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