Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship began as a grassroots movement of Baptists in August 1990 after more than 10 years of public controversy between conservative and moderate members of the Southern Baptist Convention. The leaders of the conservative resurgence 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 conservative strategy 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. Conservative leaders have elected all presidents of the SBC from 1979 to the present.

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.

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.

Affirmation of women in ministry was one of the founding principles of the Fellowship. The CBF believes that both men and women may be ordained as ministers and serve as pastors of churches. 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." 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.

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.

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