CBF’s response to BWA membership committee

As a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches, we acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus Christ and confess “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:5). As we make applications for membership in the Baptist World Alliance, we sincerely desire understanding and harmony with all member bodies, including the Southern Baptist Convention. We make the following statement “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:2-3).

In accordance with the requirements of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s (CBF) application for membership the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), it is necessary that the CBF establish that it is not an “integral part” of any other BWA member, in this case the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Accordingly, we the Coordinating Council, as the governing board of the CBF, in our regular business meeting on Oct. 17-19, 2002, in Atlanta, Ga., do hereby acknowledge that we have “separated ourselves from the structures and organization of the SBC, and have distinctly diverse understanding of the SBC or what it means to be an organized body of Baptist churches and individuals in covenant relationship.”

Though fully independent of the SBC or any other union, we do not declare that we are a denomination or convention. 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.

In keeping with our mission statement, commitments and initiatives, we “uphold the right of autonomous churches to partner [or not] with any global mission agency or congregational entity of their choice.” This is consistent with our understanding that the local congregation is the focus of traditional Baptist polity and the centerpiece of any Great Commission, New Testament strategy to transform the world through Christ’s love.

(CBF)