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Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Inc. (CBF)—"a fellowship of Baptist Christians and churches who share a passion for the Great Commission of Jesus Christ and a commitment to Baptist principles of faith and practice." CBF is not a denomination but rather a fellowship of churches and Christians. Valuing autonomy and freedom, CBF does not have or exercise authority over its partnering churches and individuals.^[1] Baptist is a term describing a tradition within Christianity and may also refer to individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. ... Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ... In Christian tradition, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread the faith to all the world. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

In contrast to the Southern Baptist Convention from which CBF seceded, there are also a number of philosophical and theological differences. For example, in its 2000 Baptist Faith and Message, the Southern Baptist Convention has stated women should not serve as pastors. However, the belief that God calls both men and women into ministry—including that of pastor—was one of the founding principles of CBF. The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a United States-based cooperative ministry agency serving Baptist churches around the world. ...

Scope

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has approximately 1,900 partner churches, many individual members, and an operating budget of $17.05 million for 2006-07. It is funded through financial gifts from individuals and churches. Churches often direct a portion of their offerings to their state or regional CBF organization, which then sends a percentage of funding on to national CBF. CBF Global Missions collects an annual Offering for Global Missions to provide additional funding for Global Missions field personnel and ministries around the world. The annual goal varies each year but is approximately $6 million.

The growing list of partner churches, searchable by state, appears on the CBF ChurchLink page.

Its foundation has an endowment of an additional $20 million to provide resources for churches and send global missions field personnel to much neglected people groups in the world.

Its home offices are located in Atlanta, Georgia, with other offices in Dallas, Texas, and elsewhere. The Fellowship has a paid staff of about 65 employees in addition to the 163 Global Missions field personnel, including career personnel and persons serving two- to three-year assignments. This article is about the state capital of Georgia. ... Dallas redirects here. ...

CBF does not own or operate institutions or elect trustees that 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. Some independent agencies supported by CBF include the Baptist Center for Ethics, Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Liberty and the Baptist World Alliance. CBF also partners with 18 state and regional CBF organizations with combined budgets of more than $3 million. Although not a denomination, it has provided ecclesiastical endorsement for more than 400 chaplains who serve in the armed forces and specialized settings requiring pastoral counseling and ministry.

Membership

The membership differs organizationally, philosophically and intentionally from those of the SBC. Membership is open to individual Baptists, Baptist churches and members thereof who contribute annually to the ministries and operations of the Fellowship.

Leadership

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 missions and ministries. This council is led by a moderator, who also is elected annually by the General Assembly.

A Coordinating Council elected by the General Assembly meets three times a year to plan the Fellowship's missions and ministries. The council is led by a moderator, elected annually by the General Assembly. A CBF Resource Center staff of approximately 62 persons provides leadership and support services through offices in Atlanta and Dallas. Chief executive officer is Daniel Vestal, who assumed the position of coordinator in December 1996 after nearly three decades as a Baptist pastor.

Part of a series on Baptists

Historical Background Christianity Protestantism General Baptists Particular Baptists Baptist is a term describing a tradition within Christianity and may also refer to individuals belonging to a Baptist church or a Baptist denomination. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Baptists were first identified by the name General Baptists in 17th century England. ... The name Reformed Baptist does not refer to a distinct denomination but instead is a description of the churchs theological leaning. ...

Doctrinal distinctives Prima scriptura Sola scriptura Baptist ordinances Baptist offices Baptist confessions Autonomy of the local church Separation of church and state The Bible is considered as first or above all sources of divine revelation. ... Sola scriptura (Latin ablative, by scripture alone) is the assertion that the Bible as Gods written word is self-authenticating, clear (perspicuous) to the rational reader, its own interpreter (Scripture interprets Scripture), and sufficient of itself to be the only source of Christian doctrine. ... Baptist ordinances, the term for the sacraments within Baptist theology, are the Lords Supper and Believers baptism. ... Baptists only recognize two Scriptural offices, those of pastor-teacher and deacon. ... 1600s 1644 First London Baptist Confession - revised in 1646 1651 The Faith and Practice of Thirty Congregations 1654 The True Gospel-Faith Declared According to the Scriptures 1656 The Somerset Confession of Faith 1655 Midland Confession of Faith 1660 The Standard Confession 1678 The Orthodox Creed 1689 Second London Baptist... Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation indepedently and autonomously runs its own affairs. ... Separation of church and state is one of the primary theological distinctions of the Baptist tradition. ...

Pivotal figures John Smyth (1570-1612) Thomas Helwys John Bunyan Andrew Fuller John Gill Charles Haddon Spurgeon John Smyth (1570 - c. ... Thomas Helwys, born c. ... John Bunyan. ... Andrew Fuller (1754-1815) was an eminent Baptist minister, born in Cambridgeshire, and settled at Kettering. ... John Gill (born at Kettering, Northamptonshire on November 23, 1697 and died October 14, 1771) was an English Baptist, Biblical scholar. ... Charles Haddon Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 – January 31, 1892) was Englands best-known and most-loved preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. ...

Major Baptist Associations American Baptist Baptist World Alliance Cooperative Baptist Fellowship National Baptist Convention Southern Baptist Convention ABCUSA American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a group of Baptist churches within the United States; headquartered in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. ... The Baptist World Alliance was formed in 1905 at Exeter Hall in London, England during the first Baptist World Congress. ... The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. ... The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a United States-based cooperative ministry agency serving Baptist churches around the world. ... This box: view • talk • edit

History

CBF began as a grassroots movement of Baptists in May 1991 after 15 years of strife within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), and ultimately the takeover, also called "conservative resurgence,"^[2] of the Convention by a fundamentalist faction.^[3] The takeover leaders used different ways of defining biblical inerrancy as the issue to be used in their struggle against moderates in the SBC. The strategy of the fundamentalist takeover was to elect the SBC president a sufficient number of times to gain a fundamentalist majority on the boards and agencies of the Convention. This was accomplished through the president's power to make appointments.^[4]. Fundamentalists have successfully elected all presidents of the SBC from 1979 to the present.^[5] 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a United States-based cooperative ministry agency serving Baptist churches around the world. ... Biblical inerrancy is the doctrinal position [1] that in its original form, the Bible is without error; referring to the complete accuracy of Scripture, including the historical and scientific parts. ...

Once it was clear that the denomination was firmly rerouted toward ultra-conservative evangelicalism, Southern Baptist leaders began addressing social views such as abortion, race, religious liberty and church-state separation, and women in ministry in ways that ran against the dominant views of American culture. Frustrated moderates met in 1990 in Atlanta, Georgia, and organized the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. It was their opinion that the conservatives had departed from Baptist distinctives.^[6] MCMXC redirects here; for the Enigma album, see MCMXC a. ... Nickname: Hotlanta, The Big Peach, The ATL, A-Town Location in Fulton and DeKalb Counties in the state of Georgia Coordinates: Country United States State Georgia Counties Fulton, DeKalb Government  - Mayor Shirley Franklin (D) Area  - City  132. ...

Core values and other beliefs^[7]

Four freedoms

CBF exists because of the belief in historic Baptist principles of soul freedom, Bible freedom, church freedom and religious freedom.

• Soul freedom is the belief in priesthood of the believer and the affirmation that every person has the freedom and responsibility to relate directly to God without the imposition of creed or control of clergy or government.
• Bible freedom is the belief in the authority of scripture, which under the Lordship of Christ, is central to the life of individuals and churches. Every Christian has the freedom and right to interpret and apply scripture under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
• Church freedom is the belief in the autonomy of every local church as free, under the Lordship of Christ, to determine their membership and leadership, to order their worship and work, to ordain whomever they perceive as gifted for ministry, and to participate as they deem appropriate in the larger body of Christ.
• Religious freedom is the belief in freedom of, for and from religion, as well as separation of church and state. CBF supports this principle through its affiliation with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.

CBF's other core values include biblically-based Global Missions, the resource model of discovering and providing resources to empower churches and individuals to their mission and calling, a commitment to justice and reconciliation, a belief in lifelong learning and ministry for both laity and clergy, trustworthiness and effectiveness. The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) is an education and advocacy association in the United States with a number of Baptist denominations. ...

About the Bible

The Fellowship believes in the divine inspiration of the Bible and its authority in the lives of Christians, who are free to follow and interpret it under the Lordship of Christ. Christians are responsible under God for their interpretation of Scripture. In regards to scriptural inerrancy, the Fellowship's position is that the Bible neither claims nor reveals inerrancy as a Christian teaching.

About women in ministry

Affirmation of women in ministry was one of the founding principles of the Fellowship. The New Testament is acknowledged as providing two views of the role of women—a literal approach of submission to men or an inclusive approach. A key biblical passage is Galatians 3:27-28:

As many of you as are baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus (NRSV).

CBF interprets this passage as affirming that men and women are created by God, redeemed by Christ, and gifted by the Spirit truly without distinction or partiality. Therefore, they encourage both men and women to exercise their Spirit-given gifts in the church’s work, worship, and leadership, and to celebrate the truth that the Spirit grants such gifts without respect to gender. A number of CBF partner churches have women pastors and women deacons.

About evangelism and missions

CBF engages in biblically-based global missions, believing that each person is called to help fulfill Christ's Great Commission. Furthermore, CBF Global Missions believes the Bible teaches that God is the one triune God who created people in God's image. People are separated from God by sin but for which Christ is the Savior and Redeemer for all people. The Holy Spirit is instrumental in convicting, teaching and empowering individuals and churches to the mission of Christ in the world. Each believer and every church is responsible for sharing the gospel with all people through redemptive ministry to spiritual, physical and social needs of individuals and communities. In Christian tradition, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread the faith to all the world. ...

Communications

A free newsletter named fellowship! is published seven times a year. CBF also publishes an E-newsletter, Fellowship biFriday, and is distributed every other Friday.

References and Notes

1. ^ Cooperative Baptist Fellowship—official Web Site
2. ^ takeover (the non-fundamentalist term) or conservative resurgence (the term of the current leadership)
3. ^ Kell, Carl L. Exiled: Voices of the Southern Baptist Convention Holy War. Univ Tennessee Press, 2006.
4. ^ 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.
5. ^ Kell, Carl L. In the Name of the Father: The Rhetoric of the New Southern Baptist Convention. Southern Illinois University press, 2001.
6. ^ Hankins, Barry. Uneasy in Babylon: Southern Baptist Conservatives and American Culture. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 2002.
7. ^ http://www.thefellowship.info/inside%20cbf/core_values.icm

External links and partners

• Associated Baptist Press
• Cooperative Baptist Fellowship—official Web Site
• Mainstream Baptists network
• ProgressiveBaptist.net—A Fresh Approach to the Baptist Expression of the Christian Faith