This paper has sought to show from the founding of the CBF that there were several differences between the CBF and the SBC, and those differences have only increased over the last thirty years. Though these differences may have appeared minimal in 1991, that is no longer the case in 2021. Shurden stated in his foundational address to the public that these differences were “critical.”[1] If the differences between the SBC and the CBF were so critical then, how much more critical are they today in light of the doctrinal, ethical, and m ..read more

Read Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven, and Part Eight.             The CBF was originally founded as an alternative missions sending agency to the SBC. Because this was the primary reason for the founding of the CBF, the literature and rhetoric of this time often centers on the mission, and therefore the Great Commission gospel work, of the local church. At the CBF Convocation in May 1991, Dan Vestal stated, “We have come to know God through faith in Jesus Christ. . . . We’ve ex ..read more

Read Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, and Part Seven.             The issue of the sanctity of marriage is a recent conversation in world history and consequently in church history.[1] This discussion, however, is not simply about marriage, but also about human sexuality and gender, and therefore the issues of marriage and LGBTQ+ rights are necessarily intermingled together. Unlike the issue of abortion, this ethical issue has been heavily discussed and debated by the CBF. These issues wer ..read more

Read Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, and Part Six. Ethics             Just as the understanding and application of the CBF’s core doctrines has evolved, so has the CBF’s understanding of biblical ethics. Two of the most contentious ethical issues of the last forty to fifty years, in American culture and the church, are the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage.[1] Though the CBF typically does not issue official statements on any doctrine or issue besides the four core values, there is stil ..read more

Read Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, and Part Five. Three Aspects of the Core Values             The previous posts are merely a sketch of the four core values held by the CBF and therefore affirmed by its affiliating churches. However, three more aspects of these core values should be noted. First, there is nothing in the core values offering a statement about salvation, the gospel, or baptism except the phrase “Lordship of Christ.” At the very least, Baptists have historically been known for their belief in ..read more

Read Part One, Part Two, Part Three, and Part Four.             The final core value that Shurden listed in The Baptist Identity is religious freedom. Shurden states, “Religious Freedomis the historic Baptist affirmation of freedom OF religion, freedom FOR religion, and freedom FROM religion, insisting that Caesar is not Christ and Christ is not Caesar.”[1] This seems to imply separation of church and state in the historic Baptist sense that there should not be a state sponsored church or denomination. Shurden confirms this in hi ..read more

Read Part One, Part Two, and Part Three.             In 1991, Church Freedom was understood as “the historic Baptist affirmation that local churches are free, under the Lordship of Christ, to determine their membership and leadership, to order their worship and work, to ordain whom they perceive as gifted for ministry, male or female, and to participate in the larger Body of Christ, of whose unity and mission Baptists are proudly a part.”[1] In general, this is simply another way of saying the best ecclesiology is that of congreg ..read more

           Read Part One and Part Two. Bible Freedom was defined in 1991 as “the historic Baptist affirmation that the Bible, under the Lordship of Christ, must be central in the life of the individual and church and that Christians, with the best and most scholarly tools of inquiry, are both free and obligated to study and obey the Scripture.”[1] In comparing the CBF to the SBC, Shurden stated in his Address to the Public that, “We interpret the Bible differently. … [and] We also … have a different understanding of the nature of the ..read more

          Shurden defines Soul Freedom as “the historic Baptist affirmation of the inalienable rights and responsibility of every person to deal with God without the imposition of creed, the interference of clergy, or the intervention of civil government.”[1] Soul freedom affirms individual choice and moral responsibility before God. Doctrines such as “soul competency” and the “priesthood of the believer” arise from the concept of soul freedom. Shurden appeals to E.Y. Mullins’s book, The Axioms of Religion, to defend the centrality of this freedom f ..read more

In May 1991, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) was formed in Atlanta, Georgia, to serve as an alternative mission sending agency to that of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).[1] While the CBF was not initially formed as a different denomination, differences between the CBF and the SBC were still acknowledged at the time. For example, in his “Address to the Public,”[2] Walter B. Shurden stated, “It should be apparent that the points of difference are critical. … We are different. It is regrettable, but we are different.”[3] Shurden’s second major heading in that document was “Our Und ..read more