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Should moderate Baptists, now fragmented into various groups, consolidate their forces into a full-fledged national denomination and try to provide a compelling alternative to the conservative Southern Baptist Convention? That was the most intriguing question brought up when more than 3,000 moderates gathered in Fort Worth in June for the annual general assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

An 11-year conflict between the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Southern Baptist Convention reached the international stage in Spain. The Baptist World Alliance overwhelmingly voted to receive a committee report outlining conditions for the moderate CBF to be recommended next year for membership in the world body, despite opposition of delegates from the SBC, which funds about 20 percent of the BWA’s budget.