CBF's genesis five years ago signified Baptist moderates' concession of control of the SBC--after more than a decade of struggle--to the SBC's conservative wing. CBF has grown from under 400 supporting churches in 1991 to more than 1,400 today.

In 1991, the movement's final organizational destination was uncertain. That is still the case in 1996, as nearly 4,000 delegates gathered June 27 to 29 in Richmond for the group's annual general assembly.

Last summer, a study commission was appointed to address whether the CBF should "become a separate convention." The commission, chaired by W. Randall Lolley, former president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, concluded among other things that CBF constituents can be found at various stages of the grieving process. Some still hold out hope for reconciliation with the SBC. Others have accepted that the theological gap between CBF and SBC cannot be bridged; they want to make that recognition official by declaring CBF a separate convention or denomination.

The CBF maintains that by insisting on scriptural inerrancy--defined partly in terms of opposition to women's ordination--the SBC has abandoned historic Baptist principles such as soul liberty, freedom of conscience, and individual church autonomy.

A BREAK EVENTUALLY? Although the CBF overwhelmingly rejected the proposal to break with the SBC--in a vote determined by delegates rising to their feet--a majority of those surveyed by the study commission say the CBF should eventually become a separate convention when the time is right. Lolley himself favors such a stand: "I believe this group needs some 'soak time,' some visioning time."

Lolley and other opponents of an immediate break cite practical considerations, not the least ...