A Great Commission Resurgence? (Part 1)

At the SBC Annual Meeting this past June, messengers overwhelmingly approved the motion by Dr. R. Albert Mohler, President of Southern Seminary, allowing Johnny Hunt, President of the SBC, the authority to appoint a Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) Task Force. The purpose of this task force is to study and report back to the 2010 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida how Southern Baptists can work "more faithfully and effectively together in serving Christ through the Great Commission." The next morning Dr. Hunt named the 18 people he had appointed to this task force, which is to be chaired by Dr. Ronnie Floyd, pastor of First Baptist Church in Springdale, Arkansas.

Let me state that I voted in favor of this task force. I think it is a good thing to reevaluate from time to time in order to make sure we are being effective and faithful stewards of our Cooperative Program dollars. I think it is especially good that we always seek to be more effective in fulfilling the Great Commission. However, with that being stated, let me express some concerns that I have.

While the messengers overwhelmingly approved the formation of the GCR Task Force, I have a sneaking suspicion that if the messengers had known who some of the members of this task force were going to be in advance, the vote would have been a little more interesting. As I have already noted in an earlier blog, I was surprised by the appointment of Dr. Floyd as the chairman of this task force. I do not mean to imply, infer, or otherwise suggest in any form or fashion that Dr. Floyd is anything but an honorable Christian man and pastor. I believe he is all of that. And yet, when it comes to studying our agencies to see if they are effectively utilizing our Great Commission dollars, I believe that there are other men more qualified to lead this study. Why would I suggest that there are others more qualified than Dr. Floyd to chair this committee?

Go back with me three years to the 2006 SBC Annual Meeting in Greensboro, NC. Dr. Frank Page was elected as President of the SBC. Dr. Floyd had been the "anointed" nominee by the "power brokers" within the convention hierarchy. Yet a groundswell of resentment grew as it became known that Dr. Floyd's church had only given .27%, which amounted to $32,000.00, of their undesignated offerings to the CP. They gave another $189,000.00, 1.58% of their undesignated offerings, to the SBC allocation budget. The church's chief administrative officer, Ben Mayes, according to a Baptist Press article dated May 12, 2006, stated that the church had given over $489,000.00 to SBC causes. In sum total, FBC Springdale, under Dr. Floyd's leadership, gave less than 5% of their $11, 952,137.00 undesignated offerings to SBC causes. (This percentage is actually less when you allow for the fact that Lottie and Annie gifts are from designated giving.) The majority of their gifts to SBC causes was outside of the CP. In fairness, they did give a total of $2,648,000.00 to mission and evangelism causes, which is certainly commendable by any standard.

There is not a designated amount or percentage that any church is obligated to give to CP causes. That is the sole responsibility of each individual church to decide. But can I say that, as pastor of a smaller church, I am sick and tired of hearing pastors of larger churches, i.e., "mega-churches," spout off that we do not spend percentages, but dollars and cents. Excuse me? Percentages do equate to dollars and cents! What if every church in the convention followed the rationale of some, not all, of our mega-churches to CP giving? I realize that the smaller percentages from these larger churches usually equal or exceed the grand total of dollars from smaller churches. Yet, if smaller churches followed this rationale, giving would drop significantly across the convention. I am grateful for every dollar given to the CP. But never let us think that dollars are more important than percentages, because one is tied to the other. Spouting that line is a way to throw attention off of the percentage given and direct attention to the dollar amount, which looks more impressive. Yet, let us not forget what Jesus said about the widow who put in her two mites (Luke 21:1-4). Just because a church gives more dollar-wise does not necessarily mean they have given more! How many of these mega-church pastors would like for their membership to use this rationale in their giving to their church?

I believe one of the main reasons that Ronnie Floyd was defeated in his bid for SBC President was his church's CP giving percentage. I readily admit that this is just my opinion, but I can say that I have heard this same opinion repeated by numerous people. (CP giving is very important to a lot of people in the SBC. And not just the older generation, either.) Now I know that some will say Dr. Floyd was defeated because Jerry Sutton entered the race and took votes away from him. That may be possible, but it is also possible that Dr. Sutton also took some votes away from Frank Page. We will never know for sure, now will we? How does that play into the current discussion? Since his defeat, not much has been heard from Dr. Floyd on a national level. He has certainly been an influential leader within the SBC, having served on the Executive Committee of the SBC and as a trustee for GuideStone. Yet, during the last three years he has been "under the radar." His defeat was a blow to many within the "power hierarchy" of the SBC. This position now puts him back into an influential position, one that I believe would be better filled by someone else. Who would that be? Before I name anyone, let me state that I have not spoken to either of the two men I am about to name or anyone associated or affiliated with them. This is only my personal opinion.

I believe that either Larry Wynn, pastor of Hebron Baptist in Dacula, Georgia, or Dr. Frank Cox, pastor of North Metro Baptist in Lawrenceville, Georgia, would have been much better and wiser picks to serve as chairman of this task force. Why? Both of these churches give at least 10% of their undesignated offerings to the CP. In 2006, Hebron Baptist gave $1,000,000.00 to the CP! North Metro gives 13% of their gifts to the CP. And these figures do not include their Lottie and Annie gifts!

Again, no church is obligated to give a set amount to the CP. But if we are going to form a task force to see how our agencies and convention might effectively and wisely work together for the Great Commission, would it not be better to have someone lead this task force who has a proven and faithful track record in CP giving? Currently, FBC Springdale is giving 2.2% of their undesignated gifts to the CP as opposed to .27% just three years ago. I believe that Dr. Floyd is slowly leading his church to give more to the CP and I commend him for that. I realize that you cannot make substantial leaps in giving percentages overnight. Yet, both Larry Wynn and Frank Cox have proven to be leaders in the SBC in leading their churches to give 10% or more to the CP. (And they still support other mission endeavors at the same time.) I just happen to believe that if we are going to appoint a task force to study and see how we can better utilize CP dollars in fulfilling the Great Commission, then that same task force should be chaired by a CP champion!

This post has gone on long enough. I will be praying for Dr. Floyd as he leads the GCR Task Force. In my next post, I will write about some other things that are beginning to bother me with the GCR Task Force.

In Christ,

Joe