I stated last week that I would refrain from writing about the SBC until I had “something halfway original” to say. Rather than repeat what others have said, let me draw your attention to these posts on Cooperative Program giving:
Marty, as usual, posted his ideas early (February) and thoughtfully. A more recent comment is here.
Anthony Jordan (part of the task force that is calling for SBC leadership to come from churches that give at least 10% to the CP) believes 10%, while not a magic number, is a historical number.
Wes has three posts on the subject: Information and Education, Riddle Me This, Batman!, and Definitions.
Tim has this post, noteworthy for one sentence “Honesty requires me to admit that my own church’s giving to CP is abysmal, but I have little real influence over our church’s finances.”
Here are my questions:
1) How typical is Tim when he notes he has “little control” over his own church’s giving to the Cooperative Program? Most of the blogs I read are written by pastors; frankly, I think most of us overestimate our influence on our congregations. (Tim: I appreciate the honesty.) I’m not concerned about Dr. Floyd, I’m interested in the average or typical SBC church.
2) Isn’t leadership a dynamic between leader and follower? Even if church members don’t have a direct say in the church budget, they still “vote” with their checkbooks. When the executive committee calls for leadership to come from pastors of churches who give at least 10%, are they saying we want men who are committed to the CP? Or, might the inadvertent effect be to find men who are lucky enough to be in churches with traditional giving patterns? What about the church member who personally gives sacrificially but is a member of a church that gives less than 10%? Are we saying he/she should change churches if he wants to serve on one of our boards?
3) Is the call from the Executive Committee a legitimate call to be good stewards of our SBC heritage? Or, is it an attempt to “work harder” rather than fixing a broken system?
4) When churches give directly to SBC causes, who/what is not receiving income they would have otherwise received?
5) Is it the future of missions that are on the line? Or, the future of state conventions that is on shaky ground?
I still believe the leader of an organization should be committed to the organization in every aspect. I’m just no longer questioning if Ronnie Floyd should be the next SBC president. I’m looking at FBC Springdale and wondering why he would want the presidency.
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