Letter to the Editor: ‘New era’ awaits S.C. Baptists

A new era awaits us as South Carolina Baptists, and now is the time to prayerfully consider the direction God would have us go. I offer the following ideas to get a loving discussion going.

First, we need vision — not just rehashed ideas that worked for another convention, but someone who has walked with God and seen where God is leading this state convention.

We also need a sacrificial ministry mindset instead of a corporate culture. Having a ministry mindset doesn’t mean we do things in a shoddy manner, but it does mean we are much more careful stewards of God’s resources.

Our leaders must not lead us toward excelling at mediocrity but toward greater works of faith. We have seen how the GCR failed to provide excessive giving for missions last year. (And the year before, it only “worked” by violating our constitution and bylaws to steal the money from the first week of the 2013 fiscal year to give it to the 2012 fiscal year.) We need leaders who can clean up this mess of a complicated GCR formula and get us toward straightforward stewardship for the Great Commission.

South Carolina Baptists have not responded in droves to the 1% Cooperative Program Challenge. We need leaders who will inspire us to respond to a call for every SCBC church to faithfully give 10 percent of undesignated offerings to the CP and pass on 50 percent of the state CP to the SBC. This was the spirit and letter of the cooperation agreed to in 1925.

Let’s not disappoint coming generations in our state because we failed to take advantage of the opportunities for the right leadership in this new era. May we have a passion for the work of the kingdom and see the lost won to Christ, the church growing in holiness and love, and our Savior glorified.

Patrick V. Dye
Columbia