As I read the May 13 edition of The Baptist Courier, I was disturbed to see so many opposition pieces to the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force’s recommendations. Much of the controversy seems to center around the Cooperative Program. As a lifelong Southern Baptist, I know that one of the ties that binds our convention together is our CP. Even so, should our concerns about the future of the CP be our major concern when we consider the GCRTF report?

In my mind, the question of the Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) does not concern the effectiveness of the CP, but rather our theological and missiological commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our passion for these biblical principles that gives direction and energy to what we do as believers. The GRCTF calls our convention of churches to define what our Southern Baptist passion is. I want to suggest to you two possible passions from which we must choose between at our meeting this June.

(1) Cooperation: I have seen on the floor of convention halls the call to elect a candidate due to their commitment to cooperation as expressed in their giving to the CP. People who have such passion express a sincere and heartfelt commitment that we can do more for the gospel together than apart. We can be thankful for this spirit of unity and devotion to cooperative work that achieves myriad Christian causes. If this is the passion of our convention, then we cannot entertain thoughts that would reduce cooperative work; rather, we should seek to continue the growth of all cooperative Christian efforts. Further, those who will not devote their resources to cooperative work through the CP should not be accepted as members in good fellowship. To this group, the GCR is a threat to cooperative works, which may be good Christian causes, but not Great Commission causes.

(2) Commission: For those who support the GCR, their passion is the burning call to be on mission for Christ at home and all over the world. The test of faithfulness for those in this group must be commitment to a gospel theology and a gospel mission to reach the lost – not to how we fund that mission. People who share this passion celebrate any advance of the gospel into the lost and dying world, calling for further sacrifice and commitment from the saved to reach the lost. For one who holds this view, the CP is the primary – but not the only – Southern Baptist means to accomplish the Great Commission. If this is the passion of our convention, we should expect that missionary efforts to locations and situations of lostness will receive primary attention in regard to cooperation, while other cooperative efforts will be secondary at best. To this group, the recommendations of the GCRTF may not go far enough to address the call to Great Commission faithfulness, but it is a good start.

So which of these passions describes you? Which of these passions best describes a convention that experienced a Conservative Resurgence to return to the authority and sufficiency of the Bible? Most importantly, which of these passions would most glorify our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Let me remind you of a passage in Matthew 15:1-20, where Jesus is questioned about the tradition of washing hands before eating. This tradition seems good and reasonable, as it reminded the Pharisees about their need for purity. For too long, however, the Pharisees had practiced this tradition while forgetting its true purpose. Jesus answers the Pharisees by pointing out the hypocrisy of honoring good traditions over the commands of God. Have we as Southern Baptists practiced a denominational tradition so long that we have forgotten its true purpose: funding the Great Commission? Have we as Southern Baptists established a passion for one method of cooperation, thereby allowing it to take priority over the call to fulfill the Great Commission?

This passage concludes with Jesus giving an explanation of his response to the Pharisees. The clear implication of Jesus’ response in 15:18-20 is that a depraved heart defiles us – not the traditions, methods or passions we pursue. Either of the passions above can be defiled by impure motivations of pride and personal gain. In the same manner, either of these passions can be blessed if we selflessly and purposefully seek God’s revealed will. Our cooperation must be driven by a passion for the Commission, just as the Commission can only be realized when many churches cooperate to see it fulfilled.

Whether we oppose or support the GCRTF’s report, let our decision be based on theological and missional concerns toward fulfilling together God’s clear biblical call to the Great Commission. Jesus gave the Acts 1:8 statement of the Great Commission to the Christians making up the church at Jerusalem – not the association at Judea, or the state convention at Judea-Samaria, or the national convention at the ends of the earth. Let us not be guilty of making convention decisions solely on good financial or pragmatic reasoning, with little regard to Christ’s gospel call to the local church. It is my prayer that the messengers from our churches will be rightly passionate about the Great Commission of the Savior over the good traditions of men when they vote on the GCRTF’s recommendations in Orlando.

– Owensby is pastor of Enoree First Baptist Church.