As church messengers pack their bags for Orlando, the 2010 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention promises to be one of the most watched – and perhaps historic – denominational gatherings in decades.
At center stage June 15, on the first day of the meeting, will be the report of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force (GCRTF). If adopted by messengers, Southern Baptists can expect to see sweeping changes in their denominational structure in a move designed to channel more of the SBC’s shrinking Cooperative Program resources toward international missions.
Southern Baptists will also choose a new president from among four men who will be nominated for the seat to be vacated by Georgia pastor Johnny Hunt, who is completing his second and final one-year term as SBC president.
(The Baptist Courier will be in Orlando and will be posting news as it happens at BaptistCourier.com. For a detailed schedule of events related to the SBC annual meeting, visit BPnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=32824. Look for a full wrap-up in our next issue.)
For weeks, national and state SBC leaders, as well as pastors and rank-and-file Baptists, have been weighing in on the GCRTF report with opinion pieces in state Baptist newspapers (including this one – see a compilation of Palmetto State viewpoints at BaptistCourier.com/4210.article) and on internet blogs.
Two issues have emerged as the most-debated: the proposed creation of a new category of “Great Commission Giving” that some say will undermine the effectiveness of the Cooperative Program, and a proposal to do away with revenue-sharing agreements between the North American Mission Board and state conventions, which opponents claim will hurt church-planting efforts in some states.
GCR proponents say the proposed changes are needed to reduce denominational bureaucracy and to refocus Southern Baptists on their core mission to faithfully practice the Great Commission.
As the annual meeting approaches, GCRTF chairman Ronnie Floyd has called on Southern Baptists to enter into a “serious time of prayer.”
“Let us pray that messengers to our convention will be guided by the Holy Spirit, united with a common commitment to Christ and energized by excitement for the Great Commission,” Floyd said in a June 1 press statement. “May the nations of the world be on our hearts, and may the commitment of future generations be on our minds as we meet in Orlando.”
Floyd released a seven-point prayer guide for the annual meeting and announced the task force wants the report’s seven recommendations voted on as a unit.
The task force “believes that our seven recommendations form a unified vision that will chart our future together. Therefore, it is our desire to see the recommendations discussed and acted upon together, not separately,” Floyd said in the statement. “However, this will ultimately be determined by the messengers of the convention. We will wholeheartedly support their decision.
“We expect an energetic discussion of our report on the floor of the Southern Baptist Convention, but we also hope for a bold embrace of our report,” Floyd added. “Our greatest hope is to see Southern Baptists leave Orlando with a bolder commitment, a greater excitement, and a clearer vision for Great Commission faithfulness.”
– With reporting from Baptist Press.