In June of 2010, the Southern Baptist Convention approved the report of a task force to set in motion a Great Commission Resurgence to more effectively carry out the mandate given by Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20.
KirklandIn so doing, it called on the network of state and regional conventions to take their own initiatives in support of the resurgence, with a primary emphasis on channeling more Cooperative Program dollars to the International Mission Board.
Leaders in the resurgence at the SBC and local convention levels would like to see Cooperative Program funds split 50-50 between the national and state conventions. Some conventions are trying to comply, while others point to the needs of state ministries as a reason to keep their contribution levels below an even divide of CP money.
South Carolina Baptists now have in their hands the response of a select task force given the assignment of determining the extent of the SCBC’s involvement in the resurgence and what it would take to make that happen. The full text of the task force’s efforts is displayed on pages 2 and 3 of this edition of the Courier.
The South Carolina task force, appointed at the 2010 state convention, gave much time and attention to the difficult job of devising a plan that could accomplish the goals of the resurgence and gain the confidence and support of enough South Carolina Baptists to win approval at the annual meeting scheduled for Nov. 15-16 in Columbia.
The lengthy sessions were conducted in Columbia, with one – a day given primarily to prayer – at White Oak Conference Center.
Task force chairman Ralph Carter is to be commended for conducting the sessions with an even hand and a clear head, remaining faithful to the work at hand while showing courteous respect to all.
The product of the panel’s labors is an 11-point document that, if adopted and followed, would chart the course of the South Carolina Baptist Convention for the next five years and beyond.
The storied South Carolina Baptist Convention – the first of the Baptist conventions and the model for the establishment of the Southern Baptist Convention – has now reached a point in its life calling for a momentous decision.
The importance of the decision cannot be overstated. This is why South Carolina Baptists as a body need to examine the published document carefully, giving prayerful attention to each of the recommendations. It is especially important for those Baptists who attend the annual meeting in November to absorb themselves in this report and come to Columbia in a spirit of representing not just themselves, but all South Carolina Baptists – for all have a stake in the outcome of the vote at the evening session on Tuesday.
For those who do not attend the convention, their voices may still be heard – here at the Courier. We invite all of our readers to write, offering your opinions and conclusions on the GCR report. We ask that you be both concise and frank in stating your thoughts.
At the heart of the report is the proposal that South Carolina Baptists embrace a five-year goal of moving to a 50-50 division of Cooperative Program funds between the SBC and the SCBC, with the avowed purpose of strengthening the outreach arm of the International Mission Board.
The South Carolina task force knew going in that this could not be accomplished overnight. The best immediate solution, they reasoned, was a 50-50 “equivalency.” This would be achieved starting with the 2012 budget, sending to the IMB the same number of CP dollars as if a true 50-50 split were in place.
It was clear at that point that the weight of this goal’s success would fall on the South Carolina Baptist Convention itself, including all of its ministry partners (institutions).
The leaders of the ministry partners – Anderson, Charleston Southern, and North Greenville universities; Connie Maxwell Children’s Home; Ministries for the Aging; The Baptist Courier; The Baptist Foundation – served on the task force. Each of us has agreed to the budget cuts spelled out in the document. Early on, long before the report was put in its final form, the leaders of the ministry partners, to a man, expressed a willingness to make the necessary financial sacrifice for the cause of the Great Commission Resurgence.
Chairman Carter has referred to the report as “a beginning,” accomplishing an immediate goal – that of more money for the IMB – while laying the foundation for further faithfulness to, and support of, the Great Commission Resurgence. And while knowing what the report can do, he is well aware of what it will not do. “I doubt there will be a single South Carolina Baptist who will be completely satisfied with our report. For some, it goes too far in one direction, and for others, not far enough.”
The chairman is certainly correct is calling the report “a beginning.” And it is not surprising, and should be expected, that South Carolina Baptists who are devoted to and supportive of their denomination want to know where this first step might lead and its impact on the overall mission of the SCBC. It also is true that we sometimes, and perhaps too often, want to see much further than faith will allow.
We have this thing in our hands called the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force report. It is a workable plan. It would accomplish aims of the Great Commission Resurgence. The presidents of the institutions whose budgets would be cut have agreed to it. The decision now rests with South Carolina Baptists. So, handle this report carefully and prayerfully. Plan to attend the November convention and vote. Too much is at stake for you not to.