I believe most of us can agree that our denomination needs to be reinvigorated and that we as Baptists should have a renewed passion for saving the lost. I commend those who have worked long and hard on the GCR Task Force and can see merit in some of the ideas expressed in the proposal concerning how we might reshape our future ministry efforts.
Unfortunately, however, the report seems to be pointing out many concerns with some remedies, but there are, in my opinion, too many unknowns about the consequences to vote to accept this proposal one month after it is presented.
I believe if the report is tabled and studied thoroughly for a year by all Baptists and not just the committee members, a better, more informed vote can then be rendered.
Ben DavisIn talking with my colleagues, fellow CEOs of South Carolina Baptist ministries, the three primary areas of concern we have are the following: This proposal will surely deemphasize the value of the Cooperative Program for a new Great Commission Giving concept which could be the beginning of societal, personal-choice giving rather than to proven Baptist causes; it will end the cooperative partnership with the North American Mission Board and the state conventions, which will cause an even greater financial burden on the states to accomplish this necessary missions work; and it pressures state conventions to give a higher percentage of money to the Southern Baptist Convention at the same time that state ministries are suffering financially.
The report also recommends to the state conventions methods and actions that should be followed in how the state colleges, children’s homes and other ministries should be operated.
These ideas may be good policies, but they should be determined by the states as they decide, since the funds to help operate these ministries come from state churches and from the state conventions. There are no funds given to the state ministries by the Southern Baptist Convention, and, therefore, they should not dictate policy to these agencies.
Many people today are very concerned about the direction of our federal government as it gets larger and larger and more involved in those issues that should be decided by the states and local communities. We should be just as concerned if our national convention gets larger by requesting more funds from the states while attempting to change policies and direct actions that should be left to the state conventions to decide.
That’s why we need more time to review this proposal, ask questions and determine outcomes before such wide-sweeping actions are taken. Let’s renew our passion to serve Christ in “Jerusalem and Judea,” as well as in Samaria and the other parts of the world. Let’s emphasize the need to support and promote the importance of the Cooperative Program and work to increase the size of the pie rather than cutting the smaller one into more parts. Let’s study and pray about this report until we are sure what we can expect rather than automatically accept something so large and complex with so many changes. Let’s thank those who have worked diligently on this proposal and now review for at least the next year what it truly means.
– Davis is president of Connie Maxwell Children’s Home, a South Carolina Baptist Convention-affiliated institution. His comments were formally endorsed May 6 by the Connie Maxwell board of trustees.