As a pastor, I am deeply disappointed in the direction of our South Carolina Baptist Convention. I sat through the annual meeting and was frustrated and distressed over the hypocrisy: everyone cheering, saying “amen,” clapping for missions – and yet where was missions within our state budget?
If missions is the purpose of our state convention, should it not be funded? The missions mobilization and evangelism groups went from $824,157 to $567,702. Our budget is $29.54 million, and 1.9 percent goes to the evangelism group and missions mobilization group. The whole purpose of these groups is to mobilize our churches to reach our local community, nation and world for Jesus Christ.
We are trying to do so many things and have become so complex that we have forgotten our purpose. The purpose of the state convention is that we can reach more people for Jesus together than we can alone. The very purpose of the convention is missions. I have to ask myself why we are doing 90 percent of the things we are doing, when we need to be about one thing: sharing the gospel with our local communities, South Carolina, America and the nations.
I made a motion on the convention floor to keep the missions mobilization group at the 2010 budget level. I received five or so votes for the amendment. I stood alone. There should have been a line at each microphone to fight for missions, to fight for the lostness all around us. There should have been a revolt, but there was none.
I love our institutions and believe they are essential to our convention. I love North Greenville University, and as a pastor and as a former student minister I have sent more than 30 students to attend there. I heard of meetings taking place all across the state. I heard the cries of the people on the floor of the convention, all with the purpose of protecting our institutions. This is great, but where is the same passion to penetrate lostness? Where is the passion of working together as the body of Christ – the church – to reach our communities and the nations with the gospel? Is that not the whole purpose of the missions mobilization group?
Can we not fund both our institutions and missions? Can we not come together – institutions and churches alike – and focus our energy and talents for this one thing, reaching people for Jesus? Will we have to make tough choices and let LifeWay and other agencies take over some of the things we do as a convention? Tough choices must be made for the sake of the gospel.
I encourage our convention leadership to inspire, to dream, to cast a compelling vision for our people, a vision that will ignite a great awakening in our hearts for missions. We need an Acts 1:8 strategy for our convention and for our institutions – a combined effort. We can do this together.
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