GCR report: where do we go from here?

The Great Commission Resurgence Task Force progress report has strengths and weaknesses, but perhaps the biggest question is where do we (Southern Baptists) go from here?

The task force members brought insight not only regarding the lostness of the world, but what Ronnie Floyd called the “staggering” lostness of North America. According to Floyd, more than 75 percent of North America’s people are lost and 4 billion of 6.8 billion people worldwide have little to no access to the gospel. Our Great Commission assignment is to penetrate such overwhelming lostness, and the task force has served us well in reminding us of that. Floyd and the task force members care deeply about the lost world. They are right in saying, “Business as usual is not working.”

Let’s examine their six recommended components (see story page 1).

? Most will agree we must “rally toward a clear and compelling missional vision and begin to conduct ourselves with core values that will create a new and healthy culture within the Southern Baptist Convention” so we might “present the gospel of Jesus Christ to every person in the world and make disciples of all the nations.”

? The report says the North American Mission Board (NAMB) needs to be “reinvented” with a direct strategy for planting churches in North America. It calls for NAMB to decentralize operations into seven regions and recommends releasing the entity from “cooperative agreements” with state conventions over four years to free up money for national strategy.

That sounds good, and the task force is correct that much of NAMB’s resources are spent in the South, where we are strong, rather than the rest of the U.S., where we are weak. But abandoning the cooperative agreements between NAMB and state conventions would weaken relationships between the two, potentially creating competition rather than partnership. We would be better served to find new ways of working together to plant churches nationwide. And why create seven regional offices when we already have state conventions located nationwide?

? Allowing the International Mission Board (IMB) “to reach the unreached and under-served people groups without regard to any geographic limitations” seems wise if the IMB, NAMB and state conventions can partner to make it effective. Communication would be the key.

? Moving the primary responsibility for Cooperative Program (CP) promotion and stewardship education from the Executive Committee to the state conventions could have a negative impact on our Great Commission task. Arkansas Baptists do a great job of CP and stewardship education. Other states may not. Promotion at the SBC level complements what is done at other levels. To reach lostness, we need more CP promotion, not less. When the average Southern Baptist contributes only 2.56 percent of his or her income, stewardship needs strong emphasis at all levels.

? I commend the task force for strongly affirming the CP “as our central means of supporting Great Commission ministries.” However, let’s be clear, this component is simply an attempt to commend churches for their giving, whether CP or designated. Churches often designate to bypass their state conventions or because of dissatisfaction with some SBC entity. I like what an SBC leader of an earlier generation said: “As Baptists, we can do as we choose, and we choose to cooperate.”

? Raising the percentage of CP funds received by the IMB to 51 percent would be a symbolic move in the right direction. We need to reach the world. But stripping those funds (about $2 million) from the SBC Executive Committee creates trauma. This needs more thought and discussion. The real need is for individual Baptists to give more and for churches, state conventions and SBC entities to be good stewards of all resources.

Southern Baptists need to express any concerns they have to task force members. The task force needs to prayerfully consider those concerns and adapt their report. I have no doubt that messengers will adopt whatever the final report may be. But then, the SBC Executive Committee and other SBC agencies and state conventions must hammer out what will come of the proposals. It’s the Baptist way. Hopefully this process will result in positive change. But only a spiritual awakening will result in a true Great Commission Resurgence.