What is cooperation? My online dictionary says cooperation means: “1: the action of cooperating; common effort. 2: association of persons for common benefit.”
It’s kinda like my granddaughters’ cheerleading dance presentations. Each girl has her own personality. Each has her own height, weight, and abilty to perform the cheer in a fluid motion of unity. They cooperate in making this occur with a common effort to achieve one voice to benefit the whole. If one girl decides she’d rather dance to a different song and when the music begins, she dances to a song in her own head, she is not a cooperating member of the team. She may continue to dance with the rest of the team, but it is clear to all who watch the performance, that she is not cooperating.
Whenever a member of any team sticks out like that girl, can that member be considered cooperating? Some folks think cooperation is disagreeing agreeably. Some folks think cooperation is saying you are a member of a team while doing something different than the team. Some folks think cooperation means being polite while doing the opposite of what a team has decided upon. Others think its appropriate to talk ill of the team while remaining on the team–that is still cooperating. Is it?
Jesus had a team. He had twelve. One decided he didn’t like the direction of the leader of team. Can you imagine, actually going against the leader of the team? Sounds a bit like Terrell Owens. Now where did that take him? No matter how valuable a person’s talents, abilities and opinions are, if that person is not actively cooperating in a common effort for the common good, can that person be considered cooperative? If any member of the team persistently and methodically does all he/she can to undermine the team’s efforts, to divide the loyalties of the team, are they truly cooperative?
One of my favorite things about being a Southern Baptist is the cooperation amongst the churches within our convention. I love the fact that through the gifts of many, many are served, reached, ministered unto and blessed because of the money we each give to God each week. I love that we work together as laborers in the kingdom in our associations and our states for the common good of reaching the lost. I love that we set aside times for special prayer and offerings for world missions, North American missions, state missions, world hunger relief, and children’s homes. I love the fact that many in the evangelical community at large see our cooperation as a positive thing–something they wish they could achieve in their own faiths. (Perhaps they will some day…I pray to that end). This cooperative effort is worthy of report, but not of prideful boasting. In fact, it should humble us to realize how very blessed we are as a body of Believers. But then, I suppose there are those who would disagree with me.
Oh I hear it now, “Cooperating! Like the cooperation Wade Burleson, McKissic, etc.. all got. Is that what you call cooperation?”
Yawn…
Great post.
Matt Svobodas last blog post..John Piper on a girl wrestling boys in High School
Matt, you are becoming predictable.
Hey, I’ve heard that if you drink a couple of glasses of cool water, it will take care of that “yawn” you have. Caused by lack of oxygen, they say. 🙂
Blow my mind. How is my post “great”? selahV
selahVs last blog post..BENEFICIAL BLOGGERS…who are they?
Hey Matt, how do you get that sweet photo of you next to your comment? selahV
selahVs last blog post..BENEFICIAL BLOGGERS…who are they?
I certainly have no problems cooperating with other Christians–even with ones who disagree with me. My level of cooperation would vary base on the kind of disagreement. I’m an old 5 pointer but I have no problems working with an Arminian in evangelism or missions. For that matter, I’d have no problems fellowshipping with them. There are other doctrinal differences I would consider minor (Premil/Amil for example). For me, and I may be oversimplfying here, there are three “lines” over which I will not cross to cooperate:
1-Biblical inerrancy (a la the Chicago Statement).
2-Complimentarianism
3-Cessasionism (Hope I spelled that right)
4-Sexual morality being one man/one woman within the bonds of holy matrimony.
That’s pretty much where I am.
Joe Blackmons last blog post..Joel Osteen–Words of Encouragement
Joe,
Which three of those four lines would you not cross? Must be some slippery liberal double talk you got going on there. (j/k)
Seriously though, why would you choose not to cooperate with people who differ from you on cessationalism? You would be more willing to cooperate with a person who baptizes their babies for inclusion in the covenant blessings than someone who thinks that it is possible for people to still receive the gift of tongues? I know you wrote that quickly and so probably missed a few things you actually do consider important, but I for the life of me don’t find a case in Scripture that is strong enough in favor of cessationalism that I would use differing on that as a hindrance to fellowship. I just don’t understand why us Baptists get so bent out of shape over that issue.
Todd Buruss last blog post..Confronted by Glory- What Isaiah 6 Teaches Us About the Process of Salvation
Todd
Yeah, 34. Math was never my strong suit.
I would agree that sprinkling babies is also something that would constitute a line that I would not cross. As far as cessasionism, without threadjacking here I’ll just say that based on my study of the Bible and church history I believe that the sign gifts were intended to authenticate the message of those apostles and their associates who preached the gospel until the New Testament was completed. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it, yo.
Joe Blackmons last blog post..II Peter 1:16c-19a Is Seeing Really Believing?
Yes, I am a cooperating Baptist. I like the idea that we join together for specific purposes such as missions and training. It’s a cliche but has much truth, we really do better together than we can do separately.
It’s also a matter of perspective. Coming from a group that prided itself on being independent – actually it was more like contrariness – the SBC feels like a haven of cooperative and biblical spirit.
Tom Bryants last blog post..Monday!
I was a cooperating Southern Baptist, when the Moerates were in control. They had a little more sophistication than many of the Conservatives of today, albeit they were very effective in dissing opponents….and not all of them were like that. Meanness seems to have no theological barriers and limits. The Pharisees were Bible believers just like the followers of our Lord. That did not keep them from totally misunderstanding Scripture and crucifying the Lord of glory. In any case, My ancestors have been a part of the Baptist scene in America practically from the get-go. I don’t propose to go any where else until I am kicked out or the Lord clearly says go. Too many stand to benefit from busting up Southern Baptists, and I am not referring to those who lead in such a split (they will lose big time). all of Protestantism will lose and so will Roman Catholicism. Atheism and agnosticism are riding a wave (from the let down after the triumph over Communism). and elements in those camps (not all, however) will go for the jugular, not realizing the stupid weakness of their own case. The result will be a Hell here that will make the Gulag look like a Sunday School picnic. However, I pray for and expect far better things from the Sovereign God whom we worship….In fact, I intend nothing short of winning every last soul on the face of the earth to the Lord Jesus Christ by the most winsome means of all (as the lady said in answer to a Spurgeon’s question about why she responded so readily to his soul winning effort: “Oh, it was so wonderful that I could not resist it.”), the Good News with all that it entails. I am not on an ego trip as though I think this thing possible for myself (that’s a lot of baloney). The truth is that the winning of the whole earth to Christ is going to take every one of us doing our utmost and suffering perhaps unimaginably in the process. We must embrace such approach as our LOGICAL SERVICE (my transliteration of Romans 12:1), reasonable or rational could be just as easily translated and transliterated logical as the word is thus in the Greek. The incentive for this lies the Sovereign Goodness of God whom we worship. We must be animated as were the Moravians, when the began their great effort early in the 1700s. Like them, we must be willing to use any and every one that sets forth with us on this adventure. The Moravians had Calvinists, Anabaptists, and Pre-Reformation in their circles. Then they began that 100 year prayer meeting with people selling themselves into slavery in order to reach people with the Gospel. We must do like the Baptists who squabbled over every thing, and love to argue over the Bible even when they were in basic agreement, and yet went on to be a part of the First and Second Great Awakenings and the launching of the Great Century of Missions while establishing religious liberty so that every one could get in on the argument (every see a bunch of children having a fuss?). And then there are the Methodists, George Whitefield and John Wesley, who were at loggerheads and yet managed to get it together (see Wesley’s letter in his journal about some were perhaps chosen and even reached a state from which they would never fall.). Then consider the Puritan Edwards and his correction of Whiefield for being too down on the unconverted ministers during the ride from Edwards’ church to Whitefield’s next appointment. Then there is that dear African woman who during the Reconciliation Commission’s hearings on the crimes of Apartheid said, when she heard about how her innocnent son was murdered, at the thought of forgiving the policeman who had done the deed under the delusion of thinking he was dealing with a terrorist, “It is impossible.” Bless her heart. It is impossible. That’s what we need God for in terrible trials such as these which seem to destroy the human soul. How well, I remember collapsing on the couch beside the telephone on Oct. 30, 1972, when my brother-in-law called to tell me all of my family (mother, two half-sisters, and step-father were dead). That was on a bright sunshiny morning in North Carolina. Within an hour I would learn from a cousin more grusome details. During that awful week and the travel to St. Louis, Mo., and back, there would be such a sense of some one stand ing at my shoulder that I would actually turn to see who was there and would feel befuddled at seeing no one there. How many people were praying for our family I do not know (it must have been in the thousands as I was a student at Southeastern Seminary and my brother-in-law was on the staff of a church in Oklahoma). That there is such a presence that attends to sufferers in such situations is a reality that I can attest in my own case. That the Bible speaks to such miseries and sufferings, I do believe. I wrote a statement two hours before the funeral of our family in which I cited Joseph’s experience in the OT and our Lord’s death on the cross in the NT as proof positive o good being involved in such tragedies. Cooperating, working together, even when we disagree, is a matter that, I believe, redounds to the glory of God. The saints in the Gulag Archipelgo were clearly delineated for us by Solznytsin (sp?) in his One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich. There we see a Russian Orthodox and a Baptist in neighboring bunks seeking to cope with their sufferings the best they can. The lemons we are meeting in our day in disagreements are an opportunity to make some of the sweetest lemonade the world has ever had. Cooperation will be a key element in that success. We can’t afford to neglect it over differences while in our fallen situation, can we? And I do not mean disrespect of differences. They are a necessary part of the process in making lemonade, the lemonade of joy, that is.
Dr. James Willinghams last blog post..The Climax of the Reformation
I was a cooperating Southern Baptist, when the Moderates were in control. They had a little more sophistication than many of the Conservatives of today, albeit they were very effective in dissing opponents….and not all of them were like that. Meanness seems to have no theological barriers and limits. The Pharisees were Bible believers just like the followers of our Lord. That did not keep them from totally misunderstanding Scripture and crucifying the Lord of glory. In any case, My ancestors have been a part of the Baptist scene in America practically from the get-go. I don’t propose to go any where else until I am kicked out or the Lord clearly says go. Too many stand to benefit from busting up Southern Baptists, and I am not referring to those who lead in such a split (they will lose big time). all of Protestantism will lose and so will Roman Catholicism. Atheism and agnosticism are riding a wave (from the let down after the triumph over Communism). and elements in those camps (not all, however) will go for the jugular, not realizing the stupid weakness of their own case. The result will be a Hell here that will make the Gulag look like a Sunday School picnic. However, I pray for and expect far better things from the Sovereign God whom we worship….In fact, I intend nothing short of winning every last soul on the face of the earth to the Lord Jesus Christ by the most winsome means of all (as the lady said in answer to a Spurgeon’s question about why she responded so readily to his soul winning effort: “Oh, it was so wonderful that I could not resist it.”), the Good News with all that it entails. I am not on an ego trip as though I think this thing possible for myself (that’s a lot of baloney). The truth is that the winning of the whole earth to Christ is going to take every one of us doing our utmost and suffering perhaps unimaginably in the process. We must embrace such approach as our LOGICAL SERVICE (my transliteration of Romans 12:1), reasonable or rational could be just as easily translated and transliterated logical as the word is thus in the Greek. The incentive for this lies in the Sovereign Goodness of God whom we worship. We must be animated as were the Moravians, when the began their great effort early in the 1700s. Like them, we must be willing to use any and every one that sets forth with us on this adventure. The Moravians had Calvinists, Anabaptists, and Pre-Reformation in their circles. Then they began that 100 year prayer meeting with people selling themselves into slavery in order to reach people with the Gospel. We must do like the Baptists who squabbled over every thing, and love to argue over the Bible even when they were in basic agreement, and yet went on to be a part of the First and Second Great Awakenings and the launching of the Great Century of Missions while establishing religious liberty so that every one could get in on the argument (every see a bunch of children having a fuss?). And then there are the Methodists, George Whitefield and John Wesley, who were at loggerheads and yet managed to get it together (see Wesley’s letter in his journal about some were perhaps chosen and even reached a state from which they would never fall.). Then consider the Puritan Edwards and his correction of Whiefield for being too down on the unconverted ministers during the ride from Edwards’ church to Whitefield’s next appointment. Then there is that dear African woman who during the Reconciliation Commission’s hearings on the crimes of Apartheid said, when she heard about how her innocnent son was murdered, at the thought of forgiving the policeman who had done the deed under the delusion of thinking he was dealing with a terrorist, “It is impossible.” Bless her heart. It is impossible. That’s what we need God for in terrible trials such as these which seem to destroy the human soul. How well, I remember collapsing on the couch beside the telephone on Oct. 30, 1972, when my brother-in-law called to tell me all of my family (mother, two half-sisters, and step-father were dead). That was on a bright sunshiny morning in North Carolina. Within an hour I would learn from a cousin more grusome details. During that awful week and the travel to St. Louis, Mo., and back, there would be such a sense of some one standing at my shoulder that I would actually turn to see who was there and would feel befuddled at seeing no one there. How many people were praying for our family I do not know (it must have been in the thousands as I was a student at Southeastern Seminary and my brother-in-law was on the staff of a church in Oklahoma). That there is such a presence that attends to sufferers in such situations is a reality that I can attest in my own case. That the Bible speaks to such miseries and sufferings, I do believe. I wrote a statement two hours before the funeral of our family in which I cited Joseph’s experience in the OT and our Lord’s death on the cross in the NT as proof positive of good being involved in such tragedies. Cooperating, working together, even when we disagree, is a matter that, I believe, redounds to the glory of God. The saints in the Gulag Archipelgo were clearly delineated for us by Solznytsin (sp?) in his One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich. There we see a Russian Orthodox and a Baptist in neighboring bunks seeking to cope with their sufferings the best they can. The lemons we are meeting in our day in disagreements are an opportunity to make some of the sweetest lemonade the world has ever had. Cooperation will be a key element in that success. We can’t afford to neglect it over differences while in our fallen situation, can we? And I do not mean disrespect of differences. They are a necessary part of the process in making lemonade, the lemonade of joy, that is.
Dr. James Willinghams last blog post..The Climax of the Reformation
I was a cooperating Southern Baptist, when the Moderates were in control. They had a little more sophistication than many of the Conservatives of today, albeit they were very effective in dissing opponents….and not all of them were like that. Meanness seems to have no theological barriers and limits. The Pharisees were Bible believers just like the followers of our Lord. That did not keep them from totally misunderstanding Scripture and crucifying the Lord of glory. In any case, My ancestors have been a part of the Baptist scene in America practically from the get-go. I don’t propose to go any where else until I am kicked out or the Lord clearly says go. Too many stand to benefit from busting up Southern Baptists, and I am not referring to those who lead in such a split (they will lose big time). all of Protestantism will lose and so will Roman Catholicism. Atheism and agnosticism are riding a wave (from the let down after the triumph over Communism). and elements in those camps (not all, however) will go for the jugular, not realizing the stupid weakness of their own case. The result will be a Hell here that will make the Gulag look like a Sunday School picnic. However, I pray for and expect far better things from the Sovereign God whom we worship….In fact, I intend nothing short of winning every last soul on the face of the earth to the Lord Jesus Christ by the most winsome means of all (as the lady said in answer to a Spurgeon’s question about why she responded so readily to his soul winning effort: “Oh, it was so wonderful that I could not resist it.”), the Good News with all that it entails. I am not on an ego trip as though I think this thing possible for myself (that’s a lot of baloney). The truth is that the winning of the whole earth to Christ is going to take every one of us doing our utmost and suffering perhaps unimaginably in the process. We must embrace such approach as our LOGICAL SERVICE (my transliteration of Romans 12:1), reasonable or rational could be just as easily translated and transliterated logical as the word is thus in the Greek. The incentive for this lies in the Sovereign Goodness of God whom we worship. We must be animated as were the Moravians, when the began their great effort early in the 1700s. Like them, we must be willing to use any and every one that sets forth with us on this adventure. The Moravians had Calvinists, Anabaptists, and Pre-Reformation in their circles. Then they began that 100 year prayer meeting with people selling themselves into slavery in order to reach people with the Gospel. We must do like the Baptists who squabbled over every thing, and love to argue over the Bible even when they were in basic agreement, and yet went on to be a part of the First and Second Great Awakenings and the launching of the Great Century of Missions while establishing religious liberty so that every one could get in on the argument (every see a bunch of children having a fuss?). And then there are the Methodists, George Whitefield and John Wesley, who were at loggerheads and yet managed to get it together (see Wesley’s letter in his journal about some were perhaps chosen and even reached a state from which they would never fall.). Then consider the Puritan Edwards and his correction of Whitefield for being too down on the unconverted ministers during the ride from Edwards’ church to Whitefield’s next appointment. Then there is that dear African woman who during the Reconciliation Commission’s hearings on the crimes of Apartheid said, when she heard about how her innocent son was murdered, at the thought of forgiving the policeman who had done the deed under the delusion of thinking he was dealing with a terrorist, “It is impossible.” Bless her heart. It is impossible. That’s what we need God for in terrible trials such as these which seem to destroy the human soul. How well, I remember collapsing on the couch beside the telephone on Oct. 30, 1972, when my brother-in-law called to tell me all of my family (mother, two half-sisters, and step-father were dead). That was on a bright sunshiny morning in North Carolina. Within an hour I would learn from a cousin more grusome details. During that awful week and the travel to St. Louis, Mo., and back, there would be such a sense of some one standing at my shoulder that I would actually turn to see who was there and would feel befuddled at seeing no one there. How many people were praying for our family I do not know (it must have been in the thousands as I was a student at Southeastern Seminary and my brother-in-law was on the staff of a church in Oklahoma). That there is such a presence that attends to sufferers in such situations is a reality that I can attest in my own case. That the Bible speaks to such miseries and sufferings, I do believe. I wrote a statement two hours before the funeral of our family in which I cited Joseph’s experience in the OT and our Lord’s death on the cross in the NT as proof positive of good being involved in such tragedies. Cooperating, working together, even when we disagree, is a matter that, I believe, redounds to the glory of God. The saints in the Gulag Archipelgo were clearly delineated for us by Solznytsin (sp?) in his One Day in The Life of Ivan Denisovich. There we see a Russian Orthodox and a Baptist in neighboring bunks seeking to cope with their sufferings the best they can. The lemons we are meeting in our day in disagreements are an opportunity to make some of the sweetest lemonade the world has ever had. Cooperation will be a key element in that success. We can’t afford to neglect it over differences while in our fallen situation, can we? And I do not mean disrespect of differences. They are a necessary part of the process in making lemonade, the lemonade of joy, that is.
Dr. James Willinghams last blog post..The Climax of the Reformation
SelahV,
Honestly, I do not have a clue how I got that picture there!
Thanks for the practical yawn advice. Every time I hear the Burlesonites come out I have a terrible problem with yawning…
I thought it was a great post because we seem to very much appreciate the same things when it comes to being Southern Baptist, this post is another example!
Matt Svobodas last blog post..Some Food for Thought (and hopefully digestion)
Joe,
I can understand how you might find the cessationist position in Scripture, but do you really think that is a line worth breaking fellowship over? Requiring spiritual gifts is one thing, but to simply say that they haven’t ceased does not strike me as severe enough of a distinction to get upset about. This isn’t meant to be an attack on you, I just think that is an awfully minor point to say we should not cooperate across.
Todd Buruss last blog post..Confronted by Glory- Two Practical Questions from the Experience of Isaiah
Matt, well thanks. I’m glad I connect a bit with you, brother. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that the majority of Southern Baptist probably appreciate the same things we both do. Including some who do not see eye to eye on other issues. How can one (who is SB), not appreciate the best of our convention? selahV
SelahV — I like the cooperative mindset of our convention and the lengths it goes to work together for the most part.
On a side note, I wish that every Christian could go to a demon-oppressed country so that they could see the gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as healing, in action. Here in America, our beliefs, even for the greatest of conservatives, are too watered down to let the great faith needed to believe that God can still do these miraculous things show forth in our daily life. That is really sad to me.
Have a blessed evening!
Sallie
Sallies last blog post..Pelican Point
cooperation or compromise/ What do you mean cooperating. Baptist Churches are independent, self governing.
missions yes
Biblical Evangelism [Preaching the Doctrines of Grace] -yes
Decisional Regeneration-no
Sallie, I think I understand what you mean about witnessing the miracles in places under demon-oppression. Perhaps you have a particular country in mind?
Unfortunately, I think it’s hard enough to get folks to recognize the gifts of the Spirit at work in our own demon-oppressed country. Folks fail to see the spirit of love, forgiveness and grace being manifested in a murdered minister’s church in Maryville, MO by a demon-oppressed mentally broken assailant.
Some Christians fail to see the manifestation of the Spirit of pastors, ministers, teachers, administrators and counselors being exhibited in churches all over the country as demon-oppressed people are subtlely drawn to the lies of cultural society of “religiosity”, media madness, and self-indulgence. They fail to recognize their steadfast faith being worked out on a daily basis among the drugged, the abused, the imprisoned, the orphaned, the addicted and homeless. And when one is led away, out and released from the chains of sin, it barely is noticed other than in a set of statistics. These are real miracles too.
Perhaps we all need a long vacation in a place beyond our comfort zones to see what God is doing in the world filled with oppressive evil and dark spirits. Then maybe we’d all understand His majesty, power and glory all the more. selahV
selahVs last blog post..A BETTER LIFE FOR TODAY BUT TOMORROW? THAT’S DEBATABLE
Dr. Foltz, you asked the question I had in mind: What does one mean by “cooperation”?
If I go to work and I need to come up with a plan to improve production with a team leader who is unregenerate, am I not cooperating with him? Do we say that this is merely a “secular” endeavor or am I not to glorify God in the workplace?
I have a young brother in Christ in another denomination whose theology is underdeveloped and yet informed by much popular philosophy, even for the denomination he is in. Nevertheless, we often strive together in prayer when we meet to discuss spiritual matters. As it is, I have persuaded him in our discussions to a more faithful theology and he is growing spiritually as a result. Would this constitute “cooperation”? Should I have shunned him or refused to pray for others with him when he clearly didn’t have his theology together, and is still not as theologically sound as I am? (Indeed, I still have much to learn.) I can’t see letting him, as a believer, flounder without instruction and practice in some guided ministry, for such instructs us as well.
A Christian missionary to Muslims in discussion convinced one Muslim man of his good intentions. Although yet a Muslim, the man directed others who were interested in Christ to talk to the missionary because of his heart. Should he be told to stop lest the missionary be accused of “cooperating” with him.
We need to be clear about the difference between cooperation and inclusion in the Body of Christ for we must maintain clear boundaries to the world as we are to holy (set apart) for the glory of God lest the revelation of God through the Church (in accordance with Biblical truth and the guidance of the Holy Spirit) to the world be muddied. However, we rejoice where God is active, even in the currently unregenerate or in the “secular” world.
Jim Pembertons last blog post..For those Who Pass
Brother Jim Pemberton;
Amen my brother amen. You hit the target dead center. I too, have friends
in the ministry, who are not Baptist, and we fellowship and work together to
reach the community for Christ. We all need to agree on the main issues,
Salvation by grace, by blood and power, but let our views on eschatology take a backseat.
THERE WON’T BE ANY BAPTISTS IN HEAVEN…. Neither Presbytterians, Lutherns, Methodists, etc…. There will be only the children of God, redeemed
by Christ’s blood.
The Church today is too divided, fighting each other, instead of joining hands to carry the Gospel to the world.
What is the goal of a dance recital? If it is to demonstrate the disciplines achieved and the harmony and beauty of cooperation, then all must be in lock step. If the goal is to entertain, hey one little girl dancing to her own tune would accomplish that. What is the goal of SBC?
to Philip Kinssinger;
A praying knee and a dancing foot does not belong to the same leg.I thought Christiand were to l;ive separated lives from the world-not do the same things, undress like them, go where they go etc. Romans 12’1-2.
Metaphors aside, I looked up the definition myself:
From Houghton-Mifflin:
co·op·er·ate
intr.v.
co·op·er·at·ed , co·op·er·at·ing , co·op·er·ates
1. To work or act together toward a common end or purpose.
2. To acquiesce willingly; be compliant: asked the child to cooperate and go to bed.
3. To form an association for common, usually economic, benefit: When buyers cooperate, they can make large wholesale purchases at a discount.
For the first definition, Romans 8:28 immediately comes to mind: It is found also in Mark 16:20, 1 Corinthians 16:16, 2 Corinthians 6:1, and James 2:22 and each use of the word lends itself to some moderate theological insight regarding cooperation.
To be sure, “…for those who love God, all things work together for good…” This kind of cooperation is contingent on God’s intentions and not ours. We as believers should understand this and be moved to contrition over those times when our intentions were evil although God intentionally used our actions to serve His purposes.
cooperative endeavors such as facilitated the SBC ostensibly involve good intentions with occasional missteps. The reason is because while we are yet in this world, we are yet being sanctified. That means that we are ignorant of many things and unaware (or even somewhat aware) of sinful actions and intents that we harbor. We are far from perfect.
Nevertheless, aside from all things working together, we are encouraged to intentionally work together as broken vessels to act visibly and evangelistically in this world in the name of Christ. While the particulars of this intent may differ from person to person, this is the overarching purpose of cooperation through the SBC. As long as we strive in good faith, taking care to fulfill the admonitions of scripture, to cooperate together in the name of Christ for His purposes then God will be glorified and grow us in faith (as He did Abraham – Rom 4:20).
But we know that true cooperation may involve the breaking of formal cooperation. I know that every mission endeavor has its cycle. Did Paul stay in Ephesus once he got there? Did Paul continue with Barnabus. Rather, they split after some contention over John Mark. Did the church in Jerusalem as strong as it seemed not send out missionaries? Nevertheless, even that body of believers were forced by God to part ways for His glory.
So, the Biblical criteria for visible cooperation involves explicit godly intent, but God will work in all manner of ways to accomplish His purposes including the dissolution of even our faithful cooperative endeavors.
Jim Pembertons last blog post..For those Who Pass