Buried among the Baptist Press headlines last night, was a hint of trouble on the horizon for the Southern Baptist Convention.
No, it wasn’t some blogger mocking a famous preacher. No, it wasn’t a scuffle over missions policy or female preachers. The trouble was much closer to the heart of the SBC.
Cooperative Program receipts for the year were down .65 percent and combined giving for the year was down .87 percent . . . This is the first time in 15 years that both Cooperative Program and combined giving have not surpassed the previous year.
You can read more on Baptist Press, but I want to start a conversation about why this is happening and how the SBC will respond.
Why Is The Cooperative Program Down?
The drop 15 years ago is widely attributed to the loss of money from more moderate congregations. This year’s soft giving is attributed to the economy. That should be a no-brainer, and I think everyone can agree with Dr. Morris Chapman’s statements:
“I think it reflects the impact of the recent economic crunch that has hurt so many American families. But it is remarkable that, given the severe economic strain the country has experienced, gifts to national efforts through the Cooperative Program still topped the $200-million mark for the third year in a row and overall giving to national causes surpassed the $400-million benchmark for a second straight year.”
But is there something more organic happening here than just the economy? Here are some other factors that we should not miss.
- What about the harsh demographic trends and the graying of the SBC?
- What about the cultural move away from Southern Baptist style religion?
- What about all those shrinking churches that Dr. Frank Page said will close their doors by 2030?
- What about churches doing missions outside the Cooperative Program?
You can sort these issues out in the comment section, but I think there is a convergence of threats that will put the CP on the defensive for many years to come. The economy is certainly a factor, but there may be more mischief at work.
How Will The Executive Committee Respond
I appreciate the mild wording of this initial news release. This is a small drop, and possibly much better than denomination insiders were expecting. However, as the factors listed above continue to pressure the program, you should expect a more forceful response. Here are some steps I expect we’ll be seeing over the next few years:
- A new push for loyalty to the Cooperative Program
- Renewed calls for state conventions to pass on a higher percentage of their CP receipts
- More urgency surrounding our special offerings (i.e. Lottie & Annie)
- More aggressive fund raising by all denominational entities, especially Seminaries
- We will be forced to admit the diminished ability of the IMB to advance the Gospel due to funding constraints
What Do You Think?
Obviously, this is a conversation that is just getting started. But I would like to hear your feedback. Leave a comment below to join the conversation.
What Other SBC Voices Are Saying
- Moving Forward (CP allocation post) from SBC Today
- Cooperative Program Allocation from Tom Ascol
- I Support The Cooperative Program from Bart Barber
- You Make The Call (CP issues post) from SBC Impact
- Morris Chapman’s Website – no recent updates, but he might in the future
- Official Cooperative Program Website
- Wikipedia entry for Southern Baptist Convention
For a long time we have been loyal to the CP for its efficiency. We hear the stories about before the CP when agents from each board canvased the country begging churches for funds. Now, I grew up outside of Murray, Kentucky where there is a historical marker about the CP, and I certainly agree that it is efficient. But is efficient and effective the same thing? For all its good here is one major negative of the CP: It separates the local church from missions. I can put my money in the plate knowing that 10% is going to… Read more »
As a military family that has moved around several times and been in at least 6 different churches in the past 16 years, one of the problems I’ve seen is the “seeming need” for all things bigger and better — programs, buildings, outreach, entertainment, and so forth. Goals for “other offerings” on top of normal tithes (which I believe are down as well, if I’ve heard correct?) are kept at a lower base because many churches feel they are already asking too much of their members for other things. Our church home in Yuma, Arizona was NOT like this though… Read more »
Joshua, I respectfully disagree with you as it seems you are saying that you think your church can’t do both. You CAN do both, and should. The CP has the capability of more far reaching efforts than any individual church by itself ever could and we NEED that capability! However, an individual church should still support and uplift its own set of missionaries, mainly because of the very reason you give — mission work IS the business of the local church. Having your own set of missionaries to support will grow your church in its prayer life, its capacity for… Read more »
@Sallie Anderson: I think you bring up a good point. On the local church level our budgets are usually structured to send a certain % of general offering on to the Cooperative Program. But special offerings usually work around that CP allocation.
Another aspect is building debts. I don’t know the figure, but I would guess that more churches hold mortgages and building debts now than in previous generations.
Sallie, I certainly wouldn’t argue with you about doing both, but the question I guess should be “Is the CP a viable tool for the future of the SBC?” My church could support through prayer and finances a missionary couple directly through a number of organizations like PIONEERS for example, but will the CP (as it is) ever be able to produce the same kind of commitment for IMB missionaries or NAMB church planters? I think you will have to go against the grain to achieve that. We can’t just keep saying that everything is perfect and pretending like the… Read more »
You are completely right that it was a man made tool and as such is flawed from the beginning 🙂 It just felt like you were saying you couldn’t do both and/or it wasn’t viable. I think you can and that it is 🙂
God bless,
Sallie
Sallies last blog post..What My Weekend Looks Like…
Sirs: The shrinkage in giving is the result of two factors. One, it is the result of the exporting of jobs overseas and the fact that workers are not needed any more. Seventeen yrs. ago, I wrote a response to a request by a vocational director of a county school system concerning information she supplied about automation, computerization, and robotics. E.g., a Burger King in New York employed 400 people and was a 24/7 operation. They automated, and employed a young man from Germany to run the Laser Cooker at $90/hr and his assistant, a young Japanese female $60/hr. The… Read more »
* A new push for loyalty to the Cooperative Program * Renewed calls for state conventions to pass on a higher percentage of their CP receipts * More urgency surrounding our special offerings (i.e. Lottie & Annie) * More aggressive fund raising by all denominational entities, especially Seminaries * We will be forced to admit the diminished ability of the IMB to advance the Gospel due to funding constraints (Let me identify one of my interests in this — I am a missionary, sent out by SBC churches through the IMB, currently serving in a temporary position in the Richmond… Read more »
@Bob Allen: Thanks for your response, a comment from your perspective is very appreciated. One assumption of my post, which I did not make plain, is this: Local church budgets will come under pressure going forward, so their giving will likely shrink. Since my church gives a percent of total budget, if my total church budget drops, then CP giving will fall. This is the structure of many (if not most) churches. It’s build into our budget process. So, when small churches fail, as Frank Page suggests half of them will, that money is gone. Even in churches that are… Read more »
Tony, I am sure that the biggest reason for the shortfall in CP giving is due to the weak economy and the difficult financial position that many Churches are now facing. However, I must point out that there will be a financial impact to the CP from all those young pastors we keep hearing about that are leaving the SBC. I also must point out that the conduct of some Sate Conventions and the IMB have had a negative impact on CP giving. Due to the “Aggressive” and “Antagonistic” Anti-Calvinistic activities of the Florida Baptist Convention and the Landmark policies… Read more »
The consequences referred to in the above blog as to cutting out the CP is just what certain forces outside the SBC would like to see happen. When SBC goes down, then there will be no large protestant body in the US any more. Fragmentation and atomization, divide and conquer, the tactic is as old as warfare. Infiltration, polarization, etc., the tactic has been tried on Southern Baptists many times before. The Primitive -Missionary split, the Landmark split, the modernist-fundamentalist split, the conservtive-moderate split, all of these were aimed at blunting the Great Awakenings and the Great Missionary impulse. The… Read more »
Dr Willingham, Who can dare speak a word against such elegance and passion as found in your above post? Certainly not I… May our great God of compassion grant your prayer for the SBC! However, I must say that yours is a dangerous prayer… Why? Because, as I am sure you are aware, Great Awakenings are always preceded by a time of great examination and judgment of God’s people. “Judgment must begin at the house of God” (1Peter 4:17) Even so… I pray God hear your petition! You mentioned “divide and conquer, the tactic is as old as warfare.” Yes,… Read more »
Dear Greg: I pet 4:17 in the original actually states that “The Judgment must begin at the house of God.” There is a definite article before judgment which raises the very interesting thought that the day of judgment has already begun in the church. No wonder we suffer. When you pray for a Great Awakening – and I have been praying for one for 35 years (not that I think much of my prayers – ugh!). One fellow I know has been praying for one over 50 years. All we do is suffer, suffer, suffer, and suffer some more. God’s… Read more »