New leadership is expected, one presumes, to make staffing changes and to make adjustments to legal documents, including mission and ministry statements. Thus, Ronnie Floyd has proposed the rewriting of the SBC Executive Committee’s mission statement and ministry assignments. This will be taken up at the EC’s meeting next month {I can’t find the actual date of the meeting just now). Baptist Press reported on it yesterday: Floyd to propose SBC EC mission, ministry changes. A link is provided there to the old language.
Updating the language of the SBC Executive Committee’s ministry assignments and the explanation of them is important as we seek to better serve Southern Baptist churches,” Floyd told Baptist Press.
I suppose it’s a carryover from my time years ago when I worked for municipal government in the area of zoning and land use regulation but when told changes are just “updating,” that requires close reading and the raising of both eyebrows. Better look carefully, although I believe Floyd and the EC will be straightforward with the convention. Did someone say that we are in a time where there are suspicions, agendai, and such things? To be candid: I trust Ronnie Floyd and the EC to be open and transparent with the folks who pay the bills and I have no reason to think otherwise.
Here’s a few of the changes. The article by BP’s Diana Chandler mentions some of these.
Old wording: The Executive Committee exists to minister to the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention by acting for the Convention ad interim in all matters not otherwise provided for in a manner that encourages the cooperation and confidence of the churches, associations, and state conventions and facilitates maximum support for worldwide missions and ministries.
Proposed wording: The Executive Committee seeks to empower churches to prioritize, elevate, and accelerate the vision of reaching every person for Jesus Christ in every town, every city, every state, and every nation through collaborative partnership, cooperation, and generosity.
Some of the current language is shuffled to another place in the document. Is it significant that the EC moves from “exists to minister to the churcher” to “seeks to empower churches”? The whole context applies.
Old wording: 2. Assist churches by providing a Convention news service. Provide regular news releases about Southern Baptists; serve as the Convention’s press representative; coordinate news operations for annual meetings of the Southern Baptist Convention.
New wording: 2. Assist churches by providing a Convention news service. Provide regular news releases about Southern Baptists; tell and celebrate stories of what God is doing through Southern Baptist churches and ministries; serve as the Convention’s press representative; coordinate news operations for annual meetings of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Looks about the same to me. I’m inclined to put a moratorium on use of the word “celebrate” but that’s just my usual curmudgeonly self. I’ll be interested to see the EC put a celebratory spin on the yearly statistical report, you know, the annual weepfest.
New wording: 3. Assist churches by developing and strengthening cooperative relationships. Interpret the Southern Baptist Convention to internal and external publics; strengthen relationships with state convention, associational, and other Southern Baptist affinity groups; pursue cooperative relationships with theologically likeminded churches to fulfill our missional vision of reaching all people for Jesus Christ and making disciples of all the nations.
I assume by including “affinity groups” this covers the hiring of a number of new staff in various ethnic and affinity areas.
Old wording: 5. Assist churches through the promotion of cooperative giving. Consult with state conventions and Southern Baptist Convention entities regarding cooperative giving advancement; interpret the Cooperative Program as the basic channel of support for the ministries of the state conventions and the Southern Baptist Convention.
New wording: 5. Assist churches by promoting the Cooperative Program and celebrating other cooperative giving. In consultation with cooperating state conventions and Southern Baptist Convention entities, prioritize, elevate, and accelerate giving through the Cooperative Program as the most effective means of mobilizing Southern Baptist churches and extending our collective efforts to reach every person with the gospel and make disciples of all nations; celebrate all cooperative giving to achieve these ends.
I like putting the Cooperative Program in the item title but, aha, there’s “celebrating other cooperative giving.” That would be…Great Commission Giving? Not named or put in the legal document but asserting a presence through “other“? Note that the phrase “interpret the Cooperative Program as the basic channel of support…” is now “prioritize, elevate, and accelerate giving through the Cooperative Program as the most effective means… And, again “celebrate all cooperative giving.” The CP is no longer the “basic channel” or it is but is joined by other “cooperative giving?” I don’t object to the changes but a church that doesn’t give to the CP is at a different level of “cooperation” with the work and ministries of the SBC. I’d bet questions are asked about this. Maybe I’m seeing too much.
New ministry proposed:
7. Assist churches through elevating the ministry of prayer. Provide strategic leadership to lift up and promote coordinated prayer for spiritual awakening, ministry effectiveness, and the completion of the Great Commission.
I’m sure staff will be hired for this. Personally, I don’t look to the Executive Committee for leadership for me or my church in the area of prayer, ministry effectiveness, and the Great Commission. But, no one could possibly object to adding prayer ministry.
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The Executive Committee has added a lot of staffing. I don’t know if this is being done by attrition which frees up funds for staffing or if the EC needs more funding. Nothing has been said about the latter. Frank Page, former EC CEO, notably and admirably led the EC to give back one-half percent of the SBC CP Allocation that the EC was receiving to the IMB. If the new EC wants that half-percent back (and no one has said anything about this at all, I’m speculating, something that bloggers do) then take it from the seminaries share of the CP, the ERLC share of the CP, or both, not the mission boards.
I don’t know if further explanation or elaboration is planned for this proposal. A bit more explanation would be helpful, I think. It may well be a case of just updating the language. Need I say that the Executive Committee as a whole, not the new CEO, has generated some talk in the past for their actions. I got the impression from Diana Chandler’s news article that, other than the new prayer item, there is nothing to see here. We will see.
Of course, the big news next month from the EC comes from the Credentials Committee and whatever actions they take or don’t take.
I planted some fescue yesterday and it’s not growing yet; thus, I have time on my hands. Instead of watching grass grow, I’ll delve into some deep SBC weeds like the EC mission and ministry statement.
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…and Jay Adkins has an album full of pics from Jamie Dew’s inauguration as NOBTS president yesterday. If Jay can stir up anything to say here about it, he is free to bump my high weeds article.