(The SBC Plodder writes a lot about CP, Lottie and other such issues. Here’s one for your perusal.)
No. Plodder has not gone moderate.
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Lottie Moon knockoff is called “Offering for Global Missions” although I’ve often seen it promoted as “Global Mission Offering.” I don’t know if any of the phrases are trademarked as are Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong.
The blog title comes from the church I attended Sunday which was in the midst of promoting what they labeled “Global Missions Offering,” a composite (and they explain this in their promotional materials) of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions, the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, and Southern Baptists’ World Hunger Fund. The church divides the total roughly 75%, 20%, and 5% respectively.
One offering. One time a year. Divided three ways. From what the pastor said, some give monthly to the offering.
The church is one of the larger IMB supporters and had a missionary speaker from the International Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention. He is in the states for a few months before returning to his place of service, Japan.
I am told that (a) this is a trend in the SBC, and (b) for this church, it yields a larger offering. I admit that this is the first occasion that I recall seeing this practice in an SBC church (this one would be a mid-mega church, about 1,000 in primary weekly worship).
I’m wondering how widespread this method is and what the rationale might be for it? I could see that it clears the church calendar of one major (Annie Armstrong) and one minor (World Hunger) promotional period. Sometimes Lottie and Annie are almost back-to-back, making for a long stretch of offering promotion.
I don’t have any issue with this, just haven’t seen it done this way.
SBC life used to be so simple; Lottie, Annie, a state missions offering, Cooperative Program. Not so much anymore: Great Commission Giving, composite offerings, direct offerings.