…and I’ll raise a toast to that. But there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it.
ALASKA chose the worst possible way by trashing the entire concept of the Cooperative Program. How Alaska Baptists would destroy the Cooperative Program and blame it on NAMB, was my article of a month ago. The somber Alaska Baptists actually voted to excise NAMB from the CP. They will keep that money in-state. Bad leadership. Bad decision. Deplorable reaction to NAMB which has spent more per capita in Alaska than any other state. Maybe brains will thaw and that action will be reversed. Until then, Alaska Baptists have a CP Cafeteria going.
In contrast, The Wyoming Southern Baptist Mission Network voted to become financially independent, that is, to pay their own bills. “Wyoming Southern Baptists remain committed to the Cooperative Program,” said their Executive Director, Quinn Williams. They are able to do so because they increased the amount of CP funds they would keep from 67.25% to 90%. That’s fairly drastic but eliminates dependency on NAMB and LifeWay. I would have supported the action if I lived in Wyoming and had a cowboy hat, something I’ve never owned. I expect that other states will follow Wyoming.
The Iowa state convention actually increased the percentage of CP receipts they are sending to Nashville for distribution to the national entities, and I don’t think missions money grows on corn stalks even in that state. They moved from 50% to 60%. Good for them, though I don’t see how the finances work for them long term.
Many, perhaps most, states kept the percentages the same. Let the autonomous bodies decide how they want to handle our venerable flagship funding scheme. The CP is almost a century old. Needs a new look, I think.
On average, state conventions are heavy consumers of Cooperative Program dollars; that is, they keep most of what they collect even in the “rich” southern states. I surmise that is part of the reason CP has had a long run of years where the percentage of church offering plate dollars devoted to it have declined. It’s been under 5% for some years.
Are you satisfied with your state’s opportunity cost decisions?
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“Opportunity cost” is a fancy way of saying that there are alternatives available when we have money to spend. Churches are the ultimate and most important decisionmakers in the spending of mission dollars.
I’m a degreed Southern Baptist but not a pedigreed one. Maybe that’s why I’m not seeing a clear vision for the role of state conventions in the 21st century. The local association has a logical role. The national convention has a natural role. States? I dunno. I hear churches from Nevada have joined the Iowa convention. Maybe a wish for cold weather.
What if we get rid of the middleman – the state convention – and change things up? Channel giving through the local association and you would almost certainly get at least a 50/50 split between CP and the Association across the entire SBC nation. I feel like we, in our area, know more about our area and our needs than the state convention folk. What would this look like? Association churches send their usual amount or % to the association PLUS what they would send to CP. The Association sends 50% of it to CP and keeps 50% for regional… Read more »
That would replace 41 state convention middlemen with 1100 or so. Unworkable. Associations can appeal directly to churches and keep 100% of what they’re given. To be candid, associations have done a poorer job of appealing to churches for their mission dollars than state conventions.
“In general” Don’t forget to say, “In general associations have done a poorer job of appealing to churches for their mission dollars than state conventions.”
In general, General Scott. The mega-associations do much better, seems to me. Traditional county, town-and-country associations seem to work hard to keep the DOM paid and the office going and not much else. You’re a DOM? I’d be on board.
William, here’s the deal. Associations wherein the paradigm is changed from the “Church Model” which calls all member churches to come aboard and work to fulfill the “projects” of the Association to a “Missional Model” which focuses only on helping member churches fulfill the Great Commission in their communities can and do thrive. Another thing that helps is to cut down the overhead. “Maintaining the compound” in associational ministry needs to go the way of the Dodo Bird. Associational Missionaries/AMS must come to realize their work is in the communities and not in an office. Get rid of those offices.… Read more »
My kinda dom. I’m a microchurch rabble rouser but it looks to me like when it was pushed that a healthy association has to employ a guy, and he has to have an admin assistant, and an office it was inevitable that associations focused on raising money for staff and a building. Happened everywhere I served.
In Canada, if I am not mistaken, churches send the entire amount of CP and associational dollars to the Canadian National Baptist Convention in Cochrane, Alberta, which forwards a percentage to the association aka region from which the money originated.
Iowa is unique. We are a small state convention with low overhead.
And let’s not forget: Iowa does not have a true NCAA Football Team. They have a Little League Team that plays in cow pastures, or corn fields after the corn has been harvested and the field is plowed over for planting the next spring. Yes, “Iowa is unique.” 😉 😉
Be nice!!! Some of us have to endure the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Welllll, technically Alaska didn’t “actually vote [deleted ‘d’ for clarity] to excise NAMB from the Cooperative Program.” They voted to do so only IF the North American Mission Board wasn’t willing to start communicating with them, as stated in a Baptist Press article: “This would go into effect with the 2022 budget year if no change takes place in ‘collaboration and cooperation’ by NAMB, according to the motion.” And, several if not all state conventions — like it or not — will become self-sufficient with passage of their 2022 budgets, because LifeWay, bleeding from Covid, won’t be giving any more… Read more »
I appreciate the lengthy comment and any Alaska Baptist Convention person is welcome to put an article here…….. The big picture with NAMB is that they aren’t serving as a transfer agent for funds to all the state conventions. The idea that the SBC funds administrative position in all the states is not one that is very efficient in my view. Alaska with less than a million people has gotten more per capita from NAMB than any other state. There’s not much that mitigates the extremely poor decision made by the ARBN. Baptist Press labeled it “votes to withold CP… Read more »
At least as much a threat to CP, if not greater, than some state mission board skirmishes with NAMB is the sometimes careless chatter about the “leftward drift” of the SBC’s entities and seminaries. Personally, I don’t believe this to be true, but the formation of the CBN is telling as to the groundswell of popular belief about this with some SBCers. Many pastors are leading their churches to reduce their giving to CP because of this. “Concerns about the SBC” was one of 3 talking point’s in our state exec’s recent statewide listening tour here in GA.
I agree with you on this. “Careless” understates the matter I think.