How much does your church give to CP?
What was your Lottie offering last year?
Are your promoting Annie during Easter?
Are you bypassing the state convention?
What about ACP reports?
We Southern Baptists are passing around alot of lingo and for a number of years the question of CP giving and support has been at the forefront of debate. When we have a candidate for a leadership position, the conversation quickly turns toward that candidate’s church and their CP support and SBC missions giving. There is a debate going on in the SBC world (which we kinda made up) about the validity of this question. During the Orlando convention this June, some were calling for the end of the CP giving litmus test, proclaiming that we should move to more ‘spiritual’ indicators. Some have, with special passion, explained how CP giving is burdened with an overwhelming bureaucracy and has been made impotent with regards to missions.
How important, then, is CP support? Why are so many people making such a big deal about CP support? Well, here is my take on it. You can take it or leave it.
My understanding of the Cooperative Program has changed drastically in the last few years. Growing up I understood the importance of CP giving but never really saw or understood its potential. CP made sense but since I grew up within SBC culture it was just another thing that we did as a church. When my wife and I came to First Baptist Church in Sparkman, Arkansas, where we serve now, my CP knowledge was greatly increased. I remember my surprise when I first looked at our budget and realized that our church, of about 65 worshippers on a Sunday, were giving nearly 30% of our un-designated offerings to the Cooperative Program. I was also amazed at the monthly gives to our association, Ouachita Baptist University, SBC world hunger fund a a handful of other ministries all around the world. When our first Christmas here came around I almost fainted when I saw that our Lottie Moon offering usually hovers around $15,000. Something was different in Sparkman. They really, really, really supported the Cooperative Program.
Over the last few years I have heard all types of responses to this type of giving. Many have expressed how our church is giving too much or have a bad understanding of missions. Some have expressed joy over this. Either way, people always have an opinion about CP giving. As I have grown here in Sparkman I have learned something wonderful about CP and the SBC - we can do more together than we can do apart. In Sparkman we have obvious limitations to what we can do with missions and church planting. We don’t have the people to start a satellite church in a Sparkman suburb. (That is a joke) We have one full-time staff member (me), no missions pastor or technology pastor or parking lot pastor. (Another bad joke) While we do go on mission trips, our resources are limited in how many ventures we can take. It is here that I see the beauty of CP giving. A tiny church in rural Arkansas is partnering all over the world with what God is doing. We give to the Cooperative Program, in a sacrificial way, because we believe in what God is doing through Southern Baptists. The Cooperative Program gives us an opportunity to join in the fulfillment of the Great Commission. It gives us the opportunity to participate in the fulfillment of Acts 1:8 - with the realization that God’s global mission INCLUDES Arkansas, North American and the entire world.
What much of the debate has centered around in the last couple of years is how CP works and the amount of money that is used within our state conventions. While I believe this is a legitimate concern, I have not been convinced that this is really what is holding us back from fulfilling the Great Commission. Living in Arkansas, I feel blessed to be a part of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. I have looked very hard for proof of bloated budgets, wasted money and unnecessary personnel. Within Arkansas I feel confident that the CP we sent to Little Rock is being used to God’s glory for the advance of the gospel among the nations. I cannot vouch for other states but I know that in Arkansas our CP money is being used appropriately. God’s global mission includes where we are and were we have yet to go. It is a perversion of Acts 1:8 to ignore where we are.
What I fear happening across the Southern Baptist Convention is a weakening of the Cooperative Program based upon poor reasons. I can understand the fear of bloated bureaucracy, misappropriation of funds and lack of vision of focus among our agencies. Yet, I have yet to see justification for totally bypassing the Cooperative Program structure. I find it funny that we Baptists are ready to de-fund any ministry but our own. (We never hear seminary presidents telling us that we need to de-fund seminaries. We only hear them saying that about state conventions) We are willing to build our own ‘mini-denominations’ and spend money on our own ministries and personal goals and then complain about not being able to reach the nations - pointing the blame to our denomination. We refuse to give to the very ministries that can help us, as churches, reach the nation - all the while complaining about where the money is going. It seems the question is really a question of our heart. Is what’s holding us back really a concern about our denomination - or is it the unwillingness and unselfishness of our own churches to sacrifice our personal agendas?
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