Monday, August 10, 2009

Initial Thougts on FBW Article

On the whole, today has been a good day. The study of our CP giving was posted for all to read in its entirety. Hopefully many will read the study and not just the article.

In retrospect, I should have simply stated that states "spend" nearly 2/3 of the CP funding they receive. I did not mean to imply unethical or illegal activity. The states spend CP funds with the blessing of the messengers who bother to go and vote. My recommendation is that we change how we vote - that we urge conventions not to spend 2/3 of Southern Baptist's CP giving while billions who live outside our states continue sit in darkness. I called Dr. Hankins this morning and apologized for the unintended connotation of the word and asked for his forgiveness. He agreed, and also pledged to pass this apology along to his peers if my study comes up in conversation.

The other questionable word choice in the document was narcissistic. The response by a few Southern Baptists to Article IX did (and still does) seem to me to be self-serving or inward looking. I should have avoided "narcissistic" and gone with "inward looking." The point of the study is to get us looking where our great, missionary God is looking - to the ends of the earth. Anyhow, another poor word choice for which I would like to apologize - primarily because I had just a few individuals in mind but my study makes it seem like I had more people in view.

As for the claim that my study is "fatuous," "meaningless," and "not connected to reality," I am not sure how to take these critiques. The study is most certainly connected to reality - real money and real humans who have never heard the name of Jesus. It is really true that less than 1.5 cents of every dollar given to an SBC church goes to the IMB. I really have a friend serving with the IMB who is now living with the reality that one of their anticipated team members will not be joining the team. There's nothing more real than that.

Dr. Hankins and I spoke for quite some time. We had a very fruitful conversation. He agrees most states should send more to the SBC national, and he has some good ideas for getting there. He seemed a bit surprized to learn that it was reading his book, One Sacred Effort, that began to inspire me to move beyond my suspicions to conduct this study. He outlined a plan that I hope he will strive to get his other colleagues to sign onto. If he does, he will be my new best friend, though we still have some minor differences on the role of state conventions.

I will respond more comprehensively to the critiques by Dr. Hankins in the days to come.

Thank you for considering the study. Most importantly, I pray God uses it to light a fire in us for His gospel and His glory.

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