Remember when the GCR task force was controversial? Remember all the fears and hand-wringing on blogs? Way back when the GCR was still controversial and nobody really knew what would come of it, the Kentucky Baptist Convention decided to appoint a Great Commission resurgence task force of its own. On Tuesday that task force released its report, and I am proud of it for multiple reasons. We all have labels we place on ourselves. For me, two of those things are Kentuckian and Southern Baptist. For the last several years I have been a North Carolina Baptist. Now I'm proud to be home and I’m proud that the Kentucky Baptist Convention has done such an admirable thing with this report. Also you may notice that one of the members of that committee shares a last name with me; that is even more reason to be proud.
I have made no secret on this blog that I love the Cooperative Program and that I believe it is the most effective tool our denomination has constructed to reach the lost. I also have said that I believe the states keep entirely too much of the CP money. (In fact when I was a NC Baptist I was strongly considering a motion from the floor that would push that convention toward a 50/50 split.) One of the things I admire most about the KBCGCR task Force’s report is the quick move to a 50/50 split. This is a hard decision. It involves intentionally cutting the budget of every entity in the state convention.
Without the cooperation of the churches willing to give more, this will be even more of a hardship for the KBC. But I believe that churches will be motivated to make their own decisions to give more knowing that more of their money will reach the mission field .
I applaud the task force. My church is giving 1 percent more to the CP this year, and I encourage your church to do the same.
A great commission resurgence is not equal to giving more money. I certainly realize that. But it is definitely a part. I applaud Bill Mackey, Hershael York, and the rest of the task force and I give my strongest urging to Kentucky Baptists to show up in Lexington in November and to pass the recommendations. I will be there.