Most messengers to the 151st annual session of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) left Indianapolis June 12 celebrating the unity evidenced during the two-day meeting.
In a surprise move, messengers elected a new president on the first ballot from a field of six candidates (see story, page 3). A record budget was adopted. Most business items were attempts at tinkering with convention machinery, but no major changes were sought. And according to bylaw requirements, all were referred to the entities impacted by the proposals (see story, page 4).
Inspiration abounded. President Frank Page challenged messengers to accept personal responsibility for the decline in SBC baptisms and membership in the past year. North American Mission Board (NAMB) President Geoff Hammond unveiled a new witnessing tool for churches to use. GPS (God’s Plan for Sharing) is designed to help Baptists share the gospel and reverse the downward trends (see story, page 8).
International Mission Board (IMB) President Jerry Rankin pointed to new highs in preaching points and baptisms related to overseas missions (see story, page 1), and speaker after speaker voiced the importance of the Cooperative Program (CP) in undergirding all that Southern Baptists do together.
Many outward signs pointed to a successful and enjoyable annual meeting. But there were some worrisome signs.
Total registration reached 7,252, the third lowest total since the end of World War II. Alabama messengers numbered 383, another modern-day record low. The high cost of transportation and a sagging economy were expected to take a toll on attendance, but most observers anticipated the election of a new president would bring more people to the annual meeting.
Now some are asking if the low attendance reflects a lack of interest in the affairs of the national denomination or if it is the result of the conjunction of a number of economic factors. The answer is important to the future of the SBC.
And when it comes to Johnny Hunt’s election as SBC president, it was not unexpected. He is one of the most popular personalities in Southern Baptist life and spoke at the SBC Pastors Conference two days before his election. Also Hunt has been a frequently mentioned candidate for the past decade.
What was unexpected was his election on the first ballot. Many felt Hunt’s Achilles’ heel was the low CP giving record of First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Ga., which he leads. In 2007, the church contributed 2.2 percent of undesignated gifts through the CP.
Instead the messengers focused on the more than $3.3 million the church spent on its total missions program, including church plants it sponsors and overseas missions efforts.
In an interview following his election, Hunt argued that he should be credited with the dollar growth of the church’s CP giving rather than criticized for the low percentage.
So questions remain. Does Hunt’s election speak to his popularity as a preacher? To his outstanding record in evangelism and church planting? To his mentoring program for young pastors? Does his election say financial support for local-church-sponsored missions is as important as missions support through the CP?
A generation ago, if one were to be judged a "standard of excellence" church, then it was necessary to give a minimum of 10 percent of undesignated receipts to missions causes beyond the local church through the CP. Today the SBC average is 6.7 percent of undesignated receipts given through the CP, and that average continues to decline.
One thing is sure — Baptists cannot continue to do together all the ministries offered on the state, national and global level with a declining percentage of CP giving from participating churches.
Local-church-sponsored missions should complement what Baptists do together, not be done instead of working together.
In a news conference following his election, Hunt said Baptists will give to missions through the CP once they have heard the missions story. Yet little attention was given to the missions story during the annual meeting.
On Wednesday evening, the IMB was given 10 minutes for its report and 20 minutes for a presentation — 30 minutes. The previous night, NAMB received 30 minutes divided the same way. Immediately prior to the IMB report, a concert was given 20 minutes on the program. On Tuesday, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission was allotted 15 minutes for its report and 20 minutes for its presentation. That is more time than either IMB or NAMB received.
A generation ago, the IMB and NAMB reports were the highlights of the annual meeting. The IMB presented a parade of flags of the nations where representatives served. Representatives were recognized and testimonies shared. Oftentimes the IMB president preached and issued a call for messengers to dedicate themselves to career missions service.
Not now. Now international missions gets 30 minutes. Telling the missions story is important, and it should begin with making sure messengers to the annual meeting have opportunity to hear what God is doing through Baptists around the world.
It is hard to understand how the two causes that claim almost 75 percent of every CP dollar received only one hour for telling the missions story.
SBC Indianapolis was a good meeting. It offered a lot to celebrate. It also offered some areas of concern. Our prayer is that the principles of cooperative giving will continue to draw commitment from Baptists, that telling the missions story will continue to be important and that the task God has placed before us will be captivating enough to demand our prayers, participation and pocketbook support.
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