Recent action by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina seems to hit all the necessary notes: Hollifield commits to 50/50 CP split with SBC
1. The BSCNC will move to a 50/50 split on Cooperative Program money they receive. Currently, the split is more like 65/35.
2. “It is imperative that we all understand that a move to increase the SBC portion must be accompanied by an increase in CP support by our churches,” This from the BSCNC’s chief executive, Milton Hollifield.
3. CP giving has been down six of the past eight years in NC.
4. “Hollifield pointed out that if churches had maintained their CP giving percentage of 1995 $15 million more would have been available for missions throughout the state and world annually.”
5. “Hollifield said lower gifts in churches and from churches “is just a symptom of a larger problem of church health. When this problem is solved then stewardship will naturally be addressed with our people.”
As I read this, I do not blame BSCNC executives for desiring to maintain what they have but why wouldn’t a BSCNC church hear these things and conclude:
1. We are blamed for not giving to the CP.
2. The BSCNC leadership is saying we will be blamed if the CP split doesn’t move to 50/50 because we do not give more in the future.
3. It's all our fault...it will be all our fault...let's go home and eat worms.
I commend the call to move to a 50/50 split but am looking for a reason to think that the BSCNC is serious about moving in that direction. Hollifield’s description of the BSCNC making that move “over a protracted period” is not the language of any real commitment to doing so.
I am curious if any BSCNCers have a higher degree of optimism about this.
3 comments:
50/50 is not the right move and the national convention should not be using the state conventions as a wedge between them and the local church. The state conventions should not allow themselves to be bullied.
The BSCNC is involved in local, national and international missions. I agree some of these can be streamlined but I do not hear anything from the national level that they are working towards that mindset.
If Hollifield puts the blame on the local church this might come back to haunt him.
He does seem to leave him an out.If the churches don't give more then the 50/50 will not
"2. The BSCNC leadership is saying we will be blamed if the CP split doesn’t move to 50/50 because we do not give more in the future."
Jon L. Estes - NC pastor
I think it is pretty standard, Jon, for the state folks to say that they will move 'towards' a 50/50 split if churches will give more. I have heard that for as long as I have been a pastor.
William
William,
That's fine and dandy but to do it as a result of the national convention choosing making a vote to do missions differently and saying to do that the autonomous state conventions have to give more and the local church has to give more is nothing short of bullying.
What has happened is not... We could do this if... but rather we are going to do this (GCTF...) and now to get there state conventions are being told to move to 50/50 and state conventions are telling churches to give more.
So the local church (which biblically is responsible for living out the great commission) has to do with less money, so there goes maybe some staff and some ministries, the state convention, likewise so the end result is the national convention getting more money to do what the local church is biblically supposed to be doing.
I'm all for working together but not being told what I must do and especially when we can['t be sure the money is wisely being used.
My church has proven themselves to handle their money wisely. The BSCNC, for what I have seen seems to do the same. The national convention, well who knows and who is telling.
The silence is deafening.
Jon
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