Monday, May 16, 2011

The 'real' problem with declining Cooperative Program revenues...


This is Coke's new Freestyle dispensing machine. I go to two fast food restaurants that have it and it is a fascinating, sophisticated thing. You have a main touch screen and sub-screens for all of the main 'buttons', 125 drink choices in all.

I go for the Minute Maid Light Cherry Lemonade, or maybe the same in strawberry, raspberry, orange or fruit punch, or endless choices among Coke Zero, Dasani, Sprite, etc.

Folks like to mix the drinks and the machine sends data on what customers are mixing. Various odd customer mixes (you can fill half a cup with cherry vanilla Coke Zero and the other half with Hi-C Orange Vanilla...or thirds, fourths) have acquire nicknames. Endless possibilities.

Which brings me to SBC stuff, namely, Cooperative Program giving. Surely part of the long, steady decline is the rise of a virtually endless array of possibilities for mission funding.

We may not like it that SBC churches show no more loyalty to the SBC, NAMB, IMB, seminaries, etc. but it is part of 21st century reality in American church life.

As for me and my church, we like SBC stuff. In fact, I sometimes take church related telemarketing calls. My standard response is this, "If you aren't LifeWay or SBC, I don't have time for you. Goodbye. Click."

SBC politics and problems aside, the new Coke machine is a genuine wonder.

Just don't get behind someone who can't make up their mind...

3 comments:

Blake said...

I haven't seen one of those yet. I hope they flourish. Sounds delicious.

Jonathan said...

"We may not like it that SBC churches show no more loyalty to the SBC, NAMB, IMB, seminaries, etc. but it is part of 21st century reality in American church life."

I know that this is somewhat tongue in cheek but there is a cart before the horse issue here. One could make a serious case that, with few exceptions, the agencies of the SBC have become less loyal to the small and medium sized SBC church and incredibly loyal (beholden?) to the largest SBC churches. The irony here is that it is the smalls and mediums who are have been the most loyal in terms of literature and financial support. I cut the churches in this segment a great deal of slack on this point.

William Thornton said...

Good point. On a personal level, I find denominational employees to be quite responsive to me and my church; however, the default position for denominational elections, boards, positions, and programs seems to be the large and megachurch. These people just think that way.