Recently a pastor friend of mine signed me up for a group on Facebook called Pastor-To-Pastor. It's a group for Southern Baptist pastors in South Carolina to discuss issues affecting our churches and denomination and to encourage each other in the faith. I've seen many topics discussed yet their is still one hot-button topic that is permeating much of the talk: GCR-The Great Commission Resurgence that passed at last years annual Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando.
This new initiative will result in a complete restructuring of our convention over the next 5 years or so. The restructuring has already begun with NAMB(North American Mission Board) laying off many long time employees and many missionaries here in the United States having their funding cut to the point where they can no longer serve in their mission fields. The focus in our nation is to move as swiftly as possible in planting churches in or around 10 major cities from the northeast to the northwest where our convention has a negligible presence and large segments of the population are lost.
Monetary redistribution is a large part of the GCR. The stated goal is to view our mission strategy from a new angle, targeting where most of the lost people live. While as a Southern Baptist I am taking a wait and see attitude to find out how these major changes will affect our convention, as with any huge undertaking, their are always unintended consequences which I warned about in blogs last spring concerning the GCR. The concern of most who are wary of these changes is how they will affect the Cooperative Program, for 86 years how Southern Baptist churches have pulled together to fund missions both locally and across the world.
At our state convention this past November we voted to have a committee review the demands of the GCR and recommend a strategy for how we will deal with them in our state. Through the requirements of the GCR funds that were reallocated back to the state from the Cooperative Program will be cut substantially over the next few years. This will drastically affect missions organizations and church planting here in South Carolina in deference to the goal of spreading the gospel in these "less churched" areas of our nation. Our next national convention is fast approaching and their is still no concise plan for implementing much of what GCR will demand of us.
We are in perilous times as Southern Baptists. Some feel we have made a terrible mistake with this new direction. Others feel without radical change our denomination is dying a slow death. Is their a middle ground or have we drawn a line in the sand that is going to lead to imminent division? While I am willing to "wait and see," I still have the same questions I had last year, and no answers have been provided.
Recently through this new Facebook forum and from personal friendships I've seen firsthand missionaries with fruitful ministries forced to return home as they no longer had support for their ministries. While their is a dire need to reach the major metropolitan areas of our nation where we are not prominent, is the best way to do that to eliminate ministries that are currently and effectively leading people to Christ? The change argument holds plenty of truth when it states that we have plenty of churches and plenty of people already present in these areas where Southern Baptists are prevalent that can fund and reinforce through manpower these local missions. The million dollar question is....still: Will this happen? Are souls in one part of the country more important than souls in another part?
Over the next 6 months to a year we will get the recommendations of our state and national denominational leaders on just how we will begin to implement the changes that GCR mandates. Some will follow and some won't. This is an unavoidable truth. Can a house divided still stand? Not according to scripture. Those who follow will do so with zeal and we will see an increase in our presence in the northern spheres of our nation. Those who won't will decrease Cooperative Program giving in favor of funding fruitful, local ministries either through direct contribution or through local associations. What will be the end result? Hard logic dictates while we'll see an increase in church plants in the north, their will not be enough to make a significant impact, while in more established areas which while they are in areas we should have great influence in due to numbers. we'll see a decrease in our effectiveness. So what is the solution?
Last year I proposed that our focus as a denomination was putting the cart before the horse. While I know of no church or pastor that in word does not support the Great Commission, what is truly necessary in order for us to fulfil the command of Jesus to "Go" into all of the world, and our home areas? The only biblical answer is true, heaven sent revival in our churches and denomination. And in order for that to occur, we must first recover the "Greatest Commandment" in order to fulfil the "Great Commission." How can we take the gospel throughout the world unless we first love God with all of our heart, soul mind and strength? How can we influence those around us both locally and throughout the world, unless we first love our neighbors as ourselves?
While methods are useful they will not bring about revival. While strategies are needed, they will not pierce peoples hearts. If GCR or any plan to further the gospel is going to work, it is our hearts, not our plan, that needs changing. In short, will we love God to the point that we obey without question as Jesus has commanded us(John 14:15,23). The only way that we will ever see the gospel truly go where we all want it to go is for our love of God to be the greatest motivation in our lives. When we love each other as Jesus loved us; when we practice holiness in our personal lives; when faithfulness is the norm; when prayer is continually practiced; when Godly repentance occurs; when God's people return to Him, and He sends revival; only then will we see God move in a mighty way.
Sounds simple doesn't it? So why do we not see these things occurring in the body of Christ? Why are 87% of Southern Baptist churches plateaued(stagnant) or in decline? Why do we not see Christ's church, in spite of exponentially greater numbers than the first century church, impacting the world as they did? Our love of God has waxed cold. Sadly, we must admit, we worship God with our lips but our hearts are far from Him. Unless we change, our world will not. Friends it begins with me, and with you. Unless we are revived, no plan will work. It really is quite simple. We cannot make revival happen. We cannot effectively go to them, until we first, with all of our hearts, return to Him. If we truly want to see the GCR or any other future plan work, we need a new heart. A heart that comes only from God, for God.
If GCR is to work, it must be God that does it. If we are to fulfil this vision, God must do it through us. How can He do this, unless our love for Him is the most important thing in our lives? God says to His people, "Be holy, for I am holy." "If you Love Me, obey My commands." "Pray without ceasing." "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand." A simple answer to a complex question.
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