What Now, Cooperative Program?
When I submitted my last two posts that asked the question ,“Is the Cooperative Program dying?”, I had no idea that there would be such a massive response to the postings. Not only did I receive about 40 comments on the blog site, I received about the same number of comments by email. My emotions over the responses were both excitement (readers seemed to be genuinely concerned about the Cooperative Program) and sadness (at some of the erroneous perceptions about the Cooperative Program and its administration and impact).
The main purpose for writing those two blogs was to help DOMs, Church Planters (those who benefit and contribute to the CP) and other church leadership who need to understand that the support for the Cooperative Program is declining in order to encourage action to strenghthen the CP. This was in no way an attempt to denigrate the CP. I see the impact of CP every day in my work and the work of my colleagues. I hear about the impact of the CP from missionaries around the world. It is evident that the CP is still being blessed by God and used by God in many ways. My intention for writing the blogs was to wake up many of our leadership about the serious consequence to world missions if the decline of the CP continues which seems likely as indicated by the current trend in CP giving.
What I didn’t expect was the number of amazingly erroneous perceptions that many people have about the CP and the organizations that administer its funds. Some of these perceptions are based on reality and are right on target. Others are way off base and demonstrate massive lack of knowledge. Here is a compilation of reasons people wrote that they thought were the cause of the decline in CP giving (as stated, some are valid, others are not. Nevertheless, they all represent perceptions that people hold and those of us who care about CP should have awareness of these perceptions.): small, rural churches do not have a large pool of pastors to choose from and sometimes select pastors who are independent and have no knowledge of the CP; large churches who do not feel they need to cooperate and therefore do their own thing; churches are supporting a wide array of non-SBC entities; churches are dying or declining in membership; building programs have churches strapped financially; lack of unity in the SBC; factions fighting for power and resources; leadership issues; ignorance about the CP and how it works; trust issues; lack of sense of ownership; lack of contact and exposure to real live missionaries; getting side-tracked by insignificant issues; antidenominational sentiments; too little CP promotion and education; denomination leaders who live in glass towers and do not know what the CP does outside of their “little kingdoms”; generational gaps; mismanagement; red tape; bureaucracy; general distrust of organizations; egoism; perception; lack of proof it works; pastors are clueless about how the CP works; seminaries do not teach the CP; churches turning inward; dislike of rules and guidelines; can’t drink alcohol; decline in church attendance; gentrification of churches; fixed incomes; people and churches not sold on CP; bash the establishment syndrome; need for new names for designated offerings and the convention; lack of communication; unwise and unethical use of funds; denominational leaders who are afraid they will lose their jobs if they blow the whistle; scandal; disconnect between the people doing ministry and those providing the funds; skepticism; bureaucracy that needs scaled back; lack of input from local churches and their leadership; “good ole boy system”, behind the scene “godfathers”; and lack of contact with the conventions.&n bsp; Whew!!!
My conclusion: There is a lot of misconception and ignorance about the Cooperative Program. The cause: many of our churches no longer have mission education as one of their core values. The cure: Mission education on every level and a strong effort by Pastors and church leadership, DOMs, State and National denomination leadership in becoming CP “experts” who are equipped to lead their constituents in understanding the importance, function and effectiveness of the Cooperative Program and the essential part it plays in SBC life in enabling our churches to fulfill the Great Commission and in reaching the world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Next: A strategy.
9 Comments posted by: Larry Baker on June 16th, 2009
