Since the word is getting out more and more about the GCRTF Report, I wanted to comment on two topics. I took the summary from a web page and thought I would add a comment if that is OK.
Before I proceed let me say that I will be the very first one to acknowledge the need for change. I felt that way as a pastor and now as a missionary. But I do not believe in a trickle down approach to evangelism and discipleship strategy. I believe that humble men and women of God crying out to the Father for mercy, forgiveness, power and wisdom is needed. From our individual lives and our local churches as God moves will come a wave of change. Then God's leading of change not only be evident but unavoidable.
Component #2: We believe in order for us to work together more faithfully and effectively towards the fulfillment of the Great Commission that our North American Mission Board needs to be reinvented and released. Therefore, in order to do this, we will ask Southern Baptists that the North American Mission Board prioritize efforts to plant churches in North America and to reach our nation’s cities and clarify its role to lead and accomplish efforts to reach North America with the Gospel.
The full report talks about dividing the US and Canada into region and that missionaries will be under direct supervision of NAMB. That would mean if a missionary was assigned here, there would not be a RAT Team or State Convention accountability. It is a significant move away from local autonomy that we have held for many years. Second, the cities, and the clear emphasis was "big" cities like LA, New York, Houston, Chicago, would be targeted and missionaries reassigned to those areas. There is a flaw or forgetfulness in their thinking. As someone who has lived and ministered in California for 32 years I am fully aware of NAMB "Mega-Focus Cities" strategies. These target cities have received great amounts of personnel and funding help from NAMB, but to even begin to think that transformation has taken place at the end of the project is not true. It is like the old saying, "if you keep on doing the same thing, you will keep on getting the same results." I do not feel that sending money and personnel alone is going to reach our cities, only Revival and a touch of the Holy Spirit will accomplish this. Just a side note: Santa Fe may qualify as a state capital as a target city, maybe, but no other city in SFBA or NEBA would be considered large enough for the proposed shift to warrant mission resources.
Some have suggested that the DOM opposition to the report is protecting their own turf. I cannot say that that is not part of our thinking. It would be naive of me to think otherwise. But of the DoM's I meet through NoBA (Network of Baptist Associations) and APPLE conferences, the heart of their ministry is to love pastors and churches and seek to be a catalyst to impact the lostness of their communities and to see fully devoted and reproducing disciples and disciple-making churches flourish. In Santa Fe we are developing a Church Planters Network. We have identified 10 people Groups or geographical areas in Santa Fe County alone that new work needs to be started. This comes from local pastors who know their community, not from NAMB.
Component #5: We believe in order for us to work together more faithfully and effectively towards the fulfillment of the Great Commission, we will ask Southern Baptists to reaffirm the Cooperative Program as our central means of supporting Great Commission ministries; but in addition, we will ask Southern Baptists to celebrate with our churches in their Great Commission Giving that goes directly through the Cooperative Program, as well as any designated gifts given to the causes of the Southern Baptist Convention, a state convention or a local association.
This the biggest concern for me personally. The fact is that the churches represented by the members of the GCRTF average less than 3% CP giving. Traditionally, CP was the baseline for mission giving and designated giving, either to Lottie, Annie, Disaster Relief, etc. or even local missions was over and above that amount. I may have overstated my 1925 comment, but I do not feel I am overstating that the members of the GCRTF are more committed to designated missions giving than CP and they have by this statement demonstrated a shift that at least in some ways reflects the mission giving realities in a pre-1925 SBC.
The full report advocates that more of the CP monies given through the states be forwarded to the Executive Board of the SBC while at the same time there will be a four year phase out of the Cooperative Agreements where some of the CP dollars are returned back to the states. This will in reality only further cut CP dollars being forwarded as the states adjust to financially support what they feel they need to do locally. This simple not a well thought out strategy. (If this were politics I would think that the GCRTF members were Democrats... sorry that was maybe too unfair!)
What the author of the blog did not mention was the introduction to the report that called for the SBC churches and members to repentance and Revival. That is what we need! Beginning with me and all 50+ thousand churches. I feel as one person said, "without Revival, it is like moving the chairs on the Titanic."
Your Fellow Servant,
M. Keith Williams, Regional Associational Missionary
Northeastern & Santa Fe Baptist Associations
New Mexico
Before I proceed let me say that I will be the very first one to acknowledge the need for change. I felt that way as a pastor and now as a missionary. But I do not believe in a trickle down approach to evangelism and discipleship strategy. I believe that humble men and women of God crying out to the Father for mercy, forgiveness, power and wisdom is needed. From our individual lives and our local churches as God moves will come a wave of change. Then God's leading of change not only be evident but unavoidable.
Component #2: We believe in order for us to work together more faithfully and effectively towards the fulfillment of the Great Commission that our North American Mission Board needs to be reinvented and released. Therefore, in order to do this, we will ask Southern Baptists that the North American Mission Board prioritize efforts to plant churches in North America and to reach our nation’s cities and clarify its role to lead and accomplish efforts to reach North America with the Gospel.
The full report talks about dividing the US and Canada into region and that missionaries will be under direct supervision of NAMB. That would mean if a missionary was assigned here, there would not be a RAT Team or State Convention accountability. It is a significant move away from local autonomy that we have held for many years. Second, the cities, and the clear emphasis was "big" cities like LA, New York, Houston, Chicago, would be targeted and missionaries reassigned to those areas. There is a flaw or forgetfulness in their thinking. As someone who has lived and ministered in California for 32 years I am fully aware of NAMB "Mega-Focus Cities" strategies. These target cities have received great amounts of personnel and funding help from NAMB, but to even begin to think that transformation has taken place at the end of the project is not true. It is like the old saying, "if you keep on doing the same thing, you will keep on getting the same results." I do not feel that sending money and personnel alone is going to reach our cities, only Revival and a touch of the Holy Spirit will accomplish this. Just a side note: Santa Fe may qualify as a state capital as a target city, maybe, but no other city in SFBA or NEBA would be considered large enough for the proposed shift to warrant mission resources.
Some have suggested that the DOM opposition to the report is protecting their own turf. I cannot say that that is not part of our thinking. It would be naive of me to think otherwise. But of the DoM's I meet through NoBA (Network of Baptist Associations) and APPLE conferences, the heart of their ministry is to love pastors and churches and seek to be a catalyst to impact the lostness of their communities and to see fully devoted and reproducing disciples and disciple-making churches flourish. In Santa Fe we are developing a Church Planters Network. We have identified 10 people Groups or geographical areas in Santa Fe County alone that new work needs to be started. This comes from local pastors who know their community, not from NAMB.
Component #5: We believe in order for us to work together more faithfully and effectively towards the fulfillment of the Great Commission, we will ask Southern Baptists to reaffirm the Cooperative Program as our central means of supporting Great Commission ministries; but in addition, we will ask Southern Baptists to celebrate with our churches in their Great Commission Giving that goes directly through the Cooperative Program, as well as any designated gifts given to the causes of the Southern Baptist Convention, a state convention or a local association.
This the biggest concern for me personally. The fact is that the churches represented by the members of the GCRTF average less than 3% CP giving. Traditionally, CP was the baseline for mission giving and designated giving, either to Lottie, Annie, Disaster Relief, etc. or even local missions was over and above that amount. I may have overstated my 1925 comment, but I do not feel I am overstating that the members of the GCRTF are more committed to designated missions giving than CP and they have by this statement demonstrated a shift that at least in some ways reflects the mission giving realities in a pre-1925 SBC.
The full report advocates that more of the CP monies given through the states be forwarded to the Executive Board of the SBC while at the same time there will be a four year phase out of the Cooperative Agreements where some of the CP dollars are returned back to the states. This will in reality only further cut CP dollars being forwarded as the states adjust to financially support what they feel they need to do locally. This simple not a well thought out strategy. (If this were politics I would think that the GCRTF members were Democrats... sorry that was maybe too unfair!)
What the author of the blog did not mention was the introduction to the report that called for the SBC churches and members to repentance and Revival. That is what we need! Beginning with me and all 50+ thousand churches. I feel as one person said, "without Revival, it is like moving the chairs on the Titanic."
Your Fellow Servant,
M. Keith Williams, Regional Associational Missionary
Northeastern & Santa Fe Baptist Associations
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