Our dollars are great; your percentages are lousy

The Southern Baptist Convention's Great Commission Resurgence Task Force continues its pattern of answering questions with language that confuses and frustrates.

Ronnie Floyd, chairman of the task force, answered 12 questions after he spoke at the Illinois Baptist Pastors' Conference, according to a report in Baptist Press.

Kevin Kerr, president of the Illinois Baptist State Association, asked the first question, according to the report. He wanted to know about the Cooperative Program commitment of churches represented on the task force which average less than 6 percent.

Floyd first deflected the question by saying that he didn't appoint the task force, but was just asked to chair it. Then he repeated SBC president Johnny Hunt's preferred answer to questions about CP commitment: "We don't spend percentages, we spend dollars."

Floyd then talked of how his church, First Baptist Church of Springdale, Ark., is increasing its gifts to the Cooperative Program 44 percent. That sounds good until you realize that the increase will still leave the church giving about 3 percent of its $14.8 million in undesignated offerings to CP.

Even more revealing is Floyd's comment later about his belief that a lack of biblical stewardship is one of the underlying problems in the SBC.

"God tells individuals to tithe and honor Him with the first tenth and with offerings, but studies show the average evangelical gives 2.4 percent to all charities. How are we going to change the world with the Gospel when 98 cents of every dollar given stays in the churches and 98 cents of every dollar earned stays in the pocket of the member?"

So Floyd first asks Southern Baptists to ignore the low percentage his church gives to the Cooperative Program, then complains about the low percentage people give in general. Although we suspect that the billions of dollars represented by the 2.4 percent evangelicals give to charities spends just like the money Floyd's church sends to the SBC.

With reasoning like Floyd's, one can expect the Great Commission desurgence to continue.