Great Commission Resurgence Recommendations Adopted
June 18, 2010 at 08:40 AM
The Southern Baptist Convention just adopted, by a fairly wide margin, the recommendations of the Great Commission Resurgence (GCR) task force. You can look back at my previous posts for summaries about that seven recommendations that made up much of the report. There were also some challenges to individual Christians, churches, state conventions, and others that make of the remainder of the report.
I am relieved and joyful that this report was adopted by the convention. From my perspective, this was a strong statement by the majority of Southern Baptists present that our convention is defined by more than simply a giving formula. The adoption of the report means that not only do we share the Cooperative Program (CP) as a means of funding various ministries, but we are also together because of a common mission. This week the convention clearly stated that the CP is not preeminent. The CP exists to serve our common mission. This importance of this cannot be understated. It opens up the CP to a whole new level of evaluation and scrutiny - which the GCR task force used over this past year to recommend some pretty important changes for the sake of its own effectiveness.
As David Platt said at the Nine Marks gathering Tuesday night, passing the GCR was a good step forward; not passing it would have been a very big step backwards. We leave the Orlando 2010 annual meeting of the SBC better situated for a future of missional engagement, at home and across the world.
Now it's up to us to make sure Orlando was not the end, but only one more step along the way of a true Great Commission renewal movement in evangelical and specifically SBC life.
I am relieved and joyful that this report was adopted by the convention. From my perspective, this was a strong statement by the majority of Southern Baptists present that our convention is defined by more than simply a giving formula. The adoption of the report means that not only do we share the Cooperative Program (CP) as a means of funding various ministries, but we are also together because of a common mission. This week the convention clearly stated that the CP is not preeminent. The CP exists to serve our common mission. This importance of this cannot be understated. It opens up the CP to a whole new level of evaluation and scrutiny - which the GCR task force used over this past year to recommend some pretty important changes for the sake of its own effectiveness.
As David Platt said at the Nine Marks gathering Tuesday night, passing the GCR was a good step forward; not passing it would have been a very big step backwards. We leave the Orlando 2010 annual meeting of the SBC better situated for a future of missional engagement, at home and across the world.
Now it's up to us to make sure Orlando was not the end, but only one more step along the way of a true Great Commission renewal movement in evangelical and specifically SBC life.
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