Jerry Rankin and a Call for Integrity, Transparency, and Efficiency from the Cooperative Program

Jerry Rankin continues to blog about the need for a radical Great Commission Resurgence. His most recent article can be found in its entirety here.

Below are a couple of very strong, yet very accurate (in my opinion) quotes from his post:

"Nothing drives commitment and sacrificial support like a compelling, passionate vision. We ought to challenge Southern Baptists to give what it takes to reach our nation and a lost world and see that funds are prioritized to actually go for that purpose. If the budget is not met, offices and programs all need to be prepared to cut back, but for goodness sake, let’s challenge our churches to give to a God-sized vision rather than appealing to them to sustain the work of past years."

"Some radical efforts for operating more efficiently could go a long way toward encouraging more generous support."

"Giving is discouraged and credibility diminished when those supported by the Cooperative Program are unwilling to reveal salaries and benefits they receive. If one is embarrassed to publicly acknowledge what they receive for “serving” an entity, a state convention or the SBC, then initiative ought to be taken to reduce their salary. Confidence in giving to the CP would be greatly enhanced by leaders being transparent in what they receive and Southern Baptists knowing how much is consumed by salaries and administrative support."

"Again, I want to emphasize, I don’t think anyone is being dishonest. State budgets and SBC budgets are clearly outlined when convention action is taken. But the intricacies and complexity of how the Cooperative Program is used and where the funds all go is not really known and understood. Churches just can’t understand why more doesn’t go to missions and reaching a lost world. Lack of transparency and perceived inefficiency doesn’t encourage channeling even more funds into a generic denominational pool of funding."