Oct. 30, 2009 | By Paul F. South
NEW ORLEANS - If Christians are to fulfill Christ's Great Commission, they must fend off the temptations of the consumer culture, and devote more of their resources to the kingdom work of God, according to Dr. Chuck Kelley.
Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, made the remarks as part of a Cooperative Program Emphasis sermon series at Leavell Chapel on the NOBTS campus Oct. 13.
"The greatest challenge facing the Southern Baptist Convention today is not creating or reinventing a strategy to mobilize SBC resources for the Great Commission," Kelley said. "The greatest challenge we face is whether or not Southern Baptists will give to enlarging our Great Commission impact as did the generations who preceded us.
Drawing from Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:18-20, Kelley noted the "overwhelming" task facing Southern Baptist in the drive to reach a lost and dying world for Christ. The world has 194 nations with 11,601 distinct people groups. Those people speak more than 6,900 languages. And according to the Joshua Project, 6,426 people groups have never heard the Gospel message.
In the world's fastest growing nation - India - there are more than 4,600 distinct people groups, who speak 438 languages. Closer to home in the United States, there are more than 300 people groups. But even here, in the world's most churched nation, 255 million people are without Christ, Kelley said.
Across the history of the Cooperative Program, four principles translate into possibly the most successful mission outreach the world has ever known. First, the founders of the Cooperative Program realized that churches can do more together than independently. Second, Southern Baptists work broadly to address the Great Commission mandate through missions, discipleship, church planting and education. Third, Baptists understand that the Great Commission race is a marathon, not a sprint, Kelley said. And last, and most important, the autonomy of the local church is maintained.
"The Cooperative Program is designed and intended to expand the ministry of the local church and not replace it," Kelley said. "It always at every level remains accountable to, and under the control of, our local churches and their representatives."
With contributions for overseas missions totaling nearly $240 million -- more than any other denomination -- Kelley noted that the SBC has much to celebrate. Even with this unprecedented success, Kelley said, there are storm clouds on the horizon.
Southern Baptists are giving less per capita to their churches, Kelley said, and less per church to the Cooperative Program than in years past. As a result, funding for the Great Commission effort is receding. Meanwhile, Southern Baptists are becoming undistinguishable from their non-Christian neighbors in the marketplace, Kelley said.
"This is where we are as Southern Baptists," Kelley said. "We are blending more and more into our culture and becoming less and less recognizable as the people of God. We feel less and less compelled to sacrifice in order to fulfill the Great Commission."
He added, "As we make our nests, our homes, the churches we attend more comfortable, the lost people of our communities, our nation and the world will be less and less bothered by Southern Baptists wanting to tell them the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the glory of the God who loves them and wants to redeem them."
Scripture teaches that individuals can spend 90 percent of their income to meet their needs, and give a 10 percent to the work of God's kingdom, Kelley said. The church takes that tithe and spends it on the direct work of the church in the community and other ministry projects. The church also gives to the Cooperative Program to fund the Great Commission.
Kelley noted that while many churches give more than 10 percent to the Cooperative Program, the average contribution of an SBC church is 6.8 percent. The money is spent in the state conventions for mission projects, church planting, training and support for existing churches and more. The average spending on the Cooperative Program by state conventions is 38.6 percent. Remaining funds are sent to the SBC for missions, theological education and other ministries.
However, more and more Southern Baptists are giving less and less to the work of God, begging a question of every Christian, Kelley said. "How much of my financial life am I willing to live before God?"
Kelley made it clear that he was not trying to tell individuals how to manage their money. However, he said, finances are part of discipleship. Failure to seek and heed God's counsel on money opens the door to temptation, weakening our witness.
"Discipleship must embrace our whole lives, not parts of our lives. Any part of our lives left outside of our walk with God becomes a path for worldliness, the influence of our culture, to enter our minds and begin shaping our behavior and values," Kelley said. "This is how godly men and women become neutralized in their witness. If we consistently bring our wallets and purses into conversations with God, we are likely to make wise decisions."
He added, "My fear is that too many of us leave our wallets on the dresser when we have our quiet times with Jesus."
While the successes of the Cooperative Program give reason to celebrate the past, and there are challenges in the present, where does the SBC go from here? Some may engage in a blame game, a fight over why there are problems in SBC life. Or, Kelley said, we can look for something to fix, a path that leads to "a list of winners and losers and no glory for God or new passion for the Great Commission."
Kelley suggested a third way, and offered up a new term in the process - "celegivicate." Celebrate Southern Baptist support for mission, give more and communicate better, leading to consensus.
"We have an amazing past with a brilliant strategy that exceeded all expectations," Kelley said. "We have a challenging present with great opportunities and complicated difficulties. We also have issues of concern that can be discussed. We could fight our way to the future, but as for me, I would rather celegivicate!"
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