SO WHO'S STUFF IS IT ANY WAY??
Today having lunch I had a conversation about the SBC, Southern Baptist Convention. I are a "Methobapterian", but I belong to a Baptist church therefore I am a member of the southern baptist conference which is presently having their convention in Disney World, well near there. I've been to the convention before and there is a lot of good stuff that happens there but it is also the time when the "believers" "TALK" about stuff. There should be around 20,000 believers there this year and not just because of goofy.
This year seems to be a follow up from a thing that started last year. Baptist have this method of giving that's sorta a give it to us and we'll get it to the right place thing. It's a co-operative thing as a group thing so we call it the co-operative program. We, the different churches, give to the cooperative program and the funds go to different programs like mission projects etc... All sounds simple and good doesn't it. Good system right?
Well, man has a way of screwing things up. Even when it's meant to be nothing but good. All we have to do is be natural or do what comes natural. (hint)
The follow up is to a committee called the GCM or something like that which was to study the amount of giving by churches to the cooperative programs. GCM stands for the Great Commission "something", which is where believers are commanded to go into all the world preaching God's good news and disciplining others to do the same. You see some churches are LARGER than others and have a larger budgets and some have a stronger commitment to the cooperative program. Let's say your church has a $1,000,000 budget but only gives 2% to the cooperative program while another church has a budget of $100,000 budget but gives $10% of its budget to the cooperative program. Now is that FAIR? That's why this commission or committee was formed, to decide. HUH?
We, believers have this thing called the Bible. Now the Bible is the WORD of God. The one and only God. It's a thing that's kinda not optional for those who really believe. That's where that Great Commission comes from, the WORD of God.
Now let me share that I can not find in the Bible anything about the cooperative program or anything about any "ORGANIZATION" dictating the amount of giving to ANY programs in the world. Certainly we are told to give because we have been given, giving is worship, giving is proper and should be a regular part of a Christian's life but I can't find where an amount is given. We are told to feed the hungry clothe the poor, that's a certainty. We are to tithe but even then we are to give from what we are blessed with. The traditional 10% is a figure of just that tradition not one that comes from God. That might be like saying "you can't give more than 10% because God didn't say to give more than that." Now it doesn't take a preacher from a 2000 or 500 member church to see that.
Now let's not get upset YET because I really don't think anything has been done but just in case a scholar at the SBC convention has selected Walden World for nightly reading let us keep in mind, IT IS ALL GOD'S ANY WAY AND THE FACT THAT WE WOULD EVEN CONSIDER CREATING A GROUP TO CONSIDER HOW MUCH SHOULD BE "GIVEN" TO A SPECIFIC AREA OR PROGRAM IS NOT... ALLOWING THE SPIRIT TO GUIDE THE INDIVIDUAL FAMILIES OF FAITH TO EXERCISE THE NEEDS EXPRESSED TO THEM BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD.
GOOD GRIEF!!!
More to come if necessary.
