Jerry Rankin on the SBC

Dr. Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board(IMB) has written a great article about the state of the Southern Baptist Convention and the need to reexamine its missions strategy. The Great Commission Task Force(GCTF) has made some powerful observations and recommendations concerning the future of the Cooperative Program and both the North American Mission Board(NAMB) and the IMB. Read the full article here.

Here is an excerpt:

"Cannot we at least take an objective look at what is happening in our denomination? Is it ever wrong to examine our structure, the use of our resources and the efficiency of our programs? Could it be that there are those whose entity or special interest may be threatened by such a study of realities?

There are those who say we already went through major changes in the mid-90s; there is no need to examine our structure again. Do they not realize how much our world, our society, our churches and our economy has changed in the last 12 years? Besides, what was labeled “Covenant for a New Century” really did not position us for the 21st century. Some entities were eliminated but the supposed streamlining just incorporated those functions into other existing entities. We were told this would make more resources available for missions, but the greatest benefactors in budget increases were ERLC and the Executive Committee. The result was an actual reduction in allocations to the mission boards!"

I think Dr. Rankin is right. No organization can perpetually continue without at least considering that there may be better ways of accomplishing the same task. Please pray for the GCTF as they seek God's direction of how to best steward the SBC and reach the lost for Christ.