By Norman Jameson
I’m a passionate guy. Not only do I understand when a person’s commitment to his or her ministry prompts a passion that excludes consideration that another ministry might be just as valid, I often applaud it. Every ministry needs advocates willing to stand on a hill and wave the banner for it or that ministry will suffer the ignominious fate that befalls the lukewarm and anonymous.
Freed from the shackles of propriety by the announcement of his impending retirement, Jerry Rankin, president of the Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board, is unleashing his passion to wave the banner for the IMB to a degree that threatens to carry his passion to a new — and harmful — level.
An early advocate and silent partner in the Great Commission Resurgence movement that is examining the historic processes of Southern Baptists in ministry, education, benevolence and missions, Rankin is becoming the vocal leader for those who believe the only worthy investment of any cooperative missions dollar is outside of the United States.
There are plenty of churches in America, these advocates say, to evangelize the lost population here — if they would just commit to the Great Commission, Jesus’ marching orders at the end of Matthew to take the gospel to “all nations.”
Consequently the mission dollars Baptist churches contribute through the Cooperative Program should be invested much more heavily in pushing back lostness where there is little or no Christian witness, they say.
Who can argue against that? Well, there is a case to be made both from a historical and a future context for continued investment in certain levels of Baptist processes, but more on that later.
For now, Rankin’s legitimate passion for international missions has prompted him to cross the line of propriety in his criticism of Morris Chapman, president of the SBC Executive Committee. In a blog published this week Rankin questioned Chapman’s commitment to the Great Commission and unloaded his frustration of 17 years of jumping through the budget request hoops in Chapman’s committee without getting any significant increase for international missions.
Rankin, as does any passionate proponent, believes the resources of the Southern Baptist Convention should be harnessed and focused for the entity he leads because its assignment should be the convention’s singular purpose. That passion led him to write that Chapman believes “the purpose of our denomination is not the Great Commission but cooperation.”
Rankin implied that persons employed in Baptist denominational ministry who have reservations about recommendations of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force are simply afraid “to lose entitlements.”
“Apparently it doesn’t matter whether we impact a lost world or accomplish anything else as long as we cooperate together,” Rankin wrote. “In fact, it was said that the formula for Cooperative Program allocations must not change. I now understand why for 17 years I and my staff have been meeting with the budget workgroup of the Executive Committee, presenting our required report on funding needs, but nothing is ever done. It is just a meaningless exercise of denominational bureaucracy.”
Actually, when I was on the Executive Committee staff 1977-82 I had a similar impression. Every entity head made an impassioned plea for more funds and allocations remained the same. Of course, any increase for one entity could only come from a decrease to another and every entity had a passionate banner waver who believed his ministry was the most important. I admired the presenters and was ready to give each of them an increase — until I heard the next presenter.
Rankin called the 1 percentage point increase that the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force is recommending for IMB — to be taken from the Executive Committee budget — a “token.” Remember, that is not a “1 percent increase” but 1 percentage point of the CP total, which equals $2 million, or nearly one third of the Executive Committee budget.
Rankin’s rancor was prompted by remarks Chapman made to assembled Baptist state convention executives Feb. 10 that Rankin interpreted to mean Chapman valued cooperation above the Great Commission and that cooperation was the purpose of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Chapman said in a statement quoted by Baptist Press: “I am saddened that Jerry so blatantly misrepresented my comments. The men who heard me speak know what I said, what I think of Christ and His commands, and where I think cooperation falls in any list of priorities. I would never say that cooperation is the purpose of our convention. It is only a means to an end — to assist Southern Baptists in working together for the common purpose of furthering the Kingdom of God.”
Chapman said he hopes Rankin “will retract his unjustified remarks. They do not befit a man of his position and stature.”
Passion is a great thing; nothing moves forward without it. But as passionate Christian men and women earnestly examine the issues that threaten to apply such a “shock to the system” that the system itself could fail, let us conduct ourselves amiably, frankly and lovingly.