Last year, most observers noted the Cooperative Program’s apparent influence in the election of Frank Page as President. There is no denying that the CP giving of the other two candidates, or the lack thereof, had a tremendous impact on the outcome of the election.

Or did it?

Let me offer this thought to roll around in your mind and decide if, perhaps, it is true. The Cooperative Program represented a multitude of irritants within the bulk of the Convention and, as such, voting for the “CP Candidate” was voting for change from this series of aggravations.

Such a list would include the mega church/executive model of governance within both the SBC and the local church, what seems to have been the taking for granted of the small churches and, of course, the narrowing of parameters of cooperation. All of these were embodied in Frank Page and the Cooperative Program.

It seems that this year, in response to the possible misperception of the CP taking center stage as the primary, if not sole, vindication of a candidate, BOTH 1VP candidates have had CP credentials tauted, though David Rogers’ has been hooked to his nominator, David Dykes. I think this is a mistake in evaluation. I don’t think the CP is everything the way it has been perceived from last year.

Think the CP is so important to us? Consider this: Every year we celebrate new records in CP giving, but since the Resurgence began, have we ever increased the CP at the same rate as inflation? I don’t think we have even once. If we have in any individual year, we have certainly not come close in the near thirty years since the Resurgence began.

This means that, in actual and practical leverage to accomplish ministry and mission objectives, we have declined.

Don’t misunderstand me. I think the CP is vital. I led our church to raise our CP giving from 8% to 10% in addition to maintaining other missions budgeting and increasing the church’s budget by about 1/7th. This means a substantial increase in my church’s CP giving. I say this just to help everyone understand that I am not trying to undermine CP giving – I highly encourage you to increase yours, if you can – but to point out that the CP is not the end all, be all in Convention elections and politics.

In fact, in this 1VP candidacy, I doubt anyone will pay nearly as much attention for one obvious reason: David Rogers is a field missionary. He doesn’t have a CP giving record and has the one reason that all Southern Baptists will excuse most anyone for most anything not immoral – they are missionaries on the field.

I think you will may hear a few CP giving numbers, but they will be from folks trying to get someone elected and mistakenly hearkening to last year’s confluence of events – looking to capture a wave that has already crashed at the seashore.

This year’s wave? I suspect that it will be the BFM and our agencies’ ability, or lack thereof, to go beyond its bounds. Look for the BFM to take center stage this year. It now captures everything that is broiling within the convention. If there is a referendum to be had, it is here.

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