One Sacred Effort: The Cooperative Program of Southern Baptists

by Chad Owen Brand; David E. Hankins

Publisher:

B&H

, 2005

Overview

The preamble of the original constitution of the Southern Baptist Convention describes the purpose of the SBC as “eliciting, combining, and directing the energies of the whole denomination in one sacred effort, for the propagation of the Gospel.” These words are not only historically significant; they convey the mission and purpose and distill the distinct facets of the Cooperative Program.

One Sacred Effort describes the history and purpose of the Cooperative Program of Southern Baptists. This purpose underlies much of what it means to be a Baptist. Authors Chad Owen Brand and David E. Hankins offer this narrative to help you understand and appreciate the cooperative spirit of the Baptist tradition.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Soul competency then is the conviction that each person will give an account to God and that no entity in this age has the right or the power to intervene between each person and God. The difficulty we face in using the term is that it has been co-opted for so many other purposes that it may have lost some of its value in clarifying the conversation. We might consider replacing the phrase with something like ‘soul accountability.’” (Page 18)

“In 2004, Southern Baptists claimed a membership of 16,267,494 affiliated with 43,465 congregations. These congregations, by sending messengers and money, cause the Southern Baptist Convention to be a reality. The Southern Baptist Convention is a legal corporation but an unusual one. It has no assets. It has no employees. It owns no property. In fact, the Southern Baptist Convention only exists two days per year. It comes into existence when the presiding officer, elected in the previous year’s session, calls the Southern Baptist Convention into session. It ceases to exist when the final session is adjourned.” (Page 100)

“The rationale behind the preceding motion is that Southern Baptists have woefully neglected this subject, resulting in widespread ignorance about and emphasis on the wonderful opportunity Southern Baptists have to reach the world for Christ. A massive undertaking is needed now. If nothing is done, the temptation to go back to a societal method of missions support will only increase. Entities, both state and national, will tire of waiting around and hoping that cooperative funding efforts will be fruitful and will go directly to churches and individuals to fund their endeavors. People will choose more immediate but less effective methods for carrying out missions, and the Lord’s work among Southern Baptists could be poorer for it.” (Page 200)

Product Details

• Title: One Sacred Effort: The Cooperative Program of Southern Baptists
• Author: Chad Brand and David E. Hankins
• Publisher: B&H
• Publication Date: 2006
• Pages: 240

About the Authors

Chad Owen Brand is Professor of Christian Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Associate Dean for Biblical and Theological Studies at Boyce College. Dr. Brand is an editor of the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, available from Logos as part of the 11-volume Holman Reference Collection (11 volumes). He has also written scholarly articles for publications such as the Trinity Journal and the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, both included in the Theological Journal Libraries: Volumes 1–10.

David E. Hankins earned a B.A. degree in religion from Dallas Baptist University and the M.Div. and Ph.D. from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. After twenty-five years of pasturing, Dr. Hankins served as vice president for the Cooperative Program with the SBC Executive Committee (1998–2004), where he gave direction to the promotion of Cooperative Program ministries and giving for Southern Baptists. David is now executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention. He and his wife Patty reside in Alexandria, Louisiana.