In case you have not heard …

The long-awaited initial progress report from the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force has been posted. You can find it at www.pray4gcr.com. Here, you will have an opportunity to review the report as delivered by GCR Task Force Chairman Ronnie Floyd to the SBC Executive Committee.

To say the least, this report has generated many more questions than answers. I want to take a few more lines and defend my last statement. The reason the statement is true is that the GCR Task Force cannot possibly give complete answers to everything they recommended. It’s not their fault … it just happens whenever a major report is given in summary form.

And Ronnie Floyd was not asked to give a detailed report, only to share a progress report in preparation for a final report. And so we do need to give the Task Force some time to further communicate about their more detailed understanding of the report.

With that said, it does appear that if the report is adopted, it will definitely impact the work of the new-work states like Arizona. At this point, we do not fully know what the implications will be for all of us, but it does seem to suggest that things will be different.

If the progress report stays intact, it will recommend the current Cooperative Agreements will go away after four years. And it appears that the North American Mission Baord will move to a regional approach that will be their attempt to get closer to the field.

What the report does not specify is how NAMB will relate to the work in Arizona, the rest of the West, and the remainder of the nation that is under-reached. We hear from certain persons that it means that NAMB will do their own direct missions. Others counter and say NAMB will enter new agreements with the new-work areas that will enhance their work and bring greater support. The million dollar question is which do you believe? I guess it depends on which blog you read on a given day.

One thing is certain at this time: the answer to the above questions will not be finalized during one vote in June. Rather, it is my belief that we are on a journey that will unfold, step by step, over a multi-year period.

Here are some crucial markers for you to watch:

1. The final May report of the GCR due May 3rd. This will have the final recommendations for the annual SBC in June.
2. Whatever is passed in June, who NAMB elects as president will be critical to this process of “putting meat on the bones” of the recommendations of the GCR.
3. It will be the responsibility of the NAMB Board of Trustees and their new president to implement the implications of the report as adopted. From this journey, NAMB will begin the process of rolling out how they will relate to state conventions in the future.

And so … here is my commitment to God, His Kingdom and our work in Arizona. We are going to remain focused on our vision to evangelize and “church” our state. We are also going to remain committed to the development and training of God-called leaders and to the disciple- making process of fulfilling the Great Commission. And we are going to enter a time of prayer and planning in order to respond (notice, I did not say “react”) to potential scenarios concerning what these changes may mean to us in Arizona.

In the meantime, I am going to communicate with the leaders of our SBC and the GCR and share with them our field-driven strategy of hearing from our churches on a yearly basis concerning evangelism, church planting, disciple-making and leadership development. And I pray that when it comes time for our Southern Baptist family to think and pray about the best way to reach Arizona, that they will join us as partners. Don’t expect the answer to come overnight, for it will take several years for it to come to light.

Meanwhile, share the Gospel with your next-door neighbor.

Recently, the President of the Southern Baptist Convention suggested it may be time for us to evaluate and plan for the future as Southern Baptists. And while most calls to “evaluate” and “plan” can be met with yawns, this particular request was anything but tame. In fact, it wasn’t long until his suggestion had a title, “The Great Commission Resurgence,” and off the discussion, dialogue and diatribes went. While I have responded to this particular call for planning elsewhere, I want to offer a few assumptions I have about planning as a group of believers who are called to be Christ followers.

But before I begin, I want to let you know of my underlying philosophy about planning as Christians in a complex and political world. Here it is: The last great movie in my opinion was Forrest Gump. Now, I know that will get me in trouble, but I love a naïve guy who blows through life surrounded by a bunch of cynical people who think he is stupid dumb, and yet in the end … he is the millionaire who loves his son more than anything else. And all of the complex cynics fade off the scene while Forrest simply honors his word and wins life’s most important passions!

And now back to planning. Here are my naïve assumptions:

1. It is never, never, never a bad thing to evaluate and plan. Maybe our evaluation will show that we are doing many things right! It will affirm that, for the most part, we are on target. But it may also do us all a favor and show us some gaping holes, some things we are missing … and that is never a bad thing. If my leadership act of service is to honor God and serve Southern Baptists, then why would I not want to drop a plumb line on occasion and see how I am doing?

2. I will never be able to judge another servant’s motives. Have you ever noticed in Forrest Gump that Tom Hanks never could judge another’s motives? He only acted on their word and delivered on his own word. And when the dust settled, all the cynics, who were bent on judging other people’s motives, faded into the background while the multimillionaire Forrest Gump sat on a stump holding his son while waiting for the school bus. I think it is time we stop thinking we know what the other guy is “really up to.” Questions about the Great Commission Resurgence like: “What does the mega-church pastor really want out of this evaluation? What does the state convention executive director really want? What does the Executive Committee really want? Truth is: Steve Bass will never be able to judge another servant’s motives. I am just that naïve and simple.

3. I choose to trust people – especially when they are fellow Jesus followers who love God and our cooperative work. It is not “my” convention, nor is it “my” office. It belongs to God (another naïve assumption) and God’s people. They have only set me aside to lead it for a short time. And I must always place my ear toward heaven (and them) in order to discern Godly direction.

And now for a summary: It is never a bad thing to evaluate and plan! Who knows, God may be showing us a new thing! I can’t wait …