Of Baptists and Budgets: The Financial Woes of Texas Baptists & Cooperative Baptists

In recent weeks, two important Baptist groups in moderate Baptist life met to discuss and conduct business.  Last week, the Coordinating Council of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship met at First Baptist Church, Tucker, Georgia.  This week, the Baptist General Convention of Texas held its annual meeting in Amarillo.  Both groups were once again confronted with declining financial receipts.

Baptist General Convention of Texas

Texas Baptists in Amarillo approved a flat budget for the upcoming 2012 fiscal year of 33.85 million.

Just four years ago, Texas Baptists adopted a 50.1 million budget for the 2008 fiscal year.  However, after a rough first quarter marked by a a significant budget shortfall, the BGCT was forced to implement cutbacks and lower its budget to approximately 46.82 million.  The following November 2008, messengers made more cuts and approved a 45.76 million budget, down 8 percent from the previous year.

From May 2008 – September 2009, the BGCT budget was reduced 20 percent according to treasurer Jill Larsen.  Many personnel were also cut between 2006 and 2009.  According to Larsen, the BGCT counted 406 employees in 2006.  That number was down to 272 in 2009.  More staff cuts were made in 2010.

The 33.85 million budget adopted this week for the upcoming 2012 fiscal year was 32% less than the 2008 budget.

Watching parts of the Texas Baptist meeting via an online live stream, I heard treasurer Jill Larsen explain to the crowd of messengers that the budget woes were due to the poor economy.  Larsen had offered a similar explanation in previous years, citing the struggling economy and high unemployment.

The lagging economy is of course an easy explanation.  Although, I’m not sure our nation’s economic problems fully explains why Texas Baptists continue to face serious money troubles.

My observation is certainly not unique.  In a June 2010 editorial, Marv Knox of Texas’ The Baptist Standard blamed the BGCT’s declining support on “corroding confidence” in the convention and “recoil from our real and perceived irrelevance.”  Obviously factors other than the economy have much to do with the financial situation that Texas Baptists have found themselves in for some time now.

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has faced many similar woes in recent years as well.

The CBF increased its budget slightly to just over 17 million for the 2006-2007 fiscal year.  The following year saw the budget reduced to 16.48 million for 2007-2008 and a 16.5 million budget in 2008-2009.  A 16.1 million budget was adopted for the 2009-2010 fiscal year.  Yethe CBF chose to start the year spending at 80 percent of projected income due to an anticipated decline in giving.  For 2010-2011, CBF adopted a budget of 14.5 million.

Last week, controller Larry Hurst reported to the CBF’s Coordinating Council that the CBF had ended the 2010-2011 fiscal year 2.1 million short of the 14.5 million budget.  Hurst noted that the offering for global missions took in 4.6 million, well short of the 5.5 million target despite a “Keeping the Promises” campaign to meet the goal.

The CBF’s 2011-2012 budget is 12.3 million.  This represents a nearly 28 percent decline from the 17 million budget of 2006-2007. Also like the BGCT, financial circumstances in recent years have forced the CBF to make deep personnel cuts.  In early 2011, the CBF laid off 25 percent of its staff.

Conclusion

What to make of the fact that a decline in giving has forced the Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to chop their budgets by 32 percent and 28 percent respectively over the course of the last handful of years?

Well, this decline is obviously not just due to the economy.

Europe may eventually turn things around.  The Dow Jones might even crack 14,000 again.  Unemployment could drop to 7.something percent one day.  But it is unlikely that the BGCT and CBF will see a return to 2006 giving levels at any point in the foreseeable future.

While the CBF and BGCT both have a different set of issues and challenges to deal with, both groups are faced with a changing religious landscape that places less value on institutions/denominations.  Hopeful rhetoric and feel-good meetings serve a purpose but cannot alone stop the downward spiral.

A new, bold vision for the future rooted in a distinctly Baptist identity is needed.  This need for a vision comes at a critical period of transition for these groups as both the BGCT and CBF search for a new Executive-Director.

To confront the challenges, Texas Baptists and Cooperative Baptists should revisit what it means to be Baptist in the 21st century.  Revisiting and recommitting to an uncoerced faith marked by a free conscience, religious liberty and radical gospel egalitarianism certainly won’t hinder the quest for a new vision!