May 19, 1999

Chapman criticizes Texas giving plan
___A proposed fifth option in Cooperative Program giving through the Baptist General Convention of Texas has drawn criticism from Morris Chapman, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
___In statements released through Baptist Press, Chapman said the fifth plan, which would divert money from some SBC causes to Texas causes, is an attempt "to drive a wedge between Texas Southern Baptist churches and the SBC."
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Morris Chapman

Rather than creating new options, state conventions ought to be strengthening support for the traditional Cooperative Program approach that funds all SBC entities, Chapman said.
___Chapman, former pastor of First Baptist Church of Wichita Falls, said BGCT leaders are "systematically" pushing "folks farther away from the SBC" with new giving tracks.
___"Leaders of the BGCT are attempting to erode support for the Cooperative Program as it has been defined for many, many years, an approach God has blessed abundantly," Chapman said.
___Chapman's claims were countered by Glenn Majors, director of Cooperative Program services for the BGCT.
___Rather than "systematically" pushing churches farther away from the SBC, the BGCT's expanded giving options have "systematically encouraged churches to give through the Cooperative Program, and churches have responded proportionately with their dollars," Majors said.
___Year-to-date Cooperative Program giving by Texas Baptist churches is 12.2 percent ahead of budget and 7.1 percent ahead of the same period last year, he noted. And Cooperative Program giving by Texas Baptist churches has increased each year since BGCT messengers adopted the multiple giving option approach.
___The 1994 action by BGCT messengers to expand the definition of the Cooperative Program was in keeping with the nature of the giving plan, which has continued to be redefined since its creation in 1925, Majors said. He noted that Texas is one of five state conventions currently offering multiple options for Cooperative Program giving.
___"It is churches that are redefining the Cooperative Program, not the BGCT," Majors asserted.
___"The role of the BGCT is to 'encourage and assist churches.' The Cooperative Program in Texas is church-directed, not convention-directed."

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