Cooperative Program

1. Stays true to the original vision. The Cooperative Program is an agreement among churches, state conventions and the Southern Baptist Convention to cooperate to conduct mission ministries in the United States and around the world. It is a channel through which our offerings flow to underwrite missions and ministries performed by more than 6,400 […]

1. Not using the Church Retirement Plan through GuideStone. GuideStone does a very good job with our money. Their investments are competitive with secular companies. The Church Retirement Plan has unique tax treatment for ministers. Due to the dual tax status of ministers, making tax-deferred contributions saves on federal, state and self-employment taxes on the

It was a beautiful late spring day in north Alabama, and I was taking my then four-year-old son fishing with me. He and I would go to a farm area not far from my house. I loved to fish, and my son loved to throw rocks in the water. I’ll grant you that isn’t usually

Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah Surely every man walks about like a shadow; Surely they busy themselves in vain; He heaps up riches, And does not know who will gather them. Psalm 39:5-6

The Cooperative Program (CP) is much more than money or a funding strategy. True, it has been Southern Baptist’s main strategy for nearly 100 years to gather unified funds from autonomous SBC congregations and use them to carry the message of Christ to our neighbors and the nations. The funding journey begins with you and

Major is an 11-year-old boy who listens to the needs of a lost world and begins to despair. “What could I possibly do that would impact a lost world, feed masses of hungry people, help orphans and abandoned children, and make serious efforts to reach lost people here in Alabama?” Major’s head spins as he

“On the line!” Those words struck fear in me when I was in high school playing basketball. The last part of practice – conditioning – always started with those dreaded words. Sometimes we would run until our coach got tired of blowing his whistle. Other times he would tell us how many sprints we had

“Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” –Mark 6:31 (NKJV). There’s a story that’s made the rounds through the years among preachers that goes like this: There was once a lumberjack who was looking for work. The man approached the manager of a wood supplier, asked if he needed any help,

I am often drawn to Paul’s words in Philippians 1:3-5 (NKJV): “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now” because, like Paul, I find myself being sometimes overcome with

One of my all-time favorite movies is the Michael J. Fox classic, Back to the Future. I was mesmerized by the concept and plot of the movie and, like many, was thrilled when Marty made his leap back to the future. When Marty first learns that his eccentric friend, Emmett “Doc” Brown, has invented a time