Updated Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2007

Board authorizes giving plans study

By Norman Jameson

BR Editor

Baptist State Convention (BSC) Board of Directors President Allan Blume will appoint a committee to study North Carolina's Cooperative Program giving plans following action at the called board meeting Oct. 29 at Caraway Conference Center.

Members approved the motion by Scott Eanes of Statesville to study the plans and report to the board "no later than September 2008."

David MacEachern, of Bat Cave, asked Eanes to amend his motion to declare the intention of the study would be to "move to one giving plan." Eanes declined, saying his intent was simply to study the plans.

Statesville pastor Tim Rogers had already announced his intention to bring a motion to the annual session Nov. 12-14 for a committee "to study the possibility of moving to a single giving plan."

"My proposal is a moot point now," Rogers said Oct. 31. "I will sit back and trust our leadership. More wise heads than mine have been put together, evidently, and the Board of Directors believes this is the best course of action."

Rogers said the wisdom of having the Board of Directors commit to a study is that, "Now, we don't have to debate it on the floor of the convention."

Eanes, a friend of Rogers, said his intent is, "simply to study the feasibility of the plans."

"Are they doing what they were designed to do?" he said. "The dynamics are changing. The demographics are changing. Some of the plans have pretty significant decreases. Others have had increases. The only plan that's had any study is Plan C. I just want to look at what we have and see if they're working."

North Carolina Baptists are unique in Southern Baptist life with multiple giving plans each featuring a different distribution pattern for state, national and international missions, education and benevolence. They are labeled plans A, B, C and D.

Blume asked for suggestions of persons to name to the committee.