Baptist Distinctives: Cooperation

Text: 1 Corinthians 1:10

Theme: God works best through a unified local church.

Two men were riding a bicycle built for two when they came to a big steep hill. It took a great deal of struggle for the men to complete what proved to be a very stiff climb. When they got to the top the man in front turned to the other and said, "Boy, that sure was a hard climb." The fellow in back replied, "Yes, and if I hadn't kept the brakes on all the way we would certainly have rolled down backwards."

That’s a picture of disunity that’s often found in our churches today. Many of our congregations have lot’s of folks working hard, but often striving in different directions, with different goals and incompatible agendas. The result is a lack of unity and cooperation that can lead to schism and a break in fellowship.

Baptists, above all other denominations, have often been characterized by our detractors as a people who like to fuss and feud. And to be honest we have had our moments. But a Baptist, a real Baptist—one who accepts the teaching of Scripture and who understands the heritage of their Baptist forefathers—knows that the real genius of Baptist life is our willingness to cooperate that we might accomplish great things.

This evening, let me take some time to talk to you about cooperation in Baptist life: The Basis of our Cooperation, The Beauty of our Cooperation, and The Benefit of Cooperation.

I. THE BIBLICAL BASIS OF COOPERATION

1. let me read again the focal passage I have chosen for this evening’s message . . .

“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.” (1 Corinthians 1:10, NIV)

2. God’s will is that there be no divisions within the life of q local New Testament Church

a. I believe we can extrapolate that this also would include an association of believers

b. God's Spirit doesn't work where people are divided

3. the English word which we translate divisions in this verse literally means schism

a. it refers to a violent rending or tearing of something in two

ILLUS. It’s like taking an old sheet that you no longer use and deciding to turn it into half-a-dozen rags. You find a slight tear and then grabbing it with both hands, you begin to shred it into pieces.

b. Paul pleads with the Church at Corinth not to let this happen to them

4. God’s perfect will is that every one of His congregations be a whole, a unified, and a cooperating church

a. don’t ever assume that a church split is the will of God

1) church splits are always by the will of men and not God

ILLUS. Adrian Rogers once told his audience during an annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, that “Baptists are like cats: The more they fight, the more they multiply.”

2) that may be true, but it is certainly not God honoring nor God’s preferred method of starting new churches

b. can God use church splits?

1) of course He can

c. can God bring good out of a bad situation?

1) no doubt that He can

4. but, according to the Scriptures, God’s will is that there be no divisions among you

A. A CONGREGATION’S INTERNAL UNITY MUST FIND EXPRESSION IN OUTWARD COOPERATION

1. as 21st -century Southern Baptists we just pretty much take cooperation with other Baptist Churches and entities for granted

a. it wasn’t always so

1) it took Baptists decades to develop a spirit of voluntary cooperation among our churches

b. in the beginning Baptists believed that the Bible was and is the soul authority for the doctrines and practice of the local church

1) we still do

2) from our beginning, Baptists have been a fiercely independent people

a) we believe in the absolute autonomy of each local Baptist congregation

b) we call our own pastors, build and own our facilities, establish our own budgets, and determine our own missions and benevolent giving

c) want to begin a civil war? Let one Baptist congregation attempt to tell another Baptist congregation what to do!

ILLUS. I remember attending a Southern Baptist annual meeting where a resolution was brought forth that condemned the sale, use, manufacture and growth of tobacco products. When it came time to discuss the resolution the author of the resolution was allowed to speak to his resolution and he passionately spoke of the evils of of tobacco. You’d think this would be a relatively safe resolution to bring before Southern Baptists. In parliamentary procedure the next person to speak is the one who speaks against the motion. The chair recognized a messenger at a microphone to speak. He was a Southern Baptist tobacco farmer from South Carolina, who in no uncertain terms, told the brother who has brought the resolution to “mind his own business.” The resolution did not pass.

c. early Baptists believed that the Bible nowhere provides for any ecclesiastical organization other than the local congregation

1) that conviction prevented early Baptists from developing and supporting organizations beyond the local church

a) that remains true for some Baptists—particularly our Independent/Fundamentalist Baptist brethren

2. the good news is that, in time, many Baptists began to take a deeper look at the Biblical principles of voluntary cooperation for the sake of missions, education, and benevolence

a. most Baptists discovered, as did the early church, that cooperation among God’s churches is essential in fulfilling the Great Commission

B. A CONGREGATION’S OUTWARD COOPERATION IS THOROUGHLY BIBLICAL

1. the New Testament illustrates a spirit of cooperation among the churches

a. 1st, their cooperation was absolutely voluntary

1) each 1st -century church was autonomous, and as such was free under the Lordship of Christ, Jesus

a) as such they were free to determine who its leaders would be, what form of worship it would practice, and how it would relate to other churches

2) Baptists looked at the early church and concluded that no individual, religious organization or government authority has a right to infringe on this freedom

3) therefore, if there is any cooperation among churches it is solely a voluntary cooperation—we cooperate with other by our own fee will

b. 2nd, their cooperation was for the sake of effective ministry

ILLUS. In 2 Corinthians 8-9 the Apostle Paul wrote to the church about the needs of fellow Christians in Jerusalem who were suffering from famine and persecution. He encouraged them—he did not command them—but encouraged them to take up an offering for their relief. When the church in Macedonia discovered this, they begged Paul to let them take up an offering, too.

c. 3rd their cooperation was for the sake of missions

“Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.” (Philippians 4:14–18, ESV)

d. 4th, their cooperation was for the sake of fellowship

ILLUS. In Roman 16:1-16 Paul list 29 people—both men and women—who have aided him in his work. This passage is not a dry list of names. Rather, it gives insight into the early church, and it reveals Paul’s esteem and regard for some of the believers and the importance of fellowship among the congregations scattered around the Roman Empire.

2. Baptists, who from their inception, were fiercely autonomous, looked at the New Testament and sought to emulate the voluntary cooperation they saw in the early church

ILLUS. James L. Sullivan, president of the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board, described this voluntary cooperation as a rope of sand with the strength of steel.”

a. Baptist in general, and Southern Baptists in particular have chosen to cooperate though informal networks, and through organizations such as associations, societies, and conventions

II. THE BEAUTY OF OUR COOPERATION

ILLUS. Many years ago, the SBC Executive Committee hired a firm to evaluate the Southern Baptist Convention from top to bottom and to make recommendations. After a long period of time the report came back. The report reported that the structure and voluntary cooperation among Southern Baptist churches and Southern Baptist entities shouldn’t work. And yet, amazingly, they did work. There were no major recommendations to the Convention.

1. I think it was W.A. Criswell who once compared the SBC to the Bumble Bee

a. scientists say that, areodimetrically Bumble Bees ought not to be able to fly ... their body mass is way to large for their stubble little wings

1) but nobody told that to the Bumble Bee and so they fly on their merry way

b. nobody told Baptists that voluntary cooperation on a national level wouldn’t work so we just go merrily on our way supporting missionaries and seminaries and colleges children’s homes and retirement homes and food pantries and crisis pregnancy center not realizing that we should be able to do so

2. Southern Baptists in particular have chosen to cooperate though informal networks, and through organizations such as associations, societies, and conventions

a. our very first act of voluntary cooperation was the association of churches

1) the very first was the Philadelphia Association formed in 1707—about 100 years after the first Baptist formed in England

2) those who organized the association made it clear to everyone that it had absolutely no authority over the churches

3) it existed primarily for fellowship, mutual support (in an era when Baptists were Persona non grata in most of the American colonies) and to deal with doctrinal issues among the churches as they arose

b. our second step in voluntary cooperation was the formation of societies

1) these societies had a single focus such as foreign missions, or home missions or Christian publications

2) individuals, or groups or even churches became a part of the society by making a financial contribution to the society

3) and for a long time societies worked well, and many Baptists continues to fund ministry and missions through societal giving

c. the third and ultimate step Baptists took in voluntary cooperation was the convention

1) conventions differ from societies in that a convention of churches solicits voluntary contributions from member congregations for the combined support of the convention’s ministries

2) among Southern Baptists this emphasis on combined support resulted in the formation of the Cooperative Program

III. THE BENEFIT OF OUR COOPERATION

1. we do together what we cannot do alone