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by Rod D. Martin
September 8, 2015
David Platt sent an open letter to Southern Baptists last week about IMB’s plans to cut 600-800 staff positions, most of them missionaries, to close the agency’s ongoing $20+ million annual deficit, now reaching a cumulative $210 million.
Platt addresses the matters ably. But the real question is this: How many missionaries would have to be cut if our churches were giving 10% through the Cooperative Program?
Answer: Precisely zero.
Folks, let’s be frank. The state conventions have all cut sacrificially. Florida alone has gone from keeping 2/3 of CP money to sending 51% away. Jobs have been cut, buildings are being sold, all to put more money into missions, at home and abroad. And a lot more money IS getting to missions.
But while the conventions are being faithful, most of our pastors are keeping their cash at home — or designating it to projects of their own choosing — something most of them would tell us as individuals was sinful.
Isn’t it time our pastors set an example? It might get easier to preach the tithe if our churches trusted God with 10% of their undesignated receipts. (Yes, for those who’ll get their theological feathers ruffled, I did not say that CP giving is tithing: I said it was an example. It’s also the most effective missions giving that can be done. And it’s the primary reason we are Southern Baptists and not just independent Bible churches.) And if all our churches managed just this incredibly small thing, our seminaries — which educate 1/3 of all seminary students in the entire United States — and our international and North American missions boards — the largest missionary sending agencies on Earth — wouldn’t be cutting staff. Indeed, they’d suddenly have over $1 Billion to work with and would be sending thousands of new people.
Your church can’t afford ten cents for the Gospel? Really? Really?
Rod is one of our nation’s leading minds. He’s smart, original, and very committed—a combination that one rarely finds.
Rod Martin is a Reaganite-Thatcherite conservative…[and] a man who has spent much of his life ministering to and working for the benefit of others. I know Rod as an advocate for freedom, a leader who understands the real changes we need in Washington, and who has the drive and ability to make those changes happen.
Rod Martin is the kind of dynamic leader who has the knowledge, ability and experience to lead us successfully into the 21st Century. His vision for America is compelling.
Rod Martin literally wrote the book on excellence. Humble yet brilliant, a man of love and compassion, with penetrating clarity he illuminates the world around us, and we are both stirred and enlightened.
Rod Martin is a born leader and an outstanding political mind. Anyone who takes him on is going to have a serious fight on their hands.
Rod Martin is a man of uncommon vision and character. Ever since I first worked alongside Rod in the early days of PayPal, I’ve been struck by his powerful vision for the future. Rod understands the intersection of technology, politics and culture in a way that few others do.
Rod Martin wears with uncommon grace an uncanny ability to link his vigorous faith to the practical challenges of both the business world and the political arena. Yet the respect he shows for others carries a warmth and modesty that are both too rare among those who are strong advocates of feisty positions.
America badly needs more leaders who really get the future. We need more Rod Martins.
Rod Martin is a modern day philosopher-statesman. He is a capitalist intellectual, a conservative iconoclast, a gentle adversary and a kind prophet. He inspires us towards a fresh national vision built upon the original founding principles.
Rod Martin is not only effective and efficient, but he is also perceptive, wise and gracious. He gets things done. He is a great friend and a great ally.
Rod is one of the sharpest, most gracious men I know, and one of the most gifted political thinkers today. His ability to analyze issues and communicate thoughtful insights on them have earned him the respect of people across the political spectrum.
I am proud to have been Rod Martin’s friend for a quarter century, and I can tell you that he is one of the finest men and most outstanding leaders in our church and in our country today. He has a knack for turning everything he touches to success.
Rod Martin is a cornucopian entrepreneur and eutropic thinker whose influence radiates through an array of companies, institutions, movements and churches. A renaissance American, he is also a prolific friend of freedom and faith around the globe.
If Rod Martin represents the next generation of leaders, America has nothing to worry about.
A leader and a servant, in public life and in private, Rod Martin strides at the top of his profession, and has nowhere to go but up. He is in the truest sense of the word ‘outstanding’.
Rod Martin is undoubtedly one of the most accomplished thought leaders today. He is a wonderful mentor, a humble role model, and a deep inspiration for the next generation of scientific innovators and entrepreneurs.
Rod’s achievements pale beside his character and his brilliance. He sees what others can’t. He leads when others won’t.
Rod Martin is one of America’s finest young minds.
The future of technology is the future of America. Rod Martin sees that future clearly, and also sees how to shape it for the betterment of all. He is firmly rooted in the traditions of faith and patriotism that have made America great. That’s why he has made, and will make, so many outstanding contributions in so many areas.
