If you are a Southern Baptist you’ve likely heard the news that the IMB has put in place a plan to reduce the total number of personnel by 600-800 people over the next six months. This is terribly sad news as this means it is likely that less people from unreached people groups will be hearing the gospel.
Southern Baptists, as we are prone to do, have been chewing on this news over the last week. There is one thing that I keep hearing that I’d like to address. Some are wondering about the salary of David Platt. At present we don’t make the salary of our executives (like seminary Presidents) public. This has led some to wonder whether or not the author of Radical is practicing what he is preaching. Is he making the same sacrifice that others are making? Or is he taking a cozy salary and living it up in an air-conditioned office making decisions to cut the salary of hard-working missionaries out on the field? Shouldn’t Mr. Radical be making some radical sacrifices and perhaps making the same as the missionaries on the field?
Whenever I hear statements like this my mind goes to John 21. This is where Jesus restores Peter and lets him know that Peter will indeed glorify God by his death. After chewing on this information for a bit, Peter’s eyes land on the beloved disciple. In light of the revelation of his own lot of suffering Peter wonders “what about this man?”
What about this man?
Is he going to suffer as much as me? Is he going to pull his weight? Or is it just me, Lord?
With this Peter’s eyes have shifted. They’ve shifted away from the Lord and what the Lord is calling him to do. He’s now wondering about the life of another disciple. What does God have in store for him? He’s playing the comparison game—and you get the idea from Jesus’ response that Peter doesn’t like the result. Or maybe he figures his suffering will be a little better so long as the beloved disciple is suffering too.
When our eyes start shifting to the other guy, Jesus’ response to Peter should be a helpful rebuke. “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!”
If David Platt makes $800,000 per year “what is that to you…”? I understand that this comparison is a bit apples to oranges. As Southern Baptist our giving provides for Platt’s salary. We do have some sort of say in the matter and we ought to be asking questions of how we are spending our money. So, I get that it’s not a one to one comparison, but the heart of the thing is still there.
Even if we knew David Platt’s salary we have no idea how he spends his money. And frankly a good deal of that is between he and the Lord. If God wants to give David Platt a ton of money per year then that is His prerogative. If he wants to make me destitute that is also His prerogative. As we read in Hebrews 11 some “conquered kingdoms…stopped the mouths of lions…escaped the edge of the sword” and others “suffered mocking and flogging…were sawn in two…and went about destitute, afflicted, mistreated”. We don’t get to decide which of those is our lot. And according to our Lord we shouldn’t be concerned about what He has decided for the other guy.
Jesus said to Peter, “You follow me!”
I love those words. Don’t worry about what John does. Don’t worry about his obedience or lack thereof. You follow me. It’s as if he is saying, “Peter, you’re going to have a hard enough time following me on your own. You don’t have the grace to worry about John’s obedience and your own.”
Again, I know there are a ton of “yeah, buts” in here. All I’m asking is that we consider the state of our hearts when we start asking tough questions about the salaries of our entity heads. Is it possible that we are being a bit much like Peter, and need to be rebuked by Jesus for focusing on how God is using someone else? Is it possible that we ought to be asking tough questions of our own heart—and focusing on our obedience to the Great Commission—before we start wondering about the other guy?
Is David Platt being radical? I don’t know. The better is question is, am I?
Great perspective and example. So often we use others weaknesses and failures to divert from the heartache of evaluating our own heart, which we don’t want to do because of our lack of understanding and acceptance of the grace given by the gospel of Jesus. Just like Peter we would rather measure up than be the recipient of such an incredible gift. The whole thing comes full circle too, in that we would rather assume upon David’s heart and condemn his assumed hypocrisy, than to offer and pray for grace for him, that he would lead the IMB through this challenging season, and that the aim of his charge would be love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1Tim 1:5) While those assuming upon and judging David are described in the next verse.
Grace, Grace God’s Grace. Where is it in all of this?
Even as I write this, it is a good reminder for me on how often I look at a situation the same way, in my sin and deception.
The IMB head, Platt, does not figuratively represent “God’s Will” for the undisclosed “other” in the biblical text. Additionally, the IMB does not figuratively represent “The Church” either in a local or universal sense in the biblical text.
Consequently, this is manipulation as opposed to interpetation and application of Scripture. Just sayin.
I never said that it is a one to one comparison. In fact I noted this.
I also don’t believe this is manipulation. Instead I believe it is a good solid organic application of that passage. Peter is focused on the lot of the other guy. Jesus reminds him to worry about his own call upon his life. I think we can rightly draw from this that when we find ourselves in a place like Peter (tempted to look at the sacrifice of the other guy) that we’d do well to focus on our own following of Jesus.
When someone comes along with the position and the fortitude to address what has been a HUGE problem for YEARS, it’s natural that those who thought things were fine would attack. Perhaps if the deficits and the asset sales had been as widely publicized, as his corrective steps, all the present hooha wouldn’t be necessary.
Precisely my problem Bill Mac, many funding but outside the apparatus of the SBC have suggested, hypothesized, and feared for years this stuff was happening only to have those suspicions confirmed. Been HOOHA’D on our end for 20 years while writing checks…..”Stingy” as they were.
My apologies Bob. I typed BillMac
Mike,
I appreciate your point and if I have any “ya, buts” they may not be directly applicable to the SBC … so maybe as a bigger picture question: How do we find the balance between worrying about our own walk – “what is that to me?” – and also exercising wisdom enough to ensure that our leaders and organizations are staying on course?
It seems to me that this argument could so easily be abused by leadership that is drifting away from firm theological roots. Surely many cults and non-biblical denominations take that approach already, but I’m more focused on being cautious of the small drifts in course that lead to the inevitable wreckage.
Again, not specific to the SBC, or inferring anything about the SBC 🙂 Just in broad terms, how do we balance appropriate wise examination of leadership with the (correct) imperative to look first to our own walk?
I agree with the context of this article; however as Christians give their money to this organization to go towards the advancement of the gospel, the protocol should be that there is transparency with the financial statements. If there is nothing to hide, there should be no issue with making this information public so that “investors” have comfort that the money they are giving is going directly towards missions and not all towards someone’s salary. It is not a matter of comparison or worrying about what other people are doing with their money; it is a matter of accountability and transparency with an organization, which is not unreasonable when you are asking for people’s tithes (under the pretense of the advancement of the gospel). Additionally, the bible calls for a level of accountability even among church leaders and transparency with financial matters is another way to hold one another accountable. It should never be someone’s policy to blindly give to an organization if the said organization doesn’t want to disclose what it does with the money raised.
Yes well said; am I?