BFM3000 #2: Financial Transparency
Welcome back to BFM3000, where we are aiming at Southern Baptist fruitfulness for the next thousand years by promoting a forward vision for the next thousand days.
Today, we talk about financial transparency.
Motion for 990-Level Transparency
At the Annual Meeting in New Orleans, I stood before the convention to make a motion that we amend our business and financial plan to require SBC entities to disclose Form 990-level financial information.
Jon Whitehead, a churchman and lawyer—and in his case, this is not an oxymoron—drafted the language of the motion. I was grateful to have the opportunity to offer it on the floor, but credit goes to Jon for putting together a precise and workable motion. Here’s the text:
“I move that THE BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL PLAN BE AMENDED AS FOLLOWS: Financial Reports, Paragraph 3 be added, to state: In addition to the foregoing, within six months of the close of each financial year, each Entity will publish information in the same detail, scope, and quality as would be required to be disclosed to the public in the informational Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax, or Form 990, and all applicable schedules and attachments thereto, as if the Entity were required to file such return. An officer of the entity must attest that the information is true, accurate, and complete to the best of its knowledge. Unless otherwise provided, the Entity will use the definitions applicable by law, as if the entity were required to file the return. This does not require any Entity to file a 990 with the IRS or to disclose information that is not normally available to the public, such as Schedule B.”
A Pastor’s Motivation
Here’s why I wanted to do make this motion and was glad when given the opportunity.
I pastor a small church in the Upstate of South Carolina. We just celebrated our 110th anniversary as a church on May 21st. Our church has given faithfully to the Cooperative Program for the majority of these 110 years. Many current members have given faithfully to the Cooperative Program for five or more decades.
I believe they deserve the confidence and courtesy of financial accountability.
It’s what we practice at our church. The chairman of our finance committee is 80 years old. He spends the bulk of his days as caregiver for his wife, but manages to find time and energy to continue serving our church as deacon and finance chair.
He keeps meticulous records. He has a folder with all sorts of financial information. Anyone who wants to see it is welcome to. He reports on finances at our regular members meetings.
He knows we are spending God’s money and he believes our church members have a right to know how we are spending it. We should expect nothing less than that standard for the entities of our cooperating churches.
Further, as I have conversations with prospective members, I’m noticing a stark increase in the number of people who are aware of problems in the SBC and do not want their tithe dollars going to the Cooperative Program. I’m having to assure them that they can designate their giving to stay within the church and have no portion of it be contributed to the CP.
In other words, they are willing to join our church, but they are unwilling to contribute mission dollars where there is no accountability.
The lack of trust and transparency is hurting us on the ground at the local church level.
“But we have trustees.”
For several years now, attempts at financial transparency have been rebuffed by pointing out that each entity has trustees—and they are doing a fine job, thank you very much.
Except they are not.
Southwestern Seminary is Exhibit A.
Then-president Adam Greenway had access to funds, with apparently no oversight, to use for his home. With a full trustee board in place, Mr. Greenway managed to spend $60,000 on Christmas decoration and $11,000 on a coffee machine.
Further, the seminary trustees, as a body, failed to exercise financial oversight of the seminary to the tune of $140 million deficit in overspending from 2002-2022. Six million dollars a year is gross financial negligence.
The trustee system is failing. We’ll address that topic another day, but for now, suffice it to say that our current trustee system does nothing to nullify the need for financial transparency to our churches.
Lingering Questions
Who else, besides SBC churches, is funding the ERLC? And what are they getting in return, if anything?
Who owns the businesses that NAMB regularly does business with? Are any of them, or their family members, on staff with NAMB? Do they hold executive positions within NAMB?
How much does NAMB spend per church plant? And how many church plants survive three years? And in what areas of the country?
What is the financial situation of our other seminaries?
What are the salaries of entity leaders and executives?
Base Level Transparency
The 990-level transparency motion wouldn’t answer every question above, but it would be a good start on many questions average Southern Baptists have.
The Form 990 gives the base level of financial transparency that all non-church charities are required to disclose. It’s the bare minimum.
And we do not currently meet it. We are well behind the curve here.
Why would we expect Planned Parenthood to have a higher standard of financial transparency that our mission boards and seminaries?
Do we have no shame?
Broad Agreement
I actually think we do have shame here, and that is a grace to us.
Our convention is divided about many things, but various corners of our convention recognize the need for financial transparency. We actually have fairly broad agreement here.
This is why I’m leading off this forward vision for the SBC with financial transparency. I believe it is something important that we can achieve in the near term together.
Motion Referred
I was disappointed that the messengers were not given the opportunity to vote on this motion in New Orleans. It was referred to the Executive Committee.
The reason given was that we needed to consider all the ramifications of amending the business and financial plan to require this level of disclosure.
One could be forgiven to wondering why no one on in authority thought it prudent to consider all the legal and financial ramifications of the Executive Committee waiving attorney-client privilege when such aa motion came up in Nashville in 2021, but here we are relying on the new EC to do its due diligence on transparency.
I’m hopeful the EC will bring this motion out with a recommendation to adopt it in Indianapolis in 2024.
One action step you can take is to contact EC members, especially those from your state, and ask them to bring it out with a recommendation.
If we are going to move forward in our mission, then we must have trust. But where there is no transparency, there is no trust. And where there is no trust, there is no future.
If you are a member of a SBC church and this forward vision for Southern fruitfulness interests you, I’d love to connect. Feel free to email me or message me on Twitter at @rhett_burns .
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