Louisiana pastor M. E. Dodd was one of a half-dozen key leaders of the SBC during the first half of the 20th century. Dodd was an entrepreneurial leader who pastored a growing church, was a tireless advocate for evangelism and missions, and played a crucial role in the launching of numerous denominational ministries. Dodd’s most important contribution to wider Southern Baptist life was chairing the committee that created the Cooperative Program in 1925. This year marks the 85th anniversary of the CP.

David Roach has written an excellent brief introduction to M. E. Dodd for Baptist Press. In anticipation of Cooperative Program Sunday on April 11, Roach’s article emphasizes Dodd’s role in creating the CP. I hope you will read the article. I also highly recommend Jewel Mae Daniel’s biography of Dodd, The Chimes of Shreveport: The Life of M. E. Dodd (Providence House, 2001). And if you are a pastor or other local church staff member, I hope you will take some time this coming weekend to remind your church of the strategic importance of the Cooperative Program in funding gospel ministry in every state in America and the uttermost parts of the earth. You can learn more about the CP at this helpful website and in Chad Brand and David Hankins’ excellent book One Sacred Effort: The Cooperative Program of Southern Baptists (B&H, 2006).