Archive for June, 2006
Sign Wars!
June 19th, 2006 | Comments Off | Posted in » In the News...
This is probably more sad than funny… “Angry neighbors battle it out with signs”. Still… I can’t help but laugh.
Anyone want to volunteer to make some signs and serve as a mediator?
It Must be Snowing in Jamaica!
June 18th, 2006 | Comments Off | Posted in » Baptist Issues
I received my June 15th, 2006 issue of the Word and Way, and thoroughly enjoyed the “Quotables” section on page 5 (in light of convention events last week). In that section, Charlie Warren, editor of the Arkansas Baptist Newsmagazine, was quoted as saying (in a May 18 editorial):
This new faction, led by young pastors, is engaging convention life. Apparently they will show up in Greensboro for the annual meeting. I don’t believe they have a snowball’s chance in Jamaica of electing their own candidate for SBC president. They may introduce some motions or resolutions. I also give those little chance of success. If I’m right, they may return home discouraged and less likely to continue participation in Baptist life. That would be tragic. We need them. We need them to help shape the future of the SBC.
Charlie? I believe it must be snowing in Jamaica.
(BTW, I wish I could find a copy of the full editorial offered by Charlie! It wasn’t posted online, as far as I could fine. If anyone has one, can you scan that article and send it to me?)
Insert a caption…
June 16th, 2006 | 3 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues, Just For Fun..., Pictures
A couple weeks back, Kevin Bussey posted this picture, asking us to provide a caption.
I took this picture at the convention on Tuesday. Anyone care to provide a caption relating the two photos?
(Note: the lady in the purple hat is often referred to as the First Lady of Southwestern. Go ahead and have fun with this, but don’t be cruel or mean-spirited! Any such comments will be deleted.)
Friday Photos
June 16th, 2006 | Comments Off | Posted in » Baptist Issues, Pictures
Art Rogers mentioned something about a Friday Photo on his blog today, so here’s a couple from Day 2 of the convention.
First, a great shot of David Rogers and his mother, Joyce. It was SUCH a pleasure to meet both of them at the convention.
Next, we’ve got Kevin “Bus”sey (Sorry man, couldn’t resist that!), showing his excitement about the presidential election (Taylors First is Dr. Page’s church).
Split “strong conservative” vote?
June 16th, 2006 | Comments Off | Posted in » Baptist Issues
Dr. Ronnie Floyd, on his blog “Between Sundays”, has posted a few reflections on the SBC presidential election. In it, he states:
In a three-candidate race, I came in second; with the third candidate deciding to get in eight days before the race, which split the strong conservative vote.
I do hope that Dr. Floyd is not implying that Dr. Frank Page is not a strong conservative.
(FYI… I’m still hoping to get some more convention thoughts from Day 2 and Day 3 up, but just haven’t had time to get everything together yet. It’s good to be home, for sure, but it does mean that I have a more limited time for blogging. Don’t expect three or four posts a day of catch up!)
Day 3… more to come later
June 14th, 2006 | Comments Off | Posted in » Baptist Issues, My Life / Family
Hey everyone… just wanted to let you know that I’m going to have to hold off on Day 3 thoughts until tomorrow or later (as a matter of fact, I’ve still got a couple thoughts from Day 2!). I’ve got to leave for the airport in just over 4 hours, and really should call it a night.
Anyway, I appreciate the positive comments about toward-the-goal.net and sbcvideos.info that I’ve received from many of you over the past couple days! It’s great to know that what I (and many others) are doing with blogging is seen as a good thing.
The Blogging Boys…
June 14th, 2006 | 4 Comments | Posted in » Baptist Issues
Well, Micah and I just returned to the hotel from the convention, and I’ve got to touch on one of the issues I noted tonight in Dr. Bobby Welch’s closing sermon regarding bloggers.
(I wanted to quote Dr. Welch directly, but unfortunately, the video is not up yet at the SBC annual meeting site. I’ll have to paraphrase.)
In his sermon, Dr. Welch was preaching about the need to focus on our mission as believers… sharing the gospel of Christ with others to see them come to faith. In an effort to emphasize this need, he pointed out that perhaps the “blogging boys” should focus less on websites and blogging and more on creating believers to baptize. As you might imagine, a resounding “AMEN” quickly was heard throughout the coliseum. Dr. Welch continued with his sermon, and pointed that while many may not blog, perhaps they should put down the cellphones long enough to witness. There was a response to that, of course, but certainly not one with the energy and enthusiasm the blogging comment brought.
My first reaction? Quite honestly, it offended me. I understood the point of Dr. Welch’s sermon, but even so, the statement seemed to imply that bloggers, being wrapped up in the activity, really aren’t doing much to reach the world for Christ. I can only speak for myself, but blogging is just another way I try to reach the world for Christ. It’s certainly not the only thing I’m doing to serve our Lord… I’m a chaplain for the St. Joseph Blacksnakes… I teach a Sunday School class… I lead a small group in my home… and I do what I can to share my faith with others when God grants the opportunity. I’m certain that similar things are true for most (if not all) bloggers.
However, when I thought about his statements further, I was encouraged. Why? I found it VERY interesting that he’d find the need to mention bloggers. There are roughly 16,000,000 Baptists, 11,000-12,000 of which were at the convention. Of all Baptists, how many blog? 100, maybe? If so, we’re talking about a VERY small percentage of convention-goers (assuming all of the bloggers were there, that’s 0.8%), and an even more miniscule percentage of Baptists as a whole (0.000625%). The fact that we’d be called out from the convention floor underscores the influence of blogging as much as anything.
You know what? That’s a good thing, assuming we all continue to do our best to be submissive to God in how we use this medium. It makes me proud to be one of the “blogging boys”.
(NOTE: I know what the thrust of Dr. Welch’s sermon was, and I appreciate and support it 100%. I also understand that the statements I’ve pointed out above are simply examples, and were not meant to offend particular groups of people.)