The Southern Baptist Convention's Annual Meeting starts on Tuesday with the business sessions, but really, it starts tomorrow with the Pastor's Conference. I won't be going. I went in 2006 and 2007 and skipped last year, but I watched most of it online at sbcannualmeeting.net. I plan to do the same this week. Honestly, except for spending a bunch of money and hanging out with some good friends, the actual meeting part was the same watching it online as it was being there. I don't know why they don't develop some kind of way for people to participate via text voting or online voting for the elections and business stuff. But, that is another post for another day. So, you can follow me here, on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/alcross) or on Twitter (look to the right sidebar).
The big issue this week will be President Johnny Hunt's and Dr. Danny Akin's Great Commision Resurgence. This is a good document full of good ideas, but I don't know if it will change things. The SBC is in decline and a lot of what is dying just has to die. There is a lot that is living and going strong in the SBC, though, and we would do well to start celebrating that and forget about our diminishing numbers. I just think that there is a great deal that is fading away and there is nothing that can be done about it. We will see, however. I hope that the plans for the GCR work and that the SBC is able to turn around. Of course, I have been writing about the troubles that ail the SBC since the early in 2006 so none of what is happening (reduced membership, baptisms, cooperative program giving, etc.) is much of a surprise. I imagine that there will be a lot said about this. I plan to write about it here.
There are other things that are supposedly going to happen during the resolution phase. I hear that another attempt will be made to encourage Southern Baptists to pull their kids out of public school. That will make national news and will be a major embarrassment in my opinion, if it happens. The SBC has no business making resolutions about whether or not individuals send their kids to public school. It is not understood by the secular media that covers the event and it makes us look like idiots. Taking your kids out of public school can be a great thing and there are many wonderful options like homeschooling and good private schools. I support all of these options. But, sending your kids to public school is not a sin and unless we want to make it one, we will do well to find other avenues besides the Annual Meeting to broadcast this message. Not all public schools are horrible. I mean, it took us three years to pass a resolution on regenerate church membership. Please don't tell me that we are going to tell Southern Baptists to take their kids out of public school.
The secular media crawls all over these events looking for a story that will make headlines the next morning. At the convention in San Antonio in 2007, I was interviewed by a Texas paper and was interviewed by another paper in Greensboro in 2006. If you are standing around and not doing much, a reporter will grab you and ask for your opinion on things. So, this will be a national story and I still know a lot of the people involved, so I guess I'll write about it and give you my thoughts.
Check back this week. It should be interesting. And, the best thing is, I don't have to leave home!
See my recent blod on prayer at www.johnwible.blogspot.com
Posted by: John R. Wible | June 20, 2009 at 08:02 PM
I too have said this since 2006. I agree with what you have said here, except that I realize change takes time and a lot had to be exposed, which was difficult and distasteful to do in order for change to take place. It will be interesting and I too will be watching from my home as work schedule conflicted with the Convention schedule.
I would love to see us be able to vote on the issues without going to the Convention. I have been voted a messenger by our church and have yet to use the privilege.
Posted by: Debbie Kaufman | June 21, 2009 at 01:14 AM