I made it a point to be at the rally. I suppose there were a hundred or so, some coming and going. Several of the leaders are people I have been following for a decade or more and I was pleased to meet and talk with them before and after the rally.
Christa Brown and Dee Parsons (Wartburg Watch) were among these. Bob Allen (Baptist News Global), who has written more stories about SBC and other church related abuse for a longer time than any reporter I know, was there although I didn’t get to meet him. Sad to say but Brown and Parsons and others have been treated quite poorly at times by church leaders.
Some well -known national religious reporters were there and, of course, the reporters from the Houston and San Antonio papers. Awards surely to come for these last news outlets. I have no complaints about their reporting and only wish there was a smaller supply of these deplorable abuse stories for them to cover.
Wade Burleson was present. Dwight McKissick spoke. It wasn’t planned but all of the Voices team was present. I didn’t recognize any other SBC folks although there were a number present. The personal abuse story Susan Codone shared Monday night inside the convention hall, many of you were present for that, was similar to several shared at the rally. Painful to hear.
The organizers have complaints about the SBC and SBC churches and goals that the wish to see implemented. While I don’t share all of their specific goals (I’ve written here about it more than once), a broader audience of SBCers should give them a hearing. It’s a more critical story and issue that who got elected to this or that office.
