I am going to be among the 70 or 80 people who will be at the convention next week. I plan to be posting regularly on the Voices website – perspectives, reports, reports on reports, sports scores, fashion tips for Baptist Preachers, pictures of bloggers outside their mother’s basement – all sorts of things.
And, I have also joined the Twitter generation and will be shooting off a tweet now again, if you would like to follow me.
My twitter account is: davemiller7
I currently have 3 people following me. I’m hoping to get up over a dozen by convention time!
When I reach over 35 followers, you can say, “I got in on the ground floor of that Twitter empire!”
I am going to be among the 70 or 80 people who will be at the convention next week.
(snort, larf) 🙂
Dave,
I just talked to our DOM who said a convention employee told him that registrations are WAY DOWN!!!
He also said that their is little on the agenda to stir up the masses… except changing the SBC name to drop the word “Southern”… 🙂
Just doing my part to help boost registrations…
I think I will run for 2nd VP or something. If I can get a dozen or so votes, I could follow in the footsteps of Wiley Drake.
I heard that the SBC wants to remove the hymnal from its churches in an effort to use less paper and become more ‘green.’
I don’t think we have the “Will” to do that.
Dave,
I will be there and will follow your tweets. Ironically, this is our first ever SBC attendance. Between being too young to want to go years ago, and then being on the mission field for 10 years and not being able to afford it the other years, we are really excited to finally be able to attend. So, when the rest are thinking, “wow, low turnout,” we will be the ones with the big grins on our faces… And since we are coming from Oregon where it is currently 60 degrees at noon, you will also notice us as the ones passed out with heat strokes! Blessings to all.
Ronny
Look me up. I’m the tall, good-looking guy.
I get my updates from @fakejdgreear on twitter
brutally funny, Bill.
I can’t wait til Dave Miller becomes popular enough on twitter to launch a fake account for him!
Hold your breath.
I’ll definately follow voices not only because I’ve not seen any live coverage advertised for the internet, but also my second sense is strongly telling me this will be a meeting to remember because of major direction changes. I hope I’m right – it’s time.
What major changes does your 2nd sense tell you about? You may be breaking some news.
How can it be a meeting where there are major direction changes and there is no word that is shared about that ahead of time? Would those really be major direction changes or just a furthering of the work of our entities from the churches that are supposed to be supporting them, thus decreasing the motivation for support more and more?
Unless the SBC begins to herald the local church as the platform for Great Commission ministries and begins to link us together and encourage us to initiate through networking, I really don’t see how the SBC entities will remain relevant in years to come. The seminaries will hold power for a while, no doubt, but even that will start to wane as new systems for intensive theological education begin to emerge. Unless the SBC entities invert their focus, I don’t understand how they are necessary.
What convention?
You know, it really is interesting that after passing the GCR, we haven’t heard much about it (apart from NAMB’s restructuring). You would think that this would be a significant convention to build on what has been brewing the past few years. But, I don’t know that I’ve heard a peep out of the SBC president, nor have I heard much at all from anyone about carrying forward the GCR. I am an SBC pastor in the heart of the South with a desire to cooperate, engage in global missions, help plant churches, and see our city, state, nation, and world reached for Christ and I can’t really tell you how being involved in the SBC enables us to do that – apart from sending money so that others can do it for us.
Anyway, I am not trying to complain but I just don’t see much going on. Maybe that is how it is supposed to be, though. I went to two conventions (2006-2007) and live blogged two more (2008-09), but last year I lost interest. I used to know about everything going on in the SBC and now, it doesn’t seem like much at all is happening on a national level, except for dozens of conferences with the same 5 pastors/leaders speaking at them all about how we are supposed to do more to reach the world.
Am I off base? What have I been missing? I admit that I have not followed things very closely the past year, but when I do check in, it doesn’t seem like there is much to follow. I will be happily corrected, though. Let me have it.
I think the report from the EC on racism should be interesting – and important. Other than that, not much cooking.
What will be in that report, Dave? What have you heard? Any links? Addressing that issue is good news. Hopefully, we will begin to move toward recognizing that racial divisions based on preference or worship styles or how we do church are unbiblical and are damaging to our gospel witness – and that goes for both “white” and “black” churches and traditions.
alan, I hope to have a post up on that by Friday.
The craziest motions always end up on YouTube later on that day.
I wonder if they’ll launch another salvo at Mark Driscoll or maybe this year it’ll be Rob Bell. Of course, it’ll depend on how many of those crazy Missouri folks show up.
Of course, I’d expect the obligatory motions condemning alcohol, The Shack, Acts 29, and .
I’m going to expect at least a dozen complete screw ups with the parliamentary procedures. I’ll expect the dude who handles that stuff to own up to those mistakes at least a dozen times. I also expect our SBC leaders to blame someone else before the guy who isn’t a SBC member to own up to the mistakes. Is that guy’s name Barry? Why can’t we get him to run things. He admits when he’s wrong. That has to be a significant step forward.
I expect Calvinists to be tarred and feathered. I also expect Calvinists to look around and wonder when they became the liberals.
I expect that there will be some motions so stupid, that somewhere in heaven, Jesus will be doing a facepalm.
maybe this year it’ll be Rob Bell.
Yeah, that’d be a real tragedy because Rob Bell is such a strong Chistian who preaches the gospel clearly and faithfully. (/sarcasm)
OK, Dave. I followed and promoted you on twitter. But you should follow people back and put a real picture up. 🙂
I’m sure there will be a hashtag on twitter to follow this years SBC. Just put that tag into search.twitter.com and watch the comments.
According to BP the hashtag is #SBC2011. I don’t know how official it is, but it makes sense.
Should stick unless someone else is already using it. That happened last year—some other group with “SBC” as the initials had “sbc2010” for their meeting, so we used “sbcannualmeeting” which was way too long.
Condemnation motions/resolutions will be: Rob Bell, Alcohol, Homosexuality, Federal District courts, and Democrats.
Those are my guesses. Y’all have fun.
I followed you on twitter now Dave. Looking forward to seeing what happens this year, but I do get the sense that this is sort of anti-climatic after the last couple. The GCR is moving forward and we are just left waiting to see how it continues to play out.
Bill, I infer from your comments that you’re a Calvinist who has been hurt and maintains some semblance of bitterness about your past rejections. Hope you can move past that and receive the freedom that comes through Christ when we forgive fully. Otherwise, enjoy your bitter pessimism.
LOLWUT!?!
I feel incredibly honored that someone created @fakedavemiller twitter account. I know whom I suspect, but I will not name Doug Hibbard publicly.
Why would I do that?
Beat me to it…
I’ve tried to figure out the twitter thing and “follow” our Brave and Valorious Leader Dave….but I just can’t. Need another college degree.
Well, Dave Miller,
you may have more excitement in Phoenix than you reckoned on. Apparently there will be a motion made for a new Task Force to review the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force’s recommendations over the next year. A Great Commission Resurgence Task Force Task Force, so to speak (I know it’s being called a committee…whatever).
I’m still trying to process what the purpose of the GCRTFTF resolution is…if it did pass, wouldn’t the SBC President be choosing the Task Force…err…Unity Committee? and (since so far he’s been unopposed), Bryant Wright would be likely be the one picking. Bryant Wright who was one of the most enthusiastic supporters of the Task Force’s recommendations last year. So essentially, best case scenario, a committee of pro-GCR folks is appointed by the President to review the GCR again (and spend how much money from the Convention to do so?)…
Maybe this would be a good discussion thread on its own…
I was in a hotel without internet coverage the last several days, so I have no idea what you are talking about. But I will certainly be more interested.
Did a little research.
Don’t know who is planning this, but I think it is destined to fail miserably.
The group itself, whoever comprises it, bothers me because they are styling themselves as “SBC Conservatives” – with the connotation that anyone who does not buy into their viewpoint is somehow NOT a conservative.
I can only hope the SBC will not go along with that. We will see.
It was originally found on the Pathway from MO Bapt Convention, but I think BP has picked up the story now with a few more details.
And of course, the term “conservative” keeps getting narrowed…a Yankee liberal like you, Dave, should know that’s how the game is played now.
Josh,
The fact that “It was originally found on the Pathway from MO Bapt Convention,” tells me all I need to know about this motion.
They claim that 100 “Conservative” Baptist are already on board as supporters… I will be watching to “note” who these 100 individuals are, and if anyone of note within the SBC is willing to “walk the plank” with these guys?
Grace for the Journey,
With MBCPathway first showing the story, I would be willing to bet that motion will be made by someone associated with Rodger Moran and the MBLA. Though I hear that Moran is no longer apart of a SBC church, he may have “joined” a church to be apart of this in Phoenix. This is the same group that 2 years ago in Louisville got one of the Caners to hand out their little booklet that directly attacked Mohler, Akin, Stetzer, and Micah Fries because of their Acts29 “contacts”. It may not be them, and if not I will apologize, but they are who I have my money on.
Yep…the motion was made by Missouri (MLBA?) folk…from Republic Mo…and God will be calling me to Springfield Mo…we will be in the same Greene County Baptist Association…interesting….
It’s a “Unity” Committee to try to bridge all of the rancor and division caused by GCR. It sounds kind of like the Peace Committee from 1985. I agree with you on the politics of it. Asking the President to appoint a committee “representative of all areas of SBC life doesn’t guarantee that he will. It would probably be composed of the same one side that got us GCR to begin with. I predict it will not be scheduled, nor will it survive the effort to put it on the agenda.
Here’s the thing, Rick (and I know we don’t see this thing the same way) but it is hard to see this as a “unity” committee when it is a secret group billing themselves as “SBC Conservatives” with the implication that those of us who supported the GCR are not. It comes across as more of a “reverse the GCR” committee.
By the way, are you in Phoenix? I’d love to argue with you in person – perhaps over a cup of coffee. If all goes well, we could have fisticuffs in the foyer!
Make sure any fisticuffs over coffee get put on youtube for those of us not in Phoenix.
Once again, you’re right. I think everyone recognizes this as a “reverse the GCR” effort. That’s why it will fail.
Just a thought about that “1% Challenge” video on CP promotion. Saying that if you now give 1% try to give 2% and if you give 10% try to give 11% sounds good in theory because it represents “equal incremental hikes.” However, hear me, where you start from matters. The idea of challenging someone at 45% to give 46% is NOT the same as going from 1% to 2%.
Look for me in the brightest sky blue polo I could find. But no fighting–my wife is with me!
I will try to tweet quite a bit tomorrow, and if all works out, I will be posting from the floor as well (if I can make my technology work – I’m not a young man and this technology is HARD for us old folks).
Dave, I have tried to view the video post about the “best church ad ever” and it is now listed as private. Do you know how I can get access to it now?
As I am watching online, I am so encouraged by this morning’s session. We are headed in the right direction and the music, the music is wonderful.
SBC = So Boring Convention!