I’m owning up to some of my articles that didn’t quite capture the interest of folks around here. Duds.
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In the dead of mid-winter last year I wrote on things admirable, deplorable, or forgettable, a compilation of well-used and ill-used vocabulary. Seems that post was altogether forgettable. Nary a comment, not even a snarky one.
Want to hear crickets? Write a piece on leadership changes in state conventions. In spite of the fact that about 90% of Cooperative Program revenue flows through sixteen legacy state conventions in the south, there seems to be little interest here in the leadership that controls the spending of such. Thank you, Tony Jones, for the one comment on that.
When the Executive Committee released their annual statistical report in early June of last year, I called it the “Annual SBC Statistical Release Weepfest” because it’s mostly bad news. Not a single comment on that. Perhaps we’ve made ourselves comfortable that this is going to be the case. I hope not.
The Cooperative Program, our main cooperative giving channel, has been declining for over three decades. When I wrote of how denominational leaders and others employ magical thinking on CP percentages, a few people responded and several in agreement, an underwhelming response to our most important stat. Dud.
How could I put (1) a snake swallowing a woman, (2) a cheap shot against iced coffee, and (3) fakeJDgreear in the same article and get only two comments? Complete dud, evidently. Forgive me. I’ll try and come up with more scintillating subjects next time. Maybe I’m out of tune with most SBCers on iced coffee.
So I wrote that the CP will almost certainly be up for the latest reporting year which ought to stir the blood of any true SBCers…and I got a single comment, from the estimable Tarheel. The CP being up is news and ought to mean that somewhere, some Southern Baptists break out the party stuff. Guess not.
Lottie was up by almost $6 million but my report of the same was met with general disinterest. Dud. I’m hoping for a record year this year anyway.
Annie had a record year but when I reported that, pffft, one comment. Thanks again, Tarheel.
I worked hard to come up with ten good news SBC items (including the gem that Bert and Ernie made BP)…and got six comments. Dud. We are a convention of Joe Btfsplks evidently.
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There are more. I’ll try and do better next year.
And, why am I smiling in the pic? The sun is shining, bluebirds are flitting around my yard, my gutters are clean, and in less than a month some flowers will be blooming here.
I might have to yield to the reality of Twitter where hot topics are things like whether you should cut your toenails straight across or with a curve, or, whether candy corn is better than Reeses Pieces. Heady stuff.
See you next year with hopes that Dave Miller will have a healthy 2019, Alan Cross will cross the 2000 word barrier going south, Adam Blosser will display some bearded acumen here, Dave Cline will end his self-imposed hiatus, and that you all have a year that shows fruitful service for our common Lord.
