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Posted on Jul 13, 2012 in Baptist identity, Cooperative Program, SBC by Wes Kenney 6 Comments

Discount Motilium, I was a messenger to the Southern Baptist Convention from 2006 until 2011. I took a more active part in some than in others, but I was always encouraged by the fact that the churches, through their messengers, set the tone for and control the direction of our great cooperative enterprise, Motilium uk. Though I was without ballots in New Orleans in 2012, and though I missed them greatly, I was more encouraged following this convention than I have been following any other. Motilium australia, The spirit of cooperation I sensed, even from those with whom I have been opposed on various issues in the past, contributed greatly to that encouragement. Equally encouraging was the sense that, in the business sessions, 20mg Motilium, the messengers were heard and their will was carried out. I am more grateful than ever to be a Southern Baptist following this most recent meeting, Discount Motilium.

In this post, I will share my reflections on the various sessions of the convention, 10mg Motilium, explaining my reaction to the various items presented and my hope for the future based on the actions of the convention in session. I will divide these reactions based on the various types of business conducted, reacting in order to the motions presented and their disposal by the convention, the election of our officers, the reports of the convention entities, 50mg Motilium, and the report of the Committee on Resolutions. I will close with general observations gleaned from my observations of the mood in the convention hall, as well as various conversations over meals, 200mg Motilium, in the exhibit hall, and elsewhere.

Motions

I was encouraged first of all by the motions that were presented. Discount Motilium, Observers of the SBC annual meeting have characterized time for presentation of motions as being like the time at a family reunion when the crazy uncle shows up. With rare exception, this year, 250mg Motilium, the crazy uncle stayed home. There were no motions regarding an “American Christian Flag,” there was no protest of LifeWay for selling “allegory, Motilium us, ” and controversial non-SBC pastors were altogether absent from these sessions. It was refreshing in that, at least.

There were a couple of items of concern, and these bear mentioning, Motilium canada. First, there was the motion offered by a messenger from Oklahoma regarding the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention (ERLC), Discount Motilium. It was an attempt to go around the resolution process and force the convention to speak to the recent controversy surrounding said president. I was grateful that the chair ruled this motion out of order, and that the convention had the wisdom to sustain his ruling. Motilium mexico, As a committed Congregationalist, I am happy that the convention saw the wisdom of that ruling. I’ll have more to say about this messenger and his motion under the heading of “Entity Reports.”

The other item of concern came from a messenger from Illinois who dominated the microphone with a plethora of motions. Discount Motilium, I call this an item of concern based on the reaction I perceived in the hall, and not because it concerned me especially, except that it was a demonstration of poor convention strategy. This messenger had legitimate concerns, and for the most part he expressed them properly, 500mg Motilium, but his concerns, and any agreement the convention might have found with them, collapsed under the sheer volume of what he brought to the convention. 150mg Motilium, While any messenger has the right to bring as many motions as time allows, a prudent messenger must recognize that a perception of trying to dominate the floor will doom his chances of being taken seriously. I believe his ubiquity doomed his legitimate challenge to the proposal for the adoption of a descriptor, brought later as a recommendation from the Executive Committee.

Elections

The election of officers can be, Motilium ebay, depending on the circumstances, either a gripping drama played out on the convention floor, or a good time to visit the exhibit hall. This year, the election of our president was the former, though no other candidate was presented, Discount Motilium. Motilium japan, I was grateful to be in the hall when President Bryant Wright invited messengers to stand in affirmation as Recording Secretary Jim Yeats cast the convention’s ballot electing Fred Luter as the next president of the SBC. It was an historic moment, and a great step forward for our convention in repudiating a past steeped in racism. I was moved to tears, and even though I was without ballots, 1000mg Motilium, I proudly stood alongside the messengers in celebration of Luter’s election.

Sadly, the elections further down the ballot proved to be much of the latter, 40mg Motilium, and though there was no contest for the position of first vice president, the second vice presidential election’s first ballot elected in a runoff, with Dave Miller, a pastor and blogger from Iowa being elected on the second ballot. Discount Motilium, Dave is a friend and a good man, but I’m of the opinion that if blogging is your claim to notoriety, you have no business being elected to a convention-wide office. I shared this sentiment with Dave after the election, Motilium india, and he laughed, and then he gently slapped me.

Entity Reports

The entity reports were encouraging as usual. Motilium coupon, As I stated above, I am a committed congregationalist, and as such, I was grateful for the change in our bylaws after the 2006 annual meeting which required that entities reserve not simply one third of the time allotted for their reports, but specifically that they reserve the last one third of that time, 100mg Motilium, for discussion from the floor. There is no way in which the entities of the SBC are more accountable to the messengers of the convention than during that time, and prior to 2007, Motilium usa, it was the custom of those delivering reports on behalf of the entities to begin by asking if there was any discussion, then proceeding to give their reports. I don’t fault those reporters for using that tactic, as it tended to minimize or even eliminate questions from the floor, but I’m glad the bylaw has been changed, Discount Motilium.

It is always good to hear reports that are focused on the spread of the gospel, and in New Orleans, messengers were not disappointed, Motilium paypal. The Great Commission was mentioned in each and every report, and stories of faithful Baptists carrying out this charge were prominent, as well they should be, 30mg Motilium, in the reports from our two mission boards.

The seminary reports were similarly encouraging, as messengers were told about legions of young men and women being trained for kingdom work in our churches and around the world.

I was grateful that the time for questions was utilized well during the LifeWay report. Discount Motilium, In years past, it has been “crazy uncle” time, but this year, a questioner with some sanity rose to the microphone and gave Dr. Rainer an opportunity to explain their process for determining what they will sell in their stores, Motilium overseas. The thrust of his response was that we should trust those we have elected to oversee LifeWay, and I couldn’t agree more.

My moment of discouragement during the reports came during the report delivered by the president of the ERLC. Motilium craiglist, The discouragement has not to do with the content of the report, but with the time at the end rightly allotted for questions. I mentioned in the section on moti

ons that a motion was offered by a messenger from Oklahoma attempting to get the convention on record opposing the recent actions of the ERLC president, actions for which he has apologized repeatedly and publicly, Discount Motilium. I was discouraged that this messenger did not display the courage to take advantage of the opportunity to question the president directly and openly on the floor of the convention. That the messenger continues to blog disparagingly about the ERLC president only heightens my disappointment that no questions were addressed to the president when he stood before the convention to receive them.

Resolutions

I was greatly encouraged by the spirit that attended the report of the committee on resolutions, 750mg Motilium, and the adoption of their recommendations with only friendly amendments here and there. Much of the conversation heading into that Wednesday session was focused upon two proposed resolutions. Discount Motilium, The first was on the “Sinner’s Prayer,” which emerged from the committee in edited form as “An Affirmation of the ‘Sinner’s Prayer’ as a Biblical Expression of Repentance and Faith.” The second was reported by the committee titled “On Cooperation and the Doctrine of Salvation.”

The “Sinner’s Prayer” resolution was thrust into the spotlight due to proclamations made by two leading pastors on different sides of the “Calvinist/traditionalist” divide, and the committee did a commendable job of reworking the originally submitted and widely publicized submission into a resolution both sides could wholeheartedly support. Though there was an attempt by the anti-Calvinist faction to add an amendment that would have been fatal, the attempt failed, and the convention overwhelmingly adopted the resolution.

The resolution on cooperation passed as well, giving me and many others great hope that the convention will not divide over soteriological questions. Those who seek division solely on this basis among brothers and sisters in Christ who joyfully affirm the Baptist Faith and Message are being increasingly marginalized in conversations throughout the convention, as well they should.

Conclusion

As I’ve repeatedly said in this reflection, this convention left me greatly encouraged. Though I dearly missed the ability I have had in years past to participate directly, I was gratified by the mood I sensed in the convention hall that the desire to cooperate for gospel advance is greater that any desire to divide over issues that, while significant, pale in comparison to the agreement we find in our common confession. In convention hall encounters, meals shared with friends old and new, and chance hallway meetings, this sense of cooperation permeated, with rare exception, every conversation I had in New Orleans. The future is bright, and I look forward to being a part of it.

About the Author

Wes Kenney

Comments (6)

SAGordon Jul 14 2012 - 12:24 am

Well said!

And I was glad to vote on your behalf…even for Dave!

I also have come away from this year’s convention with anticipation of great things in our future.

SolaGratia!

Reply
Todd Jul 14 2012 - 9:38 pm

Wes,
I am glad to be the messenger who shall remain nameless. Should you have an interest beyond what you want to hear me write and what I actually wrote, I would be happy for such a dialogue. I had no questions for Dr.Land. My question was for the Convention. Did Dr. Land speak for you? He said he did. But since this congregationally preferenced messenger sought to ask this question all your cabal seems to be able to do is obfuscate the point of my writing so that you may relegate me to the messenger who shall not be named so you can avoid the named question. Some things never change.

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Wes Kenney Jul 14 2012 - 9:54 pm

I wasn’t aware that I had a cabal. They sure don’t write or call much. I confess to scanning more than reading most of what you put out concerning Dr. Land, for I confess that deconstructing language makes my thinker hurt. But if your purpose was to have a confrontation with the convention regarding his comments, I can’t imagine a better time than when he was standing at the platform microphone, and all the others in the room were available for your use.

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Todd Jul 14 2012 - 10:40 pm

Wes,
The reason for my hope would have been since we know one another had you a question about my am or intent, I am easy to contact so you woulve before speculating in your post. As it is, my reference to a cabal is one of shared practice. Had I thought you should school me on my best opportunity to ask the Convention to act on Land’s comments, it was not during a report at which time no action could be taken. Further, my intent was not to embarrass Dr. Land, he handled that well himself. I suspected more people would be embarrassed that he misspoke when he said he represented the majority of Southern Baptits with his remarks. He did not represent me, maybe he did you.

It is always easier to address something I did not write rather than what I did. Fits your purpose better even if it misrepresents me. Some things never change. That makes my thinker hurt.

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John M. Harris Jul 21 2012 - 7:21 pm

Great post. I’d be interested to hear y’all’s thoughts related to the Golden Gate Prof. who wanted to state we must believe in a 1-to-1 historical account of Genesis as meaning the world was created in 6 actual calendar days. Clearly, that’s not something inerrancy demands, nor is it something the resolutions committee would entertain, but I worry that an SBC scholar would state on the floor of the convention that a literal 6-day creation is the ONLY way to believe. I see this as a MAJOR future issue. If we take that stance, we will lose Millennials in droves because we will have confirmed their fears that their parent’s denomination is, in fact, anti science. Anyway… thoughts???

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John M. Harris Jul 21 2012 - 8:52 pm

By the way, I think there are a few controversies that might get too distracting for us. I wrote about 12 of them here: http://johnmarkharris.net/2012/06/27/12-cs-of-the-conspiracy-in-the-sbc/ and I didn’t even mention alcohol (I couldn’t think of a “C” word for alcohol, maybe “cognac” or “Colt .45″

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