Top ten SBC stories of 2011

I recognize that most SBCers think that if it doesn't involve the SBC it's not worth thinking about, so here's my list of top SBC stories for 2011. The rest of Christendom can have their list, but none of that counts here (however, if the world had ended as Harold Camping said it would a couple of times in 2011, I would have been happy to include that non-SBC story in the list).
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1. Bryant Wright appoints an informal, unfunded SBC name change committee. And thereby stirs up the ire of many who resent his ability to do this. Get over it. You will get a direct vote, if it comes to that, next June.

2. Tom Elliff elected as new head of IMB. Whenever our flagship agency has a new leader, that's big news. I wish him every success in leading the SBC's flagship entity.

3. SBC Cooperative Program receipts show a slight increase. The Executive Committee reported this for the fiscal year ending September 30th; however, the next two months showed a steep decrease. Maybe they back-loaded September to make 2010-2011 look good? Whatever...an increase was unexpected.

4. Southern Baptists bash Mormon presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Start with Robert Jeffress, pastor of what used to be the SBC's top church, FBC Dallas. Add a few others and not a few bloggers who display their religious bigotry in foreswearing voting for a Mormon candidate. Perhaps the brethren should start a re-elect Obama SBCers group.

5. State conventions move towards 50/50 Cooperative Program split. State conventions get credit for good intentions; however, Plodder takes the Matthew 24 approach to these - cuts and rumors of cuts, but don't be alarmed, the checks haven't been written.

6. Surry (NC) Baptist Association kicks out church with female pastor. And does so summarily. How dare the church call a female and ignore the association's doctrinal purity and unity? And some in the SBC say that our name ("Southern") is the cause of our bad image.

7. Frank Page puts Calvinism at the top of his list of challenges for the SBC. Since he hears from a lot of Baptists, I'd listen to him on this.

8. SBC annual meeting attendance lowest since 1944. Only 4,814 at Phoenix, a group which didn't include moi (I've already been to Phoenix in 110 degree heat in June). So, it was an off election year and ther was no raging controversy. Still, SBCers used to like to spend some expense money.

9. New biography of Lottie Moon published. Regina Sullivan's new bio is the first in about three decades. It calls into question the use of Lottie's starvation death narrative as a fund raising tool but what good are facts if they don't get the money flowing? SBCers should read the book.

10. Plodder resigns his church and retires. Well, this one is pretty big news around my house if nowhere else. I reserve the right to undo this one if the Lord leads.

Richard Land dreams an immigration dream

Baptist Press:Land: ERLC supports 'clean' DREAM Act

The Southern Baptist Convention's public policy entity supports -- with conditions -- legislation that would give the children of illegal immigrants the opportunity to gain legal status.

In a June 27 letter, Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), informed two U.S. senators the organization would back a "clean" bill on the issue. Land told Sens. Charles Schumer, D.-N.Y., and John Cornyn, R.-Texas, that the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act must meet certain requirements to receive the ERLC's backing.

I suppose that Richard Land and the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission thought that following the SBC's mixed-up resolution would be a good time to outline a sensible Christian approach to a prickly and complicated problem. Good the him and them.

With some SBCers clamoring for mass deportation we stand to look silly, not the first time, and uncaring, not what we want, all in the name of law enforcement, not the most salient biblical principle to follow in this case.

If the enforcement scenario of some is followed, illegal children of illegals would be deported, even though they know no life save here, speak no language than English, etc.

Dave Miller (here) and Howell Scott here have sensible articles on the matter. If you have hours to kill, scan through some of the 355, count 'em, comments on Dave's piece.

Resolutions have too much potential to make the entire SBC look bad, silly, or unchristian. Even if the Resolutions Committee maintains tight floor control over the resolutions, one or two goofball messengers can get to a mic and mess the whole thing up for all of us.

I like Land and the ERLC on this and I like Land speaking up on Ayn Rand earlier.

These are our employees. We ask questions. They should answer.

Some describe the 2011 convention in Phoenix last week as our nadir, as in low numbers. I'd co-opt that word to describe the degeneration of a rather ho hum convention into a silly blogfest and tweetfest over a question Peter Lumpkins asked Al Mohler.

As long as I have been attending these meetings ordinary peons get to ask agency heads questions. Usually they are pablum and milk toast questions but occasionally they are pointed and tendentious questions. Every now and then a questioner will make convention attendees squirm in their seats.

Well, tough. We pay these people well into six figures. They should be able on this one occasion annually to handle these questions from the floor with grace, dignity, and without condescension and an attitude, even if a questioner is difficult. Our way of doing business at these meeting is messy. I see no reason why any of our leaders should not have the wherewithall to handle such things.

Two examples from this year:

Al Mohler’s Response to Peter Lumpkins: The Complete Video

Peter asked, OK, so it was a looooooong question. Mohler launched into an answer. Tough to see the problem here.

Thom Rainer Shows How Not to Answer Questions from Critics

I haven't see the Rainer video.

I think the SBC will survive questions to the leaders. We may not survive the tweeting and blogging absurdities, rancor, and venom that follows.

Remote sensing on the SBC meeting

I missed all the fun in Phoenix, then again, my expenses were quite low, zero.

Observations:

I like the business casual announced by Bryant Wright but from the photos it's obvious that the platform brethren aren't comfortable being comfortable. Come on, Frank...come on Kevin, take the tailored suit jacket off too.

The SBC annual meeting has always been a place where some genuine oddballs can grab a mike and get a little face time. Ordinarily, such is not a problem. We understand the process and procedures. When one of the nutcases gets elected to an official position, uses that position to embarrass us, and whose personal life outside of the office is harmful to the SBC as a whole, then we have a problem. I'm speaking of course of Wiley Drake who was a nutcase before he was elected to a VP position, who is a nutcase now, and, unless he gets a brain transplant, will be a nutcase until he dies. Go away, Wiley. Start your own denomination with the 101 idiots or uninformed people who voted for you.

My friend Peter Lumpkins got sufficient notice for Wade Burleson to blog about him. They have had an acrimonious relationship for years, a factor that should be considered when reading WB's stuff. The matter of the SBC and homosexuality bears scrutiny, although I don't see us going down the welcoming and affirming route that the CBF is going. The CBF is doing a stealth W & A at the moment but they will, I predict, exit the closet later.

I withdraw my label of "Gloom and Doom" on the SBC 2011 and will rechristen it "Ho Hum" which is a decided positive for one of these meetings.



Generally: Ho hum, yawn, and let's get to work.

The unbaptistic Kevin Ezell, Frank Page's new old giving plan, and, sigh, Wiley Drake

It's almost 2,000 miles from me to Phoenix but with herculean effort, I will comment on SBC meeting stuff anyway:

Kevin Ezell on Numbers, almost unbaptistic

What's this? An SBC leader who believes in honesty in numbers? That would be NAMB leader Kevin Ezell who said that "Biblical stewardship demands accuracy..." What's next, transparency in financial matters?

Here's a leader who has cut - cut, mind you - church plants in half with a wave of his hand, just to be honest about them; who has explained that, no, we don't exactly have over 5k NAMB missionaries.

Give the guy another trophy.

Frank Page's new, well, not so new, Giving Challenge

Now, I like Frank Page. I think he will do well but I cannot help but noting that his challenge to Southern Baptists to increase their giving to the Cooperative Program by 1 percent is the same stewardship campaign we have had for all these years that the CP has been declining: You churches just give more.

My very first exposure to a national SBC stewardship program was in 1982 when Planned Growth in Giving asked churches to increase their CP giving by one-half of one percent annually. Nothing new under the SBC sun. We need substantial change in both spending and funding formulas. Page, to his credit has cut EC spending substantially and certainly has the credibility and track record to ask churches to give more.

Southern Baptists' Village Idiot

Wiley Drake nominates himself for SBC president - gets 102 votes. What are those 101 people thinking? It would be laughable but since he is a past SBC vice president every fruitcake thing he does gets shoved at all of us. Sigh.

Unity sounds good to me

SBC nat'l, state leaders sign 'unity' pledge

Wonder who will be the first to complain about the unity pledge? Plodder bets it will be a blogger. I note that there has already been someone to speculate that the unity pledge might be to pre-empt the motion to establish a unity committee to study GCRTF implementation.

Nah, we ought not to question the motives of the unity pledge people. The pledge itself says that we shouldn't do that. So let's dont.

Let's be optimistic and positive here.