Congratulations to Dave Miller

I have a line below that says that it would be shocking news if Dave Miller were elected 2nd VP.

He was. I'm shocked...but not displeased.

Dave is not a flame thrower or a bomb lobber. He will not embarrass us. He will work in whatever modest fashion 2nd VPs can work towards convention unity and Cooperative Program support.  

I am not in convention hallways to hear thge buzz but my conjecture is that,

1. Calvinists who were present have some concerns about Eric Hankins, particularly over the preamble and introduction to the Statement.
2. One not-so-hot characteristic of bloggers is that they can be painfully introspective and talk about blogging a lot. This year will mark the date that somewhat of a divide was crossed in which blogging can pull and drive considerable votes. SBCVoices is a widely read site. There is critical mass now.

Hankins should be on any C/T panel.

Congratulations to Dave Miller.

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.

The Gloom and Doom Convention in Phoenix

Half of Arizona is on fire, a fitting backdrop to the SBC's annual meeting in that state, which Plodder deems the "Gloom and Doom" convention.

The SBC reports the previous year's statistics just prior to its annual meeting each year, held in June. I suppose that in the past statistics gave us figure fueled Baptists extra bragging rights. Not last year. Not this year. Possibly not in the forseeable future.

Baptisms down 17k, continuing a general trend decades long. Membership down. Worship attendance down. Giving down. Lottie Moon down.

"Lack of passion" sayeth our Fearless Executive Committee Leader, Frank Page. "I told ya so" sayeth Associated Baptist Press which reminds those who follow our triumphs and travails that the Conservative Resurgence was supposed to increase everything.

Look for extra church-bashing, clergy-bashing, general fume and fuss preaching, lecturing, flogging, flaying, and cajoling in Phoenix this week, all under the guise of extra unction.

Expect a gaggle of the brethren to remind us that it takes a gazillion Baptists to generate one baptism. Anticipate finger pointing at the calvinists who don't believe that anyone is ever saved sufficiently to be baptized, at the traditionalists who are hindering the advance of the kingdom of God by (gasp!) singing old hymns instead of spiffy new dittys. See if the Baptist Identity group gets slammed for being too narrow, the egalitarians for being too broad, the sub-calvinists for doctrinal deficiencies, the megachurches for sucking the life out of thousands of smaller churches, the smaller churches for lacking vision and passion.

Naturally, expect pastors to be blamed for everything.

If you get most of your SBC news from the vast number of bloggers, you have good reason to be depressed. We've got bloggers pronouncing the death of the SBC as we know it, the fracturing of the convention, and about everything else that might get a look.

It's not an excuse but the SBC reflects the general trend among mainline denominations, just later and slower. Baptisms will likely continue to trend downward with spurts where they bump up. Per capita giving will continue to decline, with years of dollar increases when the economy improves. The numbers of churches, up this year by more than 700, will increase.

How about a little optimism here?

We have new leaders at our two chief entities, International and North American Mission Boards. We have a new XComm leader. Everyone in SBC life is being forced to look hard at things, mainly because money is short. I think the eventual outcome will be positive, but that doesn't preach as well as negative stuff.

But I have to be honest. SBCers do gloom and doom well.