Though I had taken a Sunday off last fall, it had been eighteen months since the last true vacation I took with my family. So when the time approached to head to Indianapolis for the convention, my church graciously agreed to allow me to combine that trip with a week’s vacation. We had been looking forward to this convention because my dad and his wife, who live in Grand Rapids, Michigan, was planning to keep our children for us during the meetings, and now we would be able to join them for some relaxing family time afterward.

We left on Thursday before the convention and spent that night in Little Rock with my wife’s sister, then headed out on Friday morning, planning to stop in Franklin, Tennessee to spend the night with my aunt and uncle. We stopped in Memphis long enough to ride the monorail out to Mud Island, where we hustled through the museum and let our kids play in the model of the Mississippi River, then stopped at Corky’s for some pretty good ribs before heading on to Franklin.

My aunt had called earlier in the week, wanting to know if it would be alright with us if they found a babysitter for Friday night for our children, because my uncle had heard about some live music we could hear in Franklin on Friday night. My uncle has spent his entire career in the Christian music industry. He began his career as music director for the Bill Gaither Trio and Amy Grant, and in subsequent years, produced records for artists such as Leslie Phillips, Margaret Becker, and Bryan Duncan. He was vice-president of A&R for Myrrh Records, where he was responsible for signing and developing acts such as Fernando Ortega, Crystal Lewis, and Mark Schultz. He now serves as president/GM of Doxology Records, a label he helped found in order to “give the Church songs of encouragement, testimony and invitation.”

I share all of this background not to build up his ego (though I’m sure he would appreciate it), but to establish that when someone with this background wants to take you to hear live music, you should not hesitate, and I’m glad we didn’t.

We went to a little cafe inside an old house a few blocks south of the center of downtown Franklin. We packed ourselves into a room that was roughly 30 feet square, along with around 150 other people (it was apparent that the Williamson County Fire Marshal was not among them). It was probably upwards of ninety degrees in that room, but it was well worth it.

On stage (ten feet in front of us), in what was intended to be simply a few friends getting together for an informal jam session, were Tom Howard on keyboards, Lynn Nichols on guitar, Dave Perkins on guitar, Cactus Moses on drums, along with Rick Cua on bass and Phil Keaggy on guitar. They played for nearly three hours (with a twenty minute break in the middle), and it was amazing. From Booker T. & the MG’s to the blues to the Beatles, they played a wide variety of music, and they played it loud. It was sometime Sunday evening before my hearing returned to normal. It was a great experience, though, and a great start to our vacation.

In my next installment, read about the Saturday trip to Indianapolis, including detours around flooding, a stop to re-live a fond childhood memory, and a traitorous 4F50N that led to a taxi ride to the airport.

Well, obviously I’ve been a little busy lately. I was able to take a vacation with my family following the convention, and we had a great time (with the exception of that little transmission incident). We had some great experiences, from being nearly deafened by Phil Keaggy to having a laugh with Bill Gaither (he actually laughed later). I’ll be blogging here about these in coming days.

Before we left, our church conducted a one-day Vacation Bible School using a previous year’s Club VBS cirriculum (it was free, which is nice). So until I can write more, enjoy our Jungle Jaunt highlights:

or, what did Dr. Hunt just whisper in Scott’s ear?

I hate to post so quickly on top of my endorsement post below, but I came across this video today, and wanted to share it. Just a little something for my pastor friends to think about:

Many bloggers have published endorsements of candidates they will support when our convention elects a new president next week in Indianapolis. Here are the candidates I plan to support.

Second Vice-President: Dr. John Newland

I don’t much like being away from the pulpit on Sundays, but one of the highlights for me is the opportunity to enjoy another preacher opening God’s Word, live and in person. I listen to several sermons in a given week, but a podcast simply doesn’t compare to being in the pew. Next Sunday, I plan to take my family to Fall Creek Baptist Church in Indianapolis, where Dr. John Newland serves as pastor.

I first heard of Dr. Newland during the controversy over his church’s planning of a Super Bowl party, a party which drew the ire of the attorneys for the National Football League. I remember at the time admiring Dr. Newland’s character for the way he handled the controversy by pledging to abide by the law as it stood, and as a football fan, I was certainly glad to hear that the league ultimately relaxed its stance toward such gatherings.

I was excited to hear of Dr. Newland’s nomination to this office, and I look forward to supporting his election.

First Vice-President: Dr. Bill Henard

Dr. Bill Henard has been a faithful servant in his roles as president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and as a trustee, and chairman of the trustees, of LifeWay. But most importantly, he has been a faithful servant in his role as the pastor of Porter Memorial Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky.

In the most recent year for which statistics are available, Porter Memorial gave 10.6% of its undesignated receipts to the Cooperative Program, and over $54,000 to our two mission offerings.

Dr. Henard has been a strong conservative voice in the Kentucky Baptist Convention, and I look forward to supporting his election as our convention’s first vice-president.

President: Dr. Frank Cox

There is not much I can say about Dr. Cox that has not already been said in other endorsements. His answers, both in the SBC Today interview and to the BP questionnaire, were spot-on, he has led his church to be an outstanding example of Cooperative Program support (>13%), and he has an outstanding record of service to his state convention in Georgia.

But what is perhaps most impressive is his dedicated commitment to the local church, and specifically to the local church he has pastored since leaving New Orleans Seminary in 1980.

No, that’s not a typing error; Dr. Cox has served the same church for some 28 years. He has been there through some very difficult times, including the premature death of his first wife and some severe opposition from a disgruntled faction of church members. His faithfulness and perseverance over so many years challenges and inspires me, and uniquely qualifies Dr. Cox to be the president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Les Puryear, another candidate whom I consider a friend, has written a post on his blog today titled, “Advantages of Starting Out in a Small Church.” Dr. Cox has experienced all those advantages, because he started out in a small church nearly thirty years ago. But unlike so many who start out in small churches, he has not spent his time looking to step up to a larger church, but rather has stayed where God put him.

At the recent conference Les hosted at his church for small-church pastors, our current president, Dr. Frank Page, was quoted as saying it is time for a small-church pastor to be elected as president of our convention. I agree wholeheartedly, and I look forward to supporting small-church pastor Dr. Frank Cox, and I urge all who read this post to do the same.

Travel Notes

My family and I will hit the road this Thursday to travel to Indianapolis. We’ll stop to visit some family along the way, and on Sunday my dad, who lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, will meet us in Indianapolis to relieve us of our two children, whom we’ll rejoin in Grand Rapids after the convention for some family vacation time.

One of the highlights of the convention is the opportunity to renew friendships and make new acquaintances, and I’m especially looking forward to sharing these opportunities with my wife for the first time. If you’re going to be in Indianapolis, I wish you a safe trip, and I’d love to have the opportunity to meet you.

At the beginning of this year, I had precisely nineteen hours of college credit to my name. I spent an entire year living on campus at John Brown University in 1991. I was enrolled full-time at a community college for one semester before that. And, I took a night class at yet another school after that. And for all that, I managed to accumulate an astounding nineteen hours of credit. I was some student, wasn’t I?

Well, as of today, I have thirty-seven hours. As was previously mentioned, I’m enrolled in Liberty University’s Distance Learning Program. And this time, I’m not messing around. Today is the last day of my second eight-week term, and I completed three classes in each of them. There was a one-week break in between the terms, which unfortunately came the week before my daughter’s spring break.

At this rate, I should be able to complete my bachelor’s degree in about two years. I’m easing up in the summer, but only slightly. I’m enrolling in two classes in each of the two eight-week terms. With the convention (with family vacation attached) coming up, I didn’t want to attempt too much. Also, instead of a one-week break in between terms, the summer has a two-week overlap. So for the fortnight ending July 4, I’ll actually be taking four classes at once. I’m looking forward to that.

The class that I finished last in the spring term was an introductory philosophy class. The textbook was titled Questions that Matter, and though it runs to over 550 pages (not including the glossary and index), I actually managed to find relatively few. The class finished with a section on philosophy of religion, which I found to be most interesting, especially the philosophical arguments for the existence of God. But after considering philosophical approaches to theodicy, as well as arguments teleological, ontological and moral, I must say that I found yesterday, while aimlessly surfing the web during some down time, one of the best extra-biblical proofs I’ve yet run across that there is, in fact, a God, and that He loves us very, very much. I therefore end this post by inviting you to view this convincing proof by clicking here.

I feel confident in asserting that no one who has been involved in the various blogs relating to the politics of the Southern Baptist Convention over the last two years is without an opinion about California Director of Missions and IMB trustee Dr. Jerry Corbaley.

Those opinions are surely widely varied, and in most cases determined by the “side of the aisle” on which one has chosen to sit. Fortunately, my opinion was formed before I recognized that their was, in fact, an aisle. And so I call him a friend, and one for whom I am grateful to God.

Today, my left-coast friend has provided some wisdom for all of us involved in these discussions. As he explains in the post, comments are not open, but I commend his words to all of us who would take part in these conversations:

Both Sides of the Aisle

For some time now, I have chosen not to comment on Grace and Truth to You. While I am standing by that decision, today’s post there demands a response. It is time that someone pointed out the absolute ridiculousness that is being promoted, and the personal animosity that makes the very name of the blog ring quite hollow.

The offense begins at the title. Apparently the distastefulness of “Baptist Identity and Conversational Terrorism” has been recognized as gratuitous, as it has been softened since its original posting (not the first time hateful words have been changed at that blog). But the damage of the title is done; most who follow these things will have seen the original.

The irony of an accusation of “conversational terrorism” coming from this blogger is stunning in its richness. And the fact that it was directed at a respected theologian who happens to be a personal friend has obligated me to respond. I have not been asked by the one offended to respond on his behalf, and knowing what I know of his nature, he would likely prefer that it be left alone. But I cannot, in good conscience, allow this attack on my friend to stand unanswered.

There are not really words available to describe adequately the level of hubris inherent in this silly indictment. Just one example will suffice to support this claim, though the fact is as obvious as a rising and full moon to those who have been closely following this mess.

I have been among many bloggers sharply criticized during the resignation-shortened tenure of the writer of Grace and Truth to You as a trustee of the International Mission Board for their support of men such as Tom Hatley, John Floyd, and even Jerry Corbaley. Due to a disagreement with a pair of policies, this blogger launched an all-out public offensive in the blogosphere, belittling and ridiculing these men, accusing them of being mindless puppets and blood-thirsty warriors, and questioning their honesty and theological integrity. Because of his habitual lack of specificity when making these attacks, they were rightly seen as an affront to the entire board of trustees, a concept he never seemed to grasp.

And yet, there were other trustees on the board who disagreed with these policies, some of them quite strongly. At least one, Dr. Allen McWhite of South Carolina, wrote letters to every trustee and even to all of the presidents of our seminaries in an attempt to gain support for his opposition. Yet he continually showed respect for the board as a whole, and as a result he continues to serve as an effective member of that body.

But because of his outrageous manner in opposing the policies, the writer of Grace and Truth to You faced removal from the board, forced a change in standards of trustee conduct, was censured by the full board, and was ultimately forced to resign. And anyone asserting that it was because of his disagreement with the policies is either mistaken or is intentionally misleading. No, the reason for the utter failure of his tenure on the International Mission Board can be summed up in two words, ironically coupled by his own hand this day: “conversational terrorism.”

Presumably I, along with many of my friends, would be lumped together within the group that this outrageous post calls the “Baptist Identity initiative,” which is labeled as a “fringe movement.” This claim is laughable in its absurdity. An objective look at the leftward cant of the theology that has been put forward at Grace and Truth to You just in recent days, as well as the viciousness of many of the regular commenters in attacking any who would disagree with their views, can leave little doubt as to who is on the fringe of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The writer of Grace and Truth to You is not a theological liberal. A theological liberal is one who denies the central tenets of the Christian faith, including the inerrancy and integrity of the Bible (including, obviously, the first eleven chapters of Genesis). That is not applicable to this blog owner. But the time is long past when anyone can claim with any credibility that he is a theological conservative.

Among the many benefits to the Southern Baptist Convention of the legacy of the late Dr. Adrian Rogers are his precise definitions of the theological identifiers “conservative,” “liberal,” and “moderate.” A moderate, according to Dr. Rogers, is one who “maintains the position of accommodating the liberal view.” Pointing out how this applies to the blogger in question would be tantamount to directing attention to the sun at noon on a cloudless day.

I’m quite content to be labeled as one who stands unashamedly for “Baptist identity,” for I am persuaded that “Baptist identity” is, or at least ought to be, nothing more or less than biblical identity. Were I to find another model closer to the polity and practice I see in the New Testament, I would quickly abandon my “Baptist identity” in favor of it. Apparently, there is intended in that label some level of shame, judging by the pejorative way in which it is often employed at Grace and Truth to You. This in itself is telling. Nonetheless, I am happy to own it, and even happier that the owner of Grace and Truth to You has chosen so publicly to oppose it.

[ht: David Worley]

Peter Lumpkins has posted this morning that tragedy has visited the life of fellow blogger Debbie Kaufman, as her daughter’s husband was killed in an accident.

Please pray that the God of all comfort will reveal Himself powerfully to Mrs. Kaufman and her family in the days to come.