I Should Be a What? - May 20, 2005

My initial response when it was mentioned to me that I should be a blogger was: "I should be a what?"
Blogs, blogging, blogosphere...I confess this is all new to me and I don't fully understand it. Truth be told, I probably would have lived out the remainder of my days in blogging ignorance if someone hadn't educated me. Yes, I realize that more than 9 million bloggers now have sites so I wouldn't say I'm anywhere close to being the first to catch the wave.

But I have caught it and I hope it is a case of better late than never.

I do have several reasons for creating a blog, but none greater than my desire to more intimately connect with the men and women who are the future of the evangelical church in America and more specifically the Southern Baptist Convention. I suspect they (you!) will be the majority of the people who read my blog. Most of you know I've traveled several miles this year listening to your concerns about the future of the SBC. I've come with no agenda except to listen, and I've learned a lot. I want you to know I hear you, I'm for you, and I want to be as much of a voice for you as possible. I've been impressed by your enthusiasm for the gospel and your desire to engage the culture. It has been a tremendous encouragement to me.

I also realize we want the same thing but speak a different language. For instance, when I say discipleship, I do think of formal training in a church on Sunday night. That's what it is to my generation. However, I also understand discipleship takes place in a coffee shop on Tuesday afternoon between two people. Let's not split generational hairs over language. Let's get it done! The process is important and can be formal or informal, but the most important aspect of the exchange is that relationships are made and people are taken from being babes in the faith to maturity.

Or take worship styles. I'm a hymn guy. Always have been and always will be, but that doesn't mean I don't see the value of other worship styles. I don't get hung up on worship styles nearly as much as whether or not the object of the worship is ultimately to glorify God. That goes for "traditional" or "contemporary" styles.

Bottom line is I don't fully understand you and you don't fully understand me, which of course is a good reason for us to talk. I have certainly learned a few things by listening to you describe yourselves over these past several months. For instance:

You are largely theologically conservative. You are passionate about ministry and crave relationships. You want to connect with the denomination in some capacity.

You appreciate the battle for the Bible but don't want to keep fighting a war already won. You feel we're still itching for a fight rather than building on what has been gained.

You don't believe sound theology conflicts with innovative methods. Forms of worship and styles of ministry do not change the substance of the Gospel message.

You do not want to be ignored or have your methods of minstry ridiculed. You want to be included and have a voice.

You would like to be more involved in platforms, programs, commmittees and trustee boards, but you feel the SBC is too bureaucratic, so you question the value of being involved.

You believe there is too much duplication and complexity in the SBC entities. You'd like to see a more simple and effective structure. You see little value in the association, state or national organization and prefer "networks" to "convention."

You want mentoring and feel you can contribute to mentoring, making it a two-way relationship.

You wonder why you should support the Cooperative Program when larger churches seem to give only a small percentage of their budgets to the CP.

You have an energy, passion and creativity to address the culture in which we live with biblical truth and are going to do that with or without the SBC. If the SBC does not find ways to show you we want you, you will simply walk away. I personally don't want to see that happen and frankly, the SBC is wrong if we allow it to happen.

So here I am, trying to connect with you through the blogosphere to see what we can do together. I hope to post new content at least twice a week and maybe three, depending on my very heavy travel schedule over the next few months. Unfortunately this blog template currently doesn't have a response mechanism that allows for comments, but I'll keep up better with blogs such as SBC Outpost (some good comments, Marty) and Emerging SBC Leaders (Thanks, Steve, for the June 19th plug. Thanks for planning to come. We'd all benefit if we had about 500 like you show up.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JimmyDraper,

You seem to be a pretty good blogger for a rookie. Once again, I appreciate your willingness to have these tough conversations with us.

I look forward to seeing their fruits. Is there anything we can do for you? I am sure you will say get involved but honestly (speaking for some but not all) we are waiting to see what comes out of these meetings before we jump in with both feet.

All of your summary statments are very good. I think the one kind of negative one you left off about us is that we are hestiant to go head over heals about something unless we have a good grip of what the possiblities are if we do. I still question a lot of leadership of the denomination and their philosophy of ministry. I honestly question it more after the meeting in Dallas last month.

Because of the Kingdom, I feel we are definately in the same book but very often on different pages within the book.

I will continue to pray for your abilities and opportunities to share with leadership your conclusions and suggestions from these meetings.

Thanks again Dr. Draper and keep up the fight.

Thanks Doc Draper

I look foward to reading your blog, maybe this idea will spread to others within the convention, I certianly hope so,

Blessings and press on

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