What Did I Learn at The Southern Baptist Convention 2006?

I am back from Greensboro, North Carolina, and as I promised in my last blog, I will tell you all that I learned at the Southern Baptist Convention.

First, I learned that Greensboro has a real nice convention center. I was not expecting much. Greensboro is not a large city, and I did not think their convention center would be all that nice. I was wrong. Greensboro should be proud of what they have. Cleveland, Ohio would be lucky to have this type of a facility, and Cleveland is more than twice the size of Greensboro.

Second, I learned that Al Mohler is even a bigger genius than I thought he was. The Mohler and Patterson debate was nothing more than a discussion between two friends. Regardless of your position, it would not have changed in this debate. Both men did a wonderful job defending their believes. However, everyone I spoke with, both Calvinists and non-Calvinists, were impressed with Dr. Mohler. Dr. Mohler had cornea surgery the day before this discussion. He was in a tremendous amount of pain, and he could not read any of the notes he made. Off the top of his head, he out performed the great Paige Patterson. I remind you that Paige Patterson is no slouch. He is a brilliant man as well.

Third, I learned that blogging has a huge impact on the convention. Regardless of your opinion of Wade Burleson, his blog and the blogs of others, played a huge role in this years Convention. Frank Page owes his presidency to the blogosphere. I do not know if people read the blogs themselves, or heard about the controversy from those who did read the blogs. Nevertheless, the blog world has come to stay.

Fourth, I learned a new word. A pastor friend of mine used the term Calviphobe. I about laughed my head off when I heard it. A Calviphobe is someone that doesn't want to talk, think, or read anything about Calvinism. They want to be left in their happy little world. There is a whole lot of Calviphobes out there.

Fifth, I learned that the Southern Baptist Convention can disagree without being disagreeable. There was some strong opinions held at the convention, but I heard nothing spoken that I would consider out of line. Southern Baptists should be proud of the way we conducted our convention, and President Bobby Welch did a fantastic job handling the event.

In closing, I really feel bad about all of those on the left that were wanting blood and guts. It must be terribly disappointing to be so wrong about the Southern Baptist Convention. I have noticed that the Associated Baptist Press is working hard to find something to write about that will please most of their readers. I am sorry fellas; things have been very peaceful since you left.