I didn’t know how to wrap up my experience at the 2008 SBC, so I decided to just make a list of stuff I am thinking. This list will be complete thoughts, but not expounded upon unless you want to hear more.

Thoughts in no particular order

I didn’t vote for Him, but I love and deeply admire Johnny Hunt and believe he will be a great president.
The music was wonderful. I was moved to tears more than once. The Gettys particularly, but also the combined choir from the final night. My favorite song is here. (start at the 5:23 mark in this one)
After seeing the IMB report, I am deeply convicted that I need to go on a foreign mission trip.
I only saw 2 votes unopposed – Moving the schedule forward 15 minutes because the order of business committee didn’t have any business, and appreciating 100 years of RAs. Every other vote had at least one person waving a ballot in the negative
Frank Page runs a tight ship. We were ahead of schedule nearly the entire time.
Folks at the convention seemed generally positive. Different from the general tone of the blogging world, and a great encouragement to me.
For some reason I really enjoy the business part of the business meeting, where we have motions, amendments, and calls for the question and such. Is that weird?
I was not there for resolution 6. (I didn’t get up when my sister-in-law tried to wake me.) But it was the most important of the convention. I’m glad it was amended and hope it has some effect. Also, this is a good summary/commentary. Or you can watch it yourself here (it starts around the 15 minute mark)
Half of all Guidestone claims are for “preventable” issues such as diabetes and heart conditions. As a fat dude (though not Guidestone insured), I’m ashamed of that.
7300 messengers is more than I expected. Especially with the convention being held north of the Ohio.
The Annie Armstrong banquet was wonderful. The speaker was great, the fire alarm ruined it
The falling dollar cost us $18 million as we tried to spend LMCO money...Wow

I’m not that popular but I saw a bunch of people I know pretty well

Here's some other stuff not necessarily convention related but related to my trip.

For the first time ever I pumped ethanol. $2.99 but it got much worse mileage.
The GPS I borrowed tried to lead me through a football stadium.
My brother’s dog is humongous.
The TSA took my toothpaste. Stupid liquid rule. But I learned that saline is allowed in your carry-on.

$Jarred\'s huge dog$ This week’s posts are going to not strictly be a summary of the Southern Baptist Convention. They will contain the summary but they will also be a bit of a travelogue of my personal adventures. If all you want is a summary I recommend one of the other SBC blogs, with the political, or tonal slant of your choice. They are all out there. Also, I'm typing these on a janky old laptop at the end of the day, so if there are extra typos and less links than usual, please ignore that. Now, without further ado, I present SBC 2008 pt.1

I got to Indianapolis on Saturday night around midnight. My brother and his wife live in Lafayette IN and I’m staying with them. So Sunday I got up and went to his church, then we spent the rest of the day just visiting and being drooled on by his giant dog. I never even considered going to the first day of the pastor’s conference. I considered Sunday as a vacation day. Monday morning I got up, got ready and headed into Indy. It is about an hour drive and I had an errand to run, so it was after 10 before I got there. Then it took me quite a while to find a parking place. By the time I made it to the convention hall and registered for the convention the last speaker of the morning was already on. I toured the exhibit hall not really stopping anywhere, just getting the lay of the land and looking for people I knew. I did go ahead and buy a new Baptist Hymnal in the convention edition for our Music Director. Otherwise I was just roaming.

I called and met my great-uncle, Don Mathis, for lunch. Then we went back for the afternoon sessions.

The afternoon included messages by Dr. Jimmy Draper, Rev. Bill Stafford, Dr. James MacDonald and a special guest. James Draper is always a good speaker, and this message on revival was no exception. He said that he was talking about something he knew nothing about. And none of us knew anything about it, because nothing like it had happened in our lifetime. I think many of us genuinely want to see a great awakening like in the days of Whitefield. I certainly do.

Bill Stafford was one of the most entertaining sermons I have ever heard. I wish I could quote all the great things he said. You just have to trust me, he was wonderful. And he said he was, “So saved it’s pitiful.”

The next scheduled speaker was sick and didn’t make it. And apparently word got out about who the guest speaker would be, because the convention hall filled. In his place, straight from practice Tony Dungy, came in. He only spoke for about 10 minutes but it is very nice to see some in the public eye who appears to be genuine in his faith. I appreciated his time.

The final speaker of the session was James MacDonald. He spoke on repentance, and the need for it. In fact he said that revival was a simple as “repent!” His message was punctuated by the fact that it pouring rain outside and thundering. He would often say “repent” and be punctuated by a loud thunder clap. It was quite a good message.

At the dinner break, I went back to Lafayette, mostly because there was a break in the rain, and I wanted to get back to my car while I had the chance, but also because the next two days will be so hectic and punctuated by a 3:30 a.m. trip to the airport.

I probably saw a dozen people I knew and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Don’t forget you can watch tomorrow and Wednesday’s sessions at sbcannualmeeting.net

Final Thoughts on the SBC 2008

SBC Pastor's Conference Day 2