Going to Indy

Well, exactly one week from today my lovely wife Tracy and I will jump in our minivan (I know, I'm getting old) and make the 8 hour drive to Indianapolis, Indiana. Normally I prefer to fly, and it's become cheaper than paying mileage, but since we are leaving after the convention to head to Wilmington, NC for my brother's wedding, this year we'll make the drive.

I'm excited about this year's convention for a number of reasons. One of the chief reasons I'm excited is that I will have the privilege of serving this year on the Committee on Committees. This will be my first experience serving on the national level. I'm one of those strange individuals who gets a kick out of serving on committees so this should be an enjoyable and educational experience.

I'm also very excited this year as I watch what happens with the Presidential election. Two years ago I was thrilled to watch as Frank Page won the election on a first ballot to become the President of the SBC. This year I am convinced that it will take a second ballot for a candidate to to receive the necessary 51% approval. Nonetheless I am very encouraged to see a number of qualified Southern Baptists all placing their name into nomination to serve as our President. It's indicative of an increased level of involvement from people who previously would not have been engaged in the process, and for that I'm grateful. I've had the privilege of meeting 4 of the 6 candidates but have not yet met Frank Cox or William Wagner. I count one of the candidates, Les Puryear, to be a very good friend and I could be satisfied with a number of the candidates being elected.

That being said, my vote will be cast for Avery Willis. I mentioned earlier that I had the privilege of building his website that conveys his desire for the SBC as well as his track record of success to this point. I would encourage you to run over and take a look at it. Beyond that, Avery has recently responded to a written interview request from Baptist Press that is very enlightening. I would strongly encourage you to read that interview as well as the interviews with each of the other candidates. I am convinced that Avery's passion, track record, humility and plan is in line with what our convention needs to become an effective, Kingdom growing organization again.

Finally, I'm looking forward to Indy as I will get the privilege of spending a week with my wife without any children. I love my children more than my own life, but as anyone who has toddlers can tell you, they can be a bit draining at times when it comes to quality time with your spouse. Although the convention is a very, very busy time for me, I'm looking forward to enjoying it together with Tracy. This should be the longest amount of time we've had together, without children, since Grace was born almost 5 years ago. We've got our reservations set for the University Place Conference Center and Hotel and we're excited about getting there.

Oh, and one more thing, one of the more enjoyable experiences of SBC gatherings since I started this blog 3 or 4 years ago now, has been meeting many of you who read this. Since you can see my picture at the top of the blog (I'm sorry about that, it's not really nice of me to subject you to it, I know), if you see me introduce yourself. I've already received correspondence from a number of you who will be there and I'm looking forward to getting together in person. So, please take a moment to stop us and introduce yourself to Tracy and me. It would be a privilege to meet many of you.