Baptist & Reflector editor reads email...shocking news gathering technique surprises Todd Stinnett

In a recent post on the Concerned Tennessee Baptists' web site, Todd Stinnett challenges Lonnie Wilkey, the editor of the Baptist and Reflector' s personal reflection editorial:

(Quoting Todd Stinnett) "In your editorial, you also mentioned that seven of the names offered up by the Committee on Boards will be challenged. I’d like to know how the editor to the B&R is able to gather this type of information. Certainly, that type of information is not available to those of us who are rank-and-file messengers to the TBC."

Todd, I'll explain it simply. Mr. Wilkey is much older than you and considerably more experienced in getting his facts straight. How would he know if 7 will be challenged? If you read your email from Brother Larry Reagan, CTB editor, it clearly states the following:

"...There will be 7 proposed amendments
- To the TBC Executive Board:
Terry Kirby, Pos. #35, Alpha BC Morristown, 16.29% CP
Roy Terry, Pos. #34, Laurel Creek BC, 6.8% CP
Bill Carden, Pos. #64, FBC Tullahoma, 12% CP
David Williams, Pos. #49, Hillcrest Morristown, 7% CP
Craig Cummings, Pos. #54, Union BC Knox Co., 9% CP
- To the Committee on Committees
Dave McRight, Pos. #427, FBC Hohenwald, 12.9% CP
Craig Ward, Pos. #428, Lincoln Ave. BC, 5% CP
All 7 of these affirm strongly the BF&M 2000. They are being nominated in place of those who refuse to affirm the BF&M 2000."

I do find it interesting, Todd, that you do not consider the Concerned Tennessee Baptists to be part of the "rank-and-file messengers to the TBC" since the Concerned Tennessee Baptist mailing list was likely the first to hear of these 7 nominations. That is enlightening information. The CTB nominates Todd for 2nd Vice-president and fails to tell him about the 7 proposed amendments...really??

Lastly, Todd, I take issue with your questioning of Lonnie Wilkey, the editor of the Baptist & Reflector, whose newspaper is anything but a source of balanced information for Tennessee Baptists (there is nothing balanced about Tennessee Baptists anyway). I have much more experience than you at giving Lonnie a hard time and I am trying hard not to be resentful of you for questioning Lonnie's very personal and historically accurate, Baptist reflection.

Anyone up for hot apple pie a la mode? Anyone care to affirm 'pecan pie' as a Baptist amendment dessert? (lots of nuts, a sticky mess, crusty around the edges, and stays sweet while being chewed out).

Would Someone Please Tell Richard Land to "Put a Sock in It"

Acording to a post on ethicsdaily.com, Richard Land call Mormonism "the fourth Abrahamic faith". Richard Land is the president of the SBC ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and apparently is attempting to do one of the most dangerous things one can do in Baptist life: speak for other Baptists.

I need to dig up a copy of Dr. Walter Martin's Kingdom of the Cults and send 'ole Richard a copy.

It's like this: if it is called Network 21 or International Dreambuilders and the products are from AmWay, it is still AmWay. This "fourth Abrahamic faith" crap smells worse than week-old, spoiled towels leftover in a baptistry dressing room.

Moving the Tennessee Baptist Convention to the 21st Century

Will and I had a great dinner last night in Nashville and he asked me to put down in words some technology ideas for Tennessee Baptists. I promised no war stories about my experiences in Southeast Asia with an IBM punch card machine called Elvis, but reference that memory only to let readers know that technology isn't all that new to this old f*rt.

Will pointed me to today's article in the Baptist state paper, The Baptist and Regurgitator (I think that is the name, anyway *grin*). There's a story about the upcoming convention in east Tennessee at the Kingsport Convention Center. The article speaks to the shrinking numbers in attendance each year and bemoans the projection, "the attendance to be less than it was in 1998." Ron Stewart, our fearless fundamentalist leader, is quoted: "I believe the Lord is working with us to create a convention that is able to minister to the constantly changing culture of the 21st century." Well, fundamentally, I agree with brother Ron.

Here is my top 5 list of suggestions to get the Tennessee Baptist Convention out of the Gutenberg era into something beyond the current century's Gutenberg Project decade:

1. For less than 1/10th of the money that the TBC is wasting on lawyers to sue Belmont University, the entire Tennessee Baptist Convention annual meeting could be made available via streaming video to anyone in the convention who wanted to watch on a cable-speed Internet connection. I'd guess that some would be willing to pay a subscription for such a service. The technology is affordable and available NOW.

2. If the TBC wants to demonstrate real leadership, allow churches to securely register messengers as online participants in the meeting. A unique ballot code could be distributed to those who are validated through their respective churches and when it comes time to vote during the convention, many could submit their votes electronically. I'll be the first to offer up the argument that this system might be manipulated...but it couldn't be as manipulated as votes in 1980's era SBC meetings where leaders held up color-coded cards telling their constituent blocks just how to vote on issues. The technology is affordable and available NOW.

3. The state paper could easily host moderated discussions using the current space they are wasting on the TBC web site to regurgitate the print edition. Many newspapers have opened up online articles for follow-up questions and comments. These comments could easily be moderated so that just the views of whatever flavor of leadership is running the convention would actually show up on the web site. The technology is affordable and available NOW.

4. Open up the TBC's newspaper to churches in the convention to electronically post praise and prayer requests. There are great things happening in our churches AND in our institutions that members in TBC churches should be allowed to read. There is certainly no room for such requests in the murdered-tree (i.e. print-version) version of the B&R and I am sure that the B&R staff is not large enough to cover all of our churches in this constantly changing culture of the 21st century. Allow some democracy into the world of Baptist state paper journalism, it could be a breath of fresh air instead of the staleness that we witness currently. And, again, the technology is affordable and available NOW.

5. Let's be honest with one another and realize that an annual (i.e. one meeting each year) is hardly realistic with the pace of change in the lives of our churches in the 21st century. Even if we stick with one face-to-face fellowship meeting each year, there is absolutely no reason that a quarterly electronic meeting couldn't be organized so that more of our members can be involved at some level. Let's be creative and innovative in the way we do committee meetings...Cracker Barrel will survive without us. And if this old man can understand enough to make it work, I would not entertain the nonsense that too many churches wouldn't be able to participate...that is fresh-off-the-steeple pigeon poop. And, (you guessed it), the technology is affordable and available NOW!

We could start with the basics and advise all Tennessee Baptists that the little tray that shoots out from their personal computers ISN'T a holder for a coffee cup. I'd even be willing to propose reconstituting the 19th century's WCTU. Listen to the Baptist sound of this: Wholesome Computer Training Union.

Sex Addicted (Christian) Women

Two stories caught my attention today that exposed my Internet porn naivety. The first is an article in the Baptist and Reflector is about Michele Washam, identified in the article as the creator of the first pornographic web site intended for women, www.just4Ladies.com (no longer a porn site, relax...yes, you there in the back row). The general theme of the story is that Washam's conversion lead to the site's transformation to a ministry for women that has now lead to a book offer. Honestly, I had never really considered that pornography obsession/addiction was is a problem for women.

The second story, America's latest epidemic: 'sex addicted women', via Bible Belt Blogger caught me off guard as well. From that post,

"According to Nielsen NetRatings, nearly one-third of the visitors to adult websites are female. Today’s Christian Woman reported that 34 percent of their online newsletter readers admitted to intentionally accessing Internet porn."

So, there is not only a problem, but the problem is even larger than I could have imagined.

It is a good thing that there are ministries that address the dysfunction, malfunction, and misinformation about sex and sexual addictions within a Christian context. As an older Baptist, I believe our historical, lack of openness to talk about sex shares part of the blame that makes such ministries necessary. That is a cheap-shot-20-20-hindsight kind of comment, I admit it. But our failure as Baptists to openly discuss the role of sex (even in marriage) has resulted in too many generations ill prepared to respond to situations and circumstances that involve an enormously powerful, God-given, human instinct. The headlines casting shame on the indiscretions of Baptist ministers and laymen are fruits of those failures.

I am reminded of a scene from Kindergarten Cop, where detective/teacher John Kimble acknowledges the raised hand of a kindergarten child whose dad is a gynecologist. The little boy blurts out, "Boys have a penis. Girls have a vagina." In the middle of the last century when I attended kindergarten, such a comment would have resulted in a quick trip to the little boys room and the introduction of a soapy washcloth into the child's mouth. I hope that we, as Baptists, are past the stupidity that silencing honest talk about sex (and other traditionally taboo subjects) is the Christian way. I am not suggesting that we teach sex education in kindergarten...but in the last year in my own Sunday School class of 'mature adults' any discussion about sex has been centered on man's sinful nature rather than how to celebrate God's gift of intimate relations. Maybe we just don get it (ok, you may chuckle at that if you wish).

As many of my posts end with a reference to food and the Baptist way of combining food and fellowship, I leave you with two words that I have just learned: flavored lubricants.

Can it Be? The Lion Sleeps with the Lamb??

I feel pretty sure that most conservatives and most liberals in the Baptist world would agree that we will disagree on many issues. Whether or not we can learn to disagree agreeably is something that people seem to be talking about more these days.

A recent Associated Baptist Press article by Robert Marcus, "Evangelicals, liberals seek dialogue on ‘culture war’ issues", asks the feuding parties among us if we can at least work cooperatively on 5 contentious issues. "The five contentious issues the paper focuses on are the role of religion in public life, gay rights, abortion, research using human embryos, and strengthening families."

The article is worth the read. It concludes with the following,

"In order for this paper to bear more fruit, both progressives and evangelicals will need to continue the hard work of reasoning together,” the authors concluded. “We do not conclude that these conversations will be easy or that the paper’s proposals in themselves will resolve all the real disagreements and tensions on cultural issues. But we believe that the gap need not be as wide and the mistrust need not run as deep."

"But we believe that the gap need not be as wide and the mistrust need not run as deep." I certainly hope we truly believe that and act upon it soon. Can I get an 'Amen'?

Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.
Proverbs 15:17/NIV

Baptist and Reflector - On Communications to TBC Churches

Lonnie Wilkey, the editor of the Tennessee Baptist Convention's newspaper, The Baptist and Reflector is asking for trust and good communication within our convention. He includes a mention of Belmont University as part of his commentary:

"There have been stories in the media, including this paper, in recent weeks about Belmont and TBC going to court. But there are other examples. A Nashville church is being sued by some members to get access to financial records, and a Southern Baptist seminary is in court over a lawsuit by a former faculty member.

These cases need to be settled out of court, but it involves the effort and desire of people on both sides of the dispute. And it won’t be accomplished without cooperation, which won’t occur unless we communicate and build trust."

I agree completely with Mr. Wilkey in this matter. I also challenge him to step up and begin the communication and trust building process regarding the Tennessee Baptist Convention and Belmont University lawsuit. Mediation appears to be over. A trial date has been set. It is time for those with the facts to be open and honest with TBC churches. The Baptist and Reflector has the responsibility to do this instead of a blog written by a crotchety, old, fundamentalist reject (me).

It is time for transparency. I challenge the B&R to print the facts and answer the following questions:

1. What did the TBC bring to the table in terms of negotiation with Belmont during mediation?
2. What reasons were given for rejecting the Belmont offers?
   
3. How much of the $750,000 allocation from this year's budget has been spent?
4. Where (specifically) did those funds go?

I ask the same questions (1 & 2) of Belmont University. What (specifically) did you bring to the table? What reasons do you offer for rejecting TBC terms?

I have spoken with friends at Belmont. The campus is not hearing much about the lawsuit other than what has been printed in the paper. We are hearing even less from our Baptist state paper and there is no legal reason why, at this juncture, they cannot tell their constituency the whole truth. If you detect a bit of disdain in the tone of this post, it is partly because searches (Google) for information regarding this lawsuit bring up more posts here on Refugee Baptist than on the Baptist and Reflector web site. Only the Baptist and Reflector can change that.

Please, Lonnie, if there is an ounce of truth to your desire to communicate and build trust, be a journalist. Do your job. Give Tennessee Baptist churches the information that they deserve, not some pablum version of half-truths.