SBC Day 1

I was going to post something on the road Sunday and Monday, but there really wasn't anything worth writing about. It was two days of driving with lots of pretty scenery. Though I have been to every state west of the Mississippi, I haven't been west of Arkansas in the south, so Tennessee and North Carolina were special treats. The landscape is hard to write about, so you will have to wait till I get some pics posted. . . some day. This morning at 6:30 Pastor Rod, Suzan and I went to the Founders breakfast, where Mark Dever was to preach on Romans 9 and 10, Why aren't my loved ones saved? . After Dever, the preaching was pretty much downhill the rest of the day. Pastor Dever gave three reasons from the text why those that Paul longed to see saved weren't: 1. Because God hadn't saved them. 2. Because they don't believe. 3. Because No one was telling them the good news. Under this last point Pastor Dever went on to answer the question "How should we tell the Gospes?" A. That it is an urgent decision. B. That it is a costly decision. C. That it is infinitely worth the cost. In conclusion several points were made, including, but not limited to, the following: 1. Pastor Dever gave examples from Scripture as well as church history, of those who were patient and persistent with their loved ones: God with Paul, and Monica with her son Augustine, for example. 2. "The Gospel is full of whoevers" 3. It is not up to us to limit the gospel. 4. We Calvinists often use our theology to excuse our laziness. The Convention 1. The preaching peppered throughout the business was energetic, loud, illustrated, emotional, innovative, but not half as good as Pastor Rod on his worst day. One bright spot was a report from a young man, I missed his name, during the NAMB report. He had a church plant in NYC, and he said several times that his goal was to "display the greatness of God to the world.", and not xx number of baptisms or decisions. 2. Frank Page from South Carolina was elected president, with 50.48 percent in a three way race, just barely avoiding the necessity for a runoff. Mark Dever got the most votes for 1st Vice President on the first vote with 29.72 percent, but lost to Jimmy Jackson in the runoff, 51.44 to 47.86 percent. We voted on 2nd vice president, but no results before we adjourned last night. I will try to post on this tomorrow, as there was a considerable amount of humor involved? 3. I was hoping to see some people I was familiar with. I saw the obvious: Tom Ascol, Mark Dever, Tom Nettles, Wade Burleson. I did not get to meet them, but it was nice to see a real face with familiar names. I did unexpectedly see Steve Parks (For you Tangleites/Trinitites). He brought a motion to the convention. Pastor (Bishop) Jeff Young brought a comment to a motion made. Ben Cole also raised a question on one of the reports. I've never met Cole, and have only traded a few emails with Young. Now Steve Parks: well I could tell stories for weeks about Brother Steve. I've got to get some snooze. Bus leaves at 7:30 in the morning.