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Thursday, June 14, 2007

Ruth Graham, Wife of Evangelist Billy Graham, Dies at 87

"Ruth was my life partner, and we were called by God as a team," Billy Graham said in a statement. "No one else could have borne the load that she carried. She was a vital and integral part of our ministry, and my work through the years would have been impossible without her encouragement and support.

"I am so grateful to the Lord that He gave me Ruth, and especially for these last few years we've had in the mountains together. We've rekindled the romance of our youth, and my love for her continued to grow deeper every day. I will miss her terribly, and look forward even more to the day I can join her in Heaven."
Welcome home, Mrs. Graham.

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posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 6/14/2007 08:00:00 PM 0 comments links to this post |  

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

First (and probably only) SBC Update

Alright, so I haven't written that much on the SBC since I've been here. That's largely because, unlike in Nashville (the last time I attended one of these shindigs), there was no wireless in the convention hall (unless you wanted to pay $12.50 a day for San Antonio's wireless...which I did not).

Currently I'm sitting in my mother-in-law's covered garden patio with the legs kicked up thinking about...well, very little. It's actually quite nice. I should do this more often. I have needed this kind of "convention" for some time. The reality is that I've enjoyed being at the convention not so much for the convention, but for the relationships. Yesterday, I was able to briefly hook up with Tim Ellsworth who I have now "known" for almost two years through blogging, but never met in person. I enjoyed the chat, Tim. I was pleasantly surprised to run into a childhood friend of mine who is now a pastor (yes, Lee, I know you're still in childhood) as well as my former youth minister from Mississippi who now lives in Texas. It was a special moment for me. Along with that, we had opportunity to bump into some of my wife's old friends as well as the famous (if you're from MC) "Doc Quick," the retired Vice President for student affairs from my alma mater, Mississippi College. I also briefly ran into another blogging compadre (did I spell that right?), Scott Lamb. It's been a great time.

As for the convention itself, I have to tell you that I'm just not turned on anymore to the politics (not that I've ever been really turned onto it). I understand the motions and have a pretty good handle on the positions (largely thanks to Marty Duren at SBC Outpost, who I didn't bump into...maybe next, huh, Marty?), but I'm just pretty tired of it all. Perhaps it's because I'm just plain sick of all the politics in church, period. I just think it shouldn't be this complicated.

As a pastor, I am facing politics in my own church and am really nauseated by it. I'm tired of people campaigning to get their own, selfish ways at the expense of seeking out what Christ wants. Maybe that's why I'm here. I just need a little break.

Through it all, though, God has provided me with some wonderful respite. I was so blessed to see real worship going on in the convention; people with hands lifted high to heaven (no, I didn't accidentally slip into the charismatic convention...real, live Southern Baptists! And did you notice, there's even a guy with his hands up on the banner. Could you have pictured that, say, 10 years ago?). No more of weary, half-cocked, spirit-less hymns of old, sung with confirmed and proper SBC stoicism (the hymns weren't bad...the way they were handled was). Instead, more energetic and authentic praise of the 21st century. There didn't even seem to be the temptation to close a session with "There's a Sweet, Sweet Spirit in This Place." Nice.

Now, it's on to family stuff. A couple of days of real rest followed by a weekend family reunion at a nearby retreat center. I'm planning on doing nothing of significance except, hopefully, finish a couple of books I've been needing to complete and get ahead on some sermon planning. There may or may not be further updates...depends on which direction the wind blows. For now, I think I'm feeling a little nap coming on.

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posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 6/13/2007 05:35:00 PM 1 comments links to this post |  

Monday, June 11, 2007

Alive and...well, I'm in San Antonio

After an exhausting day of travel with a 6 year old and a 10 week old on two airplanes (one of which had no air conditioning and no working bathroom!), we have arrived in San Antonio for the 2007 Southern Baptist Convention. I had originally planned to go to the evening session of the Pastor's Conference, but can barely hold my head up, so I'll just have to get started tomorrow.

I'll probably do some writing on the convention as the week goes on, so if you're interested, check back soon.

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posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 6/11/2007 06:22:00 PM 2 comments links to this post |  

Monday, June 04, 2007

Interesting Report From LIfeway on Private Prayer Language

It will be interesting to see how this plays out in future SBC policies.
A new study by LifeWay Research on the use of private prayer language indicates that half of Southern Baptist pastors believe the Holy Spirit gives some people a special language to pray to God, Baptist Press reports. The study also indicates the majority of Protestant senior pastors (63 percent) and laity (51 percent) believe in the gift of a private prayer language. Some people refer to "Private Prayer Language" as the use of tongues. Non-SBC pastors are more likely to believe that the Holy Spirit gives some people a private prayer language than Southern Baptist pastors.
My view on private prayer languages? The Holy Spirit can do or give anything He wants to and I have yet to be asked either for permission or opinion...and I doubt the SBC has either.

I think that would be considered a truly conservative view in the truest (and, I believe, proper) sense of the word.

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posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 6/04/2007 11:11:00 AM 4 comments links to this post |  

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