From Indianapolis - Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting

Most of you are not Southern Baptist. Some of you who are could care less. Here is an overview:

1. Johnny Hunt (Woodstock, GA) was elected president on the first ballot. Six men were nominated so a first ballot win was a bit of a surprise. Johnny, like Frank Page, is the real deal. No pretending -- BTW, FBC Woodstock has planted 78 churches under Johnny's leadership. Considering 5 percent of our SBC churches ever participate directly in a new church, I say Johnny and FBC is in a league of their own.

2. Frank Page, in typical Frank Page style, knocked a home run in his president's address. What you see is what you get with Frank. Frank is a gentleman with a real passion for changing the world and a behavioral track record to match. His hammer was applied to himself: The problem is not somebody else, the problem is me. He challenged Baptists to stop pointing fingers. He spoke with the personal responsibility of an Old Testament prophet.

3. 7000 officially registered, voting, participants at our national meeting. Those numbers continue to drop as we continue to run the meetings the way we have for years. Not only do the numbers drop but our hair gets more gray and we all walk bent over a bit more. We are as white as we have ever been. Then, we have the courage to go out and yell at pastors who are fighting to survive about how they need the courage to change. That is probably as controversial as I can be at this point. Enjoy.