Nashville, We Have A Problem
Nashville: (def.) That nebulous, mysterious, and often far away place that embodies, at least in our minds, the seat of power in the SBC. Now we know that's not entirely true but yet it's true enough for us to almost use the Nashville name as a synonym for the SBC.
Well imagine down in the deep dark bowels of Nashville headquarters - a control room, not unlike its military counterpart somewhere deep in the Rocky Mountains. At the radar screens and computer monitors are the young technicians, constantly scanning and always alert for intruders and threats both real and imagined.
All at once a young technician leaps to his feet and shouts for his boss to hurry to his side. "Sir, we have a problem, there are hundreds of them, maybe thousands of them! I've never seen anything like this before!"
"Alert, Alert! This is no drill. I repeat, this is no drill! We have multiple incoming threats! Man your battle stations! Man your battle stations!
"What are they son?" calmly asks the greyheaded manager.
"They're Baptist blogs sir!" replies the young techie.
"Baptist blogs? What's that?" the manager asks in alarm.
"Sir, they're the writings of all kinds of Southern Baptists. Pastors, laypeople, seminary students, professors, trustees of our organizations and (gasp) even women!"
"What do you mean they're the writings of Southern Baptists? Who would publish them without our knowledge? And furthermore, who authorized this?" asks the manager with his voice rising on each question.
"Sir nobody authorized it. Anybody can do it from their home or office if they have a computer. They just write whatever they want to write and post it on the internet for the whole world to read and comment," the technician explained.
"Well, what are they writing about?" the manager asks.
"All sorts of things. Calvinism, the Cooperative Program, Church Planting, the Emerging Church, Drinking, Trustee action at the IMB and Sir, they're even questioning you and your friends!"
"Ok, OK, I've got it young man. Sit back down and keep monitoring the situation. I've got to call a meeting. This could obviously get out of hand!"
Yes, Nashville it could get out of YOUR hand. In fact it may already be beginning.
Well imagine down in the deep dark bowels of Nashville headquarters - a control room, not unlike its military counterpart somewhere deep in the Rocky Mountains. At the radar screens and computer monitors are the young technicians, constantly scanning and always alert for intruders and threats both real and imagined.
All at once a young technician leaps to his feet and shouts for his boss to hurry to his side. "Sir, we have a problem, there are hundreds of them, maybe thousands of them! I've never seen anything like this before!"
"Alert, Alert! This is no drill. I repeat, this is no drill! We have multiple incoming threats! Man your battle stations! Man your battle stations!
"What are they son?" calmly asks the greyheaded manager.
"They're Baptist blogs sir!" replies the young techie.
"Baptist blogs? What's that?" the manager asks in alarm.
"Sir, they're the writings of all kinds of Southern Baptists. Pastors, laypeople, seminary students, professors, trustees of our organizations and (gasp) even women!"
"What do you mean they're the writings of Southern Baptists? Who would publish them without our knowledge? And furthermore, who authorized this?" asks the manager with his voice rising on each question.
"Sir nobody authorized it. Anybody can do it from their home or office if they have a computer. They just write whatever they want to write and post it on the internet for the whole world to read and comment," the technician explained.
"Well, what are they writing about?" the manager asks.
"All sorts of things. Calvinism, the Cooperative Program, Church Planting, the Emerging Church, Drinking, Trustee action at the IMB and Sir, they're even questioning you and your friends!"
"Ok, OK, I've got it young man. Sit back down and keep monitoring the situation. I've got to call a meeting. This could obviously get out of hand!"
Yes, Nashville it could get out of YOUR hand. In fact it may already be beginning.
posted by Jim Shaver at 5:30 AM
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