I would like to share with you why I believe it is valuable to attend the Southern Baptist Convention. It may seem that many people think that attending a convention like this one is boring, out of date, or politically driven. But I would like to share with you that my time in Louisville was quite valuable.

Over the course of four days I attended our Director of Missions meeting where I ran into old friends and met new ones. Feeling like everyone’s son or a little brother at the DOM conference, I always get the sense that I am around mentors and people who can teach me a lot more than I already know. The seminars I attended were good, especially the one led by Mike Day of Memphis who talked about the future of associations.

As I moved to the convention floor and the exhibition area the next two days, I began to run into many more people I know and meet new people. Of course, people were able to share new resources with me that I hope to bring back to Wisconsin to those who are interested.

At our actual meeting on Tuesday, I was able to be on the floor when the vote was taken. It seems to me that many more of our pastors are concerned than who are making it to the convention. It would be interesting to me if the vote would have been the same if the majority of the pastors in the SBC were actually there.

With all this said, let me share with you why I believe it is important to be at our SBC. You can find resources you will never get anywhere else. You will meet people from all over the country in a matter of minutes. At the DOM meeting I ran into people from New York, California, and Florida within a few minutes. Of course, you need to be there in person to weigh in with your vote.

For what it is worth, whether you are a lay person or pastor, I believe the SBC is worth checking out. Hope to see you in Orlando in 2010.