I've been biting my tongue on this one, but woke up this morning feeling like if it is on my mind so much that I probably need to blog about it, so here goes.

I was reminded of something this past weekend. Opened up the local paper (not even the big Atlanta one - the Gwinnett County one) to find a headline that talked about a local pastor being nominated for President of the Southern Baptist Convention. I immediately had two thoughts: 1) It feels good to be in a life situation where the advent of the SBC annual meeting doesn't garner much thought in my life, let alone news enough that I even realize it is upon us; and 2) I would hate to be that guy. I'm not sure there are many jobs/roles that I could see as being as un-motivating to be a part of right now.

A brief history... I was born into the Southern Baptist (SB) tradition. Grew up going to church there. Dad was a deacon. Mom was a Sunday School teacher. I can't remember being a part of anything but a SB faith setting for most of my life. I went to a SB university (Southwest Baptist University), a SB seminary (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary), and served in both SB collegiate ministries (Springfield BSU Ministries) and church (First Southern Baptist Church) contexts.

Oklahoma City and Bridgeway changed that briefly, but then we moved to Tennessee and were thrown right back into the bowels (LifeWay, which happens to be located right next to the SBC building, and Gladeville).

Honestly, I have great memories from all of these times and places. Alongside those, though, I have had a large part of me who felt like a rebel because I just didn't agree with a big portion of where I saw the denomination headed. Even though God was all over our move to LifeWay, I felt like part of me was selling out, 'working for the man.' Threads and up/rooted, the ministry to 20- and 30-somethings we were a part of starting at Gladeville, were saving graces to me in a lot of ways.

Now I find myself completely free of SBC direct ties, sitting on the precipice of the annual meeting that would anger me year after year. And I'm glad.

• I'm glad I haven't been reminded of the looming meeting due to my work or church setting.
• I'm glad I have no idea what the annual 'mud in your face' issue is that the SBC has deemed worthy to debate this year.
• I'm glad that this week will come and go and I'll be no worse for wear, apart from my heart going out to my brothers and sisters who have misplaced priorities in an aging denomation.

This past Sunday our family took part in OnePrayer, the unity cry coming out of LifeChurch.tv out of Edmond, OK, and extending to over a thousand churches worldwide. In my opinion, the cry couldn't come at a better time. I pray that the Church breaks free of the partisan bickerings that have marked it for too long and moves forward with One purpose, One heart against One enemy.