From what I've heard, nearly 300 people pre-registered for SWBTS's Baptist Distinctives Conference. From what I've seen, I surely believe it. The place was packed earlier tonight for Malcolm Yarnell's exegetical analysis of the Caesarea Philippi declaration in Matthew 16. David Allen is now defending the autonomy of the local church. There's a buzz of amiability and warm excitement about the room.
Tomorrow at 11:00 AM they have me pitted as a breakout speaker opposite Dr. Emir Caner. I blog tonight to call upon all of you in attendance to come to my session and not to Caner's. Let it be a stunning defeat. Who is this Turkish goatherd come out against me? This Yankee festooned with a J. R. Graves beard? I will prop my feet upon this Ottoman. He will slink back to Georgia with his fez in his hand!
16 comments:
Be fair Bart - at least tell people what their choices are in regards to the topics :-). I've helped you out some and pasted the choices below, borrowed them from the SWBTS website, hope they don't mind.
You can help some more by giving some details about your topic, a teaser about your content would definitely help an attendee make an informed choice...
Breakout Sessions
"Associated by Covenant in the Faith and Fellowship in the Gospel"
Emir Caner
"A Denomination of Churches: Biblical and Useful"
Bart Barber
Blessings,
Trish
Bart,
Just remember the difference between a Turk and a Texan. Turks actually ran this world; Texans just think they do.
Oh, and thank you for comparing me to J. R. Graves. For some, that would not be a compliment. But for a true Baptist, it is an honor. By the way, your facial features remind me of a Baptist as well - Beth Moore.
Emir
So who hurts worse from that comment? If I was Bart, I'd be flattered. But if I was Beth Moore... well, not so much.
:-)
I certainly hate that I am missing this debate. How did it go?
Blessings,
Tim
Permit me to go off-topic. I have looked for an email address to contact you privately, and could not find one.
I know you said you were not going to engage Wade anymore. But his latest post basically said that the idea that Christ is eternal submissive to the Father is a recent innovation in theology and is semi-Arian. (I think the semi-Arian thing is ridiculous.)
I have been arguing that the concept of the eternal submissioin (they use the term subordination) of Christ is well-established in Christian Theology.
Am I wrong? I need some scholarly help and you and Nathan Finn are the only scholarly bloggers I know - and he's gone off the map.
So, I am asking you, O Scholar of Note - is the doctrine that Christ exists in an eternally submissive role to the Father a recent innovation?
My email is pastordave@cableone.net if you want to take this private.
Dave,
One of the signs of maturing in the blogosphere, I think, can be tied to the measurement of how vitally important one deems it to be to respond to Wade's latest whatever.
It's a sit-com. There's a star. There's a regular cast with speaking parts in each episode. I determined not to renew my contract at the end of last season. :-)
(Now I've opened myself up to charges that PGBB is a spin-off!) :-)
And, by the way, that's not to take anything away from the fact that it is a very popular and successful sit-com, and one with creative (and sometimes dramatic) plot lines.
Bart,
Will the messages from the Baptist Distinctives Conference be available to download in mp3 format online?
Ben,
Good question. I don't know.
Bart,
The conference audio will be available in streaming audio later in the week. You can find it at www.swbts.edu/conferenceaudio.
I was just hoping for some info, Bart, not an analysis of my immaturity. My wife can do that.
Never mind. I will just do the research on my own.
I won't bother you anymore.
sDave Miller,
That did sound pretty condescending. By "maturing in the blogosphere" I did not intend to impugn your maturity of a human being. Rather, I was trying to suggest a life cycle in blogging that matures from start to some point of stasis. I've certainly seen it in me, and I believe that I've observed it in a great many other people. One of the marks of that process (call it something other than maturing if you like) is, in my observation, a great reduction in zeal for interacting with a blogger like Wade and a healthier and more realistic (I think) estimate of the significance of him having written something.
But, since you've apparently been taking it on the chin over there, I should have been a bit more empathetic. I apologize and ask your forgiveness. And believe me, I do sympathize!
But I am not going to spend any of my time debating the Trinity with Wade Burleson.
Bart, if you have time tell us some more about how the conference went. It looked very interesting. I would have enjoyed attending -- just to attend and also to observe how close you guys came to the "evil Landmark" ecclesiology that some have been charged with.
P.S. Obviously Emir Caner is a Landmarker since he doesn't mind being compared to J. R. Graves! Let the roast begin. ;-)
Emir cleaned my clock!
Frankly, I was disappointed with my performance. And after the presentation, I was stumped by one of the questions...a guy asked about a book that I had never read.
I wonder sometimes how realistic it is to keep a foot firmly planted in both the academic and the pastoral world. But firmly convinced as to how important it is for some people to do that, I persevere!
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