Thursday, January 31, 2008

 

Wow! So far, the CNBC is Bap-tastic!



Last night's opening session of the Celebration of the New Baptist Covenant was both overwhelming and energizing. It was everything we hoped, and now (from what I hear) it is becoming a kind of Baptist Woodstock, with people who heard about last night now deciding to come. Traffic on the website (www.newbaptistcelebration.com) had crashed their server, in fact, the last time I checked.

Going into the hall last night was a moving and wonderful experience. It was as close as I will ever come to the pilgrimage to Mecca, where people of all backgrounds gather together in a common spirit. The hall filled up, and it all began. Bill Underwood started things off with an amazing message harking back to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream that someday the sons of slaves and the sons of slaveowners would worship together on the red hills of Georgia. When he said that, it sent chills down my spine, and there was a hush. Is this finally that moment?

Bookending the other side of the presentations was Jimmy Carter, who was so moved that he almost could not finish. His message, too, was important, strong, and challenging. In between those two was a sermon by William Shaw, President of the National Baptist Convention, USA (which is one of the black Baptist denominations here), which had people on their feet, both black and white. Hopefully, all of this will be viewable on video at the web site, if it recovers. If nothing else, watch the introduction by Bill Underwood, who just two years ago was spending his days critiquing Practice Court exercises.

Today is a big one... lunch with Al Gore, then my talk this afternoon. Wish me luck!

Comments:
That sounds like a great event. I sorta wish I was Baptist for a few days. Could they tell if I was faking it?

But, would Underwood call me out and bring up my bad direct examination in 2002?
 
Good luck !
 
That sounds awesome, professor. Good luck!
-Ed
 
OMGoodness - you had me freaked out for a minute. For many people, CNBC is the Consumer News & Business Channel or for your non-financial peeps - the stock market channel with the really hot anchors.

Then I realized what you were talking about.

Good luck today.
 
It does look a bit haaj-esque. Keep reporting; I'm lovin' it!
 
I look forward to watching video of Underwood's speech. The shock of watching Baylor's former "most-feared" professor sharing a message of love and compassion will be a welcome oxymoron. It confirms what I have believed for a long time--the PC professors are not naturally mean hearted men; they merely play the role (dare I say?) as a means to the end that students attain high levels of competency. From my own experience, post-PC Powell is not the same man as PC Powell. After PC Powell transformed into a caring mentor who went out of his way to help students find employment, completely discarding the persona he dons for PC.
 
Swanburg,

Truer words were never spoken.

I was part of a Southern Baptist Convention 10 years ago held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Because of Southern Baptist rhetoric, that's like holding an Aggie convention in Austin.

Brilliant planning indeed.
 
Anon--

It's not a Southern Baptist convention. In fact, the Southern Baptists are not happy about this gathering, at all.
 
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