Time to Move!
I followed flat-world sage Joe Kennedy 's advice (www.wordsarenotenough.com), and now blog at
www.awakeningfreedom.com

[My] Texas Girls Understand Something About Freedom

Yesterday, I took my daughter, my goddaughter, and my wife to a gun range. They'd all decided that learning to shoot a handgun would be fun. No kidding, this is normal behavior for women from Texas. Apparently gunplay is not normal for women in other parts of the country. A friend (goddaughter's mama) just returned from New Orleans where she worked with Habitat for Humanity to build new homes in the 9th Ward. While in NoLa, she met a woman from Connecticut who told my friend that she had never visited Texas and was somewhat afraid to go because, "Doesn't everyone have a gun?" I would have given $50 to hear the end of that conversation. "Yes ma'am, everyone in Texas has a gun and most of us carry one at all times--especially when we're in New Orleans. Would you like to see my highly polished, stainless steel, crackhead killing .357?"

For all the fear that guns cause, you'd think our country was founded by Al Gore and the Fearmongers (which is a good name for a rock band). In fact, it was founded by 18th C. Brits fighting alongside 18th C. Frenchmen and women who all knew how to use a gun. Criminals were only tolerated when they occupied public office, and even then much less so than today. Texas was conquered, settled, developed, and continues to be occupied by a majority of people who understand what a gun is for, and here we have a significant point, a gun is for guaranteeing one's freedom.

If you fear guns, stop it. Your phobia is annoying, and makes me wonder if you also fear matches or automobiles, which kill and destroy far more people and property each year than guns do. Well enough ranting. Yesterday was a joy for me. The girls shot a 9mm auto-loader and a .357 revolver loaded with .38s. They had fun and they learned something important.

I learned something important too. Five minutes after spending an hour at gunplay--while they were still in the gun store and I was paying the range bill--their conversation was onto which type of girly hair product was best given the current wave of heat and humidity (or something like that). I leaned in toward the young man at the register and said, "If you ever wonder why Texas girls are so much fun, just listen to the conversation behind me. They have shifted from guns to gel in the blink of an eye." In the parking lot, I was still giggling when the girls all decided that I should take them for ice cream. What a blessing is the Texas version of femininity!

As for you church planters who may read this. I suggest you learn to shoot a gun and teach your wife and kids. I think that the wolves in your congregation will be less likely to try something shady if they know you take your kids to the gun range before you all go out for ice cream. Well, maybe not, but at least the congregation will have something interesting to talk about when your name comes up.

Item 1. Unintentional Coaching

I shared meals with two of my coaches this week. One was a ministry coach and the other was a business coach. They are both a lot smarter than I am, and since we are on this subject of coaching, the similarities I found between the two might prove helpful.

1. They make a point. If I ask a question, they give an answer. They do not seem to care much whether or not I agree or if the answer offends anyone. They give their opinions, which are usually right. At the same time, they do not come across as arrogant--confident, yes, but not arrogant.

2. They tell a lot of personal stories. Most of their stories are humorous, and sometimes the point of the story is to tell about a mistake they made.

3. They are both genuinely likeable. It's easy to be their friend.

My two friends do not seem to be too concerned with changing the world or their legacy. In fact, their coaching seems remarkably unintentional. It seems like they just enjoy spending a little time with someone who is younger than they are and offering help when the opportunity presents itself.

Item 2.
Yar! Me Eyes

(For those of you in the dark--pun intended--I began experiencing double vision one week ago today.)

Thanks for praying that my normal vision returns. I have had several appointments with several doctors, who ran several tests. Thankfully, I have health insurance and not a tumor or infection.

My ophthamologist says I likely have a palsy of the sixth cranial nerve. The nerve has only one job that is to send a message from my brain to an eye muscle to line up. It seems that little nerve has gone on vacation--the noyve of that guy! So, I am cross-eyed as a chameleon with a head injury.

There is some good news. The majority of these cases self-correct in weeks to months. More good news, I get to wear an eye patch, which is one of three ways of coping, and the one that my nephews prefer. What first grader would not want an uncle with an eye patch? Yar!

The other two coping mechanisms involve covering one lens of my eyeglasses with scotch tape (it works better than I thought it would), or to get new lenses with a prism that corrects my vision. I ordered a pair yesterday. Also, while I am adjusting, I do not have to drive anywhere. I have a young hottie serving as my chauffeur. Yar!

Thank ye for yer prayers. I think I'll go play on the beach in Florida. Yar!

Good Coaching Makes a Good Planter Better
Today's post started as an e-mail from a friend of mine at NAMB. (I am waiting for his permission before posting the text of the e-m.) Reader's Digest version: He rightly points out that so much of what leads to a church planter's success (or failure) on the field connects with who coaches him. Here's my response: ... This subject is ripe for a blazing [blog] battle. DISCLAIMER: [Blog Posting] OFFERS A NOTORIOUS MEDIUM FOR HURT FEELINGS, INUENDO, AND ALL MANNER OF DEMONIC NASTINESS. ONE CANNOT COMMUNICATE AS CLEARLY VIA E-M AS HE CAN IN PERSON (tough to display, body language, volume, etc.) E-mail does not offer very good give and take. So, start out by giving each other (especially me :-/ ) the benefit of the doubt, OK? Two things come to mind:

1. All my coaches were constantly in my face. This one carries other baggage:
• Good coaching and distance do not make good partners.
• Good coaching involves an agreed upon (dare I say, “owned”), clear, measurable goal (like, “HIT THAT GUY THERE, THAT ONE”).
• Good coaching involves constant correction, criticism, and yelling is often necessary.
2. The relational nature of mentoring/coaching demands mutual selection. When we assign mentors/coaches to planters, without the two guys first falling in like with each other, we should not be surprised to find that failure is the norm. As a rule, arranged marriages don’t work in the West.

It would seem that the most reasonable path to good coaching (and to increasing the number of successful church planters) involves identifying the guys in the field with a good coaching record and rewarding them by sending them more church planters to coach. I think I can, therefore, advocate a process that encourages church planters to plant in areas with (1) a clear strategy for helping planters in the field, and (2) a proven coach. Such a plan involves abandoning the 19th Century geographic planting strategy. The geographic strategy makes little sense in a day when the largest cities in the South are over 75 percent church-challenged. Instead, perhaps we would be wise to reward the men who have made the most of their “talents” and, yes that will mean penalizing the ones who have “hidden their talents in the ground.” Your turn…

Greensboro II

These are interesting days for NAMB and NOBTS. I spent most of the day yesterday walking between the booths. I wore the wrong shirt, but tried to be helpful anyway. Both booths were crowded with people asking great questions and genuinely interested in giving us encouragement and their participation. I think the best days are ahead for both entities, and I feel glad to work with them.

Dr. Kelley's speech was excellent as usual, and NAMB Interim & Evangelism Prof. Exemplar Dr. Roy Fish received a standing ovation at his introduction. You can see the reports for both agencies at www.sbc.net.

Overall, this was one of the better conventions I've attended. People with whom I spoke wanted unity. Speakers from the podium and the floor were generally gracious and willing to listen to others' opinions on substantive issues. For that I am thanking the Holy One this morning!

It's easy to let things about which one is passionate get the best of his or her need to be kind. Col. 3:12-13 gives us instruction "as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do." SoBapt family, we will be wise to remember who we are--God's chosen (along with all the other believers still walking the earth) light-givers to a depraved world. How can we respond to God's kindness other than with humility and grace toward others (I wish I was better at it, maybe one day I will grow into my election).

Well, I am off to Raleigh, the up to Virginia for a couple days. The convention has been a good trip. I hope I see you holding your voting card next year.
100,000 blessings. +JA+

Live from the Southern Baptist Convention in Greensboro, NC

I'm at the SBC in Greensboro, NC. It's been cloudy outside, but clear as a bell inside the auditorium. Messengers elected Frank Page the new President with a majority of 50.4% of the vote, so no runoff is necessary. I guess that proves that Southern Baptists still vote. It may also prove something about the value of the Internet for dissemination of information (or, for that matter, disinformation[!?!]).

In other news, the Convention sent a recommendation back to the Executive Committee that would have allowed a vote on whether or not to move the 2007 SBC from Indianapolis to New Orleans. Hosting the SBC in NoLa would have been a huge boost for the city, and at such a critical time too. New Orleans is wide open to the God News right now--I think we could have made a tremendous impact on the region's future. Sending it back to the Execs will pretty much kill the change, and it does save the convention about $425,000, so it's not all bad. I do hate to miss an opportunity though.

Tonight, messengers will debate some of the motions surrounding the governance of the IMB. I think the hollering starts around 7:30, and you can watch it LIVE on the web at www.sbc.net, which is very cool. It's also one reason why I am SoBapt (the hollering, not the WebCast). I like it that a guy from a small Baptist church in a small town can stand at a microphone and ask hard questions. I like it that real messengers from real churches all over the country get a say in what happens. I like it that conclusions aren't always foregone. We fuss (just like a family), but we also give everyone a chance to speak his mind. To my knowledge, no other denomination allows such free-ranging input. In fact, because of our polity, I am not sure one can rightly call us a denomination. We act more like a family, or at least a cooperation.

Speaking of cooperation, NOBTS President Chuck Kelley gave a very good speech thanking So. Baptists for all the help (time and money) we've received in New Orleans and on the Gulf Coast since Katrina. Dr. Kelley pointed out that the Cooperative Program works very well all the time and especially well after disasters. That's another reason I like being SoBapt--we take care of each other (just like a family), and we spread the Good News (just like His family should).

I hope you're having fun and being entertained. I sure am. =JA=

On Political Leadership in the Most General Terms

Mayor Ray "Chocolate City" Nagin (I think I will start calling him
"Mayor Milk Dud") was reelected in New Orleans. Ray is blunt, often
letting his mouth utter words that have seen the business-trained side
of his mind but not the politically savvy side.

His opponent, Mitch Landreau, is from an old political family.
Mitch's dad; Moon, for whom the city's "Moon Walk" is named; was
Mayor of New Orleans; his sister, Mary, spends other people's money
as a member of Congress. Mitch is polished. He can spin the truth
like a roulette wheel, and with similar, who-knows-what's-coming-up
results.

I was unable to vote, my ballot was absconded by a party I shall
not name, but I think I'd have voted for Ray. Somehow, a painfully
blunt official allows me a better night's sleep than one whose words
must be constantly parsed. Yes, in a contest between Mayor Milk Dud
and Machine Mitch, one candidate promised us an eye-rolling and head
shaking four years. With the other, Crescent City citizens would
surely have seen a return to double entandre political poppycock.
When choice leaves us stuck between bald-headed comedy and bald-faced
federal indictments, give me the funny guy. I think I tend to vote
for the one who will do the least.

Was that a typo? Did I really mean "least harm"? Can I apply my standard
to all leadership? Would I, say, vote this conscience for the President
of the SBC, or the North American Mission Board?; the latter of which
individuals I have no voice with which to judge; i.e., no vote anyway.
I meant to write the one who--in my limited estimation--will do the
LEAST HARM. Now, I can vote for myself to lead something :)