I’m spending the next few days of my life in Atlanta at the [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant.  Yes, it’s almost the last day of classes before finals.  Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous to take a trip when finals start next week.  But when a minister friend who knows I’m in divinity school saw me this afternoon, he commented, “I wouldn’t expect you to be anywhere else this weekend.”  And he’s right.  I need to be here.  As much as I may sometimes feel like I’m so “over” some of these conversations, it’s going to be a blessing to be part of this.  It already has been.  Praying for discernment, patience, and grace over the next few days.

A Few Moments from TNCBF 2012

These are all quotes from the panel discussion regarding the future of CBF/TCBF.  The panel included Amy Butler, Bill Leonard, Colleen Burroughs and Daniel Vestal, and was moderated by John Roebuck.  They all had a lot of great things to say and I was writing really fast, so these might not all be word for word accurate, but I think they’re pretty close.

[I’m positive I don’t have this one right, but this is the gist of it] ‘If we don’t make relevant decisions about what our identity will be, young people are going to walk away.” - Colleen Burroughs

In the CBF “We’ve got to talk about what kind of Baptists we are, not what kind of Baptists we are not.” - Daniel Vestal

“You should never leave church feeling comfortable.” - Amy Butler

“Faith at its best is un-coerced.” - Bill Leonard

About Baptist life - “Conscience is the centerpiece, and conscience compels dissent.” - Bill Leonard

“Americans are living through the death rattle of Protestant privilege.” - Bill Leonard

“The Great Commission is to make disciples, not just converts.” - Daniel Vestal

About development of discipleship in the CBF - “We were so trying not to sound Fundamentalist that we stopped talking about Jesus.” - Colleen Burroughs

“We must challenge people to belong to something that is bigger than who they are by themselves.” - Amy Butler 

There’s a lot that I find frustrating when I’m moving and working in the CBF community, but home is home, and I’m inspired by ministers like these to keep working in the community that raised me and shaped me.  Maybe at some point I’ll post more of my own thoughts; for now I need to do all the homework I didn’t get to do while I was in Murfreesboro.

The people can be trusted to interpret scripture aright in the context of a believing community by the guidance of the Spirit.

-Bill Leonard, at the Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship 2012 Gathering

As usual, Bill Leonard reminds me of all the reasons I still proudly name myself as Baptist.  This is the best definition I’ve heard in awhile of what it means to be Baptist and why I care so much about being Baptist.  

?????

Supposed to cut through all this noise
With my little voice, I begin to see that
Oh I’m home, I’m right where I belong
And there’s no where else that I’d rather be.

                                       -Andy Grammer

I’m trying to get back to the place where this is true.  I’m drowning in this week.  I tanked a test.  Like the worst I’ve ever felt after a test.  Ever.  And then registration for fall classes has been a mess.  And life is just…..crazy.  I kinda feel like I’m losing track of how confident I’ve been in my sense of call and all my reasons for being here.  

But when I get right down to it, it’s still there.  I am “right where I belong.”  My friend started singing “We’re All In This Together” from High School Musical before the test on Wednesday.  And it’s true.  Sometimes it takes those moments when I’m actually about to break down in a classroom full of students to remember how incredibly important this community has already been to my journey.  I have such great friends here, and we’re all just so committed to holding each other up.  And my meeting with my adviser today, even though it meant making some tough decisions, was incredibly edifying.  

I’m where I belong.  Doing what I’m meant to do.  With the best people I could ever imagine doing that with.  Remembering that is so incredibly hard right now.  But it’s true.

Supposed to cut through all this noise
With my little voice, I begin to see that
Oh I’m home, I’m right where I belong
And there’s no where else that I’d rather be.