Reflections on the NBC Part 3- The Random

This post will cover some of my random reflections about the covenant celebration.

First, I loved the hats. I have rarely seen so many colorful, feather-covered, sparkly, or awe inspiring hats like I did at this event. I go to a predominately white, middle class church and we do not typically (ever) wear hats. and I was not the only one among my group that was amazed by the hats that I saw as I walked around observing people. I found myself staring at the hats on several occasions.

Another thought I had was that I wished there had been more diversity present at the event. And I don't mean just race, but also more diversity in areas like class and age. For there to be real change all groups need to be involved, not just white middle-aged men and women.

I know I already mentioned this in a previous post but the walk to get to the plenary session was way too long. It wasn't bad for me but for some of the older participants is was not an easy walk to have to make several times over the three days. But at least the building had enough women's bathrooms.

I'm still not sure how I feel about Bill Clinton having been a speaker. While he was talking I was intrigued by what he said, but later I was thinking about his presence at the convention and the interest wore off. No matter what his politics are or what mine are, I don't approve of the man and what he has done. He is a man that has cheated on his wife numerous times and yet there he was speaking at a Baptist event. I know that it has been many years since the scandals during his time in office but it still made me uncomfortable that he was there speaking.

I enjoyed my excursion to Atlanta and am glad I went. I hope that good things will happen now that the initial celebration is over. I know it will be a struggle, but there is hope.

Reflections on the NBC Part 2- The Bad (or not so good)

In my previous post I covered the good parts, or at least the parts of the covenant celebration that I liked. But on the other side there were parts that I did not like as much or that did not seem to work as well with the event as a whole.

One part of the covenant that I was disappointed in was the sermon by the only female pastor that preached during the plenary sessions. Julie Pennington-Russell's sermon was bad, but it was not very engaging and the message of the sermon did not come through as strongly as it needed to. And the speakers on Friday morning were also not very engaging and the morning session seemed to drag on much longer than two and half hours. Maybe it was due in part to last minute change it speakers or maybe a lack of interest in the topics on my part. I don't know. But the Friday morning session was by far my least favorite.

I was also not impressed with the music in general. Some of the choirs that performed were very good, and the violin player was especially enjoyable. But when the songs were chosen for everyone to sing the songs that chosen often did not fit with the mood of the event and stifled an upbeat mood. I think the music program could have used a little more careful planning because it hindered as opposed to lifting the mood of the sessions.

My last suggestion about the covenant would be a change in location. While the building was more than adequate in size, it was almost too big and the long distance required to walk to each session was hard on some participants. Perhaps a location where less walking would be required might be better for future events.

Refelctions on NBC, part 1- The Good

Before attending the New Baptist Covenant in Atlanta back in January I wasn't sure to expect from the experience. I went to the website and looked around and got some idea of what was going to ossur but I still wasn't sure what to really expect. I was excited about some of the speakers, especially John Grisham. Others, I was not as excited to see. But I thought that going into the event that my lack of expectations was not neccessarily a bad thing because I was more open to what was going to occur.

My repsonse to the covenant were mixed. I enjoyed many of the speakers at the event, especially John Grisham and Tony Campolo. Both speakers were easy to relate to and enjoyable to hear, especially with Campolo's humor. I also enjoyed the special interest sessions that I attended on Thursday. The messages about reaching out to the impoverished in our society really seemed to strike a cord with the audience, and with me.

The overall unity theme of the celebration was convyed through the sermons, sessions, and messages. In that respect the purpose of the celebration to promote unity was expressed in a convincing manner. And the celebration appeared to have been well organized and planned out. In many ways I think the event was a success in that in was a goood start to for the future of Baptists. If more Baptists can work and agree to unify in shared goals great things can happen.