July 1, 2009
My wife and I recently attended the Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. Taking the long way, we went through the Atlanta area to visit some old friends. Someone once said that one old friend is worth ten new ones. There is a lot of truth in that. We stopped for an overnight stay with Buzz and Kathy Nofal. When one walks in their house they are immediately mindful that grace resides there. This couple is richly gifted by God with maximum hospitality. And since one of my spiritual gifts is “receiving hospitality” it is always a perfect match :). What a great visit.
Next it was Athens or bust and a meeting with Melanie Garland and her children, James, and Victoria (precious children) at the Golden Dragon Chinese restaurant. Geoffrey and Melanie (Geoff could not be there) and family are an important part of our forever family.
Then it was off to Comer, Georgia and a short pop in visit with a fellow preacher of the gospel, Lynn Kellum. Lynn is a fulltime witness for Jesus Christ and he runs a hardware store in Comer to help pay the bills. We always enjoy getting caught up on his church activity and his family. Great visit!
Our 4-Runner (Linda’s chariot) then pulled into driveway of some of our most cherished friends, the Walker clan, Steve, Donna, Luke, and Joseph. We always recieve VIP treatment while we are there. An overnight stay and a great breakfact at the Craker Barrell and we were off through the North Georgia mountains headed to Louisville. Beautiful!
The Convention far exceeded our expectations. We sensed a stirring from God to return Southern Baptist to the spiritual mandate of the Great Commission. One major motion that was passed brought us renewed hope of streamlining the convention beauracracy in order to get more mission funds to the missionaries that are ready and waiting to go into all the world with the gospel. We also were introduced to a new ministry from Lifeway, Crossbooks. Crossbooks is a print on demand ministry that may be used of God for my future writing.
We never fail to be amazed at God’s sovereignty. On the way to the convention we received a surprising phone call from a close friend, Doc Parrish. Doc had been on our mind and in our prayer for some time and gave us the news that he was going to be at the convention. What a great meeting. We also met Jim Sheffield from Florida Bible College. They were there on behalf of Global Focus mission organization. And then God provided another surprises! Mel Carbonell, a lifelong friend in the Lord was there also. We spent some quality time with all of them. We also always look forward to seeing Doc Quick from Mississippi College. He has been a constant encourager for Linda and I through many years. We always enjoy running into old friends like Walter Price, the Satterfields, Dr. David Ball from Batesville, Bobby Wagner from Kosciusko, Dennis Salley, Park Neff, the list could go on and on.
On the way home we stopped in for a visit with some more cherished friends, Dave and Nomi Shipley. Dave and I were in the “Spokesmen,” a singing group from Florida Bible College years ago. It had been a very long time since we had seen each other and many words flooded the air as we got caught up. Dave is a gifted musician (and a pretty good cook) and Linda and I were impressed with gentle Nomi.
After a brief stop over at the Ponderosa, (my pet name for my inlaws home) just in time to put up some 400 ears of corn we drove to Charleston, Mississippi, were reunited with some friends from my B.C. days. Jess Dickinson and I were in a rock and roll band together in college. Jess and his lovely wife Janet were the entertainment for a church dedication ceremony. Janet has a beautiful voice and Jess’s talent on the hammered dulcimer is beyond outstanding. Jess was instrumental in my coming to know the Lord. Mack and Elaine Venable are also treasured friends from Charleston and we thorougly enjoyed our evening with these precious friends.
Mentioning books, 
here are some I have read recently; “The King James Only Controversy,” by James White, “The Disappearance of God” by Al Mohler and “The Faith,” by Charles Colson. More about these books in future blogs. Linda and I hope that you are having a fruitful summer.