Special Announcement: Monday Night with Dr. David Dockery

Over the past week, you have seen my attempt to ask questions I believe are on the hearts and minds of Southern Baptists.  It goes without saying that there are other questions that I did not ask.  In addition, those of you who read the interview may have a follow-up question about a specific issue addressed in the interview.

Realizing this, I proposed to Dr. Dockery that we consider hosting a 2 hour open discussion where he would field and answer questions directly from you.  With his incredibly busy and demanding schedule, I did not expect that such a proposition would fly.  However, having come to understand Dr. Dockery’s heart for the SBC, listening and engaging the important issues and genuine concerns of everyday Southern Baptists like you and me, it did not surprise me to receive an email confirming his interest in participating in such a forum.

So I am delighted to share with you that on Monday night, January 29, 2007, Dr. Dockery will be taking over my blog for two hours to answer your questions and reply to your comments.  We have scheduled this open-forum from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. EST this coming Monday.  Here’s how it will work:

On Monday night at 7:30 p.m. EST, I will make a post on my blog where you can submit your questions beginning that at time.  Given that Dr. Dockery cannot answer 20 questions at one time, I will enable comment moderation, and he will answer them one at a time for the duration of the two hours.  At the close of the evening (around 9:55 p.m.), Dr. Dockery will have the last word and conclude the forum. 

The basic guidelines for commenting are as follows:

• To consider your question or comment, your first and last name, city, and state must be provided.  You do not need a special account or login; however you will need a valid email address is required for commenting.
• There is no guarantee that your question or comment will be addressed.  Given that the potential number of people participating, there is a good chance that only a portion of the questions can be answered in that given time.  The selection of what questions to answer at the discretion of Dr. Dockery. 
• Only one comment per person can be submitted, so be sure to know what you would like to ask him in your question.
• All comments must be related to the issues addressed in the interview and/or specifically related to the SBC.  If you ask a question that is not relevant to the discussion or there is warranted suspicion about the nature or intent of the question posed (I will be reading all the comments), there is a very high chance your question will be overlooked. 
• You do not have to have a question to comment.  You may want to say a word of encouragement or thanks to Dr. Dockery for the 6,500+ words of wisdom he gave in our recent interview.  Feel free to take the opportunity to communicate that to him should you desire to.

As far as I know, this is unprecedented in the SBC blogosphere, that is, to have a man like Dr. Dockery avail himself to the questions and concerns on the minds and hearts of Southern Baptists.  We are indeed privileged to have some extra time with him here, and I pray that you will seriously consider participating in our open forum this Monday night.  This type of discussion is what we need in the SBC, and your voice matters.  So please make it a point to pull up a seat at the P&P table and invite a friend to join the discussion as well. 

Of course, I will remember to bring the sweet tea.

Timmy Brister

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<< Summary >>

Who: Dr. Dockery and you
When: Monday, Jan. 29, 2007 :: 8:00-10:00 p.m. EST
Where: Here at P&P
Why: Constructive discussion about the SBC