Having said that, I was not convinced by Dr. Moore’s arguments against. A healthy amount of information has already been released about the NIV 2011 that should give us pause for consideration and concern. In fact, Dr. Grudem also gave some fairly strong comments against it at the Founders’ Breakfast.

I brought the NIV issue up in this post because I thought it was an excellent illustration of our denominational polity. That a lone individual could stand up and have such a strong majority of the convention vote along with him while being opposed by the entire resolutions committee and one of the sharpest theological minds on the planet is telling about the power of the grassroots in Southern Baptist life. While I may not agree with every outcome, I’m thankful that we have the opportunity to effect change from the ground up if necessary.

I’m a firm complementarian and don’t even use the NIV or NIV2011. Yet I’m leery of voting on items off the floor without having all the facts. When the resolution was read, I leaned to my wife and said, “That’s really well-written,” yet when it came time for the actual vote, I had to vote no. Based on the comments by its proponents and Dr. Moore’s explanation of why the committee had not spoken on the issue, I just felt there were some misunderstandings, and it was too premature to make a motion of this magnitude.

It felt like we were practicing a strategy of “Shoot first. Ask questions later.” IMHO it would have been better to request an investigation of the translation and have them bring a report to next year’s convention, where the facts would be better known and a more educated decision could be made. If the translation is indeed that bad (which it probably is), what harm would it have done to see a more detailed critique and have a more educated discussion on the floor instead of rushing this through in the 11th hour?

Like I said, it was an awkward moment. I found myself voting against something that I really wanted to vote for, but just didn’t believe we had given it the necessary time to do it justice. At the end of the day, however, I’m thankful for a convention that holds high the word of God and is willing to go to bat over verbal, plenary inspiration and the authority of Scripture.