Well, this announcement was made a week ago, which in blogotime is equivalent to 6 months, so I recognize that to the more astute readers here, this is really, really old news. But I just discovered that my blog was awarded a coveted “Wade” award. The award is named after Wade Burleson, whose blogging about the International Missions Board has raised the awareness of the role of the blogosphere in the future of the SBC.

What is a wade, you ask? It is Kevin Bussey’s newly created “Southern Baptist Blog Award,” which is given each year (if he does it again after this initial effort) to the best blogs in 10 different categories. My blog won for the “Best Drama,” specifically for the record-setting post about the SBC presidency that turned into an information-superhighway brawl (338 comments, to date).

Here is the actual press release announcement:

Wow! His post on Johnny Hunt for SBC President brought out Steve Camp, Ergun Caner, and Emir Caner debating Calvanism (sic). The Drama was better than Law and Order!

Since I missed the ceremony and was not able to be there to pick up my trophy or my check (which I assume is in the mail), I thought I would simply blog my acceptance speech.

“I would like to thank the anti-academy for bestowing this prestigious award on my humble blog. Like any award winning effort, this achievement was the result of many, many contributors. While there is no way that I could possibly thank all those who helped me win, I would be remiss if I did not mention at least a few of those to whom I owe so much.

1. Scripture Searcher–your encouragements, insights and even rebukes have kept me motivated.
2. Gene Bridges–when I was too tired, too numb or too ignorant to answer questions in the comments, you often swooped in with perceptive arguments, unassailable logic and a torrent of words that often left me and others keyboardless.
3. Steve Camp and Frank Turk (Centuri0n)–your public comments on my blog showed the anti-academy that what is happening here has caught the attention of the big dogs.
4. Fide-o–your participation showed the anti-academy that what is happening here has caught the attention of the bad dogs.
5. Scott Morgan–your passion made me stop at times and check my pulse to see if I was still alive.
6. The dozens and dozens of private email correspondents who did not want to comment publicly for various reasons–your private comments often encouraged and sometimes instructed me about the issues behind the issues that were being debated. You also reminded me that there is far more going on than meets the public eye.
7. To the anonymous Mr. “Charles,” who, despite his uh, unwillingness, to come out of the closet, persisted in shooting from the shadows with personal, childish attacks, many of which had to be removed, thereby heightening the intrigue of the dialogue.
8. To James White, the “Evangelical Anatolian Shepherd“–you weighed in with forceful, measured comments and challenges that helped calm the rhetoric and return the discourse to more foundational issues, including the prospect of a “sure-nuff” debate in the future.
9. To Ergun and Emir Caner–to have the participation of both the greater and lesser Caners is an honor beyond description. Despite your expectation to be banned, you joined in anyway. And you did so not in any tepid, mealy-mouthed way, but with full force, like firemen arriving at a dying fire with buckets of gasoline, the two of you double-handedly brought renewed heat to what had almost become a lukewarm discussion. It is safe to say that I would not have won this award without you.
10. Finally, I must not forget to thank my wife and children–they kept me informed of the comment count and provided me with much comic relief during those days when the comments turned white hot.

In closing, I would also like to acknowledge those who have read every word of all 338 comments. Some of you have asked for an award, some for degrees. I can only offer you this piece of advice: you really should get out more!