BWA Emerging Leaders Network

Aloha

2010-07-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

Aloha and welcome to Hawaii. Yesterday evening was the opening worship service for the 20th Baptist World Congress gathering hosted this year in Waikiki. The theme for this year is ‘Hear the Spirit.’ Be sure to check out http://www.bwanet.org/ for an additional blog about this Congress.

Baptists Aid Typhoon Victims in Taiwan

2009-08-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

Baptists in Taiwan and around the world are assisting victims of Typhoon Morakot, which made landfall in the southern part of the island just before midnight on Friday, August 7.

By Tuesday, August 18, 126 people have been confirmed dead, but government officials expect the death toll to rise to more than 500.

Joseph Tseng Ching-En, General Secretary of the Chinese Baptist Convention (CBC) in Taiwan, reported to the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) that "most of [of the victims] were swallowed and buried by landslides." Many of them, he said, were overwhelmed by a river that had flooded and overflowed its banks.

At least six Baptists have died or are feared dead. Five members from one Baptist family are confirmed dead, while another Baptist member, a police officer, went missing after trying to rescue persons affected by the typhoon. His body is yet to be recovered, though the police patrol car he was driving has been located.

Tseng told the BWA that 15 Baptist churches are in the disaster zone, most of which cannot be contacted by the convention due to blocked roads, bridges that were destroyed, and the loss of electricity and telephone services. Churches that could be reached were badly damaged or destroyed.

The CBC has 209 churches and more than 14,000 members.

Baptist World Aid (BWAid), the relief and development arm of the BWA, is coordinating the global Baptist response and is making an initial donation of US$10,000 to CBC as support for the relief work currently being undertaken by the Taiwan convention.

"We have been watching with concern the traumatic impact that this typhoon has wrought on your country," Paul Montacute, director of BWAid, wrote to Tseng. "On behalf of David Coffey, the BWA President, and Neville Callam, the BWA General Secretary, I send to you, your convention and your country, our deepest condolences at this time."

Japan, the Philippines and China were also affected by the typhoon.

See: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1162

BWA Divisions Reorganized

2009-08-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

The Division of Study & Research and the Division of Evangelism & Education have been disbanded by the Baptist World Alliance and have been replaced by the Division of Mission, Evangelism and Theological Reflection (METR).

The newly-created division will consist of seven commissions - Evangelism, Theological Education & Leadership Formation, Baptist Heritage & Identity, Doctrine & Christian Unity, Christian Ethics, Ministry, and Baptist Worship & Spirituality.

Each commission will comprise 25 "regular members" and not more than 25 "corresponding members," the former expected to attend at least three of the five meetings in each quinquennium, and the latter attending at least one meeting in the five-year period. Every commission will have a chair, a deputy chair, a secretary and an assistant secretary.

The Division of Freedom and Justice, created by vote of the General Council in July 2008, will be comprised of four commissions - Religious Freedom, Peace, Social & Environmental Justice, and Human Rights Advocacy, which will have a similar structure to the commissions of METR.

Commissions of the BWA are the contexts within which Baptist leaders, theologians, professors, scholars and writers from around the world deliberate on theological, doctrinal, ethical, historical and social issues of concern to Baptists. The commissions normally convene during the BWA Annual Gathering, held in a different country each year.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1155

New BWA President and Vice Presidents Nominated

2009-08-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

John Upton, executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) in the United States, has been nominated to be president of the Baptist World Alliance.

The next Baptist World Congress, to be held in Hawaii in 2010, will vote on the General Council's nomination. If elected, Upton will be president of the BWA from 2010-2015, succeeding David Coffey of Britain, who was elected during the Centennial Congress held in Birmingham, England, in 2005.

Upton has had a long association with the BWA, and has served on the two governing bodies of the international Baptist organization, the General Council and the Executive Committee. He is currently chair of the Congress Program Committee, which assists in planning the 20th Baptist World Congress to be held at the Hawaii Convention Center in Honolulu from July 28-August 1, 2010. In addition, Upton has served on the Baptist World Aid Committee, the Commission on Christian Ethics, and the Executive Committee of the North American Baptist Fellowship, one of six regional fellowships of the BWA.

The president-elect attended the Baptist-affiliated Averett College (now Averett University) in Danville, Virginia, the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, in the USA, and the Taiwan Language Institute. He received a Doctor of Divinity degree from the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Kerrala, India.

Twelve persons were also chosen by the General Council as nominees for vice presidents, after recommendation by the Officers Search Committee. The 12, two selected from each of the six regions of the BWA, will be voted on at the Congress in Hawaii.

The nominees for vice presidents are Daniel Carro of Argentina and Joel Alberto Sierra Cavazos from Mexico; Harry Gardner of Canada and William Epps from the United States; Olu Menjay of Liberia and Paul Msiza from South Africa; Victor Manuel Gonzalez Grillo from Cuba and Burchell Taylor from Jamaica; Regina Claas of Germany and Nabil Costa of Lebanon; and John Kok of Malaysia and Ross Clifford of Australia. Carro, an Argentinean living in the USA, was nominated to be BWA first vice president.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1143

General Secretary Reelected for New Quinquennium

2009-08-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

The general secretary and regional secretaries of the Baptist World Alliance have been affirmed in their positions for the next quinquennium, lasting from 2010-2015, while others were elected to fill vacancies.

Both the Executive Committee and the General Council, which convened during the BWA Annual Gathering in Ede, Netherlands accepted the recommendation of the Personnel Committee that BWA General Secretary Neville Callam be reelected for the quinquennium 2010-2015.

Regional leaders, Tony Peck for Europe, Bonny Resu for Asia and the Pacific, and Alberto Prokopchuk for Latin America, were also affirmed to lead their regions until 2015.

George Bullard was elected to fill the vacancy for North America, following the resignation of Alan Stanford in January 2009. Harrison Olan'g of Tanzania, who served as Interim Regional Secretary for Africa since the death of Frank Adams in December 2006, has been formally confirmed by the BWA as interim secretary.

Peter Pinder of the Caribbean, the longest serving regional secretary, having been elected in 1995, has given notice of his retirement from the office. A new regional secretary for the Caribbean is expected to be named sometime in 2010.

Raimundo César Barreto Jr. of Brazil was elected to serve as the first director of the Division of Freedom and Justice. The division was established on September 1, 2008, following the decision of the General Council in July 2008 to create the newest division of the BWA.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1154

Leena Lavanya Accepts BWA Human Rights Award

2009-08-04T15:11:00.001-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

Leena Lavanya Kumari of Narasaraopet, Andhra Pradesh, India, accepted the 2009 Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award on Saturday, August 1, in Ede, Netherlands.

The award was recognition of Lavanya's philanthropic work, human rights advocacy, and church planting endeavors in Narasaraopet and surrounding towns and villages. Lavanya's Serve Trust Ministries operates a home for the aged, a home for lepers, homes for HIV/AIDS-infected children and adults, and an HIV/AIDS counseling center.

Lavanya, described as "a living saint steeped in prayer and a love for the scriptures," also runs a computer training school for unemployed females and impoverished youth, as well as an elementary school for children living in one of the depressed areas of Narasaraopet. In the town of Chilakaluripet, Lavanya operates training programs for female sex workers and their daughters with the hope that these women and their daughters would break the cycle of prostitution.

She began her ministry after attending the Baptist Youth World Conference in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1993, in response to a challenge by noted speaker Tony Campolo for youth to fully surrender their lives to Christ.

Lavanya is the granddaughter of a former BWA vice president and seminary professor, and the child of committed Baptist Christians. Her parents were present in Ede to share in her receipt of the BWA Human Rights Award.

On Friday, July 31, BWA President David Coffey received the "Baptist of the Year Award" for 2008 from the Baptist Center for Ethics, based in Nashville, Tennessee, in the United States. Robert Parham, founder and executive director, presented the award to Coffey.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1156

BWA Makes Important Constitutional Changes

2009-08-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance voted to amend its constitution and bylaws on Friday, July 31.

As of now, the BWA will, for the first time, have a first vice president, and the Executive Committee of the BWA will comprise 25 members, reduced from more than 60 persons.

The new Executive Committee now has greater oversight responsibilities, including "overseeing the development and implementation of the overall program of the BWA" and "generally overseeing the financial affairs of the BWA."

The five approved "clusters of commitment," adopted by the General Council in 2007, are now included in the BWA bylaws, stating that "the BWA will focus on the following areas: worship and fellowship, mission and evangelism, religious liberty and human rights, relief and sustainable community development, and theological reflection."

A new Nominations Committee was formed, and will replace the Officers Search Committee, which proposed the names of the BWA president and vice presidents. The Nominations Committee will also play a vital role in naming all persons who serve on BWA committees and commissions. The committee is made up of two nominees from each region and three "at large" members. The BWA president and general secretary are ex-officio members of the Nominations Committee.

After the constitutional changes were made, the Nominations Committee was immediately formed and its first meeting convened on the evening of Friday, July 31, to begin deliberations in naming persons to be members and leaders of commissions and committees for the 2010-2015 quinquennium. The nominees will take their positions following the 20th Baptist World Congress to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, July 28 to August 1, 2010.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1150

Samuel Sharpe, Prophet and Liberator

2009-08-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

He was hailed as a prophet during morning worship, and declared as a liberator in the afternoon.

Samuel Sharpe, an educated Jamaican slave and Baptist deacon, led a rebellion that some scholars say hastened the end of chattel slavery in the British colonies in the Caribbean in 1838. The rebellion, which began as a sit-down strike in December 1831, quickly turned violent, against Sharpe's wishes. In the end, more than 600 slaves, including Sharpe, were hanged by the British colonizers by the time the rebellion was put down in May 1832.

On the morning of Wednesday, July 29, the Baptist World Alliance, during its Annual Gathering in Ede, Netherlands, recognized Sharpe as a Baptist prophet, along with British missionary and anti-slavery crusader, William Knibb, and Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader in the United States.

Before his execution, Sharpe declared, "We must be content to die for the benefit of the rest. I, for one, am ready to die, in order that the rest may be free.... I depend for salvation upon the Redeemer, who shed his blood upon Calvary for sinners."

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1133

Baptists and Transformation

2009-08-04T14:41:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

Baptists have had a long history in transforming lives and society.

William Brackney, Director of the Acadia Centre for Baptist and Anabaptist Studies in Nova Scotia, Canada, recounted the transformative work of Baptists over the past 400 years, beginning with Baptist pioneers John Smyth and Thomas Helwys, the founders of the first Baptist church in Amsterdam in the Netherlands in 1609, and their quest for the liberty of conscience and worship.

Baptist missionaries such as Adoniram Judson to Burma, William Carey to India, Johann Gerhard Oncken to continental Europe, Lott Carey to Liberia, and others, have helped to transform lives and these societies in profound ways, oftentimes in the face of great challenges, such as the 17-month imprisonment of Judson by the Burmese.

Transformative work has also been done by Baptists in opposition to slavery by their involvement in the emancipation and abolitionist movements.

Brackney, who was speaking at a forum on Tuesday, July 28, during the Baptist World Alliance Annual Gathering being held in Ede, Netherlands, said Baptists need to do more to counter a modern-day scourge - human trafficking. Stating that more than 12 million people are believed to be victims of the commerce of human beings for the sex trade, forced labor, and other activities, Brackney declared that this is one problem the Baptist family needs to give its attention to.

For the complete release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1132

BWA Annual Gathering Blog

2009-08-04T14:36:00.001-07:00

News and photos from the Amsterdam 400 celebration are available on the BWA blog, www.bwagathering2009.blogspot.com.

Major Baptist Celebrations Last Week in Amsterdam

2009-08-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

Last week both the European Baptist Federation (EBF) and the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) celebrated the 400th Anniversary of the founding of the Baptist movement.

The EBF hosted Amsterdam 400 from July 24-26 an event that included various activities to mark the significant occassion including the participation of BWA General Secretary Neville Callam, BWA President David Coffey, multiple workshops and seminars, and other speakers and choirs from around Europe.

The BWA Annual Gathering was held in Ede, which is 38 miles or 62 kilometers from Amsterdam, from July 27 to August 1. The Gathering focused on the 400th year of Baptist witness in worship, forums, study groups and workshops. A special quadricentennial service was held on Thursday, July 20, at the United Mennnonite Church in Amsterdam. The liturgy for the quadricentennial service is now available from the BWA website (www.bwanet.org) for use by Baptist congregations around the world in their own 400th anniversary celebrations.

Callam Calls on European Baptists to Commit to Evangelism

2009-07-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
July 24, 2009

Remembering the past is important to nourishing "individual and communal identity," said Baptist World Alliance (BWA) General Secretary Neville Callam during the Opening Celebration of Amsterdam 400 on Friday, July 24.

The Amsterdam 400 event is being held to mark the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist movement. The first Baptist church was formed in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, in 1609 by British exiles fleeing religious persecution in their country.

Callam said that "memory forms our sense of self and our understanding of community," and "creates the sacred space where human beings encounter their maker."

Citing verses from Exodus chapter 8, which state that the Jews should "take care that you do not forget the Lord your God.... If you do forget the Lord your God and follow other gods... you shall surely perish," the BWA leader told the gathering of largely European Baptists, "Our penchant for not remembering puts us at great risk. The selective memories that we harbor may mislead us and contribute to our malformation. We must remember and we must remember aright." Callam told European Baptists that a commitment to evangelism is part of that memory. Noting that the 400th anniversary of the Baptist faith also coincides with the 125th anniversary of the death of Johann Gerhard Oncken, Callam urged Baptists of Europe to adopt Oncken's famous declaration, "Every Baptist a missioner."

Oncken, from Germany, died in 1884 and was a pioneer Baptist missionary variously referred to as the "Father of German Baptists" and the "Apostle of European Baptists." He directed and guided the growth of Baptists throughout Germany and across much of Europe for half a century, helping to found 280 Baptist churches, more than 170 of these in Scandinavia and the Slavic states.

"Perhaps, the greatest challenge Christians in Europe face is the evangelization of their continent, and Baptists have an important part to play in this work," Callam announced. The global Baptist leader urged Europeans to adopt "the vocation to evangelize those who do not have a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ."

Other speakers during the Amsterdam 400 celebration, taking place July 24-26, include BWA President David Coffey and Raquel Contreras, a BWA vice president, former president of the Union of Baptists in Latin America, and president of the Union of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Chile.

Amsterdam 400 was planned by the European Baptist Federation (EBF), one of six regional fellowships of the BWA. Sessions during the event include meetings of the EBF Council and plenary sessions focused on mission, freedom, community, and discipleship.

Iraqi Churches Targeted and Bombed

2009-07-16T10:46:00.000-07:00

By Elijah M. Brown

According to CNN, over this last weekend “at least four people were killed and 32 wounded as six Baghdad-area churches were bombed within 24 hours.” (http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/12/iraq.violence/index.html?iref=newssearch)

St. Joseph’s church in western Baghdad was bombed as well as two churches in central Baghdad, two churches in eastern Baghdad, and one church in southern Baghdad.

In addition to the bombings, on Sunday morning, in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk approximately 150 miles north of Baghdad, assailants “using guns with silencers… opened fire on Rizko Aziz Nissan outside his home in central Kirkuk at 8:15 a.m. Nissan was an Iraqi Christian” and a local official.

On Monday morning, in the northern city of Mosul “a car bomb detonated near a church in the al-Faisaliya district [and] wound[ed] three children.” (http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/07/13/iraq.church.bombings/index.html?iref=newssearch)

Eight separate attacks. Three different towns. Three days of violence. And each attack specifically targeted churches or a local Christian official.

In the midst of all of the controversy surrounding the Iraq war, let us remember our Christian brothers and sisters who are suffering in Iraq. Though underreported and often overlooked, in recent years no other community in Iraq has suffered and been affected as much as the Christian community. The estimated one million Christian community has been repeatedly targeted, internally displaced, and forced to flee in fear of their lives.

And the sad truth is that international Christians are more inclined to overlook or simply fail to engage with their persecuted brothers and sisters. There has never been a greater need to pursue international religious freedom and to actively stand in solidarity with those who are at the blunt end of discrimination, persecution and injustice. As we gather in our churches this week, would you hold a time of remembrance for the fallen and persecuted Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq?

Let us remember our brothers and sisters in Iraq.

And then, let us do more than just remember.

President-Elect to be Chosen in Ede

2009-07-14T07:46:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
July 13, 2009

A president-elect will be chosen by the Baptist World Alliance during the Annual Gathering to be held July 27 to August 1, in Ede, Netherlands.

The nominee for president-elect will be presented to the General Council by the BWA Officers Search Committee, chaired by Raul Scialabba of Argentina. The General Council, which convenes during the Annual Gathering, will vote on the recommendation. The 20th Baptist World Congress to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2010, will formally elect the next president of the BWA.

The newly elected president will serve for the period 2010-2015, and will succeed David Coffey of Britain, who was chosen during the Centennial Congress in Birmingham, England, in 2005.

A first vice president-elect of the BWA is also expected to be chosen in Ede, along with 11 other vice president-elects. These 12 persons will become the nominees for BWA vice presidents to be voted on at the Congress in Honolulu. It will be the first time in the history of the BWA that a first vice president will be chosen, if the expected constitutional amendments to effect the change are made during the meetings in the Netherlands.

The General Council will also receive the recommendation of the Personnel Committee on its nomination of Raimundo César Barreto Jr. of Brazil to be the first director of the Division of Freedom and Justice (F&J) for the BWA. The F&J Division was established on September 1, 2008, following the decision of the General Council in July 2008 to create the newest division of the BWA.

http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1124

Myanmar Baptists Plan Major Bicentennial Celebration

2009-07-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
July 10, 2009

Baptists in Myanmar are laying the groundwork for a massive jubilee celebration, to be held in 2013, to mark the bicentennial anniversary of the founding of Baptist witness in that South Asian country.

Myanmar, which had its name changed from Burma in 1989, has the largest Baptist convention on the Asian continent, with more than 1.1 million members, most of whom are ethnic minorities such as the Chin, Kachin and the Karen.

Adoniram and Ann Judson, who were among the first American Baptist missionaries to travel overseas, arrived in what is now Myanmar in 1813. They labored in that country for almost 40 years, establishing a number of Baptist churches and translating the Christian Bible into Burmese.

The celebratory events begin in 2009 with the theme "Thy will be done in Myanmar." Each succeeding year will have its own emphasis and theme on faithfulness, transformation, preservation and holiness, culminating in 2013. Some 10,000 persons are expected to attend the major celebration in Yangon, the country's former capital, formerly known as Rangoon.

In addition, each of the 18 language and regional conventions that make up the Myanmar Baptist Convention (MBC) will have its own regional celebration. A major publication, a chronicle or history of Baptist witness in the country, will also be published, following on a similar publication several decades ago.

The Myanmar celebration will include Burmese who live in other countries.

http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1123

Constitutional Changes Expected in Ede

2009-07-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
July 8, 2009

A number of significant constitutional changes are slated to be made during the Baptist World Alliance Annual Gathering in Ede, Netherlands, from July 27 to August 1.

The proposed amendments will be brought before the General Council, which convenes during the Annual Gathering.

The size of the BWA Executive Committee, now numbering more than 60, would be reduced to 25. The number of BWA vice presidents is to be cut from the current figure of 19 to 12 - two nominated by each of the six regions - while, for the first time, one of the vice presidents will be designated first vice president. None of the vice presidents, except for the first vice president, will sit on the Executive Committee.

Chairs of program committees, such as Communications and Promotion & Development, will no longer have a seat on the Executive Committee. However, chairs of standing committees such as Budget & Finance and Personnel will continue to serve as members of the executive. These standing committees will, in effect, be subcommittees of the Executive Committee.

Program committees are expected to become advisory committees, assisting BWA directors in their work, and will no longer have an executive or governance function.

The new Executive Committee, which is to be elected into office during the 20th Baptist World Congress in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2010, is intended to become "more deliberative," and to take on broader responsibilities.

If the expected constitutional amendments are made, a new Nominations Committee will be formed. This committee will replace the Officers Search Committee, which proposes the names of the BWA president and vice presidents, and will play a vital role in naming all persons who serve on BWA committees and commissions.

The proposed constitutional changes came after a long process of meetings and deliberations by the Implementation Task Force (ITF), formed in 2005 to study and implement proposals coming from the 21st Century Committee, which was created in 2000 to study the effectiveness of the ministries of the BWA.

After the ITF report was received and voted on by the General Council in Prague, Czech Republic, in July 2008, the Constitution and Bylaws Committee took on the task of proposing the relevant constitutional and bylaw changes that will be considered in Ede.

A formal notification of the intended constitutional changes, or a notice of motion, has been circulated to all BWA member bodies. This formal notice will be the basis of discussion on the proposed constitutional changes in Ede.

http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1122

Baptists and Catholics in Italy Reach Agreement on Marriage

2009-07-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
July 2, 2009

Baptists and Roman Catholics in Italy signed an agreement on "mixed" or interchurch marriages between members of the two Christian faith traditions.

Called "A Common document for a pastoral approach to marriages between Catholics and Baptists in Italy," the agreement addresses Baptists and Catholics who marry each other, in order to help these couples in their preparation for marriage and family life. It also seeks to deepen couples' awareness of their rights and obligations toward each other, and clarify their relationship with their respective churches.

With this document, said Anna Maffei, president of the Christian Evangelical Baptist Union of Italy (UCEBI), "we offer to our communities and our pastors a practical guide so that the confessional difference that remains between the future spouses may not be experienced as an obstacle but as enrichment."

Maffei, who signed the agreement on the behalf of Italian Baptists, said that "respective churches should not be competitors anymore but places of listening and encouragement to communion," highlighting "all that is unifying in spirit and love of God."

Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), who signed for Italian Catholics, declared that "the document is a common step in the journey of ecumenism between the Catholic church and the Baptist churches in Italy in a particularly sensitive field" and is "likely to pave the way for further developments."

The agreement holds special significance for Baptists. "As the number of Baptists in Italy is very small, only in a few marriages are both spouses Baptists. In fact Baptists often marry Catholics and this becomes an interchurch marriage," states an accompanying document released by the UCEBI. "In order to clarify the situation, it has become necessary to reach an agreement between the Baptist Union and the Catholic Church."

There are approximately 6,400 Baptists who hold membership within the 116 churches of the UCEBI. In contrast, more than 87 percent of the population of more than 60 million in Italy identify themselves as Roman Catholic.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1119

US Baptists Sign Letter to President Obama

2009-07-06T06:58:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 30, 2009

Several Baptist leaders in the United States signed a letter sent to United States President Barack Obama calling for a just and lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for the establishment of "two viable, secure and independent states."

The Baptists, who signed the letter along with several other Christian and Jewish religious leaders, stated that "now is indeed the time for immediate and bold American leadership."

In reference to the president's commitment to a two-state solution, the letter welcomed "your call for people on both sides to recognize the pain and aspirations of the other. Because of this conflict many have lost the ability to see the other as human beings worthy of dignity and respect."

The Baptist signatories, who included David Goatley, president of the North American Baptist Fellowship, and Roy Medley, general secretary of American Baptist Churches USA, urged Obama to "go beyond the mere principle of two states and lay out a just and equitable solution that provides dignity, security and sovereignty for both peoples."

Special concern was expressed for the small Christian community in Palestine, which is fast dwindling due to the conflict. "In the birthplace of our faith, one of the world's oldest Christian communities is dwindling rapidly.... Mr. President, it is apparent that unless there is an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, Christians in the Holy Land may cease to exist as a viable community."

The letter also urged that immediate relief be offered to Gaza, even while calling for the end of rocket attacks on southern Israel

More than 50 religious leaders signed the letter that was sent to the White House in the month of June. Other Baptist leaders signing the letter included T. DeWitt Smith and Tyrone Pitts, president and general secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, respectively; William Shaw, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc; and Jimmy Allen, coordinator of the New Baptist Covenant.

Leading Asian Theological Educator Dies

2009-06-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 26, 2009

Lilian Lim Hui Kiau, President of the Asia Baptist Graduate Theological Seminary (ABGTS), died on Thursday, June 25, in Singapore.

Lim was the first Baptist woman in Asia to be elected to lead a major theological seminary when she was named head of ABGTS, a consortium of nine theological schools in eight countries, in 2005.

Described by colleagues as "a simple lady with a simple faith," Lim was previously Professor of New Testament and Academic Dean at the Baptist Theological Seminary (BTS) of Singapore, one of the nine schools that form the ABGTS consortium. She received her theological training at BTS and at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. She earned her PhD from SBTS in 1994.

She served on the executive of the Singapore Baptist Convention and the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation (APBF), one of six regional fellowships of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). She was also a member of the board of directors of Global Women, a mainly Baptist organization dedicated to empowering women for service and mission globally, and to creating partnerships across national borders and artificial divisions.

Lim was a member of the BWA team participating in the ongoing Baptist-Roman Catholic Conversations between the BWA and the Vatican. She presented papers on various topics at BWA and APBF events, including at the BWA-sponsored Baptist International Conference on Theological Education in Prague, Czech Republic, in July 2008. She wrote one of the Bible studies that will be used during the 20th Baptist World Congress to be held in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2010.

A memorial service will take place at Calvary Baptist Church in Singapore, on Sunday, June 28, followed by cremation.

http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1107

Haitian University President Calls on Nation to Work Together

2009-06-26T08:58:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 25, 2009

Jules Casseus, president of the Northern Haiti Christian University (UCNH), made an impassioned call to Haitians to work together for national reconstruction.

"The future of this country depends on us Haitians-not foreigners - and it is up to us to save the homeland," declared Casseus, who was speaking at the recent graduation exercise of UCNH, formerly known as Haiti Baptist Theological Seminary and renamed in 1993.

UCNH, founded by the Baptist Convention of Haiti, a member body of the Baptist World Alliance, is a private, Christian four-year university located in Limbe, in the largely under-served rural north of Haiti, about one hour outside the city of Cap-Haitien. It is one of only a handful of colleges located outside of a major Haitian city, and seeks to meet the need for higher education among the less wealthy. The university's major programs are agriculture (agronomy), business & computer science, fine arts & Christian leadership, and theology.

Casseus, the author of several books, including "Haiti What Kind of Church....What Kind of Freedom?" and "Elements of Haitian Theology," decried individualism, mismanagement, and environmental degradation in the Caribbean country. "The case of Haiti remains a clinical case," he said. "We hurt ourselves by our ignorance, our individualism and our irresponsibility that make our living conditions worse."

Deforestation and soil erosion continue to cause severe problems; agricultural production continues to decline and give way to imports; and "the accelerated migration of our Haitian brothers seems to have no limit. They continue to leave the country en masse," Casseus said.

"Those responsible for public administration continue to put their personal advantage before the country and corruption is rampant," he declared. "The principles of respect for others, the right and duty of the citizen, human rights, and justice is no longer observed," Casseus pronounced.

In a call to action, he told the students, faculty, staff and guests at the graduation ceremony, "We must continue to deploy more efforts to reach the new Haitian society that we dream of for the twenty-first century, and the third centenary of our first black republic."

http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1106

Ruth: The Story of a Refugee

2009-06-25T07:43:00.001-07:00

By Elijah M. Brown

Last week, on Saturday, June 20, the world once again commemorated the annual World Refugee Day (http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c46d.html). Under the banner: “Real People, Real Needs,” we were reminded that there are still 42 million uprooted people around the world, many of whom face a “shortage or lack of the essentials of life – clean water, food… and protection from violence and abuse.”

These are real people with real needs. And you and I can make a difference.

Behind the overwhelming numerical statistics are individuals who can be influenced by individuals. One connecting with one.

And the Bible is no stranger to promoting the potential of one in partnership with the displaced and uprooted. The book of Ruth is a case study in such an ethic.

Ruth is the story of a young woman who found herself in Israel, a country that differed in culture, religion and background from the one in which she was raised. And what is more, there was a long history of suspicion, hostility and violent armed conflict between the peoples of Moab and Judah. Imagine yourself as a young, single woman with the responsibility of providing for an older relative, with only limited access to land or finances, separated from family and friends, and suspiciously viewed with ethnic hostility in all of your daily interactions.

Ruth was forced to glean the leftover grain that was first missed by harvesters and servants, and it is in this context of difficultly and poverty that the Biblical story introduces Boaz. Having compassion, Boaz extended an open hand to Ruth and helped her with financial and material goods. Over the course of the grain and barley harvests this initial relationship grew.

Ruth is usually told as a story of love and marriage or as a foreshadowed celebration of King David or of Christ himself. These interpretations may be true. But what is often lost in these themes is the reality that this is a story about crossing boundaries, of an immigrant who came from a country that was deemed “suspicious,” about showing compassion and financial generosity specifically to the displaced within our communities.

There are 42 million living as displaced in our world today. Ruth reminds us that these are real people with real needs and that while we each have a Biblical ethic to be generous with our resources, we are also given the opportunity for something so much deeper: friendship.

Real people, real needs. One connecting with one.

400th Celebration to Focus on Worship

2009-06-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 23, 2009

Worship will be at the heart of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Annual Gathering to be held in Ede, Netherlands, from July 27 to August 1, as the BWA celebrates the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist movement.

The first Baptist church was established in 1609 by English exiles in Amsterdam in the Netherlands .

Morning worship throughout the week will focus on the work of outstanding Baptists throughout the past 400 years, including Baptist pioneers Thomas Helwys and John Smyth; missionary leaders such as George Liele, William Carey, Ann Judson, Johannes Oncken, and Lottie Moon; outstanding preachers such as Charles Spurgeon, George Truett, Rubens Lopes, and William Tolbert; and Baptist prophets Martin Luther King, Jr., Samuel Sharpe, and William Knibb.

BWA General Secretary Neville Callam said that “the contribution of pioneers in the Baptist movement will be recognized, along with the outstanding work done by missioners, visionaries in the prophetic mold, preachers and teachers.”

A special quadricentennial service will be held on Thursday, July 30, at the United Mennonite Church in Amsterdam. The worship service will feature a Litany of Thanksgiving to be led by mostly young Baptist leaders. Denton Lotz, former general secretary of the BWA, will be the keynote speaker at this service.

Worship materials that will be used throughout the week are being translated into several languages in recognition of the number of nations that will be represented at the Gathering in Ede . Approximately 350 delegates and participants from 45 countries are registered to attend.

The order of service for the quadricentennial service will be posted on the BWA website (http://www.bwanet.org) on July 30 for Baptist churches to download and use in their own 400th anniversary celebrations. It will be available in at least seven languages, namely German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, Swahili and English.

Callam encourages “Baptists everywhere to hold similar services where they live, drawing upon the resources offered as they see fit.”

http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1103

Lotz Receives International Religious Liberty Award

2009-06-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 19, 2009

Denton Lotz, former general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), received the International Award for Religious Liberty on Thursday, June 18, in Washington , DC , in the United States .

Lotz, who was named General Secretary Emeritus upon his retirement from the BWA in 2007, was awarded for making “religious freedom a major focus of his ministry as church leader and church statesman,” at the 7th Annual Religious Liberty Dinner, which was sponsored by Liberty magazine, the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA), and the Seventh Day Adventist Church .

In his response, Lotz, who is president of the IRLA, stated that the award was recognition of the role that Baptists have played in the defense of religious liberty since the founding of the Baptist movement 400 years ago, in 1609. Baptists, he said, were often persecuted because of their anti-establishment stance and their defense of the liberty of conscience. “Baptists were a persecuted group,” he told the roughly 300 guests gathered in the ballroom of the Capital Hilton hotel in Washington . “We believe that where religious freedom is denied, all other freedoms are denied,” he explained.

Keynote speaker for the dinner was Emanuel Cleaver, II, United States Congressman from Kansas City in the state of Missouri , and co-chair of the International Religious Freedom Caucus in the US Congress. “Religious freedom is a God-given gift, a sacred right,” said Cleaver, an ordained United Methodist Church minister and the first African American elected as mayor of Kansas City . “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, freedom of conscience and freedom of religion, yet persecutions and atrocities are still taking place," Cleaver stated.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1102

Leading Baptist Scholars to Participate in BWA Annual Gathering

2009-06-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
June 15, 2009

The Annual Gathering of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) to be held in Ede , Netherlands , from July 27 to August 1, will include the participation of several leading Baptist scholars in historical theology and church history.

These scholars will lead discussions on the history of Baptist witness in different regions of the world as part of the 400th anniversary celebration of the founding of the Baptist movement.

These Baptist scholars include Timothy George, a specialist in historical theology and dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University in Alabama in the United States, who will speak on the history of the Baptist movement in North America; Horace Russell, former president of the United Theological College of the West Indies in Jamaica and retired professor of historical theology at Palmer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania in the United States, who will reflect on Baptist history in the Caribbean; and Dinorah Mendez, Mexican church historian, who will assess the progress of Baptist work in Latin America .

Also leading discussions will be Peter Morden of Spurgeon’s College in London, England, who will assess the development of Baptist witness in Europe; Solomon Ishola, General Secretary of the Nigerian Baptist Convention, who will examine the growth and development of Baptist work in Africa; and Ken Manley, former principal at Whitley College of the University of Melbourne in Australia, who will appraise the history of Baptist life in Asia and the Pacific.

An analysis of the Baptist contribution to social transformation will be presented by William Brackney, Director of the Acadia Centre for Baptist and Anabaptist Studies, a cooperative project between the Acadia Divinity College and the Acadia University Library in Nova Scotia , Canada .

A final forum will focus on efforts at peacemaking in which Baptists have played a significant part. This forum will be led by Karen Bullock, Director of the PhD program at B.H. Carroll Theological Institute in Texas in the United States and chair of the BWA Commission on Baptist Heritage and Identity.

For full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1097

Rest: Necessary for Effective Ministry

2009-06-04T08:59:00.000-07:00

By Craig Vernall

Greetings everyone. It's long overdue for me to make a contribution. Please forgive me for my lack of participation. Maybe as you'll read on you'll understand my tardiness.

The BWA Annual Gathering last year in Prague was another exciting and valuable time for all of us. The opportunity to reconnect was a privilege that I find so rewarding. What some of you aren't aware of is that in the period of time leading up to the Prague conference I'd been hospitalized with some problems that were essentially related to being too busy – stress related really.

Upon my return, the leadership in the church where I pastor encouraged me to take some long term leave. So with my wife Michaela and our 14 year old son, I travelled to stay at Lake Wanaka in the South Island of New Zealand. Our two older daughters were both living overseas last year. The instructions we were given by our leadership team was to have nothing to do with any level of contact or responsibility that we'd been involved with. This was very difficult. Yet this was put in place to give us rest and allow us the opportunity to be restored. In the beginning we were concerned that we'd be needed but God in his grace allowed others to fill in the gaps and we were very happy with the results.

For me it was a time to unwind and allow the smoke to clear in my life and get my health restored. The area around Lake Wanaka is very beautiful and mountainous and I enjoyed spending many hours a day walking the hills and enjoying Gods creation. The church gave us nearly four months away and then were willing to embrace us upon our return and celebrate that we were back able to lead with new energy. It has been wonderful to experience this grace and to know that many hundreds of people were praying for us. During the time away we had many precious times with the Lord and with each other. Our girls returned from overseas to have Christmas with us. Our eldest daughter announced that she is getting married in October. I felt very old when a very nice young Christian man asked me if he could marry our daughter. We will be blessed to have Karl (from Australia) in our family after October this year.

Since our return we have been resuming our normal work yet being careful not to take on too much. I am once again involved in our union’s leadership as the Chairman of our Assembly Council. This year we're restructuring the leadership and direction of the New Zealand Baptist Union. This is a work I really enjoy and find myself in a good place to make a valuable contribution.

I am looking forward to meeting with everyone again and hearing the stories of God’s grace upon your lives and how he wishes to use us to bring Christ to this hurting world. I trust that you are each doing well and can see the fruitfulness of God upon your lives.

Last year the New Zealand Baptists enjoyed having Teddy and Diddy Oprenov speaking at our pastors’ annual retreat in May. In November, Rachel Tan was the key note speaker at our Annual Assembly. What a blessing it has been to have such wonderful friends ministering in our nation. These are the stories that we have to share with each other as the fruit of our times together. We are very blessed to have each other.

**Craig Vernall is a Baptist pastor in New Zealand and was recognized by the BWA as an emerging leader in 2007.

BWAid Assists Cyclone Victims in Bangladesh and India

2009-06-03T13:43:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
May 28, 2009

Baptist World Aid (BWAid), the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), has sent grants totaling US$12,000 for cyclone emergency relief to Bangladesh and India .

Cyclone Aila affected southern Bangladesh and eastern India on Monday, May 25, and has claimed almost 200 lives, a death toll that is expected to rise as rescuers reach remote villages cut off by flood waters.

“Our team visited the area and found the present need is drinking water and dry food,” said Leor Sarkar, general secretary of the Bangladesh Baptist Fellowship. “All the water wells are under water or are mixed with saline water and there is no source of sweet water as the salt water covered the whole area,” Sarkar reported. “We’re now distributing drinking water and food to save their lives.” A number of persons, he said, are living on boats.

Sarkar, who is a member of the BWA Commission on Church Leadership and the Promotion and Development Committee, informed the BWA that 27 Baptist churches “in Khulna , Bagherhat, Satkhira, Noakhali and Laxmipur districts have been affected by this disaster.”

A portion of the money sent by BWAid will be used to purchase food items for approximately 2,000 families in Bagherhat, Khulna and Potuakhali districts.

The same general area was affected by Cyclone Sidr in 2007, killing approximately 3,500 persons.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1093

Baptists Visit Displaced Camp in Sri Lanka

2009-05-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
May 19, 2009

Baptist leaders of Sri Lankan Baptist Sangamaya (SLBS) visited a refugee camp in the South Asian country in the wake of the war between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), or Tamil Tigers.

The visit to temporary shelters in Vavuniya, a town in Northern Province , occurred on May 11 and 12, and included the distribution of supplies to approximately 500 families by the SLBS. These supplies, which included water, milk and footwear, were purchased with a grant of US$5,000 from Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance.

E.K.Yasaratne, General Secretary of SLBS, who joined other religious leaders on the tour of the camp, informed the BWA that the relief coordinator for the refugee camp requested additional supplies such as gripe water, soap, towels, disinfectors, milk bottles and mosquito nets that are “useful for baby care, as many children were handicapped.” An attempt is being made “to find a mechanism to supply the above items requested by the coordinating officer” as soon as possible to be sent to the camp, he said, and appeals are being made to “churches and well-wishers” for further assistance.

An estimated 250,000 refugees, mainly Tamil, are in camps in Northern Province following the escalation of the civil war in the country between the LTTE and the government over the past few months. The civil war first erupted in 1983 as the Tamils, who accuse the Sinhalese government of discrimination, fought for an independent state in the north and east of the island. Since the beginning of the conflict, approximately 70,000 persons have been killed. An estimated 7,000 civilians have been killed and approximately 17,000 have been wounded since January 2009.

For the full report: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1090

School in Refugee Camp Celebrates 25 Years

2009-04-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
April 22, 2009

The Kawthoolei Karen Baptist Bible School and College (KKBBSC) in the Mae La refugee camp in Thailand celebrated its 25th anniversary from March 25-29.

The school was founded by Saw Simon, the recipient of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Human Rights Award in 2000, and offers general education to refugees and training to church leaders.

Simon and his family fled across the Thai border after the school, which was originally located in Rangoon (Yangon), the former capital of Myanmar , was destroyed. He later restarted it at the Mae La camp. Mae La houses an estimated 50,000 persons and is one of the largest of several refugee camps for displaced persons from Myanmar who fled conflicts in the South Asian country. The school restarted with 32 students and has since grown in enrollment to more than 300.

Included in the celebration were the 23rd graduation exercises of the KKBBSC, where 39 students graduated, and the 25th Annual Mass Meeting of the Kawthoolei Karen Baptist Churches (KKBC), comprising the more than 240 churches that were founded in the refugee camps.

“We are really grateful to God for what He has done for us, is doing for us, and will be doing for us,” a release from the school said. “We also thank our brothers and sisters around the world for supporting us and praying for us.”

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1074

South African Baptist union urges South Africans to vote, pray

2009-04-22T09:29:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

The Baptist Union of Southern Africa (BUSA) is urging its members to vote in national and provincial elections set for April 22 in South Africa .

“Every citizen of South Africa is given an opportunity to vote for the party of their choice to become the government. If good people do not vote, only bad people will vote, and the results will be disastrous,” the Christian Citizenship Committee of BUSA said in its voting guidelines to Baptist churches in South Africa .

“Many good people are disillusioned and discouraged...they feel politics is so hopelessly corrupt, it is useless becoming involved in it,” the BUSA guidelines said, “but we must seek the peace and prosperity of the city and state in which God has placed us.”

“We want competent leaders to lead our land,” the guidelines read, even if these leaders are not religious. “Some of the finest political leaders in history have not necessarily been deeply religious or spiritual people…. In His common grace, God has given certain skills to particular people.”

Even while urging Baptists to vote, the Baptist union called on Baptists to “pray that South Africa ’s democracy may be strengthened,” and for “more men and women to be elected who have a real desire to serve the nation and not just their own interests.”

The elections on April 22 will elect a new national assembly as well as the provincial legislature for each province. The national assembly will select the person to become president of the Republic of South Africa.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1068

Police Raid Baptist Home in Azerbaijan – Again

2009-04-02T16:51:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
April 2, 2009

Three Baptist women were detained and fined for “illegally spreading Christianity and other faiths” in the South Caucasus country of Azerbaijan on March 25.
The three, who are from Baku , the capital of Azerbaijan , were charged after police raided a Baptist religious gathering in a private home in the central town of Agdash , where children were receiving religious instruction.

According to Forum 18, a religious freedom watchdog group based in Oslo, Norway, “In the afternoon of 25 March, eight men raided the Agdash home of long-standing Baptist Vera Zhuchaeva, who is in her seventies,” and detained the three women, who claimed that “officers insulted them for their faith.”

Forum 18 reported that parents had been invited to send their children to Zhuchaeva’s home to listen to Bible stories during the Novruz spring festival, a holiday celebrating the arrival of spring. Approximately 12 children were present.

A report out of the office of the European Baptist Federation (EBF), one of six regional fellowships of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), stated that the police confiscated more than 500 pieces of Christian literature, 40 CDs, and a CD recorder.

The EBF report also stated that the raid and the detention of the Baptists has had widespread media coverage, which has included the disclosing of the addresses of those detained and fined.

Elnur Jabiyev, General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Azerbaijan, described the public disclosure of the addresses of the detainees as dangerous. “Nationalists will know their addresses. The police should not have given journalists this information,” Jabiyev said.

Azerbaijan has come under increasing scrutiny from the international Baptist community in recent times. Two Baptist pastors, Zaur Balaev and Hamid Shabanov, were arrested in 2007 and 2008, respectively, after police raided their house churches. Both were found guilty on what were regarded as trumped up charges. Balaev was released in March 2008 after serving six months of a two-year sentence, while Shabanov, though convicted in February of this year, was not imprisoned as he had spent time in jail and under house arrest before and during his trial.

See: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1046

Called to a Global Context

2009-04-01T09:10:00.000-07:00

By Elijah M. Brown

On March 13th an important – though mostly unannounced – milestone was reached: the 20th Anniversary of the proposal of the World Wide Web. As a recent Economist article notes, Tim Berners-Lee first proposed the World Wide Web in a document that went by the rather unassuming title, “Information Management: A Proposal.” The original idea was to use the web to link together documents and understanding related to particle physics from around the world into a connected platform for collaboration. Two decades later the web has moved far beyond science and has radically transformed life and society as we know it.

Even with the web, however, our natural tendency is not to think globally, but to think locally and personally. What is going on in my community? How does this affect me or my ministry? What about my church, my calling, my setting?

What if we began to think globally? What if we changed the equation from how can my ministry grow to how can my ministry, in its current form, partner with others to transform the world for Christ?

Such a mindset raises a new set of questions:

What area(s) of the world is the Lord calling me to intentionally adopt as a focus for pursuing transformation?
Who is already at work in that area or among that subgroup? How can I listen and learn from those already engaged?
Who are my potential partners and how can I deepen my relationship with them?

On this 20th Anniversary of the World Wide Web what strikes me is that the proposal stemmed from one individual. One individual who understood the power of collaborative thinking and global connectivity. In the economy of the Kingdom, size and amount of resources are not the chief ingredients. It is yielding to the Spirit – not size – that matters most.

The question is not, “Does my ministry have a global calling to reach new areas for Christ?” Rather, the question is, “Where, Lord?”

The World Wide Web started with one individual. Now just imagine how God could use you. Be encouraged. And let us together answer the question:

“How can we begin to think and minister globally?”

(Twenty Years of the World Wide Web. What’s the Score? http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13277389&CFID=48160950&CFTOKEN=14777343)

How Do We Find Our Voice Again?

2009-03-26T08:24:00.000-07:00

By Elijah M. Brown

I recently encountered a pointed question from Baptist pastor Bob Roberts: “How do we find our voice again?” This question struck me because I have recently found myself in the midst of a season of uncertainty. Uncertainty about my ministry, my future direction, next steps, and ongoing financial provision. In recent days, I have felt uncertain, and to be honest, a bit lost.

In his book Transformation: How Glocal Churches Transform Lives and the World, Roberts reminds us that it is possible for individuals, churches and even whole denominations to lose their voice, their passion, their purpose, their impact. In the midst of consumerism, size, success and megamania, intimacy all too often gives out to religion and we become lost in the midst of busyness and clamoring culture. How do we find our voice again?

Engage personal transformation. There is no substitute for intimacy with Christ; individual and corporate cries of prayer and listening that are honest, desperate and soulful; and authenticity to God’s Word. When I have lost my voice I know of no other substitute than regular and honest prayer that asks, “Lord, would you renew and transform my vision and passion?”

Pursue cultural transformation. As Roberts notes, “Converts grow a church, but disciples change the world.” Our divine commission is to begin building God’s Kingdom today in every structure, every government, every urban center, every location, every church. I hunger for a renewed corporate vision of millions of Christians living the Gospel in an approach that moves beyond information, condemnation, and even conversion. What is needed is transformation. What if our standard for measurement was the degree that individuals and cultures had been transformed?

Remember the Kingdom. The Kingdom of God is almost always bigger than we imagine. It is bigger than our own spirituality, bigger than our own churches, and, yes, even bigger than our own denomination. Millions of individuals are for the first time calling out to Christ. The Church is exponentially exploding in every corner of the globe. We are living in the midst of a great – some even say the greatest – revival in history and it’s not located in Europe or the United States. Today’s great revival leaders are primarily our brothers and sisters in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Whenever I feel lost I remember that the Kingdom of God is itself never lost. The Gospel is loosed and is sweeping across the geographies of Asia, Africa and Latin America. When I feel personally lost, I remember it’s a Kingdom, God is at work, and then with humility I ask for the privilege to join Him where He is moving.

(Bob Roberts, Jr. Transformation: How Glocal Churches Transform Lives and the World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996)

Callam Endorses Turkey as a Christian Heritage Site

2009-03-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance
March 24, 2009

Turkey may become a heritage site for Christian pilgrims. These plans were announced at a press conference on Monday, March 23, in Izmir , which is modern day Smyrna .

The Association of Izmir, a group of persons from various faith traditions in Turkey, is petitioning the government of Turkey to endorse a program that would promote pilgrimage by Christians to Ephesus, Philadelphia, Laodicea, Pergamum, Sardis, Thyatira, and Smyrna (Izmir) – all of which are mentioned in Revelation chapters two and three and are located in what is modern western Turkey.

Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam, who was invited to address the press conference, told journalists of his hope that “people in this part of the world will recognize the importance of these sites to Christians.”

Callam stated, “For Christians, this is a holy land, and being a heritage site would help Christians to connect with western Turkey.”

See: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1036

More than 120 Baptists Baptized in Jordan

2009-03-24T09:35:00.000-07:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

More than 120 persons were baptized in the Jordan River on Friday, March 20, by pastors from the Jordan Baptist Convention.

The baptism was the culmination of an afternoon of celebration in which the Baptism Center at Bethany beyond Jordan was dedicated for use by Baptists and other evangelical Christians.

Baptist World Alliance (BWA) General Secretary Neville Callam, who gave the main address, said, “Today, as we assemble by the Jordan … we unite to mark the opening and dedication of this Baptism Center – a place where people from all parts of the world may assemble for a journey and an experience.”

The BWA leader expressed the hope that “the waters of the Jordan extinguish the crippling fires of hopelessness that burn in the hearts of those who have no knowledge of God.”

Also speaking at the dedication ceremony was former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair, who established a faith foundation upon demitting office as British Prime Minister, commended King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein and Prince Ghazi Bin Mohammed for exhibiting courage in the inauguration of the Baptism Center . The Center joins buildings of other churches, including the Orthodox Church, which have recently been constructed on the official Baptism Site of Jesus Christ. Blair stated, “In dedicating this site, let us renew our faith in our God, our Lord, and in His message.”

BWA President David Coffey and Fawaz Ameish, Jordan Baptist Convention president and BWA vice president, expressed gratitude to King Abdullah and Prince Ghazi for facilitating the construction and dedication of the center.

An estimated 1,700 persons attended the dedication and opening ceremony.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1035

New Director for Freedom and Justice to be Appointed

2009-03-04T11:35:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

March 4, 2009

Raimundo César Barreto Jr. of Brazil is being recommended for the position of Director of the Division of Freedom and Justice (F&J) for the Baptist World Alliance (BWA).

The recommendation, which was made by the Executive Committee of the BWA on March 4, will be presented for a vote at the next meeting of the General Council (GC) in Ede , Netherlands , in July.

If appointed by the GC, Barreto would be the first person to become director of the F&J Division, which was established on September 1, 2008, following the decision of the GC in July 2008 to create the newest division of the international Baptist organization.

An ordained Baptist pastor since 1993, Barreto holds a doctoral degree in Christian Social Ethics from Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey in the United States , as well as degrees from the M cAfee School of Theology at Mercer University in Atlanta , Georgia , also in the US , and from the North Brazil Baptist Theological Seminary in Recife . He also studied at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague , Czech Republic .

He has worked extensively in academia in Brazil and in the US , including at the North Brazil Baptist Theological Seminary, the Northeast Baptist Theological Seminary in Feira de Santana , the Christian Education Seminary in Recife , Lancaster Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania , and at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Barreto has conducted research on Christian and social justice issues in Latin America . He has special interest in working with organizations in human rights, and in advocating for those who have special needs.

Currently the pastor of Igreja Batista Esperança ( Hope Baptist Church ) in Salvador , Bahia state, he worked as General Coordinator for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Social Ethics in Brazil , among several other appointments in church and community organizations.

The F&J Division addresses issues of human rights and religious freedom, and will coordinate the relationship between the BWA and the United Nations, with which the BWA holds membership in several UN agencies.

Barreto is married to Eliã, a nurse working in public health, and is the father of two sons, Caio, 14, and Cauã, 2.

See: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1025

Leena Lavanya to Receive BWA Human Rights Award

2009-03-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

March 4, 2009

Leena Lavanya of India is the 2009 recipient of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award.

Lavanya, referred to by some as the “Baptist Mother Teresa,” is being recognized for her work among the poor and dispossessed of India . Her “Serve Trust” organization operates several ministries, including homes for the aged, lepers, and adults and children living with HIV/AIDS.

Serve Trust operates a school for children in one of the most depressed areas of Narasaraopet, a town of approximately 100,000 in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In another town, Chilakaluripet, Lavanya operates training programs for female sex workers and their daughters with the hope that these women and their daughters would break the cycle of prostitution.

Chilakaluripet reportedly means “the place where prostitutes live,” and is populated by descendants of women who were once concubines of kings, who have since evolved into a caste where their role and function is prostitution. HIV/AIDS infection is high among this population, where many men depend on the earnings of the women by being pimps or part of the mafia.

In addition to operating a free HIV/AIDS counseling center, Lavanya distributes rice and lentils to female sex workers and blankets to Hindu beggars, many of whom live on the streets or in depressed communities.

Lavanya is the granddaughter of B.R. Moses, a former BWA vice president and seminary professor, who raised her until she was 18 years old, in keeping with a Telugu tradition of grandparents raising the first grandchild. The Telugus are a people group that lives in several states, mostly in Southern India , among whom Baptists have a significant presence. Her maternal uncle, Bontha Moses Sudheer, is a pastor and a member of the BWA Commission on Freedom and Justice.

Lavanya began her ministry after attending the Baptist Youth World Conference in Harare , Zimbabwe , in 1993, in response to a challenge by noted speaker Tony Campolo for youth to fully surrender their lives to Christ.

The Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award will be presented during the meeting of the BWA General Council in Ede , Netherlands , in July.

See: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1024

BWA Executive Committee Meets

2009-03-02T08:37:00.001-08:00

More than 100 individuals from around the world are meeting in Falls Church, Virginia for the Executive Committee Meeting of the Baptist World Alliance.

For news and photos see: http://bwaexecutive2009.blogspot.com/

Online Registration Begins for 2010 Baptist World Congress

2009-02-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

February 26, 2009

The Baptist World Alliance is now receiving registrations online for the 20th Baptist World Congress in Honolulu , Hawaii , in 2010, via the Baptist World Congress website, www.bwacongress2010.org.

Every person attending the congress must register. Online registration closes June 30, 2010.

Participants such as choirs and dance groups may also apply to participate at the event.

The congress, the major international gathering of Baptists which is held every five years, is expected to have a projected 15,000 persons in attendance. It will be held July 28 to August 1 at the Hawaii Convention Center .

The congress theme, “Hear the Spirit,” will be explored in worship celebrations, Bible studies, workshop presentations, and through artistic expressions.

Congress attendees will be exposed to Hawaiian music, Hawaiian culture, and the relationship of the theme to “Aloha” – the common Hawaiian greeting that has multiple meanings.
The major sessions will incorporate the use of several languages, music from around the world, speakers representing various regions and continents, and imageries from various cultures.
Registration may also be done by regular mail by printing the registration form available on the congress website.

See: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1019

Baptist Pastor Convicted in Azerbaijan

2009-02-20T11:42:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

February 20, 2009

Washington , D.C. (BWA)--Hamid Shabanov, a Baptist pastor in the South Caucasus country of Azerbaijan , was found guilty of possessing an illegal weapon and was given “a two-year corrective labor sentence.”

Shabanov, who pastors a house church of approximately 60 members in the town of Aliabad , was arrested on June 20, 2008, after police claimed to have found an illegal weapon in his home after a raid.

Denying the allegations against Shabanov, and claiming that the weapon was planted by the police, Elnur Jabiyev, General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Azerbaijan (BUA), stated that the arrest “was a provocation by the police,” and that it was “a deliberately targeted action.” The BUA leader asserted that “the police’s aim is to halt Baptist activity and close the church in Aliabad.”

“I will continue to fight against this sentence and to clear my name,” Shabanov said after his conviction on February 11. The two-year corrective labor sentence is equivalent to eight months in prison, thus Shabanov, who has already spent more than seven months in detention or under house arrest, will not be locked up. He was ordered to pay a fine to cover the rest of the sentence, 27 days.

Azerbaijan authorities have been accused of committing serious procedural violations in their case against Shabanov. Family and townspeople in Aliabad insisted that the weapon that Shabanov allegedly possessed was planted by the police.

After his arrest, the trial against Shabanov began on July 22, 2008, but the case was referred back to the prosecutor by the judge on July 29 for further investigation. Another hearing was called on August 22 without the knowledge of Shabanov, his lawyer, or family. This hearing extended his detention by a further two months which ended on October 21.

The trial was scheduled to begin on October 28, but despite his lawyer travelling 450 kilometers (280 miles) from Baku , the capital of Azerbaijan , the trial did not begin as the police failed to take Shabanov from jail to the court.

In addition, neither the pastor’s family nor lawyer had received the indictment. “They haven’t even given us the case materials,” Shabanov’s lawyer said.

After another hearing on January 26, Shabanov’s trial began on February 4 and the verdict was handed down on February 11. In between his arrest in June 2008 and the trial in February, Shabanov spent 20 weeks in prison until November, after which he was placed under house arrest.

Shabanov is the second Baptist pastor in Aliabad to be convicted of a crime. Zaur Balaev was arrested in May 2007 and given a two year sentence after being convicted in August of that year for beating up five policemen and damaging a police car door. Members of Balaev’s church and residents in the town disputed the charges against Balaev, who was released in March 2008 after protests from the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), the European Baptist Federation (EBF), and former United States President Jimmy Carter.

The EBF, one of six regional fellowships of the BWA, led a delegation to Azerbaijan in January to meet with government, diplomatic, and religious leaders, partly in response to the cases against Balaev and Shabanov.

Azerbaijan , a Muslim-majority country, gained its independence after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. There are 22 Baptist churches and 3,000 baptized believers in the country of 8.7 million people.

See: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1018

Believers are Always Changing

2009-02-19T08:11:00.000-08:00

By Amanda Haines, a Vice President of the BWA Youth Department

Change is always occurring around us. There are drastic changes in the seasonal weather, changes in the economy, there are new political leaders, and monetary currency seems to continuously change. There are numerous changes in our everyday lives. Out of these numerous changes there are many that we cannot control. But even still there are things that we can change. We can change ourselves. We as believers in Christ are changing everyday. We are told to pick up our cross daily and follow Him. When we pick up our crosses, we are crucifying our flesh every day, and when we daily crucify our flesh, a change is taking place in us.

The word of God tells us in Romans 12:2, And be not conformed (which is also a word that means molded or changed) to this world but be transformed (another word that means change) by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and acceptable and perfect will of God.

We must be changed from the inside out. One of the vital stages of being changed on the inside is to change our mind and our thinking. We cannot change our minds alone. We need the Holy Spirit of God to help us change. As we decide to pick up our cross and follow Him and turn from the flesh-satisfying conformity of this world, the power of the Holy Spirit will transform us and renew our minds. This is how we will do the good the Lords asks of us on this earth. And because of this transformation we can rest assured that the good that is done on earth through us is within the acceptable and perfect will of God.

As believers of Christ, our heart’s desire is to be just like Him. Though we each begin far from Christ, this is an area we can change. As you continue to pick up your cross and follow the Savior you will experience God changing you into a great disciple used for his glory.

It’s Time – A Song for Lasting Peace

2009-02-18T08:54:00.001-08:00

By Maurice Mondengo

It’s time
A way for lasting peace

It’s time, yes, it’s time
Let’s sow seeds of peace
In the hearts of the children
So that tomorrow when our children grow up
With or without us
They will live peacefully.

Let’s always speak of peace
Close to our children, let’s speak of peace
So that tomorrow when they grow up
Our children also will speak of peace.

Let’s always live peacefully
Close to our children, let’s live peacefully
So that tomorrow when they grow up
Our children will live in a peaceful world.

Let’s always avoid violence
Close to our children, let’s avoid any violence
So that tomorrow when they grow up
Our children will live in a world without any violence.
Little children often do imitate our acts
Tomorrow with or without us
They will repeat what we do in their presence
That’s why we should work for peace.

It’s time, yes, it’s time!
Let’s build a peaceful world
A world of freedom and responsibility
In the hearts of our children
It’s time, yes, more than ever.

Let’s work for the nonviolent way
Based on the spirit of justice
In the hearts of our children
It’s time, yes, more than ever.

If we feel a need of saving this broken world
Let’s now sow seeds of hope, joy, peace, justice and love
In the hearts of our children
And tomorrow, the world will be a better place to live.

A Simple Letter and the Power of Partnerships

2009-02-17T09:35:00.000-08:00

By Koffi Soke Kpomgbe

“A cat in a bag or a basket cannot be haggled over,” says a proverb in my own home-town.

I was recently asked by a church in Missouri, United States, to carry a letter on their behalf to several villages in Togo where daily life and existence is far from easy. Together with Pastor Robert Adrackey of the Akepe Baptist Church, we were able to visit four Baptist congregations in four different villages. At each of the four locations the message was the same: sharing and reading this letter from a church in Missouri followed by a short prayer.

I lack the words to convey the joy and satisfaction that was expressed by these four churches. The simple fact to hear that friends on the other side of the ocean were thinking of us, praying for us and announcing an upcoming mission trip to our area, was enough to quench the thirst of these brothers and sisters in the rural villages.

To return to the above proverb. One would not purchase a cat in the market until it has been personally seen and touched. In other words, it is impossible to express the depth of meaning and encouragement that such partnerships mean in areas that are otherwise often isolated.

This joy stemmed from the reading of a simple letter.

And how can I read something if no one wrote down anything for them? And how can one write to another, unless you have the love of people in your heart? And how can you send missionaries, value partnerships or have a love of people in your heart, unless you understand the Great Commission and a common Lord and Savior who desires that all enter into a relationship with Him?

On behalf of all the villages that exist at the end of bumpy and dusty roads, thank you.

To the many who actively seek to build international community and pray for brothers and sisters around the world whom they may never even meet, thank you.

Even in the sharing of a simple letter; it is the power of partnership, a power that all of us can extend to one another. You may never know the joy you have brought and the strength you have increased.

Let us be people who actively practice the power of partnership.

** Click on the facebook link on the right for pictures from several churches in Togo.

Baptists in Australia Offer Bushfire Assistance

2009-02-16T11:07:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

February 11, 2009

Baptists in Australia have established an emergency relief fund to aid persons affected by the worst natural disaster in the history of the southeastern state of Victoria.

Bushfires that started on February 7 have claimed more than 180 lives, with at least 80 persons missing, and have destroyed more than 900 homes. There are fears that the death toll will rise to more than 300.

Three closely related Baptist bodies, Baptcare, the Baptist Union of Victoria (BUV), and the Baptist Union of Australia (BUA), established an Emergency Bushfire Relief Fund with an initial grant of AUS$50,000.

The fund will be used primarily for food, clothing, accommodation, and personal needs, as well as for bereavement counselling.

In addition to the fund, Baptist churches in Victoria are being used as emergency shelters, and local congregations are offering pastoral care to victims of the fires, which have badly affected farms, forests, and wildlife. More than 1,200 square miles have been destroyed by the inferno.

“We’ve watched in horror this past weekend as news of the tragic bushfires in rural Victoria have taken their toll on lives and property,” said a release from the BUA. “As a network of nearly 1,000 churches the Baptist Union of Australia is calling Baptist churches across our nation to prayerfully consider their response to this disaster.”

“Please join us in praying for those in need, and for all those seeking to offer practical care and support,” the BUV requested in its release to Baptists in Victoria and elsewhere.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1007

Peace on Earth, a Responsibility for All

2009-02-12T16:53:00.000-08:00

Excerpts from a Sermon by Maurice Mondengo, a Baptist pastor from the DRC

In this morning’s sermon I would like to focus on Luke 2:14, a verse that highlights two essential truths.

The first is that we are called through worship to give “glory to God in the highest.” However, the worship that we can currently offer is but a series of rehearsals for that great coming day when after this life we join with the angels of the Lord and sing a new song in Heaven. It is only after this life that we can sing and praise the Lord in our white robe washed by the blood of the Lamb of God. This is our hope and joy. Giving “glory to God in the highest” is the expectation of that coming reality.

The second truth is that of “peace on earth,” a responsibility and privilege that is to be pursued in the here and now. Every man, woman, race, tribe, church, and nation in the world has been given the challenging work to keep, build and cultivate peace on earth. Keeping such peace requires that we focus on three areas:

First, peace on earth depends upon peace in our own mind. I know in our world today of physical sickness, economic tsunamis, and refugee and immigration displacement, it is often difficult for us to have peace. Jesus knows our weakness in this matter and how fear robs us of peace in our minds. That is why the Bible is full of the expressions we know well, “Fear not,” and, “Let peace be with you.”

Second, peace with others. We are challenged to keep or build peace with others every single day. We know that we live in a culture of injustice, a culture of war and violence, a culture of confusion, and a culture of saying, “It’s not my business.” However in Psalms 85:10 the Bible states, “Justice and peace have to embrace each other.” Christians are called to embrace justice and peace in our way of living, doing, praying and working in the world. I am not referring to a justice that protects only those who are rich and have power. I am not referring to a justice that would protect the weak and poor only because they are weak and poor. This is justice that is justice for all because it is right.

Third, peace on earth depends, finally, on the strength of our ability to keep or rebuild peace with God. While working for peace on earth, are we at peace with God? Peace of mind is a good thing. Peace with others is also good. But both are not enough. We need to have peace with God as well.

Glory to God in the highest, but peace on earth. Let peace be on earth.

Mission: Six Truths Relevant for Today

2009-02-10T18:14:00.000-08:00

By Elijah Brown

I have been thinking lately about the meaning of mission in our contemporary setting. Mission is multidimensional in terms of theology and practice and incorporates various activities from evangelism, service in love, and engagement in societal transformation. Various Baptist groups have long argued that one model or another should function as the primary motif.

David Bosch, however, reminds us that mission is often more of a “mosaic” of complimentary diversity in which different models can function as a source of refinement and enrichment. Bosch identifies six “salvific events” that function both as underlying healthy theology and as representative model of holistic praxis.

First, is The Incarnation of Christ. God in his great love was incarnated within a particular setting and context. The Gospel was commissioned with a relevancy that while it was universal, was also highly particular. Mission is about embracing the reality of Jesus Christ and a principle of universal scope which must remain at the same time, relevant in its specificity.

Second, The Cross. While many often articulate a robust theology of the cross and rightly recognize its importance in terms of redemption and salvation, the cross also speaks to the importance of sacrifice and is a model of kenosis that is to be emulated.

Third and Fourth, The Resurrection and The Ascension. In the midst of death and destabilization, Christians are those who announce a gospel of life in the here and now. Though it has not been fully initiated, the reality of God’s kingdom is real and guided by eschatological principles, the basis on which we are to engage this world.

Fifth, Pentecost. The Spirit draws individuals to Christ while giving Christians the boldness to live courageously. At the same time “the Spirit may not be held hostage by the church, as if the sole task were to maintain it and protect it from the outside world” (517). The Spirit is continually and actively involved in culture and history throughout the world. Bosch – with some legitimacy – claims that we have now “entered into the era of the Spirit” (516). Should this be accurate, many Baptists who have traditionally been weaker in a full understanding of the Spirit, may have a particular need to reexamine this salvific event.

Sixth, The Parousia. The Kingdom of God has already begun, and is within the church already present. However it is not yet fully implemented and it is the knowledge that what we see today is but a darkened mirror of the life and freedom to come that provides us a vision of hope. The Kingdom of God is therefore challenge for today and the joy of what is to come.

Mission will remain diverse in the practical applications adopted by individuals, churches and conventions and unions. This diversity can be a source of strength when we ask ourselves: is my theology and practice built upon and modeled around a motif that embraces incarnation, the cross, the resurrection and ascension, Pentecost and the Spirit, and the parousia of the kingdom that already is and is yet to come?

**See David Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission. Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1991, 511-519.

Learning to Share the Good News

2009-02-10T17:43:00.000-08:00

By Koffi Soke Kpomgbe

From January 8-23, 2009, a 14-member team from the South Korean Campus Crusade for Christ participated in a mission trip to Togo. As I traveled with this team serving as their principal translator, we visited collegiate campuses in Kara and Lome. At both, the team hosted “A Korean Night” in which there were Togolese and Korean traditional dances, modern dances, acapella singing, drama sketches and Taekwondo demonstrations.

In Togo, many Christians actually view Taekwondo as a violent game with nothing of significant value. Many of the local pastors in the areas we visited gave severe criticism to the proposed agenda of cultural activities when they saw that Taekwondo would be on the agenda. However, the program proceeded as planned and I have never seen some of the collegiate guys as touched as what I witnessed during this presentation. There was zero violence in the Taekwondo performances and souls were saved.

We also visited a village in the Bassar region where many people gathered to participate in a program of dances and martial art performances. Again, this same strategy proved effective as the Korean team shared about Christ and many responded. Viewing this encounter, I had no other option except to respond by praising the Lord.

It makes me wonder: do we as Christians in our own social context look at those who have different practices and question whether they are worthy or truly part of the Kingdom?

As the harvest is great, let us ask the Master of the Field to teach us new and different strategies.

While we are part of one family each one of us can share Christ in our own unique way.

**Click on the Facebook link on the right for pictures.

Russian Orthodox Elect New Patriarch

2009-02-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, February 1, Metropolitan Kirill was installed as the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church following the death of Patriarch Alexy II who died this past December. The leadership of the Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists (RUECB) was invited to participate in the celebrations surrounding the enthronement of Patriarch Kirill.

According to William Yoder of the RUECB Department for External Relations, the election of Kirill on January 27 “can be interpreted as a clear vote for openness and dialogue. The Russian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (ROC) has chosen as its new head the leader best-known – and most-criticised – for his openness to other confessions.”

In a statement released by the RUECB, Vitaly Vlasenko noted, “I am very optimistic. Kirill is the ROC’s most brilliant metropolitan. In our short personal meetings he has always been very kind and respectful. Most top-level Protestant contacts with the Moscow Patriarchate have occurred through him.”

The Associated Press also noted, “Kirill served for years as the church's external relations chief. He is seen as a modernizer more likely than his rivals to seek a measure of independence from the state and better relations with the Vatican.” (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090127/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_church_patriarch)

Although the RUECB is the largest unified Protestant Church in Russia, a membership of approximately 80,000 adult believers in a country of 142 million citizens underscores the reality that Baptist theology and ecclesiology remains a minority position within Russia.

Baptist delegation meets Azerbaijan leader

2009-02-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

January 30, 2009

A delegation of Baptists met with the head of a government committee on religion in Azerbaijan in January.

The delegation, which included Tony Peck, Baptist World Alliance Regional Secretary for Europe, and Paul Montacute, Director of Baptist World Aid, was primarily concerned about recent human rights abuses and restrictions on religious liberty in the South Caucasus country, which gained its independence after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Also part of the Baptist delegation were Christer Daelander, religious freedom representative with the European Baptist Federation, one of six regional fellowships of the BWA, Parush Parushev, Academic Dean at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, Czech Republic, and Ebbe Holm, an attorney at law.

The group highlighted the situation in the town of Aliabad in the Zagatala region, where two Baptist pastors, Zaur Balaev and Hamid Shabanov, were arrested and imprisoned on what were regarded as trumped up charges. Balaev was released early from prison in March 2008, after being sentenced to two years in prison in August 2007. Shabanov’s case is still before the courts after his arrest on June 20 of last year. He is under house arrest.

In their meeting with Hidayat Orujov, chairman of the State Committee of Work with Religious Associations, the Baptists urged that there be an end in discrimination against Christians by the state, such as the practice of refusing or delaying the granting of birth certificates to the children of Christian parents, and the loss of jobs of Christians upon their conversion to the faith.

The delegation also brought concerns about the difficulties the Baptist union and its churches in Azerbaijan face in obtaining government registration. Even though the union and its churches have submitted all documents and met all requirements for registration, government officials have refused to complete the registration process.

The group, which visited Azerbaijan from January 12 and 16, also met with diplomatic representatives and leaders of other religious groups in the country, including the Norwegian ambassador, Jon Ramberg, and Declan Byrne, Political Secretary for the United Kingdom Embassy. Meetings were also held with leaders of the Jewish, Muslim, and Russian Orthodox Church communities.

Also participating in the meetings were Ilya Zenchenko, President of the Baptist Union of Azerbaijan, and Elnur Jabiyev, General Secretary. The delegation also met with Balaev and other pastors in the country.

There are 22 Baptist churches and 3,000 baptized believers in the country of 8.7 million people.

See: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=1003

Emerging Leader Profile – Azure Covington

2009-02-04T07:40:00.001-08:00

By Azure Covington

Currently, I am serving as an associate minister in my home church, University Park Baptist Church, in Charlotte, North Carolina with a primary ministry focus on Christian education. However, I view my full time career as a high school teacher and educator as my principal ministry and will continue to primarily serve in this capacity until the Lord sees fit to have me leave there. As a high school educator, I believe God has given me the opportunity to not only teach course content, but to also display love, compassion, and understanding.

Being part of an emerging global Baptist family has helped me feel further connected to my Baptist heritage and develop a greater understanding of what we as Baptists are doing in our communities globally. While I may not always be in constant contact with my fellow Emerging Leaders, it is always a blessing to receive emails in which they share their thoughts and struggles. I feel as if I have friends all over the world who understand my struggles and will help me celebrate the blessings of God.

**Azure Covington is a member of the BWA Emerging Leaders Network and was recognized by the BWA as an emerging global leader in 2007.

Emerging Leader Helps Distribute Mosquito Nets in Togo and Benin

2009-02-03T08:14:00.001-08:00

By Brickson Sam

At the end of 2008, the All Africa Baptist Youth Fellowship (AABYF) partnered with the Baptist Unions of Benin and Togo and a United States ministry called HisNets, to distribute 4,000 mosquito nets from December 22-30.

Targeting areas susceptible to the danger of malaria, 2,000 mosquito nets were distributed in both Benin and Togo to orphanages, clinics, hospitals and to rural villages and communities that would otherwise be unable to afford to purchase these nets.

According to the United Nations Foundation’s Nothing But Nets, “use of insecticide-treated bed nets can reduce transmission as much as 90% in areas with high coverage areas.” (http://www.nothingbutnets.net/nets-save-lives/)

Brickson Sam, President of the AABYF and a BWA Emerging Leader, supervised the distribution of the nets which received full support from the Baptist Unions of Benin and Togo and was sponsored by HisNets with a sum of $30,000.

Each of the distributions was preceded with a launching ceremony witnessed by government officials and religious and traditional leaders, as well as a short drama presentation conducted by youth on the benefits of protection from mosquito bites. The political and traditional leaders of the two countries expressed their profound thanks and considered the distribution of nets a blessing and an opportunity.

In recognition of the vital importance of mosquito nets, BWAid maintains an ongoing project to help in the distribution of mosquito nets, particularly in the western Congo where malaria is the primary cause of death for children ages 0 – 5 and in pregnant women. Fifty to 80% of the cases received in emergency pediatric rooms in hospitals are due to malaria.

AABYF hopes to continue to work in additional distributions of these important, life-saving nets which can often be purchased for as little as $10 a piece.

For more on HisNets: http://www.hisnets.org

International Year of Human Rights Learning

2009-02-02T09:24:00.000-08:00

By Elijah Brown

In recognition of the commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the United Nations designated 2009 as the International Year of Human Rights Learning.

The Universal Declaration enshrines a number of critical human rights ranging from the right to work and own property, the freedom for peaceful assembly and association, and the right of everyone to freedom of religion. (Article 18, full text: http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm)

Freedom of religion, however, is more than an individual right to choice. It is also the recognition that religions, churches and faith-based organizations have an equally implied responsibility to contribute to the goals of peace, justice and friendship.

In God and the Constitution, Paul Marshall identifies two important Biblical rationales for the religious advancement of political human rights. The first stems from God’s first command, Genesis 1:28, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” Marshall notes, “Human beings are also part of creation. Stewardship [therefore] includes human life as well as the rest of nature.” (32)

In the reestablishment of the social order following the story of Noah, this stewardship in relation to human life is extended: “Whoever sheds the blood of man by man shall his blood be shed.” (Genesis 9:6) While this text is often used in relation to capital punishment, it is important to “emphasize not what the penalty was, but who was supposed to apply the penalty… Human beings were charged with the responsibility for dealing with injustice themselves.” (44)

Although this is but a thumbnail generalization, much of the Old Testament unfolds meanings of justice and exhorts individuals to take an active role in furthering justice and just human rights at every level of society as part of their theological witness and Biblical mandate.

By the time of the New Testament, complex governments had crystallized with very real social implications. In this context, Christians are exerted to view governments as institutions entrusted with specific and needed tasks. However there is a subtle reminder that “government is under God’s just order and must give and receive only its due. It cannot claim everything; it is not the final authority.” (52)

In a context that demanded emperor worship and witnessed political claims of authority over every societal component, the recognition that worship and justice is standardized and centered in God implies that there are proper limits to the claims, authority and actions of governments. Christians are to respect and comply with the legitimate claims of government while actively working to ensure that the governments themselves embody and pursue a stewardship of justice.

As part of our Biblical mandate of stewardship we have been tasked with the responsibility of pursuing justice. It is a sacred and central component to Christian worship and is to be furthered at individual, communal and governmental levels.

In this 2009 “International Year of Human Rights Learning,” it is my hope that churches and individual Christians alike will play a more active role in this component of our worship.

Of course the above is but a limited sketch of several Biblical references related to the issue of human rights and political justice. There is much more, and I hope that this is but a starting point for an active conversation.

What are some of your favorite Biblical verses about justice?
Would you post some additional Biblical reflections about the nature of human rights?
Would you share how you have been involved in this area?

And most importantly, will you encourage the pursuit of justice?

**Paul Marshall, God and the Constitution: Christianity and American Politics, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002.

The Challenges of Ministering to Baptist Youth in the Asia Pacific

2009-01-29T09:17:00.000-08:00

By Jesse Ray Porras

The Asia Pacific Baptist Youth Fellowship (APBYF) is a loose organization of Baptist youth in various churches and groups under the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation. Once every four or five years, we come together for a gathering called the APBY Conference. Our aim is to promote fellowship, be inspired and instructed on issues relevant to us, and be challenged to respond to the various needs of young people in our region.

This coming December 27-30, 2009, we will again converge for the 15th APBY Conference. The Baptist Convention of Hong Kong has accepted the challenge to be our host and the theme we have chosen is “Soar Higher!” based on Isa. 40:30-31. Many of us in the executive committee feel that this conference will help us gain new inspiration and strength to face the various challenges that we encounter in our region.The Asia Pacific Region includes more than sixty-five percent, or two thirds, of the world’s population. Thus, our cultures are as varied as the geographical features of the Himalayas, the sand dunes of Mongolia, the reefs and atolls of the South Pacific isles, and the deserts of Australia. In addition to the global economic crisis and fluctuating currency exchange rates, we are also concerned about issues closer to home such as: alcohol and substance abuse, child labor, HIV, trafficking of women and children, civilian conflict, extreme poverty and hunger due to recurring natural calamities (earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis), and coup d' tats and other forms of social unrest.

Just how do Christian young people and youth ministers live in the midst these situations? Due to the vastness of our needs and the limits of our resources, we do best when we start with the needs in our immediate community, while at the same time praying for our fellow young people to “catch the vision” and do something in their own situation. As the saying goes, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” By tending to street children or orphans in our own neighborhoods, we can make our region and the world a better place in which to live in… feeding one hungry mouth, setting one captive free, healing one ailing body, one simple life at a time.

This is going to be a long and tiring journey. The only way we can cope is by holding on to God’s promises in Isaiah 40:30-31. Together, may we “Soar Higher” in serving Him!

**Jesse Ray Porras is the Vice President of the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation Youth Department.

Emerging Leader Profile – Euticauls Nzengu

2009-01-28T08:49:00.000-08:00

Euticauls Nzengu is a Baptist pastor from Kenya who currently oversees the 70 Baptist congregations in Nairobi. Euticauls has been a member of the Emerging Leaders Network since 2007.

Q: What is your current ministry and what does it entail?

Euticauls: I am currently a pastor of a young and a growing church in Kenya called Baptist Chapel. I also direct a ministry in the slum areas of Korogocho where we minister to destitute children by providing them with formal education, vocational training, food, and by sharing the gospel of Christ with them. Korogocho Slum has an area of about 2 square miles with a population of 500,000 who live in shanties. My responsibility primarily involves counseling. This church ministry does not have a donor and so part of my job is to share with people about the ministry and to encourage them to support our ministry in the slum area.

I am also the overseer of more than 70 Baptist churches in the city of Nairobi. My role with the executive office is to share our vision with the churches, encourage them to be involved in evangelism and church planting, and help coordinate and oversee these endeavors. As a pastor, our church is involved in church planting and since 2005 we have already planted three mission churches and expect to plant a fourth this coming year.

Q: What are some of the unique challenges and/or opportunities that you face in your convention or context?

Euticauls: The challenges are many and include the lack of funds to support the ministry in the slums, people coming to you for answers and solutions, many needs that overwhelm, and insecurity. Within the Baptist association that I lead challenges include a shallow vision among some individuals, no passion for the lost, churches that are not stable and not growing, lack of commitment, and issues of autonomy. For the church, there is a lack of employment for many of my members, youth drop out from school due to lack of fees, church members sometimes conform more to the world than to Christ, low commitment level, a failure of some to see the Kingdom of God at work, and the acknowledgment that only a few are able to see beyond our church and see the world from Jesus’ perspective. In addition, our Baptist family is hurting as our local convention had some issues and broke into two.

Q: What does being an emerging Baptist mean to you?

Euticauls: It means being a Baptist who is prepared to serve the Lord and others in any part of the globe. It also means that while I have already been recognized in my own association and convention, there is a need for further training and equipping to continue the ministry more effectively.

Pictures from Euticauls' ministry in the Korogocho Slums have been posted on the BWA Emerging Leaders Facebook page. Use the link on the right to visit and join our new facebook group.

New Facebook Group

2009-01-27T11:26:00.000-08:00

The Emerging Leaders Blog has launched a new Group on Facebook. Connect with us under group name "BWA Emerging Leaders Network or at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=48560577422

The BWA ELN Facebook Group is a great place for you to post pictures or videos from your church or convention, share about your ministry and context, ask for prayer support, and connect with other emerging Baptists from around the world.

Our vision: to help spark a movement among Baptists in their 20s, 30s and 40s that will have a global impact as we connect, share, and minister together in a radical discipleship of Jesus Christ that pursues love, church growth and justice in our societies.

Our goal: to get at least 100 members of this global emerging Baptist movement connected to each other in the next 3 weeks.

Will you help spread the movement?

Emerging Leaders Reach New Milestone

2009-01-27T08:13:00.000-08:00

This week the Emerging Leaders Blog surpasses a new milestone: visits from more than 55 countries.

Countries include: 16 from Africa, 9 from Asia-Pacific, 1 from the Caribbean, 3 from the Middle East, 19 from Europe, 3 from North America, and 6 from South America.

With 280 unique visitors accessing the site in the past six weeks, the base of the Emerging Leaders Movement remains small but growing. The aim of this site is to help emerging Baptists connect with each other, discuss relevant issues, collaborate in ministry and work together to shape a Baptist movement of global impact, radical discipleship and transformative love.

Would you become a stake holder in the movement? Join as a member of the movement (top right column). Post a comment. Sign-up for RSS feeds. Share the site with friends and colleagues. Would you help us reach a goal of 500 unique visitors by the end of February?

We are well on the way, but it can only happen if we work together to build an emerging global network.

[in-teg-ri-ty]

2009-01-26T10:13:00.000-08:00

By Elijah Brown

Integrity is defined by Webster’s dictionary as “1. Firm adherence to a code especially moral or artistic values; 2. An unimpaired condition; 3. The quality or state of being complete or undivided.” Integrity is: Incorruptible. Unimpaired. Undivided.

Leadership expert John Maxwell defines integrity as the most important ingredient of leadership and writes, “A person with integrity does not have divided loyalties (that’s duplicity), nor is he or she merely pretending (that’s hypocrisy). People with integrity are ‘whole’ people; they can be identified by their single-mindedness. People with integrity have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. Their lives are open books.”

In a world full of shifting morality, shaky business standards of short-term gain and overheated claims of hype, do you feel the contamination of standards of this world? I need to personally confess; far too often I utilize these standards as the judge of success and validation. I am not all that I appear to be. Image is not everything.

My heart cries out for a radical discipleship of radical honesty – pure, complete and unwavering. My heart cries out for a return of integrity in our government interaction, our business practices, and our churches and denominations. Integrity that is honest enough to admit our own limitations, bold enough to recognize our need for each other, strong enough to accept diversity, loving enough to brace each other, and courageous enough to forge Godly character in the fire of everyday otherwise unobserved decisions.

Psalms tells us that God choose and favored David because whether as a shepherd in the field or as a ruler in the head office, “David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.” (Ps. 78:72)

Whatever our role, whatever our ministry, whatever our organization, it will all rise and fall on the basis of our integrity. And the good news is that integrity can be built. It takes time. It takes consistency. It means being faithful in the small choices. But if as emerging leaders we invest in integrity in our individual lives and in our corporate structures, we will reap a harvest of global impact.

True leadership and influence rises in direct proportion to integrity. Grow your integrity and God will grow your influence. Integrity builds individuals of great character who cast a great shadow. Integrity is corporate communities that build authenticity and global impact. Integrity is the key to leadership. To end with one more quote from Maxwell:

“Though you cannot go back
and make a brand new start, my friend.
Anyone can start from now
and make a brand new end.”

** Maxwell quotes come from John C. Maxwell, “The Most Important Ingredient of Leadership: Integrity,” in Developing the Leader Within You, 35-47. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993.

Emerging Leader Profile - Nick Lear

2009-01-23T08:11:00.000-08:00

By Nick Lear

Being part of the global Baptist family, the BWA, has expanded my vision of what it means to be a Christian believer. I am currently the senior pastor of a local Baptist church, having previously worked in the Mission Department in the national office of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. I know how easily I slip into a solely local focus in my ministry, theology and mission outlook because so much of my time and energy is focused on the local church.

Being part of the BWA family means that there is always a reminder that I am part of something bigger. I have experienced that not everyone worships God the same way that I do and I hope that awareness reflects in a more diverse worship style. I know that my interpretation of Scripture is done through my own cultural lenses, and to be true to God’s Word I need to reflect more on how that Word applies to other cultures.

I often reflect that when our church gathers to worship, Baptist churches in time zones to the East will already have met and those to our West are yet to meet – God’s praises are sung all around his world in diverse ways that can only broaden our experience of him. May God continue to enlarge my vision!

**Nick Lear is the Senior Minister of Colchester Baptist Church in Colchester, UK and until recently, was the BWA Youth Department European Baptist Fellowship Vice President. This post is the first in a new series that seeks to highlight the ministry and leadership of those who embody what it means to be an emerging Baptist leader. Profiles will come from around the world so feel free to nominate someone whom you feel represents what it means to be an emerging Baptist leader.

Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

2009-01-22T09:24:00.000-08:00

The third Monday of January, each year since 1986, has marked in the United States a special day of commemoration on behalf of the work and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is one of only three federal holidays in the United States that honors an individual person. Dr. King is worthy of such recognition.

Born into a context of racism and extreme marginalization Dr. King helped pioneer a movement for justice and equality that sought freedom from historical, cultural, political and legal frameworks of sin that ensnared both the oppressed and the oppressor alike. Based on principles of non-violence and civil disobedience, Dr. King helped inspire a nation to be better than it was and mobilized a movement that refused to accept defeat. Almost 41 years since the day he was assassinated, in the United States there could be perhaps no greater tribute than this week to also celebrate the election of President Barak Obama.

In a world still all too steeped in the legacies of racism and the politics of ethnic division, both in the United States and in the greater world at large, the vision and challenge of Dr. King should continue to weigh heavy upon us. To quote Rev. William Shaw of the National Baptist Convention, from a sermon he delivered in January 2008 at the Celebration of a Baptist New Covenant, ‘Jesus’ ministry was not the work of relief but reversal.’

Our world does not need any more relief; what it needs is reversal. Reversal from the cycles of violence that grip us, reversal of the ethnic legacies of racism that divide us, reversal from the sin of bigotry that blinds us, and reversal of the politics of discrimination that surround us. To take it one step further: what this world truly needs is not just reversal, but release. The kind of release that can only come when we begin to prioritize the laying down of our lives for others, the daily gift of costly obedience, and living out the transformative love of Jesus Christ.

Justice, equality and reconciliation between brothers and sisters continues on the long march to freedom. Each one of us has a role to play. As emerging Baptists who are especially indebted to this particular Baptist heritage, let us not grow weary in this long struggle, and may we find the courage to shake the very foundations of this world and advance this great cause. Only one question remains: does your life honor the King?

Leadership Interview - David Coffey

2009-01-21T11:23:00.000-08:00

Dr. David Coffey is the President of the Baptist World Alliance and the former General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. It was the vision of President Coffey that first launched the BWA Emerging Leaders Network in Ghana 2007. President Coffey, thank you for a vibrant and global ministry that has impacted many.

Q: Can you give a brief overview of some of the most recent developments, challenges and/or opportunities that have faced the BWA?

President Coffey: We face the challenge of developing a meaningful ownership of the recently agreed BWA five clusters of commitment throughout the BWA membership:

1. To join together in worship and fellowship
2. To nurture mission and evangelism
3. To defend religious liberty and human rights
4. To respond to human need through relief and sustainable development
5. To promote relevant theological reflection

Like all Christian organizations are suffering from the global financial crisis and we need to find imaginative ways of fulfilling our goals with fewer resources.

Q: What are some of the key ways that the BWA, and the regional member bodies, will need to adapt in our contemporary context?

President Coffey: First the Church needs to be wary of moving pragmatically in its mission. I admire the entrepreneurial spirit of Baptists around the world, but pragmatic endeavor must never become the foundation stones of our mission. We need to recover some key biblical and theological principles regarding God’s Revelation in Christ, the purpose of the Church, Christian discipleship and the dynamic relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Mission of the Church.

In a phrase-the key question is not what shape should the church be? Rather we should be asking what kind of disciples Jesus is calling us to be.

Q: As Baptists celebrate 2009 as the 400th Anniversary of the first Baptist congregation, what is one historical lesson that needs to be particularly remembered?

President Coffey: One of the books that will be published in 2009 in connection with our 400th anniversary celebrations is titled “Communities of Conviction.” We need to recover the concept of convictional churches comprised of believers who are committed to being Christian disciples willing to sacrifice everything for Jesus Christ in the face of a hostile world. Courage and conviction was the mark of the early Baptists and it is the one lesson I hope we will discover during Amsterdam 400.

Q: What will it mean to be a Baptist leader in the 21st Century and what are some of the necessary skills, opportunities and challenges that will be required of emerging leaders?

President Coffey: The BWA Emerging Leaders Network has heard my ten commandments for leaders, but let me repeat them again!

1. Be secure in your identity in Jesus Christ
2. Be convinced of your clear call from God
3. Be strong in your self awareness
4. Be sure to have accountability structures
5. Be aware of how to live with the mystery of suffering
6. Be committed to building a diverse church
7. Be a leader with a missionary heart
8. Be aware of the need to love people and use things and never reverse the order.
9. Be a risk taker with Jesus!
10. Be knowledgeable about the antidote to losing heart in God’s service

BMS World Mission Appoints New General Director

2009-01-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

January 16, 2009

David Kerrigan, a member of the BWA Commission on Doctrine and Interchurch Cooperation, has been appointed General Director of BMS World Mission, the major mission arm of Baptists in Britain.

Kerrigan succeeds Alistair Brown, a member of the BWA General Council and Executive Committee, who is now president of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States...

“David brings to the role an extensive knowledge of the workings of BMS, allied to his significant experience of serving overseas,” said Jeff Taylor, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of BMS World Mission. Kerrigan served as a missionary in Bangladesh between 1984 and 1988, and later became Regional Secretary for Asia for BMS, based in Sri Lanka , from 1995 to 1998.

At the time of his appointment as General Director, Kerrigan was Director for Mission and Deputy General Director for BMS.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=996

What is required of you?

2009-01-15T07:56:00.000-08:00

By Denise de Vasconcelos Araujo

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

I've been thinking a lot about what other people require of me. It's amazing how when we are not feeling good about ourselves or when we are having a bad week, everything people say becomes huge in our heads. I started noticing that in my own life. When I wasn't feeling well, my self-esteem was low, people's words had a greater effect on me. Even the words of people I knew weren't trustworthy become important to me and consequently a burden.

Their words or expectations become a burden, because we have the temptation to live by them and to plan our lives around what they say we should do, how we should act, respond… You start planning your life around requirements… people's requirements about you.

These can be the people you most love – your family, spouse, pastor, leader, coordinator. And of course, you want to please them, you need them! This is a personal dilemma. I don't know how many of you face it, but I do! And in moments like those – which basically means our entire lives - we need to pay attention to the way we respond to these requirements.

We need to evaluate why these requirements may affect us so much. Am I paying too much attention to what other people say? Am I just trying to please people to win their affection or trust? Am I spending more time trying to know how I can please people than actually knowing what I have to do?

This has to do with identity - who God created us to be and who we are in Christ. We need to be constantly reminded of that. When we’re not paying attention to this we lose track of what is important.

In Micah 6:8 we see what God requires from us: act justly, love mercy and walk humbly before Him. Sounds simple, doesn't it? The truth of the matter is that it takes a lot of work, because we need to change the way we think. We waste time on evangelical obligations, ecclesiastic duties, gossip, and discussions. But these verses show the only thing He requires from us, that which should be our only obsession, and what keeps us from sleeping at night.

We waste so much time feeling inadequate, planning a gazillion things, pleasing people, worried about what other people will say, doing 453 programs with our congregation a year, for what?? He is the only One allowed to make requirements and His are:

ACT JUSTLY, LOVE MERCY, WALK HUMBLY BEFORE ME

I know other people can require things from us, but we need to fulfill His requirements first. The ones that are made by others can be dealt with when we finish dealing with what God requires, and as we know, that will already take up much of our time.

Stay strong!

**Denise is the President of the BWA Youth Department and on staff at a Brazilian Baptist mission organization.

What Does Being an Emerging Baptist Leader Mean to You?

2009-01-14T14:19:00.000-08:00

By Koffi Soke Kpomgbe, Togo

It is a grace, privilege and responsibility to be a Baptist emerging leader at a time when, to quote Brickson Sam from Sierra Leone, there is a “galaxy of the heavy weights.”

Nothing but God’s grace has made it possible for me be part of this wonderful group where I believe I have felt more true Christian love than is sometimes obvious in my own home context of local churches. I have been challenged by what we call in the German literature, “Die Interkulturalität”, that is, different cultural realities but one people in Him. As I remind the emerging leaders in Togo, through fellowship we are united as Americans, Africans, Asians, and Europeans.

The humility and simplicity I noticed in our BWA coordinators and in most of the ELN members was a great lesson. I spent most of the BWA Accra meeting observing, but when I departed from the BWA Prague meeting this summer, I knew I had another family. It is more than a compulsory lesson for me to dive deeper into my commitment to the ministry; I am privileged to do so in Togo and Africa, and I have global a family I need to pray for.

We are the Emerging Leaders Family of the BWA.

God bless the ELN.

What does being an emerging Baptist leader mean to you?

Leadership Interview - Emmett Dunn

2009-01-13T08:59:00.000-08:00

This is the first in a new series of Leadership Interviews. Emmett Dunn is the Director of the BWA Youth Department as well as the Director of all BWA Major Meetings. Emmett, thank you for your global ministry and ongoing concern for emerging Baptist leaders.

Q: Can you give us a brief overview of some of the most recent developments, challenges and/or opportunities that have faced the BWA Youth Department?

Emmett Dunn: The key challenge facing the Youth Department is balancing the different understandings of “who is a youth/young person?” The BWA seeks to serve people between the ages of 13-35 however; each region that makes up the BWA has a different, yet unique, understanding of who is a youth/young person. This gap creates major challenges as it is almost impossible to design international programs that meet the needs of this group. It is certainly not a “one size fits all” approach but one that seeks to fully understand the different group dynamics, taking into consideration the different contexts in which these groups do ministry to include, cultural, political and socio-economic.

Q: What will it mean to be a Baptist leader in the 21st Century and what are some of the necessary skills, opportunities and challenges that will be required of emerging leaders?

Emmett Dunn: Depending on where you are in the world, the word Baptist may mean something different. While the fundamental doctrines seem to be the same on the one hand, on the other, there are diverse views on the issue of worship, women in ministry, authority of Scripture to name a few. Knowing who we are as Baptists will be very important if one must be a leader. In order to be an effective leader one must be able to articulate what is it that we believe and why. The younger generation is not really interested in being aligned with a particular denomination just because their parents where associated with it but in their search, they are looking for value, honesty and acceptability. This will require the leader to be contemporary in style and thinking but never giving in to the temptation of compromising the truth of the gospel.

Q: What one piece of advice, note of encouragement or word of caution would you most like to share with emerging Baptists?

Emmett Dunn: Leadership is difficult but commitment to task and love for the people you are called to lead makes it easier. As an emerging leader, you must first count the cost of leadership and be assured that it is God who has called you to the ministry of service. It is not always a pleasant experience especially when others are critical of you but patience and understanding of people and task will enable you to be the best you can be. Learning from those who have walked the path ahead of you will help you avoid unnecessary mistakes. Always remember to listen well enough to hear and understand what is being said and rely on God for guidance and direction.

Thank you Emmett.

**Check back every Tuesday for a new leadership interview or nominate someone whom you believe best exemplifies contemporary Baptist leadership.

An Emerging Movement

2009-01-12T09:08:00.000-08:00

In the most recent edition of Foreign Affairs, Anne-Marie Slaughter writes: “Hierarchy and control lose out to community, collaboration, and self-organization. At its core, a company can be quite small, often no more than a central node of leaders and manager-integrators. But with the right networks, it can reach anywhere innovators, factories, and service providers can be found. In this world, as Tapscott and Williams write, ‘only the connected will survive.’” (http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20090101faessay88107/anne-marie-slaughter/america-s-edge.html)

What if in 2009, a ragtag group of Baptists from around the world who as 20s, 30s and 40 somethings decided to start a movement? A movement of radical discipleship. To feed the hungry. To care for the sick. To be accountable to widows and orphans. To stand with the oppressed. To build the church. To live without fear. To love without borders.

A movement that was not based on hierarchy or control but on community, collaboration and self-organization so that each one of us fully lived our lives in service to Christ and to each other.
In this kind of a movement – and in reality, in the world as we find it today – “only the connected will survive.” So what would happen if we started an emerging movement of global Baptists who were connected to one another? If as we shared what God was doing in our own corner of the world, we began to see that taken collectively we already form a powerful patchwork of kingdom growth that can learn from each other, share in the needs of each other and work together in coordinated unison to advance the kingdom of the Son.

This blog is by no means the culmination of such a vision. But it is one more tool, one more point of connectivity. At the top right hand of this blog, for example, you can click to join as a “Member of the Movement.” And as more of us join this movement, we will be able to connect more deeply and minister more powerfully.

As part of this new movement endeavor, starting this week this site is also going to post regular interviews with current Baptist leaders, profile the stories of other emerging leaders and share emerging insights from around the world. This week is a new beginning, a new opportunity to build together an emerging Baptist movement.

At its core it only takes a small group. It is always so. The question however remains:

Have you joined the emerging Baptist movement?

What Does Being an Emerging Baptist Leader Mean to You?

2009-01-09T11:32:00.000-08:00

By Edward Enim

It means on one hand my being a worthy vessel to be used in Kingdom work. On the other hand it means a greater challenge to explore greater heights in leadership. It is more than a privilege, it is a challenge for greater ministry.

What does it mean to you?

Coming Next Week.....

2009-01-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

The Blog will be going through some slight revisions over the next few days. Please be sure to check back on Monday to see a slightly altered framework and a brand new series of posts.

In the meantime would you join as a "Member of the ELN Movement"? Just click in the top right hand corner to become a charter member of a global movement of Emerging Baptists.

BWA Responds to Crisis in Gaza

2009-01-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

January 8, 2009

The Baptist World Alliance (BWA), through its relief and development arm, Baptist World Aid (BWAid), is assisting persons suffering from the crisis in Gaza.

A BWAid Rescue24 team, operated by Hungarian Baptist Aid (HBAid), has been in Cairo, Egypt, since December 31, 2008, providing medical treatment to persons who have fled from Gaza. BWAid made an initial grant of US $10,000 toward the medical relief effort.

The Rescue24 team will be relocating to the Egyptian city of El Arish, which is closer to Gaza, about 40 kilometers from the border, to continue the medical work.

HBAid is also planning other relief projects, including a psychosocial program for children in the heavily bombed city of Sderot in southern Israel...

Gaza Baptist Church (GBC), the lone Baptist church in Palestine, was severely damaged by the fighting. According to media reports, the windows of the church were blown out when an Israeli air strike hit a police station located across the street.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=988

Baptism Center in Jordan to Open in March

2009-01-07T09:32:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

January 6, 2009

The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) will lead a service of dedication for the new Baptism Center in Jordan at its official opening on March 20, 2009...

“The opening of the Baptism Center is an answer to our prayers and we express again our deep gratitude to King Abdullah for the gift of the Center as a place of Christian worship and pilgrimage,” said BWA President David Coffey . “I hope that many Baptists and other Evangelical Christians will visit the site as pilgrims and some will choose to confess their faith in Jesus Christ in the waters of baptism.”

Coffey and BWA General Secretary Neville Callam will lead the dedication service along with representatives of the Baptist community in the Middle East and other dignitaries. During the dedication, a plaque will be unveiled at the entrance of the Center bearing the inscription, “The Commission of the Site of the Baptism of Jesus Christ welcomes here in particular foreign visiting pilgrims from the member churches of the Baptist World Alliance.”

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=981

What Does Being an Emerging Batist Leader Mean to You?

2009-01-06T11:10:00.000-08:00

By Melody Maxwell

Being an emerging Baptist leader means being equipped with first-hand knowledge of the global Baptist community—and entrusted with the responsibility to share what I’m learning with others.

What does it mean to you?

BWA President David Coffey Honored

2009-01-05T15:28:00.000-08:00

BWA President David Coffey was recently named as the 2008 Baptist of the Year by EthicsDaily.com. Coffey was selected for his "tireless initiatives and frequent conversations" in which he has "pushed for constructive engagement between Baptists and Muslims, sought to advance religious liberty in predominantly Muslim countries and spoken up in Israel for Palestinian pastors." Coffey "has kept the eye of global Baptists on the Middle East and the role of people of faith as peacemakers." (copyright is EthicsDaily.com)

Congratulations President Coffey.

For the full release: http://www.ethicsdaily.com/article_detail.cfm?AID=11512

BWA Responds to Letter from Muslim Leaders

2009-01-05T11:08:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

January 5, 2009

The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) has issued a formal response to “A Common Word Between Us and You,” a letter written by 138 Muslim leaders and scholars that appealed for Christians and Muslims to cooperate in engendering peace and religious freedom.

In preparation of the formal response, BWA General Secretary Neville Callam sought comments from Baptist scholars and leaders, including those living in countries with a Muslim majority, regarding how the BWA might respond to the letter.

The comments received were made available to Paul Fiddes of England , Chair of the BWA Commission on Doctrine and Interchurch Cooperation, and Regina Claas of Germany, Chair of the BWA Commission on Freedom and Justice, who were invited to lead a forum at the BWA Annual Gathering in Prague , Czech Republic , in July 2008. At the forum, participants considered the issues raised by the Muslim letter and made contributions to the BWA formal response.

Armed with the insights gained from the solicited comments and the forum, Fiddes, Claas and a team of Baptist scholars and leaders crafted what eventually became the formal BWA response.

The formal response can be found at: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=979

Remembering This Day in History: The First Universal Christian Persecution

2009-01-03T18:08:00.001-08:00

Ascending to power at a time of great political uncertainty, military crisis and economic turmoil, Decius sought political answers and a renewed unity for the Roman Empire in a pogrom of forced religious conversion and submission. Appeals for a recommitted practice of ‘traditional’ religion, transitioned into outright persecution as political expediency caved into religious zealotry.

On January 3, 250, Decius “published an imperial edict commanding all citizens of the empire to sacrifice to the Roman gods. Those who did so were given certificates as evidence of their compliance while those who refused were imprisoned or executed. Decius’s edict initiated the first universal Roman persecution of the Christian church. Untold numbers of believers suffered the loss of family, freedom, and life itself.”

Today, 1700 years later, we remember those first Christians who courageously stood for the name of Christ against tyranny. We confess that our contemporary context – political, military and economic instability – is all too often similar to the environment that sparked this first universal persecution, and that there are today millions of Christians who continue to live in situations of injustice and religious oppression. We cry out in a humble resolve that refuses to be silent, pray with intention, work in cooperation, and advocate with passion and discernment until we can stand with one another in freedom.

(See E. Michael and Sharon Rusten, The One Year of Book of Christian History. Wheaten: Tyndale House Publishers, 2003, 6.)

Baptists Killed in Nigeria

2008-12-24T10:18:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

December 22, 2008

Washington, D.C. (BWA)--At least 12 Nigerian Baptists were killed and five Baptist churches burned during riots sparked by local election results in November.

Motunrayo Adegbilero, a Nigerian who is President of the Baptist Women’s Union of Africa (BWUA), informed the Baptist World Alliance that “churches are being burnt and Christians are being killed in Jos, the capital of Plateau State of Nigeria .”

Plateau State lies in central Nigeria , and roughly borders the predominantly Muslim north and the mainly Christian south of the country. Tensions between Christians and Muslims have risen in recent times in the most populous African nation of almost 150 million people. Local elections held in Jos on November 28 and 29 led to riots amid rumors that the candidate supported mainly by Christians had won the elections, even though the results were not officially declared. Clashes between Christians and Muslims led to wide scale assaults.

Adegbilero stated that “the death toll is about 400 now,” and that “the dead are both Christians and Muslims.” Several thousand persons were reportedly injured and an estimated 10,000 displaced...

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=973

A Cry for Peace in the DRC

2008-12-16T13:45:00.000-08:00

By Maurice Mondengo

Throughout the last few months conflict centered in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo has continued to escalate with profound effects. Since August an estimated 250,000 civilians have been forced to flee their homes (http://allafrica.com/stories/200812151430.html). Many have been driven into refugee camps. Many more are hiding in the forest and in the mountains. The villages are empty. The basic minimum conditions for life and sustenance are missing. It is hard and risky to reach the places where the people are hiding. Even where there is food, there is no money to buy it.

Those who have guns have their say. Those who do not have guns have lost their voice.

On the other hand, there is a great deal of goodwill from the churches which are bringing love, hope and food to the different displacement camps in the east of the DRC. The BWA has contributed a grant used to provide aid to displaced persons in the Kivu region and Baptist missionaries have been working in the battlefield with some local pastors.

All the same, the people in the east of the DRC need more than food. They need change. They need a stop to this off-and-on remote-controlled war that since 1996 has left more than 5 million dead, a war that has multiplied the number of widows and orphans.

Enough is enough.

Though we cannot all travel to the DRC, each one of us can do something wherever we are at. We can all share news of the Congo and influence those who have a say in the world. Let us work for lasting peace without keeping quiet in the face of injustice, oppression and every kind of violence. Justice and peace must walk together and we as the Church should be at the forefront of announcing this full Gospel of justice and peace to our world.

Let us be the voice of the voiceless in the Congo.

Let peace start with us… please.

**Maurice Mondengo is a Baptist pastor and Junior Lecturer in Theology in the DRC as well as a BWA Emerging Leader.

Peace in the DRC – Recommended Video

2008-12-16T13:40:00.000-08:00

By Maurice Mondengo

Brothers and Sisters I am recommending this powerful video on the Democratic Republic of Congo. Possibly it will bring the story of my country close to your hearts. Thank you for joining with us in prayer. And thank you for working hard to help us stop this tragedy.

**Maurice Mondengo is a Baptist pastor and Junior Lecturer in Theology in the DRC as well as a BWA Emerging Leader.

Baptist-Catholic Talks Continue

2008-12-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

December 16, 2008

Washington, D.C. (BWA)--The third round in the second series of theological conversations between the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) and the Vatican is taking place December 14-19 at Duke Divinity School in the state of North Carolina in the United States . The discussions are being held in five rounds from 2006-2010, and focus on the theme, “The Word of God in the Life of the Church: Scripture, Tradition and Koinonia.” The talks have several aims, including to increase mutual understanding, appreciation, and Christian charity toward each other, and to encourage collaborative action on ethical issues, including justice, peace and the sanctity of life.

The BWA delegation to the meeting is being led by Paul Fiddes of England , Chair of the BWA Commission on Doctrine and Interchurch Cooperation. Delegates include Timothy George, Steve Harmon and Nora Lozano from the United States ; Fred Deegbe from Ghana ; Tadeusz J. Zielinski from Poland ; and Tony Peck, BWA Regional Secretary for Europe .

Nancy Bedford, Curtis Freeman, and Elizabeth Newman are BWA observers. BWA General Secretary Neville Callam and BWA Director of the Division of Study and Research, Fausto Vasconcelos, are also attending the meetings.

For the full release: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=969

Human Rights Prayer from Indonesia - A Prayer for the Church

2008-12-14T13:02:00.000-08:00

Our God,
You who dwell in the highest
and who has called us
in your Son, Jesus Christ, to be Church.

We thank you today, for the rich heritage we claim as Baptists,
a heritage born of courage, piety and sacrifice.

We claim today fellowship in mission with all Baptists,
as we share of our wealth for the work of your Church
around the world,
in healing the sick, and feeding the hungry,
in redeeming through your Word that the blind may see,
and in so doing, freeing captives in the name of
Jesus of Nazareth.

We confess, our God, that in the comfort of your blessings
and abundance
and in the safety of the blessing of peace in our land,
we too easily forget others of our body, your Church,
who pray today for your daily bread to feed their hungry
children,
who pray for signs of peace in their land,
who pray for freedom to pursue a life worth the living.

So make us mindful, we pray,
that others of your Church today
eat the bread in secret, for fear of persecution,
and drink the cup in whispers for fear of death.
For them, our sisters and brothers, we pray
that your Spirit will watch over them with a mighty arm,
that your joy may be complete in them,
and that their hope in you may be realized in power and grace.

These things we pray in the mighty name
of the One who makes us one,
Jesus Christ, Our Savior.

(Taken from the BWA's publication Hallowed be Your Name)
(http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=955)

Human Rights Prayer from South Africa - A Prayer for Hope

2008-12-13T09:04:00.000-08:00

Oh, God

You can do anything, anywhere, any time

All knowing, all seeing God,

There is nothing hidden from you.

You see the women of Africa:

Who are refugees,
fleeing their war-torn countries
with babies on their backs and luggage on their heads.

Some who are victims of human rights violations,
abuse, infected with AIDS

We put our hope in you, oh God,

For you hear even our unmentioned prayers
You watch not only the sparrow, but you see us too
And your hands guide us all the way.

Above all, you offer us the gift of eternal life.

We praise your holy name.

(Taken from the BWA's publication Hallowed be Your Name)
(http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=957)

BWA Observes Human Rights Day

2008-12-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

December 12, 2008

Washington, D.C. (BWA)--The Baptist World Alliance observes Human Rights Day on December 13 or 14.

The BWA observance coincides with the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted on December 10, 1948. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the document that outlines in 30 articles the basic rights of all people.

Since the inception of the Baptist World Alliance in 1905, issues of human rights and justice have been a priority of the BWA.

The BWA Division of Freedom and Justice, which was established on September 1, focuses on marginalized Baptists and other Christians who experience various forms of persecution and injustice, such as the current anti-Christian violence in India .

Human Rights Day worship resources are available on the BWA website at www.bwanet.org.

Floods in Brazil

2008-12-10T11:37:00.000-08:00

By Mayrinkellison Wanderley

I am asking you to pray for south Brazil because since November it has rained almost every day and is consequently causing severe damage within the south. According to one report, “Water levels have risen to nine meters above normal and the rain-soaked soil caused heavy landslides throughout the region. As a result, at least 118 people are reported dead and more than 78,700 people have evacuated their homes. Another 150,000 people have been left without electricity.”
(http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/fromthefield/222031/122883571838.htm)

This is a sad situation for us and the Red Cross and other organizations are inviting people to help them as volunteers. This is one of the worst disasters in that region and many are separated from their homes and families. Please forward this information to your churches and join us in prayer for south Brazil and those affected by these devastating rains.

**Many thanks to Mayrinkellison Wanderley, an Emerging Leader from Brazil who is on staff with the World Missions Board of the Brazilian Baptist Convention.

The Christmas Nativity

2008-12-08T10:01:00.000-08:00

I recently received my first official Christmas card and it got me thinking about the Christmas season and the cards that we regularly share with family and friends. One of the most popular pictures used on Christmas cards is of the nativity.

Though the above is a nice picture, it does seem to imply a message of safety and security. It’s as if the primary Christmas message that we want to portray is one that has been sanitized so that it is clean, perfectly in place and almost middle class…

Nothing could be further from the reality of that moment. The political context was one of occupation by a foreign power. The despotic leader was known for his violence and cunning cruelty as well as vast building projects that altered the religious and moral landscape through the construction of Roman temples and Roman cultural vignettes. Mary had experienced an out of wedlock teenage pregnancy and Joseph understood the pain of broken trust and an imperfect strained relationship. Both had travelled 90 miles by foot or donkey in the ninth month of a pregnancy and were now separated from family, friends and familiarity. Though they did not know it, they were on the verge of becoming refugees. Surely an out of the way cave surrounded by animals and manure was far from their childhood dreams.

And yet it is in this context that Good News was declared. In the midst of muck, mire and even personal manure, Christ was born. In the midst of broken dreams, strained relationships and a journey of great uncertainty, Christ was born. In the midst of violence and politics by war, domination and division, Christ was born. Embodying a love that has changed the world, a peace that challenges politics, and a ministry that focuses on Good News among “the least of these," Christ was born.

In the words of Shane Claiborne:

“I love the story of one pastor who got fed up with all the decorations and clutter. He began to see that we are in danger of losing the very “reason for the season,” Jesus – the Jesus that was born in the middle of Herod’s bloody genocide, the Jesus who was born a refugee with no room in the inn, the Jesus who knew suffering from the cradle to the cross. This pastor went through the sanctuary the night before the big Christmas service and spread out manure all over the floor – nasty, stinky piles of turd. As folks came in the next day in their best attire, he preached … and did he ever. He preached about how the original story of Christmas was not about malls and decorations. He preached about a story that was not pretty. He preached about a God who enters the [crud] of this world and redeems all that is ugly and broken. It is a story they will never forget. It is the story of our faith.

That is the imagination that we need as we seek not to conform to the patterns of this world. It takes that kind of courage to exorcize the demons of greed that smell more each day like the seven deadly sins. But unto us a child is born … a child who has overcome the world.” (http://www.sojo.net/blog/godspolitics/?p=4220)

Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Alexy II Dies

2008-12-05T07:31:00.000-08:00

By Jim Heintz
Associated Press
December 5, 2008

MOSCOW – Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II, who presided over a vast post-Soviet revival of faith but struggled against the influence of other churches, died Friday at age 79.

The Moscow Patriarchate said he died at his residence outside Moscow, but did not give a cause of death. Alexy had long suffered from a heart ailment.

Alexy became leader of the church in 1990, as the officially atheist Soviet Union was loosening its restrictions on religion. After the Soviet Union collapsed the following year, the church's popularity surged. Church domes that had been stripped of their gold under the Soviets were regilded, churches that had been converted into warehouses or left to rot in neglect were painstakingly restored and hours-long services on major religious holidays were broadcast live on national television.

By the time of Alexy's death, the church's flock was estimated to include about two-thirds of Russia's 142 million people, making it the world's largest Orthodox church.

But Alexy often complained that Russia's new religious freedom put the church under severe pressure and he bitterly resented what he said were attempts by other Christian churches to poach adherents among people who he said should have belonged to the Orthodox church.......

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_re_eu/eu_russia_obit_alexy_ii

A Short, Recent History of Congo

2008-12-05T07:06:00.000-08:00

See the following for a short introductory history to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo:

http://audiovideo.economist.com/

Call for Prayer for the Democratic Republic of Congo - This Saturday

2008-12-04T14:12:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

December 4, 2008

Washington, D.C. (BWA)--Baptist women in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have invited Baptists everywhere to join them in prayer for their country on Saturday, December 6.

The special prayer emphasis is in response to the recent upsurge in fighting in the DRC between government forces, Mai-Mai pro-government militias, and a rebel group, the National Congress for the Defense of the People.

“The war is true and sad. People die day and night,” wrote Anne Ponzi, vice president of the Baptist Women’s Union of Africa, who lives in the DRC. “Those in refugee camps are in very bad conditions. Those left in towns, villages and hiding in forests are raped and maltreated. Young people are forced into the army. All these lead to diseases and epidemics,” she said.

“We the Congolese Baptist Women are planning a day of special intercession for war victims. The day is December 6, 2008,” said Ponzi.

At least 100 civilians have been killed, and an estimated 250,000 persons displaced by the latest round of fighting. Millions were already displaced in the DRC and bordering countries such as Uganda , Burundi and Rwanda as a result of the Second Congo War waged between 1998 and 2003, as well as other flare-ups since the official end of that war. The Second Congo War resulted in the deaths of an estimated four million people.

Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance, gave a grant of US$30,000 in November to provide food, water, and shelter for displaced persons in the DRC. (http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=965)

Student Builds Water Wells in Africa

2008-12-04T09:16:00.000-08:00

See the story of a high school student who challenged his classmates to take the money they would normally spend on American football mums (a traditional decoration usually worn by students in the fall) and donate the money to a fund that would build water wells in Africa:

http://www.iamsecond.com/#/seconds/Blake_Mankin/

These students raised enough money to build two wells that provide more than 10,000 people with daily access to clean water. The student, Blake Mankin, challenges us to consider the simply yet powerful phrase, “I am Second.”

BWA Release: BWA General Secretary Comforts Indian Baptists

2008-12-03T14:21:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

December 3, 2008For Immediate Release

Washington, D.C. (BWA)--Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam has sent a letter of comfort to Baptists in India in the wake of the attacks in Mumbai, the country’s financial capital and largest city, in late November.

“I was in your capital city of Delhi on the night of November 26, 2008, when terrorists commenced their savage and senseless assault against your historic city of Mumbai ,” the letter read. “I am deeply saddened by the loss sustained by both my Indian brothers and sisters and the foreign nationals who have been innocently killed or wounded in what was a vicious coordinated attack on Mumbai.”

The BWA leader expressed regret and support on the behalf of Baptists everywhere. “On behalf of the worldwide Baptist family, I write to express our solidarity with you in this sad time of loss. We join you in prayer for those who mourn the loss of life in their families and communities.”

He urged Baptists to “join hands with all fellow Christians” and “to do whatever we can to thwart the growth of the cancer of terrorism and to bring peace and healing to our world.”

More than 170 persons were killed and almost 300 injured between November 26 and 29 in Mumbai when 10 gunmen staged several attacks in the city, including at hotels, restaurants, hospitals and a Jewish synagogue.

Callam was on a visit to India , Bangladesh , and Nepal during the month of November.

See: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=964

News Feed: Christians in Iraq

2008-11-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

Some fearful Christians Hope to Flee Iraq
by Dennis D. Gray
Associated Press, 2008

TAL KAEEF, Iraq – Young Christian women in tight jeans mingle easily with Arab matrons draped in black, head-to-toe robes. Both church spires and mosque minarets rise above the low-slung houses. Violence is rare.

"The people here look out for each other — Arabs, Christians, Kurds, Yazidis. If all of Iraq was like this, it would be a great place," said 1st Lt. Jeremy Glosson, leading a U.S. Army patrol through Tal Kaeef's medieval-like alleys.

And yet, many Christians here say they want to flee a town where their ancestors have lived for generations and, if possible, to abandon a country where their religion has survived for some 2,000 years — longer than in Europe — but one they fear is growing ever more violent.........

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_IRAQ_CHRISTIAN_FLIGHT?SITE=SCGRE&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

BWA Release: Church Leaders Urge US President to Take Action on Anti-Christian Violence in India

2008-11-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

Eron Henry, Associate Director of Communications
Neville Callam, General Secretary
Baptist World Alliance

November 21, 2008

Washington, D.C. (BWA)--Several church leaders in the United States have written to US President George W. Bush to protest the outbreak of violence against Christians in India, urging him “to hold the Indian government accountable to its own constitution, which guarantees freedom of religion and religious expression for all its citizens.”

The signatories, which include William Shaw, President of National Baptist Churches USA Inc, and Daniel Vestal, Executive Coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, urged the outgoing US president to express to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “the US government’s abhorrence of the continued violence against Christians and other minorities within India ’s borders.”

The church leaders drew attention to the anti-Christian violence that has taken place since the slaying of a Hindu leader and four adherents in the eastern Indian state of Orissa on August 23, stating that, even though a radical Maoist group claimed responsibility for the killing, “The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council) blamed the deaths on the Indian Christian community.”

“Hindu extremist groups fostered civil unrest, initially attacking poor Christians in India’s eastern state of Orissa as well as Christian agencies who serve the poor and the needy from diverse religious backgrounds in that state.” Now the violence has spread to several other Indian states, the letter said.

More than 60 Christians have died from the outbreak of violence, and an estimated 50,000 are left homeless.

The church leaders’ letter, which was sent on November 7, quoted a remark made by President Bush when he signed into law a nuclear agreement between the US and India on October 8, “This agreement sends a signal to the world – nations that follow the path to democracy and responsible behavior will find a friend in the United States .”

Shaw, Vestal, and the more than 20 other leaders of churches and parachurch organizations told the president, “You should insist, in the strongest terms, that these reprehensible groups and the assenting local government agencies be brought into conformity with India ’s rule of law. Only if India agrees and acts with goodwill toward all its citizens will it continue to be viewed as a responsible global partner worthy of a place on the world stage with other democratic nations.”

BWA General Secretary Neville Callam has written to the Indian prime minister expressing outrage at the violence, and the inability of the Indian authorities to curb the violence. In his letter sent on October 6, Callam expressed shock at “the grim situation facing Christians in Orissa,” and stated that he is “alarmed that it is taking so long to bring an end to the fierce persecution they are suffering.”

Callam urged the Indian leader “to intervene, in the best traditions of the Indian sub-continent, to bring relief to the people suffering in Orissa.”

See the related BWA Release: "Anti-Christian Violence Spreads in India," http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=960

In His Hands

2008-11-15T05:21:00.001-08:00

By Philip Mudzidzi

When I first heard the news on July 25th that a power-sharing deal had been brokered in Zimbabwe, I did not believe it though I was of the opinion that this was the needed alternative for a safe exit out of the dilemma we are in. Although we still desperately keep the hope, since the failure of that power-sharing deal, things are now worse than ever.

This challenge is definitely and directly affecting how we do ministry. For example, there are many young people, including Christian youth, who are now found in jails due to “criminal activities.” Many young people are struggling to be absorbed into the employment arena. Many of them are running informal and illegal business operations such as buying and selling foreign currency, but what else is there for them to do? Many are victims of human trafficking and find themselves sold out to prostitution and drug dealing when they had been promised work in hotels and restaurants. Some are crossing national borders without proper traveling documents and find themselves unable to secure decent jobs or accommodation and suffering from xenophobic violence.

Within this environment, since 2003 I have been serving as the National Youth/Student Director for our Convention and as such coordinate the planning and implementation of Youth/Student programs among more than 200 churches in Zimbabwe. Every year we host young people gatherings that range from an attendance of 300 to 1000 in order to promote fellowship, spiritual growth, mission partnerships and cultural exchanges. In April 2009 we will host a National Youth/Student Conference to celebrate our 45th Anniversary of our Youth/Student endeavors.

We also run a program called Volunteer Mission Adventure that provides an opportunity for youth to volunteer for community service to minister to the needy. Through these endeavors we have seen the disadvantaged in our churches, including the elderly, orphans and students, experience God’s hand of relief in their challenges. We are also using “Talent Explosion” to encourage our youth to develop their skills in art, music, drama and sports and to use those talents to share and minister the Gospel. In August 2008 we held a True Love Waits Campaign in the four regions our country. More than 450 youth participated and we trust that these efforts will help change the HIV/Aids pandemic while building families that are stronger.

I am so grateful to the Baptist World Alliance leaders who have allowed me an opportunity to be networked into the BWA family. I cherish my friendship with you. My experience with the BWA has given me a broad network of friends, wisdom, realization and appreciation about my role and function in the world as a fellow partner in ministry.

I would also ask that you would continue to pray for the:

1. Political indecision in our country
2. Millions who are starving
3. Zimbabwe Convention struggling to adjust to our unique identity and calling
4. 45th Anniversary Celebration of our Youth/Student programs
5. Wisdom and ability in my personal ministry, my postgraduate M.Th. studies and my family

(Many thanks to Philip Mudzidzi from Zimbabwe who is a member of the BWA Emerging Leaders Network and the National Youth/Student Director for the Zimbabwe Baptist Convention.)

Developing Into A Global Leader

2008-11-11T12:30:00.000-08:00

I recently came across an article called “Developing Leaders for the Global Frontier” by Hal Gregerson, Allen Morrison and J. Stewart Black. Written for corporate executives to help them develop the skills and the personnel capable of leadership in a globalized, multicultural context, the authors identify five key characteristics of a global leader.

First, global leaders have an unbridled inquisitiveness. They engage in continuous learning and are “driven by a sense of adventure and a desire to see and experience new things.”

Second, global leaders must have a strong emotional connection based on an “interest and concern for others” that seeks a sincere “understanding of different viewpoints.”

Third, global leaders are undergirded with integrity.

Fourth, global leaders embrace duality by balancing certainty and uncertainty, waiting and initiative.

Fifth, global leaders develop business and organizational savvy though a deep understanding of market trends, ongoing development of personal competence and expertise, an intimate knowledge of their organizations’ strengths and weaknesses, and regular networking with other key leaders from around the world.

The authors recommend several strategies individuals and companies can utilize to develop truly global leaders: travel frequently, establish and personally work on teams with a diverse background and perspective, seek further training and mentoring from key leaders, and look for transfer opportunities in multiple departments or other related organizations in order to broaden your understanding and capability.

In the midst of a multi-cultural, interdependent world, leadership will be increasingly defined by individuals who intentionally develop the capacity, skills, knowledge and humility to serve as global leaders. What are your thoughts on these five key characteristics?

(See Hal B. Gregerson, Allen J. Morrison and J. Stewart Black, “Developing Leaders for the Global Frontier,” in Cross-Cultural Management, Volume II. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2003.)

An Update on Assam, India

2008-11-07T09:16:00.001-08:00

In a post on October 8, 2008, it was noted that Christian believers in the state of Assam had been threatened with recent persecution. One month later there has still been no significant improvement and violence has continued to escalate against civilians of all faiths.

Last Thursday, October 30th, in the state of Assam, bombs in 11 different cities were detonated killing 84 and injuring more than 400. One of these explosions occurred outside one of the oldest Baptist churches in northeast India, killing three.

Please see the following picture of the Baptist church and let us renew our prayers for peace, conflict resolution and for the comfort of all who have been affected by this violence.

Christian Communities in India Targeted

2008-10-08T08:40:00.001-07:00

By a Baptist leader in India

Persecution in India is going on in isolated areas; even our district Karbi Anglong is not that safe anymore. New believers are being threatened and deprived of their basic rights and resources.

The Virvar area where our two church planters are ministering is likely going to be the epicenter for an outbreak of a hate campaign against the Christian community in our Karbi Anglong district. For example, two families (from a nearby village who started to embrace Christ recently) were five times forced to go to their village council meeting where they were beaten. In addition, the houses of the two families were also demolished. We made several attempts to broker peace and understanding but were not successful. Three days ago we went there, and an angry mob (villagers) gathered around us, and we could hardly even speak with them. So in some measure, a psychosis of fear is prevailing.

Even in this situation, 12 new youths are undergoing 20 days training and they are ready to go on an outreach ministry for 40 days in the remote areas that are the least evangelized.

Our workload is increasing but our time and resources seem to be dwindling in relation to meeting the needs. We are committing our lives and work to Him who called us, as He is faithful and able to protect us and fulfill the mission.

Thank you for your prayers.

Editors Note: The above comes in the form of an update and prayer request from a young Baptist leader in India. In recent weeks parts of India have seen the rise of intentional targeting of the Christian community leading BWA General Secretary Neville Callam to issue a letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=940). See also the following two stories by the Economist:
"Marching as to War" (http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12305373),
"The Corss They Bear" (http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10651857)

Living in the Global Community

2008-10-07T11:46:00.000-07:00

By Melody Maxwell

The World is Bigger Than My Context.
It’s easy for me to be consumed by demands of everyday life—work deadlines, church committees, school assignments, family responsibilities—and lose sight of the bigger picture. Sitting in a room with people from dozens of countries puts my concerns in perspective: God’s world is bigger than my world. I have the opportunity—and the responsibility—to listen to and learn from others. I may find that other Baptist groups have very different traditions and perspectives from my own. And I just may learn something valuable as a result.

The West doesn’t have the corner on theology.
In the past, I’ve sometimes been far more interested in snatching up the latest book by the hip thirty-something American church leader than in reading a discussion on the theology of the African church. But after hearing captivating ideas from leaders around the world, I realize that my perspective is far too narrow if I only listen to people who are like me. We in the West need the dynamic, emerging theologies of other contexts—and they need us—to breathe fresh life into our thinking.

Friendship crosses cultural boundaries.
What do a descendant of a slave owner and a descendant of a slave have in common? Plenty, if they’re followers of Jesus! Meeting new friends from around the world has demonstrated to me the power of cross-cultural relationships. It doesn’t matter if our countries, or even our Baptist bodies, have a history of disagreement or conflict. Hearing each other’s stories and praying for one another gives our group a connection that transcends human cultural barriers and reveals a glimpse of the eternal kingdom of God .

World news affects everyone.
After meeting Baptist leaders from around the world, I’ll no longer flip the channel when the news anchor starts reporting on current events in India , or delete an email about religious freedom in Zimbabwe . Now, those places aren’t just dots on a map—they’re represented by faces of my friends. As a result of conversations with other emerging leaders, I understand that my country’s policies affect them, and the actions of their governments have an indirect influence on me as well. I’ve learned that to understand today’s world, global Christians must be global citizens.

**Many thanks to Melody Maxwell who is a member of the BWA Emerging Leaders Network and a magazine editor with the Women's Missionary Union (WMU).

This Week in History: Emerging Leader Biography

2008-10-01T08:47:00.000-07:00

More than fifteen hundred years ago on September 30, 420 the man Sophronius Eusebius Hieronymus passed away in Bethlehem. History records the work of this man under the much shorter name of Jerome.

Born in a far northeastern corner of Italy, Jerome moved to Rome at the age of 12 and was baptized at 19. Before his death Jerome would complete one of the most important translations of the Scriptures – the Vulgate – a translation that eventually became the standard Bible of the Latin-speaking church. Jerome also completed a number of important Old and New Testament commentaries and his writings have had a deep and permanent influence.

In what would eventually become a ministry of global impact, Jerome began his translation of the Bible in 382 at the age of 35.

(For more on Jerome see Justo L. Gonzalez, The Story of Christianity: Complete in One Volume The Early Church to the Present Day. Peabody: Prince Press, 1999, 201-6.)

Reflections on BWA Experience in Prague

2008-09-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

By Samson and Adebola Fatokun

The Prague experience ---

How great it was to be in Prague gathering again with brethren from the Emerging Leaders Network (ELN) and the Baptist community from all over the world. What a refreshing moment of reunion it was!

Just like in Accra, the previous year, the Emerging Leaders’ programme started ahead of the General Session. David Coffey’s teaching on Leadership Qualities was not only remarkable but challenged me to go back and have a noticeable impact on my community. There and then, I received a new vision for a new ministry, which I am henceforth committed to. God used that moment to talk to me loud and clear. As David said, “If you do not take any action in the next three months after leaving this place, you are not likely to take any action at all”; the vision has been shared with my mentor, my church pastor and the General Secretary of the Nigerian Baptist Convention. The vision is so big that it can only be God’s project and the zeal of the Lord will fulfill the vision.

As we meet next year in Amsterdam, at the third meeting of the ELN, you will be informed on how far the Lord has moved in fulfilling the vision he gave me in Prague.

As you remember Prague ---

As in Ghana where emotions in our hearts rose at the slave house memorial and reconciliation service, in Prague the short film on Jan Hus who stood by the authority of the Scripture against threats from the Roman Catholic authorities even to the point of being burnt at the stake also strongly touched my spirit and humbled me. What a level of commitment that was!

During the city tour organized by the Emerging Leaders Network, I noticed through many statues and ancient church buildings the strong traces of Christianity in the history of the Czech people. But today, almost the entire population of the Czech Republic does not know God. I felt very sad.

But rather than being discouraged, three of us in the ELN, were encouraged by the spirit of commitment of Jan Hus and we embarked on a Prayer walk through the city of Prague interceding for the Czech Republic and earnestly praying for a revival that will turn the hearts of the Czech people to the living God.

And as you remember Prague, do not only remember the beautiful city but also remember the major negative shift in belief in that city and join us in interceding for a revival in the land.

** Many thanks to Samson and Adebola Fatokun who are from Nigeria and are members of the BWA Emerging Leaders Network. Samson and Adebola are both employed within the airline industry and active within their local congregation.

Our Prayers - For Those Caught in the Path of Hurricanes

2008-09-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

I recently saw on the news that this week for the first time 45,000 people will be allowed to return to their homes on the coast of Texas following the devastation of Hurricane Ike. Hurricane Ike followed on the heels of Hurricanes Gustav and Hanna that have collectively adversely affected Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Cuba, the United States, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. According to a recent BWA report, one pastor in Cuba reported that Gustav damaged or destroyed some 86,000 houses and that ‘all three hurricanes have caused hundreds of deaths and left tens of thousands homeless.’ (See the full BWA report at: http://www.bwanet.org/default.aspx?pid=907)

For those of you who have been caught in the path of these and other recent natural disasters we want you to know that our thoughts and prayers are with you and know that the journey for recovery will be long and difficult.

For those of you caught in the middle what has this experience been like for you and what are some of your prayer requests?

Welcome

2008-09-25T08:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Emerging Leaders Network Blog of the Baptist World Alliance! This is a forum for Baptist young leaders in the more than 100 countries represented within the BWA to connect with one another. We welcome your feedback as more than anything else this is a point of conversation. All are welcome.

Throughout August as I watched the 2008 Olympics my thoughts kept drifting to the meaning of the often repeated phrase, ‘global community.’ What does it mean to live in global community?

Among other things it surely implies interdependence. Beyond nations, geographies and ethnicities there stretches a more fundamental thread that weaves us together. As the author of Genesis stated, ‘The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.’ (2:7)

Hopefully interdependence implies more than a vague connection to one another. As in the African ethic of Ubuntu: a person is a person only through other persons. Without you I cannot be me. Without you our community is incomplete. We need the culture you represent, the language you speak, the communal traditions that shape your background, the gifts you possess. Though rooted into our own specific contexts we are interdependent and we should be guided by an ethic to stretch out our hands to fellow sisters and brothers around the world in truth, transparency, equality, love and when requested, acts of solidarity. As one poem states:

‘I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see.
I sought my God, but my God eluded me.
I sought my brother, and I found all three.’

As you have questions or concerns; reports, pictures and events in your region of the world; ideas related to ministry and personal discipleship; or any other comments please feel free to pass them on. (Please note the Blog Guidelines. Care will be taken when sharing sensitive information.)

Stretched around the world we are a global community of emerging leaders bound by the common breath of our humanity, enriched by backgrounds of diversity, committed to the holistic advancement of the kingdom of God. We are interdependent.

What does living in ‘global community’ mean to you?