More Baptist World Alliance Coverage

Both Robert Parham (EthicsDaily.com) and Tony Cartledge (Campbell University, Baptists Today) have provided excellent coverage of the 2008 gathering of the Baptist World Alliance. Below you'll find snippets from Cartledge's posts on the BWA and the Baptist International Conference on Theological Education (BICTE):

Newsblog: BWA Looks Inward, Outward (7/25)

Read Tony Cartledge's overview coverage of the 2008 BWA Gathering.

What Makes a Baptist? (7/27)

The Prague-blogs continue, now from the seventh Baptist International Conference on Theological Education (BICTE), which got underway Saturday afternoon on the campus of the International Baptist Theological Seminay (IBTS). The stately campus is located in a peaceful setting on a ridge of the Sarka Valley, on the outskirts of Prague.

The opening session sought to look both backward and forward, with Ian Randall of IBTS offering a paper on “Tracing Baptist Theological Footprints over the Past Four Hundred Years.” He was followed by Daniel Carro, an Argentian theologian who currently teaches at the John Leland Center for theological studies, who spoke on “Anticipating Kairos Moments that Await the Baptist Theologian of the 21st Century.”

What makes a good theological education? (7/28)

Dominion or Stewardship? (7/28)

Participants in the seventh Baptist International Conference on Theological Education focused on practical – but often neglected – theological issues during a lengthy morning session July 28. About 135 educators and interested persons are meeting at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, the Czech Republic. Two papers were designed to address ecological issues and a proper understanding of creation. Three others dealt with the rampant exploitation of women and children, serious issues on which churches have largely remained silent.

John Weaver, dean of the theology faculty at Cardiff University in Wales, is trained both as a geologist and a theologian. Addressing the global environmental crisis, he reviewed examples of present and looming ecological catastrophes and advanced a theological position that humans are called to be channels of God’s redemption for the earth as well as humanity.

David Gushee, who writes widely and currently teaches at Mercer University, discussed a paper with the provocative title “Can a Sanctity of Human Life Ethic Ground Christian Ecological Responsibility?” Gushee emphasized that the “sanctity of human life” is a much broader topic than the abortion issue, with which it is most commonly heard. Appreciating the sanctity of human life is something of a two-edged sword, Gushee said, because “the more we elevate the sacredness of humans, the more we downplay the rest of creation.” He called for “a radically reframed approach to God, humanity, and the rest of creation.”

Also check out the following articles and blog posts on the BWA:

Baptist Pastors in West Face Decline and in South poverty (7/27)

(Christianity Today) The biggest problem a pastor faces depends on where the minister is located. That was the message from speakers at the Baptist World Alliance annual conference in Prague last week. For pastors in North America, the greatest challenge is the cultural shift away from Christianity, said David Laubach, the North American presenter at the BWA workgroup about church health and effectiveness.

BWA Meeting in Prague (7/24)

Read the thoughts of Jim Hill, Executive Director of the Baptist General Convention of Missouri. Hill is also reporting for the Associated Baptist Press while in Prague.

May It Ever Be So (7/24)

Read the thoughts of Campbell University professor Glenn Jonas: "There is a lot of common ground between Muslims and Christians. Let's celebrate what we have in common rather than fight over our differences. Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God." May God give us the grace and strength to be peacemakers in this violent world!"

Coverage of the Baptist World Alliance

Below is a list of links to articles on the 2008 annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance held in Prague.

Global Baptists Gather Next Week in Prague with Record of Growth, Organizational Change (7/18)

(EthicsDaily.com) When the Southern Baptist Convention voted in June 2004 to withdraw from and defund the Baptist World Alliance, a tiny body stepped up a month later at the BWA's annual meeting in Seoul, South Korea, with a commitment to help rebuild the world's largest organization of Baptist conventions and fellowships....Despite dire predictions about its future, the BWA has had a record over the past four years of numerical growth and successful change—electing new leadership, responding to a horrific natural disaster, restructuring the organization, and making a commitment to new programming. BWA now has an estimated 157,149 churches and 36,943,113 members, compared to 140,538 churches and 31,459,071 members in October 2004.

Baptist World Alliance Aims for Greater Global Representation (7/21)

(EthicsDaily.com) One of the most important topics at the gathering in Prague, Czech Republic, is the matter of restructuring the BWA...."It has become clear to us that neither the General Council nor the current Executive Committee are able to exercise appropriate quality oversight (governance) for an international mission-oriented ecclesial organism in the 21st century," reads the report from the 18-member committee that included BWA President David Coffey and General Secretary Neville Callam.

Baptist Leader Raises 10 Questions About Ordination (7/22)

(EthicsDaily.com) In a document outlining the three sessions of the Church Leadership Commission, Brian Winslade, commission chair, noted that one Baptist distinctive is egalitarianism expressed in principles such as "priesthood of all believers" and "soul competence." These principles set Baptists apart from other historical Christian communions which held to "systems of ecclesial hierarchy." Yet over the centuries, "most Baptist Unions/Conventions have developed (or adopted) systems of credentialing Ministers that appear similar to other historical denominations," wrote Winslade, national ministries director for the Baptist Union of Australia.

Bangladeshi Baptist Leader Receives Human Rights Award (7/23)

(EthicsDaily.com) Dennis Datta stood at the cutting edge of Baptist moral leadership in 2002, criticizing worldwide Baptists and calling them to support a bold plan to halve global poverty by 2015. The Bangladeshi Baptist leader did so two years before the Baptist World Alliance passed a resolution supporting the Micah Challenge, a campaign to pressure governments to keep their pledges to fund the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. His advocacy came four years before the Baptist Center for Ethics' pastoral letter supporting the Micah Challenge and six years before the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pledged to support that initiative.

BWA Meeting in Prague Begins with Prayer, Praise (7/24)

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (ABP) -- Nearly 400 delegates to the Baptist World Alliance's annual gathering in Prague, Czech Republic, raised their voices in prayer and singing as the July 21-25 meeting began with a rousing worship service. The three-day gathering enables Baptists representing many of the 214 national and regional Baptist groups that make up the BWA to gather for worship, fellowship, study and planning.

Pastors' biggest differ by region, BWA Speakers Say (7/24)

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (ABP) -- Global Baptist pastors' problems are as different as the countries and regions in which they minister, according to speakers at the July 21-24 Baptist World Alliance annual gathering in Prague. Over the past year, the worldwide Baptist umbrella organization's church health and effectiveness workgroup has focused its attention on the health of pastors. Three presenters provided glimpses into the particular difficulties pastors experience in North America, Bulgaria and Chile.

Baptist World Aid Seeks to Become Baptist Hub for Disaster and Develop Initiatives (7/25)

(EthicsDaily.com) BWAid proposed "to coordinate Baptist responses to global poverty by connecting Baptist aid and development agencies around the globe," to act "as a broker to ensure speedy and appropriate responses," to facilitate "coordinated emergency responses to disasters situations" and "to educate and challenge our constituency to live justly and promote change to address global poverty."

BWA Leaders Pledge to Tackle Climate Change, Address Zimbabwe (7/28)

(EthicsDaily.com) Baptist World Alliance leaders repeatedly addressed the issue of climate change last week at their annual gathering in Prague, Czech Republic, even extending deliberations in the final session to strengthen a resolution on the issue....Other adopted resolutions included one on Zimbabwe, in which the BWA general council lamented the events there which "have led to economic crisis, social unrest, political uncertainty, and a deterioration in human rights."

Global Baptists Voice Fear, Call for Positive Dialogue with Muslims (7/28)

(EthicsDaily.com) One U.S. Baptist leader said that it was important for Baptists to respond constructively since some Baptists had made such harmful comments about Islam. Pointing out that Baptists had a rich tradition of living respectfully with others, he offered that Baptists would not compromise their core Christian convictions.

The Lessons of the BWA's Emerging Leaders Network

(texasbaptists.wordpress.com) Blake Killingsworth of Dallas Baptist University shares some his thoughts on the subject. Blake is part of the Baptist World Alliance Emerging Leaders Network, which seeks to encouraged and develop leadership skills among younger Baptists.

Historic Gathering of Baptists Held In Vietnam

Here's a bit of international Baptist news on the religious liberty front.

According to the Communist Party of Vietnam Online Newspaper (and several other sources), a large gathering of Baptists will be held next week in Ho Chi Minh City. The Vietnam Grace Baptist Church (a denomination) will holds its first General Conference from January 10-12. An executive council is will be elected and a charter will be drafted. This gathering is a first step towards obtaining the Vietnamese Government's recognition of the Vietnam Grace Baptist Church's status as an official religious organization. In 2006, the Vietnam Grace Baptist Church received a license or religious certificate to legally hold worship services and other activities in Vietnam. The Religion News Blog notes that the Vietnam Grace Baptist Church came into being in the country in 1962 and its membership includes three pastors, 21 missionaries and 2,592 followers living mostly Ho Chi Minh City, Can Tho city and the Mekong delta provinces of An Giang, Kien Giang, Ninh Thuan, Hau Giang and Soc Trang. In addition to the Vietnam Grace Baptist Church, there are four other Baptist groups in Vietnam which was recently listed as the 13th most populated country in the world.

Back in November of 2006 the U.S. State Department removed Vietnam from its list of the world's worst violators of religious freedom in spite of advice to the contrary from a nonpartisan panel. John Hanford, then the United States ambassador at large for international religious freedom, stated that "though important work remains to be done, Vietnam can no longer be identified as a severe violator of religious freedom" as defined under federal law. However, the nine-member U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom had previously urged the White House and Congress to keep Vietnam listed as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

The 2007 International Religious Freedom Report states that the Vietnamese Constitution provides for freedom of worship; however, government restrictions still remained on the organized activities of religious groups. Despite continued restrictions, the Government of Vietnam registered several new religious denominations during the reporting period including the Vietnam Grace Baptist Church.

For more information on the status of religious freedom in Vietnam and the efforts of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Baptist World Alliance in this area - see here and here (BWA statement).

SBC To Reunite With The Baptist World Alliance???

Check out John Pierce's latest post at Baptists Today Blogs.

Recently, John sat down with Neville Callam, the new General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. Read what was said:

Of his many open and interesting responses to my questions, I was intrigued by one in particular. Callum expects the Southern Baptists to return to the century-old fellowship they helped found.

“I entertain the view that in due time members of the Southern Baptist Convention, the leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, are going to recognize the lack they have brought upon themselves by having withdrawn from the Baptist World Alliance,” Callam told me. “I am convinced that in due time, God’s time, the Southern Baptist Convention is going to want to return to … the Baptist World Alliance.”
Those familiar with the story know that the now-fundamentalist-controlled SBC withdrew from involvement in and support for BWA after the more moderate Cooperative Baptist Fellowship was admitted into the BWA in 2003......

An effort by current Southern Baptist leaders to build international relationships apart from, and possibly in competition with the BWA, is “a transient effort, a fleeting moment that’s going to come and going to pass,” said Callam.
“God must want Baptists of the world to be together, not to be segregated in various entities sometimes giving the impression of being at war or in competition with each other,” Callam added.

Is the new general secretary hopeful? Naïve? Realistic? Patient? Who knows.

I go with naively optimistic. Last I checked the men who pushed for BWA withdrawal are still in power. So my question is for Southern Baptists - how many of you desire a return to the BWA. Better yet, how many believe that a return to the BWA is even a possibility in your lifetime?

BWA Speaker Advocates Reparations

Robert Parham of the Baptist Center for Ethics has written an interesting article about a Jamaican Baptist pastor who is advocating reparations for descendants of African slaves.

Parham writes...

A Jamaican Baptist pastor forced the controversial question of compensation to modern-day African descendants for the imprisonment and forced labor of their ancestors at the annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance meeting in Ghana.

Speaking only a hundred yards from the Atlantic coast where millions of West Africans were boarded onto slave ships for the seven-week journey to the Americas, Cawley Bolt asked whether descendants of slaves "have a right to be compensated."

"I'm not begging for anything, but demanding what is ours," the pastor of Ebony Vale Baptist Church in Spanish Town, Jamaica, answered.

The gray-haired Bolt said, "One way to compensate is to put money into educational institutions."

You can read the rest here.

BWA President Addresses CBF

Live from the Hotel.

Great General Session tonight.

After the missionaries were commissioned and songs were sung, President David Coffey of the Baptist World Alliance addressed the General Assembly. Coffey was introduced as THE Global Baptist leader who pushed and pushed for the CBF's membership into the Baptist World Alliance. Indeed an excellent preacher, Coffey challenged Fellowship Baptists to have an anointed ministry like Jesus' in Luke 4. He said that we should know the World like Jesus knew Nazareth. We should know the Bible like Jesus knew the Scriptures. Coffey pointed out that Jesus' reading of Isaiah 61 focused on mercy rather than vengeance. An anointed ministry would produce transformation and be prophetic.

Affirming the need to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, Coffey was not afraid to to speak a positive word about the Charismatic Movement. In fact he adamantly stated that...

Baptists should not be afraid of charismatic practices!

Also during this portion of the sermon, Coffey declared that...

Some people are more concerned with loyalty to following their denominational guru than to the Kingdom of God.

Good words indeed.