By Robert Marus and Jim White
Denton Lotz, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, began his report to the BWA executive committee meeting in Falls Church by asking his wife, Janice, to join him at the podium. With her at his side, he announced that he had authorized the personnel committee to begin the process of searching for his successor.
Citing the excitement that had characterized the reports to that point, he indicated that the time had come for him to step aside. “If this were a low point in the life of the BWA, it would be the wrong time to announce my intention to leave. But this is a high point. You can feel the sense of excitement [in reviewing what had been accomplished].”
Anticipating that some might question why he allowed himself to be elected for a five-year term last summer at the Baptist World Congress in Birmingham, England, he said, “Why didn't I announce this decision at Birmingham last summer? Because our Centennial Celebration was a time of unity.”
His desire to spend more time with his grandchildren and his 67th birthday in January were also factors that influenced his decision, he said.
Lotz, who has led the organization since 1988 and who earlier served as its evangelism director, said he and Janice had turned to Scripture, prayer and the counsel of wise friends in making the decision. He also said he made the decision in complete freedom, with no pressure for him to retire.
Lotz said the process for selecting a new general secretary will begin immediately, and he hopes to announce a more specific time frame for his departure when the BWA General Council meets July 3-8 in Mexico City.
The BWA personnel committee will serve as the search committee. Baptists from each of the BWA's six continental regions are represented on the panel.
BWA President David Coffey said the announcement causes a “heaviness of heart,” but it “takes a really good leader” to know when it's time to make such a change. He added that it is a “great time to be a Baptist Christian” because the world body has attained a new level of maturity. As a result, Coffey said, this is a good time to begin the process of choosing a new general secretary.
Lotz and Tony Peck, secretary of the European Baptist Federation, also announced that a Baptist denomination from Central Asia had withdrawn from both the BWA and EBF. Leaders of the Baptist Union of Kazakhstan cited differing doctrinal practices as a reason for their move. Their opposition to charismatic expressions and woman pastors were among their concerns.
Lotz pointed out that because of their years of repression as a communist state, the relationship with the west has been difficult for Baptists of Kazakhstan-particularly with respect to cultural mores and what they view as morally and socially acceptable behavior.
BWA leaders responded to their concerns by reminding them that Baptist polity would not allow the BWA to prescribe the doctrinal standards of member bodies.
Peck said EBF and BWA officials made much the same argument to Kazakh Baptist leaders and other Central Asian Baptist leaders during a meeting in Kyrgyzstan in February. He also said leaders from the Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Kyrgyzstan had expressed similar concerns, but had not announced any formal action to EBF or BWA.
“I think the main issue is not those issues themselves. It was what they are asking of the EBF and the BWA,” he said. “And we tried to remind them that we are not a church .… We are a fellowship of member bodies.”
But, Peck added, “this is quite a difficult idea for the Central Asian Baptists to get their mind around” in a region where Baptist denominations tend to be very conservative and authoritarian.
Peck said that Kazakh Baptist leaders began expressing similar concerns to European Baptist leaders as early as 12 years ago. They demanded that EBF and BWA separate themselves from any member denomination that allows churches to ordain women or take stands on other controversial issues with which Kazakh Baptist leaders would disagree.
But Peck pointed to BWA's confessional statement and said the group was not a doctrinal police force. “We're not set up to be an organization that disciplines and excommunicates member bodies,” he said.
he EBF is composed of more than 800,000 baptized believers in approximately 50 national or regional Baptist bodies across Europe, Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East. The Kazakh Baptist group has, according to the EBF's website, 10,774 members in 289 churches.
Peck also said that three other groups have joined the EBF in recent months-small Baptist unions in Sweden and Kosovo, as well as a newly founded Baptist church in Baghdad.
Robert Marus is Washington bureau chief for Associated Baptist Press. Jim White is editor of the Religious Herald. Ferrell Foster of the Baptist General Convention of Texas contributed to this story.