A new century for the Baptist World Alliance

By Denton Lotz
General Secretary, BWA

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ!

Jan. 1, 2006, was the beginning of a new century for the Baptist World Alliance. The challenges confronting Baptists and the Church are very different from those of` 1905. Whereas in 1905 the Christian Church was basically in Europe and North America, today the majority movement of the Church has moved to the southern hemisphere and is expanding rapidly in Africa, Asia and Latin America. This paradigm shift brings much joy to the church universal but also many challenges.

For one hundred years the BWA has brought unity to a diverse group of Baptists, representing the whole spectrum of Christian life and thought.

Many Baptist conventions worldwide are experiencing disharmony because of conflict over Christian doctrine and ethics, or over differing views on types of worship, or the charismatic movement. It is for that reason that we must continually re-examine our life and thought in the light of biblical faith. We need to continually stress a Christian worldview.

2. Youth and Emerging Leaders: Now is the time for a new generation of young Baptists to lead our Baptist conventions and unions worldwide. It is sad to see many convention/union leaders hold on to leadership and deny younger leaders the opportunity to lead, even though they are better equipped to deal with the new problems of this generation.

Baptist churches and national organizations must provide space for emerging leaders now. For that reason [BWA president] David Coffey has called for a program of involving emerging leaders in the meetings of the BWA General Council.

3. Theological Education for the Masses: Traditionally Baptists have prided themselves on Bible study through Sunday school classes, etc. Today, however, Christian worship has become more “religion as entertainment.” A whole generation of new Christians has arisen that has not been instructed or discipled.

We need a new type of theological education for pastors that enables them to be teachers and coaches for the churches, not administrators or dictators. Perhaps church-based theological education will bring academia and the people together. The heart and the head belong together. If we do not do this then we should not be surprised at the growth of ignorant fundamentalism and/or faithless liberalism.

The church needs to not only be good obstetricians, bringing people into the churches. We must also be good pediatricians, growing our people to the maturity and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Catechesis and Christian education must be rediscovered as a significant part of our Christian mission.

4. A New Paradigm in Mission: The new fact of our day is that the old paradigm of Western missions is over. We are now entering a new paradigm of the internationalization of the Christian mission. The distinction of sending and receiving churches is over. Now every nation is a mission field and every nation a sending agency.

Western economy and foreign policy has sometimes been viewed by much of the rest of the world as being “Christian.” This is an error. Just as 19th century missions had to fight the evils of colonialism in communicating the Christian faith, it may be that Christians in the Two-Thirds World may have to confront the evils of multi-nationalism and a corrupt and sensate Western culture that has become devoid of Christian values.

5. Personal and Social Ethics: Unfortunately, there is a divide within the Church today between those who emphasize personal ethics and those who emphasize social ethics. Both sides must learn to work together and understand the complementarity of their visions, not their separation. Those who emphasize personal ethics remind the Church of the sins of the flesh, including abortion, adultery, extra and pre-marital sex, homosexual behavior, rumor-mongering and pornography. Those who emphasize social ethics remind the church of the prophetic tradition against war, poverty, corporate greed, corruption, injustice, lack of concern for the poor, racism and human rights.

We must work together in the Church against all non-biblical actions and behavior, be they personal or social. For example, in the same way we are opposed to abortion and the killing of unborn babies, should we not also be concerned about sending young men to war? Just as we are opposed to adultery, we should also be opposed to poverty.

6. Religious Freedom: Most countries of the world would declare that they grant religious freedom. However, with “the clash of civilizations” that followed the fall of communism we see more and more the denial of religious freedom worldwide. The rise of religious nationalism which promotes one religion over the other is increasing. The Baptist solution for the conflict between religions and the state is the separation of church and state. The BWA will continue to be vigilant in defending religious freedom for all peoples. It is for this reason that we look forward to the establishment of a Division of Freedom and Justice with a director who can be dedicated to defending religious freedom worldwide.

7. Women’s Role in the Church: The role of women in the church continues to be a divisive issue among various Christian bodies. The question of ordination has hindered the church from recognizing the gifts that God has given to all his children. Paul reminds the church that in Christ there is neither slave nor free, Jew nor Greek, male nor female. What counts is exercising the gift that God has given to each believer in Jesus Christ.

8. Secularism, Post-Modernism, New Age, Sectarianism: New and pagan philosophies are today as great a threat to the Christian faith as those of the first century. And the Christian response is as varied. Some Christians in trying to relate the Gospel to a postmodern and secular society completely cave in to the demands of relativism and in the end, perhaps naively, end up rejecting the gospel.

Certainly if we are to witness to the world we must relate to the world and its philosophies. We do this not by denying the faith or withdrawing from society but by confronting society, perhaps as a counter-cultural movement, with the truth of the gospel.

If the church in the 21st century is to confront the powers of this world, it must be Spirit-filled and intellectually capable of dealing with the academic. Holding our heads in the sand will only hurt the faith, but encouraging Baptist scholars to confront the ideologies and philosophies of this day will give more opportunity for converting atheistic and agnostic philosophies to a new understanding of God in Christ.

9. The Resurgence of World Religions: The fact is, whether we like it or not, we are living in a multi-cultural and multi-religious world. Because Western European and North American governments are mistakenly viewed by other governments as “Christian” the foreign policy of European and North American countries often become a great hindrance to the evangelization and proclamation of the whole gospel. Thus the local churches in the Two-Thirds World often suffer persecution because of the misguided foreign policies of the West. For this reason the Church in the Two-Thirds World must develop its own indigenous theology that separates the gospel from a Western orientation.

A further challenge to the church universal is how to relate to the various world religions. There are legitimate reasons for Baptists and Christians in a danger zone to cooperate with national governments on peace commissions, aimed at encouraging peaceful co-existence with various religions in conflict.

The larger question confronting the BWA is whether our world constituency is prepared to have conversations with leaders of other religious groups, not for purposes of compromise but as a witness to the truth of Christ which drives us into the world as salt and light.

10. The Kingdom of God: A careful reading of the New Testament will show that the main message of Jesus was the Kingdom of God. In 1905 when the BWA was founded it was the more liberal wing of the church that emphasized the Kingdom of God. More recently Southern Baptists have adopted a program entitled, “Empowering Kingdom Growth,” which also emphasizes the Kingdom of God.

The Baptist World Alliance’s program of relief and development, Baptist World Aid, is part of that wholistic gospel which encourages every BWA member body to be Christ’s hands and feet for a suffering and hurting world.

We do not want a theocracy such as Calvin tried to build in Geneva. Rather, we must be prophetic Christians supporting and encouraging the state in its moral and ethical responsibility to bring justice, protect the power and defend human rights. On the other hand, we must also be a protest movement against governments that deny human rights, profit from corruption and trample on the rights of the poor.

A Kingdom of God ethic centered on personal salvation and social transformation made possible by Christ should be our constant aim.