| Vol. 1, No.4 |
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"This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Baptist World Alliance which first met in the Exeter Hall in London in 1905. That long ago event represented about 7 million Baptists worldwide coming from a little over 2 dozen countries. Now the Baptist World Alliance is representative of 211 denominations in 200 countries which include 46 million baptized believers and over 100 million adherents making it the largest body of Protestant believers in the world. The story is only partly told in the numerical growth of this part of God's family, there are also great expectations of what God will be doing in the future. Before we look at the present and future, let me take you back to the opening night of the BWA assembly where an actor playing the first Chairperson of that 1905 founding convention, Alexander Maclaren, spoke to those of us assembled in Birmingham. "Alexander Maclaren" told us that we must remember two things that were foundational to our Christian heritage and faith: first, we must do everything in the name of Jesus and secondly, we must do everything in the power of the Holy Spirit. I could not think of any better reminder or greater encouragement to begin a series of meetings than that—it is instructional for personal formation and for the deepening of our communities. This exhortation was followed by some gentle advice from the Archbishop-elect of York who brought greetings from the Anglican church in Britain and then said to the assembled throng: "Stay close to God, stay close to humanity and bring both God and humanity together. Both these servants of God were not aping spiritual clichés but laying a foundation for the week. You got the sense in the first two days of the BWA (which, incidentally meets every 5 years) that this was far more than the meeting of a network but the re-covenanting of a people before God. The theme of this week is “Jesus Christ Living Water” and that theme is being embellished in talks on justice and mercy, visuals, and music in every form that remind us of our thirst yet draw us to the source of how that thirst can be met in Jesus. There is such amazing diversity here with over 100 countries represented in the 13,500 delegates. There are about 150 Canadians and we are well served and represented by Bruce Milne, a just-retiring BWA vice- president and Gary Nelson, our general secretary and newly appointed vice-president. I'm going to ask them to share their impressions a little later on in the summer. When the BWA first met in 1905, there were 3,000 delegates representing the developed world in which 85% of all Christians lived. This week in Birmingham is a reminder that a shift in the face of Christianity has occurred with only 40% of Christians coming from the developed world and 60% coming from the 2/3’s developing world. Our diversity yet unity in Christ came, for me, in the high point ofthe first night's service, when our actor friend Alexander Maclaren, a woman from Africa and a young developmentally-challenged man from England (who signed for us) led us in the Apostle's Creed—one faith, one Lord Jesus indeed. Much, much more, next week... Warmly in Christ Jeremy Bell " |
