Southern Baptists across the nation are planning their emphasis for the International Missions Study, the Week of Prayer and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.
But along with the pack of resources provided by the International Mission Board (IMB) and Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) comes criticism of racially insensitive material.
Robert Parham, director of the Baptist Center for Ethics, claims the poster depicting an African man in “tribal” attire is offensive because the theme of the poster is “Dispel the Darkness.” He also questioned a small beam of light shining on the man.
Parham’s remarks were published in the Nov. 6 edition of his e-mail newsletter, bcE*byte, and then picked up by The Washington Post.
“WMU regrets that anyone would find the photograph offensive,” said Teresa Dickens, WMU spokeswoman.
“It was never our intent to communicate a racially-biased message,” she said. “Our goal was to capture the attention of Southern Baptists and communicate the urgency of sharing the gospel message of Jesus Christ. Giving to international missions is one way Southern Baptists can share the message.”
Dickens said the photograph was selected because it depicted the 2000 theme of “Dispel the Darkness.” “The bright light shining on the open Bible communicates the impact of the gospel as it is shared among the unreached peoples of the world.”
Mark Kelly, a spokesman for IMB, told Religion News Service that the man in the photo is a Christian member of the Samburu tribe of East Africa translating the Christian Bible into his tribal language.
Dickens estimated about 200,000 posters have been distributed to Southern Baptist churches, with the goal of raising $115 million for international missions through the annual Christmas offering. (TAB)
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