Until the time comes that I join the heavenly chorus singing praises to God for all eternity, I do not expect to experience anything closer to heaven than the closing moments of the 100th anniversary Baptist World Congress held recently in Birmingham, England.
On the stage was a mass choir of several hundred voices — Baptist choirs from Hungary, Brazil, Korea and the United States together with groups from various regions of India, several South American and Caribbean countries, numerous African groups and other musical groups from Canada, England and many other places. Most wore national dress, adding spectacular color and variety to the moment.
Along with the nearly 13,000 participants who attended the closing ceremony, the choir sang the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s “Messiah” with each participant singing in his or her own language. Standing behind my wife, Pat, and me was a pastor from Myanmar (formerly Burma). Next to him was a pastor from Ghana. On my right was a family from England and in the row below, a couple from Hong Kong.
Imagine the sound as we all sang “hallelujah” in our various languages and accents. Imagine the colors of dress and skin tones. Imagine the reality of “every tongue and every tribe” praising God together. It was a moment that will long live in my memory and, I believe, in the memory of all who experienced that blessed time.
This centennial congress featured more international participation than any other meeting of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). While exact numbers are not known at this time, it is known that more than half of the participants came from countries other than the host nation or the United States. It was the largest representation ever in terms of international participants or Baptist groups represented.
For five consecutive evenings, Baptists practically filled the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham to hear such speakers as Rick Warren, author of the best-selling “The Purpose Driven Life;” Billy Kim of South Korea, outgoing president of BWA; Fausto Vasconcelos, president of the Brazilian Baptist Convention; Solomon Ishola, general secretary of the Nigerian Baptist Convention and others.
Each morning, participants gathered for Bible study conducted in German, Korean, Russian, Spanish and English. The afternoons featured focus groups around topics ranging from religious persecution to human trafficking to Baptist identity in the next 100 years. Special programs were available for children and youth. It was a busy time.
Official Southern Baptist participation was missed. Kim told the General Council meeting prior to the congress that his great failing as president was the exodus of the Southern Baptist Convention. Several times, prayers were offered that the breach between Southern Baptists and the BWA could quickly be healed.
As if to address concerns raised by Southern Baptists, BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz told those attending the business session of the congress that he was speaking on behalf of the General Council when he declared that the BWA opposes premarital sex, extramarital sex and homosexuality. Lotz’s statement was based on resolutions adopted at previous sessions of the General Council.
The General Council also approved its first doctrinal statement since 1923 titled “Message from the Centenary Congress” (see page 7). It is a short statement and acknowledges it “is partial and incomplete.” Yet the statement affirms the heart of the gospel. In paragraph three, for example, the statement reads, “Those assembled … rejoice that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, revealed in the Scriptures as fully God and fully human, and whose life shows us the way of true discipleship, was crucified for us and was raised from the dead on the third day to save us from our sins.”
Paragraph 12 reads, “Those assembled … confess the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross, dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, who by his love reconciles believers with our loving God.”
Paragraph 10 declares, “Those assembled … affirm that Believers’ Baptism by immersion is the biblical way to publicly declare discipleship for those who have repented of sin and come to personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.”
Concerning the Bible, the statement reads, “Those assembled … declare that the divinely inspired Old and New Testament Scriptures have supreme authority as the written Word of God and are fully trustworthy for faith and conduct.”
Again these positions are consistent with statements adopted by BWA over the years. In a series of Conferences on Unevangelized People in the mid-1990s, BWA urged Baptists to learn from and respect people of other religions but to “remain totally committed to the uniqueness of Jesus Christ as the only way to find salvation and peace with God.”
The statement was unanimously approved by the General Council and enthusiastically received by the messengers. There was no question about the authority of the Bible or Jesus as the only way of salvation. Those are doctrines shared by Baptists everywhere.
Alabama Baptists will be well represented in the coming five-year cycle of BWA life. Samford University President Thomas E. Corts and national Woman’s Missionary Union Executive Director Wanda Lee will serve on the General Council. Corts will also serve as vice chair of the Baptist Heritage and Identity Commission, and Lee will be vice chairman of the Implementation Task Force. This writer will again chair the BWA’s communications committee and serve as vice chairman of the resolutions committee.
Numerous Alabama Baptists will serve on various commissions including Timothy George of Beeson Divinity School, retired Mobile pastor Darrell W. Robinson, Samford University Provost Brad Creed, faculty members from Samford University and Judson College and several lay members from churches across the state.
No other venue serves the role of the Baptist World Congress and no other organization brings the Baptists of the world together on equal footing like BWA. The 100th anniversary congress was a great experience worthy of the wonderful history and contributions to Baptist life made by BWA. It was a privilege to participate.
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