BWA leader urges U.S. Baptists to cooperate

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. — Declaring that “the mission of God in this century of glorious missions opportunities needs as much unity as possible,” Baptist World Alliance (BWA) President David Coffey is calling on his Baptist brethren in America to set aside their differences, for Christ’s sake.

Coffey, who was elected in 2005 to a five-year term as BWA president, recently made a tour of the United States. He retired last year after 15 years as general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. Speaking candidly Oct. 24 at Campbellsville Universityabout the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) 2004 withdrawal from the BWA, Coffey said, “The decision saddened me, and I still have some very good friends on the other side of the decision.”

Citing the separation and eventual reconciliation between the apostle Paul and John Mark in the New Testament, Coffey noted, “I think Christians must always hold in their hearts the hope of reconciliation.” Insisting that “very, very little should divide Baptist Christians,” Coffey said, “I’m proud to be a conservative evangelical in the Baptist tradition.” Alluding to SBC leaders’ charges of liberalism among some BWA member bodies, Coffey said, “Are there liberals in the BWA? When you have a family of 34 million baptized believers, inevitably you will have those who will cast themselves as liberals. The real question is: Is the Baptist World Alliance liberal? The answer to that is ‘no.’”