MAJOR STEPS TOWARD Reconciliation in Kenya B CALLAM CALLS FOR Rethink on Ethnicity C


hristian unity may require rethinking the use of the language of ethnicity, said Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam, at a lecture in Texas in the United States. Callam, who delivered the annual T. B. Maston Lectures in Christian Ethics at Hardin-Simmons University’s (HSU) Logsdon Theological Seminary in Abilene, Texas, in April, argued that “terms like ‘ethnic’ or ‘ethnicity’ are not as unproblematic as some may think.” In his first lecture, titled Ethnicity: Establishing Borders of


Exclusion, Callam identified three principal understandings of ethnicity and suggested that terms such as “ethnic” and “ethnicity” may be understood as mythical concepts that play a major role in social differentiation, and may actually be used to promote negative stereotypes. While the concept of “ethnic churches” is not used in the same way by all those who adopt the term, it appears that “[the] designation is reserved for churches formed by immigrant people or for persons deemed to be minorities in their residential context,” Callam said. Callam asked that care be taken in the use of the language of ethnicity and offered suggestions on how this can be achieved.


In his second lecture, entitled Communion: Celebrating


Inclusive Community, Callam posited that Holy Communion is a community meal that potentially can overcome boundaries that Christians construct through the use of ethnic categories. The meaning of Holy Communion as a community-defining


and solidarity-conferring meal, he said, “implies that Christians need to deconstruct their understanding of ethnicity in order to enable the acknowledgement of our common bond in Christ Jesus.” In this way, he continued, “the Lord’s Supper will be a celebration of grace, a banquet of love, and a festival of solidarity.” The T. B. Maston Lectures in Christian Ethics is an annual


lecture series presented by Logsdon Seminary and The Logsdon School of Theology of HSU. The lectures seek to honor the legacy of Dr. T.B. Maston, longtime professor of Christian ethics and pioneering Baptist ethicist, known for his writing and teaching in the areas of biblical ethics, race relations, family life, church and state, and character formation.


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aptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam has praised leaders of the Baptist Convention of Kenya (BCOK)


for the courageous actions they took during a recent meeting at their national church office in Nairobi. After years of conflict and division, the leaders decided it was time to take decisive action to turn the corner on their difficulties.


The parties attending the meeting drafted and signed a letter to


the Kenyan Registrar of Societies withdrawing charges they had made against each other. In addition, action was taken to bring to an end legal action that had commenced against specific leaders in the convention.


The process toward reconciliation included a marathon meeting


involving leaders of the BCOK, the All Africa Baptist Fellowship (AABF), and the BWA. In their follow up to this meeting, Paul Msiza and Harrison Olan’g, former AABF president and general secretary, respectively, traveled to Kenya for further discussions with the wider Kenya Baptist family. After his election to the presidency of AABF, Michael Okwakol from Uganda continued to press for reconciliation among Baptists in Kenya. At the recent Nairobi meeting in March, Callam was joined by Okwakol and together they witnessed the major step in the reconciliation process. Apart from the action taken to remove major obstacles to peace in the convention by, among other things, discontinuing legal actions, encouragement was given by Callam to the team that continues to work on the revision of the BCOK constitution. In addition, consideration has been given to initiatives that will be taken as a prelude to a General Assembly at which BCOK will choose its leaders. Callam has appealed for prayers for all who are seeking to


complete the process of reconciliation, especially Daniel Thieri, Julius Mbagaya and Shem Okello.


Callam with participants at the reconciliation meeting in Kenya in March


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