Baptist WORLD


July/September 2012 Volume 59, Number 3


Former BWA Director Honored


Tony Cupit, former direc- tor of the Baptist World Alliance


(BWA) Divisions of Evangelism and Education and Study and Re- search (both now merged into the


Division of Mission, Evangelism and Theological Reflection), was conferred with an honorary doctorate by the John Leland Center for Theological Studies.


Described by Leland as “among the great international figures in


Baptist life today,” Cupit, an Australian, was keynote speaker at the June 9 graduation ceremony for the class of 2012. He was honored “for his extraordinary leadership in ministry over some forty plus years.” The citation praised Cupit as a pastor, missionary, Bible translator,


author, church executive and international Baptist leader whose ministry exemplified the model of transformational leadership in global ministry. Cupit was BWA director from 1991 to 2005. Prior to that, he


served the Australian and international Baptist communities in a number of capacities, including as a missionary to Papua New Guinea where, among other things, he and wife, Margaret, played leading roles in translating Christian scripture into the indigenous language. In his address, Cupit recounted the sacrificial discipleship of Christians in various parts of the world, past and present, including Baptists. He told the gathering that “the church in the world, including its Baptist expression, continues to be a martyr church.” Recounting past and recent episodes of martyrdom and persecution, he said “if taking up a cross is metaphorical for us, let us always remember it is a reality for our brothers and sisters in Christ in different places throughout the world.” Cupit explained that “Jesus connected his messiahship with


suffering and death” which, at first, “was incomprehensible to the disciples.” He encouraged the graduates to “take up Jesus’ cross,” asserting that “the easy way is not the way of Jesus” because Jesus offered his followers a “life of denial, hardship and sacrifice.” Twenty persons graduated from the Leland Center. The


theological school traces its origins to ideas proposed at a Baptist International Conference on Theological Education held by the BWA in Vancouver, Canada, in 1997.


2 BAPTIST WORLD MAGAZINE


CONTENTS


5 BWA NEWS IN BRIEF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY


11 THOMAS HELWYS: Unlikely Prophet of Universal Religious Freedom


14 Religious Liberty in a Multi-Cultural Context


15 The BWA Historical Commitment to Religious Liberty


16 BWA Resolutions on Religious Freedom


17 Veiled Violence: BWA Report on Religious Freedom Violations


in Pakistan


18 Callam Raises Religious Freedom Concerns with US Secretary of State


ACTIONS & VISITS


BY THE GENERAL SECRETARY 19 Callam Calls for Rethink on Ethnicity


Baptist World Editor: Eron Henry, E-mail: ehenry@bwanet.org Copy Editor: Lauren Weaver


Published quarterly by the Baptist World Alliance, 405 North Washington Street, Falls Church, Virginia 22046 USA. Telephone: +1-703-790-8980; Fax: +1-703-893- 5160; E-mail: BWA@bwanet.org; Website: www.bwanet.org. Preferred Periodicals postage paid at McLean, VA 22101, and additional entry points.


The Baptist World Alliance is a fellowship of 222 Baptist conventions and unions comprising a membership of more than 41 million baptized believers and a community of 110 million. The BWA unites Baptists worldwide, leads in world evangelism, responds to people in need, defends human rights and promotes theological reflection.


For information on bulk orders, write to the Communications Division, Baptist World Alliance, 405 North Washington Street, Falls Church, Virginia 22046 USA. Previous volumes of Baptist World are available in microfilm from University Microfilms International, 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106, USA.


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