BWA NEWS highlights BICTE in Jamaica

Theology Conference Presenters Confirmed The main presenters and speakers for the 8th

Baptist Interna-

tional Conference on Theological Education (BICTE) have been confirmed. The event will be held in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, from June 28-30; immediately preceding the Annual Gathering that will run from July 1-6 in the north coast Caribbean resort town. The conference will focus on “Perspectives on Pneumatology within the worldwide Baptist Family.” Presenters include Baptist World Alliance® General Secretary Neville Callam; Deji Isaac Ayeboyin, professor of Church History and African Christianity in the Department of Religious Studies, University of Ibadan in Nigeria; and William Brackney, Millard R. Cherry Distinguished Professor of Christian Thought and Ethics, and director, Acadia Centre for Baptist and Anabaptist Studies at Acadia Divinity College in Canada. Other presenters are Graham Hill, lecturer in Pastoral and Leadership Studies and coordinator of Postgraduate Coursework Degrees and Ministry Research Awards at Morling Baptist Theological College in Sydeny, Australia; Doug Weaver, professor

The Evolvement of Baptist Understanding of Ordination

The ordained ministry is rooted in the mission of the church as a corporate body, said Baptist World Alliance® (BWA) General Secretary Neville Callam. Ordained persons, Callam asserted, have no existence apart from their partnership with the general church membership under the lordship of Christ. Callam made these declarations in a lecture he presented Annual Assembly of the Baptist Convention of South

at the 38th

Africa (BCSA) in December 2012. The BWA leader offered an interpretation of the understanding

of ordination among Baptists, from the formative years of Baptist life in the Netherlands and England until the end of the 17th

century.

He suggested that, since that period, Baptist understandings of ordination have continued to evolve. He proposed that each Baptist convention and union clarify its own understanding of the meaning and purpose of ordination and to express these in their ordination rites. Callam said the contemporary situation seems to suggest the need for churches to introduce particular forms of ordained ministry to further the church’s faithfulness to God’s mission and assist those who serve the church in a ministerial capacity.

The BCSA used the opportunity of the assembly to observe its 25th

anniversary as an independent Baptist organization. The BCSA was once part of the Baptist Union of Southern Africa. In addition to delivering the lecture, Callam preached at the

assembly service in which persons were ordained to the ministry. He also met with several Baptist leaders, including Paul Msiza, former BCSA general secretary, a BWA vice president and chair of the Local Arrangements Committee for the Baptist World Congress that is to be held in South Africa in 2015; and Bongani Khumalo, chair of the BWA Constitution and Bylaws Committee. Callam said “BCSA members are looking forward to welcoming the Baptist World Congress when it convenes in Durban, South Africa, in 2015.” He noted that one of the young ministers in the convention, Thembelani Jentile, will be among the main presenters at the 16th Baptist Youth World Conference in Singapore from July 17-21 this year.

South Africa

Registration & other information on BICTE can be viewed on the BWA website

in the Department of Religion at Baylor University in the state of Texas in the United States; and Burchell Taylor, a BWA vice president, pastor of Bethel Baptist Church in St. Andrew, Jamaica, and lecturer at the United Theological College of the West Indies. Respondents are Otniel Bunaciu, president of the Baptist Union of Romania and dean of the Baptist Faculty of Theology, University of Bucharest; Honorina Dela Paz-Lacquian, associate dean at Asia Baptist Graduate Theological Seminary, Philippines; Ademola Ishola, former general secretary of the Nigerian Baptist Convention who is supervisor to Master’s and PhD students at the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary; and Phyllis Rodgerson- Pleasants, former seminary professor and currently a consultant and educator to local congregations and businesses. BICTE is planned by the BWA and is traditionally held every five years. The last conference was held in Prague, Czech Republic, in 2008.

Other guests at the BCSA assembly were Regina Class, general

secretary of the Union of Evangelical Free Churches (Baptists) in Germany and a BWA vice president; David Goatley, secretary- treasurer of the Lott Carey Foreign Missionary Convention and chair of the BWA Mission, Evangelism and Theological Reflection Advisory Committee; and Charles Jones of American Baptist Churches USA and a member of the BWA Congress Committee.

Nigerian Baptists Express Gratitude for BWA Human Rights Visit

Baptists in Nigeria expressed thanks for a Baptist World Alliance® human rights visit to the country in December 2012. “Words are inadequate to express our appreciation to you all for putting your lives on the line to come to us,” said Olasupo Ayokunle, president and chief executive officer of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC). The visit was in response to widespread violence in the West African country allegedly carried out by Boko Haram, a jihadist group that seeks to establish Shariah law in Nigeria. The group has carried out a series of bombings and shootings against Christian churches and government facilities. Casualties have included Baptist pastors and church members. Led by BWA director of Freedom and Justice Raimundo Barreto, the team visited churches in the cities of Kaduna, Jos and Kafanchan that were affected by the violence, offering encouragement on behalf of the worldwide Baptist family. A letter from BWA General Secretary Neville

(Continued on next page) Nigeria

BWA Director of Freedom and Justice Raimundo Barreto exchanging gifts with Patrick Yakowa, governor of Kaduna state in Nigeria, who died just days later in a helicopter crash