IN MEMORIAM

of the Commission on Church Leadership and member of the Commission on Baptists Against Racism. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, he held degrees and diplomas from the Baptist Theological College of Southern Africa and the American Baptist Seminary of the West. Funeral service was held September 2 at First Presbyterian Church of Granada Hills. He leaves wife, Beverley; and children, Sherwyn, Candice and Carmen.

Lien Hwa Chow, former president of the Asia Baptist Graduate Theological Seminary (ABGTS), died on August 6, in Taiwan. He was 96 years old.

Chow was one of the leading Baptist theologians and theological educators on the Asian continent, serving in academia for much of his adult life. He was professor at Taiwan Baptist Theological Seminary from 1954-1985 and president of ABGTS, a consortium of nine seminaries in eight countries, from 1995- 2004.

He pastored Grace Baptist Church in

Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, between 1954 and 1985.

Chow was a longstanding member of

the Baptist World Alliance General Council and served on the BWA Commission on Religious Liberty and Human Rights and the Commission on Doctrine and Interchurch Cooperation.

Born in Shanghai, China, he was the author of more than 50 books, mostly in Chinese. He was a translator of the Today’s Chinese Version of the Bible, was chair and translator of both the Revision of Union Version and the Inter- Confessional (Catholic and Protestant) Bible and chief editor and author of the Chinese Bible Commentary series.

Chow was chair of the Board of Directors

of Tunghai University, the first private and the second oldest university in Taiwan, on three occasions in the 1950s, 60s and 90s; chair of the Board of Directors for World Vision Taiwan between 1990 and 2004; and was a member of the Board of Directors of World Vision International from 1992-2003, being the chair of its auditing committee between 2000 and 2003.

He was a longtime chaplain to Chiang Kai- shek, former leader of Taiwan, and his family. Chow held degrees from the University of Shanghai in China, and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in the United States; was a visiting scholar at Princeton Theological Seminary in the US, and at Regents Park College of Oxford University in the United Kingdom; and was conferred with honorary doctorates by Samford University and Mercer University, both in the US.

He was predeceased by his wife, Marie

Yuan, in 2009. He leaves sons, Joel, John and Joshua.

28 BAPTIST WORLD MAGAZINE

Desmond Hoffmeister, former general secretary of the Baptist Convention of South Africa (BCSA), died on August 20, at 56 years old.

At the time of his passing, he was pastor of Granada Hills Baptist Church in California in the United States, and served five years as executive minister for American Baptist Churches of the Rocky Mountains. In 1989, Hoffmeister led a protest walkout during the Annual Assembly of the Baptist Union of Southern Africa, which was being held in a military barracks. He joined the BCSA that same year, becoming its general secretary in 1994 and serving until 1999.

He pastored the Ennerdale Baptist Church in a black township in Johannesburg during which time he became involved in the anti-apartheid struggle and in peacemaking initiatives. In 1998, he started Bethany Baptist Church, the first black-led inner-city Baptist church in Johannesburg, which includes members from South Africa and other African countries.

As BCSA general secretary, Hoffmeister led the group’s churches to develop initiatives in economic and community development as well as theological education. He played a pivotal role in the reconciliation process between black and white South African Baptists, calling for a historical reckoning of the white group’s complicity in apartheid before true reconciliation could occur. He participated in the South African Church Leaders Forum and was a founding member of the National Religious Leaders Forum. Upon moving to the US in 1999,

Hoffmeister became the Drexler Scholar-in- Residence at the American Baptist Seminary of the West and was appointed a NEW LIFE missionary by National Ministries of the American Baptist Churches USA. He was called as pastor of Granada Hills Baptist Church in 2009. Hoffmesiter was involved with the Baptist

World Alliance in a number of capacities, including as a member of the General Council, the Executive Committee, the Baptist World Aid Committee, the Resolutions Committee, the Congress Program Committee and the Membership Committee; as well as vice chair

Trevor Spicer, national treasurer of Australian Baptist Ministries for 15 years, died on February 26. An

accounting professional, Spicer’s leadership extended locally in the Diamond Valley Baptist Church in Melbourne, regionally in the Baptist Union of Victoria (BUV), nationally through Crossover and Australian Baptist Ministries, and globally through the Asia Pacific Baptist Federation and the Baptist World Alliance. At the Diamond Valley Baptist Church, Spicer was chair of the Church Council. He chaired the BUV’s Council for three years and was director of its Administrative Services. He held roles with the Baptist Financial Services, the Leprosy Mission and Mobile Mission Maintenance.

BUV, Spicer moved on to Global Interaction, formerly

After eight years of service with the Australian Baptist Missionary

Society, and introduced a range of new processes that enhanced Global Interaction’s ministries. He provided pastoral care visits to Global Interaction staff in Kazakhstan, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Outback Australia.

Spicer was a former member of the BWA General Council, the Executive Committee, the Budget and Finance Committee, the Congress Committee, the Commission on Baptist Worship and Spirituality, the Commission on Religious Liberty and the Commission on Church Leadership. He was floor event manager at the Baptist World Congress in Melbourne in 2000. A Certified Public Accountant, he had

specialty skills in finance, strategic planning, risk management and governance. He was a member of the Australian Institute of

LIEN HWA CHOW

DESMOND HOFFMEISTER

TREVOR SPICER