BWA Congress 6 - freedom in Christ

There is a special grace reserved for those who forego the delights of Hawaii’s beaches and stay for a whole day’s programme, even a Baptist World Congress programme!  But this has been an exceptional day for me, one to lift the spirits, enrich the soul and touch the heart. 

The morning’s Bible study was led by Pr Pablo Deiros (right), President of the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  He preached on the passage Luke 4:14f when Jesus took the scroll of Isaiah in his hands and spoke of preaching good news to the poor and proclaiming freedom to the captive.  He did so expertly and with passion.  However, where he connected with people most was when he spoke on the idea that “to preach freedom (v18) we must be free ourselves.”  Well, that seems obvious but he told of his early years when as an outwardly gifted young pastor he was doing well, but inwardly all was not well with his life.  He spoke of the Sunday afternoon in 1983 when God broke him and filled him with the Holy Spirit, and how that evening God told him to pray for the sick.  He did so obediently and many were healed!

Of course, we love stories like that, and often remember them.  But we are no different to Pablo and I am not alone in knowing times when outwardly all appears well but inwardly there is an ailment of the soul.  My private prayer this morning was to resolve to never inhabit that place a second longer than I need to do so. 

The plenary bible study was followed by break out groups, each with somewhere between 200 and 400 people.  I went to hear Julie Pennington-Russell, the pastor at First Baptist Church, Decatur, Georgia, USA.  I didn’t know Julie other than by reputation and through her story of recent years and in conversation with her and her husband Tim afterwards, I was not disappointed in finding her to be a delightful personality.  Julie will be visiting the UK next year, more of which I'll share in due course.

Over lunch I had been invited to attend a meeting of a small group of pastors and academics who are exploring a future edition of ‘Review and Expositor’ , a journal published in the USA.  Even a 2-hour planning meeting was stimulating, and I hope some of the ideas for a publication in 2012 come to pass.

This afternoon, as a candidate for some of that special grace I spoke about earlier, I served as Chair of one of the BWA forums under the theme of ‘Pastoral Leadership Amidst Change – how churches minister to unmarried couples”.   One of the hopes for BWA in the next few years is that we grapple with serious topics with courage.  Today typified that approach.  The two main contributors were Kwame Adzam, from Trinity Baptist Church in South London and Bill Wilson, President of the Centre for Congregational Health in N Carolina (left).  Kwame will be known to many in the UK who read this blog, a gifted pastor and a man with a real heart for God and people.  More about Bill’s organisation can be found at www.healthychurch.org. 

These brothers led us superbly, with grace, humility and care on a pastorally sensitive subject.  The church can so often 'get it wrong' when it comes to discussing issues like this.  I said at the end that the litmust test for me was whether a cohabiting couple would have felt at ease in listening to today's discussion.  I believe they would have been at ease, and been touched by the compassion displayed.  I’ll blog on this subject in the next few weeks as it merits space of its own, but I’ll draw on the insights we were able to share today, as well as those we gained from an attentive and insightful group of attendees.

This evening’s celebration was extraordinary in its musical variety.  Our very able resident American worship group were augmented by a Korean children’s chorale of more than 300 (right), a jazz rendition of a traditional gospel medley, three pieces from Rodney McCann, New Zealand Pastor and opera singer, and a mens acapella choir from Nagaland.  If its sounds a strange mix, take my word for it, it worked. 

Karl Johnson, General Secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union, preached powerfully and rounded off the day well with a call to retain our confidence in the preaching of the word. This is proving to be a most excellent Congress!

David Kerrigan

Comments

[Paul Lavender]

David

I remember Rodney McCann warmly from his London Days. I first cam across him at Bloomsbury Central in Howard Williams days, and his passion for the classics was matched only by his passion for the Lord!

Thanks for your updates - sounds like the the ministry of the word is finding good soil. May it be so for all of us!

Shalom

[David Kerrigan]

His voice is undimmed Paul - and he's such a gracious guy. His rendition of "I have decided to follow Jesus... no turning back" was very moving for its simplicity. I should say too he was beautifully accompanied by Tony Peck on Piano.

[Geoff Colmer]

Hi David! To follow on from Paul, I met Rodney when he sang with Opera North for several seasons. Most memorably was when he sang the significant role of John the Baptist in Richard Strauss's Salome. It was sensational! It sounds as though you're having a good time!

[Sue]

Freedom in Christ!

Then how do you explain what is depicted and described here?

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~spanmod/mural/panel13.html

http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/cruelty.html

http://www.logosjournal.com/hammer_kellner

All of which was done by righteous true believers (forever marching into war). And which became inevitable the very moment that the church was co-opted by the Roman state and thus became an integral player in the Western drive for total power and control over every one and every thing.

[David Kerrigan]

Sue - you appear to have posted elsewhere on this blog as John (same IP address) unless you are indeed two people sharing a computer?

However, whilst readily acknowledging the failings of the church at periods in its history, and in some significant respects even to this day, the freedom in Christ of which I speak is very real. Like the 'John' post, I think you overstate the case by referring to the 'Jesus never existed' kind of conspiracy theory. You'd be hard pressed to find a serious historian who didnt acknowledge that the historical evidence for Jesus is beyond debate. Peace.