Theologians, Christian leaders and pastors gathered from around the world for the recent Baptist World Alliance Symposium at the German Baptist Seminary in Elstal, Berlin.

A total of 67 Baptists united to discuss Baptist ecclesiology - the theology of the church - at the symposium which focused on the autonomy of the local church, primarily the relationship of the local church to the larger Baptist community of associations.

Held against the backdrop of growing disloyalty among many Baptist churches to their larger convention or union, as well the inner struggle of churches relating to one another, delegates sought to address the question, 'Are Baptist churches autonomous?'

BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz, a member of the planning committee, said, "Whether in Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, or North America, all delegates shared problems in their convention or unions which centered on the question of the local church and its relationship to other Baptist entities."

Presentations came from the perspectives and experiences of Canada, Nicaragua, Britain, the United States, Argentina, Sweden, and other countries.

Presenters included Neville Callam from Jamaica, who was nominated in early March to succeed Lotz as BWA General Secretary upon his retirement in December. Callam presented on the topic, 'Models of the Church in the New Testament'.

Other presenters included former President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain Dr Nigel Wright of Britain, Uwe Sarat of Germany, Solomon Ishola from Nigeria, Toivo Pilli from Estonia, Sergiy Sannikov of Ukraine, John Kok of Malaysia, among others.

At the end of the symposium, a final statement was issued affirming the need for unity.

"For Baptists, the local church is wholly church but not the whole church," it said, adding that, "Historically, Baptists have affirmed the theological and practical necessity of relating to sister churches for discernment and action".

The foundational understanding of the Church was, it said, that "Christ is in the midst of His church as its Lord. As the head of the church He empowers and equips it for holistic mission and ministry, and grants it its freedom."

Delegates also appealed to the Baptist World Alliance to convene an international group of theologians, pastors and denominational leaders to produce a discussion paper about the ecclesial significance of structures beyond the local church. The paper would be used as a basis for discussion and action in the regions, conventions and unions, theological institutions, associations, international structures and the local churches.

There are an estimated 160,000 local Baptist churches around the world in more than 130 countries belonging to several hundred conventions and unions.


For more information on the BWA, please visit: www.bwanet.org


[Source: BWA]