Evangéliumi Hírnök, 2004 (96. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)
2004-02-01 / 2. szám
February, 2004 Page 9. Celebrate BWA Day! February 1, 2004 Baptists Together In Christ... in Justice, in Evangelism, in Aid, in Fellowship d »£’51 ft f SS»3 — — fu. ^orld ^ 'S* Chuck Colson once told me something that has sustained me these 20 years of prison ministry. He said to me, “Rick, remember that the truth will prevail.” And it will! Rick Mathes, leader, Mission Gate Prison Ministry “I Am that I Am” When I think about God, I know his name. He said somewhere, back in the Old Testament, “I want you to go out, Moses, and tell them T Am’ sent you.” He said just to make it clear, let them know that “my last name is the same as my first, ‘1 Am that 1 Am.’ Make that clear. 1 Am.” And God is the only being in the universe that can say “1 Am” and put a period behind it. Each of us sitting here has to say, “I am because of my parents; I am because of certain environmental conditions; I am because of certain hereditary circumstances; I am because of God.” But God is the only being that can just say, “I Am” and stop right there. “I Am that I Am.” And He’s here to stay. Let nobody make us feel that we don’t need God. As I come to my conclusion this morning, I want to say that we should search for him. We were made for God, and we will be restless until we find rest in him. And 1 say to you this morning that this is the personal faith that has kept me going. — excerpt from a sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., preached at New Covenant Baptist Church in Chicago on April 9, 1967 Money Talks If our money could talk, where would it say it had been? A one-dollar bill met a fifty-dollar bill and said, “Hey, 1 haven’t seen you around here much. Where have you been? The fifty-dollar bill answered, “Oh, I spent some time around casinos and playing the lottery, and then I went on a cruise and made the rounds on the ship. I came back to the United States for awhile, went to a couple of pro football games, to the mall—that kind of stuff. Where have you been? The one-dollar bill said, “You know, same old place—church, church, church.” One day our money will talk because we will give an account to God for what we did with it. Although we can’t see inside a person’s heart, we can see where his treasure goes. The Baptist World Alliance, the official global fellowship of Baptists uniting 211 Baptist conventions/unions, was started in London, England, in 1905 at the first Baptist World Congress. For more than a hundred years, Baptist leaders had written of the need of an organization to bring Baptists, a highly autonomous people, together. Ninety five years later, the BWA still exists to provide fellowship, meet human need, lead in evangelism and work for justice. The Baptist World Alliance is best described as a fellowship of believers around the world. Because Baptists do not have one central authority they choose to work together in the BWA. In the BWA we: (1) encourage our brothers and sisters as they struggle under very difficult circumstances to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, (2) learn first-hand from believers around the world how God is working among them, (3) network with Baptist leaders from six continents and become conduits of hope, (4) pray with Baptists who suffer from religious, government or economic injustice and work with them for religious freedom and justice, and (5) deepen and strengthen our Baptist roots and identity. The purpose of the Baptist World Alliance is to empower and enable national Baptist leaders to effectively witness and minister in the name of Jesus Christ and to represent and support Baptists throughout the world in defense of human rights and religious freedom. The Baptist World Alliance is a fellowship of 211 Baptist unions and conventions comprising a membership of more than 47 million Baptized believers. This represents a community of approximately 110 million Baptist ministering in more than 200 countries. The BWA unites Baptist worldwide, leads in world evangelism, responds to people in need and defends human rights. The Goals of the BWA To Unite Baptists Worldwide. To Lead in World Evangelization. To Respond to People in Need. To Defend Human Rights. The Baptist World Alliance defends the right of every man, woman and child to exercise their freedom of religion. From our early history Baptists have suffered, fought for, and defended religious freedom for all people. The BWA speaks to governments on behalf of Baptists in many parts of the world continually struggle to freely worship. Statement from the President Billy Kim Baptist friends around the world deeply regret the decision reached by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to withdraw their membership from the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) and consequently terminate funding to the organization. SBC was a pioneer in the establishment of the BWA, nearly 100 years ago. They have made a tremendous contribution to the Baptist work around the world. All of us are saddened that the SBC are now withdrawing from the BWA. In this secular world other major religious organizations strongly intimidate the body of Christ. Therefore, it is essential that we remain united to fulfill the Great commission before Christ returns. My request is that our global friends will pray for the SBC and the BWA during this period of transition. Pray that we will not lose the focus of our call for fellowship, encouragement and the propagation of the Gospel. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (KJV) Psalm 133:1.
