Posted on Jun 19, 2003 | by Karen L. Willoughby

PHOENIX (BP)--An appeal to unity flowed through remarks made June 18 by Denton Lotz, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, to the SBC annual meeting in Phoenix.

"Bringing men and women to Jesus Christ -- that's what [the] Baptist World Alliance is about," Lotz said during the 10-minute time slot allotted for the international fellowship during the Wednesday morning SBC session.

"We Baptists in the Baptist World Alliance -- 206 conventions -- we want to stick together with Southern Baptists and Baptists in Bangladesh, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan -- all over the world. We belong together because we belong to Jesus Christ."

In the minutes before Lotz spoke, discussion took place about the $125,000 decrease in SBC funding to the BWA passed by messengers June 17 as part of the convention's 2003-04 budget.

Jim Stroud, pastor of Third Creek Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tenn., had made a motion Tuesday afternoon requesting a rehearing on the budget line item that reduced giving to BWA from its longstanding $425,000 to $300,000. Discussion was carried over to the Wednesday morning session.

His concern, Stroud explained, was that other Baptist groups around the world might be discouraged at hearing of the Southern Baptist action.

"Are we really wanting to say to the other 205 member bodies that if you accept the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship as a member organization that we will decrease our funding and will consider whether to withdraw from Baptist World Alliance all together?" Stroud asked. "If we consider the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship our enemy, then let's do what Jesus said: Love your enemies, pray for your enemies, do not return evil for evil, and in doing so, encourage the Baptists of the world."

Paul Pressler, a member of an SBC study committee on concerns relating to the BWA, spoke against a reconsideration of the budget vote.

"We had a number of pressures brought upon us," Pressler explained. "There was a lot of sentiment expressed by Southern Baptists for completely and totally defunding [it]. There was some support for keeping the amount of money at the previous level. We forged a compromise, a compromise we felt we could live with as we looked for the things the Baptist World Alliance is going to do [during upcoming BWA sessions this summer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil].

"We have not taken a precipitous action but a compromise action," Pressler continued. "If this motion is granted and a motion made to restore the funds [passes], I know there will be a motion to completely defund [BWA] and we would be destroying the compromise we reached."

The motion to reconsider the line item failed by a wide majority.

Lotz then was introduced for his previously assigned time for a report on the Baptist World Alliance.

"The Lord has a great sense of humor," Lotz said to general laughter. "We belong together," he said numerous times during his 10-minute report.

He invited Southern Baptists in 2005 to join in the celebration of the 100th anniversary of BWA in Birmingham, England.

"We have 46 million baptized believers [plus uncounted children in] a community of more than 110 million Baptists all over the world and we belong together because we belong to Jesus Christ," Lotz said.

The BWA exec spoke of being greeted at one overseas gathering by a man with remnants of soup in his beard, tying the image to an unnamed Psalm. "Let's pray we have the sweet ointment of Aaron instead of soup running down our face," Lotz said. "We belong together because we belong to Jesus Christ."

It's a new day in missions, Lotz said. In 1900, 85 percent of Christians in the world were in North America and Europe, he explained; today, 60 percent of Christians are in the Southern Hemisphere.

"The Holy Spirit is moving," Lotz said. "Perhaps one day Africans will come and re-evangelize North America and Europe.

"We have to work together in Christ," Lotz continued. "We have to work together for religious freedom ... for the whole world. And that's why we work for reconciliation. What a joy it is in [the] Baptist World Alliance to see brothers and sisters come together in unity."

Lotz listed several strengths Southern Baptists bring to the international fellowship.

"Southern Baptists need to stay in [the] Baptist World Alliance because of your joy and stewardship over the years," Lotz said. "We want your strength in partnership missions. We need you because of your historical commitment to religious freedom. We want you because you have an identity as Baptists.

"We belong together," Lotz continued. "Your Baptist brothers and sisters around the world say to Southern Baptists that we love you. May God bless you. May the spirit of the Lord rest upon you."

The annual BWA breakfast earlier Wednesday morning provided additional insights into the work of the international group.

"The only times Baptists [of different groups] get together is when we bring them together," Lotz said at the breakfast gathering. "It helps religious freedom all over the world for [the] Baptist World Alliance to have dialogues" with leaders of other religious groups, such as Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim and others.

"The Kingdom of God does not consist of talk but of power," Lotz said. "When we're alienated from God we're afraid, but the power of God is no fear."

Kingdom growth is the power of the resurrection, Lotz preached, the power of prayer, the power of love.

"It's that love that communicates the faith," Lotz said. "The message of Jesus? It's love. Love. Love. ... [The] Baptist World Alliance is grateful to the Southern Baptist Convention for its tremendous witness all over the world."

Longtime Southern Baptist promotions specialist Doyle Pennington of Georgia was named in March as the BWA's men's ministries director. One component of this is a self-replicating, one-on-one mentoring and discipleship training module that would consist of 12 sessions of 90 minutes each to be done in no more than a year.

"At the end of one year, there would be two disciples," Pennington explained. "At the end of two years, there would be four. It's a multiplication process that's the missing link in the local church.

"We have all these witness training programs," Pennington continued. "It's just that we've been adding instead of multiplying."

The material used for the training -- already underway in Romania, Germany and South America, Pennington said -- was written by Billie Hanks, founder and president of the International Evangelism Association in Salado, Texas.

Southern Baptists have supported the work of Baptist World Alliance since BWA's founding in 1905.
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