Kim's grace accompanies regret over SBC-BWA chasm

by   Staff                                                                                                                                                  Vol. XVII, No. 2, February 2004

[Note: This article is one of 3 in this Banner on the SBC-BWA problem. Be sure to read them all.]

A gracious spirit marked the response by Baptist World Alliance President Billy Kim to the possibility of the Southern Baptist Convention withdrawing from the BWA.

Kim, in a Dec. 19 statement issued to Baptist Press, said, "Baptist friends around the world deeply regret the decision [that may be] reached by the Southern Baptist Convention to withdraw their membership from the Baptist World Alliance and consequently terminate funding to the organization. [The] 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 [is] now withdrawing from the BWA.

"In this secular world other major religious organizations strongly intimidate the body of Christ," Kim, pastor of Central Baptist Church in Suwon, Korea, said of countries where Baptists and other evangelicals face challenges as a minority faith. "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." Kim concluded his written statement by quoting Psalm 133:1 from the King James translation: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!"

Kim, in a telephone interview with Baptist Press, said he is not surprised and did not take exception to various concerns shared with him by SBC leaders about the BWA. "Adding CBF was the straw that broke the camel's back, I think. But, there was a majority vote."

Kim's statement referenced a 75-28 vote to accept the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship into BWA membership during a BWA General Council meeting last July in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Numerous leaders of the CBF, a breakaway organization from the SBC formed in the early 1990s, have been critical of the SBC's conservative stances on biblical authority and various cultural issues.

Kim said Southern Baptists "remain my friends. I am close to many SBC leaders. ... I've asked our general secretary that we ensure a soft landing" in SBC-BWA relationships. The SBC does "a wonderful job" in its commitment to sharing the Gospel around the world, Kim said. "I hope that we will work together to reach the lost."

Morris Chapman, president of the SBC executive committee, said he and other members of the study committee have "profound gratitude to Billy Kim for his outstanding leadership as president of the Baptist World Alliance. He maintained a spirit of fairness in our good faith discussions with him throughout the process. He is a dear friend to Southern Baptists. Although in recent years, convention representatives have expressed disagreements with the BWA general secretary, Denton Lotz, the committee prays for God's continued blessing upon his leadership and the far-flung work of the Baptist World Alliance."

Jerry Rankin, president of the International Mission Board and also a member of the SBC study committee, in a statement to Baptist Press voiced regret that "the BWA has continued to embrace, under the Baptist banner, a 'diversity' beyond what Southern Baptists can feel comfortable with. It is unfortunate that there has been a steady deterioration in relationships for several years as the BWA has moved beyond being a worldwide fellowship of Baptists to promoting programs and adopting positions with which the SBC cannot identify.” [BP]