Lagos Meetings of the Baptist World Alliance

Thursday began with a quick breakfast and then on to worship. Worship in the BWA is always exciting and interesting. It was led by Nigerians. Some of the songs were familiar, but they were performed with an international and distinctive flare. It was filled with joy.

After that, I helped lead a session for the 2033 Acts2Movement. This is the BWA strategy that we have been developing through the spring. You can check it out here.

We had about two hours, which initially seemed intimidating, but we were able to fill the time with enthusiastic discussions.

I had lunch with Everton Jackson, Director of Integral Mission for the BWA and Werner Nachtigal, International President of the Go Movement. The Go Movement's says, "We want to see every believer sharing the Gospel until everyone on earth has had the opportunity to decide for Christ, playing our part in the fulfillment of the Great Commission." They are one of the Finishing the Task partners. It was a thrilling meeting as we talked about the possibility of reaching people for Christ.

Lunch was followed by the General Council meeting. It is at these meetings that the major decisions of the BWA are discussed and approved. It was exciting to be at a Baptist meeting that was unified, positive, and uplifting. I helped count votes, but every vote was unanimous so it was easy to know the results.

I then attended a session on religious freedom in Nigeria. The northern portion of Nigeria is one of the "hot spots" of anti-Christian persecution. According to one study, "82% of the 4,998 Christians killed for faith-related reasons globally in 2023 occurred in Nigeria." The panel included several Christian leaders and a Muslim leader. Their discussions were frank and often filled with lots of energy. It is a complicated situation and hard to know the way forward.

This is one of the reasons why Baptists emphasize religious freedom for all people. It is the first and most crucial of human freedoms - the ability to choose one's relationship with God without any kind of coercion. 21Wilberforce is the BWA group that helps focus our global efforts on religious freedom.

After dinner, I led a pastor's group (see the picture above). We had an open and frank conversation about the unique challenges of the church. While we all live in very different contexts it was easy to see that so many of us had the same challenges (post-COVID decline, less committed people in church, loss of young people). We spent some time celebrating successes - God is still at work. We ended by sharing prayer concerns and praying together. It was a deeply loving experience.

On Friday morning, I had breakfast with Dr. Paul Baxley. He is the Executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. We had a delightful time. I have not been involved in the CBF in several years and it was exciting to get reconnected to their work.

We headed across the parking lot and back to the conference center. I led a second session on the Acts2Movement. It was smaller but we were able to have more discussion and I was able to get excellent feedback on our international strategies. One of the pastors and I discovered that we were at the same seminary at the same time and had many of the same professors. It was a fun reunion.

In the final group session, we were able to commission 9 missionaries. It was exciting.

During the final lunch, I sat with a CBF missionary and had a great conversation about the ways God had been evident in their work over the last 20 years.

I headed back to my hotel room to shed my tie and get into some cooler clothes. I intended to head back to the coffee and tea break but found some people in the lobby I had not yet greeted. We spent some time reconnecting. They introduced me to some new friends. One of them was a member of the same club I was in at Baylor, the Chamber of Commerce. We had a great time meeting and sharing. They were waiting for a transfer to the airport and we passed the time easily in friendly conversation. Most of the attendees were scheduled on flights on Friday night. My inexperience led me to book a flight on Saturday. By the time I understood the reality of the schedule, it was too expensive to change my flight, so I had about a 24-hour holding pattern before I could head to the airport.

After they left, I returned to my room. I caught up on the news, read and returned emails, and repacked my bag. I tend to be an overpacker - the Boy Scout motto "Be Prepared" is emblazed on my mind. I had done a good job and only had a few things I did not need, but I had used every square inch of my bag. It took a long time to get it to fit back together. It felt a bit like working a Rubick's Cube.

The morning dawned and I headed for a bite to eat a little discouraged and frustrated. I could already be well on my way home. The breakfast room was nearly empty, but there was one man at the buffet line that I had yet to meet that I had wanted to meet, Rev. Tomás Mackey, Baptist World Alliance President. Last year in Norway I was so impressed with him. He is filled with joy and peace and is a great leader. He also has one of the most infectious smiles. We were able to have a great conversation.

Then it was off for a walk. I had sat for too long and needed to stretch my legs. I went from one end of the compound to the other. I went up and down stairs. I took photos of the things I found interesting.

I sat down to write this blog and waited for my ride to the airport. In a couple of hours, I will head out to the airport and wing my way home.