Send pastor to BWA
The Baptist World Alliance is the oldest and largest fellowship of Baptists. From more than 200 Baptist unions across the earth, Baptists will gather in Hawaii this summer for BWA’s every-fifth-year Baptist World Congress. Hymns will be sung, sermons will be preached, Bible studies will be taught, and testimonies of God’s work will be shared.
I have seen tears stream down grown men’s faces as they looked over this great gathering of God’s people and wept at the wonder of hearing praises to God rising from the lips of people from Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. It is a joy I don’t expect to equal until we all gather in heaven to sing to our God.
Your church could receive a great benefit if you send your pastor and spouse to the Congress July 28-Aug. 1. They would be enriched in spirit and challenged by the courage and faithfulness of Baptist people around the world. They would bring that experience back home, and the blessings would spill over on the whole congregation. The stories of Baptist witness and vision would become a part of the story of your church.
Your church also would be a great encouragement to Baptists of the world. They need to know Baptists in America love them and believe in their hopes and dreams.
Talk about a win-win! Take this note to the chairman of your deacons, personnel or finance committee. Your church will be glad you did. And so will your pastor.
Charles Wade
Arlington
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Muslims & ‘Camel Tracts’
Liberty University’s Ergun Caner is right, and Kevin Greeson, International Mission Board missionary and author of “Camel Tracts,” is wrong: The IMB strategy for reaching Muslims is high heresy.
Before Mohammed, Allah was not a general name for God but the specific name of the moon god of Persia and was the family god of Mohammed. For those who are uninformed on the IMB’s Camel Strategy, here is a direct quote of the closing paragraph on how to become a “Christian Muslim”: “Today, you can become a Pakka Muslim. All you have to do is to believe that Allah did Korbani (sacrifice) for you, and he used the blood of ‘Isa (Jesus) instead of your blood. Stop now, hold your hands up before you, and humbly tell Allah that you receive his Korbani and thank him for placing the punishment of your guilt upon ‘Isa. In this way, Allah will forgive you of your sins and remove the curse of sin. When you are cleansed of your sins, then you can go to be with Allah after you die. You can now live your life in peace knowing that after death, you can go directly to be with Allah.”
The greatest tragedy of this strategy is the multitude of Muslims deceived by this cultic doctrine. Will Southern Baptists accept this prayer for salvation as legitimate? Will Southern Baptists continue to pay salaries for IMB personnel who propagate this heresy?
David Powe
Fort Worth
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