7 October 2011 by Mark Penrith
The key highlight of the Assembly was the two hours each morning dedicated to inductive Bible study. Click image to enlarge.
I attended the Baptist Union Assembly this past week and was greatly encouraged; having arrived a disengaged delegate; unconnected, uncommitted and a bit uncomfortable but leaving reconnected, reinvigorated and excited.
The greatest swing for me was the assembled delegates commitment to God’s Word. Each morning began with a 2 hour inductive Bible study where all delegates met in small groups and studied through the book of Nehemiah. If I ever doubted the devotion of fellow Baptists to the Bible I can no longer.
Some thorns. Malcolm Cunningham (Knysna Baptist Church), Rocky Stevenson (Living Waters Baptist Church), Tyrell Haag (Constantia Park Baptist Church), Me (Crystal Park Baptist Church) and Ian Stuart (Pretoria North Baptist). Click image to enlarge.
Secondly, whereas before I might have mistakenly thought I was a conservative thorn amongst more liberal roses I have since realised that Union is far more conservative than I had perceived. While it is true While I perceive that the more Reformed, orthodox, traditional voices are somewhat muted, apathetic or disconnected one cannot but acknowledge that they’re still there; with what I perceive is a growing desire to interact and intertwine for the cause of the cross.
All in all, I’m glad I went and I’m now looking forward to ways that I can positively contribute to the cause of Christ within the fold of the Baptist Union of South Africa.