The Baptist General Association of Virginia's Global Ecumenical Wink

The 185th Annual Meeting of The Baptist General Association of Virginia (BGAV) & The Virginia Baptist Mission Board not only featured Red Letter Christian /social activist Tony Campolo but also Dr. David Coffey, President, Baptist World Alliance ( BWA ).

Back in 2004, The Southern Baptist Convention voted to pull out of the Baptist World Alliance, accusing the worldwide organization of "a drift toward liberalism that included growing tolerance of homosexuality, support for women in the clergy and "anti-American" pronouncements."

"The Rev. Paige Patterson, president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary told yesterday's meeting that the alliance also contains "gay-friendly" churches that support same-sex marriage.

"What you give your money and name to, you give tacit approval to," he said."

The Baptist General Association of Virginia was greeted at the BWA 2005 Annual meeting as one of the BWA's newest members. America's Pastor, Rick Warren shared a few thought provoking comments at that 2005 meeting:

Rick Warren, the other keynote speaker, likewise affirmed that Baptists from around the world can “have unity without uniformity.” Warren, pastor of Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif., told reporters the withdrawal of Southern Baptists from BWA was a “silly” mistake. “I see absolutely zero reason in separating my fellowship from anybody,” he declared.

“God has called us to enjoy and fellowship with each other and work together. We’re all in this together,” he said, adding Baptists can “celebrate our diversity and celebrate our unity.”

Perhaps Warren's ecumenically-loaded statements were a foreshadowing of what was to come for the Baptist World Alliance. The BWA is now formal partners with the Global Christian Forum.

The Global Christian Forum describes itself as:

The Global Christian Forum seeks to offer new opportunities for broadening and deepening encounters. It is especially intended to promote new relationships between and among Christian constituencies...

The Global Christian Forum is pursuing this goal through the creation of a 'space' where participants all meet on an equal basis, to foster mutual respect, and to explore and address together common concerns.

...there has been no place where representatives of all the main Christian churches and church families, and their international organizations can join together around one table. The Global Christian Forum aims to create such a place, independent of existing structures.

The Global Christian Forum convened this week as well as the BGAV' Annual Meeting. Australia's Christian Today reports:

The gathering brought together sixty representatives of the historic Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Pentecostal and Evangelical movements to share their future goals and participate in forum discussions on nurturing a broader ecumenical movement.

Hubert van Beek, Secretary of the Global Christian Forum, told Christian Today: "With this meeting we will leave the experimental past and move into more visible ways in actively serving the global church."

This organization has Vatican representation, unlike the World Council of Churches. Fuller Theological Seminary, Rick Warren's alma mater, also has been instrumental in the Global Christian Forum effort.

Looks like the The Baptist General Association of Virginia is quietly plotting it's course toward the global ecumenical faith community.