Dear friends and colleagues
Warm greetings from the team here at the IBTS office!
I would like to start this month’s newsletter by celebrating the excellent work of the IBTS board of directors. In November, we were delighted to be able to meet in-person in Amsterdam with most of the board for the first time in two years! This was a wonderful reminder of the energy and inspiration that arises from actually being together with those who share our passion and vision. The board expressed heart-felt gratitude to two long-serving members who are stepping down: Tony Peck who is the retiring General Secretary of the European Baptist Federation and Philip Halliday who represented our partnership with the BMS World Mission. The board also welcomed Alan Donaldson (the new Gen. Secretary of EBF) and three other new members, Jacqui Miller-Demirovska (Training and Development Facilitator from BMS World Mission), Pál Borzasi (General Secretary of the Convention of the Hungarian Baptist Churches of Romania), and Jan Edström (pastor from Finland Swedish Baptist Union).
Please support our board members in prayer. They invest significantly in IBTS bringing skill, expertise and encouragement to the organisation as a whole.
There is a lot going on within IBTS and also with our colleagues and friends including two book launches, the broadcasting of a radio programme for the BBC and launching an important initiative about domestic violence. I hope the following information will help you stay connected.
Peace and blessings
Mike
Colloquium January 2022:
Plans for the colloquium are taking shape and we continue to carefully monitor the changing COVID restrictions in the Netherlands and in relation to international travel. We are putting in place a number of practical measures to ensure a safe and effective gathering at Baptist House and in the coming weeks we will be sending out updates and practical information to everyone involved. The Dutch government are regularly reviewing COVID guidelines and we will be in touch with you following the next review date which is December 3rd.
We understand that for some there is legitimate anxiety about travelling at the moment and we will continue to communicate with you about this.
Shared Accommodation: in order to keep accommodation costs down some research students are arranging shared accommodation during the colloquium. If you would like to be included in this please contact Marianne at the office.
Publications:
Lina Toth
See our blog for Lina Toth's latest publication.
David Gushee
Morgan Street Media Service wrote this about David Gushee's latest publication, Introducing Christian Ethics:
What does it mean to be a Christian in today’s turbulent world? After every disillusionment and debate, what convictions survive? Dr. David P. Gushee has been an influential voice in American religious life as an ethicist, pastor, and activist. He’s advocated on issues ranging from torture and climate change to truth in politics and LGBTQ inclusion. He co-authored the pivotal Kingdom Ethics, a Jesus-based ethics textbook, and has written numerous books and hundreds of opinion pieces on what Christianity has to say about how we should live. Now, in this ambitious new book, Gushee takes his many years of teaching and experience to offer a definitive, comprehensive take on the Christian moral life.
JEBS
The autumn edition of JEBS is a special edition edited by Prof. Henk Bakker in association with the Dutch Baptist Seminary – our close neighbours in Baptist House. This is almost complete and will be published before Christmas.
Other news:
The Centre for Anabaptist Studies at Bristol Baptist College is launching an online MA.
For more information please visit their website: www.bristol-baptist.ac.uk/study-centres/anabaptist-study-centre, or mail admission at admissions@bristol-baptist.ac.uk
A series of webinars are being planned by the Baptist World Alliance to be rolled out over the next six (6) months. These webinars will be hosted by the Commissions on Baptist Doctrine and Christian Unity and Mission (Holistic Mission Guide). The first webinar, organized by the Commission on Baptist Doctrine and Christian Unity, was held on November 9 on the theme: “Christian Unity: What Difference Does it Make?”
For more information and registration details please click this link: https://www.baptistworld.org/christian-unity-webinar/