B e r l i n – Christians everywhere should fight for a world without walls! This was the challenge given by American John Upton (Richmond, Virginia), president of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). In his sermon for the opening of the Council of the European Baptist Federation (EBF) on September 26, in Berlin, Upton said this is true for actual walls, as well as for the walls in a figurative sense with which people separate themselves from one another. Instead of peering at each other fearfully, it would be better to consider each other as a source of enrichment. It is significant for all of mankind that the Great Wall of China is the only man-made structure that can be seen with the naked eye from outer space. “In spite of the modern means of communication, we humans are isolating ourselves more and more from each other,” Upton lamented. He criticized the secured border between the USA and Mexico as well as the wall between Israel and the Palestinian territories. However, cultural, religious and political walls between peoples must also be torn down. The result this would have on the people involved was seen in the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. “Millions flooded the streets, laughing and celebrating. Strangers and even former enemies hugged each other as if they were good friends.” Upton was convinced that God not only helped to bring the Berlin Wall to collapse, “but Jesus himself led the dance of young people on top of the wall.” We can continue to enjoy such experiences when we trust Christ, who can also cause the walls in hearts and heads to collapse. In the depth of their hearts, all men know that it is not right “to live with such walls”.

EBF General Secretary Tony Peck (Bristol/Prague) was pleased that 46 of the 56 member unions and organisations of the EBF were present at this year’s meeting. Peck called out the names of all the countries represented, and the 137 total delegates were welcomed with applause. EBF President Hans Guderian (Dallgow-Döberitz near Berlin) recalled that this was the third time that an EBF Council was meeting in the Berlin area, where it also met in 1908 and 1958.

The president of the German Union of Evangelical Free Churches, Hartmut Riemenschneider (Pinneberg near Hamburg) stated that God entered the world in the person of his Son Jesus Christ. For today’s Christians this means that they should not seek to be more godly but more human. The pastor of the host Baptist church in Berlin-Schöneberg, Michael Noss, pointed to the logo of his church, which shows Christ with open arms, a sign that all people are welcome in the church. Also among the participants in the conference were former EBF General Secretary Karl Heinz Walter (Hamburg) and his wife Edeltraud.