Amsterdam and Ede Were Fabulous!

Friends,

Once again, the annual gathering of worldwide Baptist leadership resulted in an foretaste of heaven. New friendships were created while old connections became warm again. Common Christ-like values and goals surged to the surface in the meetings. Singing in various languages provided a new twist of inspiration and joy. The Spirit of Christ was palpable.

We thank the European Baptist Federation for hosting such a wonderful celebration of the 400th anniversary of Baptist life. Young people joined the senior crowd in Amsterdam to praise God in a union of common joy.

When we got down to BWA business in Ede (a small town outside of Amsterdam), John Upton of Virginia was named as BWA President-elect for the 2010-2015 quinquennium (I have no idea if that's spelled correctly). The BWA General Secretary Neville Callam and BWA President David Coffey provided balanced and harmonious leadership in the meetings.

We were again blessed and invigorated with the presence of many of the members of the Emerging Leaders Network. These "Under-40" Baptist leaders, and others like them, will surely guide the BWA for years to come.

This relatively small summer gathering in Holland springboards us to the mass BWA Congress for next July in Honolulu, Hawaii. I trust you're getting registered in these days. Check out www.bwanet.org for information on the exciting prospects of the BWA Congress.

-- DES