Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

Glimpses of the Religious WorldRev. L. E. Kilpatrick, D. D.1031 E. Glenrosa AvenuePhoenix, Arizona 85014A CHRISTIAN AFRICAOne of the truly hopeful movements on the worldscene is the growth of the Christian faith in black Africa.According to U.S. News and World Report, if presentprojections are borne out, nearly half the Africanpopulation will be professing Christians by the year 2000.World wide, we are told, the numerical growth of theChristian church is not keeping pace with the populationincrease. Not so in Africa. This fast growth is led by thearea south of the Sahara. "The big rush started after thedrive for independence, and is still gaining momentum."In this connection,it is interesting that the Church ofChrist in the Sudan among the Tiv (N.K.S.T.) (a churchthat is the result of missionary work of the ChristianReformed Church) has decided at its Synod meeting inApril 1970, to open its own seminary. It has petitioned theparent body in the U.S.A. (the CRC) for such a seminary,but that Church, on advice of its Foreign Missions Board,has declined to support such a seminary, saying that theyoung Tiv Christians should go to the cooperativeseminary there in Nigeria. The Tiv church leaders feltthat their young men could not get sound Reformedteaching there, and so the Church has sacrificiallyproceeded to make plans for opening its own indigenousseminary in February 1971 with an enrollment of 25students.This phenomenon in Africa should do more to enablethe world to cope with racial conflict than efforts merelyto thwart or oppose the "black power" movement.UNITY IN THE REFORMED ECUMENICAL SYNOD(RES)The Moderamen of the RES (a sort of executivecommittee, consisting of the moderator, vice-moderator,and three clerks) have addressed a letter to the memberchurches urging them to "embrace one another in mutualtrust." They say that "The 1968 RES was marked bytension (over such questions as membership in the WCC,the ordination of women to the eldership, and the questionof 'apartheid' as practised in South Africa), and if presenttrends continue, the RES of 1972 may well be marked bycrisis."An editorial comment in the Presbyterian Guardiansays: "Member churches are urged to 'embrace oneanother in mutual trust.' But the 'crisis' that may come toa head in 1972 is due to actions by certain churches of theRES that have raised doubts about their commitmenttothe Reformed Faith. If the unity of the RES is beingundermined,it is due to such acts as these (namely, thelargest of the member churches, Gereformeerde, joiningthe WCC and ordaining women elders); 'mutual trust' canbe extended only to trustworthy objects!"THE "QUIET TIME"His magazine asked five students, "What fresh ideashave stimulated your quiet time?" Here are excerptsfrom their answers."Reading the Bible aloud helps me keep my mindfrom jumping to other thoughts.""To get an overview of the whole Bible, I decidedtostart from the beginning and read it in four months. Myplans when I finish include a chapter by chapter study ofthe New Testament.""Havingit regularly .... The thrill ofit comes notfrom mechanical variety, but from the fact thatit isregularly spent quietly waiting upon the Lord.""Having a list of people I pray for daily has increasedmy love for them . . . When I prayed for people whenever Ifelt led to, I hardly ever prayed for anyone . . Prayerlistsare especially good for lazy people."YOUTH ON THE MARCHPre-registration for the missionary conferenceofcollege youth, Urbana '70, is up 30 percent over the figuresfor the 1967 conference at the same time. There arealready well over 7000 registrations.BRIEFS FROM CHRISTMAS GREETINGSWalnut, California, with the Ray McCrackensleading, is having encouraging Bible studies in the Mc­Cracken home.Seattle, Washington, R. P Church is planning to havethe dedication of its new building in February, at themeeting of Presbytery.The Japan R. P. Mission hopes for the early returnofMiss Eleanor Faris, who has been engaged in deputationwork the p»~t several weeks. Mr. Pennington is to returnto the U.S.A. in the spring while Dr. and Mrs. S. E. Boyleare to go out to Japan in the fall, thence, on to Taiwan,depending on whether plans work out for the openingofthe Chinese work.4 COVENANTER WITNESS