Christian Today Australia recently caught up with Reverend Dr. David Parker, the Executive Director for the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) Theological Commission, to discuss about his position as well the development of the code of conduct between the different Christian denominations.
CT AUS: How did you attain the position of Executive Director of the WEA Theological Commission?
D.P: I have been a member of the WEA Theological Commission for over 20 years now and during that time I have been involved in some of the study groups. Then several years ago, I was asked to assist the editor of our journals at that time as book review editor. I also assisted him by helping to organise a conference we had in London. From then on I have become more involved in the administrative side, so it was just a natural progression.
What sparked it off on this occasion was for several years I have been the administrator. The former Executive Chairman, Dr. Rolf Hille who is from Germany, wanted to step down from the day-to-day running of the Theological Commission due to pressure from other commitments.
We decided that Dr. Hille would simply become the Chairman of the Board and I would take over more roles rather then just being the administrator and editor, so that is how I became the Executive Director.
CT AUS: What does your role involve?
D.P: The role of the Executive Director is the day-to-day management and running of the Commission.
I do all of the activities that are normally part of running an organisation such as: mapping out the general direction, organising programs and being a spokesperson, corresponding with people, planning future events, organising conferences and meetings.
In addition to that I am also the editor of various publications which includes: the theological journal, newsletter, electronic mailing lists and things like that as well.
It is the general day-to-day work. There is a board of commissioners who meet annually to decide policy and then it is my job to implement all of that policy. Moreover, the responsibility also includes maintaining relationship with the members and other contacts of the TC, and also with the WEA leadership team.
CT AUS: Does your location in Australia, given its geographical isolation, hamper your role?
D.P: It does hamper the role to some extent because it is not that easy to travel. But compared with years ago, the use of electronic communication like email and Skype, it means that we can achieve a lot even though we are located here.
In fact, the WEA has several commissions each with their own Executive Directors and none of them are in the head office, which is in Canada. We are all located in different continents such as: Europe, Latin-America, Australia and also in other places.
We work from where are and we meet together as a leadership team in the WEA at least once a year. Of course, we meet with our own respective commissioners on a regular basis as well.
So, it would be nicer if I were closer to the centre. But the question is: where the centre is these days? The centre is really the Global South and the non-Western world rather than Europe or North America.
CT AUS: Name one of the highlights in working in this ministry
D.P: One of the highlights is undoubtedly sharing with theologians from different seminaries and churches throughout the world and understanding the various contexts in which they are in.
Sometime you hear difficult stories where the lack of finance and equipment means they struggle, but on the other hand there are many wonderful examples of people working in areas where there are tremendous opportunities and development.
For example, last year we were in Kenya for our annual conference and it was a great delight to be in a conference held in one of the seminaries where there were 30 or more theologians sharing their reflection on issues they are facing, and talking about all the exciting developments that are taking place in all the churches in Africa.
CT AUS: As you no doubt have worked among many ministries in your position, would you say that despite the various theological differences among Christians, they still share the same goal of spreading the Gospel?
D.P: Well yes I think so, that is definitely the case within the WEA community where we have the same theological understanding in a broad sense through the WEA Statement of Faith. Within that framework there is a lot of variety of course, but the common elements are the commitment to Jesus Christ and the commitment to serving Him and taking the Gospel to the world - and in our case, in the theological area, the common approach to Scripture and vital doctrines.
The idea of developing an understanding of the faith and its application is that while there are lots of different approaches, there is a great commonality. In fact, the differences in approach make for a rich mix of perspectives which is more valuable to us then just a uniform monochrome context.
CT AUS: Recently in the news there were reports about the establishing of a code of conduct for religious conversion, were you involved in it? What can you tell us about this?
I was not personally involved in it, but I can tell you something about it. It is actually sponsored by the Vatican and the World Council of Churches (WCC) and they invited representatives from the WEA and from various Pentecostal churches to attend this particular session. This session is the second of a three-stage process.
The first stage held some time ago was between Christian churches and other faiths. The second stage, which had just been held in Toulouse, France, was within a Christian context and the final stage will draw up and adopt a code.
What happened was that the Vatican and the WCC realised they needed to have a broader group of people rather then just their own. It was also recognised that both evangelicals and Pentecostal churches bear the brunt of hostile reaction from other religions and also from within the Christian fold when it comes to evangelistic work and missionary outreach.
I understand that this was widely-recognised and the delegates from the WEA and the Pentecostal Church found that they were able to make a very good contribution to this conference, and their position was greatly respected.
From this recent conference, documents will now be prepared to draw up a code which will then be discussed and adopted at the final discussion.
It is then up to the individual groups to decide whether they endorse the code or not. I understood from the WEA and Pentecostal Church delegates that they felt they were listened to, and their position was clearly understood by others.
There is hope that when the document is produced it will be satisfactory to all. But as yet, no code has been drawn up and no endorsement of such a code has been given by either the WEA or by anybody else at this stage. It all remains to be seen as to how the code is worded and just what it implies.
CT AUS: Do you think it is a good idea for different religions to establish a conversion code?
D.P: Well, the idea of a code is to try to: provide clarification, remove misunderstanding, and try to establish the right of people to the freedom of religion without being persecuted for it.
This was one of the points which the evangelical delegates stressed -- that Christianity is a missionary faith. In the broad perspective and as well as within the Christian faith, there is a right to the freedom of religion which means people should be free to make a choice between one religion and another without harassment and persecution. In addition, they should not be deprived of any privileges, status or even their life.
If the code results in reinforcing and clarifying the respect that should exist between different religions and the right of religion to be expressed freely, then it would be a good thing.
However, if the code tries to suppress: Christian witness, any kind of rights associated with the freedom of religion, or choosing a different religion then of course it would be very unsatisfactory.
In the past, we have occasionally heard reports of Christians using unethical means to secure or try to make conversions. But generally speaking, these has not been a common occurrence.
What had happened was that sometimes other religions or other Christian groups have criticised evangelicals and Pentecostals for reaching out, in terms of education, social welfare, health and things like. They have claimed evangelicals are using these methods to entice people to convert to Christianity.
But these kinds of activities are simply part of the compassionate love of Christ which is integral to the Christian faith and therefore it is entirely appropriate for Christians to do these sorts of things. But of course if there are unethical practices going on, then they should be stopped.
Thank you so much for talking to Christian Today Australia.