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Ray Bakke, former International Ministries consultant on urban mission and former professor at Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, was one of 20 religious leaders selected by the U.S. State Department to attend a joint religious dialogue with Indonesia. The conference ran from January 25th to the 27th.
Last year, when President Barak Obama delivered a speech in Cairo, Egypt calling on moderate Muslims to step up and create new ways to partner with the US and other nations, the State Department created a pilot program intended to foster peaceful discussion among diverse religious groups in order to promote understanding and mutual respect. Indonesia seemed a logical choice to host this first conference since, as a nation, it contains more Muslims than all Arab nations combined and yet remains a diverse and cooperative society. The 20 U.S. religious leaders met with 20 Indonesian religious leaders, all of various faiths.
Entitled “Building Collaborative Communities: Enhancing Cooperation Among People of Different Faiths”, the conference focused on four themes: poverty, education, good governance and climate change.
“I believe it is a very positive step for the US State Department to acknowledge that religions and religious leaders can be included in a dialogue with intentionality,” said Bakke, on his return from Indonesia. “Also, some brilliant Christian leaders were chosen on the Indonesian side of the discussion, matching the diversity of that country which is the fourth largest nation and third largest democracy in the world. While the review process is still going on, I have been told that the results are truly helping shape the opening dialogue that President Obama expects to have on his upcoming trip to Indonesia.”
Initially asked to consult in the process and suggest voices that might represent major sectors of American denominations, with a balance of geography and gender, Bakke was eventually invited himself as one of the 20 and served in this capacity at the conference. He is currently the Chancellor and the Professor of Urban/Global Leadership of Bakke Graduate University.
IM’s Area Director for East Asia and India, Ben Chan, said, “Ray continues to inspire us as he travels around the world to build bridges and to enable dialogues, even in difficult situations.”
Last year, when President Barak Obama delivered a speech in Cairo, Egypt calling on moderate Muslims to step up and create new ways to partner with the US and other nations, the State Department created a pilot program intended to foster peaceful discussion among diverse religious groups in order to promote understanding and mutual respect. Indonesia seemed a logical choice to host this first conference since, as a nation, it contains more Muslims than all Arab nations combined and yet remains a diverse and cooperative society. The 20 U.S. religious leaders met with 20 Indonesian religious leaders, all of various faiths.
Entitled “Building Collaborative Communities: Enhancing Cooperation Among People of Different Faiths”, the conference focused on four themes: poverty, education, good governance and climate change.
“I believe it is a very positive step for the US State Department to acknowledge that religions and religious leaders can be included in a dialogue with intentionality,” said Bakke, on his return from Indonesia. “Also, some brilliant Christian leaders were chosen on the Indonesian side of the discussion, matching the diversity of that country which is the fourth largest nation and third largest democracy in the world. While the review process is still going on, I have been told that the results are truly helping shape the opening dialogue that President Obama expects to have on his upcoming trip to Indonesia.”
Initially asked to consult in the process and suggest voices that might represent major sectors of American denominations, with a balance of geography and gender, Bakke was eventually invited himself as one of the 20 and served in this capacity at the conference. He is currently the Chancellor and the Professor of Urban/Global Leadership of Bakke Graduate University.
IM’s Area Director for East Asia and India, Ben Chan, said, “Ray continues to inspire us as he travels around the world to build bridges and to enable dialogues, even in difficult situations.”