Do Baptists have bishops? Yes, most certainly, and in Georgia - an Archbishop! Archbishop Malkhaz Songulashvili (right) has been a good friend of mine for ten years or more now and leads a very interesting church in the former soviet republic. He was my dinner guest last Friday and presented me with a beautiful poster from the Baptist icon paining school in Tiblisi - surely that must be a first!
As we enjoyed coffee together after the meal, and having exchanged tales of mutual friends in Georgia, and news of last year's war with Russia, Malkhaz told me of his visit to Burundi. Yes, Burundi in central Arica. As a jaundiced Westerner I am used to people from Georgia, and Russia for that matter, frequenting the networks of donors in Germany, Britain and the US, but why Burundi? Malkhaz explained that despite the poverty of his own people, and the recent suffering brought by conflict with big brother Russia, they wanted to reach out to sisters and brothers in greater need in Africa. Now a formal link has been inaugurated between Baptist churches in Georgia and churches in Burundi and a regular flow of prayer, people and assistance has begun.
One more hopeful sign of joined up mission in God's amazing world.
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