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THE 2004 BIRTHDAY OFFERING:
There is an old axiom that says, “Knowledge is power,” and I believe it to be true. I believe it because I’ve experienced its validity first hand. Conversely, I believe that ignorance may be the very farthest thing that there is from bliss. Particularly in a time of reformation, to remain ignorant about what the institutional church is doing and how it is doing it is, at best, to remain ineffective and vulnerable. At worst, it is to become part of the problem. Add my curious nature to my Calvinist convictions about the “fallen-ness” of human nature, and you will understand why I am generally disinclined to take anything that I read at face value – even when it is written by a Christian brother or sister, even when it is written by a friend. So, OK, I’m a little bit skeptical. Maybe even a little bit cynical. But, my wariness tends to keep me on my intellectual toes. Let me give you an example. As I read the catalog of 2004 Birthday Offering recipients listed in the January/February edition of Horizons Magazine, my curiosity was piqued by an entry about which I knew absolutely nothing – The Institute for Theological Education of Bahia in Salvador, Brazil (hereinafter ITEBA). At about the same time, several other curious members of the VOW network wrote to ask me what I knew about ITEBA. My answer was that I knew nothing, but that I would do some research. Very frankly, it was difficult to get any “hard” information. I began by contacting some friends who I hoped would know something. But, none of them knew anything specific. Almost everything they had to say was vague and undocumented. So, determined to say nothing until I could lay my hands on demonstrable fact, I continued my research. What follows is what I can now say with certainty about ITEBA and the process that PW used to make the grant. I warn you, it is lengthy, and will take an investment of time and effort for you to read it carefully. But, reading it is the only way that you can find out for yourself. To paraphrase the words of a well-known news network, “I’ll report;
you decide.”
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