Last month I wrote a letter to this magazine to find out what New Zealand Baptist leaders believe about same sex marriages and the adopting of children by these couples. I have simply been astounded by the amount of replies I have had! 

How many have replied to my letter to find out what Baptists believe in, you ask? None. No, not even one person, among the 9000 or so readers of the NZ Baptist. [Well, one arrived after this letter was sent to us – see below! – ed.]

The lack of interest in this subject leads me to believe that this is either not important, or our readers do not consider the moral downturn in our society of concern enough for them to respond to.

So what then do New Zealand Baptists stand out for?

Over the last 20 years thousands of good people have left our churches. Could it be that many of them have left because no longer do our churches stand out boldly for anything really important?

Oh yes, we are good at being friendly, entertaining and politically correct, but where is the fire of God that makes us stand out as a called out people serving a Holy God and speaking out against the moral corruption in our society?

– Ian Ford
Beachlands, Auckland