Devon Dick

Reverend Neville Callam was recently nominated to lead 36 million baptised Baptists worldwide as general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA).

He succeeds the Harvard-trained Denton Lotz, son-in-law of world-renowned American evangelist, Billy Graham. Callam comes to the job as a scholar administrator.

Neville Callam graduated with first-class honours from the United Theological College of the West Indies and did post-graduate work at the prestigious Harvard Divinity Seminary, U.S.A. Callam's scholarship can be discerned in his historical analysis of Sam Sharpe in a World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Review Journal and a review of Horace Russell's book, The Missionary Outreach of the West Indian Church. In addition, the foreword in Burchell Taylor's recent biblical work as well as that in Vivian Panton's book on common-law unions show that in breadth and depth, Callam stands tall. He is a jack-of-all-trades and master of all. I had the good fortune of having Neville edit my work on Paul Bogle.

He has a sharp eye for detail. Neville is truly a scholar.

Rarely do we find a scholar who is adept at administration or an administrator who is a genuine scholar. Neville combines both. In 1990, he facilitated my attendance at a conference in Barbados on the issue of administration. He was a featured speaker. Then, he was not fond of constitutions but believed that love should be the guiding principle. In 2000, I remember telling him that his gift is in the field of administration. I believed then that he would make a good general secretary of the Jamaica Baptist Union.

Visionary leader

Neville is not only a scholar administrator but also a visionary leader. He is the first pastor to lead his church to own and operate a community radio station, the TBC Radio - 88.5 FM. This station provides quality religious music and other fare. He was also an excellent chairman of the Board of Governors of Calabar High School, encouraging full participation from representatives of the academic, administrative, and ancillary staff plus a student representative.

Callam also has a heart for the less fortunate. He was careful to remindpersons that he was not only pastor of Tarrant Baptist Church but also Balmagie, which is situated in an inner-city area. He also prided himself on not expelling anyone from school while he was chairman of Calabar Board; he was one for giving second chances.

While he held many significant ecclesiastical positions, Callam was one who would always attend the local Kingston and St. Andrew Baptist Association meetings.

Neville is not all work. He plays the piano and understands music. He also enjoys a game of domino. He has a right attitude and was not given to long reading of the game, claiming that "It's just a game."

Neville believes that every leader should have a clear manifesto. He is not going to be a general secretary who will accept things as they are but will take clear ideas to his new job and will make things happen.

This is a noteworthy appointment. He will be the first person outside of North America and Europe to hold this significant position. Neville Callam is the first Jamaican to have such an influential decision-making position of a church body that has 100 million persons within its community.

Only the positions of Pope, Archbishop of Canterbury, general secretary of the World Council of Churches carry more weight and influence in the worldwide church than the general secretary of the BWA.

Let us pray for this son of the soil who will be ratified in the position in July at a meeting in Ghana, Africa, in the year when we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British colonies.