In October 1987, when the rear door of an armored car flew open on a Columbus, Ohio, freeway, more than $1 million in cash fell onto the road. Hundreds of people jumped out of their cars and scooped up the money; most of it was never returned.
Mayor Dana Rinehart, alarmed by the outcome of the roadside morality play, began looking for ways to boost the ethical image of the community, and found an ally whose name surprised many: convicted Watergate conspirator Jeb Magruder, now executive minister of First Community Church in Columbus. Last fall Rinehart formed the Columbus Commission on Ethics and Values and named Magruder chairman of the commission.
The irony of his appointment is not lost on Magruder. But he believes his background is helpful in his new position. “I was involved in one of the great ethical issues of our time,” he said. “I’ve spent a lot of time since then studying and talking with others about issues of honesty and values.”
Last January, Magruder’s commission launched a citywide campaign, urging citizens of Columbus to “Take an Honest Look.” The goal of the eight-month program is to “raise the level of consciousness of people and get them talking about it and thinking about it,” Magruder said.
Corporate and private donations have paid for billboards, brochures, and radio and television spots highlighting the campaign theme. Citizens who have acted honestly have been publicly praised—such as two motel housekeepers who found and returned a shoebox filled with $65,000, and a man who turned in a wallet containing $1,200.
Magruder does not expect to put an end to dishonesty in his city, but he is pleased by the widespread cooperation of media, schools, and government, and business, professional, and civic groups. “One activity in one city won’t change much,” he said, but added that many other cities and groups have requested information about the honesty campaign. The commission plans to poll Columbus citizens at the end of the campaign to measure any changes in attitudes, Magruder said.
Three more campaigns to promote values are planned for Columbus; the next will deal with respect and prejudice.
WORLD SCENE
SOVIET UNION
Seminary Approved
The Soviet government has given written permission for the establishment of a Russian-speaking, evangelical seminary in Moscow, the first of its kind since 1928. Alexei Bychkov, general secretary of the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of USSR, received official approval in late February after many months of discussion with Soviet officials, according to Arthur De Kruyter, pastor of Christ Church of Oak Brook, Illinois.
The All-Union Council, which represents and consults with Pentecostal, Mennonite, Lutheran, Reformed, Baptist, and independent churches, is now searching for a location for the seminary, which could open as early as next fall. The government will allow 50 students to attend the new school. Dozens of applications have already arrived not only from the Soviet Union, but also from other Eastern bloc countries, De Kruyter said.
Bychkov and Michael Zhidtov, pastor of First Baptist Church in Moscow, visited Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, earlier this year to study the school’s interdenominational approach to theological education. De Kruyter, who is a Fuller board member, was appointed liaison and consultant between the seminary and the All-Union Council to aid in the development of the Moscow school. He will travel to the Soviet Union in May and expects that specific arrangements for the seminary will be finished soon after. De Kruyter also plans to help establish a U.S. board to help channel funds to the fledgling seminary.
Soviet church leaders attribute the opportunity for the seminary to glasnost, the government policy of openness that Bychkov says has brought new freedom for Christians to meet, evangelize, and publish materials.
KENYA
Council Backs Government
The National Council of Churches of Kenya issued a pastoral letter stating its support for the Kenyan government, according to a Religious News Service report. In the letter, the council also disassociated itself from self-exiled Kenyans who claim church support for the opposition to the government of President Daniel arap Moi.
The letter, addressed to overseas ecumenical partners, expressed the council’s concern with attempts by exiles to imply Kenyan church support in their fund-raising activities for “unethical campaigns” against the constitutionally elected government. It said the Kenyan church stands for what is just, and refrains from furthering the cause of any one regime or movement.
Despite differences between individual church leaders and politicians, the church-state relationship is harmonious, not confrontational, the letter said, adding that there is no persecution of the church in Kenya.
President Moi accepted a copy of the letter from church leaders and called for church-government dialogue to promote better understanding and cooperation.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Border Camp Believers
More than 1,000 refugees fleeing from Vietnam into Kampuchea (known formerly as Cambodia) have indicated they have become Christians during the past year as a result of evangelism in border camps. The refugees, some of whom fled Vietnam ten years ago, are still under military siege by the Khmer Rouge government of Kampuchea.
Those who have confessed faith in Jesus Christ now face severe pressure from the Khmer Rouge soldiers who enforce rules against Christian activity in the refugee camps, reported James Powell, president of the International Bible Society. IBS has provided more than 180,000 Scripture leaflets to the refugees and will soon distribute 10,000 copies of a 13-volume picture Bible in the Khmer language. Powell said that restrictions on missionary work in the camps are tightening.
OBITUARY
Alan Redpath
Alan Redpath, well-known author, evangelist, and pastor, died March 16 in Birmingham, England, following a stroke. He was 82.
Redpath was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. In 1936 he left a business career to join the National Young Life Campaign in Britain as an evangelist, and soon became pastor of the Duke Street Baptist Church near London. In 1953, he was called to the pastorate of the Moody Church, Chicago. While there, he founded the Mid-America Keswick Convention.
In 1962, Redpath returned to Britain to become pastor of Scotland’s largest Baptist church, Charlotte Redpath Chapel, Edinburgh. He retired from that position in 1966 due to health problems. After his retirement, he traveled extensively as an international speaker for the English Keswick Convention and other missionary societies. He was author of more than a dozen books.
PEOPLE AND EVENTS
Briefly Noted
Died: Fredrik Schiotz, 87, retired president of the former American Lutheran Church, of a stroke February 25 in Minneapolis. He was well known for his leadership in ecumenical and international Lutheran work.
Elected: Two Russian Orthodox priests to the new Soviet parliament, the Congress of Peoples’ Deputies. Archbishop Pitirim of the church’s international department and Metropolitan Alexei of Leningrad are the first clergymen to be seated in a national assembly in the Soviet Union.
Named: Jonathan Chao as president of Christ’s College in Taipei, Taiwan. Chao is director of the Chinese Church Research Center in Hong Kong.
