The first Mission Council meeting of 2020 included a historic and poignant moment as we met with Te Kapa Rautaki, (the Mu0101ori Baptist Strat Team) to apologise for the historic abandoning of mission to Mu0101ori by the Baptist Churches of New Zealand, and specifically NZBMS, for sixty years from 1888 to 1948.
Tears flowed as David Allen, chairman of NZBMS Mission Council and Baptist Union President, read the official letter of apology. Everyone in the room was deeply aware of this emotionally significant moment. The letter said, in part:
Council wishes to acknowledge a decision made at our AGM in 1888 that was to take no immediate action with regards to Mu0101ori and instead to focus on India. We also acknowledge the consequences that resulted in no significant engagement with Mu0101ori by our movement for over 60 years and until the establishment of the Mu0101ori Committee in 1948. We also regret and disagree with a number of statements made by the then General Secretary H H Driver, that reinforced the attitude of neglect and exclusion and a legacy that has continued.
The fact is, even prior to this time, from 1840su20131880, there is no evidence of any significant Baptist initiative to engage with Mu0101ori. The first Baptist Mu0101ori Mission, a lone endeavour, began in 1882. It was focused on the sale of alcohol to Mu0101ori in the Rotorua area and saw the establishing of a Mu0101ori temperance movement. New Zealand Baptists supported this through prayer and through Mission Boxes, a new financial initiative.
This mission was short-lived, scuttled by the death of the initiator and a complaint from Mu0101ori that the remaining missioneru2019s u201cattitude and actions were disrespectful and insulting to Mu0101oriu201d.1 This complaint was never followed up and, when the lead missioner resigned, no replacement was sought.
With the beginnings of NZBMS, the focus of churches moved to concern for evangelism in India. The hope of Indian evangelistic success and the perspective of the time that Mu0101ori were a dying race, meant even this meagre support moved. The first secretary of NZBMS, H H Driver contrasted the 40,000 u201cvanishingu201d Mu0101ori with the growing influence of the millions across India. In May 1885, Mission Box money was to be split 50:50 between Mu0101ori mission and Indian mission. By July the same year, 100% of the money raised was designated to Indian mission. While a few advocated for work with Mu0101ori, the 1888 Annual Meeting recommended that, with the prior commitment and cost of the work in India, no action be taken in the establishment of a Mu0101ori mission.
NZBMSu2019s tragic neglect of Mu0101ori mission is something we must ask forgiveness for as we work to reengage with Mu0101ori as genuine partners. Over recent years, NZBMS and our movement of Baptist churches have taken steps to name and apologise for past neglect, to learn from our Mu0101ori leaders, to uphold biblical and treaty principles, and to realise the gospel message we have to share in the world is enriched through biculturalism, the unique gifts of Mu0101ori in mission and the humility of learning from and grieving our past errors, and choosing to partner with Mu0101ori in new ways.
This is the journey we are on. If you want to know more, a good place to start is to read, Baptist Mu0101ori Speak: Ko Ngu0101 Ku014drero o Ngu0101i Mu0101ori Iriiri by Mission Council member, Ru0101wiri Auty.
Te Iwi Kaikawe Rongopai o Ngu0101 Hu0101hi Iriiri o Aotearoa
It was at the 2016 Baptist Hui in Dunedin, that Rewai Te Kahu, then a member of the NZBMS Mission Council, met with members of the Strategic team of Manatu016b Iriiri Mu0101ori as together they discussed Te Iwi Kaikawe Rongopai o ngu0101 Hu0101hi Iriiri o Aotearoa as a Maori translation of the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society. The name was formally adopted by Mission Council at their December 2016 meeting.
The Mu0101ori name has two parts to it: u2018te Iwi Kaikawe Rongopaiu2019 (Society/people that carry the good news), and u2018o Ngu0101 Hu0101hi Iriiri o Aotearoau2019 (of the Baptist Churches of New Zealand).
So, Te Iwi Kaikawe Rongopai o Ngu0101 Hu0101hi Iriiri o Aotearoa translates to u201cThe people who carry the Good News from the Baptist Churches of New Zealand.u201d
Rewai commented, u201cWhen I think of this Mu0101ori name, Matthew 28 comes to mind. Jesus has commissioned the church to make disciples of all nations. As a people we are called into the world, here in Aotearoa and overseas, to carry the Good News as we are directed by the Holy Spirit. Together we are called to grow and go.u201d
Reference:
Ru0101wiri Auty, u201cBaptist Mu0101ori Speak: Ko Ngu0101 Ku014drero o Ngu0101i Mu0101ori Iriiriu201d (Master of Applied Theology. diss., Carey, 2018), 22.
