Prayers were said for peace and for Africa’s leaders at the close of the African Biblical Leadership Initiative (ABLI) in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa today [Sunday]. Lord Boateng, ABLI’s moderator and a member of the House of Lords, led 200 delegates in prayer. He prayed for ‘an end to greed and avarice’ in Africa, that the continent would combat climate change, and that those living with HIV would no longer be stigmatized. The prayer breakfast marked the end of the three-day conference organized by United Bible Societies. It brought together some 200 clerics,.. || Continue Reading →

The Bible can help tackle conflicts in Africa. This was the message today at the African Biblical Leadership Initiative (ABLI) forum in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. The conference, organized by Bible Society, brings Church leaders, charity workers and politicians together to reflect on how the Bible can tackle Africa’s greatest problems, poverty, war and corruption. The event comes ahead of the African Union Summit, the meeting of Africa’s leaders later this week, where some of the region’s conflicts will be discussed. It is held against the backdrop of tensions.. || Continue Reading →

Egypt faces ‘a moment of opportunity and danger,’ according to Lord Paul Boateng. Lord Boateng was speaking as the Bible Society-backed African Biblical Leadership Initiative (ABLI) forum met in Addis Ababa today [Saturday]. Some 200 clerics, charity workers and politicians were discussing the failures of good governance in African countries such as Egypt, where President Hosni Mubarak has led an autocratic regime for the last 30 years. Lord Boateng, a member of the House of Lords and moderator of ABLI, said, ‘For Egypt and the wider world, this is a moment both of opportunity.. || Continue Reading →

Photographer, David Johnson. Hundreds of church leaders, politicians and charity workers gathered in Ethiopia today [Thursday] to pray for the African Union Summit that starts on Sunday. Prayers were said for the success of the AU in tackling some of Africa’s major issues, including conflict, corruption and poverty. The move comes amid heightened tensions in Tunisia and Egypt, and following disputed elections in the Ivory Coast. The prayers came at the start of the African Biblical Leadership Initiative (ABLI) in the capital Addis Ababa, organised by United Bible Societies... || Continue Reading →

ABLI 2010 Declaration Officially Presented to African Union Leadership (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) On Friday, December 3rd, 2010 members of the African Biblical Leadership Initiative’s Executive Committee made a formal presentation of the 2010 ABLI Declaration to the African Union Commission. Yilma Getahun, General Secretary of the Bible Society of Ethiopia, and Dr. Betta Mengistu, Chairman of Beza International Ministries, presented a framed edition of the document to Madam Simone Abala, Chief of Protocol for the African Union Commission. The 2010 ABLI Declaration document.. || Continue Reading →

The ABLI Forum Declaration was produced to synthesize the sentiments expressed by the participants in the 2010 African Biblical Leadership Initiative (ABLI) Forum that was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on January 29-30, 2010. Please read the statement and use the “leave a response” box below to add your name and title to the declaration. (Please also include your title, organizational affiliation and the place where you live in the ‘Comment’ box.) THE ABLI FORUM DECLARATION, 2010 We are a gathering of leaders, women and men, from across Africa and its.. || Continue Reading →

Welcome to the ABLI Forum website! We hope you will enjoy your digital experience of the Forum as you explore: • Videos of the presentations given at the 2010 ABLI Forum in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. • Original articles that tackle discuss strategic issues related to Biblical leadership and African society. • Links to our sponsoring organizations, partners and other relevant organizations and news sources focusing on the Bible and Africa. • An archive of Biblical texts that speak to the most pressing issues in Africa today. The site is completely interactive, so please.. || Continue Reading →

Historically, Christians have not interpreted or used the Bible as a magic book or powerful charm, unlike many other holy books. Within the Christian faith, the mere quoting of biblical verses is not what the Bible itself asks for and certainly not what this conference is aiming to promote. As we shall see in the pages below, the Bible itself sharply critiques the empty use of religious language and, instead, proposes a profound ethical challenge for a transformed way of life in the world. In other words, the passion of Scripture and the passion of this conference is to explore,.. || Continue Reading →

CONFLICT, RECONCILIATION AND THE BIBLE: Selected Scripture Passages Matthew 5:1-10: Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount has been historically understood as Jesus’ “ethics of the Kingdom”, that is, a compact articulation of the upside-down values of the Kingdom of God such as a thirst for justice, mercifulness, and peacemaking. Matthew tells us that Jesus gave this sermon in public in front of a large audience, a group of people like Jesus who knew all-too-well the oppression and poverty of living under a colonial empire. Nevertheless, Jesus presents to this alternative community.. || Continue Reading →

GOOD GOVERNANCE AND THE BIBLE: Selected Scripture Passages Genesis 1:1, 31: This opening biblical passage presents us with a picture of sovereignty (“governance”) defined by generosity and creativity. We meet a God that gives life and freedom to his creation, who embodies a limitless imagination and initiative for multiplying goodness. This is the God of all life, and this must set the pattern for all of our dealings with sovereignty/power and world-engagement as creatures made in this God’s image. Moreover, this passage calls us to care for God’s world as his good.. || Continue Reading →