South African Church Leader Elected President of WCRC

"I came here as a mere delegate, with no intentions or aspirations, and I walk away as president," said Pillay, who is general secretary of the Uniting Presbyterian Church in South Africa.

He credited his election to Jesus Christ who in recent years has surprised him in many ways.

"In all humility, I thank you for your trust," he told delegates meeting in Van Noord Arena on the campus of Calvin College. "With God's grace, I will do this job, realizing I am unequal to the task of those who served as presidents of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the Reformed Ecumenical Council (REC). I will learn from them, but my only desire is to walk in the steps of Jesus Christ, led by his Spirit."

He has been moderator of the Africa Region of WARC; serves as chair of strategic planning for the Council for World Mission, and has served as a mediator with his church in helping to resolve disputes among churches in other countries in his region of Africa.

In an interview after his election, Pillay said that he had felt the calling from God to be a minister from the age of ten. Occasionally, he fought it, but he always moved forward and into the ministry.

He studied theology in graduate school and earned a Ph.D in missiology from the University of Cape Town. His dissertation was on "The Church and development in the new South Africa." Outreach in the course of creating unity has always been important to him.

In 1987, he began his service as a minister, serving a few churches and spending time preaching and visiting congregations in the United States.

Married with three children, he never imagined that he would ever be president of an organization that served more than 80 million Reformed and Presbyterian Christians worldwide.

At the same time, though, he said in the interview, he has long "felt God calling me to bigger things... I've been deeply involved in the ecumenical movement ... I've always seen God at work in my life."

As president of the WCRC, he plans to continue his ecumenical work, striving for unity and fellowship between the churches in the newly formed organization. "Our voice together will be a voice that is strong," he said.

The WCRC, he said, will continue the social justice legacy of WARC and the deeply pietistic and theologically-based legacy of REC. In fact, he sees the two as part of a whole.

He said he reads the Bible to demand that the followers of Christ engage in prayer and community and also in actions of social justice. "The church has to be involved in serious mission worldwide," he said.

Pillay has been a pastor and church leader in South Africa during a time of sweeping historical change as the country, largely at the prodding of Reformed churches, dismantled its policy of apartheid, the official separation of the races.

He has since spoken out vigorously for human rights in countries such as Zimbabwe and Madagascar.

As president of the WCRC, he said, he will push for a greater dialogue with other Christian denominations, such as the Roman Catholic Church that sent a papal representative as an observer to this week's merger meeting.

He also foresees interfaith dialogue with persons of other faiths, such as Jews and Muslims. "The work of the church doesn't exclude people of other faiths," he said.

Overall, he said, he sees the merger of WARC and REC as creating "a new chapter in the history of the Reformed and Presbyterian churches. We hope to take what we have and see how we can use it to help shape the future and to have an impact on the world for Jesus Christ."

More information: www.reformedchurches.org