But let me reflect on the passionate debates for a while. They occupied about 20 hours of the weekend. 20 hours!! We have frequent conversations about the space given to debate at our own Baptist Assemblies and some people would love it to increase … but I’m not sure that that there would be many votes for quite as much that! To be fair the Italian Baptist Union is very much smaller than our own (about 130 churches) and the Assembly is only held once every two years. In some ways the size and dynamics of the Italian Assembly felt more like our Baptist Union Council, both of them having an attendance of about 150 people.

But what really interested me was the way in which the business was conducted. I was impressed by the chairmanship which was unfailingly calm and courteous. This was wise in every way because the debates sometimes became very heated, and an aggressive chairman would have been a disaster. I was interested to see that the chairman began the meetings on schedule but normally to an almost empty room. People wandered in at a time that suited them but it was often half an hour or so before the majority of people had arrived. And a significant number of people had their heads buried in the daily newspaper whilst the debates were raging. I’m not suggesting that any of this is necessarily wrong – but it was certainly different!

The main issue of the Assembly was a huge one. Should the Italian Baptists be willing to receive the 0.8% of tax money that individuals are able to nominate for church or humanitarian causes? Historically Baptists have claimed that they should not receive anything because of our deep commitment to the separation of church and state. Baptist tax payers have often nominated the Waldensian Church in the past because of their excellent humanitarian work. However, for many reasons the issue was back on the table and the debates raged for a long while. There was clearly going to be no meeting of minds on the issue. The debate became a procedural nightmare as amendments were advanced and points of order were raised. And then the voting started. Votes were counted and recounted and, finally, a decision was made. Italian Baptists voted to open the door to receive the 0.8% in the future. It will take a long while for this to come into effect but it was a significant moment in Italian Baptist history.

But what impressed me most was the warmth of the whole occasion. Disagreements had been aired aplenty. Strong words had been lobbed through the air in salvos. But, at the end of the day, the Italian Baptists were clear that they were a family and they were determined to live together and make Jesus known together. In the hugs and kisses and in the joyful worship it was clear that they were a close-knite family. I think there are vital lessons here for all of us. Every church, every association, every college, indeed every human group, will have times of disagreement but what matters most is that, having had the debates, we can then get on with the job to which we have been called.

Our task is to worship God and to make the love that he has shown in Jesus Christ known throughout the world. So let’s get on and do it … whatever our differences!