The Lotha Baptist Churches Association (LBCA) Delegates Meeting was conducted on 13th August 2024 at UBC Doyang in Wokha district where it was decided by a majority vote by 105 Churches that henceforth the LBCA (Majority group) will function on its own, the Action Committee informed in a statement today.
While welcoming any churches to its fold, the Committee has asserted that as stated in the Guwahati High Court Judgement and Order Dated 11-12-2023, the issue of the LBCA is an internal matter and any internal disputes amongst the members of the society can only be decided as per the memorandum/byelaws laid down by the society, the Association warned against interference by any individual/groups/associations including the Nagaland Baptist Churches Council (NBCC).
It explained that the imbroglio within Association had been going on since February 2023 and despite attempts from different organisations including elders, elected Lotha MLAs and District Administration to defuse the differences between the split groups within the organisation, the Committee claimed that the “LBCA minority group remained noncommittal and insincere towards any reconciliation process.”
The Action Committee informed that on 5th July 2024, the LBCA (Majority) held a Delegates Meeting at Hajung Baptist Church Sanis where it adopted a resolution to work for a reconciliation process one more time and accordingly constituted a 9-Member Committee. Subsequently, it invited LBCA (Minority) to a meeting on 26th July 2024 from Hammock Resort, Wokha which was later rescheduled for 24th July 2024 to be held at Saramati Hotel, Dimapur, on the latter’s request. However, the reconciliation meeting was derailed because the LBCA (Minority) dispatched a letter to LBCA (Majority), violating the agreement not to send any official letter.
Further, in its statement, the Action Committee of LBCA (Majority) has also expressed disappointment at the stance adopted by the NBCC on the issue by remaining “a mute spectator” despite of being the guardian of all the Baptist Churches Association in Nagaland. “Timely impartial intervention by the NBCC would have stopped these issues from flaring up and thereby division within the LBCA would have been checked”, it stated.
It elaborated that in November 2021, when the High Court Legal Services Authority at Guwahati High Court, Kohima Bench invited the NBCC to mediate the LBCA issue, the Council stated that does not deal directly on matters of local churches. Later in August 2022, when the Registrar of Societies, Govt. of Nagaland invited NBCC to be part of the observer team, the Council again declined “citing that NBCC would prefer the Church leadership formation to be left within the perimeter of the church administration, and not at the dictate of outside parties including the Government.” Further, the Committee said that the NBCC failed to respond positively to the appeal made by Office Bearers of the LBCA to the office of the General Secretary NBCC, to intervene and bring an amicable solution.
