Resolutions | Baptist World Alliance

Resolutions

Compiled by Rev. Dr. Lee B. Spitzer, BWA Historian

Welcome to the Baptist World Alliance Historical Archive!

We are pleased to share with you the entire set of Resolutions, Manifestos, Messages and Proclamations approved by delegates attending the Baptist World Alliance World Congresses from 1905 through 2015 (the 2020 Congress was postponed to 2021 due to the global pandemic).

Additionally, we are offering the Resolutions and Manifestos approved by the BWA General Council, which meets yearly. The online collection includes the years 1976-2019. The BWA Executive Committee Resolutions are currently being compiled, and a limited number are already accessible. The collection will be expanded over time.

Each Resolution document is in PDF format and seeks to reproduce the original text as closely as possible. This means that language and punctuation may be archaic and not in accordance with contemporary standards of discourse. Spellings of words sometimes are in British English and have been preserved as they were originally published. I am solely responsible for any typographical errors in reproduction, and I would deeply appreciate it if you would share with me any that you may discover.

It is the BWA’s hope that this collection will be useful to scholars, historians, denominational leaders, and clergy. Each document now contains a unique identification number, topical keywords, and four types of citations for academic purposes.

The range of issues covered by the collection is comprehensive, and many of the Resolutions speak to contemporary concerns (such as racism, antisemitism, poverty and war) with multi-cultural wisdom, spiritual integrity, and intellectual depth. Readers seeking to learn how Baptists on a global scale and across time have addressed the human condition in all of its variations (moral, social, economic, political, etc.) will be rewarded as well as challenged.

In Baptist polity, Resolutions and other collective statements are not binding on Baptist individuals or churches. They intend to share wisdom and raise consciousness rather than to demand or coerce conformity or hinder the soul freedom and responsibility of people to follow God according to the dictates of their own Christ-led conscience. In the foreword to the 1955 Golden Jubilee World Congress Official Report (p. 6), BWA General Secretary Arnold T. Ohrn stated this principle well:

Further, it should be understood that an Alliance Congress, when adopting pronouncements, can speak for itself alone. The resolutions naturally carry great moral authority, coming as they do from a Congress so representative of Baptists in the entire world. But no union or convention has ever authorized a Baptist World Congress to speak on its behalf. The people who voted for the resolutions, did so on their own behalf, not on behalf of their churches or conventions. But these statements would never have been proposed, much less adopted, if they were not considered indicative of the trends of opinion within the Baptist world.

If you should need any further assistance in utilizing this online historical archive, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Lee B. Spitzer,
BWA Historian (Click here to contact)

For ease of reference, click one of the buttons below to see resolutions in that category.

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Resolution on Religious Freedom

The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Izmir, Turkey, July 9-11, 2014:
ACKNOWLEDGES that every human being is created in the image of God and thereby has an intrinsic
value to God and to the world (Genesis 1:26-27);

Resolution on Theological Education and Leadership Formation

The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Izmir, Turkey, July 9-11, 2014:
ACKNOWLEDGES that every human being is created in the image of God and thereby has an intrinsic
value to God and to the world (Genesis 1:26-27);

Resolution on the Middle East

The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia July 4-9, 2011:
REGARDS current events in various countries in the Middle East as an opportunity for peaceful positive changes in the societies, and, therefore:

Resolution on South Sudan

The General Council of the Baptist World Alliance, meeting in Kuala Lumpur July 4-9, 2011:
RECOGNIZES the establishment of the new state of South Sudan, and the joy of achieving independence, and joins our brothers and sisters as they celebrate their newly found independence.

Resolution on “Conflict Minerals”

AWARE that for 15 years the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been embroiled in war, with an estimated 5,400,000 having died due to the war and its effects and with an estimated 45,000 dying each month in eastern Congo from disease and hunger resulting from the ongoing conflict;

Resolution on the Naga Reconciliation Process

Recalling that our Lord Jesus has pronounced “blessed” those who work for peace, (Matt 5:9);
Remembering that the Apostle Paul declares that, “God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ … has given us the ministry of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:18};

Religious Freedom Violations in Azerbaijan

Recollects, celebrating 400 years of Baptist life, that from the beginning our founders stood for freedom of conscience and freedom of religion for all people regardless of their beliefs or non-belief;
Notes that the joint EBF/BWA Religious Freedom Monitoring Group during a visit in January 2009 to Azerbaijan observed violations of freedom of religion towards the local Baptists;

Ukraine (2022.1)

BWA General Council Resolution 2022.1 The Baptist World Alliance General Council, meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, July 10-15, 2022: RECALLS the words and examples of the Old Testament prophets concerned to speak the truth of the word of the Lord into situations...

Myanmar (2022.2)

BWA General Council Resolution 2022.2 The Baptist World Alliance General Council, meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, July 10-15, 2022: NOTES on February 1, 2021, the democratically elected leaders in Myanmar were overthrown in a coup d’état by the military...

Restorative Racial Justice & Flourishing Freedom (2022.3)

BWA General Council Resolution 2022.3 The Baptist World Alliance General Council, meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, July 10-15, 2022: ACKNOWLEDGES that since our last in-person gathering, a season of racial hostilities globally demands a renewed commitment to the...

Slavery Reparations (2022.4)

BWA General Council Resolution 2022.4 The Baptist World Alliance General Council, meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, July 10-15, 2022: ACKNOWLEDGES important local, national, and global conversations about chattel slavery, its enduring generational impacts, and the...

2020 BWA Day

BWA Day2020 BWA Day To all our Baptist brothers and sisters around the world, we greatly value your prayers and faithful partnership with us, so we have created a few simple resources for you to utilize this year within your homes, churches, ministries, unions, and...

Tomás Mackey Installed as Next BWA President

The BWA’s first virtual General Council included a special Officer Installation and Commissioning Service on Thursday, July 23. Tomás Mackey will now begin his five-year term.

BWA Women Launch Domestic Violence Initiative

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE(FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA – November 22, 2021) In response to pervasive violence experienced by women around the world, the Baptist World Alliance and BWA Women are launching the “Stand Against Domestic Violence” Global Initiative. Worldwide, 18% of...

Wearing Face Masks in Public Space

We now know from recent studies that a significant portion of individuals with coronavirus lack symptoms (“asymptomatic”) and that even those who eventually develop symptoms (“pre-symptomatic”)…

Needs Assessment Guidelines

These Needs Assessment Guidelines provide a series of questions for a team to work through in order to identify both the resources of a community as well as the issues it may face.

ABCUSA 21 Days of Prayer Resources

During this time of concern and uncertainty, the members of the National Executive Council and the members of the Regional Executive Ministers Council are calling American Baptists to a time of prayer…

Texas Baptists COVID-19 Resources

This response page is designed to share virus-related information across our Texas Baptist family. As a convention of churches, we continue to be committed to sharing Christ and showing love, even in the midst of this potentially challenging situation.

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