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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Nepal Baptists celebrate 25 years as national body

By Ferrell Foster KATHMANDU, Nepal (BWA) -- Baptists in Nepal celebrated their 25th anniversary as a national group April 11. They packed a rented hall for the celebration with people standing in a courtyard outside and listening through the windows. Denton Lotz, BWA...

BWA renovates offices in partnership with Texas university

In early March, the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) renovated the second floor of its offices in Falls Church, Virginia, in the United States, in partnership with Dallas Baptist University (DBU). The gift in kind resulted from a visit made to the school by BWA General...

BWA UN rep to receive human rights award

Christer Daelander, a Baptist World Alliance representative to the United Nations (UN) and religious freedom representative of the European Baptist Federation (EBF), is the nominee for the 2018 Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award.

Billy Graham: A Personal Statement

On behalf of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), General Secretary Emeritus Denton Lotz, family member and long time friend of Billy Graham, issues the following personal statement: The world has lost a great spiritual leader. Christians have lost a great evangelist....

BWA Day 2018 in February

The observance of Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Day is on February 3 and 4, depending on whether Baptists worship on Saturday or Sunday. Worship resources for the observance are available on the BWA website in various languages. They can be downloaded at...

ABM protesta nueva ley boliviana

La Alianza Bautista Mundial se une a otros grupos y organizaciones cristianas en protesta contra una nueva y ambigua ley en Bolivia que podría convertir el proselitismo en ilegal y poner a quienes lo hacen en riesgo de ser enjuiciados y encarcelados. En una carta a...

BWA protests new Bolivian law

The Baptist World Alliance joins other Christian groups and organizations in protesting a new and ambiguous law in Bolivia that could make proselytizing illegal and put those who do so at risk of prosecution and imprisonment. In a letter to legislators in Bolivia, BWA...

Elijah Brown assumes BWA leadership

Elijah Brown, the 9th general secretary in the 112-year history of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), assumed responsibility on January 1. Brown, the fourth American to lead the global organization for Baptists, was elected during the BWA Annual Gathering in Bangkok,...

2018 human rights award nomination closes November 30

The Baptist World Alliance 2018 Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award closes on November 30. Any Baptist individual, church or organization can submit a nomination, and any Baptist is eligible to receive the award. The award is intended to recognize and give...

Christians killed in Nigerian attack

Twenty one Christians were killed by Fulani herdsmen on September 9 in Plateau State in Nigeria. Samson Ayokunle, president and CEO of the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC), told the Baptist World Alliance that 20 of those killed were Baptists while one was a...

Letter to the churches 2017

Dear Sisters and Brothers, Greetings in the name of our Triune Lord from the Division on Mission, Evangelism and Justice of the Baptist World Alliance! I am very happy to share the good things which took place in Bangkok, Thailand, earlier this year during our Annual...

BWA Day 2018 to be observed

Worship resource for Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Day 2018 is now available in English on the BWA website. This can be downloaded at www.bwanet.org.  Other languages will be subsequently available for download. The observance will be on February 3 and 4, 2018,...

BWA responds to multiple disasters

The Baptist World Alliance is responding to a series of weather related disasters on multiple fronts. The most recent, Hurricane Irma, devastated parts of the Caribbean and several southeastern states of the United States, especially Florida. The BWA is in contact...

2018 human rights award nomination now open

The Baptist World Alliance has begun the process of accepting nominations for the 2018 Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award. Nominations will close on November 30, 2017. Any Baptist individual, church or organization can submit a nomination, and any Baptist is...

At least 500 Baptists affected by heavy flooding in Nepal

Beginning on August 10, the South Asian country of Nepal has been affected by devastating floods, compounding earlier flood rains in the month of June. Twenty-nine of the 75 districts in the Himalayan country were inundated by torrential rain. About 150 people have...

BWA offers support and sympathy to victims of Hurricane Harvey

The Baptist World Alliance sent an initial sum of US$15,000 to Baptists in Texas in the United States to assist those affected by Hurricane Harvey. Harvey, which landed as a category 4 hurricane on the coast of Texas on August 25, has caused widespread destruction in...

Baptist elected head of world’s largest united church

Andre Bokundoa-bo-Likabe, general secretary of the Baptist Community of the Congo River and a former vice president of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA), has been elected president of the Church of Christ in the Congo (CCC). CCC, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

Dozens of Baptists Perish in Sierra Leone floods

More than 80 Baptists are among the nearly 500 who have died due to landslides and severe flooding in the West African country of Sierra Leone.  More than 600 people remain missing. More than 80 Baptists are among the nearly 500 who have died due to landslides and...

BWA urges Baptists to pray for and respond to global concerns

At its Annual Gathering in Bangkok, Thailand, the Baptist World Alliance passed resolutions expressing concerns on human slavery and sex trafficking, refugees in East Africa, the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela and religious liberty in both Russia and the United...

Callam welcomes Elijah Brown’s appointment

Current Baptist World Alliance (BWA) General Secretary Neville Callam has welcomed the election of Elijah Brown as his successor. Brown will be the ninth BWA general secretary since its founding in 1905. He will assume the position on January 1, 2018, after Callam’s...

Elijah Brown to be next BWA general secretary

American Elijah Brown, originally from the state of Texas, was elected to be the next general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA). Brown was formally approved by the General Council on Friday, July 7, in Bangkok, Thailand, at its meeting during the BWA...

Callam lauded for service to Baptists

A plethora of tributes were offered to Baptist World Alliance (BWA) General Secretary Neville Callam during the BWA Annual Gathering, held July 2-7 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Jamaican, the first black person and the first who is neither an American nor a European to...

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