Baptist World Alliance
The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA accounts for about half the Baptists in the world. It is the 8th largest Christian communion.
| Baptist World Alliance | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Evangelicalism |
| Orientation | Baptist |
| General Secretary and CEO | Elijah M. Brown, since 2018 |
| President | Tomás Mackey, since 2020 |
| Region | 128 countries |
| Headquarters | Falls Church, Virginia, U.S. |
| Origin | July 1905 London, United Kingdom |
| Congregations | 176,000 |
| Members | 51,000,000 |
| Official website | baptistworld |
The BWA was founded in 1905 in London during an international congress of Baptist churches. Its headquarters are in Falls Church, Washington metropolitan area, Virginia, United States. It is led by General Secretary and CEO Elijah M. Brown and by President Tomás Mackey.
History
The roots of the Baptist World Alliance can be traced back to the seventeenth century when Baptist leader Thomas Grantham proposed the concept of a congregation of all Christians in the world that are "baptised according to the appointment of Christ."[1] Similar proposals were put forward later such as the call of John Rippon in 1790 for a world meeting of Baptists "to consult the ecclesiastical good to the whole."[1]
It was, however, only in 1904 when such congregation became a reality. John Newton Prestridge, editor of The Baptist Argus, at Louisville, Kentucky called for a world gathering of Baptists. John Howard Shakespeare, editor of The Baptist Times and Freeman, London, endorsed the proposal.[2][3][4] In October 1904, the Baptist Union of Great Britain passed a resolution to invite a Congress to meet with them in 1905.[5]At the Congress, a committee was formed, which proposed a Constitution for a World Alliance. The Baptist World Alliance was founded in London, during this first Baptist World Congress in July 1905.[6][7][8][9]
The gathering was referred to as an "alliance" and not a council in order to establish the nature of the dialogue as a meeting. This means that the body wields no authority over participating churches or national Baptist unions, serving only as a forum for collaboration.[10]
In 2020, the Argentine Pastor Tomás Mackey succeeded South African Pastor Paul Msiza.[11]
Statistics
According to a denomination census released in 2022, the BWA has 246 participating Baptist denominations or fellowships in 128 countries, with 176,000 churches and 51,000,000 baptized members.[12] These statistics are not fully representative, however, since some churches in the United States have dual or triple national Baptist affiliation, causing a church and its members to be counted by more than one Baptist denomination. [13][14]
Beliefs
The Alliance has a Baptist confession of faith.[15]
Organisational structure
The Alliance is divided into six regional or geographical fellowships: North American Baptist Fellowship, Asia Pacific Baptist Federation (formerly Asian Baptist Federation), All-Africa Baptist Fellowship, Caribbean Baptist Fellowship, Latin American Baptist Union, and European Baptist Federation.[16] Each regional fellowship is served by an Executive Secretary.
List of presidents
| Name | Term | Country |
|---|---|---|
| John Clifford | 1905–1911 | UK |
| Robert Stuart MacArthur | 1911–1923 | USA |
| Edgar Young Mullins | 1923–1928 | USA |
| John MacNeill | 1928–1934 | Canada |
| George Washington Truett | 1934–1939 | USA |
| James Henry Rushbrooke | 1939–1947 | UK |
| Charles Oscar Johnson | 1947–1950 | USA |
| Fred Townley Lord | 1950–1955 | UK |
| Theodore Floyd Adams | 1955–1960 | USA |
| Joao Filson Soren | 1960–1965 | Brasil |
| William Tolbert | 1965–1970 | Liberia |
| Carney Hargroves | 1970–1975 | USA |
| David Wong | 1975–1980 | Hong Kong |
| Duke Kimbrough McCall | 1980–1985 | USA |
| Noel Vose | 1985–1990 | Australia |
| Knud Wümpelmann | 1990–1995 | Denmark |
| Nilson do Amaral Fanini | 1995–2000 | Brasil |
| Billy Kim | 2000–2005 | South Korea |
| David Coffey | 2005–2010 | UK |
| John Upton | 2010–2015 | USA (Virginia) |
| Paul Mzisa | 2015–2020 | South Africa |
| Tomás Mackey | 2020– | Argentina |
Baptist World Congress
Baptist World Congresses have been held every few years since 1905.[9][17][18][19]
| No. | Year | City | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1905 | London | GBR |
| 2. | 1911 | Philadelphia | USA |
| 3. | 1923 | Stockholm | SWE |
| 4. | 1928 | Toronto | CAN |
| 5. | 1934 | Berlin | DEU |
| 6. | 1939 | Atlanta | USA |
| 7. | 1947 | Copenhagen | DNK |
| 8. | 1950 | Cleveland | USA |
| 9. | 1955 | London | GBR |
| 10. | 1960 | Rio de Janeiro | BRA |
| 11. | 1965 | Miami Beach | USA |
| 12. | 1970 | Tokyo | JPN |
| 13. | 1975 | Stockholm | SWE |
| 14. | 1980 | Toronto | CAN |
| 15. | 1985 | Los Angeles | USA |
| 16. | 1990 | Seoul | KOR |
| 17. | 1995 | Buenos Aires | ARG |
| 18. | 2000 | Melbourne | AUS |
| 19. | 2005 | Birmingham | GBR |
| 19. | 2010 | Honolulu | USA |
| 19. | 2015 | Durban | ZAF |
| 19. | 2021 (Online) |
Social programs
The denomination has an affiliated humanitarian organization, BWAid.[20]
Ecumenical relations
The Baptist World Alliance is involved in ecumenical dialogues, including with the Roman Catholic Church and the World Methodist Council. [21] One series of International Conversations between the BWA and the Catholic Church took place from between 1984 and 1988 moderated by the Reverend Dr David T. Shannon, sometime President of Andover Newton Theological School, and the Most Reverend Bede Heather, Bishop of Parramatta.[22] While this dialogue produced the report called Summons to Witness to Christ in Today's World, the second phase did not push through because of opposition from within the Baptist World Alliance itself.[23] Negotiations continued, however, so that a series of consultations transpired from 2000 to 2003. During this period the Baptists and Catholics discussed important doctrines that divide these denominations.[23] These second series of conversations resulted in formal meetings between 2006 and 2010. The current Co-Moderators are Paul Fiddes, Professor of Systematic Theology in the University of Oxford and formerly Principal of Regent's Park College, Oxford, and Arthur J. Serratelli, Bishop of Paterson.[24]
Controversies
In 2004, the Southern Baptist Convention of the United States left the BWA after it had accused then-BWA President Kim of adopting a liberal theology because of his support for the exercise of pastoral ministry of women, its anti-Americanism, and because member denominations including the American Baptist Churches USA and the Progressive National Baptist Convention[25] allow the autonomy of its churches to perform same sex marriages.[26] Alliance Secretary General Denton Lotz replied that the Alliance was not liberal, but evangelical conservative, that the American Baptist Churches USA in its constitution believed only in marriage between a man and a woman and that any accusations of anti-Americanism had resulted from his visits to Fidel Castro in Cuba for the import of Bibles and the expansion of the freedom of belief.[27][28] The SBC also claimed the Alliance refused to discuss abortion stances.[29] In a General Council Resolution, the Alliance lamented the widespread resort to abortion but acknowledges the diversity of views and calls on Baptists to honor each individuals freedom of conscience.[30] In 2005, two state denomination members of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Baptist General Convention of Texas, applied for membership in the Alliance and were admitted.[31]
See also
References
- ^ a b Williams, Michael; Shurden, Walter (2008). Turning Points in Baptist History: A Festschrift in Honor of Harry Leon McBeth. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. p. 223. ISBN 978-0881461350.
- ^ Lord, Townley F. (2007). Baptist World Fellowship: A Short History Of The Baptist World Alliance. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN 978-0-548-44182-4.
- ^ Wardin, Albert W., ed. (1995). Baptists Around the World: A Comprehensive Handbook. Broadman & Holman. ISBN 0-8054-1076-7.
- ^ Leornard, Bill J. (1994). Dictionary of Baptists in America. InterVarsity Press. ISBN 0-8308-1447-7.
- ^ Erich Geldbach, Baptists Worldwide: Origins, Expansions, Emerging Realities, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2022, p. 139
- ^ Johnson, Robert E. (2010). A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches. UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 238.
- ^ Brackney, William H. (2009). Historical Dictionary of the Baptists. USA: Scarecrow Press. p. 59.
- ^ Melton, J. Gordon; Baumann, Martin (2010). Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. USA: ABC-CLIO. p. 297.
- ^ a b Pierard, Richard V. (1 October 2010). "The Baptist World Congress of 1905 and the Emergence of Black American Baptists on the International Scene". Baptist Quarterly. 43 (8): 494–505. doi:10.1179/bqu.2010.43.8.004. ISSN 0005-576X. S2CID 162270005.
- ^ Johnson, Robert (2010). A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 238. ISBN 978-0-52187781-7.
- ^ Baptist World Alliance, Tomás Mackey Installed as Next BWA President, baptistworld.org, USA, 23 July 2020
- ^ Baptist World Alliance, Members, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022
- ^ Robert E. Johnson, A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2010, p. 361
- ^ Paul Finkelman, Cary D. Wintz, Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896 to the Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-first Century Five-volume Set, Oxford University Press, USA, 2009, p. 193
- ^ Baptist World Alliance, Beliefs, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022
- ^ Baptist World Alliance, Regional Fellowships, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved November 5, 2022
- ^ McKinney, Blake (March 2018). ""One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism" in the Land of ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer: The Fifth Baptist World Congress (Berlin, 1934)". Church History. 87 (1): 122–148. doi:10.1017/S0009640718000823. ISSN 0009-6407. S2CID 165401185.
- ^ Deweese, Charles W. (1 January 2008). "E. Y. Mullins and Baptist World Congresses". Baptist History and Heritage. 43 (1): 4. ISSN 0005-5719.
- ^ "Gathering Global Baptists for More than 100 Years". Baptist World Alliance Website. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
- ^ Baptist World Alliance, BWAid, baptistworld.org, USA, retrieved June 8, 2021
- ^ Geoffrey Wainwright, Paul McPartlan, The Oxford Handbook of Ecumenical Studies, Oxford University Press, UK, 2021, p. 175
- ^ Angelo Maffeis, Ecumenical Dialogue, Liturgical Press, USA, 2005, p. 44-45
- ^ a b Cassidy, Edward (2005). Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue: Unitatis Redintegratio, Nostra Aetate. New York: Paulist Press. pp. 68. ISBN 0809143380.
- ^ "Baptist—Roman Catholic International Conversations". Centro Pro Unione. Retrieved 11 August 2009.
- ^ https://baptistworld.org/member-unions/
- ^ Don Hinkle, SBC severs ties with BWA as theological concerns remain, baptistpress.com, USA, 15 June 2004
- ^ Ted Olsen, Southern Baptists No Longer In, Nor Of, World Alliance, christianitytoday.com, USA, 1 June 2004
- ^ Alan Cooperman, Southern Baptists Vote To Leave World Alliance, washingtonpost.com, USA, 16 June 2004
- ^ "Committee votes to withdraw from Baptist World Alliance". 17 February 2004.
- ^ "Search results for "Abortion" | Baptist World Alliance".
- ^ Robert Dilday, Marv Knox, Part of the family: Virginia is elected new BWA member, baptistnews.com, USA, 7 August 2005
External links
- Official website