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Facing page: Worship at the Kuala Lumpur Baptist Church during the Celebration with Malaysian Baptists during the BWA Annual Gathering

Left: Wati Aier of India receives the BWA Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award, presented by Janice Lotz

Right: Roy Medley, chair of the BWA Resolutions Committee, presents resolutions to the General Council

G The total number of BWA member bodies now stands at 222 in

120 countries. The growth in BWA membership is one of the stated goals of the 2010-2015 fi ve-year BWA in Ministry plan, which was presented to the General Council by General Secretary Neville Callam. The plan calls for an “increase [in] the number of Baptist groups associated with the BWA” over the period.

Council and Executive Decisions Both the General Council and the Executive Committee were

informed that preliminary talks are to be held to explore the possibility of engaging in theological dialogues with the Orthodox Church and with Pentecostals. A BWA delegation will meet with representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople in Crete later this year, and another BWA team will meet with Pentecostal representatives in the city of Birmingham, Alabama, in the United States, from December 13-15. A signifi cant development was the change in status of

the special commission on Baptist-Muslim relations, previously attached to the general secretary’s offi ce, to that of a standing commission within the Division of Freedom and Justice. The commission seeks to engage with contemporary Islam on the basis of a mutual acknowledgement of the twin commands to love God and neighbor in order to develop mutual respect, and to promote security, peace and the common welfare. In addition, the commission will explore and encourage expression

Makoto Kato, executive secretary of the Japan Baptist Convention, speaks during a forum at the Annual Gathering

Below right: BWA President John Upton, right, welcomes Jacques Banyene, president of the Association of Evangelical Baptist Churches in Congo, as a new BWA member

Bottom center: Choir sings during the Celebration with Malaysian Baptists at the Kuala Lumpur Baptist Church

of authentic Christian witness among Muslim neighbors, raise awareness, and provide tools and resources so that Baptists around the world can relate positively to their Muslim neighbors. The Executive Committee adopted a new fi scal policy manual.

The fi scal policy manual sets the rules and provides guidance on the use and management of funds received by the BWA, and speaks to issues of confl icts of interest, confi dentiality, and certain laws governing the fi scal responsibilities of the BWA. A key section of the document covers the ethical guidelines that

govern the investment decisions of the BWA, including a provision that none of its investments be placed “in any company engaged in production or sale of tobacco, consumable alcohol, for-profi t gambling services, lethal military equipment, pornography and pornographic publishing.” Another provision is that companies in which the BWA invests “shall support and respect protection of internationally proclaimed human rights” and that these companies “are not complicit in human rights abuses.” In terms of labor standards, the BWA wishes to choose fi rms that “uphold the freedom of association” and that these enterprises “not be involved in any form of punitive forced labor and child labor.”

Resolutions A number of resolutions were passed by the General Council

that dealt with pressing theological, social, ethical and international issues. One resolution condemns the violence that has taken place in sections of the Middle East. Baptists are encouraged to be engaged in “informed and persistent prayer for the whole region,” and to be involved in “active solidarity with all (Continued on next page)