BWA EXECUTIVE MEETINGS
BWA BWA reaches for the future By Eron Henry
More than 60 Baptist leaders from some 20 countries traveled to the Baptist World Alliance international offices in Falls
Church, Virginia, in the United States, for executive and other auxiliary committee meetings that were held from March 4-7.
Accepted Recommendations
A number of recommendations brought by BWA General Secretary Neville Callam were adopted for further action by the Executive Committee. One recommendation was for moves to be made to broaden participation in BWA life by enabling more persons to be named to BWA committees and commissions and by encouraging more of the BWA’s 222 member bodies to contribute to the organization. His proposal that only persons belonging to conventions and unions that contribute to the BWA should typically be provided assistance to attend meetings planned by the BWA is to be further considered.
On the matter of membership, Callam asked that the Constitution and Bylaws Committee “consider whether
12 BAPTIST WORLD MAGAZINE
the Constitution should be altered to allow BWA Associate Membership solely for organized Baptist groups,” and that the committee review the appropriateness of persons holding personal BWA membership. The BWA leader noted that many churches, while they are keen to support the BWA, are not interested in holding membership within the organization. He asked that the Global Impact Church and Global Partner programs be treated as donor recognition programs rather than as membership schemes, as is currently the case. Callam called for concerted action to be taken to resolve
issues of conflict among Baptists in different parts of the world. Of particular concern is the protracted disunity between Telugu Baptists in India. One of the largest Baptist groups on the Indian subcontinent with approximately 500,000 members in about 900 churches, the Telugus splintered over
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