BWA DAY

n BWA DAY n BWA DAY n BWA DAY n BWA DAY n BWA DAY n BWA DAY n BWA DAY n BWA D BWA DAY RE-LAUNCHED

In July, leaders of the Baptist World Alliance who were gathered in Izmir, Turkey, the former

biblical Smyrna, decided to re-launch BWA Day. The General Council is urging all Baptist churches to mark

the second Sunday of February and the Saturday preceding it as a day that Baptists set aside as a time to remember and celebrate fellowship with one another.

In corporate worship, Baptists pray for one another and

celebrate the role of the BWA in helping cement the bond of unity and love in this “fellowship of kindred hearts.” On BWA Day, Baptists make appropriate use of worship resources provided by the BWA as a focus for united observance. BWA acknowledges those who have provided these resources

over the last five years – Joel Sierra, Myra Blythe, Jennifer Davidson, Samson Ayokunle, and Thomas Jackson. The writer of the resources that will be provided for 2015 is Gary Furr, pastor of Vestavia Hills Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, in the United States. Gary Cook, president

of Dallas Baptist University, has

described the BWA as “a forum that connects the global Baptist family. I have attended BWA events since I was in college, and because of the BWA, I developed a love for my brothers and sisters from other cultures and different backgrounds.” Through the years, many Baptists have expressed similar sentiments.

BWA seeks to express and promote unity and fellowship among the Baptists of the world.

— BWA President Edgar Mullins, 1927

1927: the decision to introduce the

observance of Baptist World Alliance Day.

Negotiating Disagreement continues Cultural norms can become an obstacle to meaningful debate on

moral issues. These norms have the potential to distract attention from the main points under consideration and to alienate the discussants from positive collaboration. Some cultural protocols regarding a discussion style that is acceptable may accommodate a full display of emotion and even the use of insults. The collision of discussion protocols marking different cultures may negate effective communication

and prevent a positive outcome,

however sincere the participants in the discussion group are. Of course, these protocols relate not only to the discussion of moral issues, but to the discussion on other issues as well. Furthermore, cultural norms regarding how decisions should

be made may also collide. A consensus methodology may clash with an approach based either on majority support or on the point of view of the person appointed to serve as the leader of a group. The Moral Discernment study recommends that, prior to

OCTOBER/DECEMBER 2014 5

engaging in debates over controversial issues, participants should analyze and discuss how their cultural norms can influence both debating styles and approaches to decision-making. This engagement should yield greater clarity for all discussants on the benefits and shortcomings of their characteristic styles and approaches. The world needs a united voice from the church on moral

and ethical issues. How committed are you to contributing to the emergence of a process that can bring us nearer to this possibility? Consideration of the many perspectives lucidly shared in Moral Discernment should go a far way in helping Christians and churches negotiate their disagreement on ethics and morals.

From the BWA’s inaugural congress in 1905, the accent on the

organization as a forum to connect Baptists has been predominant. Twenty-two years into the life of the BWA, the Executive Committee met in London and asked President Edgar Mullins and General Secretary John Rushbrooke to prepare a “Special Statement” expressing clearly BWA’s purpose. The Statement emphasized that BWA “seeks to express and promote unity and fellowship among the Baptists of the world.”

During the 12-year wait between the second and third Baptist

World Congress, Baptists worldwide yearned for fellowship with each other. In 1927, four years after the third congress, when the Executive Committee met in Leeds, England, the committee made the decision to introduce the observance of Baptist World Alliance Day. The Minutes of the meeting state, “It was decided that Baptist World Alliance Sunday should be observed on February 6th

, 1927,

and that the secretaries should forward the constituent groups an early intimation on the subject.” This was to be “a day when, in thanksgiving and prayer, the entire work of the denomination [should] be remembered at the services of the sanctuary.” Throughout the years, many Baptist churches have given

the observance of BWA Day a prominent place in their worship calendar. Each year, they affirm their belonging in the worldwide Baptist family and celebrate this privilege. Former United States President Jimmy Carter once said, “I am proud to be a part of the Baptist World Alliance – millions of men and women around the

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