The winds of change were swirling during the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Annual Gathering in Bangkok, Thailand, on July 5–7 as the organization formally approved the appointment of Elijah Brown as the next general secretary of BWA. Brown, a Texas native, will assume the position Jan. 1, 2018.
“Elijah understands the BWA, values human rights, is a champion of religious freedom, connects with all generations, is a passionate speaker (and) a skilled administrator,” said John Upton, former BWA president and chair of the General Secretary Search Committee.
Brown, 36, is the son of a Texas pastor and has had a decade-long involvement in BWA that started in 2007 when he was named 1 of 35 global emerging leaders by BWA. He is currently BWA’s regional secretary for North America and general secretary for the North American Baptist Fellowship.
He also serves as executive vice president of the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, a Christian human rights organization based in Virginia.
Current General Secretary Neville Callam, who has led BWA for 10 years, said the newly elected leader “has been gifted by God,” adding that he “expects Elijah’s service with the BWA to be marked by robust advocacy in the cause of social justice and enthusiastic engagement witnessing to the transformative power of the gospel.”
Brown’s specialties are in human rights and religious liberty. He has conducted research on, led training events in and done advocacy work in South Sudan, Nigeria, Eritrea, Iraq and Nepal, according to BWA.
Brown will be BWA’s ninth general secretary.
Also during the BWA Annual Gathering, three organizations were welcomed into BWA membership, adding two new countries to the BWA family.
The Turkish Baptist Alliance and The Baptist Evangelical Church of Chad each became the first BWA member organizations from their respective countries. The Zomi Baptist Churches of America also became a BWA member, bringing the umbrella organization’s total membership to 238 across 124 countries.
Resolutions
Resolutions on the following topics were approved by BWA’s General Council on July 7:
• modern-day slavery and human trafficking,
• religious freedom in Russia,
• religious liberty in the U.S.,
• refugees in East Africa and
• the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. (BWA, TAB)
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