WEA General Assembly Adopts Official Statements on Critical Issues

 — Oct. 30, 200830 oct. 2008

[WEA] The World Evangelical Alliance 12th General Assembly came to a close on Thursday Oct 30, 2008, after five days of intensive discussion to plan the way forward in world evangelisation. More than 500 senior evangelical leaders gathered for the assembly in Pattaya, Thailand which began on 25 October. On Wednesday 29th, delegates agreed to six major resolutions setting out an evangelical response to religious liberty, HIV and Aids, poverty, peacemaking, creation care and the global financial crisis.

“The Body of Christ, His Church, is living with HIV,” stated the resolution on HIV, a major focus area for the WEA. “With brokenness we admit that as Evangelical Christians we have allowed stigmatisation and discrimination to characterise our relationships with people living with HIV. We repent of these sinful attitudes and commit to ensuring that they are changed.” The statement went on to call for churches to provide “a clear, biblical framework of biblical sexuality and life skills” and for them to “listen with understanding” to those affected by issues such as HIV “so that we can work together for a healthy and safe future.” The statement committed leaders to “live out incarnational faith working in partnership with the most marginalised.” Other challenges faced by the statement included HIV prevention, establishing caring relationships and a “comprehensive HIV strategy.”

The resolution on the current Economic Crisis stated that the “turmoil is, at its root, evidence of what happens when too many are captivated by greed and put their faith in, and entrust their security and future aspirations to a system animated by the maximization of wealth.” It concluded that “Many legitimately feel betrayed.” It further explained: “our concern is that its impact will continue to permeate into more regions and economies of the world” and that it will have “the most painful impact on the poor, who are the most vulnerable.” The document reaffirmed “our faith in God” and sought prayerfully that “God will honour those attempts to address the financial crisis” calling on governments and others to “honour their comitments.” It acknowledged the necessity of everyone pulling “together as a community” and encouraged evangelicals to “show leadership in caring for the poor, calling for the necessary reforms … and to be prophetic in challenging the structures and practices that are incompatible with good stewardship of the resources entrusted to each and all of us.”

During the Assembly, the WEA commissioned Dr Joel Edwards, formerly of the Evangelical Alliance of the UK, as the International Director of the Micah Challenge, and Dr Godfrey Yogarajah, formerly head of the Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka and Asia Regional Secretary, as Executive Director of the WEA Religious Liberty Commission.

Kew presentations at the General Assembly included addresses by Dr Joel Edwards on “Evangelicals as Good News People”, Dr Richard Howell speaking on the gospel in a pluralistic age and Dr Ronald Sider outlining a “Biblically Shaped, Factually Informed Evangelical Political Framework.”

Posted: Oct. 30, 2008 • Permanent link: ecumenism.net/?p=514
Categories: News Transmis : 30 oct. 2008 • Lien permanente : ecumenism.net/?p=514
Catégorie : News