Resolutions

For our Christian faith to be vibrant, it has to speak to our culture. That’s true even—or especially—on complex and difficult issues of contemporary life: abortion, war, assisted suicide, sexuality, poverty, and religious persecution, to name a few.

The Christian Action Commission prepares resolutions on ethical and political issues and recommends particular actions informed by biblical perspective. These proposed resolutions are then reviewed by the denomination’s Executive Board for recommendation to the Covenant Annual Meeting and a vote by delegates.

In the tradition of the Covenant, these resolutions are not binding. With the Covenant’s long-standing emphasis on freedom in Christ as one of our core affirmations, individual churches and church members are free not to abide by resolutions. But they still carry significant weight. For one, they represent the majority opinion of the Annual Meeting, the highest decision-making body in our denomination. Resolutions are also significant for these additional reasons:

• They offer a summary and crystallization of biblical and theological thought about a particular issue or concern. Covenant people don’t have to start from scratch when thinking about these matters
• They offer guidance to any Covenanter willing to consider them. They have, in fact, often guided policy both for the Covenant as a whole and for local churches
• These resolutions are meant to be wake-up calls. They should touch our consciences and spur us to further action