groups, organizations and regional councils within the United States. Therefore, CCT will keep in mind how we can reach out to those groups and partner with them in whatever we do. Conversations will be held and specific invitations issued. The hope is the CCT process will be replicated across the country in regional and/or state ecumenical councils and associations. 4. CCT will make decisions by consensus. Emphasis will be placed on building relationships and understanding, and we know disagreements will happen. Only when there is consensus will joint action be taken. Members are encouraged, however, to take action within their own faith communions and within created coalitions. 5. It is important CCT work on the “religious literacy” of Christians in the US, and therefore the concept of receptive ecumenism, through which we learn from each other about theologies, histories and organizations, will always be held as foundational. To that end there will be an annual inclusion of “experts” on the designated topic at hand. This means inviting well-known persons from within our Family Groups, who are on the right, center and left of the topic or issue. They will be invited to help with Bible study, theology and dialogue. This is important, because knowledge of specific issues is not necessarily the forte of persons who ecumenically represent faith communions and Christian organizations. The tools these experts would bring will be essential to the conversations. 6. It is possible bylaw changes may be necessary as we implement this new process. When that is the case, the Bylaws Committee will work on these changes and bring them for discussion to a Forum, so consensus around them can be built. In the interim, we will begin to live into the changes described and allow for some flexibility. Leadership The current Executive Director of Christian Churches Together is Dr. Monica Schaap Pierce, who is a member of the Reformed Church in America. Her predecessors were Rev. Carlos Malave and Rev. Richard (Dick) Hamm. History In 2001, a number of US churches leaders began discussing the possibility of forming a new organization that would provide a broader-based space than that provided by the National Council of Churches or the National Association of Evangelicals. On September 7–8, 2001, various American church leaders met informally in Baltimore to explore whether or not the time had come to “create a new, more inclusive body.” At the meeting no