Lawless succeeds Rainer at SBTS; and what's Christian about Hurricane Katrina compassion?
by: Rebecca Barnes, editor
9/16/2005
Baptist Press reports that Chuck Lawless has been named the new president of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Lawless succeeds Dr. Thom Rainer, who was named as the new president of Lifeway Christian Resources last month.
Church Central's work with both of these leaders has been fundamental in the shaping of our work with churches and church consultants. We are eager to continue working with Dr. Lawless, who shares the same passion for evangelism and the Church that Dr. Rainer made so evident in his own teaching and writing for Church Central.
Evangelism in the wake of Hurricane Katrina takes an active, supraChristian form
Meeting the needs of people displaced by the worst storm in America's history is proving to be an indisputable example of how physical needs are related to spiritual needs. All the preaching in the world couldn't equivocate the kindness bestowed on people who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina. As one New Orleans man said in a USA Today report on evacuees leaving shelters for more permanent housing,
"It would turn you into a Christian, even if you weren't," says Arthur Walker, 57, known as "Mr. A" when he worked as a palm reader in New Orleans' Jackson Square.
That story wasn't even about the Church's work in offering help. Although President George W. Bush mentioned the "houses of worship" several times during his address to the nation Thursday evening, Sept. 15. And the work of Christians across the country today is prayer. Although the President didn't mention that last night either, Sept. 16 was declared a national day of prayer for Hurricane Katrina sufferers.
Some say the prayer comes like much of the rescue for the area, too little, too late. According to the Associated Press, most church leaders already held services of prayer and are looking now to not only listen to the word, but to do what it says (James 1:22).
Even Billy Graham is putting his action where his faith is. The Associated Press reported that he has donated a second home to a family displaced by the storm.
"If every church in America adopted a family, it would solve the problem of how to house and help so many evacuees," Graham said.
The National Council of Churches is helping congregations and faith-based organizations with the logistics of providing what is needed now—interim housing. Leaders can access more information and register on their Web site: http://katrinarelocationresourcesresponse.org/
From helping hurricane victims to helping all of America's poor, church leaders and politicians alike have leapt to action. And in one effort their work is coinciding, if not clashing. In a Sept. 13 letter to the U.S. Congress, five U.S. religious leaders called for a stop to the federal budget reconciliation process for fiscal year 2006. The proposed budget includes Medicare and food stamps cuts.
According to a press release from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), church leaders noted the "unprecedented devastation" caused by Hurricane Katrina which exposed "the all too many faces of poverty living in the wealthiest nation on the planet," saying proposed cuts make little sense in light of the needs.
Those who signed the letter were the Rev. Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the ELCA; the Rev. Frank T. Griswold, presiding bishop, Episcopal Church, New York; the Rev. Clifton Kirkpatrick, stated clerk, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Louisville, Ky.; the Rev. John H. Thomas, general minister and president, United Church of Christ, Cleveland; and James Winkler, general secretary, general board of church and society, United Methodist Church, Nashville, Tenn.
Some 20,000 church leaders and Christians have signed a "Faith In Action" pledge promoted by Sojourners, to remember the poor and to tell Congress to do the same.
And it isn't only Christians or Congress getting in on the help the needy act. Donations from other religious groups—Muslim and Jewish—have been accounted for by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Even a secular group, the Council for Secular Humanism, has donated pledges of cash to help.
It makes me think Mr. A was more right than he knew when he said, "It would turn you into a Christian, even if you weren't."
Of course compassion is bigger than Christianity. It's bigger than any religion and a part of the warp and woof of humanity. Its expression reveals our status as creatures of a compassionate God. Everyone but atheists would probably agree with that.
What makes the Church's compassion different? Does the fact that the Southern Baptists are breaking records for serving meals and seeing people commit their lives to Christ prove the merits of Christian compassion over other forms? Does the fact that Christian groups are always leading the charge in disaster relief?
What makes Christian compassion different? Hopefully it is the compulsion to love because God loved us so much. Because of that, and not hurricanes or other disasters, the Church is always in response mode.
