Amen, sister! Faith, properly understood and lived out, should be more of a bridge than the wall that it seems to be. The core values at the center of our faith traditions stand for the shared flourishing of all human beings. There will always be some differences in beliefs and attitudes within and across faith/secular lines, but that should not obscure the commonality that does exist deep down. Let’s hope the millennial generation of Christians and secular progressives will knock down the walls and build bridges instead!
Thank you, Victoria! If you want further proof of what Victoria Strang is saying, check out Sojourners: https://sojo.net/about-us/what-we-cover
I’d be happy to talk with any of you about our work.
Thanks Victoria! I work with a small faith-based foundation and have been telling this very story for years now. It’s great to see this in SSIR. Keep telling this story.
Thank you for raising this issue. I work in a Christian NGO and have worked in local government, too. My experience is that both sides (secular and faith-based) ignore, and sometimes carry disdain for, one another whether for partnerships, support, human capital or even perspective and insight. I also find that faith-based organizations are often just as reluctant to approach others from other denominations or faiths. Many faith-based organizations are very well run and hold to even higher ethical and financial accountability standards (e.g. ECFA) than the standard 501(c)(3). Collaboration can be achieved if both groups can focus on their passion for a cause (i.e. water, orphans, disaster relief, etc.), working excellently, and communicating with integrity. Personally, I am encouraged by some of the collective impact experiences around the country and am working to implement this approach in international development arenas.
The media loves to accentuate the divisions between the faith and secular communities. Yes, there certainly are some deep divisions. But there are also vast areas of common ground. In the Legal Aid program of the Christian Legal Society, we work with Christians all over the U.S. who are passionate about social justice and serving those in need. There are many faith-based ministries that partner very successfully with secular nonprofits because they share a common goal of improving the lives of the most vulnerable. With all of the stereotypes of Christians, it’s easy to forget that so much of the Bible is a call to serve others, e.g. “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Psalm 82:3-4). I hope both sides of the divide will look beyond the hyperbole and learn to work together more.
Good article. However, the chasm that exists between the secular world and faith-based entities is both wide and deep. The current administration is quite hostile to Christianity in its application of rules and regulations. I work for a faith-based NPO ministering to homeless vets and our cooperative association with the VA is less than cordial. The government chooses to throw its weight around and is quite “intolerant” of our approach to dealing with this population in a biblical manner as outlined in Micah 6:8. Ravi Zacharias said it best when he noted that the secular world has today taken it upon itself to dismiss the claims and values of religious faith as irrelevant due to the notion that there is no absolute moral truth emanating from a transcendent moral God. Truth and morality as seen only from a purely secular mindset is both relative and worldly. Like Socrates the world is only concerned with the particulars in a purely physical nature.
Another important (if not simply self-serving) reason that secular orgs should carefully consider how they engage people and communities of faith is that those (at least in the US) who profess a faith persuasion and who regularly participate in worship of some kind (regardless of which religion or denomination) are significantly more likely to volunteer at a nonprofit and to donate financially.
The Heart Of The Donor study (2010, Russ Reid Co) confirmed this.
it is known that the core values at the center of our faith traditions stand for the shared flourishing of all human beings. assignment writing There will always be some differences in beliefs and attitudes within and across faith/secular lines, but that should not obscure the commonality that does exist deep down
COMMENTS
BY Emily Nielsen Jones
ON September 10, 2015 12:09 PM
Amen, sister! Faith, properly understood and lived out, should be more of a bridge than the wall that it seems to be. The core values at the center of our faith traditions stand for the shared flourishing of all human beings. There will always be some differences in beliefs and attitudes within and across faith/secular lines, but that should not obscure the commonality that does exist deep down. Let’s hope the millennial generation of Christians and secular progressives will knock down the walls and build bridges instead!
BY Lisa Daughtry-Weiss
ON September 10, 2015 01:34 PM
Thank you, Victoria! If you want further proof of what Victoria Strang is saying, check out Sojourners: https://sojo.net/about-us/what-we-cover
I’d be happy to talk with any of you about our work.
BY Brian Becker
ON September 10, 2015 02:26 PM
Thanks Victoria! I work with a small faith-based foundation and have been telling this very story for years now. It’s great to see this in SSIR. Keep telling this story.
BY Aaron Pierce
ON September 10, 2015 02:55 PM
Thank you for raising this issue. I work in a Christian NGO and have worked in local government, too. My experience is that both sides (secular and faith-based) ignore, and sometimes carry disdain for, one another whether for partnerships, support, human capital or even perspective and insight. I also find that faith-based organizations are often just as reluctant to approach others from other denominations or faiths. Many faith-based organizations are very well run and hold to even higher ethical and financial accountability standards (e.g. ECFA) than the standard 501(c)(3). Collaboration can be achieved if both groups can focus on their passion for a cause (i.e. water, orphans, disaster relief, etc.), working excellently, and communicating with integrity. Personally, I am encouraged by some of the collective impact experiences around the country and am working to implement this approach in international development arenas.
BY Ken Liu
ON September 11, 2015 06:34 AM
The media loves to accentuate the divisions between the faith and secular communities. Yes, there certainly are some deep divisions. But there are also vast areas of common ground. In the Legal Aid program of the Christian Legal Society, we work with Christians all over the U.S. who are passionate about social justice and serving those in need. There are many faith-based ministries that partner very successfully with secular nonprofits because they share a common goal of improving the lives of the most vulnerable. With all of the stereotypes of Christians, it’s easy to forget that so much of the Bible is a call to serve others, e.g. “Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” (Psalm 82:3-4). I hope both sides of the divide will look beyond the hyperbole and learn to work together more.
BY Gerald Rodriguez
ON September 11, 2015 05:48 PM
Good article. However, the chasm that exists between the secular world and faith-based entities is both wide and deep. The current administration is quite hostile to Christianity in its application of rules and regulations. I work for a faith-based NPO ministering to homeless vets and our cooperative association with the VA is less than cordial. The government chooses to throw its weight around and is quite “intolerant” of our approach to dealing with this population in a biblical manner as outlined in Micah 6:8. Ravi Zacharias said it best when he noted that the secular world has today taken it upon itself to dismiss the claims and values of religious faith as irrelevant due to the notion that there is no absolute moral truth emanating from a transcendent moral God. Truth and morality as seen only from a purely secular mindset is both relative and worldly. Like Socrates the world is only concerned with the particulars in a purely physical nature.
BY Andrew Olsen
ON October 3, 2015 05:52 PM
Another important (if not simply self-serving) reason that secular orgs should carefully consider how they engage people and communities of faith is that those (at least in the US) who profess a faith persuasion and who regularly participate in worship of some kind (regardless of which religion or denomination) are significantly more likely to volunteer at a nonprofit and to donate financially.
The Heart Of The Donor study (2010, Russ Reid Co) confirmed this.
BY hillary davidson
ON October 15, 2015 11:49 PM
it is known that the core values at the center of our faith traditions stand for the shared flourishing of all human beings. assignment writing There will always be some differences in beliefs and attitudes within and across faith/secular lines, but that should not obscure the commonality that does exist deep down