March 12, 2001
A 'real world' perspective on faith-based funding debate
___By Kenneth Hall
___President, Buckner Baptist Benevolences
___Welcome to the real world. In this world, parents abuse, abandon and neglect children. In this world, senior adults grow old and run out of money. And in this world, the "least of these" stand at the back of the line.
___This is the world in which we live.
___The other world--the one we've heard a lot of debate about lately, is the philosophical world. This is the world where scholars and self-styled experts live. In this world, ideologies take precedence over reality. In this world, principle is more important than practice.
___President Bush's recent executive order establishing the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives has caused a collision of these two worlds. Unfortunately, the only ones who stand to be injured in this crash are those who are already hurting.
___Those who live in the philosophical world believe the president's initiatives would crack the wall of separation between church and state, a bedrock of Baptist principles. These folks believe that what is Caesar's should stay on one side of the wall and what is God's should stay on the other side. So what happens when Caesar wants to give to God? There are some important issues that must be understood as the worlds of reality and philosophy collide.
___First, faith-based organizations have accepted government money for decades. The president's initiatives are not new at this point. Children under the care of Child Protective Services are funded by that state agency with state money. Since the State of Texas does not own or operate any children's homes, those children must be sent to faith-based child-care agencies such as Buckner. The only way we can afford to help these children is by utilizing government funds. Likewise, faith-based medical facilities such our Baptist hospitals receive government support for patients through Medicare and Medicaid. The same is true for senior adults living at a faith-based retirement center who receive federal assistance through Medicaid. Also, thousands of students attending private, church-affiliated colleges and universities are dependent on government funding in the form of Pell Grants, guaranteed student loans and tuition equalization.
___Second, imagine you are a 5-year-old child who is pulled from your home because of physical or sexual abuse. It's midnight and a caseworker from CPS comes into your bedroom and scoops you into her arms. Still in your pajamas, you are put in the backseat of a strange car and driven to the only place that will take you in the middle of the night--Buckner Children's Home.
___Now imagine you are a Buckner employee who greets the CPS caseworker. "No, I'm sorry, we won't take this child from CPS because you are a state agency and if we take the child we will need to take state money to care for this child." This is the real world.
___To those in the philosophical world, President Bush's plan provides money for faith-based organizations. In the real world, this funding is for people, not organizations. The CPS child is the beneficiary of state funding. The low-income hospital patient is the one benefiting from this government money. And it is the senior adult living in a Medicaid nursing home bed whose life is immeasurably better because of this government program.
___Third, in the philosophical world, statements such as "Government shekels mean government shackles" sound good. It has a nice ring to it and it makes for good rhetoric. But history will tell you that in fact faith-based organizations and government agencies have long worked in partnership with one another. It must be understood that those in government service know firsthand the vital role faith-based social service organizations play in our society. CPS workers and nursing home inspectors will tell you that organizations such as Buckner provide high-quality services that would not be available anywhere else if we did not provide them. This mutual respect between government and private agency enables us to work together for the common good of those we serve.
___Fourth, one of the provisions of the president's initiative is to "encourage private charitable giving to support faith-based and community initiatives." President Bush wants to make it easier and more beneficial for donors to support non-profit agencies by providing additional provisions for income tax deductions. While current IRS regulations already promote charitable giving, the president's plan is even stronger and will ultimately create more incentives for donors who wish to support charities.
___Finally, the president's initiatives should not be perceived as a threat to Baptist ideals and principles. If you are a true, traditional Baptist, then you believe in the distinctive of soul competency--the distinctive that no person can or should be coerced into believing in Jesus Christ. Our calling is to be salt and light to a world in darkness. How better to fulfill this call than to extend the hands of Christ to those Jesus mentions in Matthew 25--those who are hungry, thirsty, alone, naked, sick and in prison. The reality of the system today is that to reach the masses of these people requires a partnership between government and faith-based organizations. Our most effective witness is to minister in the name of Christ and to be an example of "true and undefiled religion, to minister to widows and orphans in their distress." (James 1:27)
___As Baptists, we have the opportunity at this point in the faith-based initiatives program to ensure that the religious beliefs of every person are protected, even if those happen to be beliefs with which we do not agree. That is what religious liberty is all about and that is where Baptists should always be. That is why it is important that Baptist faith-based organizations be involved in the discussion at the outset.
___As the discussion progresses, it must be understood by everyone involved that there are questions which must be answered; that the government should not just begin doling out money to an organization because that organization is faith-based. Certain parameters must be established, such as accreditation and licensing, ensuring the protection of personal liberty, and establishing guidelines making certain unnecessary bureaucracy does not clog up the system.
___A key starting point for these discussions is to involve those who actually provide care. The discussion must not be between Washington policymakers. Another key is that everyone involved must begin with trust in one another--believing that we all have the best interests of our clients at heart.
___President Bush's executive order, issued Jan. 29, reads in part, "The paramount goal is compassionate results, and private and charitable community groups, including religious ones, should have the fullest opportunity permitted by law to compete on a level playing field, so long as they achieve valid public purposes, such as curbing crime, conquering addiction, strengthening families and neighborhoods, and overcoming poverty. This delivery of social services must be results-oriented and should value the bedrock principles of pluralism, non-discrimination, evenhandedness, and neutrality."
___Those in the philosophical world ask the question, "Can this be accomplished within the bounds of the First Amendment?" Those in the real world know it already has been.
___For a complete reading of President Bush's executive order establishing the faith-based initiatives programs, go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/ news/release/20010129-2.html.
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