Robert Dilday has an interesting piece in the Baptist Standard on the necessity of government and religious groups working together in responding to disaster situations, and the responsibility of church organizations in that setting.
Baptist disaster relief administrators say they strive to balance appropriate relations with government relief agencies with their commitment to church-state separation, and they work hard to avoid using federal or state funds to proselytize.
“Among both leaders and volunteers, there is a motive and desire to share faith with other people, and that should be a natural outcropping,” said Dean Miller, who coordinates disaster relief for the Baptist General Association of Virginia. “But for most religious organizations that are utilizing any type of federal or state funds, the response to the disaster comes first.”
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Charles Ray, one of two disaster relief coordinators for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, said he reflects on the question each time the CBF gears up to respond to a disaster.“One place that I differ with many of our partners is in the distribution of religious tracts during a disaster response,” said Ray. “We do not do it. It is not a question of who paid for the literature, but why are we there?”
