Quick Question
Posted on September 6th, 2005 by catalyst into the Uncategorized categoryIf Wal Mart can get food and water into New Orleans to help the survivors? If Jesse Jackson can get buses into the city to evacuate the needy? Then where was Pat Robertson, James Dobson, Joel Osteen, and the million other evangelicals who claim to own the moral high ground? Maybe morality is more than just keeping bad language and sex off of TV screens. Maybe morality involves helping the poor and needy.
Evangelicals elected President Bush on his Compassionate Conservative platform.
I see the Conservative, now I’m just waiting for the compassion.
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September 6th, 2005 at 10:48 am
Your post got me curious so I took a look at a few sites.
Pat Robertson’s group, Operation Blessing, has a site updating their work (http://www.ob.org/projects/hurricane_relief/index.asp)
Joel Osteen’s church is raising 5 million bucks in donations for the disaster victims (http://www.lakewood.cc/site/PageServer?pagename=HurricaneKatrina)
Dobson’s group also has links for donating funds to the disaster victims (http://www.family.org/)
What strikes me is these groups are all just raising money for the relief victims. Are any of the church leaders making personal donations or tapping into their building funds to help out or is all this money going to be coming from the generousity of their congregations on top of their normal giving? Now that’s not to say I disagree with raising money, but I think a few plasma TVs and SUVs should be dropping off the budgets so a few thousand people can have clean water and food.
September 6th, 2005 at 10:50 am
This is from Lakewood’s Website:
JOEL OSTEEN AND THE LAKEWOOD FAMILY TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN HURRICANE KATRINA RELIEF EFFORTS
Pastor Joel and Victoria Osteen and the entire Lakewood Church Family is working in cooperation with Mayor Bill White, the City of Houston, local churches and numerous relief organizations to provide the much needed assistance to thousands of refugees in Houston and throughout the greater Gulf Coast region.
During this initial phase of relief efforts, there are three primary areas of focus:
1. Raise $5 million that will be used to pay for 3 hot meals each day for those who are being housed in the various Houston shelters. To make a donation, click here. YOUR GIFT IS TAX-DEDUCTIBLE AND 100% WILL BE USED FOR THIS SPECIFIC RELIEF EFFORT!
2. Recruit Volunteers to serve meals to those being housed in Houston shelters. A training class will be provided for all volunteers who will serve during any of the three shifts September 21-27. To volunteer, sign up online here. You will be contacted by e-mail regarding training times and other details.
3. Gather water and non-perishable food items to be distributed to the Houston Food Bank, local relief agencies and other shelters along the Gulf Coast.
Please bring the items listed below to the Lakewood’s Central Campus. Come to the west circle drive off Timmons Rd, beginning Monday, Sept. 5th thru Friday Sept. 9th, from 9:00am - 5:00pm. Click here for directions.
Here is a list of items that are desperately needed:
* Bottled water or sports drinks (Gatorade)
* Non-Perishable and READY-TO-EAT food products like Granola Bars, Snack Crackers, Canned meats and Canned Fruit
* Disposable Diapers
* Baby Food and Baby Formula
* Gift cards ($25 denomination from Wal-Mart, Walgreen’s, HEB, etc.)
The need is great and the solution to this tragedy will be a long-term process. Lakewood is in constant contact with local leaders to identify the areas in which we can maximize our efforts and resources.
Continue to check our website for up-to-date information on our relief efforts and how you can help.
————————————
Wow, you guys piss and moan if they don’t do anything, and piss and moan when they do? Yeah, forget the building program, they don’t need to make a mortgage payment.
September 6th, 2005 at 11:31 am
I refuse to congratulate the church for doing what every other corporation and association are doing.
There was about a 36 hour window where people were dying, the Federal Government wasn’t helping, and yet Wal Mart and Jesse Jackson were able to get busses into the community and save lives.
I would have been a lot more impressed on Thursday morning, when the Superdome and Convention Center were still packed with people, if Mr. Osteen had grabbed his church busses drove them 12 hours to New Orleans and started evacuating people into his huge multi-million dollar church.
Where was the church when this crisis hit?
September 6th, 2005 at 1:17 pm
Anonymous, there was no need to copy/paste from the links that I already posted in the topic.
Also, if you had read my post thoroughly, you would’ve noticed I was not bashing them for fund raising. My point is echoing what Catalyst said in his last post: Why are these mega-churches confining themselves to helping out in line with other, SECULAR corporations?
Finally, please don’t insult me by implying that a big church has no money to donate either. Numerous big churches operate at a VERY tidy profit every year (including CBC). So why don’t the haves help some have nots to augment milking their congregations for even more money?
September 6th, 2005 at 1:58 pm
Probably for the same reason Bush didn’t rush to help.
As Kanye West said: “Bush don’t like black people”.
September 6th, 2005 at 2:47 pm
If you’re going to take a shot like that at somebody, you really shouldn’t quote a “celebrity” that only made that soundbite to enhance his “street cred” and sell records.
September 7th, 2005 at 10:08 am
It’s times like this when sitting around and pointing finger at who did something and who did not is so worthless for the people who are suffering. Why don’t we personally get involved, why do we have to wait till our church does something? Let us become accountable for ourselves and take action!
Here is a site that has enough ways to connect to the disaster that no one is can be left with the “what can I do” excuse; http://www.katrinaresponse.net/
Americans, especially Christians love to yap… (thus blogs…) we need to get better at action. By the way, Rick Warren, mega church guy was there right away and he is really mobilizing lots of big and small churches to action.
September 8th, 2005 at 6:10 am
The only thing more annoying than people pointing fingers in a moment of crisis… is people who post condemning comments under anonymous.
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