Over the past year or so, the plight of refugees has filled our news cycles and made its way into our national consciousness. Just this week, we are hearing the stories of over 1000 refugees drowning in the Mediterranean trying to make their way to Europe. With conflicts in Syria, Africa, Asia, and Central and South America displacing people from their native lands, the world is facing the biggest refugee crisis since World War Two. How will the American church respond? The United States is set to take in 85,000 refugees this year – 100,000 next year. Refugees come here legally and are vetted by a 13 step process that happens overseas. But, aside from all of that, what will the church do when they get here? What will Southern Baptists do when they arrive? If they are coming anyway, how can we minister to them and help these victims of oppression, violence, religious persecution, and ethnic cleansing? As I asked in the post last week, instead of running and hiding in fear, the larger question that concerns Christians is, “What might God be doing in all of this?” The following resolution, submitted by former Southern Baptist pastor Jason Lee, director of World Relief in Spartanburg, SC (I assisted in the writing) calls for Southern Baptists to do the biblical work that we have done in the past and welcome and minister to refugees who are coming here already. This resolution does not call for refugees to come here and it does not tackle whether or not resettlement is the best approach. It takes into account the fact that they are already coming and it calls upon Southern Baptists to minister to them in every way when they arrive.
RESOLUTION ON REFUGEE MINISTRY AND RESETTLEMENT
WHEREAS, the world is facing the largest refugee crisis since World War II with over 60 million people displaced throughout the world and considered refugees and,
WHEREAS, war, violence, religious persecution, genocide, and other forms of oppression have contributed to massive people movements across the globe as millions flee for their lives and,
WHEREAS, Southern Baptists have a long record of welcoming, caring for, and ministering to refugees throughout our history and,
WHEREAS, this history of refugee ministry includes the sponsoring of almost 15,000 refugees from 1975-1985 resulting in the starting of 261 ethnic churches and a 1985 resolution commemorating this decade of ministry and,
WHEREAS, there are expected to be 85,000 refugees coming into the United States in 2016 and
WHEREAS, ministering to the sojourner is commanded in Scripture in places like Exodus 22:21-24; Exodus 23:9-12; Leviticus 19:33-34; Deuteronomy 10:17-22; Deuteronomy 24:17-22; and Deuteronomy 26:5-13 and Psalm 146:8-9 among dozens of other scriptures and,
WHEREAS, God works through the movements of people across the earth to reveal Himself to them and call them to Himself and care for them (Acts 17:24-28);
Be it therefore RESOLVED, that the messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in St. Louis, Missouri June 14-15, 2016, do call upon Southern Baptists to welcome the stranger and minister care, compassion, and the gospel to refugees who come to the United States,
And be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that we condemn rhetoric that would blame refugees for their own predicament or fail to recognize that they are victims fleeing violence and oppression around the world,
And be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that we encourage Southern Baptists to oppose demonization and fear mongering concerning refugees and their vulnerable condition,
And be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that we recognize that Diaspora Missions is a way that God calls us to engage in His mission to seek and save the lost and care for the weak and oppressed,
And be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that we would encourage the governing authorities to continue to exercise the utmost care in the selection and screening process of refugees for resettlement,
And be it FINALLY RESOLVED, that we affirm that refugees are people loved by God, made in His image, and that Christian love should be extended to them as special objects of God’s mercy in a world that has displaced them from their homelands.
Submitted by Jason A. Lee, member of Anderson Mill Road Baptist Church, Moore, SC. On May 27, 2016.
For an upcoming resource that might be of help to your church, check out Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis by Stephen Bauman, Matthew Soerens, and Issam Smeir. This book is due out on July 5.
Russell Moore says, “This book is a powerful, persuasive case that the people of Christ should care about the vulnerable, including those fleeing from danger. Read this book and an open mind and a Christ-shaped conscience.”
Ed Stetzer says, “As the world confronts the greatest refugee crisis in recorded history, Stephan Bauman, Matthew Soerens, and Issam Smear argue persuasively that the church must be at the center of the solution. Biblically based, missional minded, and informed by lots and lots of facts, Seeking Refuge challenges the church to step up to respond to the refugees reaching our shores with compassion, wisdom, and courage. I’d encourage every Christ follower to read this book – and then to take up its challenge.
JD Payne, Church Multiplication Pastor at Church at Brook Hills says, “Seeking Refuge is the best work to date when it comes to understanding present realities, global challenges, and practical responses to refugees in light of our Kingdom citizenship. Filled with numbers stories and easy-to-understand explanations of technical matters, Bauman, Soerens, and Smear have provided the church with a call to action and excellent assistance along the way. If you are looking for a one-stop shop to be informed, challenged, and led, then you have found it here!
I support the call and encouragement to minister to refugees who find themselves resettled in the US, so there is much to support in this resolution.
I look forward to voting on a resolution like this.
I would rather that the support for our calling be more from NT command than the OT verses that are cited, primarily because of the poor exegesis of those verses.
I also believe that the resolution should be clarified to state explicitly that nothing in this resolution is intended to imply that one group of proposed political solutions to immigration is considered by Southern Baptists to be more biblical or pleasing to God than other proposals, but that this resolution addresses solely how to treat refugees who are lawfully relocated to the US.
I want this resolution to clearly reflect our love for people per the Lord’s commands.
I don’t want politics to taint the wonderful goals espoused.
I believe that an astute resolutions committee will make these changes.
Louis,
This is a call to ministry. No political solutions were put forward or rejected. If anything, the political machinations around demonizing these people were rejected. The resolution is very clear. Extremely clear. We are to love people, just as Jesus commanded. The OT commands make up the thrust of Jesus’s NT command to “love your neighbor as yourself,” which he brings forward from Leviticus 19 and the passage about loving the sojourner. To drive it home, Jesus gave us the Parable of the Good Samaritan. Loving your neighbor – including the sojourner – is sound exegesis. Refugees are here legally and have been vetted and legally admitted into the United States, so you cannot hide behind the “but they are illegal” argument. They are just as much our neighbor as anyone else. We are putting forward a resolution that asks us to stop with the political nonsense of demonizing these people and get on with the biblical command of loving them. Just as Jesus told us to. Just as Paul told us to (Phil. 2:1-5). On earth as it is in heaven.
I did not hide behind any arguments about refugees being illegal.
As stated, I like the idea of the resolution but do not want the SBC’s intentions misunderstood by the wider world.
The resolution is not being put forward for the purpose other than what you stated.
But the goal with these resolutions is to always make sure they cannot be misconstrued.
I don’t believe anyone should object to that.
Thanks!
Great ideals and biblical principles are espoused in this resolution. I think with Louis’ suggestions it’d be even better! I could support a resolution such as this with those clarifications.
Great job.
It would be a mistake to conflate the Gospel mandate given by God to us Christians, and the national/political desire to maintain a stable, safe and sovereign nation. The two are not mutually exclusive, and it is perfectly possible to hold strong to both. I have strong reservations about the influx of refugees (as well as illegal immigrants). I do not believe, at this time, this nation should be opening its doors to them (at the expense of others around the world who want to come here but are on lists years long). With that said, whether they are here or over there, it is our called duty to share the gospel with them. I know “legal” immigrants of various types who struggle under the restrictions placed on them by this country (going back several administrations), and I only can hang my head in shame as I see them (and others like them) continue to struggle, while illegals and refugees get preferential treatment and have all sorts of doors opened for them.
This issue is much more complex that some would have it appear to be. I further think that the not-so-hidden swipe against Trump (someone who I do not support currently, at least until the formal announcement of his VP) is unbecoming of a Christian and of a SBC resolution. Remove the 2nd, 3rd, and (possibly) 5th resolves and this could easily be something that everyone can agree on with out any reservations. With those 2-3 resolves however, this becomes a fairly obvious attack against Trump, his supporters, and anyone else who has reservations about the mass migration of refugees and illegal immigrants into this country.
Swipe against Trump? What are you talking about? They are people made in God’s image and are being accused of all kinds of evil things while they flee persecution, violence, and oppression from places all over the world. If Trump is the one debasing them, then he should stop. But, honestly, this is calling us to love people who legally are brought here for refuge instead of turning against them.
Are you really so timid that you would completely sacrifice the prophetic voice of the church to love victims of violence and persecution because it might be perceived as an attack on Trump? Honestly, he never even came to mind personally. But, the rhetoric against these people is everywhere.
As for the “legal” immigrants of various types, refugees are here legally.
Perhaps some of the concerns of SV might be alleviated if some wording were to be added to signify that this resolution is speaking of refugees exclusively and should not be conflated with legal/illegal immigration debates?
This is great and I pray that it will be supported and approved. We are SB’s are in fact doing much to help refugees. Baptist Global Response has many projects and programs going to help in big ways. I saw this today on their website that might be of interest.
https://gobgr.org/resources/detail/refugee-media-kit
Yes, BGR is doing a great job. We are to support ministry to refugees everywhere around the world and BGR is doing that. The resolution mentions those coming to the United States a couple of times, but the majority of it is talking about the global situation. it can and should be applied to a call to minister to refugees who both come to the United States and those who are in other parts of the world as well as much as we can. Obviously, local churches should be aware of those coming into their own communities and should express loving kindness toward them.
I’d support the resolution.
Tarheel, I am not arguing with you here personally, so please don’t take it that way. You and I are basically agreed on these issues. I am speaking generally to some of the objections and concerns raised here after sleeping on this for a night.
We have a resolution on immigration from 2011 that was pretty clear on issues related to immigration. Refugees are a specific class of people who have been forceably displaced around the world. We have not had a resolution on them since 1985. The call to minister to them in their distress is one of the clearest calls of Scripture related to the types of people that we express care and concern for. It is all pretty clear. Making sure that no one thinks that we could possibly be telling anyone that they should think differently about anything politically in the midst of a resolution on ministering to people who are victims of genocide and war crimes seems to be a strange addition that only serves to make some people feel better about their own political views. That is not within our purview.
As for the world being confused as to what is meant by this resolution, it seems that that is also an odd perspective. If the headlines read “SBC says they should love and minister to and not demonize refugees fleeing violence and genocide,” wouldn’t that be exactly what we SHOULD be saying? There is nothing here calling for more refugees to be admitted into the United States. If anything, the call is to minister to refugees wherever we can, including the United States. There are 60 million of them around the world with only 85,000 being admitted into the U.S. The other 59.9 million are also loved by God.
If anything, I now wish that we were stronger in the language and would have explicitly said, “Hey, knock it off with the political machinations while people made in God’s image that Jesus died for are dying by the hundreds at a time in boats capsized at sea and in deserts and at the hands of violent monsters and get to loving people sacrificially as the gospel commands without holding back and trying to protect yourself.” But, that probably would not have made it out of committee. 🙂
Oh it’s fine – i’m just trying to be the peacemaker here – finding common ground somebody make sure and tell Dave Miller when he gets back that while he was gone I held down the fort of being the peacemaker – he just might need a pacemaker after that!
Seriously though what if the headline is “Southern Baptist encourage one another to oppose vitriolic rhetoric concerning immigration” and it ends up being a Trump tweet the next day?
My point is that since the resolution is about refugees then that should be abundantly clear and it should include a statement that we are not taking sides and encouraging people to speak out against statements made by one candidate or the other in what promises to be vitriolic immigration baiting and this year’s presidential campaign.
I know your intent – and the intent of the author of the resolution – is not to make Southern Baptist a punchline on the latest tweet – so I do think we need to be wise with regard to any resolutions this year of a political nature – or can be construed as being of a political nature. (In fact I wish we get rid of all resolutions that are political in nature but that’s another discussion)
Surely calling on Southern Baptists to minister to those in disporia is Noble, right, and biblically Christain – just don’t let that get caught up in the political fray – that’s all I’m saying. It may anyway despite best efforts – but I think we ought to make concerted effort to avoid it.
That is fair and I understand your point. You are being consistent and again, I don’t have a problem with what you are saying. This is not directed at Trump, though I have no problem with us telling him or any candidate to back off of demonizing vulnerable people. We just didn’t have him in view here. This worldwide crisis is so much bigger than that man. And, honestly, I have heard so much negative fearmongering from regular people on the refugee issue that that is what was in mind. The reason that comments are closed on my own blog is because of death threats that I have received when I have written about this in the past with desire expressed to see my wife and children murdered and beheaded in front of me. Every time I express the need to show Christian love to refugees and immigrants, I have people telling me to back down and make sure I don’t get political and why do I hate America and stuff like that. It is all stupid.
When Franklin Graham goes to every single state Capitol and gives political speeches and calls for Christians to get involved in politics, crowds cheer him on. They know what he means: Get involved to protect our position/power. So, it is acceptable. When we call for love and ministry to refugees, we are told to stay out of politics. The difference is striking.
Again, I’m not saying that you supported the Graham meetings. I am just speaking generally about the overall debate.
But, this resolution calls for ministry, awareness, and advocacy over the plight of refugees around the world and including those who are admitted to the United States. It DOES NOT call for more to be admitted to the U.S. That decision is above my pay grade and is not within my purview.
Tarheel:
Like Alan, I appreciate your comments on this.
We all have to realize that while we did not make it so, the admission of immigrants is a top issue in the political world.
We have to make sure that the good we are trying to do is not used by politicians of any stripe.
Unfortunately, due to the strident comments of some SBC leaders during the primary season, immigration is a red hot political issue in SBC life. I am hoping that these comments will cool down during the general election, but so far that does not seem to be the case.
I, too, do not want to see our resolutions used for political purposes. That’s why in this instance they should be affirmatively apolitical. I actually liked Alan’s tongue in cheek suggestion about “hey, knock off the politics …”
I would welcome that in SBC life these days.
This reminds me a lot of the issue of poverty. In fact, now that I think about it, I would say that the immigration issue may be taking the place of poverty issues when it comes to Christian debate.
We are called as Christians to help the poor. We could pass resolutions that say we want to help the poor.
Some Christians interpret the clear NT call to give to the poor as a mandate for an expanded welfare state, or even more, explicit socialism.
In years passed, when Christians discuss poverty or urge actions through resolutions, careful consideration has been given to make sure that we are talking about Christian ministry and that we are not trying to make statements about larger economic issues and choices in a society.
Given the prominence of the immigration issue at this time, and the unwise statements and involvement of some SBC leaders in this year’s political process, it would be very wise of us to make sure that any resolution we pass tells people who want to make it political to knock it off!
There is so much good stuff that we agree on. Surely we can make the scope of our resolution clear so that it is not used improperly.
I have to say that I don’t understand the concerns raised. I think the resolution as written is good. There shouldn’t have to be any butchering to it. It is clear as it is written. And I don’t see any concern raised about the death threats Alan mentioned as the reason for closing comments. Anyone who would give Alan death threats should raise more concern and anger among us than if this is directed toward Trump or not.
How can we claim we are a people of Christ and be more concerned about this targeting Trump and not the fact that death threats are happening to the people of Christ who are simply doing what Christ said we should do.
Debbie – of course you don’t understand – nuance, discussion and dialogue always seem to be beyond your desire.
Tarheel: Your response just muddys the waters for me further. There should be no discussion on this. So yes, this type of frivolity is way beyond my desire.
Death threats over this position shows more about the United States and yes American Christians than if this is a veiled attack of Trump.
Thanks, Debbie. This isn’t a veiled attack on Trump, just to be clear. It is a confrontation of the rhetoric that many are using to demonize refugees. If Trump is using that rhetoric (and he is), then this is a rebuke of that. Trump also does and says a lot of things that Christians are opposed to Biblically. Stating that we are against those actions does not mean that we are just attacking Trump, but the actions, attitudes, and rhetoric itself no matter who uses it.
Um I have not defended Trump….I would have to think long and hard whether to throw water on him if he caught on fire…OK that is a little outlandish – but you get the point. I am not defending Trump – nor am I making, encouraging or reveling in death threats against a friend and his family.
On the contrary – I have made a couple of constructive suggestions to better the resolution (after expressing support for the idea behind it). I have a made a few comments and engaged the author and other commenters in reasoned dialog. You might try that sometime, eh?
Geez, Debbie…you are something else. For real.
Death threats over this position shows more about the United States and yes American Christians than if this is a veiled attack of Trump.
Debbie what Christians do you know that have threatened Alan’s life?
Dean: It has happened and it does happen, although that was not the focus of my comment, I wouldn’t be surprised. It’s usually done under anonymity. It has occurred in the past and don’t fool yourself, there are some mean Southern Baptists who will do whatever for their cause. My focus was the fact that this was not a object of concern for the two commenters here.
Dean, I was getting comments on my blog last November from people saying that they hoped my family would be killed in front of me by ISIS and that I would be beheaded and my tongue cut out and things like that. I think that some of them spoke as they though they claimed to be Christians and were pretty nasty. They didn’t directly say that they would kill me, but said they hoped that others would. t mentioned that and that is what Debbie is referring to. By no means do I think that these people were Southern Baptists and they clearly were not Christians at all, no matter what they thought of themselves. But, comments remain closed on my blog to this day because I don’t want people like that having a chance to air their garbage. I have no idea who they were and I’ll let God deal with them.
Debbie, Tarheel private messaged me on Facebook and we had a good correspondence about it. He expressed concern and I appreciate it. We don’t always agree, but we do on this issue and Dave is a good man. Thank you for your concern and defense as well. I am happy with the vigorous debate and have been doing this for a long time, so its all good. Again, thank you for your support and your support of refugee/immigrant ministry! It is very much needed!
Alan, I saw that you had been given death threats. You know how I feel about such foolishness, I pray prosecution could take place.
However, for you to take those threats and say they are an indictment on the church in America would be, imo, ignorant and unfounded. I am grateful I am not familiar with the body of Christ of which Debbie is part.
Dean, of course I would not say that. That though never entered my mind. The people writing that garbage were lunatics. My point was simply that it is amazing how opposition can arise to calling for concern for others. But no, I would not attribute that to the church in any way.
Alan, I know you would not say that. Blessings brother.
Thank you for all you do Alan. You know my respect for you is tremendous.
I agree we shouldn’t be making veiled swipes at Trump. We should be making great big honkin gigantic obvious swipes at Trump. 😉
Bill Mac;
Hilarious!
I fully support your and every other Southern Baptist’s right to be this funny!!
Just not agency heads or Convention employees…
You’re right, Bill!
Alan, thanks for your post. And it was great to see you in AL in 2014. For some of us in the SBC world serving at the borders of Europe and countries closer to Syria, the crisis is very close to home, before it hits USA. Sorry to hear of your threats. Hoping God will continue to give you courage to speak out and challenge the church to love and generosity.
As always, praying for you and your family, Andrew. Miss you, but am thankful that you are where you are. Thank you for influencing me from afar. What little I have faced (and it is minuscule) is nothing compared to what you and so many others have experienced because they stood for the vulnerable. You are an example to me. Looking forward to seeing you again one day! Hope it is sooner rather than later!