Charity
Krieg Barrie

Silence of the sheep

Law | Christian nonprofits and churches have adopted practices from the for-profit world of avoiding liability, sometimes leading to devastating outcomes
by Emily Belz
Posted 10/10/19, 10:19 am

When staff members join Christ the King Community Church in Burlington, Wash., one of the largest churches in the United States, they sign onto the employee handbook, which has a tightly defined confidentiality clause. By signing, staffers agree never to discuss information “designated as confidential” such as “sensitive information regarding members” or donation records or discipline issues. The handbook is publicly available.

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Charity choices

Charity | A basic question to guide your giving
by Joel Belz
Posted 9/12/19, 02:54 pm

Nobody’s ever confused me with “Dear Abby.” In the 33 years I’ve edited this column, nobody’s ever written me asking for advice about courtship, marriage issues, or an intrusive mother-in-law.

But it’s a rare week’s mail that doesn’t bring several appeals for advice of a different kind. What do I think about ABC College? Would I recommend DEF University? What about GHI Seminary? Is the JKL Relief Agency careful in its use of funds? Is the MNO Home for Children a reliable orphanage?

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Jeff Malet Photography/Newscom

An easy ‘A’

Money | Does approval from the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability offer Christians useful information about an organization’s financial discipline?
by Michael Reneau
Posted 9/12/19, 02:26 pm

Picture yourself as a board member of the National Religious Broadcasters, an association of 1,100 member organizations that attempts to “communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world,” according to its website.

Important work. Potentially life-changing work. With headquarters located blocks from the U.S. Capitol, NRB has marketed itself as being to the First Amendment what the National Rifle Association is to the Second. U.S. presidents have spoken at NRB’s annual convention.

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Labor days

Compassion | Building character while training Christian mechanics and technicians

Marvin Olasky | 8/15/19, 12:53 pm

In 1968 CBS, facing political pressure, finally allowed on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour a song, “Waist Deep in the Big Muddy,” that implicitly called President Lyndon B. Johnson a “big fool” for leading America deeper into the Vietnam War. The song has a platoon fording a river that goes from knee deep to neck deep in the Big Muddy—“and the big fool says to push on.”

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‘We offered the love of Jesus’

Immigration | With federal agencies overwhelmed, churches at the border are stepping up to help with a flood of traumatized migrants (This is the first story in a series.)

Sophia Lee | 8/09/19, 11:18 am

Heated, politicized language surrounding the border issue reached a boiling point on Aug. 3 when a 21-year-old man opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22 and wounding at least 24. Police identified the shooter as the author of an anti-immigrant manifesto published on an online forum where other white supremacists have announced their murder plans. There, the shooter defined his attack as “a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas” and said he’s “simply defending my country from cultural and ethnic replacement brought on by an invasion.” 

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Encouragement for a journalist

Immigration | A visit with a New Mexico church sheltering asylum-seekers put a spring in my step

Sophia Lee | 7/29/19, 02:34 pm

Early this summer, I joined a group of World Journalism Institute students via Skype to talk about my experiences as a Christian journalist. World Journalism Institute is an intensive course that teaches participants how to do Biblical journalism, and I myself am a WJI alumna. 

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Scheming for God

Effective Compassion | 2019 Hope Awards International winner 20schemes | How a Scottish ministry works in hard places to show the poor and addicted the riches of new life in Christ

Marvin Olasky | 7/18/19, 04:05 pm

This story is part of our 2019 Hope Awards contest. To vote for your favorite regional winner, go to wng.org/compassion.

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Letting them shine

Effective Compassion | 2019 Hope Awards Southwest winner Little Light Christian School | This Christian school’s mission is to love the children of prisoners—but traumatic backgrounds make the work a marathon of trusting God

Charissa Koh | 7/18/19, 03:42 pm

This story is part of our 2019 Hope Awards contest. To vote for your favorite regional winner, go to wng.org/compassion.

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Hope in the darkest places

Effective Compassion | 2019 Hope Awards Southeast winner Scarlet Hope | Rachelle Starr and her friends help women emerge from the sex industry

Charissa Koh | 7/18/19, 03:13 pm

This story is part of our 2019 Hope Awards contest. To vote for your favorite regional winner, go to wng.org/compassion.

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Caritas … with a dose of wisdom

Effective Compassion | The 2019 Hope Awards: Make contact, avoid beanballs

Marvin Olasky | 7/01/19, 12:12 am

Early Christians emphasized caritas, caring for the poor, as opposed to Rome’s tradition of liberalitas, hosting those of equal or higher rank. Caritas is still part of Christian belief and practice, as our Hope Awards show: Secularists say they can do a better job through government action, but three decades of WORLD stories have shown the falsity of that claim.

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