Focus on the Family
Here's Focus on the Family's response to my letter of inquiry regarding their appalling lack of notice of poor families and the difficulties they face while at the same time pushing an obviously partisan political agenda that sometimes betrays those very families (posted on this blog as "Dear Focus on the Family", 12/28/05). My response to them is next.Dear Mr. Wrisley:
Thank you for your recent e-mail to Focus on the Family. It’s my privilege to get back to you on behalf of our staff.
In response to the points you’ve raised, you need to understand that Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family have never presumed to issue definitive statements with respect to the most effective means of expressing Christian concern for the poor and the downtrodden. We believe as firmly as you do that followers of Jesus have a mandate to reach out to the needy; we simply aren’t convinced that government-sponsored programs represent the best way of fulfilling this charge. If in the course of speaking out about public policy issues we seem to have had relatively little to say about the importance of ministering to the impoverished, we can assure you that our “silence” has nothing to do with a lack of compassion for their plight. When it comes to politics, however, we have other priorities. In a world as complex and multifaceted as ours it is crucial to learn how to choose your battles carefully. In our view, issues such as the defense of innocent preborn life and the defense of marriage, which involve clear-cut absolute moral and spiritual values, simply *have* to take precedence over all other social and political concerns. Accordingly, in the public policy arena we have chosen to focus our energies on these urgent aspects of the fight for the family.
As for urging Christians to help the poor, we are doing everything we feasibly can to partner with other ministries that emphasize this particular aspect of the Christian calling. We think that Christians can make a more effective difference in society if a diversity of independent organizations exist, each focusing on unique emphases and specializations that reflect the work they feel God has called them to do. Though we believe that the Lord has led us to direct our primary efforts to other matters, we lend a hand as we are able to assist others in their callings. For example, we raised over 1.2 millions dollars that was distributed in its entirety to groups on the ground equipped to help Hurricane Katrina victims.
We hope this reply has clarified our perspective for you, Mr. Wrisley. Thanks again for caring enough to contact us. Don’t hesitate to let us know if we can be of any further assistance. God bless you.
Alexander Mackenzie
Focus on the Family
Dear Alexander Mackenzie:
Thank you for your response.
Let me begin by saying that your response is much preferable to the one I got from Budweiser, the company that controls about half of the alcohol sales in the US. I wrote then to ask about their ethical dilemma of selling beer just outside of dry Indian reservations. They replied that they were happy I had written and hoped I'd continue to enjoy their products. As a beer drinker, as a Christian, and as a concerned person, I was beyond annoyed.
I'm concerned that, "Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family have never presumed to issue definitive statements with respect to the most effective means of expressing Christian concern for the poor and the downtrodden." I'm concerned because Jesus already has issued such statements, and they're frightening. So have the prophets. To fail to act is to choose not to act.
I mentioned in my letter to you that if you believe that compassion and justice issues don't belong in the realm of the government, at least Focus on the Family could do more to promote the kind of responses to daily poverty – not just emergencies like Katrina – that follow the path of Jesus Christ. Did you know that here in Colorado, according to the US Census report of 2000, less than 2% of households are same-sex households (www.gaydemographics.org)? Did you also know that here in Colorado 11% of children live below the Federal Poverty Level ($18,850/year for a family of four)? Low-income families (beneath $37,700/year for a family of four) raise the numbers to 32%. (http://nccp.org/state_detail_demographic_CO.html#definitions) Those are alarming statistics.
I realize fully the need to concentrate your energies in areas where you feel you can do the greatest good. Maybe asking you to advocate for the poor children of America (in whatever form that takes) might be akin to complaining that a five-star restaurant doesn't serve oatmeal. I write, and will probably continue to write, to remind you that “family concerns” have little to do with political wrangling over same-sex marriage or Supreme Court nominees, and more to do with strengthening all families and finding ways to meet the needs of all families.
As a student of the scriptures and of Christian history, I assure you that concern for the poor is also involves "clear-cut absolute moral and spiritual values". In fact, if we look simply at the sheer number of biblical text and mandates, justice for the poor wins out over all other concerns, including the safety of the unborn and heterosexual marriage. You and I are more complex than that, though, and understand that there is more to morality than raw numbers. However, poverty does indeed seem to be at the top of God's list of concerns. Our response to the poor is the triumphant Messiah's criteria for judgement in Matthew 25.
I am in no way asking Focus on the Family to become Focus on the Governmental Programs Addressing Poverty. I'm asking why your focus has been so narrow. Poor families are also families, and even though they face different issues that how to juggle soccer practice and Dad's career moves, they have deep needs that are fully in sync with your organization's mission. Their physical and spiritual and psychological needs are as (some might say more) important as suburban middle-income Americans. I'm asking Focus on the Family to use your vast resources and power to defend the helpless.
Let me close by suggesting several ways you can advocate for the poor within your mission of family ministry. First, why not take a quarter each year and focus on poor families? Write letters to your supporters urging them to work on political and practical fronts to help the poor. The majority of poor children live in single parent households. Ask your supporters and listeners to join or start a Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. If you oppose Head Start programs, ask them to start their own in churches. After school attention (like child-care programs) has been shown to dramatically increase academic performance.
Focus on the Family has roughly 240 days a year of radio broadcast time. Why not commit a percentage (10%?) of that time to bringing attention to the plight of poor American families and efforts to help those families? There is a myriad of ministries that work with the poor you could highlight on a weekly or daily basis.
Partnering with ministries that work with the poor and even advocate on their behalf will only help you and them.
Finally, I encourage Focus on the Family to rethink your position on political action. I know, one is known by the company one keeps. If Focus on the Family said, along with Sojourners, “Budgets are moral documents”, you might look like liberals or worse. But remember Jesus, who was willing to associate with the wrong people in order to do the right thing. If Focus on the Family would add its voice to the efforts to bring moral social responsibility to lawmaking, including the noble opposition to abortion, it would make a great difference.
I wish you peace this Epiphany season. May the light of Christ shine on you (and on me!). I await your response.
shalom,
ian wrisley
Thank you for your recent e-mail to Focus on the Family. It’s my privilege to get back to you on behalf of our staff.
In response to the points you’ve raised, you need to understand that Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family have never presumed to issue definitive statements with respect to the most effective means of expressing Christian concern for the poor and the downtrodden. We believe as firmly as you do that followers of Jesus have a mandate to reach out to the needy; we simply aren’t convinced that government-sponsored programs represent the best way of fulfilling this charge. If in the course of speaking out about public policy issues we seem to have had relatively little to say about the importance of ministering to the impoverished, we can assure you that our “silence” has nothing to do with a lack of compassion for their plight. When it comes to politics, however, we have other priorities. In a world as complex and multifaceted as ours it is crucial to learn how to choose your battles carefully. In our view, issues such as the defense of innocent preborn life and the defense of marriage, which involve clear-cut absolute moral and spiritual values, simply *have* to take precedence over all other social and political concerns. Accordingly, in the public policy arena we have chosen to focus our energies on these urgent aspects of the fight for the family.
As for urging Christians to help the poor, we are doing everything we feasibly can to partner with other ministries that emphasize this particular aspect of the Christian calling. We think that Christians can make a more effective difference in society if a diversity of independent organizations exist, each focusing on unique emphases and specializations that reflect the work they feel God has called them to do. Though we believe that the Lord has led us to direct our primary efforts to other matters, we lend a hand as we are able to assist others in their callings. For example, we raised over 1.2 millions dollars that was distributed in its entirety to groups on the ground equipped to help Hurricane Katrina victims.
We hope this reply has clarified our perspective for you, Mr. Wrisley. Thanks again for caring enough to contact us. Don’t hesitate to let us know if we can be of any further assistance. God bless you.
Alexander Mackenzie
Focus on the Family
Dear Alexander Mackenzie:
Thank you for your response.
Let me begin by saying that your response is much preferable to the one I got from Budweiser, the company that controls about half of the alcohol sales in the US. I wrote then to ask about their ethical dilemma of selling beer just outside of dry Indian reservations. They replied that they were happy I had written and hoped I'd continue to enjoy their products. As a beer drinker, as a Christian, and as a concerned person, I was beyond annoyed.
I'm concerned that, "Dr. Dobson and Focus on the Family have never presumed to issue definitive statements with respect to the most effective means of expressing Christian concern for the poor and the downtrodden." I'm concerned because Jesus already has issued such statements, and they're frightening. So have the prophets. To fail to act is to choose not to act.
I mentioned in my letter to you that if you believe that compassion and justice issues don't belong in the realm of the government, at least Focus on the Family could do more to promote the kind of responses to daily poverty – not just emergencies like Katrina – that follow the path of Jesus Christ. Did you know that here in Colorado, according to the US Census report of 2000, less than 2% of households are same-sex households (www.gaydemographics.org)? Did you also know that here in Colorado 11% of children live below the Federal Poverty Level ($18,850/year for a family of four)? Low-income families (beneath $37,700/year for a family of four) raise the numbers to 32%. (http://nccp.org/state_detail_demographic_CO.html#definitions) Those are alarming statistics.
I realize fully the need to concentrate your energies in areas where you feel you can do the greatest good. Maybe asking you to advocate for the poor children of America (in whatever form that takes) might be akin to complaining that a five-star restaurant doesn't serve oatmeal. I write, and will probably continue to write, to remind you that “family concerns” have little to do with political wrangling over same-sex marriage or Supreme Court nominees, and more to do with strengthening all families and finding ways to meet the needs of all families.
As a student of the scriptures and of Christian history, I assure you that concern for the poor is also involves "clear-cut absolute moral and spiritual values". In fact, if we look simply at the sheer number of biblical text and mandates, justice for the poor wins out over all other concerns, including the safety of the unborn and heterosexual marriage. You and I are more complex than that, though, and understand that there is more to morality than raw numbers. However, poverty does indeed seem to be at the top of God's list of concerns. Our response to the poor is the triumphant Messiah's criteria for judgement in Matthew 25.
I am in no way asking Focus on the Family to become Focus on the Governmental Programs Addressing Poverty. I'm asking why your focus has been so narrow. Poor families are also families, and even though they face different issues that how to juggle soccer practice and Dad's career moves, they have deep needs that are fully in sync with your organization's mission. Their physical and spiritual and psychological needs are as (some might say more) important as suburban middle-income Americans. I'm asking Focus on the Family to use your vast resources and power to defend the helpless.
Let me close by suggesting several ways you can advocate for the poor within your mission of family ministry. First, why not take a quarter each year and focus on poor families? Write letters to your supporters urging them to work on political and practical fronts to help the poor. The majority of poor children live in single parent households. Ask your supporters and listeners to join or start a Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. If you oppose Head Start programs, ask them to start their own in churches. After school attention (like child-care programs) has been shown to dramatically increase academic performance.
Focus on the Family has roughly 240 days a year of radio broadcast time. Why not commit a percentage (10%?) of that time to bringing attention to the plight of poor American families and efforts to help those families? There is a myriad of ministries that work with the poor you could highlight on a weekly or daily basis.
Partnering with ministries that work with the poor and even advocate on their behalf will only help you and them.
Finally, I encourage Focus on the Family to rethink your position on political action. I know, one is known by the company one keeps. If Focus on the Family said, along with Sojourners, “Budgets are moral documents”, you might look like liberals or worse. But remember Jesus, who was willing to associate with the wrong people in order to do the right thing. If Focus on the Family would add its voice to the efforts to bring moral social responsibility to lawmaking, including the noble opposition to abortion, it would make a great difference.
I wish you peace this Epiphany season. May the light of Christ shine on you (and on me!). I await your response.
shalom,
ian wrisley
posted by Ian Wrisley | 12:00 PM
2 Comments:
Ian,
Your persistence with Focus is worthy of imitation and I pray that your 2nd response is influential. While I agree with Focus that the government is not the best avenue for addressing the needs of the poor (in fact, I believe it may be among the worst means) it is inconsistent for them to promote political means of social reform for only "select" supposed Christian concerns.
They need to be reminded of this inconsistency regularly, and you've done so!
And done so in a respectful and honoring way.
I've often wondered what "traditional" families whose kids sleep three to a bed and whose husbands and fathers (those few who are still around) work two jobs think about some of the advice that comes out of Focus and other Christian groups that are so obviously staffed and bear the cultural stamp of those raised and living in privileged circumstances. One of my friends in my 20s lived that reality. A girlfriend back then had a younger brother who slept on the couch so she could have a room to herself when she became a teenager while her mom kept a succession of men in the other bedroom to keep the rent and food money coming in.
They could hardly relate to the stuff those organizations talk about. That was another world. A parrallel universe. Neither the chruch nor the government made any difference to either of them.
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