A TikTok creator has gone viral with a social experiment she is conducting entitled Testing Your Church. Each video starts with her explaining, “I am about to test your church to see if they would help feed a starving baby.” She provides the name of the church she will be calling and various details about their ministries. She then calls the church in question and poses as a mother in need of formula for her young baby. At times, she plays a recording of a crying baby in the background to increase the sense of urgency. From what I can gather, only churches that are willing and able to directly, and without the need for further qualifying information, provide the requested resources are given passing marks.
The court of public opinion continues to render judgment against these churches and the Church in general. It has been neither kind nor merciful. In some cases, the indignation is justifiable. Some churches flatly refused assistance of any kind, noting that their benevolence funds were available to church members only. While there are some who would utilize Jesus’s exhortation to care “for the least of these my brothers and sisters of mine” in Matthew 25 as being limited to believers, the more common application is a call to extend compassionate care to any and all who are in need. Limitations placed upon grace demonstrate a tragic misunderstanding of what grace is and how it works. We are to love neighbor as self, regardless of that neighbor’s connection or disconnection to our communities of faith.
For those of us doing the work, this is NOT a test! It is a gut wrenching, heart breaking, everyday reality that we must navigate with faith, hope, love, and not a small amount of prayer.
In many cases, however, the judgment has been unreasonable and ignorant of the realities involved in offering assistance to those in need. Many churches attempted to redirect the woman to ministries and agencies within the community with which these churches partnered. Others asked the woman for contact information in order that they might make a request of those who oversee benevolence fund and missional giving in order to get approval. And, in many cases, the church asked for additional information to ascertain the validity of the request (ironic, given that the call was fake). In truth, all of these strike me as being not only completely reasonable, they are actions and precautions that we regularly take in our efforts here at First Baptist Church. These precautions are not denials, nor are they efforts to make the pursuit of assistance more difficult. They are steps to maintain accountability and integrity for those distributing and utilizing church funds, to stretch our very limited resources to meet as many of the needs as possible, and to avoid the abuse and misuse of the available aid.
My heart hurts for many of the pastors and churches being attacked due to this “test.” I know the pain and anguish that accompanies calls for help. I know the heartache of seeing such great need with such little ability to meet it. I know how infuriating it is to be misled and misused because of sad stories from lying lips. For those of us doing the work, this is NOT a test! It is a gut wrenching, heart breaking, everyday reality that we must navigate with faith, hope, love, and not a small amount of prayer.
It’s easy to render judgment from a distance (usually behind a cellphone or computer screen). It’s much harder to close the gap and get involved in attempting to make a meaningful difference.
It’s easy to render judgment from a distance (usually behind a cellphone or computer screen). It’s much harder to close the gap and get involved in attempting to make a meaningful difference. It is true that the efforts of local churches across the country are woefully inadequate to meet the needs confronting us. It is true that, in recent decades, the church has abdicated or outsourced some of its efforts to care for the least of these in our communities. But, many churches, FBC among them, are making great efforts and incredible financial investments to recover our birthright and serve as the hands and feet of Jesus through loving our neighbors in practical ways. Not only do we partner with many community agencies such as Anchor House, Clarity, Sweet Cheeks, Provisions, and others, we cover the cost of housing the Alley and work hand in hand with them to serve those who are often overlooked, and we count it a privilege to do so.
On behalf of First Baptist Church and the many other churches in Seymour who are doing our dead level best to meet the need, I ask you for grace and understanding. If you have questions about what we are or are not doing, don’t give into the madness of the mob and the ignorance of public angst. Instead, reach out to us and attempt to understand the efforts we are making. Better yet, I invite you to join us in the work. Once again, this is NOT a test; it is our lived experience. Talk is cheap; engagement is expensive. Join us and you’ll see what I mean.
