The journal Religion and Politics covers a host of vital issues at the intersection of personal faith and public life. This month, the journal tackles the issue of whether government or faith-based and other nonprofits should play the central role in aiding the destitute. I had the priviledge of joining three other thoughtful individuals (Joel Hunter, David Beckmann, and Alison Collis Greene) in writing contrasting articles.
The title sums up my central argument: “When It Comes to Complex Needs, Government Can’t Provide What Matters Most.” If you get a chance, weigh in on this and the countering articles as well!
Although touching on a wide range of pressing human needs, this forum provided a special opportunity to highlight the one most on my heart: the fatherless. Here’s a quick excerpt:
At its best, government delivers a mass produced product on a grand scale at a reasonable level of efficiency. Think of roads or food stamps or passports. But when unique situations or special human circumstances arise, government processes often prove inflexible, ineffective, or extremely costly—often, all of the above. Think of the massive cost of the B-1 bomber, or the U.S. Postal Service trying to compete with FedEx, or as we’ve all experienced, attempting to negotiate the DMV when you’ve got a problem that does not fit into its cookie-cutter system…
You can read the rest HERE…