Protecting our Christian heritage
The comment was made to me recently, in a conversation related to another church-based welfare provider, that faith based welfare providers have become mere ‘…subsidiaries of government…’.
Organisations like Baptcare maintain a complex and delicate balance between authentically expressing their religious identity and the realities demanded of modern organisations. As we grow and expand, and adapt to increasing competitive pressures and government regulation, the more difficult it becomes to maintain and protect our Christian identity and uniqueness.
Fortunately, some good examples exist in the research literature of Christian-based organisations like Baptcare successfully resisting these pressures and effectively continuing to express their distinctives.
Some key elements in successfully achieving this were identified. One was that religious heritage needed to be perceived as an asset by key leaders and actively communicated as such by them to the broader organisation. Another was to develop a theology of social ministry that enabled them to express a commitment to diversity in relationships with staff and clients. A third was to adopt explicit strategies for acquiring resources that were informed by religious values and principles, along with pragmatic assessments of needs and opportunities. (Examples of this last point are to intentionally make both prayer and managerial methods of resource acquisition normative in the organisation.)
Over recent months, the leadership of Baptcare has been visiting our sites and making “Values and Vision” presentations that include such topics as Baptist History and Theology and the scriptural basis for our Values. We are committed to diversity in our staffing practices, but also make our distinctives clear at interview and induction.
The research literature found that these types of strategies were effective in maintaining - and in some cases recapturing - Christian distinctives. They also suggested these processes enhanced the perception of honesty, integrity, quality and caring of the organisation. So, our commitment to both our Baptist heritage and to diversity in our relationships strengthens both our organisation and the outcomes for our clients.
(Vanderwoerd, J R 2004, “How Faith Based Social Service Organisations Manage Secular Pressures Associated with Government Funding”, NonProfit Management and Leadership, 14:3, pp.239-262)
Thank you.
Jeff Davey
Chief Executive
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