By Jeff Brumley It’s hard being helped when you’re used to being the helper. Just ask the folks at First Baptist Church in West, Texas. Church member Presley Landrum, 16, said she and her youth group friends are accustomed to…
Moderates among Baptists ‘Loving West’
By Jeff Brumley If faith has led hundreds of volunteers from around the state to descend on West, Texas, for 13-year-old Emily Dodson it was that and something more personal. “I know people who lost friends, dads,” said Dodson, a…
Volunteers sought for twister recovery
By Jeff Brumley Cooperative Baptist Fellowship officials in Oklahoma say they are prepared to handle visiting, short-term volunteer groups to help with tornado cleanup and recovery. Based at First Baptist Church in Norman, Oklahoma CBF Disaster Response has already hosted…
Social media aid disaster response
By Jeff Brumley Until recently, faith-based disaster-relief agencies continued to rely heavily on e-mail and telephone to coordinate their efforts and communicate their needs to donors and volunteers. But recent disasters in Oklahoma and Texas have seen those agencies rely…
Praying and working
By Molly T. Marshall The Benedictine order has as its watchword: Ora et labora, meaning pray and work. One without the other is shallow and ineffective, according to the ancient practice of The Rule of St Benedict. Hard-won wisdom taught…
Twister response goes ecumenical
By Jeff Brumley If the deadly Oklahoma tornado has a silver lining, it may be the ecumenical spirit driving the response and recovery efforts of local churches, local ministers say. Local Baptist and other pastors describe an ongoing, cooperative effort…
OKC responders prepare, tell volunteers to wait
By Robert Dilday and Jeff Brumley Baptist churches and individuals eager to help the victims of Monday’s deadly Oklahoma twister are being told to get ready — and to wait. While some faith-based disaster-response agencies are cleared by authorities to…
Responders wait as Okla. twister news unfolds
By Jeff Brumley If you’re already wondering how Baptists disaster-relief organizations are going to respond to today’s massive Oklahoma tornadoes, you’re not alone. Leaders of those groups are wondering, too. “We’re watching it on television like everyone else,” said Tommy…
Staying calm is key to managing disasters
By Jeff Brumley It’s been a busy year for Baptist disaster-relief coordinators with tornadoes ripping Georgia, Mississippi and Texas, flooding in the Midwest and the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas. All of that while conducting long-term recovery operations from…