May 24 1999

ARTICLE TOOLS

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Christianity Today and long-term reader, "that odd day between the devastating sorrow of Good Friday and the exhilarating joy of Easter," and he had spent much of the day reflecting on the refugees from Kosovo. "Their plight seems much like this day."

But Gorman was distressed by more than the refugees' plight: He was distressed by remarks made by the heads of two well-known evangelical relief organizations. And so he should be.

"Early on in the NATO military campaign, one of these leaders appeared on cable TV. He not only spoke of the horrific conditions in Kosovo and the refugees' experience, but also urged viewers to pray for the success of our military personnel. While I understand the logic behind such a request ('military success will stop the killing in Kosovo and allow refugees to return home without fear'), it troubles me deeply.

"More troubling still were comments from a different evangelical agency head, when he and colleagues from other religious humanitarian agencies emerged from a White House meeting about their agencies' role in the Balkans. Acting as an unofficial spokesperson for the group, he informed a national audience that he had told the White House that their agencies represented the American people, and that they supported the U.S. and NATO military action."

Gorman says he reacted immediately: "'You do not represent the American people but the Christian church!' My wife and I have given to this agency for nearly a quarter of a century, and when we do, we give as Christians to a Christian ministry, not as Americans to an American organization. Especially in time of war, that distinction is absolutely crucial."

Gorman, an evangelical United Methodist and dean of the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at Saint ...