Frist urges citizens to support global health care missions

Mary Lou Hutson | 

The following is a blog entry written by Mary Lou Hutson, a Lipscomb alumna and graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law. Hutson attended Thursday's speech by former Sen. Bill Frist and Friday's speech by author and activist Jim Wallis at the 28th annual Christian Scholars Conference, held at Lipscomb University. The conference also featured a one-on-one discussion by Shaun Casey and Stephen Monsma on Saturday in the Ezell Center.

The Christian Scholars Conference at Lipscomb University in Nashville just wrapped up today, and attendees heard two different takes on Christians approach to solving global poverty, from Jim Wallis and former Republican Senator Bill Frist. The theme of this year’s conference is the intersection of religion and politics (“Christian Faith, the Life of the Mind and the Public Square”). 

Former Senator Bill Frist quoted Proverbs 16:9 and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to explain that his commitment to public service, and to public health initiatives in Africa, is not only a moral imperative but also a valuable foreign policy strategy.

Discussing his years as a transplant surgeon, his service in the U.S. Senate (as a physician in the Senate, “I was the only one in that room who had taken an oath to do no harm”) and his annual medical mission trips to Africa with the Samaritan’s Purse organization, Frist defended his positions on partial birth abortion, the Terry Schiavo case and stem cell research as being based in his religious faith and sense of morality. But the primary focus of his speech was the moral imperative to fight HIV/AIDS and poverty in the developing world. As King said, “We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.” 

Supporting policies to expand U.S. investments in global health and development is not only the right thing to do, Frist said, but also advances U.S. national security interests. (Didn’t Al Gore make this pitch in the 2000 election? Let’s hope Frist is more successful with it.) He encouraged conference attendees to support the Millennium Challenge Account, to participate in medical missions with their local church groups, and to support charities with a proven track record of success, such as Save the Children or the Nothing but Net organization that purchases mosquito nets to fight malaria. 

Some would say that reforming U.S. agricultural policies would do more to fight global poverty (and improve our national security) than any of the measures Frist addressed. But we can all admire his commitment to public service and to medical missions work in Africa, and his suggestions for “what can I do?” were quite helpful. We can’t all serve as medical missionaries, but most of us could afford to spend $10 on a mosquito net for someone who needs one to avoid malaria.

Friday evening’s plenary speaker was Jim Wallis, who spoke to a lively crowd voicing “amens,” and chiming in to complete a Bible verse that Wallis quoted. Wallis also referred to Martin Luther King Jr. in his comments, recounting a sermon he gave in King’s pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist., and his own experience speaking to a group of inmates at Sing-Sing who were graduating from an M.Div. program. He mentioned his years of gang reconciliation work (this turns out to have been “good preparation for dealing with the churches.”) The focus of Wallis’s comments was that he sees faith now being focused to deal with the big issues of our time: global poverty, climate change, genocide, HIV/AIDS, malaria. He said if these issues seem like huge mountains we have to climb, remember that the Bible says if you have faith as a mustard seed you can move mountains.

Wallis cited Luke 4 at the text of his movement (bringing good news to the poor). He mentioned three levels of commitment: personal, congregational, and public policy. He challenged us to first change our own lifestyles, look at our own resources and habits, before lobbying Congress. He urged us to lead by example and to “move the wind” so that politicians who check to see which way the wind blows will be able to follow the leadership of the movement.

Both men agreed that the U.S. should be giving more aid and both called for greater transparency and accountability on questions of aid. Both seem to have a sincere desire to address the issues of poverty and illness, although Wallis would clearly go further to make changes happen, calling on world leaders to recognize healthcare as a basic human right.

The wind blew in a different direction at Lipscomb on Friday night. The purpose of the conference was to bring together scholars to discuss issues of faith and public policy, and that discussion continues. Those of us who are there, have been heartened by it.


Watch this site for a complete wrap-up of the Christian Scholars Conference, featuring talks by author Jim Wallis, Barack Obama faith advisor Shaun Casey and author Steven Monsma, on Monday.