For many Christians, mission work is essential to the practice of their faith. But for many churches, missions are simply the vehicle for conversion. The focus becomes conversion — perhaps to the detriment of compassion.After Hurricane Katrina — when the federal government’s response was unconscionably slow — the Southern Baptist Convention mobilized to provide hundreds of thousands of meals to victims.The Southern Baptist Convention was able to put tens of thousands of trained volunteers into action throughout the Gulf Coast region in the early days of recovery.But the response to another hurricane in 2005 shows a different side of faith-based aid.An Alabama-based group of Southern Baptists refused to give out cans of water to storm-battered residents of Clewiston, Fla., following Hurricane Wilma in 2005, according to an October 2005 NBC report.”Twenty-two pallets of the canned water, distributed free by beer company Anheuser-Busch, bears the company’s label — and members of the Southern Baptist Convention refused to hand it out to those in need,” according to the report.Instead of focusing on the needs of those affected by a terrible storm, the group was more concerned with maintaining their doctrinal beliefs against alcohol.”It is the duty and privilege of every follower of Christ and every church of the Lord Jesus Christ to endeavor to make disciples of all nations … to seek constantly to win the lost to Christ by verbal witness undergirded by a Christian lifestyle, and by other methods in harmony with the gospel of Christ,” says the Southern Baptist Convention’s Web site.It is not only the Southern Baptist Church that fosters this perspective, but every mainline Christian denomination believes the mission of the church was spoken by Christ in Matthew 28: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”Conversion cannot be forced.That is what conservative Christians seem to want to accomplish through political activism. They are motivated, not by compassion for those in need, but by a call to convert every unsaved sinner.Instead of trying to reduce the number of situations where abortion is considered as an option, they spend millions of dollars to overturn Roe v. Wade. Instead of offering condemnation-free marriage counseling to reduce the number of divorces, they fight against gay marriage.Political activism is commendable, but when coupled with a repressive, unalterable sense of moral superiority, it becomes dangerous.Pastors are not politicians, nor should they be. Politics are a dirty business, and churches will only sully themselves by getting involved.Preachers who advocate a political agenda that conforms to their peculiar religious beliefs don’t get anything done — except painting themselves and their congregations as uncompassionate.Instead of ridiculing secular organizations whose focus overlaps with those of Christian charities, churches should band together with them and utilize the increased resources available to fight poverty, disease and injustice.No amount of preaching or prayer will put bread in front of a starving child or keep teens from making poor decisions regarding their bodies. It takes people who offer love, not dogma.The mission of conversion should be kept separate from the mission of compassion.——Contact Drew Walker at [email protected]