Just Faith connects spiritual and social issues

The Bible, it turns out, has plenty to say about how Shayne George does his job as CEO of Doctors Hospital in Augusta.

It's got plenty to say, too, about how Chief Deputy Sidney Hatfield carries out his duties with the Richmond County Sheriff's Office, said Rodger B. Murchison, the associate pastor of First Baptist Church of Augusta.

That's why his church will hold a panel discussion today, tackling issues at the intersection of faith and social justice.

The panel, Just Faith, draws on the experience of a variety of community leaders in fields including not just health care and law enforcement, but also the environment and media.

"We want to put this idea out there, that our faith can have a relationship to the social issues in the world," said the Rev. Murchison.

The name of the panel draws inspiration from Romans 1:17, which says, "... as it is written, the just shall live by faith."

Just Faith isn't the first panel of its kind at First Baptist. The church started community discussions when the film The Passion of the Christ was released in 2004. Others have focused on conflicts in the Middle East and the book and movie The Da Vinci Code , drawing between 500 to 800 audience members to each session.

"We felt like we had to find a way to talk about all these issues going on around us," the Rev. Murchison said. "If people of faith can't talk about it and get along, how can we even begin to expect our politicians to get through it?"

While it's nothing new for people of faith to embrace issues of social justice, the issue is timely, especially as the nation debates health care reform, the Rev. Murchison said.

"It's just one aspect of what we're going to be talking about at the panel, but it's a good example for us," he said. "We want to be asking, 'Does this health care issue have a moral or spiritual dimension to it?' "

The panel ends with booths offering information on ways to get involved on justice issues.

"I don't want to put the onus on the backs on the sheriff's office or Doctors Hospital," the Rev. Murchison said. "This falls on the church."

Reach Kelly Jasper at (706) 823-3552 or kelly.jasper@augustachronicle.com.