In the spring, I read a sobering, eye-opening book, "
The Hole in Our Gospel", by Richard E. Stearns, the president of World Vision. It is about the church's LACK of response to the many crises going on in our backyard and around the world (AIDS, lack of clean water, children starving and dying of preventable disease, etc). The book really rattled my cage and got me to thinking. This summer, a few
wonderful people from our church got together and started a six-week class based on the book. There is no doubt a movement happening around poverty, widows and orphans. The response to our class has further proved that. We had 40 come to the first class, and are now up to almost 60 as we approach our final week. I, being a leader, thought I knew what I was in for. I had read the book, the study guide, etc. I was "prepared". Ha. I have been so blown away by the discussions every week. By my group's vulnerability, honesty, and willingness to do SOMETHING.
This past week, "The Hole in Our Church", was, in summary, about the "church's" wealth, but lack of giving to help these world issues. See below:
The total income of American churchgoers is $5.2 trillion. (That’s more than $5,000 billion.) It would
take just a little over 1 percent of the income of American Christians to lift the poorest 1 billion
people out of extreme poverty. Said another way, American Christians, who make up about 5 percent
of the Church worldwide, control about half of global Christian wealth; a lack of money is not our
problem. (The Hole in Our Gospel, p. 216)
This makes me sad. And sick. WHY aren't we giving? WHY aren't we concerned? Is it that easy to look away????
The following passage is what we journaled about:
“When historians look back in 100 years, what will they write about this nation of 340,000 churches?
What will they say of the Church’s response to the great challenges of our time—AIdS, poverty,
hunger, terrorism, war? Will they say that these authentic Christians rose up courageously and
responded to the tide of human suffering, that they rushed to the front lines to comfort the afflicted
and to douse the flames of hatred? Will they write of an unprecedented outpouring of generosity to
meet the urgent needs of the world’s poor? Will they speak of the moral leadership and compelling
vision of our leaders? Will they write that this, the beginning of the 21st century, was the Church’s
finest hour? or will they look back and see a Church too comfortable, insulated from the pain of the
rest of the world, empty of compassion, and devoid of deeds? Will they write about a people who
stood by and watched while 100 million died of AIdS and 50 million children were orphaned, of
Christians who lived in luxury and self-indulgence while millions died for lack of food and water?
Will schoolchildren read in disgust about a Church that had the wealth to build great sanctuaries but
lacked the will to build schools, hospitals, and clinics? In short, will we be remembered as the Church
with a gaping hole in its gospel?”
—rich Stearns
I would now like to share what I journaled. This is personal, and from the heart. I was weeping as I read and contemplated this.
"This quote makes me physically ache. What WILL my grandchildren read in their textbooks? Did we do something? Did we respond to the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, or did we simply sit back and change the channel, or go to another web page?
The implications of not responding are severe. 50 MILLION children have been orphaned by AIDS so far. And we do nothing? The reality of what will happen is so grim. In Swaziland, 49% of the population is already infected. The whole country may be gone if we continue to do nothing.
If we choose to act, however, the implications are also sever. We may forever change the course of how "Christians" do things. Perhaps it will no longer be acceptable to spend millions on a new building campaign. Perhaps we will "live to the median" (Francis Chan), to be able to give more away. Perhaps we will more closely resemble the Acts 2 church, providing for eachother in times of want and of plenty. If we choose to change, to go down that road, there is no turning back. I simply don't, any longer, want to be a part of a churh that ignores the obvious. For the sake of 50 MILLION children. For the sake of my children. We have ALL the resources. We have the example, the template. And most importantly, we know the need. If your/my own children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, neighbors, were starving/sick/hurt/abandoned/orphaned you WOULD NOT sit idly by, waiting for someone else to deal with it. We are so far past the point where we can "shoo" this awaay and wait for someone else to deal with it. We need to have the mindset that there is no one else. That the time is now. No, the time was yesterday, last year, five years ago. But that is gone and all we have is now. What will I do?"
