In his book “The Hole in our Gospel”, Richard Stearns is the president of World Vision U.S., crafts one of the most compelling arguments for the centrality of mission to the Christian Tradition that I have ever read. Below are a few insights gleaned from this wonderful work.
We have shrunk Jesus to the size where He can save our soul but
now don’t believe He can change the world. - Anonymous
Stearns writes “If your personal faith in Christ has no positive outward expression, then your faith – and mine – has a hole in it.” He then goes on to describe the gaping hole in the American understanding of the gospel reminding us that “Jesus heart was continually moved to compassion as He encountered the lame, the sick, the widow, and the orphan.”
The Kingdom for Christ was “not intended to be a far-off and distant kingdom to be experienced only in the afterlife; no, Christ’s proclamation of the “kingdom of heaven” was a call for the redeemed world order populated by redeemed people – now.” Stearns warns of the dangers of viewing the Kingdom as “focused almost exclusively on the afterlife reduces the importance of what God expects of us in this life. The kingdom o f God, which Christ said is “within you” (Luke 17:21), was intended to change and challenge everything in our fallen world in the here and now.” Stearns reminds us of Christ’s words “in the Lords prayer “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” were and are a clarion call of Jesus’ followers not just to proclaim the good news but to be the good news, here and now. (Matt. 6:10) This gospel – the whole gospel – means much more than the personal salvation of individuals. It means a social revolution.”
Stearns reminds us of the simplicity of the gospel taken from Matt. 22:34-40 “Love God. Love your neighbor. That’s the “Bible for Dummies.” How much simpler this must have been to the common folk who were being manipulated by the complexity coming from their teachers and leaders.” Stearns tells the story of a world vision leader who was asked “Why are you here?” by those they were serving. His answer was simple “We are followers of Jesus Christ, and we are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. We are here to show you that God loves you.” That is the gospel, the good news.
Stearns issues all of us a challenge when he states “It’s not what you believe that counts, it’s what you believe enough to do.”
The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them,
but to be indifferent to them: that’s the essence of inhumanity. – George Bernard Shaw
Stearns recognizes one of the key issues we discovered when working with the poor “The greatest mistake commonly made by those who strive to help the oor is the failure to see the assets and strengths that are always present in people and their communities no matter how poor they are. Seeing their glasses as half full rather than half empty can completely change our approach to helping….They have hopes and dreams, tragedies and triumphs in their lives. They need us to love them first and then listen to them. They need us to see their assets and their God-given abilities. When we see them as God sees them, we will glimpse His image in their faces – Christ in His most distressing disguise.”
My favorite segment of the book was titled “The Hole in the Church” in which Stearns states “We can pray, give, volunteer, and become effective personal ambassadors for the gospel. However, our greatest power to change the world is released when we come together in collective action to organize and focus the resources of the whole body of Christ.” That is the vision behind Unity-Works; unleashing the power by bringing people together around a common mission.
“Faith and works were never meant to be in dichotomy.”, Stearns points out, “We are saved for a purpose: to do the good works God actually prepared beforehand for us to carry out. Simply put, we are: saved by faith ,saved for works….Faith is the fuel that powers the light that shines in darkness.”
Stearns reminds us “Our world, like Nehemiah’s, also lies in ruins, and we, too, need a fresh vision. Nehemiah’s vision was to rebuild the broken places and to lift up God’s righteousness to a scoffing world. Our vision should be the same. If we can capture the vision, then we, too, can accomplish the impossible – one stone at a time.”
I encourage you all to read this book and share your insights here.
