The Hole in our Gospel: The Answer that Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World
by Richard Stearns: President of World Vision US
by Richard Stearns: President of World Vision US
Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision US, has written a powerful testament to the strenght of Christ in the world. He has also born deep witness to the great need for Christ in the world. As president of World Vision, Stearns has the truly amazing experience of traveling around the world to fulfill Christ's work from Luke 4, which is where Jesus unrolls the scroll and tells those gathered in the synagogue why he has come: "The Spirit of the Lord...has appointed me to preach Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the downtrodden will be freed from their oppressors, and that the time of the Lord's favor (the great Jubilee year, permanently) has come" (Lk 4:18-19).
Stearns' book is full of tear-inducing stories of people overcoming great poverty and horror to become servants of God, and also inspiring stories of regular people like you and I who have stepped up and become channels of the mercy of God. Stearns' own story is very inspiring, moving from high-flying CEO for several large corporations to the public face and president of one of the great Christian aid organizations on the planet. He is an effective writer and very insightful, particularly into his own gradual perception of the "hole in our Gospel".
The "hole in our Gospel" of which Stearns speaks is the great tragedy of the American church as a whole. I have had the great advantage of being involved with a couple very mission-oriented churches and it is a moving thing to witness the whole congregation getting behind the desire to serve the world in the name of Jesus, whether locally or globally. I have also been in churches where the concern for missions is very limited. That lack of concern is very hard to overcome and Stearns goes far to pointing out the fact that the Gospel is incomplete and misunderstood if it stops at personal salvation. In fact, Stearns seems to take a view with which I agree: There is no salvation unless we are serving the world in Christ's name. In other words, salvation expresses itself most clearly in the good works that come as a result. World Vision is a profound example of that expression. Heifer International is another one which I have supported financially as well. As Stearns quotes from several Biblical sources, we are saved for good works. This can be a hard realization for those of us who want to just rest on the laurels of our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Stearns says that this attitude is the one Jesus is speaking of when we knock on the door and Jesus says, "I do not know you." Conversely, when we look out on the world and seek the face of Christ in everyone, we have a very different experience. Stearns has a great prayer from the founder of World Vision. It says, "Lord, break my heart with the things that break Your heart in the world."
There is plenty to break God's heart in the world today. When I started The Hole In Our Gospel, it was like reading a left undercut to the chin of the American church. The timing couldn't be better for the release of this book - right at the height of one of the worst economic crisis we have faced as a nation and as an interconnected world. What better time to make excuses for not fulfilling the Biblical command to serve the widows and orphans of the world? Stearns front-loads the first 2 and a half sections of his book with horrifying statistics regarding world poverty, illness and chronic issues in the world. He weaves these statistics with well-constructed theological insight and Biblical witness.
Everything in this book at once inspired me and convicted me with regard to my relationship to the world through Jesus Christ. It is a powerful and moving piece of writing. I am seriously considering using this book as a basis for Bible study at my present church. Stearns overcomes every denominational line, and as an evangelical he expresses the very best of what the Christian faith has to offer the world. God bless World Vision and its thoughtful, caring leader, all the kingdom workers who serve World Vision and most of all, God bless those who World Vision serves the world over.
Peace,
Rev. Seth Jones
Stearns' book is full of tear-inducing stories of people overcoming great poverty and horror to become servants of God, and also inspiring stories of regular people like you and I who have stepped up and become channels of the mercy of God. Stearns' own story is very inspiring, moving from high-flying CEO for several large corporations to the public face and president of one of the great Christian aid organizations on the planet. He is an effective writer and very insightful, particularly into his own gradual perception of the "hole in our Gospel".
The "hole in our Gospel" of which Stearns speaks is the great tragedy of the American church as a whole. I have had the great advantage of being involved with a couple very mission-oriented churches and it is a moving thing to witness the whole congregation getting behind the desire to serve the world in the name of Jesus, whether locally or globally. I have also been in churches where the concern for missions is very limited. That lack of concern is very hard to overcome and Stearns goes far to pointing out the fact that the Gospel is incomplete and misunderstood if it stops at personal salvation. In fact, Stearns seems to take a view with which I agree: There is no salvation unless we are serving the world in Christ's name. In other words, salvation expresses itself most clearly in the good works that come as a result. World Vision is a profound example of that expression. Heifer International is another one which I have supported financially as well. As Stearns quotes from several Biblical sources, we are saved for good works. This can be a hard realization for those of us who want to just rest on the laurels of our personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Stearns says that this attitude is the one Jesus is speaking of when we knock on the door and Jesus says, "I do not know you." Conversely, when we look out on the world and seek the face of Christ in everyone, we have a very different experience. Stearns has a great prayer from the founder of World Vision. It says, "Lord, break my heart with the things that break Your heart in the world."
There is plenty to break God's heart in the world today. When I started The Hole In Our Gospel, it was like reading a left undercut to the chin of the American church. The timing couldn't be better for the release of this book - right at the height of one of the worst economic crisis we have faced as a nation and as an interconnected world. What better time to make excuses for not fulfilling the Biblical command to serve the widows and orphans of the world? Stearns front-loads the first 2 and a half sections of his book with horrifying statistics regarding world poverty, illness and chronic issues in the world. He weaves these statistics with well-constructed theological insight and Biblical witness.
Everything in this book at once inspired me and convicted me with regard to my relationship to the world through Jesus Christ. It is a powerful and moving piece of writing. I am seriously considering using this book as a basis for Bible study at my present church. Stearns overcomes every denominational line, and as an evangelical he expresses the very best of what the Christian faith has to offer the world. God bless World Vision and its thoughtful, caring leader, all the kingdom workers who serve World Vision and most of all, God bless those who World Vision serves the world over.
Peace,
Rev. Seth Jones
