Last week I read, digested rather, a book called, "The Hole in the Gospel." It is put out by the Willow Creek Association. They mailed out a free copy to the pastor of every church that is a member of their association. If you received one and have not read it, pick it up and get after it.
One of the points the author makes is that there are 15,000 people that die in Africa every day of preventable diseases. 15,000 every day. He says that this would not be tolerated in America. Imagine in 30 days, the entire city limits of Kansas City is dead of a preventable disease. We would never allow this. Yet, Africa is a long way away, and we tend to sit here and thank God for our blessings. Maybe there is a hole in our gospel?
A sobering thought. Something to think about. Something to act on.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
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3 comments:
I like it better when you post something about pulling weeds or hanging out with your family. What's with challenging me to think beyond my little slice of the universe? What's up with pointing out the discontinuity between what I preach and what I do?
I'd go put my head back in the sand, but the hole in my gospel is smaller than it was when I pulled my head out.
to Jeff - would love to hear more about your take on this book. my brother calls me daily to see if I've bought it yet, he says it has changed his views on religion and has changed his life.
to Shawn - maybe i'm just too tired tonight to get the sarcasm.... i figure that a pastor wouldn't put his name on comments so ridiculous unless he was being facetious.....right???? am i totally missing something here??
Thanks Anonymous for reminding me how funny humor (or attempted humor) can be.
You are correct when you note I was attempting to be facetious when commenting on Jeff's post.
Many of Jeff's posts are very personal. They inspire me and give me deeper insight into him as a person, but they don't fundamentally challenge my understanding of God.
On the other hand, Jeff will frequently post something that causes me to stop and think about how I experience God and live out my faith.
This post was one of the "stop and think" kind.
Confronted with a new way of seeing things I can't pretend like my mind hasn't been opened to something new, I can't "stick my head back in the sand".
I appreciate Jeff's openness to the new and his willingness to share what he's learning. These are two qualities I hope to model in my own mintistry.
Hope what seemed ridiculous makes more sense now.
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