jimbosrealm.net

I am currently reading Truth and Transformation by Vishal Mangalwadi for a Bible study and have really been convicted by some of the things he has argued are directly responsible for the downward slide of the Christian church in the US and to some extent the Western World as a whole.

One of the things he talks about is how the church has failed to teach most people how to grow through the study of the Bible:

Isaiah 53:11 says that by his knowledge God’s righteous servant will justify many.  For a hundred years now the church has been growing nations (including America), yet the same nations are degenerating in many critical ways.  This is because the church has been offering justification without the knowledge of truth.  We have turned salvation into a shallow religious experience that converts but does not “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19). (p. 131)

This particular paragraph struck me as very profoundly true.  How many Christians are seeking a spiritual “experience” and not spiritual knowledge.  We have turned church into consumerism, accepting what makes us feel good and rejecting what makes us uncomfortable or is inconvenient.  We fail to obtain this spiritual knowledge because we don’t see the benefit.  We compare ourselves to other Christians either consciously or subconsciously and decide that what we have is good enough.  Yet we are so incredibly blind to where God wants to lead us.  We need to get back to focusing on knowledge so we can better understand God’s will for us and this can only happen if we are constantly in the Word and holding ourselves accountable to change.

This is why I am excited that International Teams has a partner organization called Sonlife, specifically focusing on true discipleship.  It is not preaching to the masses but developing deep authentic, accountable relationships with a handful of youth teaching and training them to lean on their faith and follow God with all of their heart, strength, soul and mind just as Jesus commands us.  Then in turn these people are discipling people of their own.

I become frustrated when the subject of reaching the unreached in missions takes center stage and a seemingly superior priority.  I’m not taking away from the importance of this, because God’s word does need to be heard by everyone.  But, even more important than hearing and converting is changing and becoming a disciple of Jesus and I would argue there is still much work to be done in this arena in all parts of the world.  In the missions field I have heard horror stories of missionaries coming, leading people to Christ and then leaving and the people are left to their own vices.  Sadly most of these people fail to change and fail to become disciples of Christ because there is no one to lead them, no one to hold them accountable and no one to help them understand what it means to walk the path of Christ.

Overcoming this problem is in my opinion the biggest challenge of the church in the 21st century.

The Haiti earthquake of Jan. 12, may very well be the single worst disaster that I can remember in recent memory.  Not only are  over 110,000 dead, but the UN has estimated over 600,000 have been left homeless and both numbers could and probably will rise.  This is epic not because of the numbers – which are comparable to the 2004 tsunami in Thailand/Indonesia, but because of the percentage of the population that this disaster has affected.  In 2004, the tsunami only affected those along the coast.  This hasn’t just weakened Haiti — it’s decimated the country.  Had the earthquake been even a little higher, it’s very possible there wouldn’t even be a Haiti.  Haiti before the earthquake was the western hemisphere’s poorest country, with most people living on less than $1 per day.

Over the past 11 days as I’ve watched the news — and CNN should win some kind of award for disaster coverage because they have far and away out-covered all of the other networks . . . combined.   But as I have watched, I have asked myself the questions that must be going through every Haitian’s mind — how do I start my life over with nothing?  How do I live without family members who were killed?  How will our country ever recover?

Then I think about how much we as Americans complain about the smallest inconveniences in our lives.  I remember getting angry just this past Tuesday when my car got a flat tire or how I’ve been fighting a cold.  I’m sure you can think of things too that are insignificant to the questions the average Haitian is asking themselves today.

And while many of us will give money or later on volunteer for relief work there in rebuilding Haiti, I believe we need to do much more than that.  We need to get over ourselves and our inward focus.  It’s not about us or about making ourselves feel good for helping needy people.   The earthquake in Haiti is a reminder of how blessed we are in this country and how posh our lives are.  It doesn’t matter the problems we are facing — we all have a place to lay our heads down, people that love us and food to eat.  That is something not all Haitians today have.  I’m sure there are children who lost both parents, siblings and are now orphaned.  Compared to Haiti, America is a fattened cow and probably just as ignorant as one too towards the world around us.   People in Washington keep searching for answers on how to turn this down economy around. Well here’s a suggestion – we need to get back to being a more simplistic society, with a family-centered focus one that pays attention to our kids schooling, that makes more time to spend with friends, with God and one where political allegiance isn’t like religion but just an opinion.  If we do that, we may not end up as the richest nation, but we’ll be a much happier and content one.  We are drowning ourselves in discontentment and tricking ourselves into thinking there must be something more to be had.  And there is, but not in the latest iPod or cell phone or flat screen TV or video game or exotic vacation — it’s in Jesus, in the God who is the only quench to our thirst.   When are we going to drink it up America?

Monthly Pledges:

$1030/$1900 – 55%

Startup/One-time:

$1333/$1333 - 100%