Thinking Christian

All figures refer to the United States unless otherwise specified.

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I had meetings in Dallas today with leaders at three Campus Crusade ministries, including Global Aid Network, Campus Crusade for Christ’s humanitarian aid agency. I made a remark to their CEO, Duane Zook, about a phone call we had been scheduled to have some time ago. He had had to cancel it because, as I put it, “Haiti happened.”

Duane’s response was, “Haiti is still happening.”

He didn’t intend it this way, but he brought me up short with that. It’s easy to forget there’s more than one disaster surging south of U.S. shores. For relief agencies and for others who care, though, “Haiti is still happening.”

You can help keep relief for Haiti happening.

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From Yorktown, Virginia, just a few miles from the decisive battlefield of the American Revolution, a big thank you to all who have served our country in the armed forces, including their families; and a special thanks for those who gave their lives for our freedom.

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Last Thursday I wrote asking “why rise above?” Why take it as important to rise above our own wants, needs, concerns, and interests? There is an important follow-on question: how does one rise above? In God’s economy, one rises by stooping.

It that is so, it opens up several important questions. I’ll begin with whether it really is the case.

Does God Really Call Us to Stoop?
Yes. God did it himself in the person of Jesus Christ. He came to those who did not love him (John 1:9-12), and he gave up his life for those who regarded him as an enemy (Romans 5:6-8). The result? See Philippians 2:5-9: he gained the name that is above every name. Even today there is no one name as highly acclaimed throughout the world as his; and the ultimate outcome will be that every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord.

That is reserved for him alone; we will always be servants of his. Arguably the most highly esteemed Christian since Christ himself, the Apostle Paul, continually referred to himself as a bondservant. Another follower who might share that seat of high honor was Peter, who wrote (1 Peter 5:5-6),

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

As I said in my prior post, there is a place for reward and recompense in the Kingdom of God. There is nothing wrong with seeing that as the end of our efforts. But our efforts are not toward lifting up ourselves, they are toward serving others. The Philippians passage on Christ I alluded above was preceded by, and is commentary on, this in verses 3 and 4:

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

When a pair of Jesus’ followers (aided by mom) came looking for special position, Jesus replied,

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for man.

But Still, How Do We Rise Above Ourselves?
But if this is about rising above ourselves, how do we actually do that? My son has a levitation trick he can do anywhere, any time, on a moment’s notice. It’s spooky. It really works. As an illusion, that is. It’s only good for a few inches and it requires some misdirection to make it work. Generally speaking, we really can’t pick ourselves up just on our own. I heard a story recently of a man who tried to free himself from quicksand by pulling as hard as he could on his own hair. If we’re going to rise above our own interests, our own wants and desires, we can’t just do it on our own. The most we could conceivably do might be to rise to the purest, most rationally coherent peak of expression of our desires; anything higher than that, and we won’t want it, and we won’t go there. That’s rising to the limit of self; it’s not rising above.

God calls us higher than that: he calls us higher in giving up our selves: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16).

I spoke last time of motivations that could take one there: a commitment to truth, and love for Jesus Christ. There is also required some power, some actual lifting force; a crane, as it were, rather than our hands in our own hair to lift us up from where we’re stuck. This God supplies through the Holy Spirit indwelling Christians. He is our source of teaching and direction (John 14:26, John 16:13), of power (Acts 1:8, Acts 4:31), and of personal transformation (Romans 14:17, Romans 15:16, Titus 3:5).

So in God’s way we have both motivation to rise above, and the power granted to do it.

Is It Worth Giving Up Myself For This?

[A] reporter asked if Bill Bright had any problems. Bill said no. Unbelieving, the reporter kept asking Bill the same question. Finally, Bill said he had no problems because he was a slave of Jesus and that slaves have no worries because they are only concerned about what the Master wants — to walk closely to God and not worry about success.

I knew Bill Bright fairly well from somewhat of a distance, being a staff member with the worldwide movement he co-founded, Campus Crusade for Christ. I know his son Brad quite well; this quote came from a news report on Brad. Bill Bright called himself something lower than a servant: he used the heavily freighted term “slave.”

Certainly slavery in its usual expression is horrible. America’s heritage is tragically soiled with it, and millions of fellow Americans’ lives continue to be haunted by that history. Today there are reported to be some 27 million people enslaved. Bill Bright chose a heavily laden word. One wonders what the condition of a slave of Jesus Christ might be. It shares some things with the usual conception of the word: being at another’s bidding for life.

But not all slavery is the same, judging by the outcome of Bill Bright’s life. He had the most consistent smile of any person I can think of—except possibly his son Brad, who has the readiest laugh I ever heard.

His effect on the world was (to put it mildly) not inconsequential. His writings have been distributed worldwide to the tune of over 1.5 billion copies. He headed up the largest mission organization of its type in the world. He commissioned and oversaw production of a film that (again, under his oversight until his death in 2003) has by now been translated into over 1,000 languages and viewed by over 6 billion viewers (obviously counting many of them twice), and as of ten years of ago had already been instrumental in the founding of over a million local cell groups for life change, spiritual development, and social improvement (we call them churches). And that was on the side. Most of his time he spent on leading some 27,000 staff members in some 50 or more divisions and departments of the organization, in 190 countries.

And, not to miss an important point, raising two sons who continue in Christian ministry, one of whom I know well enough to be able to say confidently that Bill Bright raised a family of love, joy, and world-changing passion while doing all this.

Not all of this counts as the usual life outcome for those who turn their lives over so wholeheartedly to Christ. Joy is very common, though, and with it a settled conviction that giving oneself away is absolutely worth it.

Most Importantly, If Our Gospel Says We Rise by Stooping…
Will we?

Will we set aside our own agendas to serve? Will we let God be our true master: go where he sends and do as he commands? Will we care for those who need our care? Will we give up our lives for those who may not even care for us?

(There is a fifth question I am sure some will want to ask after this: “Isn’t this an ethic of self-interest after all? Isn’t that the dark reality you Christians try to keep hidden behind all your talk of giving yourselves away?” I have that question well in mind. I intend to give it its own space by writing a separate post on it sometime in the next few days or so. It is an apologetical question, whereas my intent with this has been teaching and encouragement for those who already assent to the basic truths on which this is based.)

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Book Review

As if the Sermon on the Mount and the Prophets weren’t disturbing enough, now I’ve gone and read Richard Stearns’s 2009 book, The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? The Answer That Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World.

I don’t know whether to recommend you read it. It will bother you. You’ll find out things like what would happen if every churchgoer in America would tithe. (I know, I know; Stearns apologized for talking about money, too; but it’s really unavoidable.) A true tithe in the church would release $168 billion new dollars to helping the world each year—about four times what the U.S. government spends on foreign assistance. It would take just 40% of that $168 billion, says Stearns, to lift a billion people out of extreme poverty. Another $28 billion would bring universal primary education to all the children of the world, clean water to most of the world’s poor, and basic health and nutrition to just about everyone in the world.

That’s what about half a tithe through the American church could do.

But I don’t know if you’ll want to read this book. You’ll find out about a church in South Africa with a staff of 10 and an annual budget of $300,000—not counting its 147 staff members leading in ministry to AIDS/HIV patients, at $1.2 million per year. It’s called Fish Hoek Church, named for the small seaside town in which it’s situated;, except around Fish Hoek it’s known as “the church that cares.” I don’t know if your church is known around town as “the church that cares.” I don’t know of any churches where I live that have that reputation.

So I don’t know if you’ll want to read this book. If you do, you might want to skip Chapter Twenty-One: “Why We’re Not So Popular Anymore.” It’s not just about sex scandals. It’s about the good we could be doing and haven’t been. It’s about massive numbers of young Americans who aren’t quite sure the church is for real, and (far worse) aren’t sure God is real because of that. The problem with Chapter Twenty-One, if you’re like me, is that it will make you weep.

I suppose there’s not much anyone could do about all this, is there? Except Stearns highlighted a shoeshine man who talked with his customers about world needs, and raised awareness and funds to supply fifteen clean-water machines to the poor in South America. Or take the other extreme: Stearns himself. He was CEO of Lenox, the luxury china company, when God tapped him to lead the mission and humanitarian agency World Vision. The book is his own story, wrapped around the message of what you and I can do about the needs of the poor, and why in God’s name we ought to do it.

I’m not sure I should have read this book. Now I’m going to have to do something about it. I’m working in missions, but there’s a hole in my mission, shaped like a needy person or population God wants me to help.

Which brings me back to Jesus and the Prophets, who said it all (all that really matters) before Stearns did. Here’s the hard part and also the shining, gloriously beautiful part: they spoke truth. Stearns certainly doesn’t regret taking a 75% salary cut to move to World Vision. I’ve never met any believer who regretted giving sacrificially in the Lord’s name. I’ve never met any believer who regretted aligning his or her life to God’s truth.

Maybe it’s not so bad that I read this book after all. It might not be so bad for you to read it, too.

The Hole in Our Gospel: What Does God Expect of Us? The Answer That Changed My Life and Might Just Change the World, by Richard Stearns. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2009. 303 pages with notes. Amazon price (paperback) US$10.11.

Book Website and Blog

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3union is a band of three teenaged brothers I ran sound for in concert last Wednesday and again last night.* (They had an 18-year-old bass player with them temporarily on this tour, too). Here is an open letter to the band.

It’s not just for them, though. If you are a believer in Christ who has a gift from God you dream of using for his glory, I invite you look over their shoulders, so to speak, and read this letter along with them. Most of what I say here applies to you, too. If you are not a believer with a gift you dream of using for his glory, then I offer you a different message of encouragement.

To Brandon, Shaun, and Ryan,

Thank you for the privilege of working with you this week. It’s been a long time since I’ve had that much fun in concert! As you know, my early career (before I got into all this strategy and writing stuff) was in music, and it was in those days that my wife and I became friends with your parents. What I have to say now is very similar to what I spoke as you were about to head home to Indiana this morning — things you already knew, but seemed important to say anyway. You were gracious to listen to me, considering that for a rock-and-roll sound tech, I must have looked pretty uncool wearing my granny-style, old-guy reading glasses at that middle-school concert!

I hope you don’t mind if I share this publicly. Your gifts are unusually strong: your musicianship, stage presence, communication skills, and even your “look” are all remarkable. I do not say this just because of my connection to your family and your music. You (and Alesha with you) put on an incredible concert. I’ve known a lot of musicians, but very few with your mix of talents, and none to whom I have said this before: I think you have What It Takes. (To those of you reading over their shoulders, keep your eyes open for 3union: check out their website; then find them in concert near you, or if you can’t find them, call the band and book them yourself!)

I am really most impressed with your hearts. You love the Lord, and you understand that Making It Big is not the point, but rather using your gifts in service to others for Christ. Not that you shouldn’t dream big: one of your messages is to resist low expectations and dare to “Do Hard Things” (based on a book written by two other remarkable teenaged brothers). You understand, though, that God will not give his glory to others (Isaiah 42:8; Isaiah 48:11); and that to seek great things is fine, but not for ourselves (Jeremiah 45:5), for God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble (1 Peter 5:5-6).

Success has its snares. Some are obvious; I will speak here of a couple that might be less so. These are not things I observed in you, rather they are occupational hazards you face. Those who are publicly successful must resist feeling entitled to special service from others; for Christ himself came not to be served but to serve, and to give all he had to give, even his own life (Mark 10:45). Temptation can also approach in the guise of feeling you are better than others, forgetting that what you are is not from yourselves but from God. The most insidious form of attack is the one wherein any of you starts to feel more important than another member of the band, or envious of one of your brothers. I urge you to guard your name: your 3union-ness.

Come to think of it, those dangers aren’t limited just to public successes.

In spite of the hazards, I pray you will follow your calling to its fullest extent, seeking God’s glory as your signpost of success. John the Baptist is a great example: always humble (John 1:15, John 1:26-31, John 3:25-30), yet fulfilling all that God had called him to be and to do (John 1:19-23). The world desperately needs the message you bring, and it needs your example, which I fervently pray will remain as excellent as it is today.

Thank you again. Say hi to your folks for us. Our family and church are missing you already!

Yours,

Tom Gilson

*That concert link is valid as of the date of writing; it may be re-purposed in a few weeks.

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My friend Duane Zook, who heads up the humanitarian aid agency Global Aid Network (GAiN), phones in a report from Haiti:

GAiN has already distributed several hundred thousand meals in Haiti this week. Please help them continue their work.

You could even help with the work in GAiN’s U.S. distribution center, as our church has done many times. This is a church-friendly, family-friendly project that makes a huge difference for needy people not just in Haiti, but around the world.

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