We are the first generation that really can do something about the kind of “stupid” poverty that sees children dying of hunger in a world of plenty or mothers dying for lack of a 20-cent drug that we take for granted. We have the science, we have the resources, what we don’t seem to have is the will. This is an opportunity to show what America stands for.
Bono in Tom Davis’ Red Letters
I recently finished reading Red Letters: Living A Faith That Bleeds by Tom Davis. With heart-wrenching stories Davis shines the spot light on the devastation surrounding the issues of world poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. His message to the church is that the gospel is not just to be read, but it is to be lived. Furthermore, there is absolutely no excuse for the church to not step up to the task. He writes:
Poverty has many faces and none of them is pretty. Consider these difficult-to-comprehend facts: 1.2 billion people are estimated to live on less than one dollar per day, and almost 3 billion on less than two dollars per day. Do the math: That’s 3.9 billion of the 6.5 billion people who live in our world.
Doesn’t it seem ridiculous to you that billions of people are living in poverty? With all our wealth, all our technology, and all our resources, why haven’t we solved this problem? Almost 2.5 million children die every year because of malaria. Hello? We have medicine that kills malaria. It’s cheap. It’s easy to transport. Yet, we aren’t doing what it takes to get the medicine to the people who need it. Here’s a surprising and disturbing truth about poverty that really ticks me off: It’s preventable.
In regards to AIDS, which Davis calls the “greatest crisis” he states the following:
Experts tell us World War II killed 62 million people. Even with all of the advances in medicine, AIDS continues on a path to eclipse that number, having already killed 25 million people since the first case in 1981. The UN estimates that 39.5 million people are now living with HIV. Of that total, 4.3 million were new infections in 2006. There were 2.9 million AIDS deaths in 2006, the highest number reported in any year.
How do you describe a crisis like this? Catastrophic? Disastrous? Devastating?
Words just can’t paint an accurate picture of what this disease is doing to our world. Dr. Peter Piot, the executive director of UNAIDS, said, “Countries are not moving at the same speed as their epidemics.” Without rapid improvements, the pandemic will only worsen, the officials said. This is the greatest crisis humanity has ever faced.
Davis doesn’t leave the topics of poverty and AIDS without some specific ways to get involved. “Taking a step of faith can rescue someone from poverty, provide life-saving medicine for a person suffering from AIDS, or offer an educational opportunity otherwise unavailable to a school-age child.”
In the last chapter of Red Letters Davis shares 5 things every person can do to help the 50 million people in our world suffering from HIV/AIDS. Here’s how it works:
Give 5 minutes a day to pray for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
Give 5 hours a week to fast for those suffering from HIV/AIDS.
Give 5 dollars a month to the Five for 50 Fund and support worthy causes.
Give 5 days a year to travel overseas & help alleviate poverty & suffering.
Give 5 people an opportunity to join you on your journey.
You can learn more about what you and your church can do at 5 For Fifty.
There is no other Church than the Church sent into the world, and there is no other mission than that of the Church of Christ. . . . If one wants to maintain a specific theological meaning of the term mission as “foreign mission,” its significance is, in my opinion, that it keeps calling the Church to think over its essential nature as a community sent forth into the world.
Seen in that light missionary work is not just one of its activities, but the criterion for all its activities . . . . It is exactly by going outside itself that the Church is itself and comes to itself.
- Johannes Blauw in The Missionary Nature of the Church
Here is a excellent introduction to what a missional church would look like in very practical words and images by Jonathan Dove, Pastor of Mt Albert Baptist Church in Ackland, New Zealand.
Alan Hirsch has a post up this morning on onehitwonder. Here is a bit of what he had to say:
Here is a great idea that is easily achieved! My dear friends and colleagues from Third Place Communities and Forge Tasmania have come up with a way of blessing the world’s poorest. And all it will cost you is $1!!! ? Its called One Hit Wonder. Here it is…
We hope to gather 7.29 million dollars, one-dollar at a time, then give it all away to those who need it most. Here’s how we seek to do it. What if everyone in the world gave you one dollar? Have you wondered what you’d do with it? We have, & we’d like to see how many people across the planet will give a dollar & then give it away to the poorest communities in the world. Currently 729 million people have internet access. Imagine if just 1% of these people were willing to get involved & give one dollar. That would amount to over 7 million dollars to give away. Not bad for a measly dollar!
On December 25, 2008 we’ll begin to give away every dollar-90% to the poorest communities in developing countries, & 10% (plus interest) will be utilised locally. The money will be given through registered well-known organisations across the globe covering many regions & needs. Not one dollar will be used for administration or any other associated expense. These costs will be covered by us & our partners. For those concerned this is a scam we’ve asked Deloitte, one of the world’s leading accounting firms to audit onehitwonder.
Want to know more? Check it out at www.onehitwonder.org
Last week I received the Autumn 2007 issue of Cutting Edge, a church planting magazine published by Vineyard USA. This issue is the ten year anniversary of the publication. In it they revisit many of the best interviews over the past ten years, including Dallas Willard, Eugene Peterson, Jim Wallis, Phyllis Tickle and others. While this newest issue is not yet online you might enjoy the over 20 back issues that are available here.
