Trying to Find a Balance

"Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ." --Dietrich Bonhoeffer
 

For the past several months, I have been looking for internships overseas with various Christian and faith-based organizations.  I have felt God tugging on my heart to move out and get involved internationally for a little over 2 years now, but not until recently did I find the motivation to actually move out of my comfort zone and actively make an effort to do so.  I am currently considering work with 2 different organizations for this summer, both of which I hope can be places where I can learn more about other cultures, and the use of media in ministering to different cultures.

I have been offered to work for about 5-6 weeks in Ecuador with a group called HCJB Global; but am also waiting for a phone interview to be scheduled with a group called Wycliffe Associates, who has a team going to the Solomon Islands for about 8 weeks to document and produce a DVD of the Festival of Pacific Arts which is being hosted there this summer.  HCJB is an organization which engages in ministry through radio/tv and other media, as well as providing free healthcare, hospital, and child welfare (orphanage) services in every area they are located.  Wycliffe Associates is an organization that is focused on translating the Bible into all languages, but also engages in media usage, construction projects, childcare, education and other endeavors in support of that effort. 


Both of them seem like very great opportunities to learn and grow, and I am currently seeking God’s direction in where He would like for me to go.

However, what I’ve found through this experience of seeking internships is that it is very difficult to find organizations which are fairly balanced in their approach to missions.  What I mean by this is organizations which minister both to people’s spiritual needs as well as to their physical needs.


Why is such a thing so important? 


Well, let’s consider both sides of the coin – first, ministering to people’s spiritual needs, or in other words - evangelism.  During the past several months, I have encountered many organizations, and special interest groups which make great efforts to meet the physical needs of their communities – through food production and services, healthcare, and so forth – yet they have absolutely no platform or strategy for presenting the Gospel of Christ.


OK, what’s wrong with that?


Well let me put it like this: Frankly, if you believe that what Christ has done for you is Save you from God’s wrath; yet you have no desire to help others be Saved or to at least learn how to evangelize – then you are heartless and selfish in that you would simply stand by and not warn others about what awaits them in eternity.

WOW, that’s a bit strong isn’t it?  Yes, it is.  But that’s the reality of the situation as I see it.  Hell is a very real place, in fact Jesus preached about it more than He did about heaven.  If a person does not know Christ, Jesus made it very clear that He will tell them to depart from Him on that day – even those who attend church or call themselves Christians.


Therefore, we must not be ashamed of the Gospel, and in fact the Bible indicates that it is a sin to not speak the truth of the Word of God.


“Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”(James 4:17) – James is very practical about this very thing, so you’ll find me referring to him a lot throughout this, btw.


So, is it bad to be involved with meeting people’s physical needs?  Certainly not!  Food for the body is good; But never forget that the soul is eternal.  Neglecting to give a person the bread of life – when you have it in your possession the whole time – is a terrible thing. 


We all know with a certainty that death comes for everyone.  In fact, this very day around 150,000 people will die, and most of them have no idea that today is going to be their last day.  Anyone who is a genuine follower of Christ must therefore believe His claim to be the one and only Way to the Father in heaven – how many of those 150,000 do you think are following that Way?  I do not mean to be morbid or cynical, but realistic.  Jesus called all of His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations, so what does that mean?  Are all Christians called to the office of a pastor or preacher or evangelist?  NO.  But, are all Christians called to evangelize?  YES!  Therefore, personally I do not believe that the church has any right to engage in any social service wherein the Gospel is not presented.


But, wait just a minute now – what’s the flipside of that coin? 


Let’s go back to good old pragmatic James, what does he say?

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”(James 1:27)

“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?”(James 2:16-17)

Now, here is the call for balance.  If a man comes among you and he’s hungry – how can he hear the Gospel if his stomach is growling?  If a woman comes to you with no coat to keep warm in the cold – how can she hear the gospel over the chattering of her shivering teeth?  People have very real physical needs ranging from food to eat and clean water to drink to clothes to wear, to medicine and health treatments for various illnesses, to child care.  James' words apply here too - knowing the good you ought to do and not doing it is sin.  If you have the ability to help meet these needs for a person or a community, and you don't do it - you are unloving and arrogant in that you would stand by and watch (and maybe talk about Jesus) but do nothing to help as people are suffering and in need of physical help. 


WOW, that's also a little strong isn't it?  Yes, but you see - these needs must not be neglected either, whether the people in need are Saved or not.  And in fact meeting these needs for people can often be gateways which open up opportunities for witnessing more effectively.  The most basic human question, which everyone has asked themselves at some point is - "does anyone care if I'm dead or alive?"  People are always more apt to listen to someone who shows they actually do care about them.

So many of the organizations I’ve encountered are only focused on one or the other – they either simply evangelize and try to convert people to Christ while ignoring the very real physical needs people have; or they go to the other extreme and simply work to meet the physical needs of people while having no strategy at all for presenting the Gospel.

Both are extremes which, in my view, I would be hard pressed to actually consider them Christian – more like interest groups with “Christian tendencies.”

For those interested, here is a link to an article on this subject which I found very thoughtful, as it takes into account many examples from history as well as modern day in which groups have strayed to one extreme or another: http://www.csindy.com/IndyBlog/archives/2011/08/14/the-christian-mission

Now, if you noticed, I’m not mentioning any of the names of any of the organizations I’ve encountered which seem out of balance.  This is because I think finding that balance is probably a very difficult thing, which also takes a very conscious and intentional effort to maintain.  It is not my purpose to call out any organizations which in my opinion do not seem to be making that effort (or leaning more to one side for publicity or other reasons).  And, I’ll admit that my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt.  After all – I am still yet to work overseas myself, currently hoping to do so this summer.  I am only going off the stated objectives and mission statements of the organizations I’ve read about, heard about, been in contact with, or applied to.  Nothing can actually substitute for working and trying to find this necessary balance in real world situations.  Lord willing, I will have the opportunity to do so this summer, and I will do my best to observe how this plays out in the real world, as finding this balance is much easier in theory than in practice, I’m sure.  So……stay tuned!

Anyways, thanks for reading, my friend, and until next time – don’t drink and drive, don’t text and drive, and God bless America, it’s a beautiful country.