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The great China missionary Hudson Taylor fought not anti-internationalists but his own despair, brought on by the thought of millions upon millions of Chinese dying without having a chance to hear about Jesus. After attending a packed and joyful worship service in his homeland, he wrote that he was "unable to bear the sight of a congregation of a thousand or more Christian people rejoicing in their own security while millions were perishing for lack of knowledge." So he "wandered out on the sands alone, in great spiritual agony."

In our day, when we think of the billions who suffer hunger, slavery, child prostitution, aids, or spiritual darkness, too many of us pop into the nearest praise service, packed with Christians rejoicing in their own security, in order to dull our spiritual agony. Hudson Taylor didn't dull the pain, and finally decided, against all odds, to give his life to saving a few. So did thousands of men and women who followed him.

To be sure, evangelical missions is relatively healthy. We are still making a difference in the world. Kristof's argument is sound. So perhaps it's just a cold, and not the first stages of a cancer, that I detect.

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Christianity Today's response to Nicholas Kristof's New York Times article includes:

Are Evangelicals the 'New Internationalists?'Evangelical leaders say New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof is mostly right, but late. (May 29, 2002)

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September 9 2002, Vol. 46, No. 10