'We Are Not Commanded To Be a Docent in the Art Museum. We Are Commanded To Love the Poor.'
If I volunteer to help coach my kids' soccer team, or if I volunteered to be a docent at the art museum, it sounds like you wouldn't be happy about that. But such activities are helping the community in other ways—they're just not helping the poor as such.
It gets back to priority. There are certain things that really are not optional. We are not commanded to be a docent in the art museum. We are commanded to love the poor. To bind up the brokenhearted, to care for the widow, the orphan, and the stranger. Those are pretty strong commands in the Bible. So you almost have to do those first.
It could be maybe you are a great writer and so you write about these things. It could be that you're a talented musician; we have these artist associates that go around for World Vision and use their music as a way to attract people to a ministry to the poor.
It's a balance thing. You can say, "Well, Rich what are you doing about abortion?" Well, I'm not doing much, frankly. I've given to crisis pregnancy centers over the years, but my thing is what World Vision is all about. I do think that God calls us to different things. Someone else might be called more to evangelism. But there are some things that all Christians have some responsibility to do. Evangelism would be one. Caring for the poor would be another. We are all called to love God, we are all called to love our neighbor, and we are all called to the Great Commission. We are not all called to be a docent, but that's a worthwhile thing to do. But not if it excludes the other things.
Copyright © 2009 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
Related Elsewhere:
The Hole in Our Gospel is available from ChristianBook.com and other book retailers. The book has its own website and blog.
Stearns was part of Christianity Today's "What is the gospel" panel at the Christian Book Expo (video, audio).
Christianity Today has interviewed Stearns several times: about his journey from the corporate world, the Global Fund, post-9/11 giving, and other issues.
See also our March 2005 cover story on World Vision, "The Colossus of Care."
Grieving with the Good Friday God
La complejidad hispana: Todo cambió en el 2012
(on articles open to the public, you must at least register for a free account).
RSS
Twitter
Facebook
Newsletters
Google
Comments
Displaying 4–6 of 32 comments
See all comments
Paul
Excellent article and apathy is one of the most prevalent movements within Christianity. We are apathetic because we have been numbed (intentionally) by the system of American consumption. Our brains have been flooded with an overwhelming amount of stimuli and no longer think critically or engage our world, because it is our world which has created this phenomenon. We as Americans (generally speaking) exist simply trying to survive, so getting Christians to think beyond tomorrow or even today is difficult. From a theological perspective, I believe this is a result of a theistic worldview, in which God has either retreated or never broken into our space and time, leaving us desparately wanting God's engagement, but feeling that American Civil Religion which is offered instead has not fulfilled our gospel hopes. The Gospel (Good News) is that we as people participate in the kingdom of God. We as people, sell all we have and follow Christ. Too Radical?
Charitas
Richard Stearns is quite right about apathy being a problem in the Church albeit his measure of apathy is misdirected. Attitude is also a problem, no shortage of that at World Vision.
anon
I started out liking this article. Then Stearns completely lost me when I found out how much he makes. I don't care if it's less than most CEOs make. I don't care if he lives in California and the cost of living is higher there. It's absurd that he makes 10 times more than most of us make, and yet he's asking us for money, part of which will go towards paying his salary.