The Hole in Our Gospel: Interview

Check out this interesting interview with president of World Vision, Richard Stearns. I lifted it for you from the May 2009 issue of Sojourners magazine:

The Hole in Our Gospel: Interview with World Vision’s Richard Stearns by Robert Gelinas 04-24-2009

As the pastor of a church with a deep desire to love others as Christ would, I’ve recently been telling folks, “If you only read one book this year, then you must read The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns.” And that’s saying a lot, given that my own book just came out! I feel that strongly about Stearns’ message.

Stearns, who has been president of World Vision U.S. since 1998, has a love for God and a passion for hurting people that’s immediately evident. A former CEO for Parker Brothers and Lenox, Inc., he jettisoned a lucrative career in corporate America to answer God’s call to humanitarian ministry. And a decade later, he says he has no regrets. “The world we live in is under siege,” he says, before ticking off the severity of our problems — famine, AIDS, war, ethnic cleansing, terrorism. “Three billion are desperately poor,” he continues, “1 billion are hungry, millions are trafficked in human slavery, 10 million children die needlessly each year. And in the midst of this stands the church in America, with resources, knowledge, and tools unequaled in the history of Christendom.”

In The Hole in Our Gospel (Thomas Nelson), Stearns offers an unflinching critique of American Christianity and the growing divide between “rich Christians” and the world’s poor. For Stearns, the burning question for the church, and the subtitle of his book, is this: What does God expect of us? If we answer that question prayerfully and honestly, Stearns believes it could change our lives — and the world. I recently chatted with him about the alleged hole in our faith, the work of World Vision, and (of course) jazz.

Read more here.

Reactions welcomed!

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