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Hole In Our Gospel
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$ 14.07
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$ 15.99 |
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$ 1.92 (12%) |
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| Item Number |
1061174 |
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Item Description...
Overview
"Preach the Gospel always. Use words if necessary." - St. Francis of AssisiIt's 1998 and Richard Stearns' heart is breaking as he sits in a mud hut and listens to the story of an orphaned child in Rakai, Uganda. His journey to this place took more than a long flight from the United States to Africa. It took answering God's call on his life, a call that hurtled him out of his presidential corner office at Lenox-America's finest tableware company-to this humble corner of Uganda.
This is a story of how a corporate CEO faced his own struggle to obey God whatever the cost, and his passionate call for Christians to change the world by actively living out their faith. Using his own journey as an example, Stearns explores the hole that exists in our understanding of the Gospel.
Two thousand years ago, twelve people changed the world. Stearns believes it can happen again.
Publishers Description
"Preach the Gospel always. Use words if necessary." - St. Francis of Assisi
It's 1998 and Richard Stearns' heart is breaking as he sits in a mud hut and listens to the story of an orphaned child in Rakai, Uganda. His journey to this place took more than a long flight from the United States to Africa. It took answering God's call on his life, a call that hurtled him out of his presidential corner office at Lenox-America's finest tableware company-to this humble corner of Uganda. This is a story of how a corporate CEO faced his own struggle to obey God whatever the cost, and his passionate call for Christians to change the world by actively living out their faith. Using his own journey as an example, Stearns explores the hole that exists in our understanding of the Gospel. Two thousand years ago, twelve people changed the world. Stearns believes it can happen again. ECPA 2010 Christian Book of the Year Award Winner |
Item Specifications...
Pages 336
Dimensions: Length: 1" Width: 6" Height: 8.75"
Weight: 0.85 lbs.
Binding Softcover
Release Date May 1, 2010
Publisher Thomas Nelson
ISBN 0849947006
EAN 9780849947001
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Availability 70 units.
Availability accurate as of May 27, 2012 01:15.
Usually ships within one to two business days from New Kensington, PA.
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | Don't like the title, but I get the point. Ouch! Dec 23, 2009 |
Stearns share his own personal journey through becoming aware and gaining more compassion for the injustice and impoverished people of the world. He uses plenty of Scripture, real stories of individuals around the world and statistics to show how the Church in particular has failed to fulfill what God calls believers to do.
I admit that it is easy to fall into these theological debates over social issues versus spiritual issues (i.e. preach the saving message of Jesus verus giving the starving man a sandwich). In fact, I remember hearing a predominate preacher in the last year say that perhaps the sacred golden calf of idolatry for this next decade for the church is social work. It's easy to create an argument that the title of the book isn't right because it's not that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has a hole in it. But these arguments just create more barriers or smoke screens to the issue at hand.
Stearns does a compelling job to show that God does save us by faith, but he saves us for works. He does a compelling job illustrating how blessed we are as Americans. For example, if you make $50,000 a year, you are wealthier than 99% of the world's population! He does a compelling job illustrating how far our wealth could go to eradicate many of the world's problems. He also does a compelling job illustrating how little we give our wealth to see solutions obtained. It's not that we have become less aware of the needs or that we have less access to the solution. The problem is that we have become compassion fatigued and blinded (let alone near-sighted) by our own wealth around us.
He also does a compelling job illustrating that neglecting these issues goes against what God designed for a believer to be, how it hurts our own spiritual growth, and how issues like this has caused the world to see Christianity as an unloving and unfavorable spiritual system to believe in. It is us neglecting and omitting to take a stand against them that has caused people to see that our Gospel, the gospel of Jesus Christ, has a hole in it.
Although the book is slow reading at times, and the stories can cause one to become compassion fatigued, it is an inspiration that the much daunting task is really something that can become a reality. "And if Jesus was willing to die for this troubled planet, maybe I need to care about it too. Maybe I should love the people who live on it more. Maybe I have a responsibility to do my part to love the world that Jesus loves so much" (p. 2). | | |  | Compelling and Convicting Dec 18, 2009 |
I received this book from Thomas Nelson to review. Richard Stearns is president of World Vision U.S, the Christian relief and development organization. Stearns was CEO of Lenox--yes, the fine china company--when he was contacted about becoming president of World Vision. He laughed out loud. God changed his mind, his heart, and his life.
Stearns describes the idea of the book this way: "It's basically the belief that being a Christian, or follower of Jesus Christ, requires much more than just having a personal and transforming relationship with God. It also entails a public and transforming relationship with the world" (italics original to quote). He does a good job of making his point. It's a powerful book, and that power wasn't always comfortable in my comfortable life. But it was so well written, so compelling, I kept coming back to it.
Here's one more quote, explaining Luke 6:43-44, which says, "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit." Stearns says: "Therefore, faith and works should be seen not as two opposing ideas but as two manifestations of the same idea. A tree and its fruit are not different ideas in conflict with each other; rather, one is the natural product of the other. The tree is recognized by its fruit, and the fruit is produced inevitably by the tree."
Sprinkled with compelling quotes, the book implores us to use the gifts, time, talents, and money God has given us--individually and corporately--to make a difference. A difference that will show the love of Christ to a skeptical world.
It's well worth the read. | | | | A Thorough But Necessary Lesson for Christianity Dec 13, 2009 |
In The Hole In Our Gospel, president of World Vision Richard Stearns takes us through a journey of conviction, challenge, and healing, helping us understand the plight of the poor around the world. He begins by describing his own initial misunderstanding of the Gospel of Jesus: "In our evangelistic efforts to make the good news accessible and simple to understand, we seem to have boiled it down to a kind of 'fire insurance' that one can buy.'"
The Hole In Our Gospel, Stearns contrasts this with the message Jesus lays out in the Beatitudes: "The kingdom of which Christ spoke was one in which the poor, the sick, the grieving, cripples, slaves, women, children, widows, orphans, lepers, and aliens -- the 'least of these' (Matt. 25:40) -- were to be lifted up and embraced by. It was a world order in which justice was to become a reality, first in the hearts and minds of Jesus' followers, and then to the wider society through their influence." (p. 16)
He goes on to explain how God's calling him from one lifestyle to another disrupted his comfort, even made him uneasy. He references the story of the rich young ruler who lacked "one thing" -- selling everything and following Jesus. Stearns challenges us to consider how we agree to follow Jesus, but only on our own terms -- something the messiah staunchly refuses.
To answer skeptics who would condemn The Hole In Our Gospel as a piece of works-driven theology, he explains: "...I want to be clear that this does not mean we are saved by piling up enough good works to satisfy God. No, it means that any authentic and genuine commitment to Christ will be accompanied by demonstrable evidence of a transformed life." (p. 59)
The book is a bit long and, at times, tedious, but Stearns is at his best when is being open and honest about his own struggles with Christianity. He authentically shares his own "hole", that is, his own spiritual bankruptcy and his desire to live life his own way, without surrendering to God. At one point, he even swore that he would never, ever become a Christian. Then one day, he started reading the Bible (as well as many other books on faith), earnestly seeking truth, and eventually he realized that it was all true.
He details events of his life, including time spent overseas, working with World Vision, and the amazing and tragic things he experienced. Through the lens of his experience, he teaches on the complexity of the problem of poverty (as well as the various causes associated with it). Moreover, he explains how evangelism isn't necessarily the only answer to the world's problems (albeit, an important one). He continues through the rest of the book, outlaying his argument for why the church is the hope of the world and criticizing the wealth and myopia of many American churches.
The book is reminiscent of Crazy Love in many parts (although much more thorough and academic). It's sort of an Irresistible Revolution for the business world. Towards the end of The Hole In Our Gospel, Stearns concludes the book in a rather UnChristian-esque way, quoting some statistics and explaining the unpopularity of modern evangelicalism that has made Christianity seem to be more about gay-bashing and hypocrisy than bringing the good news to the poor.
Thankfully, the book ends on a positive note, challenging the reader to do something -- to respond, react, discuss even (there's a study guide in the hardcover version of the book). And I like books that end like that -- making you aware of problems you didn't know about (without completely beating you up in the process) and leaving you responsible to do something about them. | | | | Vital and Challenging Dec 9, 2009 |
This is a book that I needed to read. I'm quite sure you need it, too, particularly if you consider yourself to be a follower of Jesus yet you find yourself endless pursuing those things that bring you comfort and convenience, viewing others and their needs on occasion to ease your conscience. That describes my life, anyhow. Why does it seem that Christmastime kettles and bells are not a year-round fixture in our culture, reminding us every day that there are needs far greater than our own?
It would be easy to dismiss this book as a 300-page guilt trip. After all, it is written by the president of one of the largest charities in the world, World Vision. It could've been crafted as a lengthy, eloquent appeal for child sponsorship, yet such action is barely mentioned. Instead, Stearns shares his own story, from a successful career as a marketplace CEO to a shocking invitation to serve in the non-profit sector. The autobiographical chapters are authentic and revealing. Stearns' honest reflections quickly remove any pedestal upon which one might be tempted to place him.
As the cover's contents suggest, this volume challenges the western notion that the Gospel is about praying a prayer, having your sins forgiven, and waiting for the return of Jesus. While it is true that Paul clearly stated that we are saved by faith and not our works in Ephesians 2:8-9, he curiously mentions the evidence of works in verse ten as a sign of true Gospel experience. In other words, faith without works is dead. Followers of Jesus are required to do just that--follow. We don't need WWJD bracelets to recognize that Jesus cares deeply for the poor, and what we do to them we literally do to Him. The good news is all about Jesus, but it must be shared and expressed not only with words, but action. | | | | Life-altering book! Dec 8, 2009 |
This book seriously messed me up!
Richard Stearns in the president of World Vision US. In THE HOLE IN OUR GOSPEL, Stearns tells how he came from being a high-earning CEO to be the president of World Vision. He also masterfully shares the greatest problems/needs around the world and does a great job discussing why the world at large tends to ignore those in the greatest need and what we as the Church should be doing to help.
If you want to carry on with life as usual, the DO NOT read this book! This book will increase your heart for missions, increase your compassion for "the least of these", and will cause you seriously re-evaluate your own lifestyle of consumerism.
One of the most inspiring parts of this book is when Stearns details how he came to Christ and then wrestled with God's calling to lead this non-profit. It's an honest story of doubt and the the "chasing" that God often does when we resist his purposes for our lives. I can't recommend this book highly enough! | | | Write your own review about Hole In Our Gospel
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