The Hole in Our Leadership

Billy Graham was asked once what he thought was the hardest thing for people to grasp about God.

"The most difficult thing for people to believe is the idea that God is good," he replied. When asked why, he answered: "Because people are in so much pain."

For all of the hurt that exists, how is it believable that God is good? How do Christians make the argument for God's goodness in the face of such pain? What are disciples of Christ called to do? The answer is to read the Book, the entire Book and do what it says. But that is where the problem begins.

The problem is not the Bible. There is no problem in the Old Testament, the New Testament or any of the Gospels. But there is a big problem in church leadership. Perhaps unknowingly, leaders have been teaching from a "special" Bible - one with key passages missing. The holes in the Bible (missing passages) are where the text taught on justice, compassion, the poor, the orphan and the marginalized. If you cutout (avoid) those passages, the Church remains unaware and they will respond accordingly (in ignorant bliss). But ignorant bliss is not the charter of the Church!

The world outside the Church is waiting. Christ is waiting. Where are the followers of Jesus Christ in the midst of perhaps the greatest humanitarian crises of our time? Has the Church been led by pastors of passion or expert expositors of everything but the holes in our Gospel? Have our leaders told and taught their Church that:

• Africa burns with HIV and AIDs
• The orphans of the world could stretch around the United States over 4 times
• Thousands of children die from hunger and thirst daily
• We have more US churches than foster care kids - and these kids do not have homes

Our leaders should have. Some have. Many haven’t. As such, I believe that there are holes in our leadership within the Church. Author Richard Stearns in his book The Hole in Our Gospel levies an indictment upon the leadership of the Church with the sound of a angry judge’s gavel. Surely the Church should have been caring for these “orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27). The pulpits across America should have flamed with exhortations to rush to the front lines of compassion. Shouldn’t they be flaming today? Shouldn’t countless churches be reaching out to care for children in such desperate need? How could the great tragedy of these children at risk get drowned out by choruses of praise music in hundreds of thousands of churches across our country without one word being said? How could we be spending more on worship, building expansion and church growth strategies than we do for 40% of the world who live on less than $2 a day? We have because of holes in our leadership.

When was the last time the person at the podium opened up the pocketbook of the church and poured out the dollars and said this is not for us but for them? When did they warn you of the consequences of walking away from the poor here, there and around the world?

Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor will be ignored in their own time of need. (Proverbs 21:13)

Here is a suggestion. Buy The Hole in Our Gospel for your pastors and elders. Ask them to read it, to perhaps teach from it in the pulpit and then to respond to the great needs described in the book. If they chose not to, then it may be necessary for you and others to do something that will save your church. Change the leadership. If they chose to repair the holes, to fill in the texts and teach the whole Gospel, then thank God. You just saved your church! Better than that, your church will become the Body of Christ that it was intended to be. Watch the following and see