Helping Churches Make Vision Real

depraved indifference

—

by

Paul Alexander
in

I don’t normally post midweek…or post very many videos for that matter, and this may break all of the “blogging rules.” But after seeing this today, it wrecked me…and I was compelled to share it with you, so this is just a quick rant that I had to get off my chest. After recently reading books like Crazy Love, by Francis Chan and Radical, by David Platt. After leading hundreds of people on mission trips, all over the world. After seeing the faces of the least of these in places like Indonesia, Singapore, the Czech Republic, Kenya, South Africa, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, and Mexico…not to mention my neighborhood. After hearing the Words of Christ. I feel completely overwhelmed by the daunting task of leading a suburban mega-church to missionally live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In a culture that craves comfort, that lusts after self-indulgence, that seems to have been inoculated to the Gospel through commonplace familiarity. I’m haunted by the fact that the hands and feet of Jesus Christ are preoccupied with themselves. And I desperately long to see the day when the high potential sleeping giant, called the Church of America wakes up, rises up, and takes her place among those who have laid their lives down for the sake of the Gospel. For the least of these.

Comments

12 responses to “depraved indifference”

  1. David Avatar
    David

    What a message ! Pray the Holy Spirit will motivate the American Church to action. This must be part of our Mission as Jesus Followers.

    Reply
  2. Ward Townsend Avatar
    Ward Townsend

    “I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was naked and you gave me nothing to wear… depart from Me you workers of inquity… I NEVER KNEW YOU”…
    Father, In your Mercy please forgive us…
    The time is now…
    Good word, Paul… thank you! Let’s do this thing to the Glory of The King!!

    Reply
  3. Tymm Avatar
    Tymm

    Read both books, traveled on and led mission trips. Completely 100% agree with ya. WAKE UP CHURCH IN AMERICA….

    Reply
  4. Marty Parker Avatar
    Marty Parker

    The Parker family was completely changed by our trip to Guatemala. We cannot wait to go back this summer. It was a huge step of faith and scary going to a poor place with a different language. But God said go and we went. I think sometimes you just have to go and God will work out how to help that little boy. For us it was opening a new school and pouring concrete on the floor of a small house for a family of five. God says “Go” to each of us but we show “Depraved Indifference” and first, do not listen and then do not obey. The Parker’s are going.

    Reply
  5. CG Avatar
    CG

    Isn’t it great that God created organizations like CARE and UNICEF to address these needs! Praise God for those organizations that address the physical needs of the poor and third-world. The “daunting task of leading a suburban mega-church to missionally live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ” is not having the members look across the ocean or some run down inner city neighborhood, but to look at the person on the treadmill next to them at the gym, sitting across from them in the office staff meeting, standing in line with them at Best Buy, etc.. God has placed us as “missionaries” where we are: in the suburbs. Being a missionary should not be a finite number of days we have set aside to go somewhere else; it should be the mindset of our daily lives. Having members of the suburban mega-church understand THAT concept is the “daunting task” any minister should strive to achieve.

    Reply
  6. Joe McGinnis Avatar
    Joe McGinnis

    It all became real when God gave us our little girl. All of a sudden “those kids” became “our kid”.

    ~ Let’s roll!
    Great post.
    Joe

    Reply
  7. Tymm Avatar
    Tymm

    God definitely didn’t create us where we are to not be involved in the lives of His children across the globe. CARE and UNICEF do great things but their existence doesn’t excuse us from changing our simple mindset and simple view of our “world” and letting God grow that to include ALL of His creations.

    Missionaries where we are? Absolutely! Missionaries every day? Absolutely! But if we never step outside of the safe cocoon of America and go explore God’s neighborhood and meet His neighbors we miss out on so much.

    That being said – America needs mission work as much as any other country (probably more than most). I am just not sure Americans are the best people or “christians” to bear witness as missionaries to Americans.

    Pure religion. It’s defined once in the bible. Getting outside of self and serving those He considers more important than me is probably the best thing I ever did for myself and my relationship with God.

    Reply
  8. CG Avatar
    CG

    Tymm,I’ve been all over the US and around the world. Didn’t say missions around the world wasn’t important. I was pointing out that the “daunting task” is to get people to see that they do not HAVE TO go someplace far away or set aside a specific number of days to be “missionaries”. Sometimes (not always), it’s easier for people to put on their “missionary hat”, get up in front of a church to be commissioned as missionaries, travel to some far away place, come home, and then “check” the box that says “I’ve done missionary work.” than it is for someone to see that the person coaching their son’s little league team week after week or the uncle who doesn’t go to church might be in just as much need of the love of Christ. It’s more culturally acceptable to GO help the “less fortunate”–whether Christian-based relief or not. I say it is HARDER and MORE challenging to be a missionary right where you are because these are the people who see the “real you” on a daily basis–you have to put your selfish pride away and be very vulnerable.

    Reply
  9. paul alexander Avatar
    paul alexander

    Great comments and conversation everybody! I’ll chime in here to say that I think the modern church has hurt the mission of God by “departmentalizing” missions. The whole thing is “missions” isn’t it? Locally and globally. What I’ve found is that it’s often easier to get people to go on a short term project oversees than live out their faith in their neighborhood. We are certainly called to the ends of the earth, but it should start at home…Acts 1:8

    Reply
  10. Rebecca Avatar
    Rebecca

    Thank you for posting this video. I am a member of NMC’s global outreach team, and we watched this tonight with teary eyes and stirred hearts.

    Many of us within your “suburban megachurch” are so pleased that your heart is wrecked for the least of these. Please, please, please keep “ranting”, keep breaking the rules, keep pushing. We are ready to wake up, rise up and BE the church. Don’t let us be indifferent.

    Reply
  11. Marty Parker Avatar
    Marty Parker

    I agree that we should also work in our local communities. However, I had an MBA professor ask this question – would you rather be poor in Calcutta or Cleveland? If you have traveled to third world countries, you would understand that the need is 20-30 times greater than in the developed world. Everyone needs Jesus, but it is much harder to find out about Him when you earn $1000 per year at hard labor with no TV, radio, plumbing, transportation or food. I know this will be controversial, but the poor here are much richer and safer than the poor in a third world country, by a factor of thousands of percent. It is an economic fact supported by tons of data. We should help both – my experience is that people who take mission trips are the same ones working in their local communities. We must remember and seek out “the least of these”.

    Reply
  12. Tymm Avatar
    Tymm

    I agree wholeheartedly with both Rebecca and Marty Parker. YES – please keep up the ranting – it is so needed. The challenge within the church to get the “churched” to get it is a seriously difficult one. And if it is missed – i don’t think it’s a tiny thing like carpet colors or pew styles we’re missing. I think skimping on reaching out to the needy, the poor, the oppressed, the hungry, the orphan, the widow – I think if fail to do that- we are missing a fundamental part of what it means to follow Christ. And Marty is spot on… if ya look around and really ask around – those committing to local outreach probably do global outreach in some for or another also…

    Reply

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