We are well into the 23rd year of ministry amongst the Pastors of the Least. We have become well acquainted, but not accustomed to, the slum environs of the Bible Schools. It still vexes our souls. Chronic Poverty is difficult to watch. Even more difficult to live. We do not, but our Pastors do. Intermeshed in their Poverty are unfathomable levels of Injustice, Corruption, Moral Depravity, Occultism, Brutal Tribalism, Disease and Death. It’s a toxic brew of epic proportions. Where do we Begin to address such colossal catastrophes? Perhaps the more pertinent question to answer is:
Where Do We End?
As Christ’s representatives, there is something for us to Do. Likewise, there are things we are not to Do. Discerning the hazy line between the two can be nearly impossible. Nearly…but not actually. God has an answer every time. He points the Way forward. If there is a veil of uncertainty, it is exclusively on our part. Never on God’s. Ours is to stop, pray, seek, find, submit and obey. Never forging ahead with mere natural instincts, rationalizations or society’s “best practices.”
Our best intentions must be God’s intentions.
The hard truth is this:
God does not fix every Injustice in this world on this side of eternity. Nor should we.
We are not called to be Justice Warriors.
Ceaselessly probing for problems and pointing out faults. Vilifying offenders and conjuring up the next hashtag cause. As much as the immoral majority seem to esteem “Justice”, the fact is they don’t. “Justice” in the eyes of the Unbeliever has a disturbing scent of Materialism, Carnality and Denial of Eternity. A hope for a little “Heaven on Earth”…exactly because they don’t believe in Heaven. Or God. An overwhelming stench of Atheism fills the corridors of the NGO’s, charities, foundations and think tanks of our society. We, on the other hand, know better. Or do we?
Fighting every Injustice, Righting every Wrong, Bandaging every Wound, and Meeting every Need can be quite chivalrous…but dangerously Deceptive. We mask Carnality and Covetousness behind carefully crafted slogans, banners and branding. Churches have embraced it hook, line and sinker. Elevate, Gather, Harvest, Converge, Reach, Radiate, Ignite. As if vibrant verbs are more powerful than the Name of Jesus. If Jesus’ Name is ever mentioned, it’s typically “another Jesus” altogether. For the first time in church history, the common imperative is a Self Improvement Sociopolitical mission, rather than a Spiritual Redemptive mission.
What is the evidence? We work with 450+ Pastors and Ministry Leaders on a continual basis. Most of them have several churches, and many have school projects, orphanages, feeding centers and community development programs funded from outside. Thousands have been through the DSM Bible Schools over the years. And the indisputable fact remains: 80% of the Pastors and Ministry Leaders arriving at our doors are Unsaved. Unredeemed. Not born again. Believing in “another gospel”, “another Jesus” and, by definition, making disciples of “another Kingdom.” That’s not a disparagement, that is Discernment. If we were disparaging them, we would not be ministering to them. We would have given up and left a long time ago. The question is,
“How did they get so far off course?”
The uncomfortable truth is this: they are imitating what they have seen and heard. And most of that has come from churches in N. America, Europe and prosperous parts of Asia. Largely promoting Prosperity and Potentialism, with a little “Jesus” mixed in. Our greatest obstacle amongst the Pastors of the Least is not the Witchcraft. Nor the brutal Tribalism. Nor the Injustices. But rather the Prosperity Gospel. Pumped in 24/7/365 via the internet. Welcome to the age of Prosperity Porn.
The root cause of Suffering of ANY kind is Sin. It may be my own sin, or someone’s sin against me. But make no mistake, we can trace it back to Sin. And the only answer we have for Sin is Jesus Christ . That being the case, we might do well to START with the Spiritual issues…and Spiritual remedies. Well before we begin addressing the Material issues. Otherwise, we’re building castles…and churches… on sinking sand.
I doubt there are people much more desperate than the Pastors of the Least, and the communities we serve. More desperate…perhaps. But much more desperate? No! And yet we have hundreds coming to the Bible Schools for one thing only: to learn the Word of God. Most are meeting the Biblical Jesus for the first time. They long to conform to God’s Will and Calling upon their lives. They arrive tired and hungry. Many sick. And they most often go home the same way. But…the inner man has been transformed. The Vessel of Dishonor has been remade into a Vessel of Honor. The carnality has been erased, and the divine inserted. And that will transform them, their families and slum communities more than anything else on this earth. Supernatural transformation of the soul must never be dependent upon material abundance, arresting Injustice or remedying temporal inequalities. It’s basic to the Faith we profess. Paul the Apostle couldn’t have been more clear…
Does this leave any place for Helps Ministries? Absolutely. The gospels reveal that Jesus had a special “purse” for the poor. But we never hear about Him giving it out. It was not His main mission. It was not the foundation, nor the focus. Not even close. It was secondary. It was done quietly. Where does this leave seeking Justice for the oppressed? Stop an “Injustice” without Christ, and we’ve probably just created another Injustice. Rather bring a man to Christ…and he’ll stop being an Oppressor.
We’d all like to think it’s not in our theology, our church, or our pulpit. But it’s ugly head can be seen even in the most traditional, conservative, “KJ only” bastions of the faith. It might not be the flamboyant, in-your-face variety. It is much more subtle than that. Which makes it even more cunning and toxic.
More palatable insertions come with all the trappings of Christianity…but none of the power of God. We are seeking to right every wrong, remove every wrinkle and speed bump that life may throw someone’s way. It all sounds so righteous, logical and well-intentioned: “a hand up, not a handout”; “one laptop per child”; “a gift to make someone smile”; “a free Bible for every pastor”; “a chance to reach their God-given potential”. While I understand it…at the same time I don’t.
“To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.”
Was Paul the Apostle just having an off season? A stretch of bad luck? Was he simply an aesthetic masochist? Or was he rather onto something profound?
“I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you. For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Therefore I urge you, Imitate me.”
Hardly words of a madman. Nor of a self-mutilating monk. Rather the Words of God Almighty. For “doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Tim 3.16)
Words from another King, about another Kingdom. Another Judge….about another Justice.
And another Gospel… the only one that transforms.
