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| Image from: http://www.worldvision.org/sites/default/files/images/home-slides/water.jpg |
I found it fitting this morning that I read this quote from
Max Lucado’s book Outlive Your Life, “When
workers divide, it is the suffering who suffer most.”
This World Vision thing has been mishandled by so many
people and in so many ways that I hope and pray not to simply be another one of
them.
My prayer in all of it: in every blog -post, response,
defense, or withdrawal of sponsorship is that God would allow all involved to focus
on the suffering involved: real children in real need will be affected and it
doesn’t really matter who is to blame.
I can find plenty of faults with World Vision and the way
they have handled this. By choosing to
allow gay Christians in legal same-sex marriages to be employed, while still
maintaining a rule that mandates abstinence outside of marriage, World vision
has essentially said that monogamy is more important than immorality. Instead of using a simple/straightforward
Biblical code of conduct where all employees are asked to pursue Jesus with
everything that they have and everything that they are, World Vision is in
essence picking and choosing which sins to address, even though that’s exactly
what they were trying to avoid. Richard Stearns,
who I respect and (will still) recommend as a voice for the forgotten and least
of these in our world (You should read his book: The Hole in Our Gospel ) is in a difficult position. World Vision does try to leave most theology
to denominations. They don’t have
statements of belief about proper modes of baptism, women in leadership,
etc. But, in continuing to mandate
rules, which include a call for abstinence, while allowing other types of
immorality, the group has painted themselves into a corner. They are in essence saying which sins are o.k.
and which sins are not. (Which you can't do by the way. The Word of God is pretty clear in defining sin.)
Having said that, I can also find faults with those that
have responded so harshly against World Vision.
Many responses from evangelistic leaders have come across heated, mean,
and judgmental. Some have called Stearns
a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.” In reading
others you would think that World Vision has suddenly stopped its call to
minister to the widows and orphans of our world (which the Bible says is “pure
religion” by the way). It’s been another
spring-board for evangelicals to speak hateful things about homosexuality while ignoring the need
for mercy.
In the end, I think we should ask ourselves this question: What about the suffering
children? You remember them right? The ones starving and dying from preventable
diseases.
If you had the ability to save one of their lives, would
speaking on the phone with a gay man or woman prevent you from doing so?
If you could save a child’s life, would you choose not to,
simply because the person processing the paperwork could potentially be a gay
man or woman?
I think (I hope) most Christians would choose to save the
child! And why? Because these children have already suffered
enough!
My point is this. As Christ followers I think we are bigger than these impassioned, impatient responses. It's o.k. if you feel shammed. If you signed up with World Vision based on their core beliefs and practices, it's o.k. to feel like they are trying to change direction. It's even o.k. to feel like you need to change sponsorship organizations.
If the choice to change hiring practices offends you, I encourage you to send Stearns your objections. Let him know that these kind of decisions cannot be made in a vacuum no matter how much his board would like to think they can. Tell him that you don’t understand his change in hiring practices or how he has seemingly made monogamy more important than Holy matrimony. Ask him how he and the board came to that decision.
If the choice to change hiring practices offends you, I encourage you to send Stearns your objections. Let him know that these kind of decisions cannot be made in a vacuum no matter how much his board would like to think they can. Tell him that you don’t understand his change in hiring practices or how he has seemingly made monogamy more important than Holy matrimony. Ask him how he and the board came to that decision.
But don’t cause the children to suffer.
If you feel led to cease your sponsorship, let the company
know that due to their decision you can no longer support their leadership
(which a portion of your monthly giving goes to support) long-term. Tell them that due to their decision your
sponsorship will cease at the end of the year, so that they have time to find someone
to take over for you.
But most of all, pray!
Pray and ask God what you should do.
Let the Holy Spirit, whose fruit includes love, peace, and
patience guide you. Don’t simply spout
off in anger or leave a child hanging.
The world’s biggest problems require the most people working
together towards their solution. The
bigger the problem, the more people required.
The more people, the better chance that there will be some you don’t
agree with or even approve of.
There are tons of great organizations out there (Compassion, Food for the Hungry, Project Hopeful) you can
support. Maybe all of this causes you to
do a little more research and a lot more praying.
Whether you continue to support World Vision in their effort
to end poverty and injustice or you choose a similar organization to support, I
pray that you would keep the following in mind: “When workers divide, it is the
suffering who suffer most.”
**UPDATE: World Vision has reversed their decision and publicly apologized. We think it takes great humility and wisdom to do this. See link below for the update and words from Richard Stearns.
World Vision Reverses...
**UPDATE: World Vision has reversed their decision and publicly apologized. We think it takes great humility and wisdom to do this. See link below for the update and words from Richard Stearns.
World Vision Reverses...
