Hope for the Holy Land video

This is the longer version of the short presentation video you can find HERE.

The Hope for the Holy Land tour of World Vision on the West Coast of the United States continues.

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A Few Comments About Snyder’s Text on Holistic Evangelism

After I have published (see HERE) Howard Snyder’s text on evangelism, somebody asked if indeed the author’s position was aligned 100% with what the New Testament has to say about evangelism. In other words, is not evangelism primarily a communication of good news and is not ‘conversion evangelism’ the prime emphasis of the biblical text?

Here is my answer to this absolutely legitimate question:

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In my opinion, the question of the meaning of ‘evangelism’ cannot be decided based on an etymological study of ‘euangelizo’ or of an exegetical study of the occurrences of this term in the NT, which is similar to the fact that the meaning of ‘church’ in the NT cannot be legitimately decided on the basis of an etymological study of ‘ekklesia’ (as coming from the Greek ek-kaleo) and the exegetical study of the occurrences of this term in the Bible (74 in the Septuagint and 114 in the NT).

The reasons for this are multiple:

Bob Burroughs: “If the horse is dead, dismount!” – good advice for the church of 2013 to follow

Here is some good advise for churches in 2013, from Bob Burroughs, a composer and arranger who directed the Florida Baptist Convention church music department until his retirement in 2002. He is author of What Think Ye?: Essays for Twenty-First Century Leaders, Pastors, and Church Musicians.

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For some, the New Year brings the promise and possibility of something exciting for today’s church. For others, the New Year brings the same-old/same-old — doing the same thing without even the possibility of thinking outside the box.

In his outstanding book Barefoot Church, Serving the Least in a Consumer Culture, author Brandon Hatmaker quotes two leaders on their vision for today’s church.

The first, Richard Stearns, president/founder of World Vision, offers his revision of Matthew 25:44-46:

“For I was hungry, while you had all you needed. I was thirsty, but you drank bottled water. I was a stranger, and you wanted me deported. I needed clothes, but you needed more clothes. I was sick, and you pointed out the behaviors that led to my sickness. I was in prison, and you said I was getting what I deserved.”

This paraphrase spoke volumes to my heart. While some of our children got more than they should have gotten for Christmas, a young girl in Kenya was pictured wearing flattened plastic soft-drink bottles tied on her feet with rope. Does that speak to you? It saddens me greatly that I have so much and she has so little.

Martin Marty – World Vision Foreign Aid

Sightings

November 14, 2011

While polarization marks and blights politics in America today, and while popular culture, commerce, and religion are afflicted with the all-or-nothing ideologies and practices that prevent the citizenry from meeting the challenges which only intensify as seasons pass, here and there and now and then Sightings spies counter-signs. While the media focus on conflict among and within religious communities, those who take the longer view can find occasions for inspiration. That I so often find such signs in publications like The Economist or The Wall Street Journal surprises some readers and perhaps needs some explaining now and then.

A half century ago the company of historians with whom I hung out began to speak of a “two-party system” in American Protestantism and, for that matter in Catholicism and other communities. Then and ever since, the parties kept redefining themselves, drawing revised lines, seeking and finding new causes, new enemies, and new friends. The lines hardened for decades when “the Christian Right” faced off against religious expressions of “the New Left.” My work often took me to places where expectations imprisoned imaginations. Sometimes invited to mainly-evangelical conferences, I would be introduced as “the non-evangelical guest at this year’s meeting.” I would remind others that, among other things, I was the only participant who belonged to a church body which had the word “evangelical” in its very name. Enough about that.

Largest Private Cash Gift in World Vision History

By Rich Stearns, President of World Vision US

The same week as the tragic deaths of our colleagues in Pakistan, World Vision had another unprecedented event in our 60-year history.

We received a $35 million gift commitment from a private donor – the biggest single gift ever given to us. This is a remarkable blessing which God has provided through the generosity of a couple who have taken their stewardship seriously.

The Hole in the Gospel – UPDATE!

Richard Stearns is the President of World Vision United States, one of the entities of the partnership called World Vision International. He responded recently to a series of questions formulated by Mark Galli, editor at Christianity Today, around his new book, called The Hole in the Gospel.

Seattle – 2 – World Vision US

După masa de dimineaţă ne-a deplasat, împreună cu ceilalţi membri ai grupului nostru, la sediul World Vision United States (WV US), unde aveau să aibă loc întâlnirile pentru care ne aflam acolo (aveţi mai sus o imagine a sediului WV US, care este altceva decât World Vision International, organizaţia umbrelă din care WV US face parte, alături de alte organizaţii asemănătoare din aproape o sută de ţări).