The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns

The book The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns is a call to action for Christians wrapped in the story of the author’s journey from the executive boardroom of a large and prestigious corporation in the east to the headquarters of World Vision U.S. in the state of Washington. This story in itself is an awe inspiring tale of following, and fighting, God’s will in his life. The more thought provoking part of this book however is what he shares about the level of poverty and disease outside our little corner of the world. He does this through the use of stories of the people and through the statistics surrounding them.

It is almost impossible to not be impacted by what Mr. Stearns shares about the world around us. He shares many unbelievable statistics, but manages to bring them into a context that we can grasp. For instance, he shares that 26,000 children die each and every day from preventable causes related to the poverty they live in. He compares this number to 100 jet liners crashing each day. Wouldn’t we be shocked by that headline if it happened even once, let alone every day?

He also shares statistics about the number of Christians in our nation and the amount of wealth that we have.  The amount of that wealth that we dedicate to helping those around the world is shockingly small. The Bible is full of verses regarding our duty as Christians to care for those around us and Mr. Stearns refers to many of the most powerful ones in his book. If we call ourselves followers of Christ, but are not acting on many of these commands, doesn’t that mean that there is a hole in our Gospel?

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”