The Hole in Our Gospel – by Richard Stearns

In a world where we “feel good” because we give – and then forget…Strearns lets us see that our understanding of the Gospel is faulty – ‘hole’y to be precise.  We glean what is comfortable, and makes us feel good; only to leave the rest aside.  We don’t like to be challenged, or have to look to hard at ourselves – we often won’t like what we see.

Filled with personal accounts, including the amazing story of how God called a very reluctant and hesitant CEO from Lenox to lead World Vision, Richard weaves this book with deeply personal stories.  Through his own experiences and paired with the voices of people he deeply respects, (and the list is wide…Mother Theresa to Bono to renowned theologians), we are led to an understanding that living The Gospel goes beyond our safe walls each Sunday Morning.

The statistics are over-whelming, yet compelling.  Just by each member of North American churches tithing…we could wipe out global hunger and poverty many times over in 1 year.  With less than the American and Canadian stimulus packages combined – imagine that!  I found this a stunning slap in the face with a simple reality.  Yet – at no time does the book guilt the reader into anything.  This is not a World Vision adoption campaign.  To be Jesus to the world, we must “let our heart be broken for all the things that break God’s heart”.

A global change begins with a single decision to do something more than is being done right now.