“I hear youth today talk about raising money to go and help people in Africa for a week, or to go and rock AIDS babies for a few days, but there is no purpose in their work other than to experience international travel or have a story to tell . . . but if the help is not motivated by the gospel message, their works will burn in the fire of eternity. If we do not proclaim Christ to the lost, what have we really accomplished?” (148) This quote (and others like it) from Franklin Graham was an absolute surprise for me upon reading this book. Given the topic, the title, and the list of people involved in the interviews, I excepted a new push for an old social-centered gospel. I was happy to realize that my pre-judgments were wrong after the first 10 pages of reading. In fact the piece takes a stab at those who try to minimize the gospel into a cry for social justice.
The book gives an attempt to thoughtfully balance the two extremes of a purely monastery like Christianity and a Peace Corps look-a-like humanitarian gospel. This topic and balance is one that all Christians should consider in their call to be salt and light in a fallen world.
Humanitarian Jesus: Social Justice and the Cross
Christian Buckley and Ryan Dobson
Humanitarian Jesus: Social Justice and the Cross
Christian Buckley and Ryan Dobson
Another helpful aspect of this book is its format. The majority of the piece is written in interview form, which highlights different Christians who must daily consider the difficult balance of the gospel and humanitarian efforts. The interviewers, Christian Buckley and Ryan Dobson, are quick to ask difficult questions to each of the guests that are directly related to how their work strives not to err on either side nor overcorrect to a culture that is often jaded on this particular topic. Although I did not fully agree with every sentence written, I thought the overall direction was very helpful and needed.
One of the reservations I had was the lack of ecclesiastical concerns. Even though the book wasn’t intended to cover such a concern, I thought it would have been helpful to at least succinctly address the role of the church. What one will notice is that most of the interviewee’s are apart of parachurch ministries and independent organizations. So as helpful and well thought out many of these parachurches are in their goal of both social concerns and preaching the gospel, Christ and the apostles also sought to place these newly convicted souls under the rule of faithful eldership. A fully orbed evangelism not only preaches the gospel to the lost, but also pastors them into local churches. I use the word reservation here and not critique because Jerry Wiles did address the importance of the local churches in his ministry, which for me was a breath of fresh air.
Another key reservation (not critique) was the lack of clear eschatological convictions as a vital asset when addressing this topic. With the rise of issues like “missional theology” and/or “transformational eschatology” it seems that many humanitarian efforts in today’s church are fueled by an effort to usher in the new heavens and new earth into the here and now by our own social deeds. The very meaning of the word gospel can be altered if a skewed eschatology grabs a hold of our evangelism. Once again, I am not offering a critique here, merely a humble suggestion or maybe even a direction for a second book.
Overall, we should be happy that Buckley, Dobson, and the guests interviewed are boldly tackling the balance of humanitarian efforts and the gospel, both in idea and action.
