This
past week I had the privilege of accompanying First Baptist Church of
Gainesville, Georgia to the twentieth annual Passport camp in Wingate, North
Carolina. I myself have never felt
completely comfortable in the “camp” environment, and was hesitant to attend,
however, after spending the past six days at Passport, I know I am better for
the experience. In particular, a certain
attitude towards Christian service and ministry was presented in a manner that
is both practical and obedient to Christian Scripture and Tradition, yet
somewhat foreign to many of the Evangelical gatherings that I have attended in
the past. Finding myself both convicted
and refreshed that such a mentality exists, I have come back to Atlanta with a
new attitude towards my role within the Body of Christ and my obligation to
meet the needs of the helpless.
When
the “Watering Malawi” video came across the screen for the first time I thought
to myself, Great, another video with big
bold words rotating across the screen with an occasional orphan or puppy for
added emotional leverage. To be
fair, I was spot on. Sure, I would have
probably given a few bucks just like everyone else, but a chord of annoyance
had been struck deep within my being that was quite familiar. It seems that the modern approach to
Christian mission is to hold gatherings that costs tens of thousands of
dollars, in an effort to send thousands of dollars to a particular agency,
which will then fly hundreds of dollars to a remote village that needs a
miracle no money can seem to buy. Here we go again.
Fortunately,
my skepticism was destroyed only a few hours later. Around noon the next day, I made my way with
about twenty youth from various churches to the Habitat for Humanity Recycling
Center. Now I myself am far from green,
but in an effort to produce capital for Habitat, I obliged. Meanwhile, other groups were working with the
YWCA of Wingate to mentor and minister to children from low-income families and
rummaging through abandoned homes to auction off their findings. The final project also benefited
Habitat. That night, as the night before
and the nights that would follow, Malawi was mentioned again, but this time my
pessimism had disappeared. There seems
to be something special about sending help to those in the far corners of the
world, while simultaneously serving those at home. These men and women weren’t concerned with
just hitting the home run; they were making base hits all day long.
It
is one thing to write a check. It is
quite another thing to give of your time and energy. At Passport, we had the opportunity to do
both. I find it terribly impractical to
focus on a tragedy thousands of miles away while neglected the devastation down
the block. At the same time, we live in
a world that is lost and dying, both spiritually and physically. There is no reason that we cannot help our
neighbor, be they Malawians or Carolinians.
The important thing to remember is that we are not required to choose
only one, or to neglect our neighbor next door for the well being of the family
at the end of the cul-de-sac.
I
myself am a skeptic and always have been.
Sadly, I tend to see the glass half empty, and criticize those who I
find impractical. Of course I am not
proud of this, but it is a character flaw that I am not ignorant of. Considering this disposition, it as all the
more powerful to recognize the disappearance of my hesitations. This week left me no choice but to gladly
embrace the cause in Malawi. No longer
does the excuse of focusing on what is local allow me to reject that which is
global. We can do both, and the lives of
those both near and far are dependent upon our action.
Religion
that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for widows
and orphans in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James 1:27
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