The Hole in Our Gospel

By Richard Stearns, President, World Vision
Published by Thomas Nelson; 2010
ISBN 978-0-8499-4700-1 (paperback)
336 pages

This is somewhat like the story of the rich man who came to Jesus, but with a happier ending. Richard Stearns tells how he was the CEO of two major corporations but gave that up — against his will — to become president of the world’s largest Christian humanitarian organization. He has many very powerful stories about needs in developing countries and what people in more fortunate circumstances are (and mostly are not) doing about them. For example, he notes that only about 4% of all the charitable giving in the U.S. (both faith-based and secular) goes to help in the 95% of the world where the greatest poverty, greatest health risks, and shortest life expectancies exist. He draws on many statistics but certainly is not boring. The hole he writes about is how so many Christians do not want to recognize and act on the needs beyond their immediate perspective. This book will give you a much clearer sense of what God wants us to do and how to do it. Sterns quotes his predecessor: “Let your heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God.”