Here is an excerpt from Next Generation Global Leaders: Our Pursuits, Priorities, and Passons by Michael Oh in the May, 2005 edition of Momentum Magazine that has captured my mind.
“In my limited exposure to the global church, I’ve sensed a subtle but undeniable growing cynicism towards America and the West. Though we in the West often think of ourselves as the leaders of the global church, the disciplers of the nations, and the teachers of the world, we must recognize that our ability to train leaders around the world is threatened by a perception that we in the West have lost our first love. We disqualify ourselves from training up the nations when those nations see our lifestyle!
“The 2/3rds (Majority) world Christians see churches in the West filled with Christians whose primary instinct is the seeking of comfort; physical, emotional, spiritual and economic comfort—a Christian life of affluent capitalism with a dash of spirituality and beneficence.
“Christian brothers and sisters around the world are sacrificing not just finances, comfort, and personal advancement but their very lives. In a world where tens of thousands of Christians are martyred each year and more than two billion people live in nations where there is little or no access to the Gospel what should the American Christian and the American Church look like? Be involved sacrificially with your whole life for the Kingdom. Be involved!
After reading this article, I keep asking myself, “Are they right? Is this the true state of the American Church? Do they see us better than we see ourselves? Am I so close to the American Church that I cannot see her as she really is? Is this true about me?”
I hope not. I pray not. But it is something to think about. Even pray about.
To read more of this article and the May Edition of Momentum click here.
