I wrote a few days ago about the World Vision decision around having an inclusive recruitment and employment policy (in this case accepting people in same sex marriages … I mean … whatever your view … why wouldn’t you?!)

I wrote how lots of evangelical leaders slammed into World Vision, telling them that their very considered view and action was unbiblical, heretical and downright evil. Some even suggested that Christians should cancel their subscriptions … those monies going to children desperate for support, help and aid.

Two days later World Vision reversed their decision … so effectively saying; we love and accept everyone and all are welcome to join us …. oH!!! … hang on … no … no actually we don’t’.

The reversal of the decision was very sad. Frustratingly sad.

Jamie the very worst missionary writes much better about this than me here.

So, why am I bringing this all up again. Well … it seems that somehow Jamie had a telephone conversation with the CEO of World Vision yesterday.

The fallout from the inclusive policy was 10 000 cancelled sponsorships.

Take that in!
10 000 people cancelled their sponsorship of a child in desperate need.
10 000 children who had started to rely on that financial support had it whipped away in a flash.
And why ? …. because 10 000 people, no … axctually … let’s correct that …
10 000 Bible Believing Christians …
felt very strongly that upholding their view of scripture to be far more important, far more vital, far more honourable than ensuring the poorest and weakest children in the most deprived parts of the world have vital funding to ensure they eat, are educated and housed.

10 000 children are at serious risk of being plunged back into extreme  poverty because people wanted to have their one sided Christian belief upheld.

That type of Christianity is so fucked up  – how can such action be anything like Christ like?
really??!!
10 000!

I am really feeling ashamed to call myself a Christian.
I think i’ll stop using that term …. because if this is Christian I don’t understand it or want to have anything to do with it.
Nowhere in the gospels do I see justification for such narrow mindedness meanness.
I want to distance myself massively from such behaviour!

Because …. Seriously … 10 000 kids!

(PS .. there is no apology for anything in this post …. if you find yourself angry and shocked by the use of a certain word above … may I humbly suggest that being angry about starving children being used as pawns in this argument to be far more worthy of our anger than some word that I use because I am not clever enough to think of anything else!! (well … that’s what my mum always told me anyway!)

Last Friday was a pretty amazing day. I simply have not had a chance to write about this yet. I also like things to settle and see what stays with me after such a packed day. The stuff that is lingering will appear below.

Along with a few others, Liz and myself represented the gathering, who were invited to the Archbishops Day Conference on Religious Life and Renewal at Lambeth Palace. It was a great opportunity to catch up with old friends and connect with some new people from both traditional and new monastic communities.

I was particularly encouraged as Archbishop Justin asked in his opening speech …. ‘what needs doing? What institutional changes are needed? How does the church, how do the churches (we are not all Anglicans here) obstruct you, hinder you when we should celebrate and support? What re-imagination do we need?’

He started by saying religious communities throughout history have been a major influence on renewing and energising the church. He also said we need a wild and spirit led burst of imagination …. hearing those words, from the Archbishop, in an 800 year old building in the seat of ‘the establishment’ were both pretty radical to hear … as well as incredibly life and permission giving. Once again, it seems, we have an Archbishop that wishes to bless ideas and imagination and wants to see creativity ….  I resonated with that ‘imagination’ word particularly as I believe God called my attention to imagination prayer the week before at the Contemplative Prayer day.

In the question and answer time with the Archbishop two things have stuck with me. When asked about permanence of religious communities and church, he said that he preferred to talk of stability. Permanence is affected by the external stuff and so is out of our control; but stability, said Archbishop Justin, is internal and we can live with that in our heart. So, rather than looking at being permanent, we should be searching for that feeling of stability.

The Archbishop also talked about how communities could celebrate the new and spontaneous as it appears. He urged each community to work out how they can do this as they perform their dance of the prophetic and the creative.

We broke into groups after both key note speeches in the morning and afternoon. I felt I heard one loud message very clearly which I will be taking back to the gathering …. that many communities experience shows that we can only grow as we rediscover our radical mission purpose. Part of this will involved the transformation of places of pain into places of hope.

This was backed up int he afternoon when Fr Etienne from the Chemin Neuf Community challenged us to think about the ‘charism’ that the gathering offered and how that might be released for the renewal of the church and the community. That’s a really interesting and deep question that I have come away with …. and something that we, as the gathering, will need to ponder … but hopefully not for too long … so we can get on and make a difference.

This was a great day …. and I give thanks for all those involved in planning. There are some comments from friends below …

I have been shocked more than I thought I could by the reaction of some, mainly evangelical church leaders, to the news that World Vision has decided to hire people who are in loving same sex relationships. Some leaders are actually saying people should boycot World Vision, as in stop sponsoring amazing child poverty relief and education programs, which make an amazing difference, just because World Vision are going to have an open recruitment policy.

I am not sure if this makes me angry or sad or both.

I could write lots but Rachel has written excellently here … so go read …Rachel says:

And it puts into stark, unsettling relief just how out-of-control the evangelical obsession with homosexuality has become. Organizations don’t get “farewelled” for hiring divorcees. People don’t get kicked out of their churches for struggling with pride or for not wearing head coverings when they pray.  (See “Everyone’s a Biblical Literalist Until You Bring Up Gluttony.”) But when it comes to homosexuality, Trevin Wax and many others have decided “the gospel is at stake.” 

That paragraph sums up what really concerns me. This seeming obsession with sexuality that people have lost the plot to such an extent that they are actually recommending a course of action that would result in children starving … that is so painfully ridiculous to comprehend.

Anyway … be sad …  be angry …  be whatever … but pray for World Vision!

Oh … and you could always sponsor a World Vision child!