Lausanne World Pulse – World Pulse Archives – World Pulse Archives

The world is sick and dying. Shall we call the salt and light brigade, or the fire brigade? The Christian public is impor-tuned to do both, by different powerful public appeals, pamphlets, articles, e-mails and Web sites. Macedonian cries to “come over and help us” multiply with expanded media powers.

The case for calling the salt and light brigade is compelling because the world’s physical and social needs are so critical. Therefore, I conclude that the salt and light brigade gets more calls than the fire brigade.

Let me explain. The salt and light brigade says that social uplift is demanded not only by people’s needs but also by Scripture. These are the folks who want us to attack and heal social injustice, suffering, inequality, racism and all the rest. They do not lack Bible verses to support their causes and they define the church’s mission in those terms.

The fire brigade, on the other hand, appeals for the priority of gospel preaching to save people’s souls. Social uplift follows conversion; good deeds follow salvation by grace. The church’s mission is to redeem people from their sins. Fighting social injustice is secondary to that mission. In simple terms, social reformers blame preachers, evangelists and missionaries for caring only about people’s souls and not about their bodies.

And vice-versa. To cure what they consider to be a shortsighted, truncated view of world missions, they propose wholistic ministries. “Wholistic” is their mantra.

Both brigades often go to extremes to castigate what they believe are wrong directions in mission ministries. Setting up and demolishing straw men is not at all helpful for people in our churches who need guidance about what to pray for and support.

After I served as pastor of a church, I was called to help edit a leading Christian magazine. This magazine attracted thoughtful articles from many scholars on both sides of many issues. Nothing much was gained, however, by writers whose basic premise was that the church was failing in many different ways, including a woeful shirking of social responsibilities. Often I wondered if these writers had ever actually served in a church. For every criticism they launched I could find an example in my own church experience that refuted their charges.

The same principle applies to those who seem committed to attacking the missionary community for its failures. Of course, we have to confess many failures and shortcomings. We have done some awful things and we have left undone many other things. But I praise and thank God for what he has accomplished through the service and witness of countless servants worldwide.

In the multitudes of learned papers, books, magazine articles, speeches, tracts and conferences I long to see the salt and light brigade say something about the absolute necessity of preaching Christ for the salvation of souls. I also long to see the fire brigade acknowledge our Christian duty to help people in their struggles for justice, health, peace and wholeness.

My own conclusion is that the New Testament perfectly weds both responsibilities, but tips the scales toward the priority of gaining heaven. Jesus came to save us from our sins. He came to seek and to save the lost. He said gaining our souls was worth more than everything else. He prepares a place for us in heaven. He promises great rewards in heaven. He declared the kingdom of heaven was at hand, not the kingdom of earth.

The apostle Paul said we are citizens of heaven. Because we are aliens here, we must set our hearts and minds on heaven, where Jesus lives.

Again and again I find heaven to be the most important issue of all. Heaven outranks health, wholeness and social justice. While I do all I can to help people to find food, clothing, shelter and justice, I want them above everything else to gain heaven.

October 4, 2002