Richard Stearns, the President of World Vision, points out that this question is a profound one for those who say they follow Christ.  Stearns’ answer to this question is laid out in his excellent book, The Hole in our Gospel.  

Stearns writes passionately that God calls us to be partners in changing the world, that God desires us to live our lives in such a way for the world to catch a glimpse of His love, justice and mercy.  This is the gospel.  This is what Jesus came to do.  This is what he invites us to join Him in.

The Hole in our Gospel is a treatise for the premise that being a follower of Jesus requires much more than having a personal and transforming relationship with God.  It also involves a public and transforming relationship with the world.   Stearns, who left a high-paying executive job to take his current role with World Vision,  shares his own journey toward the understanding of this hole. He lays out how the deep the hole is in the world with real stories and more than just numbing statistics of poverty, injustice and disease.   But most importantly, Stearns share how we can move out of this hole toward being true followers of Jeus who live life the way Christ did.

I highly recommend this book.  The implications for the body of Christ today are huge, as are the implications for the world that needs Christ. We can either continue down a path of a diminished gospel that is amounts to a simple individual transaction with God or we can embrace a revolutionary gospel that can change the world.  

Buy it. Read it. Join the revolution.