Did you know that Saturday (April 25) is World Malaria Day? It’s a day intended to call attention to malaria, of course, but most of us won’t be thinking about it. Even if we find ourselves swatting mosquitoes at a picnic, it’s because they’re annoying, not deadly.

But for half of the world’s population, a mosquito bite could inject a deadly parasite into their bloodstream. Since you started reading this blog, another child has died of malaria. By day’s end, 2,000 children will succumb to it (see p. 142-145).

No one dies of malaria in the U.S. anymore; it was wiped out by 1950, thanks to widespread DDT spraying. That makes it easy not to think about it, or even be interested in learning about it. A recent Google Trends report showed that Internet searches for “malaria” have flat-lined in the U.S. compared to searches on other diseases like AIDS.

But I’ve been thinking about malaria lately, and not just because of how it affects so many children and families where World Vision serves. I’m headed to Ethiopia next week, so I’ve started taking malarone, a prescription that protects against malaria.

This is a disease that’s easy to prevent and easy to treat. Medicines are available that, when administered on a timely basis, can stop the progression of the disease and save lives. Spraying insecticides in mosquito breeding grounds can reduce the likelihood of being bitten. Insecticide-treated bed nets can protect the most vulnerable: children and pregnant women.

I could tell you lots of stories, but here’s just one. After four days of malarial fever, Esperance, a pregnant woman in Rwanda, had slipped into a coma. Her husband carried her for an hour on foot to the hospital. Intravenous therapy with quinine saved her—and her baby.

World Malaria Day probably won’t capture many headlines this week. But then, headlines don’t change the world—people do. I thank God that Esperance survived, but I mourn for the 2,000 children who will die today, tomorrow, and the day after that. And I pray that people like you will choose to do something about that. Check out http://www.endmalaria.org/ for ideas.

What were you doing a year ago? Me, I was writing my book. At first, I was terrified to face that blank computer screen. I knew I had a book in me—maybe more than one—and I was armed with an outline and reams of notes. But I still wasn’t sure what would come of it.

And maybe that’s good. When you’re doing something for God, you don’t often know the end from the beginning. You don’t need to—it’s God’s plan, perfectly designed. He just needs you to be willing to take the first step.

Think about Christians who have made an impact; many had no idea where their efforts would lead. Mother Teresa decided she wouldn’t walk over a beggar in the streets of Calcutta but would reach down and tend to him, little knowing she would set a new standard for compassion. In 1855, Sunday-school teacher Edward Kimball shared Christ’s love with a challenging young man named Dwight Moody, who went on to become an influential evangelist (read about Edward on pages 261-263). And a young man I know, Austin Gutwein, started throwing basketball free-throws to impress upon his classmates the magnitude of AIDS. Now kids in 20 countries participate in his fundraiser, Hoops of Hope, raising money for AIDS-affected African children (read about Austin on pages 265-266).

To me, it’s a relief that we don’t have to figure it all out. In business, I must constantly forecast the future, make projections, devise strategic plans. But for His purpose, God doesn’t need that from me—He simply needs obedience. As World Vision founder Bob Pierce said, “I don’t ask God to bless what I do. I pray He will help me to do what He blesses.”

I was blessed by Cheryl, a mother of three and a child sponsor, who replied to my blog last month. She wrote that although her husband is out of work, she’s praying for openness to God’s will, seeking “service instead of salary.” Cheryl is at the beginning of something great- God knows what it will yield.

How is your story evolving? I’d be encouraged—as would others—to read about your God-ordained plan in the “Your Story” section of this site.

In the wake of Easter, I’m reflecting on what it means to live as a post-resurrection disciple – to carry forward the privilege and promise of our redemption in Christ.  I’m struck by Jesus’ command to his disciples to be “salt” and “light” to the world.

Back in Jesus’ time, before electricity and refrigerators, these were powerful elements.  Salt preserves food, keeping it from rotting, and adds flavor that makes it taste different - often better.  Light, of course, reveals what’s real, what’s true.

What does “salt” and “light” mean to us today?  Well, let me give you two examples – interestingly, from my Easters past.  In April 2007, I was in Chennai, India, meeting with HIV-positive mothers who had been shunned by society and even their relatives.  World Vision provided practical help, but what was far more precious to these cast-aside women was the human touch from Christian workers – a touch that restored their dignity.  Being “salt” in an AIDS-ravaged community means to defy stigma and ignorance with truth and compassion.

Three years ago, I was in Gulu, Uganda – truly one of  the darkest places I’ve ever seen – where a brutal rebel group abducts children and forces them to commit atrocities (read more on pages 61-63).  At World Vision’s Children of War Center, these suffering child soldiers discover the good news of God’s forgiveness, despite the terrible things they’d done.  The Christians there are “light” by challenging evil and helping children create new, hopeful lives.

Maybe it’s easier to spread light and speak truth in places devoid of hope.  But Jesus calls us to be “salt” and “light” wherever we are.  A blogger named Laura, commenting on my book, writes, “[Rich] isn’t saying everyone has to go work for a charity organization, but that whatever our job, we should be working for God’s glory.  That includes caring about the poor and needy.”

How are you “salt” and “light” in your everyday life?  If you feel you can do more, check out chapter 25, “Time, Talent, and Treasure.”  You might have more to offer than you think.

In the days ahead, we anticipate and celebrate Easter, the greatest event in history.  Christ is risen, for us and in us – the magnificent ‘good news.”  But what difference does this really make to the world?

We as Christians rejoice that Jesus died for our sins and – miracle of miracles – rose from the dead.  Have we heard this truth so often that it has lost its impact?

What does Christ’s resurrection mean for us, for the world, now?  If it is just a transaction – we believe, and so we get our ticket to heaven – then have we stripped the gospel of its power to change not only the human heart, but the world?

Consider the disciples on the night before the crucifixion.  They “deserted him and fled” (Mark 14:50).  Jesus found most of them three days later behind locked doors.  But when they encountered the risen Christ – what happened?

They were transformed into people with a mission that changed the world.  In Jesus’ name, they preached the good news, they healed the sick, they cared for the poor and poor of spirit, and they made disciples in far-flung nations.

As we celebrate Easter, we must remember: Christians are not meant to act like pre-resurrection disciples.  We are post-resurrection disciples.  We are each a new creation with a new mission.  Christ has risen.  Everything in our lives must change.

But God doesn’t force our will.  Becoming a disciple who reflects the resurrected Christ involves intentionally surrendering our thoughts, our actions, and our lives.

This Easter, how can the good news of the risen Christ change not only you, but the whole world – through you?

Statistics on giving are startling: Those who give the most usually have the least to give. Committed Christians with yearly household incomes of less than $12,500 give away approximately 7 percent of that*—while all church members on average give just over 2 percent.**

And what do churches do with this 2 percent? We spend it mostly on ourselves. Only about 2 percent of the 2 percent we give goes to overseas missions of any kind** (see chapter 19, “Two Percent of Two Percent”).

I am encouraged that many of us are increasingly frustrated about this. In last week’s blog responses, Pastor Ray wrote that he’s “been waiting a long time to find evangelicals who truly believe reaching out to the poor” is a priority. Dave wrote that the book “created a healthy sense of ‘cognitive dissonance’ “ with the current priorities at his church. That’s what I was hoping for, because that’s what God keeps doing in me.

My own nest egg has dropped about 50 percent due to the stock market. When my wife, Reneé, and I sat down recently to make our tithing commitments, she wanted us to give more because of the tough times facing churches, organizations, and missionaries. I balked, reminding her how much we had lost and that we would have two kids in college next year. She reminded me of what I had written in my book (chapter 25, “Time, Talent, and Treasure”) and essentially told me to “man up” and get out the checkbook. She was right, and I did.

In Mark 12, Jesus notices the rich giving “large amounts” to the temple, then sees the widow give “two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.” He calls over his disciples to make the point: Do we give our excess, or do we give in sacrifice? Two millennia later, the same question applies: Do you think we—and our churches—are committed to giving, even when it hurts? In the midst of the greatest economic turmoil since the Great Depression, we’re about to find out.

Sources:

“No more lies, no more pretense,” says Paul (Ephesians 4:25, The Message). He goes on, “Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all.” With this book, I want to tell the truth. For years I was caught up with the American dream. I had put aside the truth: that serving the poor is not a calling reserved for a subcategory of Christians, or churches with the poor in their congregations.

This past week, I was honored to speak at the Colorado chapter of Women of Vision at our World Vision Storehouse in Denver. Many of their questions centered on how I knew that God was calling me to serve the poor. The answer took a while for me to embrace wholeheartedly (see chapter 2, “A Coward for God”). The answer is that the Bible, the source of truth, says to “look after orphans and widows in their distress” as well as to “keep oneself from becoming polluted by the world.” (James 1:27, NIV). Our faith is more than a personal transaction with God. The truth is that serving the poor is a calling for all of us.

And yet this calling is also complex: in God’s grace, he gifts us to answer this call in a variety of ways. I’ve been touched by your comments on this blog – from Pastor Manuel praying for church planting in Bangladesh to dear Florence praying for strength as she serves in inner city St. Louis. How has God opened your eyes to the truth that we are all called to care—really care, and that means to act—for the poor? How has his grace gifted you to do that?

I’ll be signing books this Thursday at a Family Christian Bookstore in Plano, Texas and also at The Christian Book Expo in Dallas. The details are on their websites.  If you’re near, please come by.

We live in a world of frightening headlines. On any given day we might read of genocide in Darfur, violence in Gaza, a disease outbreak in Uganda, flooding in Asia or a famine in northern Kenya – not to mention global economic shocks, rising unemployment, home foreclosures and millions more Americans pushed below the poverty line. Does any of this have relevance to our 75 minutes at church on Sunday? Does the Bible have anything to say about such headlines two thousand years after the time of Christ? My goal in writing The Hole in Our Gospel was to confront people with the implications of the faith we profess. The Christian faith was never meant to be some tame anesthetizing tonic meant only to soothe our souls; no, it was intended to be a medicine so powerful that it could challenge the legion of social illnesses that plague the human race – poverty, alienation, hatred, corruption, apathy and injustice. If the gospel is the medicine, then we are the EMTs (emergency medical technicians) called to respond with urgency to the wounded and hurting in our world. But it often seems that our sirens are turned off and our red lights aren’t flashing. We have the power to change the headlines and even the course of history – but only if we take seriously the very specific things Christ asked us to do. It’s really up to us.

Well, if you’ve read the book, I’d like to know what you think. Did it provoke you, anger you, inspire you? I tried to raise some uncomfortable questions that we don’t always ask of ourselves – questions that must be answered as pre-requisites to anyone who wants to change our world for the better. What does God expect of us? Are we willing to be open to God’s will for our lives – regardless of the cost? How might God specifically use us to further His kingdom and reclaim the world he died for? These aren’t easy questions to answer. I know that many of you have wrestled with these questions, and perhaps answered them, long before my book was even written. I’d love for you to share your own thoughts and stories with me and others on this website. Do you think there’s a hole in our gospel?