Global poverty the chief moral issue today, Vestal asserts_71105

Posted: 7/08/05

Global poverty the chief moral
issue today, Vestal asserts

By Greg Warner

Associated Baptist Press

GRAPEVINE–Global poverty is “the moral issue of our day,” and how Christians respond is “the acid test of our faith,” Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Coordinator Daniel Vestal told participants at the CBF General Assembly.

“Statistics do not tell all the truth, but we simply can't ignore the fact that 1 billion people in this world live on less than $1 a day,” Vestal said.

“We can't close our eyes to the fact that 8 million people around the world die each year simply because they are too poor to stay alive. That's 20,000 a day.”

“Entering into that suffering,” Vestal said, and making personal and governmental changes to solve it, are part of what it means to be “the presence of Christ in all the world”–the title of Vestal's sermon and the theme for the two-day annual meeting, which drew 2,823 registered participants and about 400 others.

Vestal said doing nothing in the face of global poverty is unconscionable for Christians.

“What is clear to me is that prosperity is on the rise for many. But what is equally clear is that there is a growing disparity between the 'haves' and the 'have nots.' There is a growing gulf between the rich and the poor and between the rich nations and the poor nations.

“I don't care what your politics are, or what economic theory you believe in. As followers of Christ, we must enter into this suffering,” Vestal said during his passionate sermon.

To do that, he continued, Christians and governments must be willing to make real changes.

“Our government must make changes in policy that give a greater priority to poor people,” he said. “Our churches must make changes in practice and programs so that more of our money and time is going to the poor, and less to ourselves. Our families must make some changes in spending habits, in what we do with leisure and holidays and possessions. And, most important of all, each of us as individuals must make changes in our lifestyle, in our giving and in our attitudes.”

Vestal mentioned a recent meeting of 25 religious leaders at the White House, where he told President Bush's representatives he knows Bush to be a man of “sincere and authentic” faith. “'I want to appeal to him as a man of faith to use his leadership–his moral leadership, his political leadership–to lead this country to address what I believe to be the moral issue of our day, and that is poverty,'” Vestal said he told the leaders. “'Please convey to him that we are praying for him and for all in leadership, and please know that we as a faith community want to do our part in collaboration in engaging poor people and advocating for poor people.”

Vestal urged Fellowship members to make specific changes to incarnate the presence of Christ–open their homes to strangers, learn a new language, use vacation time for a “missions immersion” experience, retire early to take on “a radical new ministry,” or invest in a micro-enterprise.

In addition to embracing suffering, Vestal said during his sermon, “being the presence of Christ” means developing a life of prayer, nurturing community, performing acts of compassion as “signs of the kingdom,” and proclaiming salvation in Jesus.

Sue Poss of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship contributed to this report.