In Matthew 24:35-40, Jesus says: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ’Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
Craig Blomberg comments:
The majority perspective has understand Jesus’ ‘brothers’ in verse 40 to refer to spiritual kin, as the term (adelphoi) does elsewhere in Matthew in every instance in which biological siblings are not in view (see 5:22-24, 47; 7:3-5; 12:48-50; 18:15 twice, 21, 35; 23:8; 28:10).
The term ‘little ones’, of which ‘the least’ (25:40, 45) is the superlative form, also without exception in Matthew refers to disciples (10:42; 18:6, 10, 14; cf. also 5:19 and 11:11).
This makes the point of Jesus’ teaching closely parallel to Matthew 10:42: Jesus’ itinerant followers (today we might call them Christian missionaries) must be cared for by those to whom they minister. Affording material help to those who preach in the name of Jesus demonstrates acceptance of the missionaries’ message at the spiritual level . . . This view is almost certainly correct.
Today, however, the prevailing interpretation is that Jesus is teaching about the need to help the dispossessed whether or not they are Christian. . . .
This is obviously an important biblical theme, but is far less likely to be the focus of this particular passage, given the consistent meaning of the terms and the larger context of parables focusing on the disciples (24:43-25:46).
The printed [and digital] page is a missionary that can go anywhere and do so at minimum cost. It enters closed lands and reaches all strata of society. It does not grow weary. It needs no furlough. It lives longer than any missionary. It never gets ill. It penetrates through the mind to the heart and conscience. It has and is producing results everywhere. It has often lain dormant yet retained its life and bloomed years later.
I praise God for the way he ordains the use of the written word to call and equip us as his children. The importance of text in the history of the church is difficult to overstate. Whether it’s the Scriptures, the pamphlets of the Reformation, or sermons read by thousands on the internet, God has deployed text as a vital means through the ages. By his design, books continue to be one of the most effective tools for spreading the gospel. And of course, in our day resource formats have exploded to include audio, video, and digital.
And yet, while we in the West often walk out of conferences with huge stacks of free and inexpensive books, much of the rest of the world suffers from a theological famine. In many regions, particularly in the Global South, the cultural, language, economic, and infrastructure barriers mount up. This leaves much of the church vulnerable to false teaching and weakness. God is calling us to address this need.
I’m grateful to Desiring God, where I worked for 13 years, for the incredible platform our team had to launch and grow this effort beginning in 2006. God has overwhelmed us with so many great partners and implemented projects. Now, I’m excited and humbled to join The Gospel Coalition, as we seek, by God’s grace, to expand this mission and its fruitfulness.
The scope of the need is larger than any single ministry can fill. We are looking for publishers, translators, givers, churches, mission senders, and goers who sense a call to engage in Theological Famine Relief. You can help us to create and deploy these resources where they are most needed around the world.
Here’s a quick tour of what you’ll find on our site:
Learn about Theological Famine Relief and how you can join us.
Explore tools for stirring your heart for the global cause.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! (Psalm 96:3)
Bill Walsh is director of international outreach for The Gospel Coalition. He worked for Desiring God Ministries for 13 years. Starting in 2006, he and a small team built a global network of partners for the cause of Theological Famine Relief for the Global Church. This initiative joined TGC in 2012. He lives with his wife, Cindi, in Minneapolis and has two adult children, Beau and Regan. Contact Bill at Bill.Walsh@TheGospelCoalition.org.
At a recent conference for Pastors here in the States I witnessed one of the largest conference bookstores that I’ve ever seen. My friends and I commented on the embarrassment of riches that we enjoy in the West. If I desire a certain title, I can have a print copy sent to me in a matter of days. Or I can order the digital version for my iPad in minutes, if not seconds. So much of my Christian growth over the years has depended on books. God has used certain ones to speak to me in specific seasons of my life—with huge results.
The importance of the written word is difficult to comprehend. In terms of church history, its impact would be hard to overstate. God has used the canon of the Holy Scriptures, the writings of the early church fathers, and the pamphlets of the Reformation as vital means of building His church. By His design, the written word continues to be one of the most effective vehicles for passing truth to the next generation.
For hundreds of years, Christians in the West have been privileged to have abundant access to good literature. This wealth of reading goes back to the Gutenberg press, which changed the entire known world in a year. In modern times, access to the written word has greatly increased with the advent of computers and Internet.
Although access to the Internet is increasing, the Global South has generally not yet tasted this bounty. The church there often suffers from a famine of Biblical resources. Many people groups have no Scriptures in their language. Others have no Christian literature to equip pastors and elders to lead their congregations. And where books are lacking, believers are subject to false teaching, undermined doctrine, and weak living.
When thinking of missions, we typically envision the classic missionary, crossing cultures for the sake of the Gospel. That is still a vital part of God’s plan, especially as we consider the more recent missiological emphasis on ‘from everywhere, to everywhere.’ But many are not aware of the powerful role that literature plays in spreading Gospel truth to the nations.
Here are a few noteworthy quotes that speak to the significance of the written word for the life of believers and for the cause of missions. These are the reasons why text in printed and digital form is at the core of our work in Theological Famine Relief for the Global Church.
The Essentiality of Books
Paul is inspired, yet he wants books; he has been preaching nearly thirty years, yet he wants books; he has a wider experience than most people, yet he wants books; he has been caught up into heaven and heard things which it is unlawful to utter, yet he wants books; he has written the major part of the New Testament, yet he wants books. – C.H. Spurgeon on 2 Timothy 4:13
The Continuity of Books
There are two things in the entire history of missions that have been absolutely central. One, obviously, is the Bible itself. The other is the printed page. There is absolutely nothing else in terms of mission methodology that outranks the importance of the printed page. Meetings come and go and personalities appear and are gone. But, the printed page continues to speak. –Ralph Winter
The Versatility of Books
. . . printed books are more portable than pulpits, more numerous than priests, and the messages they contain are more easily internalized. –Elizabeth L. Eisenstein (The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe, p. 169)
The Penetration of Books
The printed page is a missionary that can go anywhere and do so at minimum cost. It enters closed lands and reaches all strata of society. It does not grow weary. It needs no furlough. It lives longer than any missionary. It never gets ill. It penetrates through the mind to the heart and conscience. It has and is producing results everywhere. It has often lain dormant yet retained its life and bloomed years later. – Samuel Zwemer
The Transcendence of Books
Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom fully realize the enormous extension of our being, which we owe to authors…In reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in the Greek poem, I see with myriad eyes, but it is still I who see. Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do. –C.S. Lewis
The Sanctifying Power of Books
You will be in the company of the greatest minds and hearts for the rest of your life, and you will become their peers if you read for understanding and for life. –John Piper
The Influence of Books
If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If truth be not diffused, error will be; if God and His Word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain the ascendancy; if the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will. – Daniel Webster
We are asking God for individuals and churches who will help us build the long-term sustainability of this mission by supporting our International Outreach Capacity Fund. Would you prayerfully consider a monthly gift to this fund, so that we can continue to provide Theological Famine Relief for the Global Church?
(I’m grateful to William Mackenzie at Christian Focus for sharing several of these quotes with me and for being an inspirational force for book ministry around the world.)
Bill Walsh is Director of International Outreach for The Gospel Coalition. He worked for Desiring God Ministries for 13 years. Starting in 2006, he and a small team built a global network of partners for the cause of Theological Famine Relief for the Global Church. This initiative joined TGC in 2012. He lives with his wife, Cindi, in Minneapolis and has two adult children, Beau and Regan. Contact Bill at Bill.Walsh@TheGospelCoalition.org.
Recently, during one of our Wednesday night care group meetings, Esther 4:14 was brought to our attention in regard to our relocating to Uganda. This is how it reads: “And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
You know, this idea has not escaped our thoughts! Jacob and I have often talked about the strategic location and the timing of our move to northwestern Uganda.
The 17 acres which Reaching Africa’s Unreached (R.A.U.) was able, by God’s grace, to buy is situated near Moyo, Uganda. This land is only a mile or two from the South Sudan border; R.A.U. land is about 6 hours (in good weather) by Land Cruiser from the Northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It is exciting to think we will be able to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of people in three different countries from this one location.
So when it says, “For such a time as this“, we believe it!
It has not been long since Joseph Kony and the LRA were terrorizing the northern part of Uganda. They have been forced out and northern Uganda is experiencing more peaceful times, but struggling with the aftermath of the violence, displacement of its people, and with a slow-moving economy and scarce access to medical care and education.
So…“For such a time as this”? We are eager and ready!
Perhaps you are more aware of the recent struggles being experienced by the citizens of the world’s newest country, South Sudan. It is also struggling to overcome the oppression and violence of its neighbor, North Sudan. Again, the aftermath of war has meant the cost and struggle of rebuilding, immense physical and emotional suffering and economic hardships.
Again… “For such a time as this”? We don’t want to delay and squander the opportunity!
It is a privilege for us to come alongside the people of this area—to bring resources—to take part in the healing process of people who have suffered unimaginably over decades.
We want to see the healing of their souls—to see them reconciled to God through Jesus’ sacrificial love for them; to see the healing of their bodies through medical care and prayer; to see the healing of mind and heart through education and training.
R.A.U has a vision and plans for all of these to take place on the land that has been purchased. And we really do believe that God has prepared us for such a time as this!
The first phase of the plans is mostly complete (the Guesthouse/Hall of Tyrannus, where pastors and church leaders can be trained and ministry teams housed). We want to press on to begin the second phase, which is the Medical Clinic.
We are grateful for the partnership we have with Nurse Sam, who is one of the R.A.U. Leadership team members. He exemplifies what can happen when vision, love and resources are made available to people who might not otherwise have a chance to improve their lives. Nurse Sam was a “street kid” in Kampala, who, by God’s grace, through the love and vision of a pastor, was rescued from a dead-end, dangerous street life. He was educated, mentored and brought to Christ. With the help of strategic givers, he is now a registered nurse, and has relocated to the Moyo area for the purpose of using his healing skills through R.A.U. in Jesus’ Name !
I really look forward to working alongside him. Our opportunities will be endless!
One particular area of concern for us is the suffering of women and children:
(The following statistics were taken from “Maternal and Child Health: Uganda”, put out by the Inter parliamentary Union and the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda)
*For every 100,000 live births, 440 mothers will die. Most of the deaths are directly related to pregnancy and childbirth complications; other causes are disease related.
*In Uganda, for infants and children under age five, in 2008, 135 out of every 1000 (or13.5%) died–and this was an improvement from previous years.
*About 1/4 of these deaths were neonatal or within 1 month of birth, and about 3/4 of them were postnatal, or between one month to five years of age.
These figures are calculated for the general population of Uganda; the statistics for rural areas (especially northern Uganda) vs. urban areas are even higher. This means that in the region we will be serving, we have our work cut out for us! The people there do not have medical care and medications readily available to them. And even if these services were available, most people cannot afford such luxuries. We want to come alongside them and serve them by:
· Providing medical care through the clinic, making it more accessible and affordable.
· Taking medical care to more remote areas as well.
· Providing community health/hygiene education for prevention of disease
We are eager to get a medical clinic going! We have the land and we have the plans drawn up! All we lack are the funds to make it a reality! Just recently, we began a partnership with Mission World, who is committed to seeing the funds raised. It will take approximately $85,000 to get the clinic built. We are asking you to partner with us, to share the burden—to be a part of Reaching Africa’s Unreached!
On a smaller scale, and for a more immediate need, I would like to put together two medical backpacks, or order them already equipped with stethoscopes, blood pressure cuffs, pulse oximeters and other assessment tools and basic first aid supplies to take with us when we travel to Uganda in June. Donations for these items would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for, not only being a hearer, but a doer of the Word!
At a recent conference for Pastors here in the States I witnessed one of the largest conference bookstores that I’ve ever seen. My friends and I commented on the embarrassment of riches that we enjoy in the West. If I desire a certain title, I can have a print copy sent to me in a matter of days. Or I can order the digital version for my iPad in minutes, if not seconds. So much of my Christian growth over the years has depended on books. God has used certain ones to speak to me in specific seasons of my life—with huge results.
Reaching Africa's Unreached 