Amen. And thanks for that.

Excellent post, Brant. I couldn't agree more.

Gah, Brant! I loved this! This is exactly how I feel right now. :) In fact, I'm thinking of becoming a long-term missionary, just because of this right here. :) Anyway, thanks for speaking up when some people wouldn't say anything... :/

Wow. Well said. Amos 5 holds such important truth for us if we will only open our ears and hearts. Thanks for taking the time to share this...I'll be passing it on for sure.

Brant, check Acts 1:8 ("But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, tell people about me everywhere--in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth"). We are start here at home (our own "Jerusalem") before we branch out. I am not saying we should stop outreach, but how can we minister to those outside our "Jerusalem" when we aren't even reaching those here at home?

I agree that God puts certain people, nations, regions, etc, in our hearts. But I wonder sometimes, if that's for supporting financially, other ministries established in those countries. Praying for the people involved with that ministry as well as those people being ministered to by those ministries. Also, pray for the people not affected by those ministries, in those areas.
I've heard a scholar or two say that, perhaps the translation of, (Go into all the world and preach the gospel) is a little off. They say that perhaps the proper translation should read, (As you go throughout the world, preach the gospel) Maybe...
Meaning, you may not need to leave your city. We should be preaching the gospel everywhere we go. In our neighborhoods, our counties, cities, states, etc.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the above is true, I don't know. But it sounds good to me.
God has put the Middle East on my heart. I would love to go there. I cannot afford such a trip. But I can afford to sow a little bit of money to ministries in the Middle East. I can afford to pray for people in the Middle East. If God gives me a way to the Middle East, then I will go. But, the Middle East is in my neighborhood, county, city and state. There are people right here in this area from the Middle East. Those are the ones I should seek out to minister to.

This is my opinion on this discussion. Not to be mixed up with TRUTH.

God has called us to serve EVERYONE! Whether it is here in the U.S. or whether it's over seas. He has called us to serve! Some have the money and the calling to go across seas and they should go if the Lord leads them their. If God has called you to serve in America then serve in America. We are called to be like Jesus Christ, servants!

Brant I have to completely agree with you. I have wondered this question for awhile myself and you gave an excellent answer. I want to add to your comment and say that Father tells us to go into all the world, commonly known as the Great Commission.

Matthew 28: 18-20 "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen." (KJV)

Another scripture says in Acts 1:8 "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (KJV)

In order to reach people you have to reach them through their physical needs first. Feeding the poor is filling their pysical need. That is one way that you say to them that someone does care for you. If you do a study on where Jerusalem, Judaea, and Samaria are, you see that Jerusalem represents the local area, like your neighborhood. Judaea is like maybe your state. Samaria is like the nation as a whole. And then the uttermost parts is the rest of the world. Father tells us to reach them. To reach all of them.

If you think you should help the Americans first then become apart of that, but do not neglect the call to the uttermost parts of the world. Don't miss that. You have to reach the physical need and in doing that that opens a door to building a relationship and at least planting a seed for the gospel. You may never see it watered, grown, or harvested, but you did what the Holy Spirit told you to do. Rejoice in that and hold to the promise that Jesus is our Sheperd and he is not going to let his lambs go.

God Bless!

Josh, I actually think that scripture suggests that we shouldn't limit ourselves to "Jerusalem". In fact, the early church didn't.

Secondly, when Paul famously asked churches to take up a collection, it wasn't for those churches, themselves. It was for the poor elsewhere -- across the sea, even. To promote "equality", he said, among those in the church. He took up offerings from one place -- to another one, far off, to people the original givers didn't even know.

Thank God, we're in a position here in the U.S. to give locally and globally.

On another note, comparing "poverty" here in the U.S. versus elsewhere is a tricky, tricky thing. Not all situations are equal.

Rock on. The church should be able to help both - national and international. But sometimes - no, ALOT of times, we, as the church, don't see the damage and hurt and pain and suffering right on OUR DOOR STEP. Wew go SEARCHING for others to help INSTEAD of ourselves. We should be able to help both - no, ANY for that matter, ANY who need help. And what we should do along with that help, whatever it might be (blakets for pregnant mother's, home provider for downs childern, etc.) GIVE THE PEOPLE WE HELP THE GOOD NEWS OF CHRIST, WHO CAME TO DIE! OUR GOD CAME TO EARTH, which is and was ruined from God's original plan, HE CAME TO THIS PLACE TO DIE (wow) FOR US!!!!!!!! Share that news with everyone you help - whether it be in a country half way around the world, or the man who's living on the sidewalk outside your house.

Very well written!!!

I think you would like "the myth of a Christian nation" by Greg Boyd. I think it would be of great interest and it is probably one of the books that has most influenced my Christianity.

Brant, My husband and I support children through Compassion International. When I encourage others to sponsor children, I commonly hear this same question. I have always believed in reaching people around the world, but have never heard reasoning like yours before. I agree with you completely. I believe, as James 1:27 says, that religion in God's eyes means looking after orphans and widows. The Bible tells us repeatedly to care for the poor, those in prison, widows, orphans, etc. I have always believed this is the responsibility of the local church. In the US, we are blessed with an abundance of local churches that should be meeting these needs. In other places in the world where the Gospel of Jesus Christ has never been preached, how can they possibly have any hope for the present or the future? I strongly believe that it is our responsibility to meet these needs around the world and establish local churches who can continue this work. I believe we are called to help everywhere, inside and outside of the US. Thank you for verbalizing this so well. I really enjoy your show. Although I don't call in to share my opinion, there are many mornings I call my husband to discuss whatever topic you are tackling during the show. Thanks for the thought-provoking conversations. You will be in my prayers during your upcoming mission trip.

Wow...spectacular discussion topic! First of all, I want to say up front that I have been on the other side of this argument in the past. We should help the people in our community. When the needs of everyone in our community are met, we can move on to other communities. How do we define community and how flexible are we about a community's borders? Is a community a country? A state? A town? A neighborhood? A street? I live pretty close to an intersection; so should that street count too? Is it a bit more abstract...like someone within walking distance? (I can walk a long way; and I'm not sure, but I'll bet as far as I've walked, I could still make it three more steps to help the boy who fell off of his bike.) Or can we define community as a social group, like a church body or a community of believers? While we're working on vocab, who is defining what a need is and when it is met? Believe it or not, I do realize that this is probably getting annoying. Put aside your frustration with me for a minute and consider what I'm saying. Our world would have fallen apart long ago if we obeyed political boundries. Looking just at our country...if the French hadn't come to our aide, we would have lost the American Revolution; if we did make it to the Civil War, it's likely the south would have won without so many immigrants (most escaping some form of persecution) in the north. Jump to present day, now two separate countries, there's no need for the south to help with aftermath Sept. 11 or the north to go south after Hurricane Katrina (Can you imagine no weather reports?). Evangelism and helping people are not semi-annual event. They are parts of the lifestyle that God has called us to. Yes, you look for opportunities wherever you are; but when someone cries out to you for help; you can't say no just because there's some water between you. Should we make sure all US citizen's have three meals and a retirement fund before we give up a cup of coffee to feed a Haitian family for a day? (Do you realize that by the Catholic guidelines for fasting, a middle-class Haitian could be eating more and still be fasting everyday?) I understand the importance of seeing the needs of those around us; but in some places your neighbors can't give you any food because they didn't eat yesterday or today either. If you feel you are called to meet the needs in your area before moving to the next then God bless you; you have a lot of faith, because in my 26 years, I have yet to witness a time when I saw all needs met in area (no, you know what, I think I did get to witness that for about 5 minutes at an orphanage...a moment when no one in site needed). While you are focusing on your ministry, please try to understand that sometimes a person's closest neighbor is actually really far away. It would really stink if no one explained to a new mother that she needs to feed her baby more than once a day, wouldn't it? It's a bit ironic that this topic was discussed on the same day the 10 pound question was brought up. Ten pounds for $50,000, right? Thanks so much, Brant. I really do appreciate your point of view and your willingness to discuss these topics. God bless!

To Brant, et. al. - Wow, people have all kinds of opinions on this subject. Here's the deal, many people skipped right over your first comment. (Some people mentioned it, but for the most part, it was ignored.) It's not (and shouldn't be) an either-or choice!! Adam and Jonathon stated it best. There are some people who can go to all-reaching parts of the earth, and there are some people that can't. For those that serve elsewhere, go. For those that can't, support those that can, and serve where you are. Guess what? This is just another example of God's plan. God has placed us where we need to be and given us the tools we need, right where we are (whether that's "at home" or abroad, wherever it is that God has led us to serve). I pray that we don't get caught up in the politics of Amos and Acts and Matthew (not that they're not wonderful verses), but that we can get down to the heart of the matter, and just serve, without borders.

To Jordan - Tread EXTREMELY lightly when stating that the earth "is and was ruined from God's original plan". God hasn't, and will never fail at anything, and stating what you did implies that you believe that God's original plan failed and He has moved to His contingency plan. God is, was, and always will be, completely perfect and infallible, therefore I am confident in stating that his orignal plan is, was, and always will be, perfect and infalliable as well.

The way I sort of see it is that a lot of people here in America have a bigger tendancy to sit on their butts and complain and wait for someone else to get sick of their whining and do something to shut them up- people who solely complain about "why don't we fix America before we fix the world". You're right, Brant, why can't we do both? I feel we need to offer what we, as individuals, are able to. I can donate my time to taking a sack of sandwiches to the park, or I can give $20 to a teen who wants to go on a mission trip to rebuild homes in Mexico, or I can give a homeless person a ride to a shelter that will get him cleaned up and teach him skills to get a job or will give him counseling to get past whatever it is in his life that left him on the streets.
So many people don't realize that we have SO MANY opportunities in the U.S. to not be "poor". We have plenty of resources, we have the CHOICE to provide for our famillies, to give our kids a comfortable place to sleep and clean water and health. These families in Africa or whereever HAVE NO CHOICE. So many children have never had the CHOICE to be able to drink clean water. There's a difference in "American Poor" widows who's husband died from throat cancer and now has two kids, no job, and who's home is about to be foreclosed on and "American Poor" who would rather not be responsible, who keep making negative choices for themselves and decide to rob or hurt people to get a "free meal".
***now please don't go off on me, because there's just SO much to discuss on this subject and I'm not being radical to one belief or anything, there's not enough time to write down everything i have on my mind***
God calls each of us to different ministries, to different problems we can use the abilities (money, labor, talent, counsel, what have you) HE has given us to make a difference whether it be in one person's life or a whole community and if we want change to happen or better cir***stances to rise, then ALL WE CAN DO is be completely faithful and sold out to God and trust that, even now, He has everything in control and that's all there is to it. We selfishly make excuses to not give up a small thing in our life because "we might need it". We arrogantly make excuses to not talk to someone God puts in our path because "someone will eventually talk to them". And we ALL could do so much more whether we're baby Christians or Pastors. It's a matter of, what are we WILLING to do? Are we WILLING to do whatever God asks of us (remembering that He is our ultimate provider and will not give us more than we can handle) to make life a little easier for someone else?
I'm not saying I'm perfect, I make excuses a lot of the time, but I'm trying to let God chisel away my apprehensions, and my fears of "not having enough for my own family". I'm learning to trust Him completely.

LOVE THIS!

God will not do for us that which we will not do for ourselves...

I really think this would make a great topic of discussion

Brant,

I remember when you read this on the air months back and it really touched me.
I have always wanted to do something for others and Africa has always been on my heart. I have always gotten the whole "there are enough people in America that need your help" spiel, but you are so right. We belong to a Kingdom that is way more superior than our little nation...the Kingdom of God. I enjoy your show and the insight you give. Great to hear real Christian radio.

I also remember this subject from the show months ago and it got me really fired up.
Even the poorest in America have access to clean drinking water.
Even the poorest in America have access to medical care,
Even the poorest in America have access to shelter at night.
But in so many other countries, even the wealthier people who may have jobs don't have access to these things that seem so simple to us. I read a book called "The Hole in our Gospel" wriiten by the president of World Vision. There was a fact in there that if you make over $50,000 a year, you are in the top 99% richest people in the world. The church of America builds beautiful buildings to worship God in and I know of a group in Nicaragua who worshipped under a tin roof with no walls until God built a church for them from cinder blocks. And even this they received joyfully. Who have we become? Sometimes I just want to live on beans and rice and a dirt floor and maybe I could REALLY feel the presence God.