Column #1,364 Oct. 17, 2007
Evangelicals Embrace Global Millennial Goals
by Mike McManus
Evangelicals, who comprise a quarter of Americans, are deeply committed
to Christ. Yet only half bother to vote. This neglect is contrary to
Scripture's call for men and women to have dominion over the earth (Gen.
1:27-28).
To awaken evangelical's commitment to public life - particularly to
serve the world's poor and hungry, the National Association of
Evangelicals representing 45,000 churches hosted a "Global Leaders
Forum" last week.
NAE took a daring plunge into world issues by inviting United Nations
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to be keynote speaker. A Fox poll
recently found that evangelicals have a 2-1 negative view of the UN.
NAE Vice President Richard Cizik, who invited Ban, is a gutsy guy. A
year ago, he orchestrated a major NAE statement on climate change,
prompting prominent evangelicals such as James Dobson and Jerry Falwell
to call for his being fired.
That was never a danger, because Cizik led NAE to adopt a major position
paper, "An Evangelical Call to Civic Responsibility" which has moved the
organization to take stands on such new issues as sexual trafficking.
Cizik introduced the UN Secretary General as "a Christian man" from
South Korea. Ban said that while the U.N. "stands outside of all
confessions of faith, it is nevertheless an instrument of faith,
inspired by what unites the great religions of the world....to build
peace by making swords into plowshares, dedicated to help the poor, aid
victims of famine and disease and to protect human rights."
He quoted Isaiah 58:10: "If you spend yourselves in behalf of the
hungry, and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will
rise in the darkness."
Ban noted that in 2000, 189 nations voted for a compact among nations,
pledging to achieve eight development goals by 2015. These "Millennium
Development Goals, or MDGs, are specific achievable targets.
For example, the first MDG is to "eradicate extreme poverty and hunger."
When the goal was set, 1.5 billion people lived on less than $1 a day.
Today, half way to the 2015 deadline, 500 million people have seen their
incomes rise above that level, encouraging progress.
Ban also praised the fact "more children than ever are going to school
and that child mortality has declined" - two other goals. Yet 100
million elementary-aged children are not in school and one girl in four
does not make it past 5th grade.
On another MDG, to combats HIV/AIDS, America is spending billions to
help, yet the number becoming infected is growing six times faster than
the patients being helped. There are 12 million orphans whose parents
died of AIDS.
"I am deeply concerned that in Sub-Saharan Africa there is no single
country on track," to the goals said Ban. "It is intolerable that half a
million women died from complications of child birth and pregnancy and
that 10 million children die each year before their fifth birthday."
What can be done? "We need good allies like you, the National
Association of Evangelicals, to give voice to the voiceless. Our
engagement can push governments to follow through on their commitments."
Ban noted that the world's developed countries pledged $50 billion by
2010, "but very little has been delivered."
"A world with a billion people living on less than a dollar a day can
not be just nor stable."
The next day, 220 evangelicals from around the world met in workshops to
explore what might be done to breathe hope into such large global
issues. Cizik told attendees: "What evangelicals can do is help people
come through a huge intellectual shift on every level. We as Americans
will have to change the ways we think if we are to win on such issues as
climate and poverty."
In one session, I was stunned to hear a Pakistani Christian tell about
Muslims attacking two Christian villages of 50,000 people, burning many
homes and 13 churches in one day.
Why is the torture of Christians on the increase? Because Muslims read
of Americans torturing Muslim prisoners.
The Pakistani Christian, brought by NAE to this meeting posed a haunting
question. "If this is a holy war, and if you are a follower of Christ,
do you know how to fight a holy war? Muslims are saying, `In the next 50
years, we will capture the Western world. Our love for death is greater
than our love for life.'"
He urged Americans to pray and to realize that when one part of the body
suffers, the whole body suffers. Believe in the power of the Gospel.
The spread of the Gospel is the solution." Yet he risks his life daily
in doing so.
Evangelicals can not ignore such heroes of the faith.
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