As of the year 2000, those identifying with Christianity of one form or another amounted to 33% of the world population (still the largest faith on the planet). Collectively receiving $15.2 trillion dollars a year (53% of the world’s total income), the global church spends 97% of it on ourselves.
A few nights ago, 20/20 featured a ministry called Ministry Watch (www.ministrywatch.org). This ministry is led by a man who handled millions of dollars on Wall Street for 10 years. Now, he has accepted a vocation of calling ministries to financial transparency. Weary of the financial abuses through religious, Christianity-like messages, they are working to create accountability. And they might just make an impact. For example, Joyce Meyer sold some of her multi-million dollar mansions after receiving an “F” from Ministry Watch. The ABC report highlighted popular preachers with multi-million dollar homes, private jets, and a message that seems to keep people motivated to make them rich.At the turn of the milennium, 2.8 billion (46%) of the globe’s population live in poverty with 1.1 billion living in “absolute poverty.” 26.9% of the world (1.6 billion) is “unaware of Christianity, Christ, or the Gospel.” Currently, for the first time in history the world is now more than 50% urban.
In the 1980’s Harvie Conn, an urban missions scholar, argued that the only way contemporary Christians will have the potential for world evangelism is to learn to live simply. Not necessarily a vow of poverty, but certainly more simply than our consumer culture.
Did Jesus discuss any subject more than economics and religion?
Heavenly Father, your name is holy. Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Provide us with our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us. Do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Yours is the Kingdom, the power, and the glory. Amen.
-Jared
*Statistics taken from David Barrett and Todd Johnson.
