Shame on World Vision?

Last updated on: March 26, 2014 at 5:45 pm by Jonathan McKee

Shame on World Vision? 2014-03-26T17:45:31-06:00 Jonathan McKee

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Shame on us.

If by chance you were camping in the Himalayas this week, here’s the skinny:

A few days ago International world relief organization World Vision decided to “hire gay Christians in same sex marriages.”
In response, evangelical Christians began pulling their support for World Vision, which, according to some sources with contacts at World Vision, resulted in thousands of children losing their sponsorships.
Then late Wednesday, March 26th, World Vision reversed its decision, posting, “We failed to be consistent with World Vision U.S.’s commitment to the traditional understanding of Biblical marriage and our own statement of faith.

Yes. I’m really disappointed with World Vision for their first decision.

Yes, like many others, I disagree with World Vision’s first decision theologically.

But more so…

I’m disappointed with so many evangelicals who were cancelling their sponsorships of children all over the world.

I sponsor a child with World Vision. I have for years. Let me be clear:

I’m not going to punish a 13-year-old girl in Ethiopia for a decision made in a World Vision boardroom in the U.S.

Yes, the decision World Vision made has ramifications to consider. I agree wholeheartedly and will definitively deliberate about those issues in the future. Maybe the next kid I sponsor will be with Compassion. But if I made a commitment to a kid with World Vision… then cancelling a sponsorship primarily hurts that kid.

What is my little girl in Ethiopia going to think of Christians, and ultimately, Christ, if I pull my support and stop writing her letters?

It’s not just individual kids who are losing sponsorships—it’s major humanitarian projects. Today I happened to be eating lunch with a pastor of a large church in the Sacramento Suburbs. I asked him, “How is this World Vision decision affecting you?”

He said, “Jonathan. We just raised $360,000 for a water project with World Vision in Ethiopia. I already have people bailing out on their commitment to that project, and we’ve committed to do it. I don’t want people in Ethiopia to suffer because of this decision.”

Why should multiple villages who were going to receive a fresh water source be punished?

And Now…
And now the decision is reversed… and some are rejoicing.

I can’t really see much to rejoice about. No matter what, Christians come out looking like idiots with this one.

Jonathan McKee

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