The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns is one of those books that everybody was raving about, so I decided to read it. I was hesitant about doing so because I read so much stuff about poverty, justice, and missions that one more seemed like overload. But since a lot of people I know swore by the book and even more people were talking about it, I decided to dive in. A bit like watching a TV series that you don’t really care for but don’t want to feel out of the loop.

I’m glad I read the book. The message that Stearns shares in the book is extremely important, he shares that message very well, and it’s a message that needs to be told over and over and over. I am fond of the folks at World Vision (many of whom are friends and partners in ministry) and Stearns writes well. Most of all, he writes with passion, which oozes from the book.

But … and I want to be very careful here because I do not want to sound like a cynical curmudgeon … the book doesn’t say anything new. Many of the stories and metaphors (e.g. “how would the media react if 100 planes carrying 265 children crashed all at once”) are old and have been around for decades. The theology about helping the poor is nothing new to me and I’ve studied it since the 70’s. The insights about the current plight of the poor can all be gleaned by reading the news. So the book is solid and valuable, but it doesn’t break any new ground or offer any new insights.

And that’s okay. This book wasn’t written for me. It was written for the millions of people who just don’t understand the need to care for the poor. It’s written for the stuffy pastors and lazy churches who have ignored the plight of the world’s poor. It’s written for the people who want to make a difference, but don’t know how. It’s written for those who are so focused on themselves that they have ignored the burning human needs of the world. In other words, about 90% of the population should read it! Because 90% of the population are not as engaged as they should be nor as well informed as they should be.

Does that sound elitist? Well, maybe so. I might fall into the categories above from time to time (Lord knows I can be self-absorbed, lazy, stuffy, and ignorant). But in general, I think I avoid those conditions when it comes to my involvement of serving the poor. So this book, though a good read, was not particularly new or interesting to me.

I should add that there is one section in the book I truly enjoyed — the story of how Richard Stearns was recruited to be President of World Vision. A friend of mine was on the board at that time, and Stearns’ account of the process matches completely with what my friend has said. Even better, the recruiter that World Vision hired to woo Stearns (Rob Stevenson) was the same recruiter I worked with on the last major search I was involved with … and I’m glad to see Stearns give him lots of praise for his work. It was also fun to see my friend Scott Rodin quoted by Stearns; Scott, I hope it boosts sales of your book!

So to sum up, and putting my own situation aside for a moment, this is a book that more people should read. If you are looking for a book that will help you understand why there is a hole in the Gospel, if you need a boost in your understanding of the poor, if you want to deepen your insight into what Scripture says about the poor, and if you want to be encouraged in your efforts to make a difference, this book is for you. Go, buy it, and read it … you won’t be sorry.