...And Out of the Gray.

Chapter 10: Elephant 5 – Humanitarian Efforts

At first, I was kind of shocked to find this topic included as an elephant in the room – how could humanitarian efforts really be controversial, especially for a Christian audience? But Crowe soon made his premise clear: it is obvious, hands down, that Christians are explicitly commanded in the Scriptures to help and serve others. That isn’t the question, here – what Brent is getting at is that we need to make sure our motivations for serving and our priorities in serving live up to this high calling.

“The right motivation is essential to serving Christ well. Our goal isn’t merely to feed the hungry or put a roof over a homeless family. Rather, we serve with the hope that people will see Jesus in our generosity. Our freedom should motivate us to serve with the understanding that people have both visible and invisible needs” (150).

In this, Crowe is not saying that service projects are only worthwhile if they have an obvious Christian evangelistic purpose. Rather, he’s cautioning us to remember that we live in a “cause-driven culture” – it seems like everything we do, down to the kind of cleaning supplies we use, or the shoes we buy – is attached to some kind of cause, whether it’s green, red, or pink, etc. (160). We must be careful “that other’s needs don’t become like the flavor of the month,” where we’re passionate about them for a time, but soon move on to something else that is more trendy or (160).

·      How to Believe: Humanitarian Efforts

o   What is the Moral Will of God Concerning Humanitarian Efforts?

The Bible makes it clear that humanitarian efforts are integral to the moral will of God as demonstrated in the Scriptures.

o   Surprised by Grace

“A failure to serve the least of these is a failure to serve God. If we are truly free in Christ, then it should be evident in our lives by the way we interact with a world full of needs” (152). The primary example of service Crowe uses in this section is that of Mother Teresa, who believed “poverty was really just Jesus in disguise,” and that when “we operate in love, Christ is both the object and the recipient of our affections” (153). Our humanitarian efforts are one of the most important ways to serve God. Because God is our primary motivation for serving our fellow human beings, Crowe says that this also means that “the response of those in need is irrelevant to whether we should serve them,” and that “the attitude of Christ doesn’t depend on the attitude of others” (153-4). Whether or not we receive thanks for our actions, we should continue in our service of others.

o   Pride, Prejudice, and Impossible Love

In this section, Crowe works to define the way our love and service should look to others. First, he says, we must avoid to approaches to love: the segregated approach, where we pick and choose who is worthy of love based on our own arbitrary standards rather than God’s all-encompassing love, and the easy approach, which is, simply, only loving those who are easy to love. Crowe reminds us that we are commanded by Christ to love our enemies, which requires a commitment of both the heart and the will. He calls this love “impossible love” because without the help of Christ, we’d be unable to love our enemies.

o   Freedom as Essential to the Movement of Christianity

Crowe writes that our freedom in Christ calls us to action. Our freedom is what motivates us to care for those in need around the world – it “doesn’t leave us the option of walking away or even slowing down until the movement of Christianity has intersected with every spiritual and physical need on the planet” (160).

Overall, Crowe reminds his readers that we have a great responsibility to be involved in humanitarian efforts, especially when it comes to addressing issues like world hunger and poverty. This means we must use our resources wisely and be generous with everything we’ve been given and have access to.

Chapter 11: Conclusion – Grace Demands More

Crowe’s conclusion is that “the grace extended to me by God demands an exhaustive response. In other words, grace always demands more, never less” (161). And by more, Crowe really means better – characterized by the following important traits.

·      Grace Demands

o   The Attitude of Christ

Attitude is of utmost importance, because our attitude defines so much of our lives.

o   A Spirit-Controlled Life

Allowing our lives to be controlled by the Holy Spirit “involves a daily, moment-by-moment yielding to the control of the Spirit in all areas of our lives” (164).

o   Boundaries

“One who lives his or her freedom does not press up against the boundaries, always concerned with what may be on the other side. That person is confident that what is on the other side can in no way match up to what exists within the boundaries; if it did, God would have put it inside” (165). Abiding by the boundaries God sets allows us to live in freedom, harmony, and intimacy with him.

o   Test Everything, Assume Nothing

Crowe writes that the purpose of this book has been, in many ways, to emphasize the need to test everything and assume nothing, because this allows us to address the gray areas effectively so that we can live in freedom.

o   A Clear Conscience

It is important to listen to the convictions of our conscience, and “following God closely can sensitize your heart and  mind to any red flags your conscience might wave” (167).

o   Focus

Crowe writes that “In the end, the point of the ‘how to believe’ grid is much bigger than the elephants in the room. The more you understand your freedom, the more insignificant and small the elephants become. They no longer dominate the room or the discussion, but afford us the ability to focus on what matters – righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (167). Freedom means that we can focus on the most important thing – following Christ – and not be distracted by the petty differences and quarrels that can otherwise so easily control our interactions with each other (including Christians of other dominations, etc.)

o   Advancing the Kingdom

Grace demands that we share the message of Christ with others, being committed to the “ministry of reconciliation” (168).

o   Glorifying God

Bringing glory to God should be the guiding motivation for all our life choices, especially in the decisions we make regarding the so-called gray areas.

o   Intimacy with Christ

Freedom allows us to experience a close relationship with Christ, because instead of being caught up in worries about laws, we can focus on his love and grace, knowing how much he cares for us.

Overall, I liked this book. As I’ve mentioned before, I was surprised by some of the chapters included, expecting more of the gray areas to be the more obvious or highly-debated issues you hear about in the news. In some respects, I think Crowe could’ve improved his book by trying to address more of these and expanding on his discussions in general – adding detail, maybe more statistics and research to complement his anecdotes, etc. As it is, I think it is better suited for a younger audience, and would be highly beneficial for middle school and high school students to read. However, I still think this was a worthwhile read, and it was interesting to read his take on things we were discussing in class (at times, the topics lined up perfectly). I would also encourage everyone to attend one of his seminars or presentations if they ever have the chance, because I think he is a very effective and challenging speaker.