People with Leprosy Are Not Cursed, Nor Unclean, They Are Loved

Last updated on: November 12, 2022 at 10:57 am By GFA Staff Writer

“And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord if You are willing, You can make me clean.’ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, ‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” — Matthew 8:2–3 Leprosy. In many parts of the world, the very word brings with it a sense of fear. In the West however, leprosy cases are few and far between. Medicine has evolved to the point where if the disease is caught early enough, it can be cured. In ancient times, however, those afflicted with leprosy had but one hope: for the disease to die out on its own.

People with Leprosy Are Not Cursed, Nor Unclean, They Are Loved - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Tapan lives in a leprosy colony with his wife and daughter-in-law.

The afflicted were cast out of their homes, often never to be seen again. When Jesus walked the earth, performing miracles and healing the sick, a man riddled with leprosy disregarded the law and ventured out from his self-exile. He put all his trust in Jesus, fully believing He could heal him. What an enormous amount of faith to have!

I have read many reports and stories of men and women in Asia stricken with leprosy. So many are cast out, reviled and left to die; though they suffer, they endure. Many have never heard of Jesus, yet through Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers, they find hope, value and healing in the name of God.

Tapan and Manita’s Story

One story I am reminded of is that of a man and wife who, despite their ailment, found the Lord. Tapan and his wife, Manita, have leprosy. Both husband and wife, fearing prejudice, fled to a colony where others afflicted with leprosy live. There, they, along with other families, lived in seclusion and despair.

But hope arrived in the form of four Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Sisters of Compassion. These young women made it their calling to serve among the afflicted, like Tapan and Manita. They began ministering to the beleaguered and ailing families. Tending to open wounds, administering medical treatment and teaching the patients how to avoid injury, the sisters spread love and comfort throughout the colony.

Eventually, the sisters came upon Tapan and his family. In addition to the leprosy affecting his body, Tapan also suffered from heart problems. After much fasting and prayer from the sisters, Tapan’s heart was completely healed! Afterwards, the couple opened their hearts to God’s love.

Thousands More Need God’s Love

Tapan and Manita’s story is but one among thousands of others. Many more suffer, with no hope or comfort. However, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers, like these Sisters of Compassion, toil endlessly to ensure many more are brought the love of God.

Leprosy patients are not “unclean;” they are not “cursed.” Though they may have leprosy, they are loved all the same.

Source: Gospel for Asia Reports, When Love Intersects Shame and Pain

Image Source: Gospel for Asia, Photo of the Day

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Dying of Thirst: The Global Pure Water Crisis (#3 by Gospel for Asia)

Last updated on: September 10, 2022 at 7:47 pm By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report #1 – Discussing the world’s quest for access to pure water that is safe to drink.

India: Success and Challenge

In recent decades, India has emerged as a global economic powerhouse. It is now the seventh-largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product (GDP)^[27] and at least the fourth largest in purchasing power parity.^[1] Much of this success stems from the technology field, India’s fastest-growing sector. Information technology, process outsourcing and software services are among the country’s booming industries.

India is suffering the worst water crisis in its history.

But success is accompanied by great challenges. India is home to about 1.34 billion people and is still growing. Its population, now the world’s second largest,^[2] is projected to overtake China’s as early as 2024.^[3] This has placed unprecedented stress on the country’s water resources, which are already stretched to meet the needs of a growing population.

In June 2018, the Indian think tank NITI Aayog released a comprehensive report on India’s water status. Among its conclusions:

India is suffering the worst water crisis in its history.^[4]
200,000 Indians die each year from lack of clean water.^[5]
600 million Indians face high-to-extreme water stress.^[6]
By 2020, 21 cities could completely run out of groundwater.^[7]
By 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the supply.^[8]

The booming cities have borne a large portion of India’s water stress. Bangalore, known by some as India’s Silicon Valley, is a good example. The city’s needs were once met by wells that reached 300 feet deep. But now, 400 bore wells must go down as far as 1,500 feet to find water. How long will that suffice? No one knows.

Jesus Well provides safe, pure water to many families - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — In this remote village, a Jesus Well provides safe, pure water to many families. Each Jesus Well serves an average of 300 people for about 20 years, and the wells may be drilled up to 600 feet deep, providing pure water in even the worst droughts.

In the countryside, the challenges are different but just as dire. Agriculture uses some 80 percent of India’s water.^[9] When water is unavailable, the farmers feel it immediately. They can quickly lose their livelihoods.

Meanwhile, millions of Indians have no reliable access to water at all.

Much of India is arid or semi-arid. Vast areas receive rain only sporadically from storms brought by the summer monsoons. Many people collect their water from surface sources, which are often contaminated. The daily trek to a local pond is a regular feature of life for many rural Indians. They may walk for hours just to obtain their day’s supply of water. That leaves little time to work productively or improve their lives.

For years, Gospel for Asia (GFA) has been helping to equip national workers to get wells installed in needy communities. They’re called Jesus Wells and are fitted with a plaque sharing Christ’s words to the Samaritan woman:

“Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13–14).

Israel: A Glimpse into the Future

While discussions of global water issues typically focus on the problems, it’s also helpful to consider the success stories. One of those is the tiny state of Israel.

After World War I, the territory of Palestine came under the control of the United Kingdom. As the British government was considering what to do with this important strip of land, its economists concluded that the area’s water resources could only support about 2 million people.^[10] There were slightly more than 800,000 residents there at the time. But after the modern state of Israel was created in 1948, that number nearly doubled in just three years—and kept climbing.^[11] Today, Israel is home to more than 8 million people,^[12] with another 2.8 million in the West Bank^[13] and 1.8 million in the Gaza Strip.^[14]

Clearly, a drastic program was needed to meet the water demands of this booming population. Through the efforts of visionaries such as water engineer Simcha Blass, Israel not only met this challenge but became an exporter of water technology, water-intensive crops—and water itself. The story of that success can serve as a model and inspiration for other countries.

Israel points the way to a future free from water insecurity.

Simcha Blass, an Israeli visionary in the clean water field - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Simcha Blass, an Israeli visionary in the clean water field. Photo by Ybact on Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0

Israel’s leaders realized that all those new immigrants would need to eat, so food production became an urgent priority. The Negev in the south of Israel was a vast dry desert where few people lived. But Simcha Blass was convinced there was water underground that could be accessed through deep drilling. He was right. That was the beginning of an agricultural boom in one of the world’s most inhospitable environments. Some people saw it as a fulfillment of the prophecy in the book of Isaiah: “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom” (Isaiah 35:1 niv).

Blass also envisioned pipelines that would stretch from the water-rich north of Israel to the south where water was most needed. Through years of effort, his visions became reality.

Israel’s visionaries then turned their sights to the world’s most abundant water source—the oceans. The idea of processing seawater for drinking and agriculture has long been an elusive dream for people around the world. Israeli scientists experimented with several desalination techniques, most of which proved too costly to be practical. But with perseverance, Israel developed a system which, though still expensive, provides an important supplement to its other water sources. Israel now has several functioning desalination plants on its Mediterranean coast, which provide an astonishing 27 percent of the country’s water.^[15] Most importantly, the desalination plants serve as a kind of insurance policy against severe droughts and other disruptions. The ocean, after all, is always there.

Drilling for water in Qumeran Valley, Israel - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Drilling for water in Qumeran Valley, Israel
Photo by Tamarah on Wikimedia / CC BY-SA 2.5

Reclaimed waste water is another promising source of water for agriculture that Israel has used effectively. The idea of reusing sewage is repulsive to most people, but when water is at a premium, as in Israel, it’s an option that can’t be ignored. The main concern with recycled waste water is that dangerous microbes or other contaminants might remain even after processing. That could endanger anyone exposed to it, as well as the crops treated with it and the groundwater under the crops. Israel addressed this risk with a process that resembles a giant version of the BioSand water filters described earlier.

Israel’s sewage treatment plants were located near some sand dunes, under which there was a known water aquifer. The water engineers began speculating: What if the treated waste water were released into the sand and allowed to percolate down into the groundwater? Would the sand act as an effective filter? It was a risky experiment, but worth trying. After more than a year, the results were in. Yes, the sand made the water clean, safe enough for agricultural use. Today, Israel reuses more than 85 percent of its sewage, which provides 21 percent of its water.^[16]

Israel also pioneered the use of drip irrigation, which made it possible to grow abundant crops by using limited water supplies efficiently.

These innovations may seem out of reach for many developing countries. Their implementation would require concerted, long-term effort, and they can be expensive. But they show what is possible. These are things we know can be done—because they have been done. They point the way to a future free from pure water insecurity. And that’s something all people can aspire to.

The Big Picture

The world’s need for pure water has only accelerated with the inexorable growth in population, which could reach another 2 billion by 2050. And by then the demand for water could increase by 30 percent.^[17]

The United Nations has appropriately designated March 22 as World Water Day to focus on the global need for pure water. Along with international bodies like the U.N. and the World Health Organization, countless nonprofits and NGOs are addressing the issue. Many of them focus on Africa, which has some of the most severe water problems. But Asia is in urgent need of help too, and even affluent countries are not immune from water emergencies.

Those who deal with the global pure water crisis recognize the critical need for funds to attack the problem. Usually, the people most in need don’t address their own problems because they simply can’t. They don’t have the resources. And they often don’t have the leisure time to think beyond their immediate survival. So outside funds are essential to solving the problem. But that’s not all that’s needed.

The world’s need for pure water has only accelerated with the inexorable growth in population.
By 2050, the demand for water could increase by 30%.

Relief organizations that drill wells in poor communities must also think about their long-term maintenance. When the local people haven’t been taught how to care for the wells, over time those wells become useless. In a 2009 report, the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) noted that 50,000 such wells in rural Africa had become nonfunctional. The reason was distressingly clear: “The root cause is the water community’s failure to plan for maintenance of the infrastructure in a systematic way …”^[18]

Outside organizations came in, installed wells with the best of intentions, and then left. But their work did not endure.

Keeping It Local

Gospel for Asia (GFA) knows of the pitfalls that beset many relief efforts. To ensure their work will be sustainable while keeping costs low, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers employ local people to drill Jesus Wells, and they train local people to maintain the wells. In addition, Jesus Wells are constructed with local components, making them much less expensive than those brought in from outside. Buying materials in bulk saves even more money. Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers can install a complete well for 1,400 USD. By drilling deep, they can reach water that may have been inaccessible before. Villagers can be assured of pure water even through the dry seasons.

Jesus Wells are conveniently located for community access, and the water is always freely available to anyone, regardless of religion, class or background. Each Jesus Well serves an average of 300 people, and the wells are built to last for decades.

Along with providing pure water, Jesus Wells strengthen the local economy and inspire a healthy pride of ownership.

In 2017, Gospel for Asia (GFA) helped install more than 4,600 Jesus Wells in Asian communities. But that’s just a start. With the generous support of donors throughout the world, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers will continue to help address the global water crisis—one community at a time.

Six Steps to Pure Water Security

The world’s water problems can seem overwhelming. Some of the solutions are complex, difficult and expensive. But others are simple, easy and cheap. Here’s a short list of things that can make a difference—starting with the easiest and ending with the ones that still await as promises for the future.

Provide BioSand water filters.
Just one of these portable, inexpensive items can literally save an entire family from a life of sickness and hardship. To deprive vulnerable people of this simple solution would be tragic.
Drill deep wells.
Not every well will endure through droughts and overuse, but here’s the key to long-term success: Don’t stop when you hit water! Keep drilling. Deep wells will ensure the water keeps flowing through the dry times.
Train local people to maintain the wells.
What good is a well that’s broken or contaminated? Remember 50,000 wells in Africa alone are sitting unused because of inadequate maintenance. It’s not enough to provide the well. Instilling the knowledge to maintain it over the years is also essential.
Launch water-reclamation programs.
Sewage may be unpleasant, but it’s also a valuable resource. Properly treated, reclaimed water can revolutionize agriculture almost anywhere in the world.
Develop national water policies.
Water is a community resource. It can’t be managed effectively with scattered, isolated efforts. Most national governments are grappling with this reality. Some are responding with effective programs. That must happen on a wider scale.
Pursue desalination.
It’s expensive now. But so are sickness, poverty and death. The ocean is the one water source that will never be depleted. This is a promising avenue for the future.

Dying of Thirst: The Global Water Crisis – The Crucial Quest for Access to Clean Water: Part 1 | Part 2

This Special Report article originally appeared on gfa.org.

Read the Global Clean Water Crisis Report: Finding Solutions to Humanity’s Need for Pure, Safe Water.

Learn more about how to provide clean water to families and villages through Jesus Wells and BioSand Water Filters.

To read more on the global crisis for water on Patheos, go here.

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

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Footnotes

^[1] World Fact Book. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2001rank.html. Accessed January 24, 2019.
^[2] U.S. Census Bureau Current Population. U.S. Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/popclock/print.php?component=counter. January 1, 2019. Accessed January 24, 2019.
^[3] India’s Population to Surpass that of China around 2024: UN. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/indias-population-to-surpass-that-of-chinas-around-2024-un/articleshow/59257045.cms Updated June 21, 2017. Accessed January 24, 2019.
^[4] NITI Aayog, Composite Water Management Index: A Tool for Water Management, p. 15. June 2018.
^[5] NITI Aayog, Composite Water Management Index: A Tool for Water Management, p. 15. June 2018.
^[6] NITI Aayog, Composite Water Management Index: A Tool for Water Management, p. 15. June 2018.
^[7] NITI Aayog, Composite Water Management Index: A Tool for Water Management, p. 15. June 2018.
^[8] NITI Aayog, Composite Water Management Index: A Tool for Water Management, p. 15. June 2018.
^[9] Dhawan, Vibha. Water and Agriculture in India. Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture. 2017.
^[10] Siegel, Seth M. Let There Be Water, p 21. 2015 Thomas Dunne Books.
^[11] Siegel, Seth M. Let There Be Water, p 21. 2015 Thomas Dunne Books.
^[12] The World Factbook: Middle East: Israel. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html. Updated January 22, 2019. Accessed January 27, 2019.
^[13] The World Factbook: Middle East: West Bank. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/we.html. January 22, 2019.
^[14] The World Factbook: Middle East: Gaza Strip. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/gz.html January 22, 2019. Accessed January 28, 2019
^[15] Siegel, Seth M. Let There Be Water, p 252. 2015 Thomas Dunne Books.
^[16] Siegel, Seth M. Let There Be Water, p 252. 2015 Thomas Dunne Books.
^[17] The United Nations world water development report 2018: nature-based solutions for water; facts and figure, p. 2. UNESCO Digital Library. 2018.
^[18] Skinner, Jamie. Where every drop counts: tackling rural Africa’s water crisis. International Institute for Environment and Development. http://pubs.iied.org/17055IIED. March 2009. Accessed December 27, 2018.

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Evangelical Atheism: Evangelical in Word, Atheists at Heart

Last updated on: December 2, 2022 at 7:56 pm By Karen Mains

Years ago, friends and I experimented with designing listening groups. These small groups with three or four participants met once a month for seven months. Basically, we listened to one another for two hours. After a time of centering prayer where we became stilled and focused, the first person would begin and share where he or she was in life. When the first person was done, we would go back into silence, and the only way we could respond to the one who had spoken after those short moments of quiet was to ask questions. This pattern continued until we had gone around the group. Over seven years, I led some 250 people in listening groups and was amazed by the remarkable growth I saw in many of the attendees. I also was transformed in unexpected ways; I certainly became convinced of the healing power that exists when humans feel heard and understood. We always take the first session of a listening group to get to know one another a little so that we are not complete strangers. One woman sitting in my living room started her story with these words: “I guess you could say that I was raised by parents who were Evangelical atheists…” Whoa, I thought. Now that’s strong! Evangelical atheism?

The woman explained that her parents adhered to conservative Christianity but that their lives were a dysfunctional antithesis to what Scripture explains are the fruits of belief. Over the next month, I kept mulling over this apparent oxymoron: Evangelical atheism. Evangelical atheism.

Evangelical Atheism

Could that be one of the reasons our spiritual fiber is weakening in the West? Are there too many of us who really don’t believe what we say we believe and our dysfunction in living is proof of this personal dissembling? Do the words we say; the thoughts we act out; and the way we function with family, friends, neighbors and work colleagues belie the faith system we say (or in some cases fool ourselves into thinking) we are following? Are many of us really closet Evangelical atheists at heart — at least in part?

I often examine why so many Western Christians wonder, Is this really all there is to Christianity? What’s wrong? Why am I so ineffectual? With so much religious feeding going on, why am I still hungry? Polls released about the time of this women’s statement revealed that 10 percent less Americans claimed to be Christian than what was revealed in previous polls. Statistically, this is a huge shift and indicates a frightening trend. We all need to be asking ourselves, “What is really happening?”

The website “Real Clear Politics” (www.RealClearPolitics.com) reprinted an article from the Christian Science Monitor website (www.csmonitor.com) titled “The Coming Evangelical Collapse.” In it, the author, Michael Spencer, a writer who describes himself as “a post-evangelical reformation Christian in search of a Jesus-shaped spirituality,” predicts the demise of evangelicalism as we know it due to seven predicators.

The first one:

“Evangelicals have identified their movement with the culture war and with political conservatism.”

The second reads,

“We Evangelicals have failed to pass on to our young people an orthodox form of faith that can take root and survive the secular onslaught … our young people have deep beliefs about the culture war, but do not know why they should obey scripture, the essentials of theology, or the experience of spiritual discipline and community. Coming generations of Christians are going to be monumentally ignorant and unprepared for culture-wide pressures.”

Check out the website if you are interested in reviewing the rest of the seven predictions. But let’s concentrate on only one of the predictors: In the years going forward, will that second prediction be one of the evidences of a heretical fissure? Will younger generations hold to a form of godliness but as Scripture says, “without the power thereof”?

“The woman explained that her parents adhered to conservative Christianity but that their lives were a dysfunctional antithesis to what Scripture explains are the fruits of belief. Over the next month, I kept mulling over this apparent oxymoron: Evangelical atheism. Evangelical atheism.”

Paul wrestles with this type of spiritual split personality in his second letter to Timothy, a young man he mentored and loved. He says, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come …” He continues with a list of disturbing characteristics: self-adulation, money motivation, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. His conclusion after this disturbing list is “… having a form of godliness but denying its power” (see 2 Timothy 3:1–5).

I would maintain that one reason the local church is bleeding millennials, and that so many of them are often spiritually adrift, is that their own parents are living out a faith where religious activity has more to do with form, not with a “Jesus-shaped spirituality.” According to Pew polling,

“Almost every major branch of Christianity in the United States has lost a significant number of members, mainly because millennials are leaving the fold. More than one-third of millennials now say they are unaffiliated with any faith, up 10 percentage points since 2007.”

In the documentary “An Unreasonable Man,” which chronicles the remarkable consumer-safety record established by Ralph Nader, the principle reveals how, when coming home from grade school one afternoon, his father, an immigrant to this country asked,

“Well, what did you learn in school today? Did they teach you how to believe, or did they teach you how to think?”

Have we been teaching ourselves how to believe without also emphasizing how to think about what we believe, and then, how that thinking belief works itself out in the proof of how we choose to live? Are we passing this intellectual and theological knowledge on to the next generation in such a way that they one day will look back and recognize the power of previous spiritual models? Will those younger than ourselves identify and remember our belief linked to lifestyles in such power-filled ways that our example will continue to be a motivator for their belief and lifestyle for decades beyond the span of our own lives?

Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy

There are two great rulers by which insidious, private heresy can be measured. One is orthodoxy, right theology. The other is orthopraxy, right living. Scripture is clear that the marriage of both is the cornerstone of Christian faith. Christ is stunningly clear that belief and living must be in sync. He is particularly livid over the empty performance orientation of religious leaders.

“Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.” — Matthew 7:15–17.

The way we live is evidence of what we truly believe. Or another way to look at this is in the simple statement that Christ also makes:

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (see Luke 6:45).

What an indicator of orthopraxy! Our tongues tell.

The Apostle John picks up this theme in his first letter: “If we say we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth,” (see 1 John 1:6) and “He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, is in darkness until now” (see 1 John 2:9). Orthodoxy, what we believe, and orthopraxy, how we live it out, must be in sync. Otherwise, our Christian confession is obliterated by our actions.

Not only should individuals be wary of their own hidden heresies in belief or in practice, religious organizations can become horrific examples of incomprehensible splits between living and doing as well. My husband and I have been in ministry throughout the full five decades of our married life. We were in youth work, planted a church in the inner-city of Chicago and pastored an inter-racial congregation, spent 20 years in daily radio outreach, seven years producing and hosting a daily television show, and sponsored 132 pastors’ conference annually. Together we’ve written dozens of published books, traveled on the speaker’s circuit for 20 years and served as directors of various not-for-profit boards.

We are well aware that the demands of ministry are such that it is more than easy to do God’s work, using approaches and techniques that are not God’s ways. Spiritual schizophrenia is all too easy to slip into. Let’s look at a couple of examples of ministries that have worked hard to prevent evangelical heresy.

Preventing Evangelical Heresy

Gary Haugen, a lawyer formerly employed in the civil-rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice, who was also the director of the United Nations genocide investigation in Rwanda, took a huge lifestyle leap, committing what is essentially professional suicide by resigning his high-powered government positions in order to live out a Jesus-shaped spirituality. He and dedicated colleagues have founded and formed the International Justice Mission, which confronts, rescues and protects those women, men and children who are held in thrall to the deeply entrenched sex slave industries in the world.

In the name of the God of justice, legal expertise is leveraged to combat illegal evil. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 provides the tools to combat trafficking in persons both worldwide and domestically. IJM leverages these legal means to combat illegal evil at home and in the world.

In his book Just Courage: God’s Great Expedition for the Restless Christian, Haugen talks about being haunted by John Stuart Mill’s 1859 essay “On Liberty.” (Mill was a philosopher who argued in this essay that “over himself, over his own body and mind, the individual is sovereign.”) The thoughts that gnawed at Haugen were those where Mill examined how words lose their meaning, using Christians as the prime example, since they seemed to have a remarkable ability to say profound things without really believing them. This is evidenced by the way they act and behave.

Haugen writes,

“What became more disturbing was his list of things that Christians, like me, actually say — like, blessed are the poor and humble; it’s better to give than receive; judge not, lest you be judged; love your neighbor as yourself, etc. — and examining how differently I would live my life if I actually believed such things. As Mill concluded, ‘The sayings of Christ co-exist passively in their minds, producing hardly any effect beyond what is caused by mere listening to words so amiable and bland.’”

Perhaps this is a 19th-century prognostication of an approaching 21st-century Western spiritual malaise: Evangelical atheism. Yet, Scripture’s warnings against this divide, writing centuries before the analysis of John Stuart Mill, indicate that heresy is endemic to the human character. All believers have the potential of failing while at the same time priding themselves on exterior mental assent to biblical principles of belief.

Need we (need I) begin asking ourselves (asking myself),

“Am I really an unbeliever in church clothes?”

Or perhaps a better question would be,

“Where are the areas of faith in which I am practicing disbelief? Where am I really NOT seeking a Jesus-shaped spirituality?”

The Cure for Evangelical Atheism

I often pause in the outside lobby of bookstores because many of them stack their really bargain books in enticing displays that catch the attention of an avid book-lover like myself. A while back, I picked up (for $5) 7 Minutes of Magic: The Ultimate Energy Workbook. A blurb by Deeprak Chopra graced the cover, “A perfect blend of Western and Eastern fitness to jump-start your day and help you relax at night.” Since I am working at getting eight hours of sleep per night as part of my aging-gracefully attempt, I thought I might pick up some tips for evenings when I need to begin incorporating the 7 minutes of relaxing techniques for those mornings when I can’t afford the hour that visiting an exercise class would take.

The book has sat, unopened, on my bedroom chair for several years.

This 7-minute approach of flow exercises and stretches is supposed to give me a “lightning flash of vitality” after a long night of inactivity. Somehow (isn’t it strange?) that book hasn’t done a thing for me … just sitting on the chair with the cover photo of some well-toned practitioner stretching from spine to flap.

Get the picture? We must do what we know is good for us — or at least we must try to do what we know is good for us. Thinking things are so is not enough to establish a reality that things are so.

When starting the International Justice Mission, Haugen and his colleagues put themselves in a place where they were utterly dependent upon God. Perhaps you can imagine the reality of this need if you think about the way they spend the majority of their time fighting sex trafficking all around the world, going into brothels and dens of human slavery and freeing young girls from their bondage to enforced prostitution.

“This is why I am so grateful for my experience with IJM,” Haugen writes,

“Because it gives me a continual experience of my weakness in which God is delighted to show his power … We are forced by our own weakness to beg him for it, and at times we work without a net, apart from his saving hand. And we have found him to be real — and his hand to be true and strong — in a way we would never have experienced strapped into our own safety harnesses.

“In concrete terms, what does that desperation look like? For me, it means being confronted with a videotape of hundreds of young girls in Cambodia being put on open sale to be raped by sex tourists and foreign pedophiles. It means going into a brothel in Cambodia as part of an undercover investigation and being presented with a dozen girls between the ages of five and ten who are being forced to provide sex to strangers. It means being told by everyone who should know that there is nothing that can be done about it. It means facing death threats for my investigative colleagues, high-level police corruption, desperately inadequate aftercare capacities for victims and a hopelessly corrupt court system. It means going to God in honest argument and saying, ‘Father, we cannot solve this,’ and hearing him say, ‘Do what you know best to do, and watch me with the rest.’”

Because of this dependency and because of the intransigency of the evil that is being confronted, IJM staff begins the first half-hour of the day in quiet reflection, to listen, to be still, to sort things through. Then, they gather again — every day at 11 a.m. — to pray about the life-and-death situations they are facing.

That’s a cure for Evangelical atheism if I ever saw one — a long dose of Jesus-shaped spirituality; a contemplative discipline observed before entering into International Justice Mission’s particular daily dangers of holy mission.

A Jesus-Shaped Spirituality

Through the years, David and I have also been impressed with the ministry of Gospel for Asia (GFA). The visionary founder, KP Yohannan, connected with us early in his ministry. We were drawn into his vision and passion to help the people in Asia. K.P. has truly been a pioneer in challenging the Western-missionary effort to understand that brown-skinned brothers and sisters might be better equipped, less costly to underwrite, already familiar with customs and languages and filled with a passion for their own lands that lead them to willingly undergo beatings and persecutions for Christ’s sake, than many white-faced brothers and sisters.

Gospel for Asia’s initial drive to establish local fellowships has blossomed into 3–4 million or so believers who are being pastored and discipled by Indian nationals.

In addition to local fellowships, Gospel for Asia-supported workers have responded to the most hopeless of social situations with practical and effective ministries: student sponsorship to educate some 70,000+ children; medical teams working with health issues and teaching the basic preventive measures that ward off 80 percent of those physical problems, which usually are present in the long lines at local clinics. GFA’s field partner is one of the largest installers of clean water wells and filters among the development organizations worldwide and, in addition, provides means for micro-businesses, which give initial start up tools to create sustainable incomes. Widows are tended to, children are invited to after-school programs, families are strengthened. The list of good works goes on and on.

Many fine relief and development organizations do the same; the United Nations, for example, sponsors excellent social outreaches in most of the countries of the world. The difference, I would maintain, however, between Gospel for Asia (GFA) and other large, well-known operations is that GFA doesn’t just deal with the physical failures caused by poverty or ignorance or natural disasters, it deals with the spirit of the dilemmas:

What is it in the human heart that also leaves people vulnerable in the machinations of systemic exploitation? What is the spirit lacking in the heart and soul of this child, this man or woman, this family or this community?

Gospel for Asia (GFA) understands that it is facing more than surface difficulties; there are deep endemic prejudices, racial and tribal injustices and institutions adamantly committed to keeping others entrapped by the economic failures that benefit others. Gospel for Asia (GFA) comprehends that it must get to the spirit of the matter, and since its inception, that fight has been accomplished through committed and regular and unusual amounts of time that its home offices in various centers and among its staff within 14 Asian countries spend in dedicated, determined prayer.

This is not an organization that mouths the belief that prayer is the basis for ministry, for touching the heart of God, for receiving direction and guidance without also activating a systemic organizational commitment to hours of prayer for its work in the world. Gospel for Asia (GFA) is a praying organization.

David and I, personally, have often been shamed by GFA’s commitment to a kind of prayer that we have not activated nearly as well in our own ministry outreaches.

So, what do you think about all this? What would happen if we Evangelicals, all of us, sincerely asked the question:

“If I really believed what I say I believe, how would it radically change what I think and speak and do?”

I’m looking at my own heart, conducting an honest self-examination, quietly considering my own bent being, finding hypocrisies I haven’t wanted to face, and with God’s help, yanking out those insidious roots that lead to hidden heresy, to actions and attitudes that are decidedly unchristian. I am examining the heretical possibilities in my own approach to living out my faith. I desperately do not want to die having a form of godliness but denying the potential power of it to change my life and the lives of those around me. And I want to concentrate my prayers on the younger generations — on grandchildren and millennial friends — in such a way that they can identify some kind of radical difference in my life. I do not want to leave a legacy of being an ordinary, everyday Christian.

How about you — are you willing to search for and possibly find any hidden closet evangelical atheism? Then, let us both deal earnestly with the following question asked by Christ of His followers:

“But why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do the things I say?” — Luke 6:46

Sources: Pew Research, Religion Among the Millennials

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Dying of Thirst: The Global Water Crisis (#2 by Gospel for Asia)

Last updated on: August 25, 2022 at 11:47 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report Part 2– Discussing the global water crisis and the quest for access to clean water.

Dying of Thirst: The Global Water Crisis (#2 by Gospel for Asia) - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — A mother cares for her son who is being treated for cholera at a UNICEF-supported cholera treatment center in Baidoa, Somalia Photo by Mackenzie Knowles-Coursin, UNICEF

Waterborne Diseases Caused by the Global Water Crisis

Even under normal conditions, people in many regions are exposed to life-threatening diseases from their water, including typhoid, polio and hepatitis A. Among the most common waterborne diseases is diarrhea, which can be caused by any of several pathogens. It kills about 1.5 million children every year, more than 80 percent of them in Africa and South Asia. World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 88 percent of those deaths are caused by unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene.^[1] Diarrheal diseases kill by depleting the body’s fluids, often very rapidly.

Children are most vulnerable because their metabolisms use more water than adults’, and their body weight consists of more water proportionally than an adult’s. Their kidneys are also less able to conserve water.^[2]

Diseases that are so deadly can be prevented
with changes that are simple.

Children with malnutrition and weakened immune systems are especially susceptible to the worst effects of diarrhea. This explains why diarrheal disease is one of the primary killers in poorer countries but not in the developed world. Some diarrheal diseases target adults and older children. One of the most familiar and deadly of these is cholera, which afflicts between 1.4 million and 4 million people each year, killing thousands.^[3]

In some documented cases, improving the quality of water at the source, combined with treatment of household water and safe water-storage systems, has reduced the incidence of diarrhea by 47 percent. And studies show that simply handwashing with soap can reduce the incidence by 40 percent.^[4] These figures underscore a tragic truth: Diseases that are so deadly can be prevented with changes that are simple.

Trace Element Contamination Adds to Global Water Crisis

Sometimes it isn’t living organisms that make people sick, but it’s the naturally occurring elements in the water. Heavy metals and other trace elements are usually present in our diets, and in fact, many of them are essential—but only in tiny quantities. When we ingest more than the safe levels, we can experience illness and even death.

Jesus Wells were dug by Gospel for Asia-supported workers - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — In 2014, four Jesus Wells were dug by Gospel for Asia-supported workers in one drought stricken region—now approximately 5,300 people benefit from these wells. Read the story »

Some of these elements are in the ground and leach naturally into the water we use, while others are introduced into the water supply through industry, mining and agriculture.

This was the problem facing four Asian villages when Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers came to the scene in 2014. This area typically experienced several months of drought, followed by heavy monsoon rains. But the water left by the rains was contaminated with chemicals. Villagers with enough money could buy their own water, but the poor had to walk long distances every day to ask for water from local landlords. Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors in the area arranged for wells to be installed in all four villages, bringing clean water at last to approximately 5,300 people.

One of the most well-known water contaminants is lead. Lead poisoning can cause headaches, abdominal pain, mood disorders, high blood pressure, joint and muscle pain, and difficulty with memory or concentration. As always, children experience the worst effects. Lead poisoning can delay their development and cause learning difficulties. They may also experience fatigue, vomiting, hearing loss and seizures.

Water is a fragile resource, and its problems
are not limited to the developing world.

Since lead paint was identified as a major problem in the United States during the 1970s, a concerted national campaign reduced its impact over time. But Americans received a wake-up call in 2014 when the water supply in Flint, Michigan, came under scrutiny—as described by Karen Burton Mains in GFA’s special report “The Global Water Crisis: Finding Solutions to Humanity’s Need for Pure, Safe Water.”^[5]

Residents complained about the color, taste and smell of their water. It turned out that the service lines from water mains to individual homes in Flint were made of lead and were not treated with corrosion inhibitors, which keep the contamination at acceptable levels. Eighty-seven cases of Legionnaire’s disease were associated with the contaminated water, leading to 12 deaths. Overall, more than 100,000 people had been exposed to a dangerous poison.

The Flint saga reminded everyone that water is a fragile resource, and its problems are not limited to the developing world.

The National Guard delivers bottled water to residents of Flint, MI - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — The National Guard delivers bottled water to residents of Flint, MI.

In 2017, the Reuters news agency conducted an investigation that revealed how widespread such issues really are even in the United States. Their reporters discovered 3,810 areas in the U.S with childhood lead poisoning rates twice as high as those found in Flint. And 1,300 areas showed lead levels four times greater than those found in Flint.^[6] The affected locations included 34 states and Washington D.C. In the best of outcomes, such a national scandal should at least inspire compassion for others around the world who struggle to find clean water.

Arsenic is well known as a poison, but it’s actually an element that occurs naturally throughout the world. When it enters a water supply, however, it can cause unimaginable suffering.

In 1983, scientists discovered arsenic in the water of 33 villages in West Bengal, India. Subsequent investigations revealed similar contamination in 2,417 villages along the flood plains of the Ganges River.^[7]

Arsenic poisoning can cause severe abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Other symptoms include abnormal heart rhythm, muscle cramps and tingling extremities. Some victims first notice unusual lesions and growths on their skin, and many then discover they have cancer. Victims of arsenic poisoning can recover if the source of their illness is removed in time.

Several other disease-causing trace elements—most of them heavy metals—contaminate water supplies today. Cadmium accumulates in the kidneys and hepatic system and can cause cancer. Chromium, likewise, can cause liver and skin cancer when it reaches high levels. Zinc and copper can also be dangerous to health.

A Simple Solution to the Global Water Crisis

People in the developed world rely on their water providers to protect them from such threats. For those who can afford it, a home filtration system offers added security. But people living in poorer areas have no such protection. They often collect their water from fetid ponds or polluted streams. They’re exposed to all the worst dangers that may be hidden in their water.

Fortunately, a solution exists that can offer them protection similar to what the rest of us enjoy. And it’s amazingly simple, portable, effective and affordable. It’s called a BioSand water filter.

Since [the Biosand water filters] were installed, all water-caused and waterborne diseases have ceased.

BioSand water filters use mechanical and biological processes to remove heavy metals, bacteria, viruses, protozoa and other impurities from water. They are widely recognized as effective and are small enough to fit easily in virtually any home. Most importantly, they are inexpensive—just $30 for a filter that can serve an entire family with clean water for decades. Seeing the dramatic impact BioSand water filters have, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers have built and provided 85,000 of them for Asian families since 2008.

Aanjay, a farmer in Asia, saw firsthand the effects of contaminated water on his family and his entire village.

“We were forced to use dirty and filthy water for cooking and drinking,” he recalls. “Thus, we suffered stomachache, jaundice, typhoid and diarrhea.”

The villagers also had to use the tainted water for bathing, which caused skin infections.

That changed when some Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors provided BioSand water filters for Aanjay’s family and several others.

“Along with receiving a filter, families also received health and hygiene training that works to significantly lower the incidence of waterborne illness,” Aanjay says. “Now the villagers are getting purely filtered water for drinking. Since [the Biosand water filters] were installed, all water-caused and waterborne diseases have ceased.”

Burkina Faso: Africa’s Anguish

Recurring drought, contamination and lack of funds have all contributed to Africa’s severe water problems. A vivid example of all three can be found in the little landlocked country of Burkina Faso.

Located in the vast savanna region south of the Sahara Desert, Burkina Faso endures up to eight months of dry weather each year.^[8] When drought makes conditions even worse, as it did in 2016, a true crisis occurs. That year, the capital, Ougadougou, was able to provide only intermittent water service for its 2 million residents. People were forced to travel far into the countryside to find usable water.^[9] Water shortages like this, and the power outages that accompany them, have become a normal part of life for city residents.

Nearly half the residents of Burkina Faso live without clean water.

For people in rural areas, the hardships are even worse. Eighty percent of Burkina Faso’s people are subsistence farmers,^[10] so droughts are especially devastating for them. The country is also plagued by waterborne diseases common to undeveloped areas—diarrhea, hepatitis A and typhoid fever.^[11]

According to Water Aid UK, 4,500 children under the age of 5 die of diarrhea each year in Burkina Faso, and nearly half the residents live without clean water.^[12] When the rains do come, mosquitoes that breed in the standing water spread malaria, yellow fever and dengue fever.

women are collecting water for crop irrigation in Burkina Faso - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — These women are collecting water for crop irrigation in Burkina Faso, where the global water crisis is severe.

One of the main industries in Burkina Faso is gold mining. But the mining process has introduced deadly arsenic into the groundwater.^[13] On top of all these challenges, the rapidly-growing population is putting unprecedented stress on the water supply. War and disruption in neighboring countries have displaced millions of people, many of whom seek refuge in Burkina Faso. This has only exacerbated a problem that was already severe.^[14]

Efforts to improve conditions in Burkina Faso haven’t always been effective. Relief workers from Water Aid UK found that many existing wells there were unusable because of broken handpumps. And toilets provided by the government to improve hygiene were going unused—because people don’t know what to do with them.^[15] This underscores the importance of education to go along with physical improvements. One without the other leads to failure.

Against this stark backdrop, a number of entities are working valiantly to reverse the cycle of despair in Burkina Faso. Since 2000, the government has taken real steps to address the crisis, creating five water basin committees to protect and preserve water resources throughout the country.^[16] Meanwhile, many non-governmental organizations are helping by drilling new wells, repairing old ones and training local people to manage their water effectively. Among these are the aforementioned Water Aid UK, Myra’s Wells, SIM missionary organization, The Water Project, Hearts for Burkina, Engage Burkina, and Living Water International.

Dying of Thirst: The Global Water Crisis – The Crucial Quest for Access to Clean Water: Part 1 | Part 3

This Special Report article originally appeared on gfa.org.

Read the Global Clean Water Crisis Report: Finding Solutions to Humanity’s Need for Pure, Safe Water.

Learn more about how to provide clean water to families and villages through Jesus Wells and BioSand Water Filters.

To read more on the Global Water Crisis on Patheos, go here.

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Footnotes

^[1] Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done, p. 11. UNICEF/WHO. 2009.
^[2] Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done, p. 11. UNICEF/WHO. 2009.
^[3] Cholera: Key Facts. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cholera. February 1, 2018. Accessed January 15, 2019.
^[4] Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done, p. 12. UNICEF/WHO. 2009.
^[5] Gospel for Asia, Special Report: The Global Water Crisis, https://www.gfa.org/special-report/global-clean-water-crisis/
^[6] Pell, M.B., Schneyer, Joshua. Reuters finds 3,810 U.S. areas with lead poisoning double Flint’s. Reuters Special Reports. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lead-map/reuters-finds-3810-u-s-areas-with-lead-poisoning-double-flints-idUSKBN1DE1H2. November 14 2017. Accessed December 26, 2018.
^[7] Ghosh, N.C., Singh, R.D. Groundwater Arsenic Contamination in India: Vulnerability and Scope for Remedy, Uttarahkand, India, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, p. 2. Accessed December 26, 2018.
^[8] The World Factbook: Africa: Burkina Faso. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/uv.html. Updated January 22, 2019. Accessed January 26, 2019.
^[9] Burkina Faso drought triggers water and power shortages. Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/05/drought-brings-water-power-shortages-burkina-faso-160511103306983.html. May 11, 2016. Accessed January 28, 2019.
^[10] The World Factbook: Africa: Burkina Faso. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/uv.html. Updated January 22, 2019. Accessed January 26, 2019.
^[11] The World Factbook: Africa: Burkina Faso. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/uv.html. Updated January 22, 2019. Accessed January 26, 2019.
^[12] Andrew McConnell. Water is precious in landlocked Burkina Faso, West Africa. Water Aid UK. https://www.wateraid.org/where-we-work/burkina-faso. Accessed January 28, 2019.
^[13] Shannon Warren. The Current Situation of Water Quality in Burkina Faso. The Borgen Project. https://borgenproject.org/water-quality-in-burkina-faso/. October 2016. Accessed January 28, 2019.
^[14] The World Factbook: Africa: Burkina Faso. Central Intelligence Agency. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/uv.html. Updated January 22, 2019. Accessed January 26, 2019.
^[15] Andrew McConnell. Water is precious in landlocked Burkina Faso, West Africa. Water Aid UK. https://www.wateraid.org/where-we-work/burkina-faso. Accessed January 28, 2019.
^[16] Shannon Warren. The Current Situation of Water Quality in Burkina Faso. The Borgen Project. https://borgenproject.org/water-quality-in-burkina-faso/. October 2016. Accessed January 28, 2019.

What Is a Christian to Do About Criticism?

Last updated on: December 19, 2022 at 9:30 am By GFA Staff Writer

“Everything we do either propels God’s mission forward or hinders the embodiment of His kingdom on earth as it is in Heaven.” — Jeff Christopherson, Vice President of Send Network

Christopherson is right on point. All too often, we fail to see that everything we do impacts the kingdom of heaven on earth.

Since we are the only representatives of that kingdom, every believer must come to the point where we learn to confront ourselves with every word we speak and every action we take—before we say or do them.

The failure of some of us to weigh our actions is a shortcut to behaving like the ungodly whose lives are characterized by contentions and dissensions (see Galatians 5:19–21). In short, there is no room in a Christian’s life for creating strife, friction and discord—especially between and among professing believers.

Recognizing the Danger of a Critical Spirit

Contention usually begins with a critical spirit and exhibits itself as criticism. Whilst conceding that criticism can be constructive or destructive, for the most part, constructive criticism is usually shared privately in the spirit of Galatians 6:1–2 and Matthew 18:15.

It is public criticism that is most destructive. It is also infectious, leveling accusations and condemnations and drawing bystanders into one of Satan’s most subtle schemes in his quest to overthrow the kingdom of heaven.

Jude warns us in his epistle that “certain men have crept in [among believers] unnoticed.” They are of several different kinds: those who have gone the way of Cain, those who have gone the way of Balaam, and those who have gone the way of Korah.

Korah was a critic of Moses. Korah is the poster boy for critics. It is interesting that his story unfolds in Numbers chapter 16, but is so important for us today that Jude wrote a stern warning for the church to beware of being critical.

Criticism assumes that the purveyor knows better than the target of the criticism. That was Korah’s problem. He thought he know how to run the “Wilderness Operation” better than Moses. He really got upset when Moses did not divide a gift of wagons equally among the clans who carried the tabernacle. Korah was of the Kohathites; his clan didn’t get any wagons (see Numbers 7:9).

Read Numbers 4 where the Lord gave Moses specific instructions to follow.

Korah thought Moses was wrong. He complained to his family, to his neighbors and friends, and stirred them to the point of rebellion. As Dr. K.P. Yohannan points out in his booklet “The Beauty of Christ through Brokenness,” “God Himself ripped open the earth and swallowed him up.” In fact, it swallowed up Korah and all who joined in with his critique of Moses, including their wives and children (see Numbers 16:32).

Recognizing Criticism for What It Is

Pastor Ronald Franklin describes all criticism as falling into one of three categories. And he warns us to expect to be criticized. That’s right. We are not going to make it through life without being criticized. So we need to understand the kinds of criticism we may face and understand how to respond in a Christ-like manner that advances the kingdom of heaven.

• Accurate Criticism.

This is valid criticism that may or may not be 100 percent correct. When we know that criticism is substantially correct we should consider it as an opportunity to make needed corrections (see Proverbs 15:31–32.)

• Inaccurate Criticism.

This is criticism that is “essentially incorrect,” but may include a kernel of truth. This type of criticism may allow us an opportunity to teach what the critic does not have correct (see Acts 11:2–4.)

• Malicious Criticism.

This is criticism that is motivated by some personal agenda on the part of the critic. When we’re faced with this type of criticism, it presents an opportunity to minister grace, which advances the kingdom of heaven as Christ intends for us to do (see Matthew 5:44–45.) It is particularly interesting that this is when grace is true ministry on behalf of advancing the kingdom of Heaven.

Social media has opened up a whole new world for criticism—and the world loves it. Even some news media has drifted away from objective reporting to various formats for criticism.

For that reason, Christians must exercise a discerning spirit to not only recognize unwarranted criticism but also to understand the kind of critical spirit from whence those critical comments originate. A discerning spirit can recognize a critical spirit.

Recognizing a Critical Spirit

“…true and loving. It comes from a humble, caring heart that wishes the best for the other person. It is not bitter condescending, insulting, or cold-hearted.

“There is a significant difference between helping someone improve and having a critical spirit. A critical spirit is never pleased. A critical spirit expects and finds disappointment wherever it looks. It is the opposite of 1 Corinthians 13: a critical spirit arrogantly judges, is easily provoked, accounts for every wrong, and never carries any hope of being pleased. Such an attitude damages the critiqued as well as the critic.

“Biblical criticism is helpful, loving, and based on truth. Correction is to be gentle. It comes from love, not from a sour personality. Galatians 5:22–23 says the Spirit wants to produce in us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. If criticism cannot be expressed in keeping with the fruit of the Spirit, it’s better left unsaid.”

The right place to stop criticism is at the source. If we are not walking in the Spirit, we will follow the flesh. As we have already seen, the flesh is the headquarters for critical spirits.

Ed Stetzer identifies three types of critical spirits:

• The Constant Critic.

You know who they are. They are always complaining about something, always pointing out things that are “not right.”

• The Low-character Critic.

Stetzer says, “I am stunned to see just how much some ‘Christian’ bloggers, in particular, will lie, play guilt by association, and display a complete lack of character—all while calling out someone for something similar. The blogosphere may be their sandbox, but they can be found just about anywhere on the playground.

• The Opportunistic Critic.

These are people who are always looking for a new issue to expose or debate. Stetzer’s advice? See them for who they are.

None of us is or ever will be exempt from criticism. Not a single individual or institution will go uncriticized by someone at some time. Gospel for Asia (GFA) is nearing its 40th year of ministry. Although we have been and continue to be blessed abundantly, we have also experienced criticism. Some of it has been dispensed with love and kindness. Some other, not so much. Our commitment is to honor the Lord in all we do with a sincere desire to please Him.

Let us consider our need for brokenness so we do not become critical spirits nor respond inappropriately to them. Let us remember we are accountable to the righteous scrutiny of a holy God. Let us live our lives in that light and help others to do so as well.

May God help us to not have a critical spirit. May He grant us the wisdom to recognize the different types of critics and criticism for who and what they are. Even more so, may He direct our paths is such a way that we respond in a way that advances the kingdom of heaven.

Sources:

The Paired Life, Bible Principles for Dealing with Criticism
Got Questions, What does the Bible say about Criticism?
Christianity Today, How a Christian Should Critique Criticism
The Christian Post, What Is The Christian Way To Respond To Criticism
Christianity Today, The Myth of Missionary Neutrality

Image Source:

Alpha Stock Images [CC BY-SA 3.0]

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Stigma & Misunderstandings Keep Leprosy Alive (Gospel for Asia #3)

Last updated on: January 4, 2023 at 6:49 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report #3: Discussing why leprosy remains, despite it being a curable worldwide issue.

Gospel for Asia Gives Leprosy Patients Food, Income-generating Gifts, Education and More

A GFA-supported Bridge of Hope center located within an area known for leprosy is providing free education, food, medical care and love for children from impoverished families, several of whom are touched by leprosy. While these children of leprosy patients may otherwise be rejected from schools or tolerated at a distance, they are welcomed and loved at Bridge of Hope.

National workers and believers in congregations in the nations Gospel for Asia (GFA) serves are helping break the stigma and social rejection experienced by leprosy patients. People affected by Hansen’s Disease are invited into churches and homes. They are hugged. They are fed. They are shown the respect and dignity we, as Christ’s followers, believe every human being deserves.

Stigma & Misunderstandings Keep Leprosy Alive (Gospel for Asia #3) - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — These children, many of whose parents are leprosy patients, have the opportunity for education through their local GFA-supported Bridge of Hope Center.

“Jesus Himself touched [those with leprosy] and healed them,” Dr. KP Yohannan said in a 2017 press release.

“Jesus told us to go and do the works that He did. We, as His representatives, can show these precious people that compassion, health and healing are found in Jesus.”

On World Leprosy Day and all throughout the year, Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers honor leprosy patients with gifts, such as blankets, mosquito nets, goats and other income-generating gifts they or their families can use to provide for themselves.

Leprosy patients like her have almost no resources at their disposal - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — This woman was given a new blanket during a gift distribution. Leprosy patients like her have almost no resources at their disposal, and gifts like blankets are a useful blessing.

During a blanket distribution, one woman wept as she shared,

“I don’t have a husband or children. I am all alone here. Nobody comes to see me. I have been staying here for more than 50 years, and now I cannot go back to my home. I am so thankful to God for those giving me this blanket and coming here and praying for me.”

Charumati, a widow who suffers from leprosy, lost her fingers and toes due to the deteriorating effects of the disease. Her son, Devan, faithfully stayed by her side, but she felt hopeless. Then she met a group of believers from a church led by Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastor Manaar—and hope entered her life.

The pastor and believers talked kindly with her and prayed earnestly for her healing. She experienced deeper peace than she had ever known, and the news of God’s deep love and acceptance soon became an anchor for her soul.

“Jesus Himself touched [those with leprosy] and healed them… Jesus told us to go and do the works that He did.”

Over the next few years, Charumati received great help and love from her newfound family in Christ. They helped her with chores like fetching water, washing clothes and making meals. They managed to raise money to provide her with new clothing and some medicine, and because of donations from Gospel for Asia (GFA) friends they never knew, the local church was able to provide Devan with a free sewing machine and give Charumati a warm blanket.

These are just a few of the thousands of lives impacted through Reaching Friends Ministry. Gospel for Asia (GFA) is grateful to be part of a global movement to bring understanding, hope and healing to leprosy patients. We believe God loves these men, women and children—whom society offhandedly label as “lepers” throughout history—and there is no longer any reason that anyone in the world should suffer the hardship and isolation of leprosy.

Leprosy: Misunderstandings and Stigma Keep it Alive: Part 1 | Part 2

This Special Report article originally appeared on gfa.org

To read more on the experience of leprosy patients on Patheos, go here.

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Gospel for Asia Responds to the Question: What is a Jesus Well Worth?

Last updated on: January 4, 2023 at 6:51 am By GFA Staff Writer

If someone were to ask what a Gospel for Asia Jesus Well is worth, the most popular response from faithful followers of our work might be “$1,400.” That’s because we consistently remind our family of believers that a gift of $1,400 can fund the building of a brand-new Jesus Well.

However, $1,400 is what it costs Gospel for Asia to install a well in drought-ridden villages across South Asia. The value of a Jesus Well is something entirely different.^[1]

Defining the Value of a Jesus Well

Whether we realize it or not, we make nearly all of our purchases based on the value proposition of a business transaction. For example, if someone is buying a new tire for their car, their buying decision will take into account the expected length of time they intend to own the car. If they plan on trading the car in the near future, most people will choose to purchase a less expensive tire than they would if they were planning to keep the car for a long time. Price is an issue, but the amount the customer is willing to spend is primarily based on the value they expect to receive. Our point here is to try to establish the value of a Jesus Well.

Villages do not pay for installation or maintenance of Jesus Wells, so the value proposition is not based on cost at all. It is entirely about the benefit received. Christian businessman, Bill Westwood, explains biblical value proposition this way:

Christ’s work of salvation includes the potential for us to fulfill that mission of adding true value by collaborating with him in the process of bringing order out of chaos.

[The value proposition is] the combination of resulting experiences . . . which an organization delivers to a group . . . in some time frame.

Delivering value . . . , meeting their needs and, wherever possible, exceeding their expectations, is to fulfill the golden rule to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 22:39). In serving and loving others, we are serving God inasmuch as humanity bears the imago Dei.^[2]

So, defining the worth or value of a Jesus Well has to be ‘calculated’ in the eyes of the recipients.

The Need for Jesus Wells

Disease

“More than 1.8 million children under the age of five die each year from illness associated with contaminated drinking water. Primary diseases contracted from unclean drinking water include cholera, diarrhea, typhoid, roundworm, hepatitis, and dysentery.”^[3]

“It is estimated that over 80% of India’s population does not have access to clean drinking water. Indians regularly drink water from lakes, ponds, and rivers. This is the same water used for bathing, laundry and watering cattle.”^[4]

One child dies every 90 seconds due to waterborne disease.^[5]

Poverty

Lack of readily available clean water is inextricably related to poverty.

“I don’t think people in the West can even begin to understand that there are people, like the Untouchables in India or Nepal, who have to walk eight, nine, or ten miles with a water pot to draw water from some pond. And often it’s a dirty pond because they are not allowed to draw water from the public well where the upper castes are also drawing water.”^[6]

How can a person be productive and provide for their families if one or more of the people in the household has to spend several hours per day carrying pots to fetch water?

Education

When children are sick because of waterborne disease, they cannot attend school.

When children are needed to help carry water long distances, they cannot attend school.

What is a Jesus Well Worth?

Because Jesus Wells are gifts, every benefit derived from the provision of clean drinking water contributes to the value of the well. It is not easy to calculate each well’s precise value. However, we can make some reasonable assumptions based on an average village population of 300^[7] where there are 260 adults and 40 children.

300 people will begin to become healthier because they are no longer drinking contaminated water. Jesus Wells are built to last 20 years or more. Imagine how improved health can change the lives of young children over a 20-year period.^[8]

“Literature suggests that access to sanitation or drinking water may improve student participation or cognitive functions and therefore lead to better educational outcomes.”^[9]

According to Gold Standard,

“Households [using clean water wells] are 9 times less likely to contract waterborne illnesses.”^[10]

Clean water will improve the potential for school-aged children to escape poverty. A child’s education is affected by an increase in absenteeism, decrease in cognitive potential, and increased attention deficits, according to A Layman’s Guide to Clean Water.^[11]
There could be a reduction in deaths of children age four and younger.
People over the age of 60 could live longer.
Immediate, local access to free, clean water could release women from the burden from an average of 20-30 hours a week spent fetching and carrying contaminated water.^[12] These people are not lazy – which is readily evidenced by their willingness to do whatever it takes to provide water for their families. They are industrious. The time saved goes to finding new jobs and often a more stable lifestyle.
Wells are drilled during the dry season to ensure that they are deep enough to provide clean water year-round without villagers having to regress to daily treks to obtain water.
Jesus Wells are maintained by the local church at no cost to the community.
The love of Jesus is evidenced daily by the continued access to Jesus Wells for everyone in the village. “Whosoever will” may drink from the water of Jesus Wells.

Did You Know?

Did you know that the Jesus Well project is one of the largest clean water initiatives in the world?^[13]

Did you know that Gospel for Asia has drilled over 11,000 Jesus Wells between 2016 and 2017?

Did you know that every Jesus Well features a plaque with the message John 4:13-14?^[14]

Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst, but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

Did you know that when our Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported pastors and churches gift a well that you have funded, the people in the village want to understand why someone would do that for them? Most of them have been considered outcasts and have never experienced the unconditional kindness of the love and grace of Jesus Christ.^[15]

Did you know that the greatest value proposition of a Jesus Well is that it is a visible and tangible demonstration of His love and grace? A Jesus Well is often their introduction to the one, true God who gives them life on earth and offers the proposition of everlasting life where they will lack nothing. There is no other value proposition that can compare.

In Jesus’ name, I come to you
To share His love as He told me to.
He said freely, freely,
You have received
Freely, freely, give.
Go in My name
And, because you believe,
Others will know that I live.^[16]

To read more on Patheos on the global clean water crisis, go here.

Click here, to read more blogs on Patheos from Gospel for Asia.

For more information about this, click here.

^[1] Give clean water to a needy village in South Asia and share Christ’s love with them, GFA, Accessed December 2018.

^[2] Westwood, Bill, The Marketing Value Proposition: The ‘Golden Rule’ in Action, Business as Mission, June 29, 2016

^[3] Waters of Love, Oasis World Ministries, Accessed December 2018

^[4] Ibid.

^[5] Every 90 Seconds a Child Dies from a Water-Related Illness, Samaritan’s Purse Australia and New Zealand, Accessed December 2018.

^[6] Wooding, Dan, Jesus Wells bring living water to thousands in India and South Asia, Identity Network, Accessed December 2018.

^[7] Provide Clean Water for an Entire Village, GFA, Accessed December 2018.

^[8] Give clean water to a needy village in South Asia and share Christ’s love with them, GFA, Accessed December 2018.

^[9] Wadhwa, Divyanshi, Does access to sanitation and drinking water facilities relate to students’ learning outcomes? Evidence from Andhra Pradesh, India, Georgetown University, April 2016

^[10] Clean Water Access in India, Gold Standard, Accessed December 2018

^[11] The Benefits of Clean Water Influence the Daily Lives of Children and Adults, and Impact the Quality of Life in a Community for Generations to Come, A Layman’s Guide to Clean Water, Accessed December 2018.

^[12] Water is Life: Bore-wells in India, HELP International, Accessed December 2018.

^[13] On the Front Lines of Women’s Empowerment and Providing Clean Water, Gospel for Asia Celebrates Its 39th Anniversary by Releasing 2017 Highlights, Missions Box Press Releases, July 22, 2018.

^[14] Jesus Wells, A Little Perspective, January 3, 2006.

^[15] Clean Water through Jesus Wells – Hearts Embrace Christ, GFA, Accessed December 2018.

^[16] Owens, Jimmy and Carol, Freely, Freely, Maranatha Music, 1972.

Leprosy: Misunderstandings & Stigma Keep it Alive (Gospel for Asia #2)

Last updated on: February 15, 2023 at 10:06 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report – Discussing the misunderstandings and social stigma that are kept alive toward leprosy patients, despite the disease being a curable worldwide problem.

Leprosy: Misunderstandings & Stigma Keep it Alive (Gospel for Asia #2) - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Sakshi, who ministered to leprosy patients, once had leprosy herself before Jesus healed her.

Misunderstanding Leprosy: ‘I Deserve This Disease’

Sakshi was rejected by her family when, as a teenager, she found out she had leprosy. Read her story »

“Don’t open my bandage!” the leprosy patient cried out. For years the patient believed it was because of their sin that the destructive disease controlled their body. Now, they thought they must suffer and settle with bearing it alone.

But after the leprosy patient’s exclamation, Sakshi, a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported missionary, revealed her own hands and feet to the patient, deformity clearly marking what leprosy’s nerve killing illness left behind.

“No, no, this is not some sin,” Sakshi said. “I myself have gone through this.”

This conversation, shared by Gospel for Asia (GFA) in 2017, gives a glimpse into the despair and belief of personal guilt many leprosy patients carry.

Sakshi understood only too well the shame and grief of those she served. Leprosy was detected in her body when she was only a teenager. Dreams of living life as a normal young woman shattered with that diagnosis. Her disease barred her from visiting her neighbors or from making friends, and it even estranged her younger siblings.

“[My brother and sister] used to love me so much, but when I got this sickness, they hated me, and they don’t want to come to me for anything,” Sakshi recalls of her early days as a leprosy patient.

Acceptance and kind words from her community were replaced with rejection and accusations. People said it was her fault she contracted leprosy, and over time, that lie took hold of her heart. Guilt and hopelessness consumed her, and she began wondering why she should endure life.

In her hopelessness, Sakshi tied a noose to hang herself.

Although Sakshi’s story does not end here, many leprosy patients’ stories end on a tragic note of despair. Whether they choose to end their lives or plod through the rest of their days alone and abandoned, the moment they discover leprosy in their body is the moment society defines them by their disease—not by their value as human beings.

Gospel for Asia calls Leprosy Patients ‘Friends’

In 2007, Gospel for Asia-supported workers began ministering among leprosy patients with an aim to change that definition.

“We thought we would name the ministry differently,” says Pastor Tarik, who helped start the leprosy ministry,

“Where they won’t have to remember their sickness or feel the stigma of it. So, while praying and discussing, we thought, ‘Let us call them “friends” because they have been created in the image of God, like us. It is only the sickness that keeps them different, but let us not make that a barrier. Let us accept them as friends.’”

And so, Reaching Friends Ministry began. What started in 2007 as a handful of men and women pursuing opportunities to care for outcasts of society has since expanded to minster to patients in 44 leprosy colonies. Each colony is home to as many as 5,000 patients. Through this ministry, thousands of hurting hearts have found a glimmer of love and hope to cling to.

Let us call them “friends” because they have been created in the image of God, like us.

Sakshi’s testimony proves the impact of even one kind word in the midst of isolation. Although Sakshi planned to end her life, today her story continues. On that pivotal day, her father saved her from suicide and spoke words of life into her weary soul. He told Sakshi she was a precious child and urged her to strengthen her heart through the pain and hardship.

After the conversation with her father, Sakshi gave up trying to end her own life, but she still felt alone and worried.

Sakshi's feet still bear the marks of leprosy, though she is now cured. — Sakshi’s feet still bear the marks of leprosy,
though she is now cured.

After the conversation with her father, Sakshi gave up trying to end her own life, but she still felt alone and worried. Leprosy still disfigured her limbs and even threatened to remove one of her legs to amputation.

But then she met some Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported missionaries who prayed for her and shared with her about the Great Healer. She joined them in faith and asked Jesus to heal her body. God moved on her behalf; she was miraculously healed of leprosy!

Like Sakshi, many leprosy patients are discovering that physical healing—through both prayer and medical treatment—is possible. Now, it is time for communities around the globe to be healed of the negative mindset toward those with leprosy.

Changing the Mindset Toward Leprosy

Over the passing of time, leprosy has drawn increased attention around the globe. The last Sunday in January has been observed as World Leprosy Day for more than 60 years. But while most countries have been freed from the grip of leprosy as a result of leprosy elimination programs, other areas are still high in battle against the disease.

Brazil, India and Indonesia account for more than 80 percent of new cases detected globally, and areas of Africa also detect leprosy in high numbers. The transmission of leprosy is slowly decreasing, but more must be done, especially regarding the elimination of stigma.

These efforts have strong obstacles to overcome. The UN notes,

“Historically held fears and assumptions about leprosy continue to promote the pervasive exclusion of persons affected by leprosy from mainstream efforts to include them in society and development.”

The transmission of leprosy is slowly decreasing, but more must be done, especially regarding the elimination of stigma.

In 2016, The World Health Organization launched their new Global Leprosy Strategy. Included among the increased effort to detect and care for new patients is a high emphasis on the removal of stigma and discrimination toward those with leprosy.

Gospel for Asia wholeheartedly desires to see the plight of leprosy patients improve, and its work in Asia is helping make strides in both the emotional and physical healing of those affected by leprosy.

Sisters of Compassion are specially trained to minister to the hurting, rejected and downtrodden of society - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Sisters of Compassion are specially trained to minister to the hurting, rejected and downtrodden of society—ministering to both their physical and spiritual needs in the name of Christ.

While you’ve been reading this article, national workers, including around 500 specially trained women called Sisters of Compassion, are helping care for leprosy patients throughout the Indian Subcontinent as part of Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported leprosy ministry.

Sakshi herself became one of those faithful workers. After she experienced God’s healing, she dedicated her life to serving Him and enrolled in a training course. Her passion for ministry among leprosy patients soon placed her alongside other Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers serving in a leprosy colony. Through Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported Reaching Friends Ministry, she became part of bringing hope to others still trapped in the desperation she felt when she held the rope in her hand.

“Nobody is there to comfort [the leprosy patients] and to give any kind of encouragement,” Sakshi explained.

“Nobody wants to love them, hug them or to come near to them to dress them. … They have so many inner pains in their heart, because they also are human beings. They also need love, care and encouragement from other people.”

Sakshi shared about her love for the leprosy patients she serves - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — “I will become their daughter, I will become their grandchildren, and I will help them and encourage them and I will love them.” —Sakshi shared about her love for the leprosy patients she serves

She and other servants of God serve these precious patients in practical ways, such as by cleaning wounds, doing housework, cooking meals and helping with personal hygiene. Through every sweep of a broom and touch of their loving, helpful hands, these workers convey how much God values His creation—even those abandoned by their own families.

“By seeing [the leprosy patients], I am thinking that I will fill the gap,” Sakshi said.

“I will give that love, which they are not getting from their grandchildren and daughters… I will become their daughter, I will become their grandchildren, and I will help them and encourage them, and I will love them.”

Through love like Sakshi’s, many leprosy patients are finding new hope and lasting joy that helps carry them through their troubles.

KP Yohannan, founder and director of Gospel for Asia, wrote about his experience of witnessing leprosy ministry take place.

Sisters of Compassion to clean the wounds of leprosy patients - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Gospel for Asia founder KP Yohannan worked alongside Sisters of Compassion to clean the wounds of leprosy patients during a recent trip in November 2017.

“I recently got to visit one of the many leprosy colonies where Sisters of Compassion are working,” he writes.

“As I joined these Sisters of Compassion in giving out medicine and bandaging wounds, I was once again amazed by how these precious sisters embrace those afflicted by leprosy, serving them so faithfully in the name of Jesus. These leprosy patients, some without fingers or nose or ears, have faced so much rejection in their lives. But now they are finding hope, knowing that someone cares about them.”

These workers, like Sakshi, are diligently bestowing love, medical care, assistance and dignity to those suffering with Hansen’s Disease. Some specialize in making customized shoes for leprosy patients, carefully measuring each individual’s feet to accommodate the sores or disfigurement the person has experienced. Other workers make warm meals for those who cannot cook—or even eat—by themselves; clean homes; wash and comb the tangled hair for those who can no longer perform even these most basic functions for themselves.

GFA-supported workers minister in whatever way is needed - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — GFA-supported workers minister in whatever way is needed—here, a Sister of Compassion cleans a leprosy patient’s wounds, and a man makes custom shoes for leprosy patients.

Workers serving at a GFA-supported leprosy hospital offer tender care for patients afflicted with Hansen’s Disease. Beyond addressing the physical needs of medication, procedures and bandages, this hospital gives its patients emotional support, acceptance, respect and genuine concern for their holistic well-being.

Hospital staff members routinely visit neighboring leprosy colonies to examine patients and determine who should go to the hospital for medication or treatment. They also host events to increase awareness of basic health and hygiene practices, as well as speak words of truth and life to those who feel overcome by their sorrowful plight.

Leprosy: Misunderstandings and Stigma Keep it Alive: Part 1 | Part 3

This Special Report article originally appeared on gfa.org

To read more on the experience of leprosy patients on Patheos, go here.

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5 Distinctives of Gospel for Asia You Should Know

Last updated on: February 15, 2023 at 10:11 am By GFA Staff Writer

Every part of God’s creation is distinct. Every person, every animal, every tree is unique and different than all others of their kind. The same can be said of every church, every business and every organization. Something about each is distinctively different. Often, it is not one thing that makes something distinct and different. It may be a combination of distinctives that makes that entity unique in its own right. Gospel for Asia (GFA) cites five Gospel for Asia (GFA) distinctives that describe its function as a faith-based organization (FBO).

1) Focusing on the “Least of These”

Like so many faith-based organizations (FBOs), Gospel for Asia (GFA) distinctives focuses its mission on ministering to people Jesus referred to as “the least of these”—the approximately 3 billion people who are disadvantaged, disabled, uneducated and often disenfranchised and ostracized. Gospel for Asia (GFA) ministers to the physical needs of slum dwellers and people living in abject poverty in remote villages throughout Asia.

Meeting the physical needs of these people is a way to demonstrate the incomparable love of Jesus Christ and to share the good news of what He has done for us.

Gospel for Asia (GFA) expresses God’s love and care by providing food, clean water, sanitation, education, vocational training, health care and disaster relief so people may discover a life of hope beyond their experience of despair.

2) Supporting National Missionaries

“Change happens at the personal, family and community level when people with true servant hearts labor unselfishly to bring real hope and change and encouragement.”

Gospel for Asia was founded 40 years ago by Dr. KP Yohannan, a native of Southern India who had come to the United States to further his education in theology, and his wife, Gisela. Yet, Dr. Yohannan was unable to shed his passion for his own people. But he could not do it by himself.

Dr. Yohannan also understood that there was a revolution happening in world missions as developing countries began to look upon Western missionaries as persona non grata.

His passion and his prophetic insight contributed to creating Gospel for Asia (GFA) as a means for supporting, training and equipping national missionaries who would live and work among their native people.

Many FBOs today ascribe to the practice of supporting national missionaries. Not that these faithful servants are without resistance—that is a product of unbelief. However, they have an enormous advantage when it comes to knowing the language, the culture, the customs and the perspective of their fellow countrymen.

3) Developing Better Communities for Children and Families

Gospel for Asia is about loving the Lord and loving others to see communities changed, both for this life and eternity.

The Lord transforms communities where GFA-supported national missionaries serve the least of these in places where no one else is serving.

Leaders of groups that advocate for the marginalized on a global level are slowly beginning to realize that true change does not happen by making broad declarations and setting global goals. Change happens at the personal, family and community level when people with true servant hearts labor unselfishly to bring real hope and change and encouragement.

Our Bridge of Hope program embodies these Gospel for Asia (GFA) distinctives.

4) Tremendous Impact by God’s Grace

“When we are willing to come and die to self, the Lord is able to abundantly bless us beyond all we are able to ask or think. That is exactly what He has done through Gospel for Asia for 40 years.”

Everyone at Gospel for Asia understands that the Lord does not impact people’s lives by might and power, but it is by His grace. His grace empowers national missionaries to have life-changing impacts as they minister in His name to meet the needs of the least of these.

The Lord proves daily that He is faithful to supply the needs of local workers on the field as they demonstrate His loving kindness by being, as it were, His hands and feet.

5) Loving the Lord and Dying to Yourself

Whether on the Gospel for Asia (GFA) campus in Wills Point, Texas, or in Asia, the godly men and women engaged in the Lord’s work commit themselves to maintain a Christ-centered lifestyle described by Jesus in Luke 9:23, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.”

When we are willing to come and die to self, the Lord is able to abundantly bless us beyond all we are able to ask or think.

That is exactly what He has done through Gospel for Asia (GFA) for 40 years. We trust He will continue to do so regardless of trial or tribulation, sunshine or scandal, communion or criticism.

Our mission is to be devout followers of Christ and to live lives fully pleasing to Him. God has given us a special love for the people of Asia, and it is our desire to minister to them and help them through ministries such as education, health and practical gifts, or through the spiritual transformation of peaceful hearts, restored relationships and mended lives.

Source: Gospel for Asia, GFA Distinctives

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Leprosy: Misunderstandings and Stigma Keep it Alive (Part 1)

Last updated on: March 2, 2023 at 10:37 am By GFA Staff Writer

WILLS POINT, TX – Gospel for Asia (GFA) Special Report (Part 1) – Discussing the misunderstandings and social stigma of leprosy that keep it alive, despite being a curable worldwide problem.

Leprosy. For many, a cloud of mystery, fear and shame surrounds this disease. It’s a disease that destroys nerves and deadens limbs to sensations of touch or pain, yet at the same time can trigger bouts of unbearable agony for the sufferer as infection exposes raw bones. It’s a disease that is difficult to contract, yet carries a stigma so strong that leprosy-affected people have been forced into isolation for centuries. Why is this disease so feared, and how can we help those who contract it?

Leprosy: Misunderstandings and Stigma Keep it Alive (Part 1) - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Leprosy: Misunderstandings and social stigmas keep it alive, despite being a curable worldwide problem.

What is leprosy?

Mycobacterium leprae bacteria (Public Domain) — Mycobacterium leprae bacteria
(Public Domain)

Leprosy, otherwise known as Hansen’s Disease, is an infectious disease caused by a bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae. This chronic nervous system disease “mainly affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, mucosal surfaces of the upper respiratory tract and the eyes,” according to the World Health Organization.

The first symptoms of leprosy are often eye damage, painless ulcers or patches of discolored skin with accompanying numbness in the affected area. Without intervention, leprosy may cause crippling of hands and feet, loss of limbs, tissue loss on the face and blindness.

The bacteria slowly attacks the nerves and will leave the one affected without the ability to detect pain. Their hands and feet will no longer notice the hot pot burning their palms, the sharp object penetrating their skin, or even a dislocated ankle as they go about their daily life. Wounds become infected, and tissue loss, degeneration or even amputation follows.

The physical disfigurement caused by leprosy is one of the most well-known signs of the disease.

The physical disfigurement caused by leprosy creates a physical and emotional barrier between the individual and the rest of society, the United Nations explains.

Hansen’s Disease, as we know it, has mutilated lives for thousands of years. Reports of leprosy go back as far as 600 BC.

In the Old and New Testament, the Israelites received instructions from God to remove leprosy from among their camp; and later, Jesus Himself touches and heals many people afflicted with leprosy.

Are there any differences between modern-day leprosy and the mentions of leprosy in the Bible?

Answers in Genesis (AIG), an apologetics ministry that provides answers to many questions about the Bible and topics like creation and science, released an article about biblical leprosy. The article, condensed from The Genesis of Germs by Dr. Alan Gillen, states,

“Biblical leprosy is a broader term than the leprosy (Hansen’s Disease) that we know today. The Hebrew tsara’ath included a variety of ailments and is most frequently seen in Leviticus, where it referred primarily to uncleanness or imperfections according to biblical standards. A person with any scaly skin blemish was tsara’ath. The symbolism extended to rot or blemish on leather, the walls of a house, and woven cloth.”

Many have believed the disease is the result of some great sin of the victim.

It is likely that the man with a withered hand in Mark 3:1–5 suffered from the leprosy we are discussing today. Cultures around the world have recorded the devastating effects of Hansen’s Disease: disfigured noses and facial tissue, blind eyes, missing fingers or toes, and hearts rent in grief and anguish.

Intensifying the trauma of the disease is the weight of guilt many sufferers carry. Over the centuries, many have believed the disease is the result of some great sin of the victim. Instead of kindness or pity, the human being—whose world has just shattered—receives a cold shoulder; a fearful stare; an invitation to hit the road, move to a “leper colony” and leave the life they knew before.

Leprosy is Curable—But Still Feared

For hundreds of years, even medical professionals responded in fear of the infectious disease. Because of the misunderstandings and stigma associated with leprosy, very few people in history chose to study the bacterial infection. The few who did confront it now have millions of people benefiting from their courageous efforts.

In 1873, when people believed leprosy was the result of a curse or a judgement from the gods, Dr. A. Hansen, a physician from Norway, discovered that leprosy was caused by bacteria. He proved it was a contagious disease, like so many other plagues in our world. And when you find the cause of a disease, there is hope of finding a cure.

Dr. A. Hansen, the man who discovered the bacteria that causes leprosy (Public Domain)

After that, a few remedies were found to treat leprosy patients, but the disease and its progression remained widely unknown and unexplored until the 1940s. At that time, new anti-leprosy drugs called sulfones were used to treat patients of Hansen’s Disease, but after the bacteria was eliminated from the person’s system, the disfigurement remained—and the discrimination.

In 1947, a world-renowned orthopedic surgeon working in India, Dr. Paul Brand, visited a leprosarium. Dr. Brand was appalled to uncover the lack of research performed regarding the physical deformation leprosy causes. In his book The Gift of Pain, coauthored with best-selling writer Philip Yancey, Dr. Brand records a conversation he had with a pioneer leprosy specialist, Dr. Bob Cochrane, at a leprosy sanitarium.

Dr. Paul Brand, who developed breakthrough treatments for leprosy (Photo credit The Leprosy Mission)

Dr. Brand learned from Dr. Cochrane that, although leprosy was crippling more people than polio or any other disease, few physicians had investigated the disease, and no orthopedist had researched leprosy and the disfigurement it produces. Most doctors at that time joined society in thinking leprosy was a curse from the gods, and as such, it was not a disease they paid attention to.

That conversation and many future encounters with leprosy patients spurred Dr. Brand to delve into the disease and to later become a leprosy specialist himself, establishing breakthrough techniques for correcting leprosy disfigurement.

Although most in the medical field steered clear of leprosy for hundreds and even thousands of years, some dedicated men and women throughout history have labored to understand leprosy. As a result, today leprosy is curable.

Over the decades following Dr. Hansen’s discovery in the 1870s, multiple treatments were used, but they achieved varied success and leprosy bacteria began developing an immunity to the sulfone drug therapy. Finally, in the 1980s, a multi-drug therapy (MDT) treatment successfully cured leprosy without the threat of bacteria developing an immunity, and WHO adopted it as the standard leprosy treatment.

With this powerful cure, multiple global leprosy-elimination strategies have been implemented and have made great strides in reducing new leprosy cases. With support from groups such as the Nippon Foundation, Novartis Foundation and others, MDT has been globally available since 1995—free of charge.

Many leprosy patients like Rushil make their living by begging, and they often can’t afford to buy certain medications that they need. Rushil (pictured) is very grateful for GFA-supported workers providing medicines for free. <a href="https://www.gfa.org/news/articles/gfa-world-counter-cultural-love/?motiv=WB85-PG11&cm_mmc=Patheos-_-OC-_-GFAPatheosBlog-_-Var" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read more of Rushil’s story »</a> — Many leprosy patients like Rushil make their living by begging, and they often can’t afford to buy certain medications that they need. Rushil (pictured) is very grateful for Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported workers providing medicines for free. Read more of Rushil’s story »

Yet in 2015, more than 200,000 people discovered they had leprosy—a disease that not only ravages the body but also tears families and communities apart.

Now that we have a cure for leprosy, why then, does this devastating disease still exist in our world?

Yohei Sasakawa, the WHO ambassador for leprosy elimination and the chairman of the Nippon Foundation, gives the answer to this question.

“A leprosy campaign can be likened to a motorcycle,” Sasakawa says.

“The front wheel is the medical cure, and the rear wheel is the elimination of stigma and discrimination. The motorcycle will not run smoothly unless the two wheels are balanced and moving at the same speed.”

It is the stigma and misunderstanding surrounding leprosy that causes the disease to still ravage lives today. Eliminating discrimination and false conceptions of leprosy is key to eliminating the disease itself.

Stigma Hindering Leprosy Prevention

Gospel for Asia’s field correspondents have interviewed many leprosy patients over the years. Each person’s account is unique, but there are common elements: shame or fear hindering them from seeking medical attention; believing treatment is too costly; and excommunication from family or friends when it becomes known they contracted leprosy. Even the children of leprosy patients are spurned from society.

Precious stories of faithful husbands standing by their leprosy-affected wives shine like beacons in a bleak sea of sorrowful testimonies.

When Kishori contracted leprosy, her husband stood by her—a counter-cultural decision in a society that usually rejects lepers. Read why Kishori smiles today »

When leprosy was discovered in Kishori’s body, her community endangered her marriage.

“Why are you keeping this sick person with you?” Kishori’s neighbors questioned her husband. “You can send her to her mother’s home.”

“How can I leave her?” he replied to his neighbors. “I love her.”

Kishori’s husband stood by her faithfully, never heeding their community’s call to abandon her because of her leprosy.

Stories like Kishori’s reveal the strength of ingrained stigma—but also how love can withstand those pressures. Sadly, more frequent are the stories of men and women abandoned by their spouses, in-laws, or even kicked out of their homes by their children.

“Women are particularly vulnerable to the myths and stigma associated with leprosy and suffer higher social costs of leprosy owing to fewer options open to them,” sites The World Bank in a document for India’s Second National Leprosy Elimination Project.

The report adds that, although women comprise 25 percent of leprosy patients, because of strong cultural protocol traditions regarding interactions between men and women “it is more difficult for the service providers and public health information campaigns to reach them.”

Once on their own, men, women and even children of all ages often gather together in leprosy colonies. There, at least, they are understood by their neighbors who suffer from the same affliction. In these leprosy colonies, governments often organize relief and medical work for patients. Yet many find the monthly ration too meager to live on, and they must do whatever they can to keep themselves and any family members with them alive.

Cultural stigma and misunderstanding - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia — Cultural stigma and misunderstanding oftentimes force leprosy sufferers to live in a community by themselves.

Here again, stigma bars their way. Dr. Brand shares in The Gift of Pain the story of Sadan, a leprosy patient whom his wife met. Leprosy had first appeared on Sadan’s body when he was only 8 years old. The stigma of his disease meant he was expelled from school and isolated from society. The child’s friends avoided him, even crossing the street to keep from encountering Sadan.

Finally, when he was 16 years old, Sadan managed to attend a mission school, but his education couldn’t cover up his disease. Employers turned him down, and restaurants and stores would have nothing to do with him. Even public transportation was denied him.

The deformed hands of leprosy patients—and the stigma that surrounds the disease—limit job opportunities.

Many unheard stories follow a pattern similar to Sadan’s. The jobs available to leprosy patients are few, and their damaged hands and feet limit them even more. Some may be able to open shops within their colony—few patients dare to venture out to public markets for fear of disturbing other customers or shop owners with their presence—while others turn to begging, utilizing the very deformities that trapped them in such desperation.

Pervasive fear of catching leprosy permeates the minds of those around leprosy patients, but the reality is that 95 percent of people are naturally immune to leprosy.

Only those who lack this inborn immunity can contract the disease. Research has made great strides in learning about leprosy, but how leprosy is transmitted from person to person is still largely unknown. Those who develop leprosy are typically people who have been closely exposed to Hansen’s Disease for an extended period of time, such as children—who appear to be especially vulnerable.

As stated before, leprosy is curable; but too few people know this life-changing fact. Believing there is nothing to be done or that treatment is too expensive to obtain, those who could be cured of their disease hide in secret, waiting for the “unavoidable” day when sores and disfigurement announce them as “lepers.”

Yet with even one dose of MDT, leprosy patients are no longer contagious, according to American Leprosy Missions. Depending on which of the types of leprosy they contracted, they can be cured with six to twelve months of proper treatment.

“A leprosy campaign can be likened to a motorcycle,” Sasakawa says. “The front wheel is the medical cure, and the rear wheel is the elimination of stigma and discrimination. The motorcycle will not run smoothly unless the two wheels are balanced and moving at the same speed.”

The key is catching leprosy early enough to avoid the debilitation of leprosy as it runs its course—and to prevent the patient from transmitting it to anyone else.

“The problem with leprosy [elimination],” says a Gospel for Asia (GFA)-supported worker involved in leprosy ministry,

“is [that] young people, when they identify or when they come to know that they are affected with leprosy, they hide, because there is a fear that if they disclose [their disease] they will be sent out from their families and they will be sent out from their villages. That happened in the past, and it happens even today.”

Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO regional director for South-East Asia, confirms the self-perpetuating effect of stigma, not just among youths but of people of all ages, saying, “As long as leprosy transmission and associated disabilities exist, so will stigma and discrimination and vice-versa.”

Yet beyond the fear of rejection, there is another force at play hindering patients from seeking help: an unwarranted sense of guilt.

Leprosy: Misunderstandings and Stigma Keep it Alive: Part 2 | Part 3

This Special Report article originally appeared on gfa.org

To read more on the experience of leprosy patients on Patheos, go here.

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