Some people are going to crow over this (e.g. the Moscow cult), but what is evangelicalism going to make of The Prayer of Jabez author Bruce Wilkinson's abandonment of his ambitious effort to care for 100,000 orphans in the tiny African nation of Swaziland? The whole story can be found in this Wall Street Journal article, In Swaziland, U.S. Preacher Sees His Dream Vanish (link will expire in a few days).
Wilkinson's message in Jabez was a mix of Pentacostal prosperity theology and Norman Vincent Peale's power of positive thinking. Now it has been found wanting. What are we to do when God's plans don't align with our own? Mind you, most of evangelicalism would reject the idea that God has plans at all, because were all free and autonomous, and He wrings His hands waiting to see what we'll do.
God gave a vision to Joseph, and almost immediately he was set upon by his brothers and put on a long, confusing trip towards providence. I'm sure that many times, Joseph had given up in despair. He decided to make the best of his circumstances, regardless of where he was, but the vision he had been given in his youth seemed way too far off to be part of God's larger plan.
Was Wilkinson right to cut and run from this project that so many in Swaziland had hoped for? I can't throw stones, because I've been in similiar situations and the cut and run option seems the most attractive at the time. But how much damage has been done to the cause of Christ in this situation, such that the borders haven't been enlarged, but diminished?
Finally, why is it that the Church has a million different ways to interpret success and prosperity, but has very little room for tragedy, discouragement and disappointment (which seem more common)? What comfort did the disciples have between Good Friday and Easter Sunday?
(Hat tip: Bayly Blog)
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