Even if you think there is lots of waste, fraud, and abuse and that USAID needs major reform (and I do) and must be shut down, can’t we at least have its life-saving programs transferred elsewhere in the Dept. of State? This callous shutdown of HIV-related programs in Africa is a tragedy of epic proportions and is unworthy of the America I know. Pro-lifers, at least, need to care. Christ will judge us for our hypocrisy. “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.”
You want results? “Pepfar has saved 26 million lives and prevented nearly 8 million babies from being born with HIV.” Pepfar is a great, cost-effective investment saving the lives of millions of “the least of these” who, through no fault of their own, live in poor, mostly authoritarian countries. If we don’t step up, who will? This truly is a minuscule part of federal spending. Again, I’m super in favor of cost savings to U.S. taxpayers, but there are better ways to do it. People may answer, “Well, you’ve got to start somewhere.” My answer: Start somewhere else.
Stan Guthrie is an editor at large for Christianity Today magazine and for the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview. His latest book is God's Story in 66 Verses. He also is author of All that Jesus Asks: How His Questions Can Teach and Transform Us, Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century, and A Concise Guide to Bible Prophecy. He is co-author of The Sacrament of Evangelism. Besides authoring, writing, and editing books, Stan is a literary agent, bringing together good authors, good books, and good publishers.
Stan writes the monthly Priorities colum for BreakPoint.org. He has appeared on National Public Radio's Tell Me More, WGN's Milt Rosenberg program, and many Christian shows, including The Eric Metaxas Show and Moody Radio's New Day Florida. A licensed minister and an inspirational speaker, he served as moderator for the Christian Book Expo panel discussion, Does the God of Christianity Exist, and What Difference Does It Make?
Missions in the Third Millennium: 21 Key Trends for the 21st Century
A gripping, hard-hitting overview of issues confronting the spread of the world's most global faith. Includes discussion questions and suggestions for further reading.
"Necessary reading."
Scott Moreau, Wheaton College and Evangelical Missions Quarterly
