Christian Worldview Concepts

Church Based Medicine

A Window of Opportunity

However, a window of opportunity has been re-opened to evangelical churches following the downsizing of government welfare programs and the growing public awareness that such programs do not work. The overall negative effect of government welfare programs upon our culture is incontrovertible. These programs produced the same results in North America as fifty years of communist rule did in Eastern Europe. At the present time, there is a growing desire among legislators, at both the state and federal level, to facilitate the development of more programs operated by "faith-based" organizations (e.g., churches and church-related ministries) to provide services to low-income individuals and families. This should be viewed with the same enthusiasm as the collapse of the communist hold on Eastern Europe and the re-entrance of missions into formerly closed nations, and our response should be to pour financial resources and personnel into these communities as soon as possible.

The leadership in local congregations must assume the responsibility of leading people to use their gifts, talents and abilities in a manner that best represents the patterns found in the New Testament (Acts 2:42; Ephesians 4:11ff; 1 Corinthians 12:1ff). Paul rebuked the Corinthians for using secular courts to resolve disputes, challenging them to understand that since they would one day judge angels it should not be that difficult to find individuals within the body of believers to resolve their petty differences (1 Corinthians 6:1-6). Likewise, believers today should be careful to avoid conforming to the culture of the day. Rather, they should first look within the Body of Christ for the means to solve problems.