Eight Dollar Hot Dog

by Joe Thorn on June 10, 2007

About Joe Thorn

I am the Lead Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship in Saint Charles, IL, and author of Note to Self: The Discipline of Preaching to Yourself. Jen is my wife, and Katherine, Elias, Madeline and Kilian are my kids.

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  • http://www.atropica.typepad.com Patrick

    Thanks for posting this. The message has hit me hard. I am praying about what I can do…

  • http://fivepts.blogspot.com Keith

    Man…that is one tough (but very true) message. Thanks.

  • http://fivepts.blogspot.com Keith

    Man…that is one tough (but very true) message. Thanks.

  • http://adamfeldman.typepad.com adam

    nice powerful message.

    who are his sources for stats…? i’m always a bit cautious about stuff where sources aren’t quoted.

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  • Brian in Fresno

    I really appreciate what this man is saying and much, if not all of it is true. However his statements don’t take into consideration the problems of corrupt governments of many of these poor nations. We can’t blindly send money or food staples to these people or they will never receive it. Our giving needs to be targeted and with organizations that that aren’t beholden to the governments of these nations yet at the same time has protection put in place so the food staples are not stolen and sold on the black market.

  • http://www.joethorn.net Joe Thorn

    Brian – I can’t imagine Chris disagreeing with anything you have said here.

  • Brian in Fresno

    Cool! I don’t know him at all so I don’t know where he stood on this. So many people seem to be naive and just want to help the poor and go about it in ways that actually make it worse for them.

    By the way, I seriously love your photography. You do very good work.

  • http://www.joethorn.net Joe Thorn

    Thanks Brian.

  • Rob

    Recently I heard someone say that when Evangelical Christians think about what the Bible has to say about poverty, they most typically think of Jesus’ words to his disciples: “you will always have the poor with you.” Somehow, we think those words let us off the hook.

    How infuriating that must be to God.

    Thanks for posting this. I probably wouldn’t have seen it otherwise.

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  • http://www.reformationramblings.blogspot.com Larry F.

    This reminded me of one of those ‘Christian Children’s Fund’ commercials designed to use emotion and anecdotal data to get you to respond to their plea for money. We’re certainly called to be good stewards of the resources God has given us but we cannot save the world. Only God can do that. We should choose one or two ministries who are about God’s business and then do all we can to support them rather than heaping liberal guilt on ourselves all the time due to the disparities which exist between ourselves and other nations. As has been pointed out, these are often due to corrupt political systems in these countries (among other things, all of which are beyond our control).

    BTW, we’re most assuredly not all children of God. We’re all made in God’s image but only those who know Him in a saving way are His children. Again, not an excuse for poor stewardship but we don’t need to make appeals like this using faulty theology.

  • http://www.joethorn.net Joe Thorn

    Uhhh. Thanks for missing the point Larry ;)

  • http://www.reformationramblings.blogspot.com Larry F.

    Joe, perhaps I am missing the point that you got out of this but I see this guy talking about ‘solving the water crisis’ or ‘solving the food crisis’ implying that those things wouldn’t exist if we here in the West only spent less on makeup. That’s simply sillly. Those crises are not caused by lack of resources in most cases but by a host of other things. The amount of money this country sends to other countries out of the public trough each year is astronomical to say the least. If these problems could be solved by money, they would have been already. I guess that is what I was reacting to.

    Again, I’m not denying the Biblical mandate to be good stewards and to help the poor, something all of us can do a better job of. I was just put off by this guy’s approach.

  • http://www.joethorn.net Joe Thorn

    Larry, I hope you can tell I am not trying to be hard here (thus the winky-smiley-face-thingy). So, I don’t think that was Chris’s point. Nor do I believe he was trying to use guilt as a motivator. He was sharing his own sense of burden, while affirming the blessings he enjoys as an American. I think his point was to call us to consider our wealth and opportunities to serve/help. The stats on America point to so many things we are willing to spend our money on, but too few Americans personally seek help those who are suffering – especially those in other contexts.

    Also, it is possble to solve the “water crisis” in particular areas. It is happening right now. Relatively small ammounts of money can provide fresh water for villages in need. So, while we “will always have the poor” with us, and while corrupt government will exist until the Kingdom of God comes in full and eliminates every other kingdom, we can (especially as the church) serve the world with the gospel in word and deed.

    I think some who do not know Chris assume a bit too much about him or his ideology via a very short video-thought. We need to evaluate what he, or anyone says, but be charitable toward him in light of the format. Just my thoughts.

  • http://www.reformationramblings.blogspot.com Larry F.

    No worries! I didn’t think you were being hard. I, in fact, agree with what you say. We are blessed beyond belief in this country (at least financially) and should give far more thought to how we spend our money than we do.

  • Marv

    There is a website (www.generousgiving.org) that provides substantial information on how blessed Americans and Christians are and how little we give to meet the needs of the poor. I recommend that anyone interested in this subject consult that site for some very interesting and sobering data.

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