Who Is My Neighbor?: Being a Good Samaritan in a Connected World Read online

  “Steve Moore challenges us to take a new look at a familiar biblical principle in the context of our fast-paced, ever-changing, and closely connected world. With passion and wit, he reminds us how our actions today can impact the world of tomorrow as our ‘neighborhood’ expands.”

  —SAMMY T. MAH, president/CEO, World Relief

  “Our vertical relationship with God is measured by how we horizontally connect with those around us. This is the message at the heart of Who Is My Neighbor? Steve Moore injects within the narrative of our twenty-first-century reality the primacy of vertical connectivity resulting in prophetic witness that reconciles the energy of social networking with a kingdom culture imperative stemming from the Good Samaritan parable. Definitely a must-read.”

  —REVEREND SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ, president, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference

  “The question posed in the title of this book is one that has been bandied around for centuries. However, the depth to which Steve Moore probes this question is fresh, compelling, and convicting. It is a call to action for the twenty-first century. This book is a must-read for every person who is a Christ follower. Your interior world and your exterior world will be forever transformed.”

  —JO ANNE LYON, general superintendent, The Wesleyan Church; founder/chair, World Hope International

  “Most of us suffer from compassion overload. The media wears us out with their daily dose of suffering and injustice. In this intriguing book, Steve Moore goes against conventional wisdom by explaining how ‘the curses of globalization can become blessings of increased opportunity to serve others.’ I highly recommend this book as a back-to-the-basics look at rethinking the lesson of the Good Samaritan in our global village.”

  —HANS FINZEL, president and CEO, WorldVenture; author of The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make

  “In a globalized world where your neighbor can be anyone, anywhere, it's hard to know how to be the Good Samaritan. A few hours with this book will reveal a simple path to discovering what God is inviting you to do with your life.”

  —MICHELE RICKETT, founder and president, Sisters In Service; coauthor of Forgotten Girls

  “I loved this book. It is engaging, fresh, deep, simple, complex, profound, and well written. Quite simply, it reflects the heart of Jesus. I found myself underlining, writing notes, and thinking of how I could get this into the hands of our leadership. This book deserves a wide audience.”

  —BUDDY HOFFMAN, senior pastor, Grace Fellowship Church, Snellville, Georgia

  “We human beings have long been willing to complicate simple questions such as, ‘Who is my neighbor?’ And in today's hyper-connected, twenty-four-hour-news-cycle, smartphone world, we have high-definition streams of complicating possibilities piped into our living rooms. Using the time-honored wisdom of Jesus, Steve Moore helps us sort through sensory overload and compassion fatigue in a quest to discover our own core passions and find real neighbors to love.”

  —JIM MARTIN, vice president, church mobilization, International Justice Mission

  “I hope this book helps you as much as it has helped me think through and act to answer the question ‘Who is my neighbor?’ Steve Moore helps us deal with the shame and guilt we feel in not meeting all the needs of the planet in the twenty-first century. He carefully leads us through the process of making the right decisions by placing us in the position to deal with the poor, oppressed, and lost of our day according to the leading of God in our lives.”

  —AVERY T. WILLIS, executive director, International Orality Network

  “What a great book! Steve Moore has given us a fresh look at the Good Samaritan. The reader will be challenged to rethink ministry compassion and to reflect the heart of God in our dealings with our neighbors. After reading this book, my heart burned with new passion to reach our world for Christ with the message of hope and salvation.”

  —DR. STAN TOLER, general superintendent, The Church of the Nazarene Global Ministry Center

  NavPress is the publishing ministry of The Navigators, an international Christian organization and leader in personal spiritual development. NavPress is committed to helping people grow spiritually and enjoy lives of meaning and hope through personal and group resources that are biblically rooted, culturally relevant, and highly practical.

  For a free catalog go to www.NavPress.com or call 1.800.366.7788 in the United States or 1.800.839.4769 in Canada.

  © 2010 by Steve Moore

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without written permission from NavPress, P.O. Box 35001, Colorado Springs, CO 80935. www.navpress.com

  NAVPRESS and the NAVPRESS logo are registered trademarks of NavPress. Absence of ® in connection with marks of NavPress or other parties does not indicate an absence of registration of those marks.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-61521-723-6

  Cover design by Arvid Wallen

  Some of the anecdotal illustrations in this book are true to life and are included with the permission of the persons involved. All other illustrations are composites of real situations, and any resemblance to people living or dead is coincidental.

  Unless otherwise identified, all Scripture quotations in this publication are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version® (NIV®). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Other versions used include THE MESSAGE (MSG). Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group; and the King James Version. Italics in Scripture quotations reflect the author's added emphasis.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Moore, Steve, 1960-

  Who is my neighbor? : being a good Samaritan in a connected world /

  Steve Moore.

  p. cm.

  Includes bibliographical references.

  ISBN 978-1-61521-723-6

  1. Church work. 2. Good Samaritan (Parable) 3.

  Globalization--Religious aspects--Christianity. I. Title.

  BV4400.M66 2010

  226.8--dc22

  2010029399

  Printed in the United States of America

  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 / 14 13 12 11 10

  OTHER BOOKS BY STEVE MOORE

  The Dream Cycle

  While You Were Micro-Sleeping

  To Jean Charest, my first world Christian mentor. Thanks for opening my eyes to the nations and encouraging the initial baby steps of obedience for my first short-term mission trip that ruined my life for ordinary Christianity.

  CONTENTS

  Foreword by George Verwer

  Author's Note

  Acknowledgments

  Introduction

  Part 1—Reconnecting with the Good Samaritan

  Chapter 1—Rediscovering the Good Samaritan

  Chapter 2—Redefining the Neighborhood

  Chapter 3—From Information to Action

  Part 2—Connecting with Your Passions

  Chapter 4—Two Streams of Passion

  Chapter 5—Four Domains of Passionate Engagement

  Chapter 6—Passion-Fueled Purpose

  Part 3—Connecting with God's Passions

  Chapter 7—God's Passion for the Ultrapoor

  Chapter 8—God's Passion for the Oppressed

  Chapter 9—God's Passion for the Lost

  Chapter 10—What Is Your Life?

  Notes

  About the Author

  FOREWORD

  We have all heard the expression “You can't teach an old dog new tricks.” I am glad that I a
m not a dog but a person created in the image of God and saved and set free by the reality and grace of Jesus, whom I trusted and believed in March 3, 1955, in a Billy Graham meeting in New York City. Even as an older person, by the grace and power of Jesus I keep learning and changing.

  The heart passage of this amazing, passion-filled book, the story of the Good Samaritan, was one of the parables of Jesus that changed my life. So Steve's book quickly caught my attention, resonated with my own journey and passion, and now I want to see that many other Jesus followers read it and learn, and change.

  After leading the ministry of Operation Mobilisation for forty-six years, from the very first trip to Mexico, I felt led to hand over the leadership to younger leaders. At that same time the call to cross the road in Jesus' name, spoken about in these pages, came into my life like a tornado out of heaven. It actually started when I visited a garbage dump in Mexico at nineteen, but did not really make its full impact until about eight years ago when I finally became fully convinced that proclamation of the gospel in all its many forms leading to disciple making and church planting must come together with social action and social concern.

  This same understanding came to our entire movement, which now has over five thousand workers across more than a hundred nations. You can be sure many of them will want to read this book, as it's so much in the very vein that God has drawn us over this past decade. I only wish we had it ten years ago … or better yet fifty-some years ago when I first arrived in Spain with my wonderful young bride.

  I never preached on the story of the Good Samaritan until this change started to take place in my thinking and theology. Now it is my number one passage. I have preached from this text in dozens of countries over a hundred times. Sometimes I even give an invitation at the end of my message for people to stand up in humility before God and pray, “Lord, make me a Good Samaritan.” I feel many who read this book are going to cry out to God in a similar way. Many words and ideas will jump from its pages into your mind and heart: passion, the heart of God, the need for grace, others-focused—and yes—the beautiful name of JESUS.

  Steve Moore has walked the walk. He has been a pacesetter for many and a servant at the same time. As I sat at his feet reading this book, I was helped, challenged, and inspired, becoming convinced that I should write these words and get involved with what God is saying in these pages. For me this means also buying hundreds of copies and getting them into the hands of potential readers, who in time have the potential to be the next generation of William Wilberforces, C. T. Studds, and Amy Carmichaels. Perhaps they will do still greater things than these.

  The decision to cross the road for Jesus is yours. I challenge you to wrestle with the truths in this book, then “go and do likewise.”

  —GEORGE VERWER, June 2010

  World Missions Advocate Founder,

  Operation Mobilisation

  AUTHOR'S NOTE

  In order to leverage changes associated with life in a connected world, this book is available in several formats, including the digital “freemium” version that may have introduced you to the physical product you hold in your hands. If you aren't familiar with the freemium version, visit www .whoismyneighborbook.com to learn how to give your friends free access to this content.

  The digital version of this book includes links to videos supplementing the content of each chapter. You have access to this additional content at www.whoismyneighborbook.com. Every chapter includes a video prequel, a two-minute (or less) backstory on the big ideas being developed. In some chapters we included links to news stories or other ideas that have a video parallel on YouTube or other public sites. In other chapters we have invited organizations engaged in activities referenced in the book to contribute video footage that brings the ideas to life. We are giving you the “picture” and “the thousand words.” The digital content is flagged with a simple icon , and it will signal you to go to www.whoismyneighborbook.com, where you will find links to web, video, and audio files that expand on the text.

  Finally, in order to help you apply what you are learning and explore some ideas in more detail, we have included more than $100 of bonus content that you will discover as you read. In addition to an online assessment (MyPassionProfile.com, see page 81), you will have access to downloadable webinars from The Mission Exchange. Each bonus content item is available for free with a one-time-use discount code, and you'll find a brief description of the resources in the sidebars throughout the book. Discount codes for the bonus content are not available in the freemium version of the book.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Working on this book has reinforced an African way of understanding life that says I am because we are. I'm indebted to the visionary board of The Mission Exchange, who quickly embraced this project and provided me with the flexibility necessary to meet extraordinarily short deadlines.

  My colleague David Mays makes everything I write better with his candid and thoughtful feedback. My assistant, Mary Kay Palguta, embraced this project as if it were her own and with an indefatigable spirit pressed through to the finish line. I could not have pulled this off without her help. My wife, Sherry, served as a helpful reader and invaluable cheerleader. I am deeply grateful to Joe Trimmer, who invested many hours in recording, editing, and uploding video footage for this product.

  Mike Miller and the NavPress team took a leap of faith to embrace the unusual approach to this project. Brian Thomasson's editorial input sharpened my thinking in subtle but significant ways.

  Finally, I owe a continuing debt of gratitude to my parents, who modeled so effectively the message of this book and serve as my primary prayer partners. Thanks for your unwavering support and consistent intercession.

  INTRODUCTION

  Who is my neighbor?

  These four words served as the catalyst for a story, told by Jesus and recorded in the gospel of Luke, referred to as the Good Samaritan. In asking, “Who is my neighbor?” a religious expert was really asking Jesus, “When does God expect me to take responsibility for the needs of others?”

  Jesus, as He often did, answered the man's question with a question of His own, prefaced by a story. At its core the parable Jesus told is about two very religious Jewish men ignoring someone who had been robbed, beaten, and left for dead along the side of the road. A third man, the Good Samaritan, went out of his way to provide practical assistance for the wounded traveler.

  After telling the story, Jesus looked at the religious expert and asked, “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” (Luke 10:36). The obvious answer to Jesus' question is the Good Samaritan, which sets up the punch line for the entire conversation: “Go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37).

  When Jesus told this story, it really wasn't possible to be a neighbor to others, on the order of the Good Samaritan, unless you were physically near them. If you weren't near them, you wouldn't even know about their needs, at least not soon enough to do anything meaningful to help.

  Times have changed. We live in a wireless wonderland, an ocean of information with tweets, status updates, text message news alerts, customized home pages, and 24/7 news cycles that wash over our lives in endless waves. The accelerating impact of globalization driven by broadband Internet, Wi-Fi hot spots, web-enabled mobile phones, and search engines such as Google has powerful ramifications on the way we intuitively calibrate our responsibility for the needs of others. The adoption of mobile technology is happening faster than that of color TV in the middle of the twentieth century. According to Fast Company magazine, mobile phone subscribers will reach the five billion mark in 2010 with as many as two billion of them in developing countries. Mobile broadband is projected to surpass access from desktop computers by 2015.1

  Now that you have access to the needs of the whole world in the palm of your hand by way of a netbook, iPad, or mobile phone, who really is your neighbor? How exactly has living in a Google-powered world complicated the answer to such a s
imple question? How do we assign a meaningful page rank to the virtual tsunami of human needs that flood into our lives from every corner of the world? How do we keep from being swept away in the tidal wave of shame and guilt that results from paralyzing inaction? How do I know when God expects me to be a neighbor to the wounded and hurting people on the side of the road in this global village?

  When answering questions such as these, it is helpful to examine Good Samaritan opportunities in our day. We need to zoom in to personalize the needs of others and zoom out to get perspective on the big picture. First I want to introduce you to Eutisha Rennix, an African American from Brooklyn, whose story is a painful reminder of how proximity impacts responsibility.

  One could easily imagine the thoughts racing through the mind of twenty-five-year-old Eutisha as she got ready for work on December 9, 2009….

  Just sixteen days until Christmas and ninety days before my due date. How will I get everything done?

  She was employed at the Au Bon Pain coffee shop in Brooklyn. But the day would soon unfold with much bigger challenges than Christmas shopping or the final preparations for a new baby.

  The first symptoms were shortness of breath, followed by intense pain in her abdomen. Since she was six months pregnant, it's easy to understand why her condition generated both urgency and uncertainty. Before long the pain became severe enough to warrant emergency action.