I have just returned from an eleven day administrative visit to Northern India, where our first missionary team is serving. When I returned, I was thrown back into the interests and concerns of my society, the headlines: "McVeigh Gets Death," "Bulls Win," "Stock Market on Fire" and "Southern Baptists Boycott Disney." Having just come from perhaps the most severe culture shock experience of my life, where there is such abject deprivation and spiritual depravity, I found these headlines trivial and disgusting to me in the face of such drastic human need. I don’t know if it is prophetic or only cynical, but I couldn’t help but think, "Isn’t that the way the devil works? He gets the Church all worked up about the unholiness of a secular business enterprise, and they refuse to ride their roller coasters and watch their shows. The Church is ready to DEDISNEY. Isn’t that just great! I have to wonder, how many in the Church in lieu of entertainment will now give all that hard-earned cash to missions to free the captives from their sin . I suspect they’ll just go to Branson or Six Flags since they are less unholy than Disney."

I’m sure it grieves God when He sees what Disney has become. But, I think it is because of more than their acceptance of homosexuals on their group health plan. His grief is more than because of Disney’s movies and TV programming. I believe God grieves, because He is crying out for these precious lost ones of India who have no one to tell them of Jesus, and the Church is investing His money and His time in such things as Disney entertainment to the denial of these desperately lost souls, the love of His Son. That is what breaks the heart of God far more than anything. This has got to change. Whether or not Disney changes is not the big issue. That is trivial in the scope of eternity. We do have to give to the lost the chance to hear and respond to Jesus. That is the big issue that commands our best.

Remember, there are differerent degrees of lostness. Being lost in WalMart isn’t as bad as being lost in the dense forest in S.E. Alaska, far away from civilization. I’ve been there, and now I’ve been to the people of Northern India, who are lost in a sea of demonic devil worship with no knowledge of Jesus. They have no Bibles in their language, few churches, no Christian literature, nothing to point them to Jesus, including missionaries.

I spoke in one of the largest churches in Northern India. It meets in a rundown, mostly abandoned government hotel. Almost nothing worked in this building, and the monkeys have right of way to destroy it. The church numbers about 40 people. In this region, totaling 5.2 million people, there are about 4000 Christians and 112 Christian workers. That isn’t enough Gospel seed to bring forth a harvest. This has to change. The Church cannot deny these people the Gospel any longer. I believe that God is touching hearts with His Macedonian call, and the Great Commission hasn’t been removed from the Book yet. How long will we deny God His rightful place in our lives? Will you Go? Will you Give? Will you Pray? Each of us must do our best for Jesus and answer His call concerning our place in the army.

I am more determined than ever to not let the devil have His way in Northern India. I believe that God is more concerned about these precious lost souls than about us getting DeDisneyed. Old Slewfoot, as C.S. Lewis called our enemy, has had Northern India for thousands of years, and His days are numbered. Praise the Lord! Please join with HGM and give of your best to the Master. He has given us the vision to train 600 missionaries to go to the unreached. Will you be a part of this great vision? Give of your youth to go to the lost. Give of your time to pray for laborers to go into the mission fields. Give of your means to speed them on their way. We need your prayer and financial support. Jesus is already there. He loves them and is trying to reach them, before another day goes by. He has so little to work with. I can say that He has some wonderful people serving Him there, but there simply are not enough of them to make much difference. I am praying you will determine with me to give your life to Him, so that your life will count in eternity for things that are of eternal value. Let’s give ‘em heaven!