The Desperate Gospel

Desperate.That is the word that resonates from a meeting with Herbie Newell of Lifeline Children’s Services. As Executive Director, Herbie leads—and here’s the real secret—a global effort based right here in Alabama. From a two-story brick edifice off of Lorna Road in Hoover, Lifeline’s holistic arteries extend to nine other states and several foreign countries.Lifeline is very intentional in their efforts to reach more than a fair share of 153 million orphans worldwide (to put things in perspective, that’s more people than the population of Russia). To be clear, the goal of Lifeline is more than a monumental stab at offering adoption services to these orphans, educating the public on alternatives to abortion, and providing counseling to pregnant mothers. The main mission of Lifeline is to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.Not all efforts are welcome. In some countries, tactical, clandestine measures must be employed by Lifeline staffers in order to crack the dike. So you read up. You do your research. You prepare. You work with intermediaries and cultural experts to get the lay of the land—just to be able to present the Gospel.A quick scan of Herbie’s office bookcase is a tell-tale indication of the kind of exertion it takes to coordinate a global mission. For instance, there are several books on 20th Century China, works Herbie has already digested in order to gain an understanding of the political, social, and religious culture of the Far East. (Forty percent of Lifeline’s international ministries are in China.)“We have to learn how to communicate,” Herbie says. “Ministry is a lot like business. You’re dealing with people and we have to find out what motivates them so doors will open up.”In many instances, these are societies that have an aversion to the Gospel, where freedom doesn’t ring at a U.S.-level decibel, and that, still today, recover from the Iron Fist of submission and oppression. Finding a suitable ministerial paradigm for these areas often proves to be difficult.Herbie will tell you that he didn’t just wake up one day, happily prepared for these endeavors. His first faith-test came his freshman year of high school, when he was presented a choice in the cafeteria at Central High School in Tuscaloosa. “That day, I had a choice between two sets of tables,” Herbie relates. “I even remember that I had a chunk of pizza and an orange slice on my tray. I could either sit with the popular crowd, or I could sit with the outcasts—the sold-out believers who were sharing the Gospel.”Herbie chose the outcasts and has never looked back.After Central, Herbie attended Samford University, receiving his Master’s Degree in Accounting. He worked at an accounting firm before being called into the ministry in 2003. Since being named Executive Director that year, Herbie has concentrated largely on making domestic programs offered by Lifeline more comprehensive and taking international efforts to unprecedented levels.Before Herbie arrived, the impactful nonprofit had been finding matches for orphans to adopted parents for 22 years, a framework developed principally by two men, John Carr and Wales Goebel (founder of Sav-a-Life), whose hearts were inclined toward a discipleship ministry. The first baby was placed for adoption by Lifeline in November of 1981.The founders soon surmised that a multiple-service agency was possible, so a Christ-centered housing ministry called Lifeline Village was created to support women during and after pregnancy. Both efforts underscored the sanctity of life.Now to reach international orphans, Lifeline must breach cultural divides and overcome harsh political obstacles in their effort to share the Good News. Often these ministries are in countries where underground churches—quietly and covertly—hold meetings. Yet it is often in these same places where the Gospel is highly cherished. “They hold on to the word of God like a treasure, not just another book on the shelf,” Herbie says. “They are desperate for God because they have been oppressed. They find a need for a Savior in their place of desperation.”The passion now flows through Herbie, spilling out through the pace and intensity of his voice. He makes deeply critical points that slice like a sword. But he does not say this hypercritically or with brimstone; rather, matter-of-factly: “Americans live in the here and now. We want our ‘Best Life Now'. We put so much stock in this life that we have become jaded. But this life is temporary. This life is like a warm-up to a marathon. Here in our country, we have seen the Gospel of Prosperity, because there is not a lot of suffering, comparably. But Paul said that to live is Christ and to die is gain. True faith comes in persecution and suffering and Jesus warned us that in this life we will have trouble. Paul talks about suffering for the Gospel. But the trappings of prosperity have blinded us to sin and need. So with what we do at Lifeline, we want to do it in such a way as to think about heaven, eternity, and with Christ in mind.”The 130 employees at Lifeline share this same vision.If you are not yet blown away, here are a few thoughts for reflection from a mere hour with Herbie:1. Many, if not most of us, struggle with attempts to share the Gospel with our next-door neighbor and with those closest to us, if we share it at all. And, with more accessibility to the Word of God (and perhaps less persecution) than any country in the history of mankind, can we say that we are left with an excuse? 2. Are we desperate? Do we encounter each day with recognition of our desperateness for the Lord, or are we content on merely having a Savior? In a world of increasing comfort and convenience, have we made room for God?3. Are we willing to go to desperate lengths to share Christ, or are we too busy or too self-absorbed to care? This should explain Lifeline’s mission in a nutshell:“We are standing on truth,” Herbie says. “We want to wrap a Gospel-driven family around these children. Place these orphans with people who have the Gospel of Christ beating out of their chest. Because what saves people is truth.”Walking away, one question remains. One question is beating out of my chest:Am I desperate? 78To find more information on Lifeline Children's Services, please visit www.lifelinechild.org.Photos courtesy of Lifeline Children's Services.