The Hole in Our Gospel

My latest booksneeze.com acquisition is the book by Richard Stearns, entitled The Hole in Our Gospel. He is the president of World Vision U.S.
This issue is something I have struggled with. On one hand, the suffering of the poor people around the world is a heartbreaking and desperate situation, one that Mr. Stearns gives us insight to throughout this book. On a...political, or patriotic...note, I believe that our money and attention needs to be focused on the poor in our own country. The downtrodden outside our own door.
The biblical and moral teachings that the author touches on are very important in ones faith walk, and the way he intersperses those with the stories of families and people in other countries shows the reader where his or her faith walk should lead.
The problem with this book is that there are so many different needs and organizations in this world that it's hard for the average christian to help them all. It's very easy for the 'monetarily blessed' to pass around money to different non-profits. The people struggling to make ends meet, who still give 10% to their church, sometimes that 10% is all they can afford.
At times, this book seemed to be an advertising ploy to get the reader to donate to World Vision. If it weren't for the biblical teachings, I probably would not recommend this book to anyone. As it is, I say read it. If you feel compelled to give to a philanthropic organization, more power to you. If all you get out of it is a closer walk with God, than this book was worth it.