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Reclaiming The Gospel

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Eric Hoey is the Director of Evangelism and Church Growth for the General Assembly Mission Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He hopes to build a culture of faith sharing among individuals in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) who have a passion for church growth. This blog considers what the gospel asks of the church in the 21st century.

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August 21, 2009

How Bone Marrow Transplant is like Evangelism

Eric Hoey

Stem-cells 

I don’t even know his name. He is a 39 year old male who is dying from acute myelogenous leukemia, a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow. What will save his life is a bone marrow transplant from a donor. Recently I discovered that I am a perfect match for this patient. After reading, listening, signing, and offering blood samples, (I began to feel like a soda fountain!)  I will offer my life saving marrow for this patient on Sept. 3rd. 

Bone marrow transplants are not what people perceive. Today, to be placed in the registry, it only takes a simple cotton swab to get your tissue sample. My offering to the patient is to take a medicine by injection for 5 days (doctors have been using this on leukemia patients for over 20 years) to boost the stem cells in my blood. On the day of collection, I will be hooked up to a machine that will separate my blood, they harvest the stem cells, and the rest goes back into me.

How do I feel about being able to take precious time and blood to save a person’s life? I am elated!  And yet there is seriousness to it.  Once I begin my injections, the patient is undergoing chemo therapy to destroy every cancerous cell in his body. If he does not receive my stem cells, he will die. There is no backing out once the process has begun.

What if evangelism is like this?  People around us, people we don’t even know are dying spiritually, every day. We have this opportunity to participate in giving life by sharing our faith with others.  If we refuse, everybody loses.  Spiritual death occurs.

 My prayer for the church is that more people will offer the life transforming news of Christ to others.  Let’s getting going, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”