In April, The Nation published an article by Kathryn Joyce entitled "The Evangelical Adoption Crusade." Joyce is very critical of the same movement I expressed excitement over in October. Criticism should always be welcome if it is constructive. It seems that her overarching concern for the "evangelical adoption crusade" is that Christians are viewing adoption as a way to proselytize children and add to our numbers, to which I will give my answer in a moment. None the less, I appreciate Joyce questioning the desires of this movement, the handling of it by our leaders, and the potential dangers we face. As Jedd Medefind highlights in his Christianity Today article on the "The Adoption Crusade," we should learn from her point of view and examine this movement for ourselves to ensure that our motives are pure, if in fact this is a movement of God, and to ensure we handle it in a manner that glorifies the name of Christ.
I have wondered in the months since expressing my excitement about the movement if the majority of those who are responding to the movement are doing so for the right reason. I still believe that God is calling His people to a deeper and richer understanding of how we are to live out the gospel and express our adoption as His children by loving and caring for the weak and defenseless. Yet, as with every movement, there are some who attach themselves to the journey simply because it has garnered so much attention. To enter into orphan care and especially adoption because it is the newest trend cheapens a biblical mandate. To see it as a means to proselytize is to misunderstand that mandate.
The call to adopt is a call to make yourself vulnerable before the world by becoming a living example of the love of Christ with no other expectation than for God to do as He pleases and thereby put His glory on display. In essence it is the lifting up of Christ before the world which He promised would draw men to Him (John 12:32). In that sense adoption is an undeniable display of the gospel not just to the orphan being adopted but also to the world that is witnessing this manifestation of selfless sacrificial love. Adoption is by its very nature an example of the gospel. For the Christ follower adoption can be nothing less than evangelistic because we are called to unashamedly proclaim the very gospel that adoption illustrates. That proclamation does not guarantee the conversion of anyone be it adopted child or worldly witness to the process.
The fact that proclamation does not always lead to conversion shows how vulnerable and selfless those who are called to adopt have to be willing to become. You surrender to God's call to adopt, go through the headache of filling out form after form, stand in line after line to get finger prints and authentications done, take on the financial burden of fees and travel expenses, wait months or years for a child, and endure courts and set backs before finally bringing a child or children into your home where the challenge of rearing them begins. You pour your life into them, sharing your values, your passions, and, yes, your love for Christ. In the end there is no 100% guarantee that the child or children will give his or her life to Christ.
As part of her critique of the Christian adoption movement, Joyce sights Dr. Russell Moore's position in Adopted for Life that adoption is "evangelistic to the core" due to the commitment that the Christian parents are making to years of gospel proclamation (page 181 in the book). After reading Dr. Moore's book I drew the conclusion that he was challenging the church to embrace the biblical mandate to care for the orphan as part of its global mission strategy and to understand that adoption is a part of that mandate. He says, "Because genuine faith is orphan-protecting, a culture of adoption and a culture of evangelism coexist together. Indeed they grow from the same root," (pg. 75). Joyce also mentions Jedd Medefind and Christian Alliance for Orphans for their vision that every orphan would experience God's love and come to know Jesus as Savior. Of course that is our desire for the orphan and for Joyce as well. As Paul said to King Agrippa, "Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am - except for these chains." (Acts 26:29)
Joyce views this desire as an aggravating factor affecting already flawed processes of internal adoptions from differing countries. It is a fair question to raise especially when courts want to know why you wish to adopt from their country and expect you to explain your value system and how you plan to raise the children they are deciding whether or not to entrust to your care. A Christian cannot exclude their faith while answering those questions without lying to the court and denying Christ. What Joyce doesn't understand is that while proclamation of the gospel is a mandate Christians cannot leave out of the adoption process, conversion is not up to us. That is the supernatural divine work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of an individual (John 6:44; John 16:8-15). We cannot convert anyone. We can only proclaim truth and pray those who hear respond to the power of the Holy Spirit working through that proclamation. Anytime a follower of Christ proclaims the gospel he makes himself vulnerable to rejection and ridicule, or worse. Proclaiming the gospel through the act of adopting and through years of teaching your children about Christ places you in a very vulnerable position.
As Dr. Moore reminds us, adoption is countercultural and that fact lends credibility to the proclamation of the gospel (pg. 79). Understand that you will be ridiculed simply because you are daring to participate in something as countercultural as adoption. Add to that our biblical mandate to proclaim the gospel to the world and our vulnerability to ridicule increases greatly. Know that it is inevitable and before it is over criticism will hit a lot closer to home than an article by a journalist you have never met. Leave your expectations behind before you start on an adoption journey and understand that it will be one of the most challenging and sacrificial endeavors you ever submit to. Adoption is a calling that should not be taken lightly. The only guarantee you have is that the Lord will never leave you. It is risky. At times it is scary. Yet, it will be worth it if you have counted the cost and understand that surrendering to the call to adopt is purposefully making yourself vulnerable for the sake of the gospel and the glory of God.
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