Dogs, Cows, and Sparrows… Oh My!

I like dogs. I like cows – well, I like hamburgers and tacos. I’ve never really been a fan of birds though – I think it’s the germophobe in me.

Over the past months I have really come to see all animals – those I like, those I eat, and those I’ve not really been a fan of – in a new light. This is because I have come to see them from a more biblical perspective than ever before. Some of this Most of this has been prompted by the great work of one organization, Not One Sparrow which seeks to be a Christian voice for animals.

Not One Sparrow has prompted me to revisit how I see that my care for creation is not complete without a full, proper view of God’s creatures as well as His creation. I have had to reevaluate all of my views of animals, even those birds which though good to listen to and look at always creeped me out a little bit (perhaps it is left over from that summer that my sister and I watched the move The Birds). I have even had to reconsider what I eat.  Their work has both challenged and encouraged me.

I highlight their work for the following reason: the way we view, treat, and consume animals is a critical component of how we care for God’s creation.

This weekend Not One Sparrow is celebrating their second anniversary. So, I take this opportunity to share a little with you about what they do and about Ben DeVries, the founder of Not One Sparrow.

In their own words,

not one sparrow is dedicated to being a voice for animals in the Christian community.  Animals are unique and precious beings, and each one is known and loved by its Creator.  As God’s children created in His image, we’re meant to model His care for them, and we’re called to play a crucial role in the redemption of all creatures: great and small, domesticated and wild, cherished and disregarded.

Their work is divided into four different areas:

1. Celebration – cultivating an appreciation for all animals
2. Consumption – considering how animals are used for human purposes
3. Companion – looking at how animals are bred and kept as pets
4. Conservation – regarding our effect on wild animals

One of the most unique things that Not One Sparrow does is their Companion Animal Suffering & Grief Support group. Here you can share your own struggles and loss, as well as memories and tributes to your fallen friends, even their caretakers. Not One Sparrow prays you will find empathy and comfort from other Christians who care deeply for animals, and also find the grace to share sensitively in return. Although I myself have not dealt with this yet, I have seen how tragic the loss of a deeply loved pet can be.  I think this is such an amazing way that they comfort those in need.

This week I had a chance to interview Ben DeVries. Please read on as he has some really interesting things to say.

Scott: What you are doing is totally unique. How did you get into this? What prompted you to become passionate about this area and also what led you to start Not One Sparrow?

Ben: Thank you for saying so. You know, I used to love animals as a child, but really got away from that during my teens and college years. Over the last several years, God used the cats we adopted and some time out in nature to bring back the love and appreciation for animals I used to have, and a deep-seated concern for their well-being gradually grew out of that. I couldn’t believe how countless animals are being neglected and abused by our society, whether as unwanted pets or jeopardized wildlife, or even billions of farm animals being funneled through our grossly inhumane factory farms each year.

I wanted to respond in some way, and as I was finishing up at seminary (Trinity Evangelical Divinity School), I knew that my own heritage and community of faith had next to nothing to do with caring for animals, aside from the pets in our homes in most cases. We don’t even know what to make of animal advocacy most of time, just like I used to disregard and trivialize it only a few years ago. I did my final seminary project on a Christian foundation for animal welfare, which became Not One Sparrow, and I’ve always hoped it might play a part in helping our community and other confessional Christians understand how God has called us to be careful and compassionate stewards of all His creatures. We have a long way to go in fulfilling that calling. (If interested, I posted a more in-depth personal story at Not One Sparrow, and our mission, motivation and FAQ pages might help explain more what we’re about.)

Scott: If you had to condense your message to just a sentence or two, what would you say?

Ben: Sure, I would probably say something like this … God created animals with great care and intricacy, and He continues to care about them intimately and take great pleasure in them. He’s called us as His children and image bearers to steward animals compassionately on His behalf, and to work toward relating to them in a way which more closely resembles the innocence of creation, and the future peaceable kingdom of the new heaven and earth.

Scott: Tell us one random fact about yourself.

Ben: My wife and I are both big fans of British humorist P. G. Wodehouse and BBC mysteries, and I’m also a diehard Chicago sports fan, especially the Cubs, Bulls and Blackhawks.

Scott: Tell us one story (large or small) that shows how God has moved through Not One Sparrow.

Ben: One of the things which has been very meaningful to me of late was hearing from someone in South Africa who had been reading Not One Sparrow for a while, but didn’t quite have the courage to contact us. She’d been caring faithfully for a menagerie of rescued animals for many years, despite tremendous setbacks and even some opposition, as well providing services for many animals owned by the locals, often for next to nothing. She was really discouraged from fighting for so long on her own, and going without the resources she needed due to the tanking of the economy. She wrote to me, and recently to our community, that connecting with Not One Sparrow has been a lifeline for her, when she might have been forced to close up shop and perhaps even have all of her animals euthanized due to not being able to place them elsewhere. She’s not out of the woods yet, but sometimes I feel like I don’t know exactly what good were accomplishing for real, individual animals, and tears came to my eyes when I read what she wrote.

Scott: If someone wanted to learn more about caring for animals from a Christian perspective, what would you recommend?

Ben: Well, I would love to make Not One Sparrow available as a resource, and hope we can be of some help in navigating the sometimes misunderstood world of animal issues. But more than anything, I would encourage anyone to start by simply spending time around animals, whether at home or in the wild, and taking in their amazing personalities and other unique qualities. In the process, I think you can’t help but realize just how much will to live and vibrancy they possess, and how much they mean to their Creator. Knowing this, we can’t help but care more for their well-being and want them to flourish.

By the way, I would like to thank you, Scott, and Creation Hope for being such an encouragement to Not One Sparrow since we first connected a couple of months back. I’ve been blown away by your willingness to engage the issues we care about, and all you’ve done to promote our mission. Thank you, many times over, and we’re honored to partner with Creation Hope and to have you as an inaugural member of our advisory board. We look forward to connecting with more members of the Creation Hope community!

Thank you to Ben for taking the time out of his busy schedule for this interview.

This concept may be new to many of you. I know it was for me not too long ago. But their work has changed me. I now see God’s creatures differently. I eat differently. In fact, I have been so changed that when asked to join their board recently I gladly accepted. I commend their work to you and recommend that you subscribe to their blog feed, follow them on Facebook and Twitter, and bookmark them as an excellent resource to turn to when it comes to caring for God’s animals.

May God bless you as you further engage in this important issue. May God bless Not One Sparrow in their 3rd year as they move forward in their cause.

* Images from Not One Sparrow

Also consider:

Eco Theology: Rainbows & Promises

Beauty of Creation: Moose

Please subscribe to our quarterly newsletter.