Ministry in the Mess

In the Word of God, we find enormous promises for us as believers in Christ - and one of those promises we probably don't want to think about is the promise of persecution.  Because of our faith in Christ, we may draw fire from people who disagree with us or outright hate us because of the presence of the Lord in our hearts.  In 1st Corinthians 4, Paul lays out how he was experiencing
difficulty:
11 To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless.
12 And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure;
13 being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.

When we are overwhelmed by sorrow or despair, we can turn to the love and power of Christ.  He will lift our spirits as we look to Him - as we respond to woe with worship and to hostility with honoring God in the midst of our sufferings.  And, we can be challenged to look for opportunities to minister to people in their messes of life, with the message of hope in Jesus.

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Jesus taught about the nature of persecution and encouraged believers that He would be with them, even in the midst of difficulty.  He taught in Matthew 10:
19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak;
20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
21 Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.
22 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.
23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

The first of two International Days of Prayer for the Persecuted Church was observed yesterday, and Christian organizations are calling on believers to remember those who are being persecuted for their faith.  Open Doors USA conducted a live webcast over the weekend, and you can still view it on that organization's website.  And, the site has an interview with a pastor from Baghdad, Farouk Hammo, who says:

Despite all the violence taking place, we try to live our lives as normal. We go to work, pick up the kids from school and visit each other. Every evening we have activities at the church and most of our members are active in at least one of our ministries.

He emphasized the importance of Christians standing together in their identity in light of the conflict with ISIS. He says, "For us as a church, the influx of Internally Displaced People has given us the opportunity to 'practice Christianity' as I call it, to help all who need it."  He continues: "God asked us to be gracious to all.  Regarding God's role in their lives, he states that "God is in everything for us. He leads us and sends the right people our way. He gives us peace and happiness, despite the situation."

He also issues a word of warning concerning the spread of Islamic extremism.  He says to Christian believers, "...please wake up. In Europe, a lot of Muslims are entering now as refugees. This is a golden opportunity for evangelism, but watch out for the shark of Islamic extremism. So many churches have been losing their identity and have lost Christ in a way."

Another pastor, who is no longer in Iraq, at least for now, is Canon Andrew White, also known as the "Vicar of Baghdad."  In a profile on The Independent website, a British publication, his approach to enemies is highlighted, including his response to ISIS.  The article states:

Andrew White did what he always does when faced with an enemy. “I invited the leaders of Isis [Islamic State] for dinner. I am a great believer in that. I have asked some of the worst people ever to eat with me.”

The reply? “Isis said, ‘You can invite us to dinner, but we’ll chop your head off.’ So I didn’t invite them again!” And, as the article states, "he roars with laughter, despite believing that Islamic State has put a huge price on his head, apparently willing to pay $157m (£100m) to anyone who can kill this harmless-looking eccentric."

The article continues:

For the last two decades, he has worked as a mediator in some of the deadliest disputes on Earth, in Israel and Palestine, Iraq and Nigeria. He has sat down to eat with terrorists, extremists, warlords and the sons of Saddam Hussein, with presidents and prime ministers.

A little background on this Anglican priest, according to the publication:

White reopened St George’s church after the invasion of Iraq even though civil war raged and the diplomats and ex-pats who had once made up the congregation no longer dared to go there.

Iraqis came instead, and the congregation reached a peak of 6,500. They built a school, a clinic and food bank. White pledged to stay even as the sound of bombs grew louder. “We had Isis on the doorstep of Baghdad last year. I said to my people, ‘I will not leave you; don’t leave me.’ But many did leave me and they went to Nineveh and Mosul. Isis were there too. There was total mayhem.”

White's superior, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has pulled him out of Baghdad.  And, while he continues to say the door should be kept open to engagement and discussion, he admits that ISIS must be destroyed.  While out of Baghdad, he is ministering to the people of Jordan, where many of his congregants fled.  He says, "I see myself as the pastor of the Iraqi refugee community in Jordan. I am providing them with food, housing, education for their children and a clinic to give them healthcare."

It's a mess - and believers are facing enormous hardships in keeping ministry going in troublesome parts of the world.  That underscores the importance of the International Days of Prayer for the Persecuted Church.  You can visit the Open Doors USA website or the IDOP.org site for additional information.

I want to share a couple of words with you that arise from these two stories.  One is encouragement. In the midst of all of our struggles, we can continue to maintain hope or even grow in our hope in the Lord.  He stands with us, and we can know, that even in persecution, He is working through His people.

And, I think engagement is such an important component.  Canon White is certainly a man of peace, and he has held out the invitation to dinner to his enemies, as well as ministering to former congregation members who are now refugees.  Pastor Hammo is attempting to engage with people who have been displaced, seeing an opportunity to "practice Christianity," and warning the world about the threat of Islamic extremism.  Regarding engagement, the takeaway is to love our enemies, but to be very knowledgeable as to how they operate.  There is certainly ministry, great ministry, that can occur in messy situations.