Comments on: Multiplication of churches in India fueled by persecution and simple structures http://thin-edge.org/2007/08/19/multiplication-of-churches-in-india-fueled-by-persecution-and-simple-structures/ Exploring the freedom & simplicity of relational Christianity Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:03:25 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Tom http://thin-edge.org/2007/08/19/multiplication-of-churches-in-india-fueled-by-persecution-and-simple-structures/comment-page-1/#comment-3915 Tom Tue, 21 Aug 2007 15:36:30 +0000 http://thin-edge.org/2007/08/19/rapid-multiplication-of-churches-in-india-fueled-by-persecution-and-cooperation/#comment-3915 When Christ explodes onto the scene of some pagan culture, persecution is a certainty. The place of church gatherings matters not one bit. If communitie—be it organized religion, local economies, or traditional cultural practices—are feeling and seeing the impact of the gospel there will be persecution. Paul experienced it in every city in which he ministered. I love his Acts 20 description of his ministry to the Ephesians. There was nothing loud and boistrous about his evangelistic style. In fact he was charged by the Corinthian super-apostles and perhaps even the "laity" of being "unimpressive" in person. Nevertheless, he was mistreated, beaten or slandered in each and every city where he served. Something recently caught my eye in Acts 19 as it relates to the type of message preached by Paul and his associates. Even though they ministered in the midst of a VERY pagan culture, complete with statues erected even to the "unknown god", it was not their habit to publicly speak against these gods (see Acts 19:37) or their pagan practices. Paul's teaching was done "publicly and from house to house", "serving the Lord with all humility and with many tears and trials" (see Acts 20:19,20). Still, he and his companions were mistreated. In fact, if he had not been friends with some of the Asian leaders, he and his company would have suffered even more (Acts 19:31). So, Paul's aim of living a "quiet life", conducting himself "properly to those who are outside" (I Thess 4:11,12) did not secure for him a "persecution free" environment. But it did produce much fruit for the kingdom of God! God bless our brothers and sisters in India as they multiply and bear fruit. The problem with Americanized "Christianity" is that we invite "persecution." But even so, we really do not experience persecution. We might get made fun of by secularists and liberals, but that's about it. We Americanized Christians certainly don't make it our aim to live a quiet life. We take up the whole armor of political and religious conservatism and try to fight the good fight, but, we make no real impact on culture. We have taken our eyes off the ball. We need to refocus on Christ and the reconcilation that is found in Him alone! When Christ explodes onto the scene of some pagan culture, persecution is a certainty. The place of church gatherings matters not one bit. If communitie—be it organized religion, local economies, or traditional cultural practices—are feeling and seeing the impact of the gospel there will be persecution. Paul experienced it in every city in which he ministered. I love his Acts 20 description of his ministry to the Ephesians. There was nothing loud and boistrous about his evangelistic style. In fact he was charged by the Corinthian super-apostles and perhaps even the “laity” of being “unimpressive” in person. Nevertheless, he was mistreated, beaten or slandered in each and every city where he served.

Something recently caught my eye in Acts 19 as it relates to the type of message preached by Paul and his associates. Even though they ministered in the midst of a VERY pagan culture, complete with statues erected even to the “unknown god”, it was not their habit to publicly speak against these gods (see Acts 19:37) or their pagan practices. Paul’s teaching was done “publicly and from house to house”, “serving the Lord with all humility and with many tears and trials” (see Acts 20:19,20). Still, he and his companions were mistreated. In fact, if he had not been friends with some of the Asian leaders, he and his company would have suffered even more (Acts 19:31).

So, Paul’s aim of living a “quiet life”, conducting himself “properly to those who are outside” (I Thess 4:11,12) did not secure for him a “persecution free” environment. But it did produce much fruit for the kingdom of God! God bless our brothers and sisters in India as they multiply and bear fruit. The problem with Americanized “Christianity” is that we invite “persecution.” But even so, we really do not experience persecution. We might get made fun of by secularists and liberals, but that’s about it. We Americanized Christians certainly don’t make it our aim to live a quiet life. We take up the whole armor of political and religious conservatism and try to fight the good fight, but, we make no real impact on culture.

We have taken our eyes off the ball. We need to refocus on Christ and the reconcilation that is found in Him alone!

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