Interview with Greg Livingstone, founder of Frontiers

Greg Livingstone is a difficult man to put in a box. He’s a critic of Christian Zionism, American nationalism, and he supports President Obama’s efforts to reach out to the Muslim world. He also happens to be the founder of Frontiers, the world’s largest missionary organization dedicated to church planting among Muslim peoples. Says Livingstone, “When you live outside America you come to realize how important it is to be a Christian first and American second.” He currently resides in London, where the Frontiers international office is located. I had a lengthy conversation with him the other day via Skype. Here’s the gist of what we talked about.

Question: So what have you been up to these days?

Answer: I’m the chairman of a strategic partnership for a country in North Africa, which includes 27 agencies; I’ve been recruiting team leaders for the EPC (Evangelical Presbyterian Church), planting a church among Pakistani Muslims in UK, and writing, mostly on the history of church planting among Muslims.

Question: In recent years, there's been an increase in Muslims coming to Christ but remaining within the cultural fold of Islam. Some are calling this "the Insider Movement." What is your take on the Insider Movement and how should Christian missionaries respond to this movement?

Answer: Frontiers is getting hit on the left and the right with this. This is very current. My bottom line is we’ve got to be Bereans. It’s not a question of pragmatism, it’s a question of staying within Biblical parameters. What I like about the Insider movement is the movement’s proponents are people that love God convinced it’s not enough to see so few Muslims come to Christ. We’ve got to try something else.

Paul says, “I’ve become all things to all men that I might win some.” So their motivation is good but as Tozer used to say: it’s not the lukewarm Christian that’s in danger of heresy, it’s the passionate Christian. I think the Emergent movement is influencing the Insider movement. Of course, you don’t win a Muslim to Christ by saying that Muhammad was a pedophile, but you’re not going to find your Joseph of Armethia, or Nicodemus if you don’t sit in the same room and find some commonality.

Still, the ‘jury is out’ on the Insider movement. There’s very little indication so far of congregations being established with godly biblically based elders by advocates of the Insider Movement. At some point, Muslims obeying the Lord Jesus are going to join the Rev. 6:9 club. A veteran missionary among Muslims has it right when he says, “Sure leave them in the Mosque; Encourage Muslim background believers to stay with and serve their families. But the vast majority will be banished if they actually share Christ as their LORD and SAVIOUR.

Question: There are some that postulate on the possibility of a mass movement to Biblical faith in Christ as a reformation movement within Islam. Do you see this as a possibility? If so, what form might this take?

Answer: Look at Pakistan today. It’s about 3% Christian, the result of a people movement. But only a tiny fraction are regenerated. They’re not impressing Muslims with their godliness. They’re not witnessing. When you get a mass movement, you’re very much in danger of having 80% chaff and 20% wheat. McGavern taught that’s okay because it’s easier to convert a nominal Christian.

I believe that Revelation 5:9 and Revelation 7:9 is not going to happen without Revelation 6:9 referring to the cost: all the people who will be murdered for their testimony. I think that a lot more people are going to have to suffer and die before we see a breakthrough. Consider what happened in the first and second century. A Muslim who called himself a follower of Jesus told me one time. “I really love Jesus. I really love Frontiers. I just wish you’d get rid of this Jesus dying on the cross for our sins stuff.” Many in the Insider movement seem to be satisfied with simply making people pro-Jesus. Every liberal pastor is ‘pro-Jesus; Gandhi was pro-Jesus; but he never ‘bowed the knee’ to Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Question: Traditionally, missionaries in Muslim countries have taken the tent-maker approach. Based on the model of the Apostle Paul, they'll go into a country, start a business and/or a humanitarian organization and evangelize under cover. Do you feel that the tent-maker approach remains a valid model for today? Are there emerging models that may replace the tent-maker approach?

Answer: Actually, I read that Paul took a job only when he ran out of church support. Traditionally evangelists went over to Muslim countries and preached openly. After World War II, when Muslim countries got their independence and stopped issuing missionary visas, we classified countries as open or closed depending on whether they would issue a “missionary visa”. In the 70’s, some of us started asking, “Where did Jesus say go into all the world if you can acquire a missionary visa?” I don’t think the tentmaker movement is really modeled after Paul. Paul didn’t work full time. He only worked a job when he ran out of money.

Now, is “tentmaking” a valid model? Well, we really don’t have much choice. I personally want to send people on teams and make room for all the different approaches. I’ll make the evangelist the VP of Public relations until s/he is expelled! The point is, if we don’t have accountability, you can live in a Muslim country for years, and call yourself a teacher, a businessman etc…but don’t tell others you’re a church planter unless what you’re doing is actually leading to establishing a fellowship of believers!

One must show there’s a connection between what you’re going there to do and what you’re leaving behind. That’s why I believe in agencies which are committed to continuity; i.e. they will keep reinforcing a church planting effort with new people until there’s a church planted that is birthing another church! Evangelists don’t plant churches, because they want to go pray with another unrelated individual. Therefore, the evangelist needs team members who will disciple and gather the new believers. When I’m recruiting for church planting teams, I don’t ask a person how many people they’ve led to Christ. I ask them, what would you bring to a church planting effort?

5. Question: What has been the impact of Christian Zionism on evangelism in the Muslim world?

Answer: Obviously, being pro-Israel no matter what they do, anti Arab is not being Christian. Still, Zionism is not the biggest barrier. Yes, it’s a problem, but let’s just suppose that next week the Palestinian issue is settled; then would Muslims start saying “Oh now we want to look at the claims of Christ?” Not likely. They would find some other reason why they don’t want to listen to Christian preachers.

The bigger problem is the offense of having “Christian” soldiers on “Muslim” soil! The greater reason the Taliban can recruit extremists is because infidels are walking on holy soil ‘taking charge’! It doesn’t matter if it’s Israel or anywhere else. They don’t want infidel boots on the ground. This is why invading Iraq was such a bad idea, because now the Taliban or Al Qaeda recruiter can say, “Look, the Christians are taking over our countries!”

I saw America going to Iraq as Vietnam all over again. But if the American government felt they had to remove Saddam, they should have arranged to place Muslim soldiers on the ground, with the West supporting from the air, intelligence, weapons, etc.

Yes it’s a big problem that Bible believing Christians are doing ‘penance’ for their guilt for not stopping the Holocaust. Worse, some are hoping that by backing Israel, they might get blessed; misapplying Genesis 12:1-3 (where God says to Abraham I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you) thinking, “Let’s bless Israel so that God likes us better!” I simply apologize to my Muslim friends and tell them the Christian Zionists have been taught strange things. Still, it's not Christian Zionism that bothers me so much as evangelicals who demonize Muslims. Islam may be Satan's masterpiece, but 1.7 billion Muslims are not demonic; Christ laid down His life for THEM too!

Question: Has post 9-11 U.S. foreign policy, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, been helpful or hurtful to the cause of Muslim evangelism?

Answer: Obviously it’s negative because it set up an unnecessary clash of civilizations, (and as I said, the Muslims feel “occupied”, or “invaded”. Still these world events are a matter of God’s sovereignty in history prevailing. It used to be difficult to make Christians aware of Muslims. Now Muslims are in the news every day! So if you’re a real Christian and you see what’s happening on the news, first you get irritated or angry, but then the Holy Spirit gets a hold of you and you think, “Maybe I should pray for the Muslims, or even support a missionary to give them the GOOD news?”


Question: Do you see a possible role for missionaries to build bridges of understanding on a socio-political level between the West and Islam? If so, what form might this take?

Answer: This is trendy. Peacemaking is ‘the latest answer’. Several organizations have emerged along these lines. I think the one great thing this movement really has going for it is that it helps to communicate to Muslims, in a friendly way, that they have “Dawa” [Arabic for obligatory effort to convert people to Islam] and we have the Great Commission. Why not give them freedom to evangelize in the West, and give us freedom to do so among Muslims?

I like the way the soft approach people better than the critics who don’t do anything to see Muslims come into Christ’s Kingdom! What good are the workers who simply alarm Christians that the Muslims are the evil empire taking over the world? As my co-worker says, “I’m pretty sure “love your enemies” doesn’t mean kill them”

Do you want to be an obedient Christian? Show me how you’re loving your enemies!
However, much as I appreciate those into “peacemaking and reconciliation with Muslims”, I just don’t think they’re going to establish communities of Muslims loyal to Christ who will demonstrate the difference “Christ in you” makes. Different people have different callings. Peacemaking is a wonderful calling. Just don’t make it a substitute for church planting among the unengaged who still have no ‘lighthouse’ where they live.

Question: Lastly, if you can tell American Christians one thing about the Muslim world that they may not know or understand, what would it be?

Answer: It would be that Muslims are not seeking God any more or less than Americans.

Muslims are in bondage to the prince of darkness just like most Americans. The greatest need is for caring Christians to have a divine appointment (i.e. be led to) a Muslims to whom the Father is revealing Himself. It may be that God has put a Nicodemus in your neighborhood. You wouldn’t want to go to heaven and find out that God gave you an opportunity to witness and you ignored it. If you can think about Muslims but are not moved with compassion, then there are reasons to doubt if you’re a true Christian.

Another thing that Americans need to realize is that for a Muslim to become a Christian, is a traitorous act, equivalent to an American selling atomic secrets to the Iranians. That’s why I don’t mind if Muslim background believers don’t call themselves “Christians”. For 1,400 years, people that call themselves Christians and people that call themselves Muslims have been fighting, bashing, and killing each other. The word “Christian” may be as ruined by history as the word ‘gay’. The issue is to see Muslims passing from death to life, knowing “Isa Al Masih” as their Lord and Saviour.

A review of Rediscovering Values

I've been reading Jim Wallis's writings for the past few years now on the Sojourners blog, but this is the first book I've purchased of his. Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "To be great is to be misunderstood." When I Google Jim Wallis I notice that his critics all but accuse him of being a member of the communist party. These same critics are the ones that seem to think that if you don't believe the market should run everything, then you must be a Marxist!

I think that Rediscovering Values can go a long way to silence Wallis's critics if they would just give him a listening ear. Jim Wallis is not saying that he favors a centrally planned economy over a market economy. Neither is he trying to replace capitalism with socialism....or any other "ism." What Wallis is saying is that the private sector, the public sector, and the civic sector should all serve as a system of checks and balances against the other, and neither can function properly without a moral compass that looks out for the common good of all.

Very well written and highly recommended!

Aaron in the news

Below are two articles in major online magazines that feature me and my book.

The first is an article by Mark Tooley for Front Page Magazine (David Horowitz's magazine) entitled Evangelical Pacifism in the War on Terror. In the article Tooley calls me a member of the "evangelical elite" which I thought was hilarious! Those of you that know me well, please don't tell him the truth!

The other article is written by Eliza Griswold, a reporter for the Daily Beast. The article is entitled Christianity's New Culture War and features yours truly.

Point of clarification on the Daily Beast article: I'm not against Christians participating in politics. I do think, however, that the way that Christians have been participating in politics, especially over the past 30 years, needs to be seriously rethought.

Enjoy!

Pat Robertson may be wrong, but so are academic and media elites

When I was a student at Christ for the Nations School of Missions, I learned about the so-called “pact with the devil” that the African slaves of Haiti made to free themselves from the French. Later I learned about the so-called “renewal of the covenant” presumably made by Aristide in 2003 where he officially recognized Voodooism as a state religion. When the earthquake struck Haiti, I knew that it was only a matter of time before a televangelist would say something that the media would pick up and allow themselves yet another opportunity to paint evangelicals in a negative light. While I agree that Pat Robertson’s comments were embarrassing and offensive (For the record: I don’t think that anyone should ever claim they have divine knowledge as to why a specific natural disaster occurs. Luke 13:2-5 speaks loudly against that), I also think that the reaction of the secular media and some in the progressive faith community has been—good intentions not withstanding—condescending.

Perhaps I’m overly sensitive about this. A couple of weeks ago my wife and I visited a peace-oriented church in Albuquerque. After the service I struck up a conversation with a guy that asked me what I do for a living. I told him that I’m a missionary that travels the world and that I lived in Africa for a period of time. When I told him about how missionaries view most African traditional religious practices as demonic, the reaction I got was “Um…oh…that’s nice. I’m sure you see some value in traditional African religious practices (aka withcraft)...don’t you?” I told him the truth. No I don’t.

Here’s the ironic part. While I’m sure that this man felt justified in his appreciation for traditional African culture over and against the supposed mentality of “culturally imperialistic” missionaries, the reality is that millions of African Christians—and I suspect Hatian Christians as well—would agree with me, not him. One of the reasons why Christianity has exploded in Africa, and countries of African descent like Haiti, is because African social systems are structured around fear of evil spirits. Unlike in the West, where the predominant salvation model centers around guilt/forgiveness, in African societies people place their faith in Christ because they view the message of the Resurrection as a cosmic defeat over the power of demonic forces. This is why when Africans (and/ or people of African descent) read their Bibles, most don’t read through the prism of Western liberalism. They take what the Bible says about the supernatural at face value.

Western liberal academia might scoff at the idea that idolatry leads to poverty, but for millions of African Christians, the dots were connected a long time ago. They themselves are fighting against sorcery and witchcraft in their spiritual warfare conferences—without the prodding of Western missionaries. And for good reason. Witchcraft is a poor moral base to build a prosperous society. When people are afraid to succeed in their jobs or businesses because they fear their neighbor will place a deadly curse on them, that’s bad news for the economy. Most African Christian leaders recognize this. This is why when Western media and religious elites treat witchcraft/voodooism as a harmless practice that may or may not be compatible with Christianity, what they’re really doing is trivializing the beliefs of millions of African Christians—a sort of paternalism in reverse if you will.

Lest I be misunderstood, I’m not saying that idolatry/witchcraft/voodooism is the only factor perpetuating poverty in African societies. Certainly the legacy of slavery and colonialism, unfair trade laws, Western interference in internal political affairs and—insert your political injustice here—have all played a role in keeping Africans and people of African descent in economic slavery. But if we in the West want to partner with African- background Christians to bring about social justice in their respective countries, then we need to take their worldview a bit more seriously. If you don’t believe me, read Philip Jenkin’s book The Next Christendom or, better yet, watch any film made in Nigeria. I can’t speak for every African and/or Hatian Christian, but my sense is that while many would be offended by Robertson’s comments, most would also tell us that if African societies are to progress into the 21st century, then both physical and spiritual issues will need to be addressed.

Donate to Haiti!

If you're looking for a good organization to donate to help the victims of Haiti, I recommend International Crisis Aid. Pat Bradley has been helping the suffering around the world for years. You can be sure that your dollars will go directly to those in need.

http://www.crisisaid.org/

Adventures in parenting, the day I brought my newborn home

Sleep, oh sleep, where art thou? My wife and I's first child, Christian David Taylor, was born last week on Tuesday January 5th. I've been told by the sum total of everyone I've ever met that having children is going to drastically change my life. To demonstrate the truthfulness of that statement, I'd like to tell you about the day my wife and I were released from the hospital and had to drive the three- hour drive from Albuquerque to Farmington.

First stop: Walgreens. Because my wife had a C-section, she needed to continue her pain medication...or else. Unfortunately, when the hospital called in the prescription they didn't tell them that we were coming right away. They also got the prescription wrong, so I ended up having to wait an hour, and still had to go to another Walgreens to complete the order. None of this would have been so bad had we not been so sleep deprived and had we been released from the hospital earlier. But by this time we're pushing late afternoon and we still had to go to my brother in law's house to load up the car (No, I didn't make my wife help me load the car. I'm not that clueless!)

Next stop: My brother in law's house. Neither my brother in law nor his wife were home. It had been hours since little Christian was fed, so my wife asked me to go inside and put their three dogs outside so that she could come in and breastfeed. As soon as I opened the patio door to release the dogs, the alarm goes off! Since I didn't know the code, I frantically tried, unsuccessfully, to contact my brother-in- law's cell phone. I stood outside for about five minutes with zero options on the table. Just as I was imagining the cops coming to take me away in handcuffs, my brother in law arrives. Close call!

After loading up the car we set off for Farmington. Thankfully, the journey was pretty uneventful, except for the three dust storms that we drove through. We arrived home at about 10:15 p.m. I struggled, and struggled, and struggled to get the car seat off the base...as my wife stood in the door crying. I've been told that there's a learning curve to parenting. I'm glad my curve has never been measured geometrically. That would be embarrassing. In case you're wondering, we got the car seat figured out now.

I've been wondering how many moments of spiritual enlightenment I'll have now that I'm officially a parent. Will I understand the Father heart of God better? Will I learn the value of patience and selflessness? Will the Bible come alive to me now that I can relate to all of the fathers in the stories? Right now I'm too tired to think of anything profound. Suffice it to say that after the sleepless nights, the poopy diapers, the pee in the face and--list your parental frustration here--I can honestly say that Christian David Taylor is worth every moment of it. I think that's how our Heavenly Father thinks about His children too.

Life House drama

An acquaintance of mine sent me this video a couple of years ago. I still get choked up when I watch it.




Who needs Hollywood?



The end of the year = the end of the age

Every year I read the Bible straight through, three chapters a day and five on Sunday. It's a habit that's stuck with me since my Bible school days. I think it's fitting that at the end of every year, I get a reminder of the end of the age when reading Revelation. It's normal on December 31st to think about the upcoming year, but reading the last chapter of Revelation gives me a yearly reminder of the ultimate end--the end of suffering, pain, disease, and tears. And then the next day I read the first three chapters of Genesis and the journey from the beginning starts all over again.

If you do the three-chapters-a-day-and-five-on-Sunday plan, on the first day of the year, you'll read about Adam and Eve getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden and the angel denying them further access to the Tree of Life. The last day of the year, you'll read:

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

How fitting is it that the last chapter of the Bible is a recapitulation of the Genesis story? It seems to me that somebody is trying to tell us something.

Verse of the Day. Amos 5:23-24

To what extent do you feel this passage applies to churches in America today?

Take away from me the noise of your songs, For I will not hear the melody of your stringed instruments. But let justice run down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.

Sobering.

Morgan Freeman: The Power of Words

I just received this video from Amnesty International today. As a Christian, it's a great reminder that God calls His people to speak out for the oppressed.



Enjoy!

A Christmas message from Aaron

Dear friends,

Rhiannon and I would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We pray that you are enjoying your time with friends and family. With Rhiannon being ready to deliver within the next two weeks, the Christmas story is taking on a new meaning for me this year. Yesterday we attended a service at a very large church in Albuquerque. The pastor really brought the message home when he said to the men, "Imagine taking your wife on a 70 mile trip riding a donkey pulling the wagon carrying your nine month pregnant wife. I'm sure that every other minute Joseph had to say, 'Are you all right? Are you still all right? You want to pull over? Again?'"

The pastor's point was that it must have seemed to Joseph and Mary like their world was falling apart because nothing was happening like they would have planned it. Imagine the shame that Mary and Joseph knew they would face from their friends and family knowing that few would probably buy into the whole God-impregnated-my-wife scenario. Joseph could have shamed his wife publicly or, even worse, he could have had her stoned (think about how relevant this story might be to Islamic cultures that practice honor killings), but he chose the path of love and faithfulness. Mary could have made a different choice as well. She knew the ridicule, and threat to her life that she might face, but she chose the path of obedience, and the world has honored her many times over for her choice.

What is the most difficult thing that God has asked you to do? None of us will ever be in a situation exactly the same as Mary and Joseph, but all of us can chose faith over fear, love over revenge, and faithfulness over cowardice. As you reflect on the meaning of Christmas this year, think about Mary and Joseph and the strength they found from their love for each other and for their Creator. May the Lord give you the strength to make the right choices throughout the next year, even when the choices are difficult.

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Aaron

The thief on the cross--What saved him?

I've been thinking about the story of the thief on the cross. I've heard people say that they don't believe in deathbed conversions. For many, it seems unfair that a person can live their whole life lying, stealing, cheating or--insert your favorite sin here--and make it to heaven all because of a last minute prayer. And yet, that seems to be exactly what happens in this story. It's important to note that before this story begins, the same thief is on the cross mocking Jesus (Matthew 27:44). So we know that some time after the thief has been hanging on the cross next to Jesus, he has a change of heart. Here's the story as recorded in Luke 23:38-42:

And an inscription also was written over Him in letters in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew: THIS IS JESUS KING OF THE JEWS. Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, 'If you are the Christ, save yourself and us.' But the other, answering, rebuked Him saying, 'Do you not even fear God seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this Man has done nothing wrong.' Then he said to Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.' And Jesus said to him, 'Assuredly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.'

Here's a question that I would love some feedback on:

What saved him?

Barack Obama's Nobel speech, what did we expect?

I didn’t get a chance to watch Barack Obama’s Nobel speech live, but I’ve read the transcript and found very little in the speech that couldn’t have been given by any number of past presidents—including George W. Bush. Granted, absent from the speech is the grandiose rhetoric of “Bring it on”, “You’re either with us or with the terrorists” and “Ridding the world of evil”, but should being less arrogant than Bush qualify someone for the Nobel Peace Prize? Probably not. On the other hand, Barack Obama’s rejection of unilateralism, his willingness to dialogue with enemies, and his understanding of the limits of power—howbeit nuanced—make him about as good of a president as we can expect on the foreign policy front given the current state of American culture and, more specifically, the American Church.

According to the CIA world fact book, roughly 77% of the American people are self-identified as Christians. From its inception, America has been a nation of people that name the name of Christ on the one hand and trust in the power of their military might on the other hand. The American civil religion of God, guns, and country has been around for a long time and it’s the height of naivety to think that a few good speeches and a teleprompter are going to change that. If Obama’s escalation of the Afghan conflict has taught us anything, it’s that liberals can be just as susceptible to the value system of might equals right as conservatives can be. Those of us that oppose the escalation can chastise the president all we want, but the fact is there was very little political wiggle room for the president to make any other decision than the one that he made. Even the “liberal” networks of NBC, CBS, and CNN are steeped in the tradition of glorifying military heroes and showing off the Pentagon’s latest weapons technology.

As much as I would love to flatter myself, I know that Barack Obama is never going to read this article, and neither is he going to read the tens of thousands of editorials and blogs calling on him to change his mind. With all of the attention going towards one man, and whether or not he deserves a peace prize, I fear that a larger point is getting lost; and that is that history is defined less by people on top and more by people on bottom. Wars are fought because cultural, religious, media, and economic establishments support them. Wars are ended when the groundswell of the population refuse to support the institutions that make them possible. Until the words “fighting for freedom” become more associated in the average American mind with strikes, boycotts, and voter registrations than with ground invasions and bombing raids, no president is going to be able to deliver on a “change we can believe in” slogan.

To borrow from Jared McKenna’s What if scenario, what if out of the 77% of the American population that self-identify as Christians, the vast majority of them became convinced that following Christ and renouncing the sword go hand in hand? What if John Howard Yoder replaced Augustine as the intellectual giant of the Western Church? For that to happen, a lot more Bible- believing Christians are going to have to be convinced that Romans 13 is not a carte blanche for Christians participating in state-sanctioned violence, that the Old Testament is a poor pretext for just war theory, and that John the Baptist wasn’t condoning violence when he didn’t tell the Roman soldiers of their day to give up their occupations. If there’s one thing to be learned from Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation, it’s that Biblical paradigm shifts can have vast political consequences. It can happen again, but it’s going to take all hands on board. Any volunteers?

Nedra O Brien on Suffering

Below is a message written by my mother in law for her church bulletin. Nedra passed away in March 2005. Rhiannon and I have a collection of her messages. I'll be posting them from time to time.


About Suffering

As beautiful as this world is, it’s filled with people who are suffering. In Matthew 16:21, Jesus warns His disciples, much to their dismay, that He, too, will suffer. He tells them, “…that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” This goes along with Daniel’s prophecies that the Messiah would be cut off (Daniel 9:26), there would be a period of trouble (9:27), and the king would come in glory (7:13-14). The disciples would also endure suffering and, like their king, would be rewarded in the end.

As much as we’d like it to be, suffering isn’t always avoidable. Jesus’ friend and devoted follower, Peter, tried to protect Him from the suffering He spoke of, but if Jesus hadn’t suffered and died, Peter – not to mention the rest of us – would have died in his sins.

When we find ourselves in the midst of a difficult trial or persecution, it might help to remember Luke 21:17-19, in which Jesus says, “And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head shall be lost. By your patience possess your souls.” He wasn’t saying that believers would be exempt from physical harm or death during the persecutions. As a matter of fact, most of the disciples were martyred. Instead, He was saying that none of His followers would suffer spiritual or eternal loss. On earth everyone will die, but believers in Jesus will be saved for eternal life.

For Christians, there’s always hope and joy beyond the suffering. We have some wonderful promises to see us through: God will always be with us, as it says in Matthew 28:20, and one day He will rescue us and give us eternal life, which we can read in Revelation 21:1-4.

It should help us to know that Jesus identifies with us and understands our suffering. To know that He endured horrible pain and faced temptation should give us courage to face our trials. Jesus understands our struggles because He faced them, too, when He walked this earth as a human being. We can trust Him to help us survive suffering and overcome temptation. Hebrews 4:14-16 says, “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” When we know that Jesus Christ is with us, we can face any difficult trial with grace and dignity.

Jesus’ human life was on that He chose freely and throughout it, He chose to obey His Father, even though obedience led to suffering and even death. But because He obeyed perfectly, despite what happened to Hem, He can help us to obey. And God responds to His obedient children. As we are patient and obedient, He will not leave us alone with our problems, but He will stay close, helping us to solve them or giving us the strength to endure them.

Please keep Rhiannon in your prayers

I'm not much for posting personal photos on this blog, but a lot of people have wanted to see pictures of my wife Rhiannon now that she is a month away from giving birth. I had trouble uploading this as a status update for my Face Book page.



Please keep Rhiannon and the baby in your prayers!

Hurray for Rick Warren for speaking out against Uganda’s anti-gay bill, but where are the rest of the Christian leaders?

As a career missionary to Africa, I fear what would happen to me on judgment day if I didn’t speak out against what is happening in Uganda right now in the name of Christ. I was in the middle of typing my monthly newsletter when I decided to check my e-mail. The subject line read, “Pastor Rick Warren condemns Uganda anti-homosexuality bill.” Hurray for Rick Warren, but my question is where’s everyone else? Christian Right leaders in the U.S. are constantly griping that the media portrays them as bigoted towards homosexuals. Well Mr. Dobson and Mr. Sekulow, now would be a perfect time to prove them wrong. I’m still waiting for my urgent action e-mail.

I’m not talking about an issue that falls within the realm of perfectly legitimate political debate—like whether gay marriage should be legal or not. What I’m talking about is a bill that if passed would condemn homosexuals to prison, would give the death penalty for homosexuals with HIV, and would criminalize heterosexuals that support gay rights. The bill being considered would actually force heterosexuals to report their gay friends and neighbors to the authorities. I would expect something like this from a group like the Taliban, but from a nation with a vast majority of Christians? Who would have thought? But then again, I’m not sure why I’m surprised.

I’d like to think that American Christian leaders have nothing to do with the direction that Uganda’s government is sliding towards, but I know it’s not true. For starters, I’ve been to Uganda and have lived and traveled extensively throughout Africa. Based on my experience, the level of influence that American pastors, evangelists, and missionaries have in predominately Christian countries in Africa is astronomical, especially when you consider how many African churches and ministries are dependent on American support. As difficult as it may be to believe, in most English speaking countries in Africa, American televangelists are like rock stars. The way the average Ugandan feels towards people like T.D. Jakes, Reinhard Bonnke, and Benny Hinn is what the average American feels towards people like—ironically—Bono. If I’m exaggerating, it’s only slightly.

Lest I be misunderstood, I’m not suggesting that the above-mentioned leaders are guilty of stoking anti-gay bigotry in Uganda. I use their names only to underscore the fact that, in most cases, American Christian leaders wield a greater influence over the pop-culture in African countries than they do in their own country. Even pastors of small to mid-sized congregations in the U.S. can go to countries like Uganda or Kenya or Nigeria and preach to tens of thousands of people at a time—and maybe even meet with the country’s leaders. It happens every day. American Christianity has enormous influence in Africa. With great influence comes great responsibility.

Let’s not forget that there was a man about 80 years ago that came to power on the platform of criminalizing consensual gay sex. His name was Hitler. There’s a reason why the Apostle Paul said to the Corinthian Church, “For what have I to do with judging those who are outside?” (I Corinthians 5:12) Paul must have known that when Christians try to legislate morality outside the confines of spiritual discipline within the Church, the result is usually an ugly monster that looks nothing like Christ. It’s time for American pastors, missionaries, and evangelists, along with our African brothers and sisters declare loudly to the world—not in our name!

Glee rewrites the rules for Hollywood adultery

I'm a sucker for show tunes, which is why I watch Glee, though for the sake of keeping my man card, I must add the caveat of occasionally. I did catch the season finale last night though. I'm not sure why I was surprised at the ending, but I was. It looks like the main character has left his wife for another woman. Granted the wife was a piece of work, but I still found myself rooting for her, especially when she made her final appeal for him to stay with her. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but but by the end of the show, when the Glee club director ran to the other woman after an emotional song by his students, I was left confused. Perhaps I got the memo too late, but I couldn't help asking myself "Were the writers of the show expecting me to root for the other woman?"

If so, then that's a shift even for Hollywood morality. Yes, I know that I shouldn't expect much from Hollywood these days, especially when matching it up to Biblical morality which limits sexual relationships to heterosexual monogamous marriage; but for the past two decades the Hollywood moral standards for its leading male characters has been as follows:

Multiple sex partners before marriage = okay

Fooling around with other women after marriage = you're a scum bag

Apparently the second option is now okay, as long as the wife is neurotic.

I'm not sure if Hollywood is catching up with culture on this point or if the culture will eventually catch up to Hollywood on this point. Either way, it's not looking good.

Verse of the day. Lamentations 3:22-24

Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion" says my soul. "Therefore I hope in Him!"

An old video of William Branham

Been feeling a little nostalgic today. I found this on You Tube. It's an old video of William Branham, one of the most famous healing evangelists during an unusual outpouring of the Holy Spirit that occurred between 1947-1953 known as the Healing Revival. William Branham was famous for "Words of Knowledge" which in pentecostal/charismatic belief is supernatural insight into a person's life or situation and is one of the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:8.

While it's true that Branham fell into heresy during his later years (he got to thinking that he was Elijah), there's no evidence that William Branham faked his supernatural knowledge. If what you are about to see happened today, people would assume he had an earpiece feeding him the information. One reason why I believe that the words of knowledge operating in Brahman's ministry were real is because Gordon Lindsay, the founder of Christ for the Nations Institute (the Bible school where my wife and I met) was his manager for a period of time and very, very few people dispute Gordon Lindsay's personal integrity.



There's also a famous photo of Branham with what appears to be a supernatural halo floating over his head. This made headline news when it appeared. You can view the photo and read Gordon Lindsey's commentary on the incident here.

I hope this builds your faith...or at the very least make you wonder.

Question of the Day, what else was Simon the Sorcerer's problem?

The other night I read the story of Simon the Sorcerer found in Acts 8:9-25. I decided to reflect on it a little.

Here's the story:

Acts 8:9-25 (New International Version)

Simon the Sorcerer

9Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." 11They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. 12But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
14When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. 15When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into[a] the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money 19and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."

20Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."

24Then Simon answered, "Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me."

25When they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.

Here's the question: We know that Simon the Sorcerer was greedy in that he tried to "sell the gift of the Holy Spirit" but what else was his problem?

Discuss!