Last weekend we hosted Open Doors Live in Sydney. We invited a secret guest from halfway around the world to come and share from his 30 years experience with Open Doors. There was a Q&A session, and there were too many questions to answer on the night!
How do you stay encouraged as a believer when you see persecution every day?
Secret Guest: Happily I do not only see persecution, but I may also witness how the Lord is helping his children to deal with persecution. And I may witness how He is building His Church in the midst of terrible suffering. Finally, as we are trying to help persecuted believers, it is an honour to be involved in a ministry which has dedicated itself to strengthen those believers who are suffering for their faith.
You head up Open Doors Australia, and we don’t have persecution like other brothers and sisters, what would you say is the biggest threat to Christianity here?
Mike: This is a great question! I often say, “Which is of greater danger to our faith, ISIS or an iPhone?” Because I see one of them driving people to God and one of them drawing people away from Him and it’s the subtlety of distraction that is suffocating our faith.
I think we’re distracted and when we’re distracted it means we’re not focussed, always stressed, tired and worn out. I think the biggest threat to a bold and visible faith is simply, distraction and its suffocating influence on everything around it.
Have you ever experienced persecution?
Secret Guest: Depending on the definition. I have been threatened with death more than once, and I have been arrested numerous times. However, I never spend more time in prison than one single day and I am thankful that I am still alive–despite having visited different dangerous places and areas in war.
How do we evangelise to Muslims learning from our persecuted brothers and sisters?
Mike: I remember a conversation I had with a Pastor in Egypt in May 2014 who told me that in the West we think evangelism is a formulaic framework: A three-step process that at the end the person falls in love with Jesus and their life is forever changed.
But he said to me, evangelising a Muslim is like standing opposite someone with a big brick wall separating you and each brick in that wall represents a question.
The pastor said as you answer those questions a brick can be removed and, slowly but surely, the wall comes down. Soon it is low enough to see their eyes and you can begin to form a bond. After more questions are answered and bricks are removed, the wall is low enough to get your hands through and you can hug them (but you can’t walk with them).
As you answer more questions the wall eventually gets low enough that you can get a leg through and begin to walk with them. My advice is to start by reading the Koran and have the respect to know enough about their faith that you can then share yours. After all, how many questions in that brick wall could you answer? Because I struggle to answer one.
Image: Egyptian men praying together
How do you balance the line between wisdom and taking risks for the gospel?
Mike: Every morning I say the following line to myself, “I will boast in nothing other than You for I don’t even have breathe in my lungs without you first giving it to me, no skill, no talent, no ability without you first giving it to me…” and I passionately believe this.
My job in life is to be humble enough to listen and courageous enough to act on His voice in my life. Sometimes the most dangerous thing you can do is to do nothing. If God calls me to go–I need to trust that for better or worse He is in control.
Secret Guest: This is one of the greatest challenges I have had in the past 30+ years. It goes back right to Scripture, being innocent as doves, as wise as snakes. What helped me a lot, was and is asking the question–What would Jesus do? In most cases this question has led me to be quite radical, but at times I would back off, or spend time in prayer, before committing myself or one of our teams to a risky situation.
In general, once you have taken the decision to get involved into a dangerous operation in order to serve the persecuted church, the next step is really, “Okay now that we are in, how can we limit the risks as much possible?”
What can we learn from the persecuted church considering where the West is heading in the next 10 years?
Mike: That there is a cost to following Jesus and that He is worth every single bit of it. Because before we were passionate for Him, He suffered on the cross because of His passion for us.
Secret Guest: Persecution is for real. Persecution is not nice. Persecution will lead to pain, suffering and all kinds of difficult and tough situations.
Jesus warned us, that just as they persecuted him, we shall be persecuted. Acceptance is the first step. The next step, is to realise that we are not alone.
Jesus went through persecution Himself, He can identify with us and can speak to us. Even more, He promised us to send the Holy Spirit–as a Comforter. Finally, we are part of a Body. In times of persecution, some Christians may give up and actually betray real believers. But other believers will stand strong and be of great help. To share in persecution with other believers will make us stronger and will help us to carry the burden.
Does persecution grow and flourish the church? How can we be bolder in our faith and less complacent in the West?
Mike: Persecution doesn’t necessarily grow and flourish the church in a numbers sense, but it does make people more bold, courageous and passionate for Jesus. And that’s where you often find the growth, in spiritual fervour and passion–not only numbers. It’s interesting to think through this in light of the West.
If the church was to grow in passion but drop in numbers, how would we feel about that?
I am not being persecuted for my faith. Am I a faithful Christian?
Mike: I never like passing judgement on another persons’ faith but I do believe that if we’re not careful we risk moving into a faith-by-works mentality. I would simply ask you this question: “Do you feel close to Jesus?” If the answer is “Yes” then that’s wonderful.
And then a follow up question would be, “And who have you told about Jesus lately?”
It doesn’t have to be a non-Christian, but even within Christian circles do you talk about your faith?
Secret Guest: Depends where you are in life; maybe the Lord is blessing and protecting you at this moment in life, just because He is a great God and because you need His protection and blessing.
Maybe He is preparing you for something to come in the future.
On the other hand, when you may have become complacent and not using the gifts He has given you, Satan has no need to bother you, as you are not active in the Kingdom.
And finally, persecution can come in many forms. Maybe you are under pressure in your family or at work, and you never have realised the link with persecution of suffering for His team.
What is the best way we can pray for the persecuted church?
Secret Guest: Subscribe to the Open Doors Prayer Guide. It has a fresh new prayer or praise point for every day, and the list is produced from direct requests from persecuted believers all over the world. Throughout the years the Lord has been answering prayers in amazing way, and you can be part of this great international prayer effort!
Image: Prayer for the persecuted church during the Open Doors Live Event
Does persecution grow and flourish the Church? How can we be bolder in our faith and less complacent in the West?
Secret Guest: Yes, persecution definitely is growing and we have statistical evidence to back this up. It is growing both in intensity and in number of countries/believers affected. Frankly, persecution does not automatically mean that a church will flourish, but it often has a purifying effect.
Part of the believers will give up, while other believers will grow very strong. Their testimony as well as the involvement of the Holy Spirit will attract new believers.
Be more radical. Live out our faith. Spend some time in prayer and in the Word daily. He will guide you, and you will face unexpected opportunities to either share the faith or be an encouragement for other believers. Wake up!