"This is where the terrorists hide." A statement I had never heard nor ever cared to hear while being guided on a tour. However, that was what our guide said as we made our way into a specific part of a town in Indonesia. It was a location in which some terrorists recently had been discovered by the police.
While the statement was certainly strange, perhaps what was even stranger was the fact that we were going toward the supposed place of terrorists, and we were going toward this place to check out a church plant. For a Western-minded person, the idea of planting a church in the reasonable vicinity of terrorist cells was as foreign a concept as eating rodents (which incidentally also happens to be a custom around these parts which I am not particularly fond of either), but apparently in this country planting churches near danger is merely a way of life.
Sadly, for some churches in Indonesia, persecution is a way of life. Today, I talked with a pastor whose church was persecuted to the point that they had to begin meeting in a house. Nearby was a banner stating the rejection of Christian churches in the community. The pastor, although facing these circumstances, was astoundingly joyful, and I do not think he stopped smiling for the entirety of the time I was around him. We were privileged to pray for him and his congregation and to enjoy some sweet fellowship with a brother whose life and church might never know the security found in the churches I have taken for granted all my life.
Here in Indonesia, tomorrow is Sunday. As I reflect on my typical Sunday morning experiences in our safe and comfortable church buildings, I cannot help but recognize how ungrateful I am for the fact that we have security to worship. Also, I cannot help but recognize how much and often I take for granted the privilege of worshiping and fellowshiping with other believers in the context of the local church without an eminent threat of danger.
Finally, I cannot help but compare the mindset of the church in Indonesia with the mindset I am accustomed to within the church back home(and I am not excluding myself but am shining the light very brightly on my own heart and life regarding this matter). Typically, our believers and churches in the States do not desire to move toward danger or possible threats but toward the easier and more comfortable places to live and do ministry.
What a stark contrast! While we typically pray against danger and plead for ministry assignments with safe and comfortable conditions, assuming all along that God would never lead us into the dangerous or difficult places of life or ministry, the churches here look for the nearest terrorist cell and set up shop.
BN
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