The Faces of Persecution: Resolve, Gratitude, and Joy
The Faces of Persecution: Resolve, Gratitude, and Joy
[Originally published Nov. 2021]
Carlos is a friend of ours. He lives in Cuba. Every two or three weeks, he is summoned to the police station to be interrogated for his role as pastor in his city. Every day, he and others are followed, they have had phone and computer accounts tapped, their mail is read before they receive it, and their cell phones are confiscated when they arrive at the police station. Carlos sends out prayer requests, asking his friends around the world to pray for him on the days he must stand before the police. These are daily realities for him and his family.
He was in a doctoral seminar this fall semester, together with several others and I. The topic of our study was “The Persecuted Church,” and our goal was to find the state of the Church during the second half of the year 2021 around the globe. Carlos researched the Caribbean, where Cuba is located, and its long history of persecution there, worsening as it did under the Communist regime, and continuing until today. Last week, at the end of the seminar, I asked the students to think about and write for me their answers to three questions after they had presented what they had learned. Here is what he said – this pastor who is regularly persecuted.
He was in a doctoral seminar this fall semester, together with several others and I. The topic of our study was “The Persecuted Church,” and our goal was to find the state of the Church during the second half of the year 2021 around the globe. Carlos researched the Caribbean, where Cuba is located, and its long history of persecution there, worsening as it did under the Communist regime, and continuing until today. Last week, at the end of the seminar, I asked the students to think about and write for me their answers to three questions after they had presented what they had learned. Here is what he said – this pastor who is regularly persecuted.
1. What would you like to say to the persecuted church?
Carlos wrote: Humanly speaking, we try to find the reasons behind our persecutions. If Christians are good people, for example, why are we targeted for persecution? The “why” answer, however, is a spiritual one. This is a confrontation between light and darkness, between God and Satan. The NT provides a solid foundation for understanding the nature of persecution, and it teaches essential principles about how to respond to persecution. I would say, among other things, that the church must be attentive all of the time, to discover what biblical principles to use appropriately in each context. Here are some biblical texts that I have found to be useful.
On being fearful – “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” (Luke 12:11-12, NIV).
On responding wisely – “’Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?’ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, ’You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.’ They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. Then he said to them, ‘So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’” (Matthew 22: 17-21, NIV).
On God’s presence with us – “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13, NIV).
On expecting miracles – “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly,” (Acts 4:31, NIV), and the story of Peter’s escape from prison in Acts 12:1-17.
On being ready for physical attacks, even death – “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep”(Acts 7: 58-60).
On being fearful – “When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.” (Luke 12:11-12, NIV).
On responding wisely – “’Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?’ But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, ’You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.’ They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, ‘Whose image is this? And whose inscription?’ ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. Then he said to them, ‘So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’” (Matthew 22: 17-21, NIV).
On God’s presence with us – “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” (Acts 4:13, NIV).
On expecting miracles – “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly,” (Acts 4:31, NIV), and the story of Peter’s escape from prison in Acts 12:1-17.
On being ready for physical attacks, even death – “While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he fell on his knees and cried out, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep”(Acts 7: 58-60).
2. What would you say to your own church about the persecuted church?
Carlos wrote: I tell my church that we are not the only ones being persecuted. We are not victims; instead, we are privileged, because we are being persecuted for Christ’s sake (Matt. 5.11). I tell my church that many others are also being persecuted. We need to care for these others and support them as much as possible, with our prayers and donations, so that many of their projects can be promoted (buying Bibles and books, building chapels).
3. What will you intentionally do, engage, or be, as you live forward in Christ, as a result of what you have learned?
Carlos wrote: “For four years I served as a pastoral care national leader within our Eastern Baptist Convention. Currently, I am the senior pastor of a network of eight churches, which are united in vision, mission and strategy. We conduct a discipleship program that includes lessons about persecution, which then become part of the DNA of our churches. We teach these principles to every person in every church we plant. We will continue this work. Personally, I try to live in tune with God, always ready to access my Heavenly Father. It’s like standing in the gap all the time for others who face persecution…. And after seeing how God has sustained His Church across the ages, I am filled with hope and joy. My hope is that we can be faithful in persecution, like others have been. My joy is in being able to serve Christ in these days, even if it costs me and my family and my people our lives. We will not back down. We will preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
Please pray for Carlos and the believers who live and serve in that region.
-Karen O’Dell Bullock
-Karen O’Dell Bullock
Posted in PeaceWeavers