Mission News Network

Sunday, 15 May 2016

Going Where Christ is Unknown in Burma

An indigenous missionary teaches about Christ to ethnic Lahu in eastern Burma.

Among tribal peoples in Burma (also called Myanmar) so isolated that people in one village often cannot communicate with those of a neighboring area, an indigenous ministry has found ways to plant self-sustaining churches.

With the help of translators, the ministry based in Yangon (formerly Rangoon) brings the gospel through dense, semi-tropical jungles – tigers and poisonous snakes included – to such remote peoples. Its indigenous model for planting churches also solves the common problem of prospective church leaders going abroad to seminary and not returning to their impoverished, strife-torn country.

Among the ethnic groups the ministry is reaching in Shan state, in eastern Burma, are the Lahu and Pa'o. Overall the 225,000 Lahu in Burma are now 80 percent Christian (43 percent evangelical), according to the Joshua Project, but the ministry targets villages where the gospel is unknown and finds Lahu who are primarily animists.

Originally from the Tibetan Plateau in China, the Lahu are known to the Chinese as tiger hunters, the "La" of their name meaning "tiger" in their language, according to The Peoples of the World Foundation. The Lahu make offerings and animal sacrifices to various spirits and ancestors in an attempt to secure safety and well-being.

"They worship and fear spirits," the ministry director said. "In one village in east Shan state four years ago, we told the animist priest about the one God who casts out angels from heaven*. He said, 'This is a mighty God – okay, your God is greater,' and they destroyed their idols and the whole village became Christians."

Shan state rebels came under heavy government fire last fall, and about once a month fighting between rebels and government forces flares up in areas where his missionaries work, he said. The ethnic Pa'O, many of whom have fled to Thailand to escape Shan fighting between rebel and government forces, practice Buddhism, though often mixed with animist beliefs. Their mythology holds that they originated from a shaman and a female dragon.

Indigenous missionaries on motorcycles sometimes have to overcome lack of roads to reach remote villages. The ministry director has promised to provide fuel if they can find ways to reach villages where there is no knowledge of Christ.

"In Burma, many Buddhists are not really Buddhists," the director said. "Most of them don't really know what they believe."

Seeking to bring healing to the towns and villages the ministry visits, near-culture missionaries provide otherwise unavailable medicines.

"In these areas there is malaria, dengue fever and dysentery," he said. "For the people in these areas there is no way to reach any hospital or any clinic. So medication is a very effective way to open the way to share the gospel with them."

The team holds week-long evangelistic meetings that include lunches each day. They then leave a missionary who follows up with those who have made decisions for Christ.

"This ministry does a good job of planting churches in unreached areas by hosting camps when the farmers are not as busy, in December and during summer holidays," said a leader at Christian Aid Mission, which assists the ministry. "After the week is over, they leave behind a missionary to do follow-up and to plant a church. They then seek key youth from the tribe who believe in Christ to go to Bible College, and the ministry then returns them to be the pastor in their home village."

The new candidates for church leadership train for four years, at no cost to them, at the ministry's Bible College, which also offers one-month trainings for those who cannot be away from their villages too long. Budget limitations reduced the previous three-month training to one month, the director said.

With five teachers and 19 students at present, the Bible school is the engine driving the ministry's deep-rooted establishment of churches. Tribal graduates sent back to minister to their own people in their native language learn to establish "self-governing, self-supporting, and self-propagating" churches. The college, which offers bachelor's degrees, teaches the missionaries to seek ways to earn a living to help provide for their families.

Students also participate in evangelistic outreaches. The teachers and some students from the school went to southern Shan state for one of its four evangelistic campaigns last month.

"We were teaching every day and preaching every evening," the director said. "By the grace of God and through your prayers, 18 new believers have professed that they belong to the Lord Jesus Christ and got baptism."

Many children also professed that they had been born again, he added. The team went to another village to teach and encourage previously established Lahu and ethnic Hmong churches, before heading to a site from which villagers had fled fighting but have resettled after government and rebel leaders gave them land.

"Now many have started bamboo houses and started to make paddy fields there," he said. "We have been invited by the Lahu and the Hmong to preach the gospel to them and help them start churches. This time, as there are no proper houses, we stayed overnight preaching to them and postponed the evangelistic camps to the end of this year."

The ministry identified area needs it hopes to meet for water, a children's school and a church building.

"They need special prayers and help, as they are civil war victims who have run from village to village," he said.

In another village, a wealthy, ethnic Danu who is a devout Buddhist invited the evangelistic team into his home. The director said he was looking for peace in his heart.

"We stayed at his house and shared the gospel with his family," he said. "Now they are ready to listen to the gospel at any time. Danu people are the strongest Buddhists in Burma, but this Danu and his family members are opening their hearts and home for the Lord. Please continue to pray for this family."

Before the team's trip ended, they held an evangelistic camp in two northern Shan state villages as well, he said. Besides the evangelistic camps, the ministry at any one time has eight to 12 missionaries traveling to villages where the gospel is unknown. Each requires $40 in medicines per month, as well as a living allowance of $150 per month, he said.

"Our greatest need is support for more missionary workers – every year we have more volunteers, and we need to raise support for them," he said. "Our missionaries have a big burden and heart for the unreached people in their own areas, but as every one of our missionaries has a big family, they have been struggling with their families' daily needs. This is the big obstacle for our ministry. Thank you very much for your prayers and support for reaching the lost people with the gospel."

*Luke 10:18; Revelations 12:7-12; Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-18

Mission News Network is a mission news service dedicated to keeping Christians informed on evangelical mission activity around the world; in doing so we hope to educate and motivate Christians to prayer, participation, and support of missionary work to help further the Great Commission. you can follow us on twitter and Facebook

Monday, 9 May 2016

Tajikistan: security crackdown catches all in the dragnet

A Pakistani extremist made a statement when he attacked people in a park on Easter Sunday.

Countries dealing with similar insurgencies grew alarmed. At the time of the attack, churches in other countries were preparing for Orthodox Easter services (May 1) and beefing up security, just in case.

With good reason, says Slavic Gospel Association’s Eric Mock. “On several occasions, an individual called the church in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) and threatened to blow up the (Baptist) church. They reported it to the authorities.”

Pressure has been building up on the followers of Christ for a while, due partly to the fact that Tajikistan shares a long and porous border with Afghanistan, where there’s been a surge in Islamist activity.

This threat also is likely to mean that Tajik President Emomali Rahmon may get tougher with religious groups. The government has also implemented many laws severely restricting religious freedom and targeting the activities of Muslims, Protestants, and Jehovah’s Witnesses. That’s drawn the attention of the U-S Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). For the first time, they’ve added Tajikistan to their list as a country of particular concern.

It may be Rahmon’s effort to get the radical element under control; however, persecution is strongest in the private, national and church spheres.

Mock explains, “Imagine eight to 900 believers among six-and-a-half million Muslim people. Imagine how hard it is to stand for the sake of the Gospel.” Children sent to school, whose families are known to be Christians, are often bullied, sometimes severely.

Despite the threat they faced, the church that was threatened in the capital city went forward with its services.

Maybe because of the publicity, or maybe because there were security forces in plain clothes; but on May 1, Mock says the church saw, “…an outpouring of visitors that showed up that Sunday morning. It was a wonderful time where people heard the Gospel. There were people they had never seen before.”

Even with a bomb threat hanging over their heads, the good news is that there’s an opportunity to build on these relationships that were started two weeks ago. “At SGA there is a great opportunity to serve the churches there that are the in the midst of these troubled spots both in Central Asia and in the Caucus region.”

New beginnings are a great way to close this chapter on the story, but there are some things to remember.

First, Mock reminds us, “We see time and time again that God’s glory in His people shines most brightly when they stand for the Gospel in the middle of difficult circumstances.”

Second, please remember to:

· Pray for wisdom for believers who know they are under surveillance by authorities.

· Pray that believers would have opportunities to minister to Muslim neighbors.

· Pray that the Tajik Government will take firm steps to protect minorities such as Christians and promote religious tolerance.

Sunday, 8 May 2016

5 Surprising Spiritual Benefits of Owning Less Stuff

5 Surprising Spiritual Benefits of Owning Less Stuff

Minimalism was meant to help our finances. Here’s how it helped our faith.

Joshua Becker/ MAY 6, 2016

Eight years ago, my family sold, donated, or discarded over 60 percent of our possessions. My wife, children, and I removed clothes, furniture, decorations, cookware, tools, books, toys, and anything in our home that was not immediately useful or beautiful. At the time, long before tiny houses and magical “tidying,” the idea of such drastic downsizing was completely foreign.

Like so many of us, I worked long hours for paychecks spent on technology, clothing, toys, furniture, decorations, cars, and hopefully someday, a bigger house in a nicer neighborhood. I didn’t really believe the purpose of life was to chase possessions, but my calendar and checkbook sure seemed to tell a different story.

One Saturday afternoon, I was cleaning out my garage while my 5-year old son played whiffle ball in the backyard. I suddenly realized that everything I owned wasn’t making me happy. It was actually distracting me from the very thing that did bring me happiness.

At first, our minimalism came as a practical move. We had grown weary of living paycheck to paycheck to cover our mounting possessions and of trading time with our kids to clean clutter in the house. But soon, the process of intentionally owning less began to influence our spiritual journey in ways we never expected.

While I used to read Jesus’s teaching on money and possessions as a burdensome call to sacrificial (even boring) living, owning less actually resulted in a better life, full of freedom and joy and peace. I began to recognize that Jesus wasn’t calling me to a boring life; he was calling me to a more abundant life. Here are a few of the surprising spiritual benefits my family and I have experienced since deciding to own less stuff:

1. Owning less offers more opportunity to pursue your passions.

When we measure the time, money, and energy spent caring for our possessions—researching, shopping, organizing, picking up, cleaning, repairing, replacing, and even working for the money to buy them in the first place—we discover that our possessions can keep us from the passions God has given us.

In his sermon on the mount Jesus warned, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matt 6:24). Unwittingly, perhaps, a lot of us have wiggled out of Jesus’ clear teaching in a host of creative ways: “Just because I like money doesn’t mean I hate God,” “I’m not someone who serves money,” “I’m pretty sure Jesus means someone a lot richer than I am.”

What if Jesus’ teaching wasn’t meant to scold, but to set us free? As we released what we didn’t need, we found more time, energy and money to pursue the greater passions God had put in our hearts.

2. Owning less is the quickest path to buying less.

If you haven’t yet experimented in living with less, you might think it’s as horrible as dieting: a feeling of constant deprivation and craving what you’ve said no to. But in reality, the opposite is true. I was initially nervous about adopting a “capsule wardrobe” of just 33 items of clothing or less, but quickly grew to enjoy the simplicity and the fact that I loved every item in my closet. Today, I have little desire to add to it. When you’ve gotten rid of what you don’t need and set out to only keep what’s necessary, that insistent voice inside badgering you to buy more is quietly silenced.When Jesus taught his disciples, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:33-34), he was inviting us to a freedom of heart that can be only experienced when our hearts are no longer tethered to all we own.

3. Owning less nurtures our spirits.

When John the Baptist was preparing people’s hearts for the coming Messiah, the crowd asked him what they should do. He instructed, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same” (Luke 3:11).

That’s odd, right? John’s charge sounds a lot like the way folks responded afterthey met Jesus, but seems a bit odd as a prescription for the best way to welcomeHim.

But John knew that owning less often fuels spiritual growth in our lives. It forces us to evaluate our hearts and motives in ways we wouldn’t otherwise experience. Like his cousin Jesus, John understood that physical reality is never divorced from spiritual reality.

4. Owning less fosters gratitude and contentment.

We live in a culture that daily bullies us to own more. Our radios and televisions and iPhones and online searches barrage us with ads insisting that we’ll finally be happy when we own this outfit or drive that car or drink that soda. But we’re not happy. Our discontent is evidenced in our excess. Our longings to own the latest and greatest, as well as our tendencies to compare our lives with those around us, have left us feeling like we’re always missing something.

Intentionally owning less not only sows a spirit of gratitude and contentment into our hearts, it waters and nourishes the fruits Paul promises to those who walk by the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23).

5.Owning less reframes reality for the rich andthe poor.

One of the criticisms of the minimalism movement is that it’s trendy among people who are privileged, but irrelevant to those who are poor. I disagree. In fact, I believe that Jesus’ teaching on possessions liberates both.

Jesus taught his followers to pray, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). That wasn’t just a prayer for poor folks without enough to eat. Jesus is also teaching those who have more-than-enough that God delights in providing for our needs—both physical and spiritual

The tendency to search for security and happiness in possessions is common for both the rich and the poor—it is a temptation that you cannot out-earn. Those with more-than-enough should be quick to realize the joy found in using their excess as provision for those with less. And those with less should be quick to recognize that accumulating more is not the key to security. For both the rich and the poor, faith in God’s provision is the only path to lasting security.

Over the years, I’ve come to define minimalism as the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it. I’ve found it to be a lifestyle that offers not just a tidier home, but a more intentional spirituality.

Owning less may be one of the most significant steps you’ll ever take to the abundant life Jesus promised.

Joshua Becker is the author of The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own, a book that inspires others to find more life by owning less stuff. He is also the Founder and Editor of Becoming Minimalist.

Saturday, 7 May 2016

Bible makes ‘most challenged books’ list

Bible makes ‘most challenged books’ list

These books are among the top 10 most challenged, with users objecting to the Bible’s presence in libraries and schools over its “religious viewpoint”, in other words, the challenge was brought because of a perceived violation of ‘church and state’. The ALA pointed out that they do not oppose having Bibles in public schools, only that there were objections filed, mainly by parents (2,535).

Most of the books on the list are quite different in content from the Bible. In fact, over the last decade, the ALA said it received reports of over 5,000 challenges to books, with “sexually explicit” material cited the most often (1,577 times) as a reason for an objection.

Why is the Bible on this list at all? Biblica-The International Bible Society’s CEO, Carl Moeller says, “As Bible believers, as Bible readers, we should recognize that the Bible makes some pretty audacious claims against a culture like the one we currently live in. It’s not surprising to me that people who have no understanding of what the Bible’s true message (of love and redemption) is all about, look at it as a controversial book.”

In fact, he says the debate surrounding God’s Words used in public spaces should be expected. ”It can’t be anything else BUT a controversial book. It penetrates deeply into people’s lives and it convicts them. We all know that conviction of sin doesn’t always produce immediate joy and love. Sometimes it produces a great deal of anger and frustration until the Holy Spirit works in that beautiful way and brings people to Christ.”

Controversy surrounds issues like the Target boycott, transgenderism, bathroom bills and the like; a lot of the Christian response has been documented in social media…and it looks angry. Cultural engagement? Well…yes and no, says Moeller. “Culturally speaking, we’ve lost our way in influencing our culture. To get angry at that culture, to be surprised at the non-Christian response of non-Christians is a little bit nonsensical.”

In North America, the church is facing a silent crisis of Bible engagement. People are hungry to hear God speak. But fewer people are reading the Bible or engaging it deeply.

Biblica is helping churches reignite their passion for the Bible, so they can read and live God’s Word together. Nothing has more impact on a person’s spiritual growth than regular, sustained engagement with the Bible.

Here are some interesting facts and figures as mentioned by Biblica-IBS:

· In the U.S., the number of occasional Bible readers has fallen around 20 percent in a single generation. That’s like 700 people giving up reading the Bible every day. (Source: Gallup)

· 9 in 10 churchgoers say they need their churches’ help understanding the Bible, yet only 1 in 5 say their church provides in-depth Bible study. (Source: REVEAL)

· If this trend continues, by 2040, two-thirds of all Americans will have no meaningful relationship with the Bible.

The remedy starts in the heart, says Moeller. “The problem is, even in Christian circles, the Bible is revered, but not read. When we actually sit and ingest, eat deeply of the feast that God has given us in His Word, we are changed. We think about the world, we think about God, we think about ourselves differently. That’s the way people are changed.”

Moeller suggests two steps to engage with a cultural shift on a different level: Pray and read the Bible.

“If I orient my heart in prayer to letting God speak to me, and I read a reader-designed Bible, it allows me to read long portions of scripture without being tired, without stopping and constantly encountering breaks in the text. We actually begin to ingest Scripture deeply.”

When you have a really good meal, you talk about it. Talking about it means engaging with others…and sharing your enthusiasm for the experience you just had. That can be a whole new opportunity for another meal with the person with whom you’re speaking.

Friday, 6 May 2016

After Pastor's Wife Buried Alive, Chinese Church Wins Land Battle

Nearly two weeks after a Chinese pastor and his wife were buried alive defending their church from destruction, local authorities have ruled in favor of the Protestant house church’s claim to its land.

After a local business wanted to take over the property that Beitou Church in Zhumadian sat on, a government-backed demolition crew was sent to destroy the church. And when the pastor, Li Jiangong, and his wife, Ding Cuimei, stepped in front of a bulldozer, it didn’t stop.

“Bury them alive for me,” a member of the demolition team said, according to China Aid which reported both the tragic incident and the ensuing legal victory. “I will be responsible for their lives.”

China Aid

The couple were shoved into a pit and covered with dirt, according to China Aid.

Li manage to free himself. But before he could dig his wife out, Ding suffocated.

The demolition crew is being detained while their actions are being investigated, the local police station told China Aid.

While criminal charges are still pending, a government investigation has concluded that the land belongs to the church.

“This is a definite legal victory for the church,” stated China Aid. “The task force concluded the investigation [by] stating … that pastor Li Jiangong's church has the sole authority for the usage of the land as a religious site and should belong to the church for use. It rules no individual or other organization should claim the land from the church.”

"While we are glad to see and commend the local authorities under international pressure acted swiftly and fairly to resolve the church's land with this right decision, we are still deeply concerned about the justice for this family of martyr which is still not done," stated Bob Fu, China Aid’s president.

The incident took place in Henan province, which has one of the largest Christian populations in East Asia. The province is west of Zhejiang province, where authorities have removed hundreds of crosses from church buildings, jailed a megachurch pastor for protesting those removals, and jailed (and then released) one of the leading legal defenders of those churches.

Will Ben Carson's Bible Advice to Donald Trump Work? Here’s What Americans Think

Can more Bible reading make the presidential election more

civil if Trump’s favorite verse is ‘an eye for an eye?’

Starting Sunday, the entire Bible will be read aloud in 90 hours on Capitol Hill. Hundreds will make their way to the 27th annual reading at the US Capitol, where 100 English and foreign language versions of the Bible will be available.

Former presidential candidate Ben Carson recently told reporter Rita Cosby that his advice to Republican front runner Donald Trump on handling his temper was to “read the Bible and pray and learn how to put yourself in other peoples’ shoes.” (Trump recently said his favorite Bible verse is “an eye for an eye.”)

But not even regular Bible reading could make Trump and other presidential contenders more civil, believe 44 percent of Americans.

That’s an increase from 40 percent last year, according to the 2016 State of the Bible report from the American Bible Society (ABS), conducted by Barna Group.

Only 51 percent of Americans said politics would be more civil if politicians read the Bible regularly, down from 56 percent last year.

The number of Americans who believed that reading the Bible regularly would make politicians more effective fell from 58 percent in 2015 to 53 percent in 2016. Those who thought Bible reading would not make a difference rose from 40 percent in 2015 to 43 percent in 2016.

Only practicing Protestants (those who identify as Protestant, attend church at least once a month, and say their faith is very important to them) thought the Bible was especially needed this year: 86 percent said politicians would be more civil if they read their Bible regularly, up from 81 percent in 2015.

Less likely to think regular Bible reading would make politicians more civil were practicing Catholics (63%, down from 70% last year) and non-practicing Christians (43%, down from 54%).

Most practicing Protestants (86%) also said regular Bible reading would make America’s politicians more effective, up slightly from 84 percent last year.

Overall, fewer people believe the Bible should have more influence in US society. In 2011, more than half (54%) thought the Bible should have a greater role in society; in 2016, it dropped under half (46%).

“[T]his seems to just be a shift towards those who think the influence is just right or who are unsure; the proportion of those who think the Bible has too much influence remains unchanged (at 19%)” from last year, the ABS report stated.

Nearly three-quarters of practicing Protestants (72%) said the Bible should have a larger impact on society, down from 74 percent last year.

Just under a third of Americans (30%) and about a quarter of practicing Protestants (24%) believe the Bible has just the right amount of influence in public society.