It was Thursday morning and we were sitting in a large circle in a church Sunday school room praying for the various needs that were on our hearts. The group consisted of people involved in various types of church work. At the outset we had gone through the normal sharing of prayer requests. There seemed to be substantial concern for Jeremy, a fourth-grader who had contracted a cold that was bad enough to keep him from school. Prior to going to prayer, I mentioned that I was deeply burdened about a report I had heard just that morning that about 5000 of our brothers and sisters in Christ in Indonesia had been slain because of their identification with Jesus. I indicated that the incident was still going on and that there was no way at this point to determine the final outcome.
During our prayer time those gathered prayed for numerous items that had been mentioned. Several remembered Jeremy, including one person who irresponsibly let it slip that Jeremy’s cold was not only keeping him from school but causing him to miss his field trip, eliciting an audible gasp from the group as they reflected on the depth of suffering through which Jeremy was passing. No one prayed for the Christians in Indonesia.
In my experience this is a typical response from evangelicals to the plight of persecuted brothers and sisters around the globe. Certainly some deeply care and are doing what they can on behalf of those who are suffering. But they are the exception, so much so that many in the Jewish community are amazed at our indifference, recognizing that the Jewish community would be far more vocal and proactive should members of their own community suffer such persecution.
In one sense the issue is knowledge. Many evangelicals are unaware of the extent of persecution of Christians around the globe or of the specific instances. However, at a deeper level information is not the real issue. I say this because the information is easily available to anyone who cares to look for it. For example, numerous web sites carry accurate and frequently updated accounts. One good one is Compass Direct. The fact is that evangelicals lack the information because they lack interest. Some evangelical leaders such as James Kennedy and James Dobson have made attempts to raise evangelical awareness regarding persecution. However, the interest level apparently has never been sufficient to warrant maintaining this focus.
With our resources and capacity for political influence, were evangelicals committed to help their brothers and sisters around the globe who are being persecuted, they could make a substantial difference. In comparison with our capacity to help, our actions have been paltry at best.
In my previous entry I was making the point that the evangelical community is in need of reformation. This numbness to the sufferings experienced by many other members of our body represents yet another symptom of evangelical sickness. A major interest of this blog is to identify our ailments so that we can suggest biblical cures. These ailments impact us all, so I hope you will visit again tomorrow.