For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, (Phil 1:29)
Don Veinot writes:
Last week Premier Christian News carried the story, “London street preacher arrested outside tube station and taken away in handcuffs.” This week we have a story from Alberta, Canada, where a SWAT team was dispatched to track down and apprehend a dangerous pastor who along with his brother, organized “an ‘illegal in-person gathering,’ in addition to ‘requesting, inciting or inviting others’ to join them.” Imagine, inciting someone to engage in the crime of attending church! On the other side of the pond, a university chaplain was suspended for delivering “a talk at a college, encouraging students that they have the right to hold a traditional view on sexuality and marriage.” He didn’t say others didn’t have a right to hold to contrary view but that students did also have a right to hold to the traditional view of marriage.
Are these oddities or the opening tremors of a coming persecution? I have no idea but perhaps some circumspect thinking and preparation can be helpful. “Preparing For Persecution – Lessons From the Chinese Church to Help You.”:
When we try to help church leaders and believers in the West prepare for persecution, after more dialogue it usually emerges that they are not really looking for straight answers. Often, what people mean when they ask these questions is: “How can we survive persecution in our current church structures, so we don’t have to suffer or change?”
The answer to this is… you cannot!
True, physical persecution (e.g. when Christians are being arrested, beaten, imprisoned, or even killed) will not leave most current church structures intact. It will completely dismantle them!
I am not really a prophet and do not know what the future holds. It may be the next election will turn the tide, but it seems, consideration, discussion and preparation are in order since persecution is inevitable whether now or 10 years from now. We are to live with the view the Lord may return today but prepare in case His return is long in the future.
Pastor Don Veinot is one of the authors of the excellent book, Richard Rohr and the Enneagram Secret.
The Word Like Fire 