14 PERSECUTED NATIONS AT THE WORLD CUP: why the church should pay attention
Fourteen nations participating in the World Cup are places where Christians are persecuted and the gospel is restricted, opposed, or dangerous to share. This is a divine opportunity for the church to reach out as athletes and fans travel to the biggest Christian nation on earth. Imagine it: as the world fills the arenas with noise, the Church fills the heavens with prayer. Here are the 14 nations and how we can pray for them
THE SUFFERING CHURCH: and the sin of selective sympathy
A Christian village in Lebanon was recently completely destroyed by Israel. And the Church in the west was silent. It exposed an inconvenient truth that selective sympathy is the moment when loyalty for the perpetrator speaks louder than concern for the victim. For fifty years I have served the persecuted Church across the globe. And one of the most painful truths I have encountered is this: the compassion of the Church in freedom is not always consistent. We raise our voices boldly when persecuted Christians suffer at the hands of those we already view as enemies, but we grow noticeably quiet when persecuted Christians suffer at the hands of those we consider friends. This is the sin of selective sympathy