To me, the most interesting chapter of "This Beautiful Mess," by Rick McKinley, was chapter 11, "We Must Go Through Hardships." He talks about strategic suffering, suffering as a choice in order to accomplish something for Christ.
He says Christians in the West don't understand what it means to suffer for Christ. And when somebody does actually suffer--get kidnapped in another country, for instance--they come home with a book deal. "The American church doesn't produce martyrs; we produce celebrities." Very interesting thought.
But in other parts of the world, suffering for Christ is a way of life, and they identify with what Paul endured in Acts.
He tells a great story about being with other Christians and talking about Cuba. Someone in the group heard that the Cuban church was led mostly by women, and they desperately needed medical supplies. But how could they get supplies into a mostly closed country?
"Celestin, our friend from Rwanda, spoke up. 'What wold happen if you took medical supplies to Cuba to your sisters there?'
"'You would get arrested,' I said. Someone else began to explain to Celestin the embargo and other legal roadblocks. But Celestin interrupted....
"'Wouldn't that preach?....Wouldn't that preach to the world if you got arrested while taking medical supplies into Cuba for your sisters?'
"At that moment I felt like I had taken a baseball bat in the ribs. I'd been hit with the dangerous side of the kingdom....Clearly my creativity for the gospel ended at the point of suffering."
We have it so doggone safe in America. We have our freedoms, our Constitutional protections. If persecuted for our faith, we can sue for damages. None of us suffer for Christ, not really. We endure some slights, maybe, but it's not worthy to be called suffering.
Paul suffered, and he did it strategically. He intentionally went to places where he might very likely get beaten or stoned--and often he was. For Paul, and for many Christians around the world, it's not safe to be a Christian. It's a dangerous calling.
Here are a few more thoughts from McKinley's chapter:
- "In Celestin's life I see so much beauty and a willingness to suffer in the mess for the sake of his King. I, on the other hand, am the guy who doesn't want to go to India because I could get an upset stomach."
- "I have felt superior to those who suffer. It's an ugly truth. I have subconsciously assumed that their suffering is due to their inferiority---that they have pulled a sort of second-class seating assignment in God's big, blue kingdom bus."
- "We are brothers and sisters, not Western CEOs and Third World employees."
Career-wise, I've been hanging around and writing about and cheering on churches and pastors for the past 25 years as my denomination's Communications Director.
Leave a comment