1 in 10 Christians live with persecution

For as many as 200 million people, being a Christian can mean:

• You live in daily fear of violence, abuse, rape or even death
• Just talking to a non-Christian friend about Jesus could land you in jail
• You carry a social stigma affecting the jobs you can get, or how your children are treated in school

These people are our family. While they are the one in ten, we are the other nine. We live with freedoms they are often denied, such as to worship together in public, own a Bible or even repair the roof of the church building.

That’s why Barnabas Fund is launching this new campaign – to call on the other nine to care more for their persecuted brothers and sisters.

Because we are the ones with the power to make a difference.

Use the links below to discover how, through Barnabas Fund, you and your church can be there for your brothers and sisters in Christ.

Order your The Other Nine resource pack which includes a DVD, Ideas Booklet, Leaflets and prayer cards together with a poster. All designed to help you get your church on board. Order your pack today.

Pray - Join thousands in lifting the persecuted Church before God. And enhance the prayer life of your church or home group.

Understand - Knowledge is essential if we are to love our neighbours as Jesus showed us. Barnabas Fund provides resources, training and information to help you and your church respond to Islam in an intelligent, compassionate, Christian way. Find out more…

Give - Through Barnabas Fund you and your church can do so much for Christians who suffer for their love of Jesus. Donate online now.

World maps of persecution

Africa (3.6 MB)
Central Asia (3.6 MB)
South Asia (3.8 MB)
The Middle East (3.6 MB)

Church leadership and the laity

Something that I and a few friends who have recently moved into Sydney have noticed is that churches in the city presently have a lack of lay leadership. Instead, they have an ever increasing staff team - mostly made up of mts type workers or catechists or something. I have noticed this in several churches I have visited recently, and a friend of mine has noticed it in the particular AFES group that he belongs too.

What this would appear to say about our churches is that we think all problems can be solved by the hiring of new staff. Sadly, this prevents the development of lay leadership within congregations. Actually, and potential leadership from the laity with churches fails to blossom becauser they are the people most likely hired as staff.

for my mind, the most obviosu (but not only) example of this is the fact that I have seen very few (ie none at all) lay people lay service or preach in the city. Coming from the mountains, I and a friend of mine have found it quite bizarre.

Of course, I am sure that churches in the city provide excellent training and experience for their staff. But it is a short term solution, because it fails not only to train all people in the church to exercise their gifts, but also stops people from taking responsibilty. My AFES friend mentioned that some faculties have felt the lack of pastoral care in their group, and have created a pastoral care team for the faculty. And whilst it has marginally increased the amount of pastoral care that is happening, it has also discouraged everyone else from doing pastoral care because they are not on the pastoral care team.

There is another church that springs to my mind way out west that has quite a respectable reputation in being able to train and equip their plethora of apprentices. The only problem was that the church had a string of these people come in for two years and then disappear as quickly as they arrived back to Sydney. And this left many people within the church with a lack of ownership.

I'm sure there is a solution out there, especially in Sydney of all places, the new home for the "priesthood of all believers." I'm just not sure what it is yet.

"The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, the Holy Ghost incomprehensible, the whole thing incomprehensible!"

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the persons, nor dividing the substance.

For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal.

Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit. The Father uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Spirit incomprehensible.

The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three eternals, but one Eternal.

As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one Uncreated, and one Incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Spirit Almighty. And yet they are not three almighties, but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not three gods, but one God.

So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Spirit Lord. And yet not three lords, but one Lord.

For as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge each Person by Himself to be both God and Lord, so we are also forbidden by the catholic religion to say that there are three gods or three lords.

The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy Spirit is of the Father, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

So there is one Father, not three fathers; one Son, not three sons; one Holy Spirit, not three holy spirits.

And in the Trinity none is before or after another; none is greater or less than another, but all three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped.

He therefore that will be saved is must think thus of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and man; God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and man of the substance of his mother, born in the world; perfect God and perfect man, of a rational soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father, as touching His godhead; and inferior to the Father, as touching His manhood; who, although He is God and man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; one, not by conversion of the godhead into flesh but by taking of the manhood into God; one altogether; not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person. For as the rational soul and flesh is one man, so God and man is one Christ; who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, He sits at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence He will come to judge the quick and the dead. At His coming all men will rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.

This is the catholic faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.

Now say that another 12 times this year and you're set.

A slow day at the office

There is an interesting post over at Alistar that is worth checking out. Here is a snippett:

"We live in a youth-driven society. Whether in the media or on the web, older people are hardly visible. For instance, the very fact that most of our theological discussions occur online prevents most elderly people from having any active voice in the conversation. When older people appear in the media, they are often ridiculed. Their style, their tastes, their knowledge of the world, their ethics and their values are all out of date. The new and the young are to be celebrated and the old is to be sidelined and dismissed.

The Church should be one place where a radically different culture prevails. It should be a place where older generations are honoured and treated with respect, even when they are wrong. Biblical societies are generally ruled and led by elders, not by young turks. Many contemporary evangelicals have forgotten this and their churches are driven by the desires of their young people and the most influential leaders are under the age of 40 (ideally, it seems to me, churches should not be led by people under the age of 50)."

This is also worth checking out, especially for the Barthians out there.