"The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the gospel"- Tertullian, North African Christian Apologist
8/9/11 North Korea (Christian Post) - Persecution in countries such as North Korea has helped grow the Church and has allowed it to utilize tools that the western Church no longer realizes its possesses, according to Evangelical pastor Eric Foley, who plans to use these tools to help thefree world church. Foley, the pastor of .W Evangelical Church of Colorado Springs and Seoul, Korea and author of Church is for Amateurs, believes that harsh dictators such as North Korea’s Kim Jong Il, a persecutor of Christians , may help the church more than they think.
While ministering in North Korea Foley noticed the “absolute persecution” of Christians and he feels it provides a great catalyst for Church growth.
“[In North Korea] It is not only illegal to possess a bible or to go to church, it’s illegal to bow your head, close your eyes and worship. So as a result of that it presents the most extreme case for the church to take reap today,” said Foley.
He stated that common tools used for discipleship in the west today such asfull time paid pastors and church buildings are not only rare in North Korea but impossible to attain with their current laws. But this is not an uncommon state for the church.
“Throughout church history churches have had to do discipleship with far more restrictions and this has caused them to be much more focused on growing individual believers into the fullness of Christ,” said Foley.
According to Foley the differences between the persecuted Church and the western Churches are attributed to the fact that the west does not understand the difference between freedom of religion and freedom in Christ, leading them to rely on tools such as specially designated buildings and full time paid pastors which persecuted Christians cannot attain.
“These aren’t bad things, but when our faith is grounded or rooted in these tools, then when persecution comes we fall away,” said Foley.
Foley believes the tools used in the North Korean Church and the New Testament Church are based on freedom in Christ. Freedom and affluence hinder growth while the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church according to Foley. Foley adds that by not sharing the gospel in the west, it brings very little chance of true growth and discipleship.
“If we do the things that God calls us to do we’ll be persecuted whether it’s in North Korea or the U.S., whether it’s by the government or by our co-workers,” said Foley.
Foley feels that persecution purifies the Church, and prosperity makes it weak. According to him the free world church can learn a lot from nations such as North Korea and can learn a lot to change the state of Christianity for the better.
“And so I say that Kim Jong Il was the inspiration for this strategy as a way of reminding us that whatever the enemy intends for evil God intends for good,” said Foley(Source).
8/9/11 North Korea (Christian Post) - Persecution in countries such as North Korea has helped grow the Church and has allowed it to utilize tools that the western Church no longer realizes its possesses, according to Evangelical pastor Eric Foley, who plans to use these tools to help the
While ministering in North Korea Foley noticed the “absolute persecution” of Christians and he feels it provides a great catalyst for Church growth.
“[In North Korea] It is not only illegal to possess a bible or to go to church, it’s illegal to bow your head, close your eyes and worship. So as a result of that it presents the most extreme case for the church to take reap today,” said Foley.
He stated that common tools used for discipleship in the west today such as
“Throughout church history churches have had to do discipleship with far more restrictions and this has caused them to be much more focused on growing individual believers into the fullness of Christ,” said Foley.
According to Foley the differences between the persecuted Church and the western Churches are attributed to the fact that the west does not understand the difference between freedom of religion and freedom in Christ, leading them to rely on tools such as specially designated buildings and full time paid pastors which persecuted Christians cannot attain.
“These aren’t bad things, but when our faith is grounded or rooted in these tools, then when persecution comes we fall away,” said Foley.
Foley believes the tools used in the North Korean Church and the New Testament Church are based on freedom in Christ. Freedom and affluence hinder growth while the blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church according to Foley. Foley adds that by not sharing the gospel in the west, it brings very little chance of true growth and discipleship.
“If we do the things that God calls us to do we’ll be persecuted whether it’s in North Korea or the U.S., whether it’s by the government or by our co-workers,” said Foley.
Foley feels that persecution purifies the Church, and prosperity makes it weak. According to him the free world church can learn a lot from nations such as North Korea and can learn a lot to change the state of Christianity for the better.
“And so I say that Kim Jong Il was the inspiration for this strategy as a way of reminding us that whatever the enemy intends for evil God intends for good,” said Foley(Source).
No comments:
Post a Comment