Jesus, Jihad and Jail

by The Missionary formally known as Mike*

Introduction

“Dad, what year were you in prison?” If my son had not asked me this so loudly, or if we had not been in the middle of a quiet family restaurant, his question might not have bothered me. But I was embarrassed that a group of strangers might think that I was a felon. That was not a very spiritual attitude, but I had not felt very spiritual for a long time.

How had I ended up in a restaurant, self-consciously wondering if families were trying to keep their women folk and children safe from me? The answer to that question started almost 20 years ago.

The Call?

In 1987 my family and I decided to do what so many other Christians have done over the years – we turned our backs on home, career, culture and safety to bring the good news about Jesus to those who had not heard.

Our decision to become missionaries was just that, a decision, not a mystical call but a cold calculated decision. We believed that the church was commanded to bring the gospel to all peoples and that we could play a part in carrying out that mandate.

We saw that a large group of people in predominantly Muslim nations were being denied access to the gospel. In some Muslim nations it is against the law for Christians to own a Bible or to participate in Christian worship. In most Muslim nations, it is a crime for Muslims to convert to Christianity and a crime for Christians to share the gospel with Muslims. Furthermore, most mission organizations and denominations were not sending missionaries to reach Muslims. (Just a few years ago there were more missionaries working in the US state of Alaska than the entire Muslim world!)

For us it came down to one simple illustration: If you wanted to help a group of people carry a log and there were nine people on one end of the log and only one on the other end of the log, which end would you go to? We choose the end of the log that needed the most help – the Muslim world.

We knew we were looking at a nearly impossible task, one that we were not able to face alone. We found a mission board that would sponsor and help us in our quest. Additionally, we recruited several other missionaries to join us in this endeavor.

Of course, it’s one thing to decide to go to a Muslim country, which is closed to missionaries, and quite another thing to get in. Missionaries are not welcome in predominantly Muslim countries – but western businesses are. In order to enter our chosen country, we created a legitimate company and made ourselves employees.

The Harvest!

In addition to the possibilities of prison, torture and murder that realistically face missionaries laboring in all Muslim Countries, most missionaries laboring among Muslims see few (if any) converts. One of the great Missionaries of the last century, J. Christy Wilson said “Evangelism among Muslims is probably the most difficult of all missionary tasks. Most of us who have spent years in this work could claim to be charter members in the brotherhood made up of those who have fished all night and taken nothing.”

Incredibly, we were able to see more than 40 Muslims give their lives to Christ in just a few years. How did so many Muslims come to follow Christ among a people notoriously resistant to the gospel? Honestly, I don’t know. Only God can truly say why one man plants and another harvests. But here are three of the principals that we found useful in sharing the gospel.

Present Jesus – not culture, theology or denomination

Biblically, the Gospel is a person, not a set of propositional truths. That is why Christ does not preach, “The Gospel.” He is “The Gospel.” Over and over again in the Bible, the Good News is called, “The Good News of Christ” or “The Good News about Christ.” Not the Good News of a set of propositional truths about Christ, but the Good News of Christ Himself.

Our work was to call Muslims to Jesus. Our temptation was to try to win arguments with Muslims. In the initial stages of our work we were drawn into arguments with Muslims about theology (the trinity, salvation and inspiration), history (the crusades and denominational splits) and western culture (in the minds of many Muslims that equates to Christian culture). These arguments did not lead to Muslims following Christ – but bringing them into vital contact with our risen Lord did!

How did we introduce Muslims to Jesus? As we became acquaintances and friends with Muslims in our daily lives every life challenge (both theirs and ours) became opportunities to show them the words of Jesus in the Bible and to ask for the help of Jesus in prayer. The sickness of one of our children, the marriage problems of a friend and the business problems of a local carpenter all became opportunities to pray and consult the words of Jesus. What we found was that by bringing Muslims into contact with Jesus they fell in love with Him and wanted to follow Him just as we had.

Embrace Muslim culture

Does Jesus require that women NOT wear head coverings? Must Christians eat pork and drink alcohol? Is wearing immodest clothing a sign of true commitment to Jesus? These may seem like silly questions, but this is what the typical western Christian communicates to the typical Muslim. We believe that a person does not have to convert twice in order to come to Jesus. A person MUST convert once. That is, he/she must be born again, turn from their old life and follow Christ. But they do not have to turn their backs on country, culture, family and friends!

Missiologist Phil Parshall points out how easily we obscure the essence of the Gospel to unbelievers and new believers: “‘Bathing frequently, brushing one’s teeth, abstaining from beer, tobacco, and betel nut, and refusing to eat clams or oysters have all been preached by various missionaries as symbols of the ‘new life in Christ Jesus.’ How difficult it can be for the national to try to work through these externals and still keep his focus on or even discover the message of redemption.”

We decided that whenever possible, we would use Muslim forms, Muslim terms and Muslim patterns of thinking to communicate the Good News of Jesus Christ. We did our best to examine every bit of Muslim culture and when that cultural expression was not inherently evil, we embraced it. We dressed like Muslims, used Islamic terms, adopted Islamic dietary practices, and kept similar fasts. When converts began to form house churches we ordered our worship in a way that was similar to the worship in a mosque. Consequently, the people we shared the gospel with were able to confront the claims of Christ without being confused by the irrelevancies of culture.

Be bold

Missionaries in “closed countries” feel immense pressure to act with an abundance of caution! The wrong word at the wrong time could have disastrous results. Personal consequences could range from deportation to prison. As devastating as these events could be to the missionary and his/her family they pale in comparison to what could happen to a Muslim convert and their family. Torture, prison and death are likely to be the consequences if the government, or extremists, discover that a Muslim has converted to Christianity. Under these circumstances, caution is completely understandable.

And yet, without bold evangelism Muslims will not hear and “How will they believe in him whom they have not heard?”

The early Christians faced similar challenges. They were threatened with beatings and imprisonment for sharing Christ. They were watched by the police and the future did not look good for them. How did they respond? They prayed for boldness: “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness”.

For us boldness meant that we gave Gospels to everyone who would take them and we spoke to any one who would listen about Jesus. These people included policemen, taxi drivers, neighbors and friends. We were told that it was dangerous to talk to policemen and that taxi drivers were frequently paid government spies. But whatever their profession, these people needed Jesus!

I believe that one reason so many came to Christ was that we choose to put boldness before safety for ourselves, and by example, encouraged those we led to Christ to be bold as well. Many of the Muslims who were baptized were led to Christ by fellow Muslim converts. They followed the example of boldness we set for them!

The Consequences

After only a few short incredible years we had seen more than 40 Muslims baptized, two house churches were meeting and converts were enthusiastically evangelizing on their own. I was being asked to speak and write about what was happening and how it might be replicated in other Muslim countries. And then, early one morning, a dozen policemen raided our home.

It was before dawn when the loud banging and shouting voices woke us. Men with automatic weapons forced my wife and small children (pre school age) into one room. We were terrified and disoriented, but there is nothing like having automatic weapons pointed at your children to clear your mind and focus your attention! Over the next few hours our home was ransacked (draws, closets and cabinets dumped on to the floor, furniture destroyed, etc.), several boxes of Bibles and Christian literature were packed up and I was taken away for “questioning”.

The Interrogation

Although I did not know it at the time, several other members of the missionary team I was working with were also arrested. We were all taken to an interrogation center and questioned for three days by this country’s secret police. The authorities used food, water and sleep deprivation in order to wear down our resistance to their questions. During our interrogation we, and our families, were repeatedly threatened.

Although these were some of the most intense days of my life, they were not without some comic relief. My interrogators repeatedly asked me to identify other missionaries and converts. I refused. One exasperated interrogator shouted at me in broken English, “You must answer – you are under persecution!” He did not realize that he had meant to use the word “prosecution” and was puzzled at my amusement. Of course, it was probably funnier to me because I had not slept in 3 days!

At the end of our 3rd day of interrogation our captors told us that we were being set free. I was elated! I was also drained, exhausted and disoriented. My mind was racing, thinking about how we could salvage our burgeoning movement. Perhaps all of this intellectual and emotional upheaval explains why I did not find it at all incongruous that the guards were placing heavy manacles on our wrists.

Shackled and dazed, we were led through what looked like a medieval dungeon to a musky canvas covered military truck. For more than an hour we rode in bleak silence. Sometime during our desperate journey, I realized that we were not going home for a very long time!

Maximum security

The prison truck finally stopped and we were ordered to get out. At first, none of us had any idea of where we were. We were clearly in a prison, it was very isolated and we were in a more difficult situation than any of us had imagined. But it was several more hours before we realized that we were in one of the most notorious prisons in the Middle East, home to murders, rapists and terrorists.

As bad as this prison was, it seemed much worse at the time. Four of us were assigned to a very small (3 meters by 2 meters) cell. There was no running water in the cells. In fact, water for the entire prison was only turned on for one hour a day (from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM). Each prisoner was required to purchase two buckets – one for water and the other to use as a toilet and it was very important to never confuse the two buckets! Our cells had no beds (or furniture of any kind), no blankets and no lights. The only food the prison provided was some rotten lettuce and pita bread once a day.

As bad as the conditions were in prison, the impotence we felt being unable to help our families was worse. All of our wives were followed by the “secret police”. The overt nature of their surveillance was designed to intimidate and terrify. It succeeded! Several of the families were forced out of their homes with only a days notice. My infant daughter (2 months old) was overcome with a persistent pneumonia and had to be sent back to the US for medical attention.

Attempts by friends to shield us from these things only exacerbated our feelings of helplessness. At one point I became convinced that my daughter had died of her pneumonia and that my friends and family were shielding me from this. (Fortunately, despite my paranoia, my daughter had made a rapid recovery in the US).

God’s provision

In spite of the difficult conditions we found that God provided for us in unique ways. William Cowper said, “God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform; He plants his footsteps on the sea and rides upon the storm”. Well, one of God’s most mysterious provisions for us was to be through Muslim terrorists.

Because we were in the most severe prison of our adopted country, many of our fellow prisoners were terrorists who had assassinated political leaders, bombed churches and murdered innocents without remorse. Never the less, they saw our situation and came to our aide with bedding, food and other help. For the first few days we would daily be presented with a hot meal of Middle Eastern delicacies laid out on a blanket as if we were dining in a Bedouin sheik’s tent. To this day I have no idea how they cooked this. As this feast was set out before us I could not help but be reminded of Psalm 23, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”

Why would these Islamic terrorists help us? They saw us as people who were committed to our religion and were being persecuted for it – just as they were. Although they disagreed with us, they respected us and felt a kinship with us. In many respects, I felt the same way. I could relate to these men who were willing to die for what they believe. In fact, in some ways I felt more fellowship with most of these terrorist than I do with most Christians. Not fellowship in Christ, but the fellowship of really believing that this world is merely what C.S. Lewis called, “The shadowlands” and that the next life is worth giving up your physical life for.

Over the next three months I was able to share about Jesus with dozens of these men. We managed to smuggle several Arabic Bibles into prison and held Bible studies. Two of prisoners actually gave their lives to Christ. Many more heard the gospel. And then, as quickly as we had been arrested, were put on planes back to our homes.

The Aftermath

Most stories don’t end dramatically and succinctly, they produce ripples and consequences that last for years after the events desribed officially end. This story is no exception.

I returned home and was greeted as a hero by most. But I did not feel like a hero. I had been the leader of this team. None of the families on this team of evangelists was assigned by a denomination or mission board. I recruited them all. I looked them in the eye and said, “Follow me and we will do great things for the kingdom of God”. And this is where I led them. All of this suffering was because of decisions I made.

The missionary community is a small one. There were a number of missionaries who were offended by various things we did and took stands against us. Some of this opposition was based on sincerely held principles but others (as evidenced by the unscrupulous actions of some) were less principled. Truthfully, although I tried to pretend otherwise, I was deeply hurt in both cases.

My marriage of 17 years, which was already strained, ended in divorce.

I have not regularly attended a church in more than 10 years. To me, the church services seem shallow, trivial and supercilious. The world is going to hell (literally) and we sing hymns and hype “High Attendance Sunday”. My feelings are better expressed by Amy Carmichael in her poem, “THY BROTHER’S BLOOD CRIETH” http://4himnet.com/bnyberg/carmichael.html

Looking at the aftermath, was it worth it? Yes! More than 40 souls were brought to Christ. Scores more heard the gospel. I think I understand in small way what Paul meant when he wrote, “Now I can find joy amid my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my own person whatever is lacking in Christ’s afflictions on behalf of His Body, the Church.”

* Mike is my nom de guerre. My real name, the names of my associates, our mission board and the countries we served in have been obscured in order to protect missionaries and converts still living in those countries.

August 2005

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