Sharing the Gospel: Culture of Witchcraft and Fear

The ministry of Kent and Jenny Schafer in Mozambique for it to be successful must overcome a culture of witchcraft and fear. Dena McMaster of NTM reports that the Schafers discerned several cultural insights for the Gospel to be shared in a culturally relevant way. McMaster cites an example of this culture of witchcraft and fear:

“If you buy a quantity of food (spaghetti, dried manioc, rice, etc), you should make sure to bring it home after darkness falls. If you do not do so, every time you take out the food to cook it, any witchdoctor who may have happened to see you bring it home will magically take some out at the same time. And, in this way, your food will run out in no time at all.”

You can know more about this culture of fear and witchcraft at: http://usa.ntm.org/field-news/witchcraft-fear-abound

Being a Christian is a crime!

Ray Downs of Christian Post reports about the arrest of Abdolreza “Matthias” Haghnejad, an evangelical pastor without clear charges. Many organizations see this act as part of Iran’s campaign against Christianity. The government thinks of Christianity as a threat to national security. Firouz Sadegh-Khanjani, a member of the Church of Iran’s National Council said that in Iran authorities are equating being a Christian to a political crime. Downs summarized this attitude of Iranian government towards Christianity:

“…Iranian courts and officials have begun to define Protestant groups in political terms, trying Protestant believers and leaders in Revolutionary Courts, which are reserved for political and national security offenses, with much heavier sentences.”

You can read more about this report at:

http://www.christianpost.com/news/evangelical-pastor-in-iran-arrested-as-christianity-crackdown-continues-54503/

How will you commemorate 9/11?

Diana Davis of Baptist Press talks about ways to remember 9/11 at church. She suggested five ways to do it. Examples of practical ways to do it are honoring the first responders, sharing of testimony, and challenging the church. She ends her suggestion with a question:

As we remember 9/11, will your church and church members recommit to be God’s representatives during crisis?

You can read the details of Davis’ suggestion at Baptist Press.