Background – a team of American and Canadian clergy, along with some trained lay people, spent time in Viet Nam recently. Their purpose was to meet with and train Vietnamese Christians. The team smuggled in Vietnamese langauge Bibles, training material (both printed and digital). If the Westerners got caught, they would merely be “disinvited.” The Vietnamese who might get caught could face prison.
From Virtual-Doug. No fancy buildings. No budgets. No pews. Just love, hope and faith……and it’s everything.
Published 6 years, 3 months ago 2 comments
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Bene – you hit it on the head! The Vietnamese Christians are not distracted by the trappings of western Christianity. That is not to say there aren’t a lot of beautiful (and in some cases new) church buildings, but their emphasis is on God. But, the government is loosening up – notice that a new Cardinal was just added to the Roman Church from Viet Nam. For years, the government insisted it would appoint any Cardinal or Archbishop. But the Vatican held out. Seminaries are now allowed to open, but the number of students is restricted. The government is rightly afraid of evangelicals – but the Roman Catholic population (about 10% of the country) is growing more restive too.
So – next time your congregation celebrates the Lord’s Supper – could you do it with Kool Aid and soda crackers?
Doug,
I’m a children’s pastor and that’s how we do it!
Seriously, it’s always struck me how Christianity thrives under persecution. Facing jail for your faith will make you a serious Christian real quick. And it sure puts the arguement on what color to paint the walls into perspective real fast, too, doesn’t it?