Agabus (mark adams)

The horrific destruction and human suffering in Haiti exert an almost irresistible pull on U.S. Christian missionaries eager to help. But as the jailing last week of 10 missionaries from a small Baptist church in Idaho illustrates, best intentions don’t always translate into good deeds in the chaotic aftermath of the monster earthquake.

Many mission groups provide essential services for Haitians — indeed some have evolved into key service providers, working alongside nonprofit groups and the U.N. to fill gaps that the Haitian government can’t fill.

But other missions, even when well-meaning, risk running afoul of Haiti’s culture and laws.

via Haiti awash in Christian aid, evangelism

Reading about the Haitian earthquake, I yearned to go and help. This yearning came mostly from my own need of fulfillment, and I found it necessary to remind myself that I did have a work to do, one given to me by Christ. I could not abandon that work for a flight of fancy.

(For those unacquainted with my work, I am a youth pastor, Christian musician and summer volunteer at Bible camps. Learn about my latest endeavor at RockontheMount.com.)

Each Christian must find his or her calling, and commit to it. That is how we will reach Haiti and the rest of the world, by building God’s church, one brick at a time, so to speak. We can change the world, but not on the spur of the moment.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Originally posted 2010-02-08 15:26:53.

Hulu.com offers these two excellent films about the five missionaries slain in the name of the Lord in the 1950s.

The End of the Spear

Beyond the Gates of Splendor

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

There is much we do not know about Fatima Al-Mutairi. She is the 26-year-old Saudi who was murdered by her brother for professing faith in Christ. We do not know how she came to be a Christian. We do not know with whom she had fellowship. (We do know her fellowship was Internet- and phone-based.) For security reasons there is much we probably cannot know.

What we know comes from a single report. In September, Voice of the Martyrs published details of her murder and her final words. She had posted a poem on the Internet just before her murder. Fatima’s existence is known through unnamed sources inside Saudi Arabia. As of this writing, no major media outlet has reported on her death, nor has this story been independently verified. (This is not said to cast doubt on the story, but to illustrate the sensitivity of the matter.)

In the absence of details, it is unwise to speculate on the circumstances of her death. Among us Westerners, however, it is important to study this case and ask how we might better serve persecuted Christians. The theme of this essay is caution. VOM demonstrates caution in guarding the details of Fatima’s martyrdom, and there is much we should learn from this situation. The question at hand is what responsibility we as Westerners have to safeguard Christians in predominantly non-Christian lands.

Should we encourage persecuted Christians to be cautious? Or, should we encourage them to be bold? Should we encourage them to be guarded? Or, should we encourage them to take risks?

What responsibility do we bear, we who live in countries where religious freedom is part of the fabric of society?

Read the rest of this entry »

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Originally posted 2008-09-23 01:32:06.

Rich Henderson of Love INC Santa Clara preached on the importance of service and the growth of the church. It was an excellent sermon and I commend it to your listening. Visit The Link Between Service and Revival at MountainBible.com.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Writes Lori Batten, nurse in Zimbabwe: “This 12 year old girl (left) brought her little brother in to be treated. She was left home with no adults and knew something wasn’t right and that she needed to get him to the hospital. He is doing much better, got off of IV’s today… here she is feeding him.”

Lori is a good friend whom I met working at Camp Victory, an American Missionary Fellowship youth camp in Northern California. During missionary hour, she described her work in Zimbabwe, explaining how nurses and doctors at government hospitals work to save the sick. The dedication of these workers is inspiring, stirring me to reflect on how great an impact a person can make in the world. True, there is much despair in various quarters of the world, perhaps even hopelessness, but nothing is more powerful to overcome than the love of Christ. The image I’ve posted above speaks more about Christ’s love than words written at Agabus.com. The image of this young girl, feeding her brother, is a demonstration of unconditional love. I believe I can learn from this photo…

© 2009, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Originally posted 2009-01-11 00:31:11.

From CBN.com:

On Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007, Necati Aydin was in the performance of his life.

The 36-year-old was playing the role of Jesus Christ in an Easter production.

“He loved to serve the Lord. That was his passion and goal in life,” said Shemsa Aydin, wife of Necati Aydin.

Born into an Islamic family, Necati converted to Christianity in 1994.

“His family was so upset about his conversion,” Shemsa said. “They even put a gun to his head and asked him to recant. But he did not.”

Sitting in the audience that Easter morning were five Muslim men who had befriended Necati. According to Turkish authorities, the men wanted to know more about Christianity.

“They were pretending to be seekers,” said Pastor Ihsan Ozbek.

Ten days later, on April 18, the men’s true intensions would unravel in a brutal attack that would shake Turkey’s tiny Christian community.

The five men stormed into Necati’s office on the fourth floor of a building.

Armed with kitchen knives, the men tied up Necati and two other Christians, 46-year-old German citizen Tilman Geske and 32-year-old Ugur Yuksel, another Turkish convert from Islam.

“Every time I close my eyes, I can picture things very well,” said Susanna Geske, wife of Tilman Geske. “So when I close my eyes I can see him sitting in the office.”

Tilman and Susanna moved to Malatya in 1997. They knew that living here wasn’t going to be easy. The city has deep Islamist and nationalistic roots. Anti-Christian sentiments run high here.

Ugur Yuksel experienced the tension in 2005 when protestors stood outside the same building, accusing him and other believers of using a publishing company to distribute Bibles.

Shemsa said, “The Bible tells us that when we accept Jesus into our lives, we must be willing to count the cost.”

What happened next is still under investigation. But authorities tell us that for two hours the men were repeatedly tortured.

Susanna said, “He had lots and lots of bruises. He must have been beaten up a lot.”

“During the torture, the men forced our husbands to recite Islamic prayers to try and get them to renounce their Christian faith,” Shemsa said.

Police were dispatched to the scene after getting calls from a nearby office about suspicious activity.

Sources have told CBN News that as soon as the suspects heard the police coming, they decided to end the lives of the three Christians.

“They cut their throats!” Ozbek said.

Read the rest of the story: Malatya Martyrs: Oaks of Righteousness

© 2009, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

In 2003, I embarked on a short-term missions trip to Bolivia, by far the most exotic place I’ve been. I had previously been to Guatemala (2001) and, in my college days, to Mexico (1991). Bolivia is more extraordinarily removed, south of the equator and quite free of the “American presence.” My group was not particularly noticed — there are few Americans in the parts of Bolivia we visited. We did spot many blue-eyed, blond-haired people, but they were Mennonites, descended from Europe. Some in our group communicated with them in Spanish (they only spoke Spanish and, I believe, German). We were most welcome in Bolivia, the people friendly and inquisitive.

Ours was a mission of support, not evangelism. We were there to observe, to meet, to know the missionaries who had committed their lives to this field. Some had been in Bolivia from the beginning, in those early outreaches in the 1950s to peoples in the jungles. Others had only lately arrived, but I could see in them a life-time of commitment. Others were Bolivian nationals, committed to bringing the gospel to the far corners of their nation. They all left an indelible mark.

Paul wrote in Romans, “How beautiful are the feet of those who deliver the good news.” Indeed, how beautiful. I hope you enjoy the slideshow of these beautiful people.

© 2009, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.