Year: 2010

Posted on

Christian Woman Sentenced to Death in Pakistan

During the week of praying for persecuted Christians, here is some breaking news from Pakistan. Read it, then pray. Copied with permission from Thirteen Three.

See original post

Asia Bibi, a 37-year-old Christian Pakistani woman was sentenced to death on Monday 8 November 2010 for blasphemy. She is the first woman ever to receive the death sentence for blasphemy in Pakistan.

A Voice of the Martyrs spokesperson said, “We have 7 days to appeal this [decision to the High Court], which of course we will. This is very serious!”

No one sentenced to death for blasphemy in Pakistan has yet been executed – but Asia could now spend years in appalling conditions in prison on death row. It may take years before her appeal is heard.

Asia was arrested in June 2009 after Muslims accused her of making derogatory comments against Islam’s prophet, Mohammed. Her trial lasted 16 months and the judge yesterday handed down to Asia the maximum sentence of death for the crime of blasphemy against Islam. Read more of Asia’s story here.

Voice of the Martyrs workers met with Asia last week to encourage and pray for her. During this meeting Asia said,

“It does not matter to me whether I am sentenced or whether the judge will set me free because I know that I am innocent and most of all I know that the Lord is with me. They persecuted Jesus also and the Bible says that they will persecute us as well.”

This is an URGENT call for us to be BOUND WITH THEM, to stand side by side with Asia in prayer, trusting that God can work in this terrible situation. This is what Thirteen Three is all about, mobilizing Australian youth to support Christians like Asia Bibi who are counted worthy of suffering for the Name of Christ.

Will you be BOUND WITH Asia Bibi?

Here are three things I am urging you to do right now to support Asia:

Continue reading “Christian Woman Sentenced to Death in Pakistan”

Posted on

International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians

Next Sunday (14 Nov) is International Day of Prayer for Persecuted Christians (IDOP). Christians are encouraged to pray during the week 7-14 Nov. Here’s a blurb from Thirteen Three: “Thirteen Three is calling on Australian youth to lift their voices in prayer during the week of IDOP expressing that we are BOUND WITH THEM, that we stand together with our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ. We’re expecting God to work in BIG ways as we pray for God to strengthen his people to stand firm and endure until the end.”

Watch the video above and then pray for our family in Uzbekistan.

Posted on

Starbucks, Krispy Kreme and Church Growth

Starbucks failed to understand the fine coffee culture in Australia. They tried to run the same model of coffee house that worked in Seattle and throughout North America, and in the end their business failed to take root in Australia. In 2008 they closed all but a handful of their Australian stores. As of yesterday, Krispy Kreme Australia went into voluntary administration. Perhaps Krispy Kreme, like Starbucks, also failed to appropriately understand their Australian market.

When it comes to church growth, there are lots of really exciting things happening in North American churches. God is doing some exciting things as the gospel of Jesus’ death and resurrection is proclaimed. However, I think sometimes we might be a bit quick to adopt church growth strategies from our North American friends, that may likewise be destined to flop.

Does this mean we don’t learn from them? Not at all. But we need to prayerfully work hard to have strategies that take into account our own unique culture and context.

Posted on

Pinch + Punch // November 2010

Hey blog dogs. Thanks for reading this month. Guess what? I’ve finished college! Woot!! I’ve only got 3 exams and then it’s time for freedom!!! Slightly excited. Very excited to be kicking it full-time at Narrabeen in 2011. I’ll be heading to Vanuatu with Scripture Union again this year: I’ve still got 4 more blog posts reflecting on the last visit that are waiting in draft form – I’ll publish them before the end of the month. I try to pray for people who read this blog: if there’s anything specifically you’d like prayed for, leave it in the comments or contact me. My Smashing Mag desktop is from Bosnia:

Here’s the best of October (according to clicks) and some other stats:

Tres exámenes son grandes, pero podemos hacer que este equipo … vamos!

Posted on

Reformation Day – Confidence

Happy Reformation Day! October 31 is a significant day in the history of the Gospel and God’s work in the world. It’s got nothing to do with Halloween, but it does have something to do with people knocking on doors! I liked this quote this morning from my friend on twitter: “31/10 – Kids knock on doors asking for treats. 31/10 – Martin Luther knocks on Church door asking for Reform”. On October 31, 1517, the young monk Martin Luther nailed his ‘95 Theses‘ to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany.

That document outlined a number of concerns he had with some specific problems within the Roman Catholic church of his time. His goal in the first instance was to reform the church, but in the end it was the spark that lead to the Protestant Reformation.

One of the legacies of Luther and the Reformation for Christians today is confidence.

Continue reading “Reformation Day – Confidence”

Posted on

Is Halloween Evil?

Halloween doesn’t really get in that much of a look-in in Australia. Though I did notice a display complete with smoke machine and ghoulish goblins around the pumpkin section in my local supermarket. What’s the deal with Halloween? Check out the following: