As we scan the secular news bulletins in the coming year, we ought to watch what is happening to the church.
When Filipino pastor, Severino Bagtasos, was murdered in his church by a Muslim fanatic during a Sunday worship service, his family and congregation did not rush to announce a trend was developing in the southern Philippines. They simply hurt, their mourning mixed with fear that it could happen to someone else they love.
When two Chinese Christians in Shanghai were visited by the police, who threatened: 'We will shoot you if you keep doing this work!', they did not write a book on the increasing pressure on house churches in China to register with the government. They simply said: 'We have rededicated our lives to Christ. We will do everything we can for Jesus.'
