CULTURE
NITY
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But in the daily grind, practicing Christianity is a completely different ballgame here. While I was in
Athens, studying Journalism at the University of Georgia, I’d have frequent conversations with the pastor
of our college ministry about different cultures of Christianity. I was stunned by how many young women out there were interested in dressing fashionably but modestly, by how easy it was to have a conversation with someone without having it sprinkled with curse-words, and by how much there was to do out
there, for someone who has forsaken the life of this world. It made me realize that it is truly difficult for a
rich man to enter the kingdom of God, because in the rush of all the “Christianness” I missed the helpless dependency on the grace of Christ.
In Sri Lanka, Christians are driven hard to be our own resource-persons, to be creative in entertaining
ourselves, to grab at any fulfilling godly cultural experience that comes our way. Very few churches are
actually communities of people who have their life-source in common, most are just Sunday-morning
gatherings to perform ritual practice. And if you are part of an evangelical church that is actually a community built on biblical values, then you are making a very strong statement about yourself.
Just as Christianity is not a new thing in Sri Lanka, anti-Christian sentiment is not either. There have
been ongoing organized physical attacks on churches and pastors over the years, especially in rural
areas. Since I returned from Athens, Ga. in July 2013, there is more urgent and widespread discussion in
the Christian community about persecution, and how to deal with it. What was a debate on legislature
against “unethical conversion” in the Sri Lankan parliament a few years ago, has now grown into the
disbanding of congregations and home churches on the threat of violence.
While this may be discouraging and even shocking to read from where you are right now, it is encouraging for us to experience the truth that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness. As the first
church found itself experiencing the supernatural help of the Holy Spirit in the face of persecution, so
we find ourselves going deeper, seeking harder and discovering the power of prayer and of His presence.
And as the women who discovered that the tomb was empty ran to tell the others, Sri Lankan women,
young and old, are discovering eternal truths and taking them to their friends, their families and their
workplaces.
In the months and maybe years to come, I want you to meet with me and some of these women who
have forsaken life in Sri Lanka. We will talk about life, love, career and Jesus in the hope of drawing
inspiration and perspective from across the globe. I am incredibly excited to finally begin this journey
with you all! Until next time, pray for us.
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