Source: AAC International Update
The following article by Bishop Bill Atwood first appeared in the June 11, 2013 edition of the AACs International Update. Sign up for this free email here.
By Bishop Bill Atwood, Anglican Church in North America
Surprises in Ukraine
In Ukraine, a huge army of grey concrete apartment blocks–all identical–stand like stone domino soldiers in formation. They go on in a never-ending drab echelon, perfectly aligned and lifeless; waiting for a call to life that as yet has not come.
In stark contrast stands vast agricultural abundance. There are countless fruit trees, fields of grain, and rows of vegetables. It is almost as though the farmland cries out to the nation to “Come alive!” like the dry bones of Ezekiel.
For decades, Communist powers tried to rid the land of any mention of God. One Communist party member in Simferopol told me that if she were discovered with a Bible she would be sent to a labor camp under the laws about pornography.
In Christian terms, two things resonate with agricultural life yet stand in opposition to the lifelessness that is also there. The Orthodox Church still stands and bears a quiet witness that cannot be extinguished even by communist oppression. It’s incense laden formal imagery still carries the message of the hope of a God who is greater than anything on earth. Other evangelical churches, mostly small, have arisen. There are three huge mega-churches though. Victory Church, Hillsong Church, and the Embassy of God. The Embassy of God is particularly unusual because it has been built and is led by a Nigerian ex-pat who has settled in Kiev, a man called Sunday Adelaja. With a church of more than 25,000 in a former Soviet block nation it is an amazing accomplishment. There have been criticisms and some government attempts to charge him with malfeasance, but after years of accusations, no charges have ever been filed. It is not the controversy that is of interest today, however. It is his simple formula for building a world impacting church: Be discipled in Christ to the point where you will follow Him even through death, and listen for the call of God on your life and fulfill it.
Evil around the world
Around the world, there is evil. In some places it rises from oppressive governments that line their own pockets, using corruption like a machine to enrich the leaders (many African nations would be examples of this). In other places, the evil comes from structures that are parallel or outside the official structures. Sometimes they stand outside official channels, but are so strong that their influence can even overshadow the government (Somalia comes to mind). Sometimes there is a change in the overseeing power but the daily evils of bureaucrats who are still in place continue (like in the former Soviet Republics). Sometimes evil is more localized in institutions or structures of life where Teflon coated leaders seem to escape accountability. It is understandable for people to come to believe that it is just the way that the world is and there is nothing that we can do about it. I have watched as people accepted flawed election results as “just the way things are.”
Often it seems that there is no accounting, no reckoning; that the perpetrators of wrongdoing seem to continue to prosper all the more as their misdeeds descend into deeper mire and evil. David writes about this as a major theme in the Psalms, “How long, O Lord, will the evil prosper!” (Ps 73:12)
The thing to remember is what Jesus said, “For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” (Luke 10:2-3) There will be a time of reckoning. It may not occur until the great white throne of judgment, but it will come. We know it will come not because it looks like it is coming but because God says it is coming.
Who can speak? What will they say?
It is God who speaks to injustice. It is He who addresses inequity. Ultimately He will do so from His throne in the parousia. Until then, He uses people. Some know that they are prophets speaking the Word of the Lord. Others are unwitting, but, like Darius, are used by Him. Oddly, Anglicans have the opportunity to speak in a way others may not be able. Though it had a dark side, colonial power was responsible (albeit often indirectly) for much of the transmission of the Gospel around the world. As a result, Anglicans are often uniquely situated to speak either from within the halls of power, or from places that have access to the leaders of communities and nations. But, what will we say?
This is where we can learn from Pastor Sunday Adelaja of Kiev. Be discipled in Christ to the point where you will follow Him even through death, and listen for the call of God on your life and fulfill it. When we think that way–when we live that way, God will show us what to say and do. We do not have the responsibility to fix everything. We do have, though, the responsibility to do our part.
Whether we see unkindness or impropriety in Church, using government service for political purposes, corruption or diversion of funds, betraying trust, inappropriate pursuing of worldly pleasures, violent intimidation by terrorists, or other abuses, someone in the Body of Christ is called to speak to it. God is a God of order. He will not let injustice stand forever. Sometimes His patience is greater than mine-ok, His patience is always greater than mine–but He will not let injustice stand forever. Injustice is not part of His Kingdom. As His Kingdom’s reign increases, injustice must diminish. If I do not choose to cooperate with His process of bringing justice, and fulfill my part in the process, then I am choosing to receive the correction that will come to everything that is operating outside His leadership. Where there is an area where I am not submitted to His Lordship, that will include me. Thankfully, our eternal standing in justice is secured by the work that Jesus has done on the Cross. Until that is fully consummated in heaven, we should cooperate with Him to bring His reign to those around us. There are enough of us that we could touch everything that needs to be touched.
Are you indelibly discipled in Christ? Are you willing to listen to Him? Are you willing to speak or act according to His word? Daniel did and changed a nation just by praying in public.
There are plenty of areas that need to be addressed: public policy gone amuck, racism, false charges of racism, corruption, election irregularities, genocide, terrorism, a voice for the voiceless, hope for the unborn, economic justice, and many, many other things. There are countless people who live without hope or justice who need it. There are people who are imprisoned by wounds, trauma, addictions, or unbelief. We have the Gospel that address life’s wounds and inequities. It needs to be shared. Will we Love the Lord and His Gospel even more than life itself? With His help, we can do this!
