It is way too easy to narrow focus on American politics and miss other important stories - like God is alive and well and doing His work, thank you very much. Mea culpa! To make amends, I will pass along a great story that needs to be told.
Two Salem Alliance people have just returned from a teaching mission in Kurdistan in Northern Iraq and shared this story about one of the participants. Salem Alliance Church committed this year to a multi-year mission in the Middle East in conjunction with CAMA Services, the international mission arm of the C&MA, pledging $400,000 and more importantly people to the mission work Iraq and Jordan. Both money and people have begun to flow into the Middle East from Salem. A teaching seminar for pastors is what drew the SAC people to Kurdistan.
The man they told about came from a small village outside one of the larger cities in Northern Iraq. Television is widely available now in Iraq and he went out and bought a flat panel TV and a satellite package so he could watch porn. God had other ideas, though, because all he could get were two Christian stations. One night Joyce Meyer (an evangelist) came on and he thought, "Well, she's female - I guess I'll watch and see if something happens." It did. By the end of the program, he had given his life to Christ.
Over the next couple of years he led 15 other people in the village to Christ. He would pick them up 5 at a time in his van on Sundays and they would worship God while driving around because it was too dangerous to do so in a fixed location. He also kept the groups insulated from each other in case one was penetrated by a Muslim spy.
Unfortunately, a spy did get in and he ended up being dragged outside of town, beaten severely by the local Muslim brethren (altogether now - "Islam is a religion of peace.") with the grand finale being some goon holding down his arm while another pounded on it with the butt of his rifle breaking the arm in several places. He was told if he came back to the village, they would kill him.
He somehow managed to get to a friend's house in the country and holed up there. He had heard about the pastors' conference where the Salem Alliance people were teaching and called a friend in a far-away city to come by and pick him up to go to the conference. And he made it, attending faithfully and participating throughout the conference.
This is a story worthy of Acts or Paul in the Epistles and it apparently is not uncommon in Iraq. God has definitely not left the building, thanks be to God! And please remember this unnamed Christian brother in your prayers - his courage is an inspiration.
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