Wrecked

This morning I finished reading Never Silent: How Third World Missionaries Are Now Bringing the Gospel to the US by the Rt. Rev'd. Bishop Thad Barnum of the Anglican Mission in America. I'm stunned and wrecked by this book, pondering deeply my future in ministry. The book details the events that unfolded for one of the poorest countries in the world, Rwanda, to have their Anglican Church stand up to one of the richest churches in the world, The Episcopal Church in the US, and begin a reformation within worldwide Anglicanism. Anyone who reads of the 1994 Rwandan genocide and lack of the world's nations response is staggered. In a nation of 7.5 million people, nearly 800,000 murdered, mostly by machete, in about 100 days time. Many of those participating in the slaughter were church goers. As the world was largely silent and ignoring the slaughter, the Rwandans learned the importance of never being silent in the face of sin and never ignoring the cries for help by those being persecuted. As orthodox Anglicans were being marginalized in the US, God raised up these humble, courageous Rwandans to respond. Not only did they create a safe haven for persecuted Anglicans, they have subsequently created a mission movement, the Anglican Mission in America, that is planting a new church every three weeks. This book is not just for those interested in the story of the formation of the Anglican Mission in America and how Africans and Asians are sending missionaries to the US. Never Silent challenges every Christian to stand for Christ and to be willing to suffer and face great adversity for the sake of the Gospel. I cannot encourage you strongly enough to read this book.