Stand With the Persecuted Church

“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.”
“Who are you, Lord?”
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting….”  (Acts 9:4-5)

Dear Friends, I just finished studying the book of Ephesians with one of my groups of pastors and leaders in India, and I was impressed again with Paul’s use of the metaphor of the body of Christ. He uses it in 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and the book of Colossians as well as in Ephesians. Have you ever wondered where Paul got the idea for that metaphor for the church? Jesus uses several metaphors for the church, such as a tree (Mark 4:31-32) or a building (“the stone the builders rejected became the cornerstone”, Mark 12:10-11). But in the Gospels Jesus never uses the image of the body of Christ to describe the church.
I think Paul got his image of the body of Christ from his very first conversation with Jesus. In that encounter on the Damascus Road, Saul/Paul learns that Jesus so identifies with his followers, his church, than when Paul is persecuting them, he takes it personally. When Saul harms the church, Jesus feels the pain. I think Paul doesn’t use the “body of Christ” as a metaphor of the church, but rather as a description of it—in some deep way, the Church Universal is the incarnation of Jesus, as Jesus was the incarnation of God.
And the church is at its peak body-of-Christness when it is the persecuted church. When Stephen was being stoned, Jesus was not just seated at the right hand of God, but he was standing there, attentive and pleading (Acts 7:56). The persecuted Church has Jesus’ attention and focus. And the church today is as persecuted as it has ever been, at least globally. Martyrdom is as common today as it has ever been, now especially in Nigeria or Muslim countries where Christians are persecuted and converts are treated brutally.
I have now 12 weekly Zoom classes in India (and one in Nepal and two in Haiti) and every week I hear at least once a story of persecution and opposition from some of the members of a class. Chhattisgarh State is especially dangerous for Christians, and just last week I heard of a church being burned and its small group of believers being run out of their village there. I have seen recent photos of believer’s wounds after a Hindu nationalist mob action, and heard first-person testimonies of having been beaten, having church property destroyed or stolen, and of entire mountain villages being created after Christian brothers and sisters were ejected from their homes, land and villages because they had recently converted. One pastor asked for prayer for a baptismal tub he’s installing on his roof, together with a privacy tarp, so he can hold a baptism for 50 people without being witnessed by Hindus who might be enraged and activated by just the sight of a Christian baptism. (Please pray—the baptism is late November!) It is an encouragement to my partners in India when I teach that Jesus is organically connected to his body, most especially as it is experiencing opposition, persecution, slander, injustice, violence and suffering in his name.
We in the West know very little about persecution, by Biblical standards or compared with the contemporary majority world Church. Indeed, we do thank God for our freedom of worship and assembly. But Jesus is with, most especially, the persecuted church, and we can stand with Jesus as he stands with them by praying for them. Please watch the video and then join me in praying regularly for the people of God who suffer in the name of Jesus.

What does 2026 look like for Us? 
Lisa and I will be leaving Durham mid-December and spending 3 weeks in California, connecting with friends and supporters. We will then head to Malaysia soon after New Years’ Day to teach a course for St. Paul’s Theological College in Kuala Lumpur, and to connect with old friends and partners there. After that, we head to India and Nepal where we will teach in seminaries and with pastor and leaders’ groups.  We will return to the US in April. You will hear more about our trip in the next letter. But we are full of expectation and looking forward to what 2026 will bring regarding both new partnerships and renewing old friendships.

Please Pray:

• ​For the new Biblical training institute begun in Haiti with 11 students, most already serving as pastors, with me as their first teacher. They are a lively group who ask great questions which demonstrate their experience in ministry and as well their need for Biblical depth and mentorship.
• Preparation and logistics planning for our expected teaching at 5 seminaries in Malaysia and India in the first 3 months of 2026.
• ​For the resources we will need not only for ourselves but also for the team of church members we will bring with us to Assam and Nagaland in March of 2026. We are very much looking forward to this visit to these states, and to seeing our partners there who have been students at Duke during 2025. We will introduce them to you again as these trip dates approach.

Thank you for your friendship, support and prayers. We always enjoy hearing back from you if you have a moment!
In Jesus,
Rich and Lisa

(below) Lisa and Rich on a fall hike along the Eno River in Durham, NC