Article Written by Andrew Richards (dia-LOGOS Strategic Futurist and Director, Institute for Strategic Foresight)
I recently returned from visiting the church in Syria. I knew the church was there and that, even though persecuted as a minority, it chose to remain during a 12-year war that has not only destroyed 40 percent of the country but left most without hope for the future. More than 11 million Syrians have been displaced, 5 million fleeing as refugees, among them Christians from all over the country. Whether running away from falling bombs or the Islamic State, the church suffered many losses as believers were killed and others fled, never to return. Yet, the church I found in Syria is one exhibiting hope midst the suffering.
On entering Syria, via Lebanon, you drive through a no-mans land that tests your nerves. Having nothing but the secular media to guide me, I entered Syria thinking I would soon see soldiers wielding automatic rifles, demanding bribes at the point of a gun. Even Christian media adds to the aggressive hype by warning would-be travellers that Islamists extremists (ISIS) hide behind every corner, ready to cut your throat. As a researcher, I have had to put on various hats throughout my 12 years of ministry, one being that of investigative journalist. One of the pillars of journalism is unbiasedness, but when you travel though countries like Syria, you quickly learn that truth is shaped to fit a biased narrative. Biasness is the death of truth, and I have learned that in order to relay the facts, in context, truthfully, I needed to ask less questions and listen more. Bob Woodward once advised to “shut up and listen. Let the silence suck out the truth” - an important lesson I learned as I travelled through Syria, where the silence quickly becomes deafening. In a world of good vs bad, in the case of Syria the democratic west vs the Assad government, I realised that our western pursuit of righteousness is far removed from the kind of Kingdom righteousness preached by Jesus Christ. What we think the world needs, is the opposite of what God is offering. I will confess, after visiting the Syrian church, I too have become biased, and view everything from that biased perspective. It’s a different perspective from secular media, who promotes fear and uncertainty. The Syrian church changed my perspective, biased toward reality. God is not dead, and the Syrian church is proof!
HEALING DIVISIONS
War has a way of uniting people, and when it comes to the church it has the ability to put theological differences aside and build unity. Upon entering Damascus you are met with a conundrum as the number of churches seem to equal that of Islamic Mosques. With 87% of the population identifying as Muslim, the church, at 10%, finds a deep heritage starting with Saint Paul that met the living Christ on his way to Damascus. You would think that in a country where Christians are being persecuted, that churches would be united like nowhere else – if only for the sake of survival. Yet nothing is further from the truth. The Apostolic church disagrees with the Evangelical Church and the Evangelicals disagree with the Catholic church, and they all disagree with the Orthodox church. One pastor told me of how, before the war, you could enter an evangelical church and hear a complete sermon focussed solely on criticizing the Orthodox (and the other way around). Under the law, Christians are not allowed to proselytize Muslims, but with a harvest ready to reap, the one thing needed was a united church that gave a united effort. The war forced unity in such a way that the church can now work together in reaping a harvest that benefits the Kingdom. The moment churches started working together, to try and ease the suffering of the Syrian people, Muslims started not only to identify Christians as a source of aid, but a source of hope. “ The war has enabled us (the church) to do more than any time before the war. Divisions between churches have become less and less during the war, and we have learned the value of working together” one pastor said when I asked him if the war changed the way denominations viewed each other.
NO GROWTH IN PEACETIME
As I travelled from Damascus, Homs and finally Aleppo, a simple truth, stated by every pastor I met, came to the fore; “the church grows in times of trouble, not in peacetime”. Over the years I’ve had the privilege to serve the persecuted church in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, and they all share this common truth, that the church only grows during times of testing. The church in China found its revival as a result of the intense persecution during the Cultural Revolution. The Arab Spring that overwhelmed the Arab World in 2010, brought civil unrest and wars, but the church grew. In Africa, civil wars have often been the flame that sparked revival.
If it’s true, that the church does not grow in peacetime, then times of trouble should be viewed through a different lens than the one secular media is forcing us to look through. BBC, calls the church “beleaguered, ChurchTimes (a Christian publication) describes believers as “desperate”, Haaretz asked the question “is Christianity vanishing from the Middle East?”, with the New York Times asking the same question, just more directly; “is this the end of Christianity in the Middle East?” In a country where Christian, together with their Muslim neighbours, have lived through 12 years of brutal fighting, having lost everything, and now living in almost unimaginable conditions where people are frequently found dead in their homes after dying from starvation and the cold, the question I asked was not whether the church is surviving or not, but how it remains hopeful?
12 years of war has ravaged the country, crippled it infrastructure and robbed many innocent Syrians of their lives and livelihoods. What makes the current situation so desperate is the added sanctions that western countries have placed on the country. One particular group of sanctions, known as the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, has brought the country to its knees. While residence in Damascus receive up to 4 hours of electricity a day, those in Aleppo have less than 2. The government, itself hard pressed by direct sanctions focussed on its infrastructure and service delivery, provide subsidised help in the form of bread and fuel. Syrians can collect bread every 3 days and have to wait up to 20 days to receive a mere 25 litres of fuel. Having to burn the clothes in your closet in order to keep warm during winter leaves many with only the clothes on their backs. One pastor placed the sanction in context, saying “more people are dying today because of sanctions than during the war”. Another said, “when the bombs were falling, we were more relaxed than now”. In disbelief I asked the pastor to repeat what he said, hoping I heard wrong or misunderstood. “ The current economic situation is so bad for some that they even wish for the war to return”. Did people really prefer a war over economic sanctions? A war that has killed more than 600 000 people, destroyed an estimated 40% of infrastructure and displaced 11 million people. How could sanctions be worse? I would soon find out just how bad the current economic situation was. Yet despite the suffering, the church is experiencing unmatched growth, and it’s all thanks to the war and a dying economy. In a world that promotes prosperity, this makes no sense. A pastor from Homs said it best, saying “everything is hard, for everyone. There are so many in need. This creates many opportunities for the church to serve people. Before the war, and before the economy was so bad, there were certain areas where Christians would have been killed if they entered. But now, because of all the suffering, we have been able to move into these areas and spread the love of Jesus Christs, without hinderance”.
After describing the suffering of the Syrian people, a pastor I interviewed started to smile. He made a statement that challenged the media’s point of view and opened my eyes. “This is the golden hour for the church”. He explained that the golden hour of the church is truly when it is able to serve those around it. And by those he means those who are not part of the church. Desperate times does not call for desperate measures when you have a living church able to give hope in times of darkness. The church is not dead, not beleaguered and certainly not desperate when it faces adversary. The Syrian church is best described as joy midst suffering.
OPPORTUNITY
What opportunities has the war created for the church, is one question I asked to every leader I met. And the answer was always the same. “God has created opportunities for the church that we could only dream of”. During times of war, many services simply stop. The two most prominent ones are healthcare and education. A doctor I met in Aleppo shared how the hospital he worked in only has enough anaesthetic to place patience half under sedation. “Patients often wake up during surgery, screaming, and have to be held down”. Schools lack teachers and the basic educational material needed to teach students. One student told me how he often comes back home after just one class. Simply because there were no other teachers available to teach the other subjects. Churches, as a beacon of hope, have identified these two areas as opportunities to serve their Muslim neighbours. By building clinics and schools that are staffed with personnel and resources, the church is able to reach thousands – something that was almost impossible before the war.
A pastor from Muhradah expressed the hopelessness of people, saying “during the war, there was fear, but almost everything was available. Now there is nothing. People walk in the streets talking to themselves. Most are depressed and want to leave the country. During the war, most people stayed in the town, but now that the war is over and the economy is so bad, over 500 families have left”. Yet despite these setbacks the church stands ready to give hope. One pastor told me that “this is a beautiful time to experience God’s blessings. War, Covid and the economy, these are all special times with God.” It’s hard to see the destruction, the desperation, the physical hurt, and then hear that these horrid times are special times with God. I asked this pastor to explain what he meant. He said that “hard times, like war, unite the church in many ways, and we learn to exist as a unit. The war was an opportunity for God to train us in unity. We meet together as believers more in times of trouble that in peacetime”. I could understand the unity and closeness of the church during hard times, but what about those who don’t have the hope and assurance of salvation? Another pastor provided some perspective, saying that “we believe that during these hard times, more people will come to the Lord”. He explained how during times of hardship, the church becomes a pillar to hold on to. The Church gives hope.
HOPE
I met with Father George of the Syria Catholic Church in Aleppo, and asked him how he keeps his heart from becoming bitter? I wrote down his answer and after re-reading it I thought he either made a mistake due to translation, or I transcribed it incorrectly. But after re-reading and re-reading it over and over again, I now realise that what he said was in fact a precious key that each of us can use to gain the peace we yearn for. “I don’t just love Jesus; I am deep in Jesus. I have died and surrendered myself to Jesus. I more than just love him.” What does it mean to be “deep in Jesus”? I had the privilege to experience that deepness while traveling through Syria, and it is my desire that while you read this, you too will start to yearn to be deeper in Jesus. Being deeper in Jesus will change our biasness. Being deeper in Jesus will change our perspectives. Being deeper in Jesus will open our eyes to the opportunities we mis when times of testing come our way. Being deeper in Jesus will help us identify the harvest, and equip us for the reaping. Being deeper in Jesus changes everything. So, be warned.
The next time you put on your television and hear about the war in Syria, remember the church is not dead, but serving within its golden hour.