The truth about Pakistan

"U.S. drafts war plans in case of terror attack". Reads one headline of a major U.S. Newspaper today. And in every city in the western world, similar headlines attempt to stir people into buying whichever magazine or paper posts such articles. If one should pick up and actually read one of these articles, one would discover that terrorists are lurking at every streetcorner, governments are powerless against them and that Pakistan is a major source of terrorist funding and training. The problem is that all of these ideas are patently untrue.

Having just returned from Pakistan, and having visited the church there, I can tell you that Pakistan is no friend of terrorism. General Musharraf is no friend of radical islamists - in fact, they tried to assasinate him in 2003. Nearly every day while I was in Pakistan, I read local reports of the arrest and conviction of radical clerics calling for Jihadi nonsense. And in the two weeks I spent there, I did not meet a single person who was "anti-U.S." as CNN, the BBC and every other media outlet portrays Pakistan and the Pakistani people. No, I didn't stay in my hotel room, in fact the team I traveled with were invited to speak to more than 1,000 students at a large cultural center and I traveled about the city of Karachi freely. Security was excellent and all those I met wanted to be a friend of the U.S. and couldn't understand why our media were determined to paint their country as anti-american and pro-terrorism.

Are there terrorists in Pakistan? Absolutely. But there are also terrorists in the United States. And in Britain and in every other country in the world. Let us not forget that the second most violent act of terrorism we have ever experienced in the U.S. came about not because of radical muslims, but because of a deranged former U.S. soldier named Tim McVeigh.

What is most encouraging to me about Pakistan is not their pro-American stance or even their willingness to erase terrorism, but the power of the Christian church. While Pakistan is certainly overwhelmingly Islamic, the evangelical, Jesus-following church there is growing and the believers I met there were bold, joyous and filled with a deep longing to know Jesus and serve Him. As human beings, they aren't perfect, but they taught me many things which I hope will serve me as I walk through this life in the service of Jesus Christ. What were some of the things I learned from the Christians in Pakistan?

1. Jesus doesn't give a whit about denominations. Catholics, methodists and perhaps even some Baptists will be in heaven and probably some persons from each and every denomination will be in hell. I already knew that God "is no respecter of persons" but the Christians in Pakistan helped me to remember this important fact.

2. Materialism has blinded the American church. I already knew this also, but I saw first-hand how Jesus wants us to serve Him no matter what our material standing and without regard to buildings, or programs or any other manmade idea. I was reminded of Jesus' admonition to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2, that they had left their first love. They didn't repent and Jesus removed their lampstand from its place as He said He would. Today, the church at Ephesus is a swamp filled with the ruins of a pagan temple.

3. The church is not a business. Corporateness has no place in the church. Yet, in America the church has become one of our nations biggest businesses. Pastors earn high salaries while families in their own congregations struggle to provide housing and food for their children. Many large churches spend more on audio/video production than third-world churches will ever take in during the lifetime of their pastor. Yet, churches in the developing world are baptisting hundreds and even thousands of believers a month. Christians in the muslim world are gathering to pray all night simply because they felt called by the Holy Spirit to do so - without a pre-arranged conference or vote. You might want to read John Piper's excellent book "Brothers we are not professionals".

4. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). I have prayed for healing for men and women and then sent them to the doctor. Why? Because I didn't really believe that God would heal them. Why? Because I had little faith. In Pakistan, where becoming a Christian can mean very serious persecution (loss of family, job, home, etc.) I saw incredible faith and consternation at my lack thereof. When someone prayed for healing, it was a surprise that the prayee wasn't healed immediately. Kinda like in that strange book the Bible! I had forgotten that Jesus said "I am the Alpha (first letter of the Greek Alphabet; denoting "beginning") and the Omega (Last letter of the Greek Alphabet; denoting "ending") the beginning and the end, the first and the last." (Revelation 22:13) Jesus doesn't change - people do. And just like those Israelites of old, many of us have either lost our faith or never really had it in the first place.
One study of over 1,000 churches around the world, demonstrated that advanced theological training actually corresponded directly to negative church growth. I wondered about this until I visited Pakistan. When you think you know everything, you don't need God and you can start to rationalize away His sovereignty. "God works in dispensations" we say in theological circles - which really means that God changes His mind and is different today than He was in the past. The problem is that the Bible doesn't say this anywhere. James 1:17-18 tells us that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." God doesn't change. I would encourage you to read the account of Pastor Daniel Ekechukwu, who died in a car accident and was certifiably (by several major hospitals) dead for nearly 4 days. God raised people from the dead for His purposes in the past, why can He not do so now?

5. It's all about God and nothing about us. I have written before on the subject of money and so won't belabour the point here. But are you sure your giant new house is a gift from God? Does the Bible say that you should store up treasures here on earth and claim them as God's blessings? Read Luke 12:22, Luke 14:25, Luke 16:19 among many other passages and ask yourself "how many glasses of water or how much food or clothing can I not give the poor because of my earthly treasure?" The only difference between the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25 are what they did and did not do. This does NOT mean we can work our way into heaven. It does mean that when Jesus comes back He will not be here to make everyone feel good about how we wasted His resources.

So, the truth about Pakistan is that it is a pro-American nation, struggling to wrest itself from millenia of violence and decades of Islamic oppression. We should pray for the church in Pakistan - believing that God will open the doors of this struggling nation and reveal Himself fully to them, and that they will choose Jesus over anything else. Pakistan is not a breeding ground for terror any more than Los Angeles or Detroit. We can also learn some things from Pakistan - despite the fact that almost all of their marriages are arranged - they have almost no divorce. We claim to be a Christian nation and yet we have almost no lifelong marriage. Today, lift up the people of Pakistan and also ask God to work in your life to bear fruit wherever you are. A Christian life without fruit is like a pizza without cheese - it just doesn't make sense.
Find some people from Pakistan in your area and let them know you are praying for them. You just might see God do something for His glory and your benefit.