One Way to Wade Through Grief

By Ernest Grant II

Provided by

“I do not want to indicate that journaling is a required discipline, but it is powerful. I’ve seen it in three ways.”

While I sat in the pews, shoulder to shoulder with distinguished clergymen and political figures from the city, I could feel the geyser of my emotions about to explode.
As a pastor in one of the most dangerous cities in the nation, I’d grown accustomed to attending funerals of promising young people whose lives were cut short by gun violence. But sitting there with this one in front of me, I’d reached my emotional breaking point.
After a pre-sermon selection by the gospel choir, the pastor walked toward the pulpit. With tears welling up in his eyes, he adjusted his tie and leaned his head over to peer at his nephew’s body one last time. Through a cracked voice, Job’s searing words spilled out:
“The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21)
I lost it.
I leaned down to tighten my laces on my wingtips, and tears streamed onto the pebbled leather of my shoes.

A Father, a Mother and a Body

“Jesus,” I thought to myself, “I can’t bear the burden of burying children who’ve been murdered by other children.” Finding my breath after the emotional deluge, I regained my composure and wiped away the tears.
I looked across the sea of mourners. The historic African-American church that seated over 2,000 people was filled to capacity, but my eyes gravitated to the front pew. There sat a mother consoled by her husband while they both stared at the body of their son, senselessly gunned down on the eve of his 13th birthday by a classmate. They led the sea of mourners, living every parent’s worst nightmare—burying a child.
As the funeral ended, the feeble, grieving mother stepped up to the podium to give her closing remarks: “Please, let’s celebrate at the repast, because it’s his birthday.”
That’s right. We celebrated his birthday with his body in the morgue.
The place was silent as we helplessly looked both ways at the intersection—celebrating life and lamenting death.
It was heart-wrenching.

Grace Comes Through Pen and Paper

This is the stark, gritty reality of urban ministry—we tend to bear the emotional burdens of that community (Galatians 6:2). Ultimately, only God’s grace through his Son can help us lift the heavy emotional burdens that we shoulder. After spending some time in prayer and devotion, the Lord helped me to experience that grace through the unlikeliest of sources—journaling.
I found a model in King David, who wrote many of his Psalms like journal entries that express a myriad of raw, honest emotion before God. I began to try it, journaling my experiences to process through the stress of inner-city ministry.
In his book Habits of Grace, David Mathis reminds us:
“Even if many of the Psalms do read like divinely inspired journal entries, nowhere does Scripture command that we keep a journal. Unlike other spiritual disciplines, Jesus left us no model for journaling; he did not keep one.”
I do not want to indicate that journaling is a required discipline. It is optional—but it is powerful. I’ve seen it in three ways.

1. Journaling Is an Option for Honesty

Journaling has been immensely valuable in my spiritual life because it allows me to coherently engage and explain my emotions in a controlled, “judgment-free” zone. Too often, inner-city missionaries suppress their feelings. Eventually, those pent up emotions can lead to dissatisfaction with God and frustration in ministry. Journaling aerates the soul before God.
So, before the close of the evening, I take about 10 minutes to trek through my day and honestly express my emotions before God. It unclutters my thoughts and puts the brakes on my racing mind, which normally leads to real rest when I sleep.

2. Journaling Is a Chronicle of Faithfulness

Periodically, I’ll pick up my journal not to write but to read. As I flip through the entries, my eyes pass over many green, highlighted sentences—the prayers which God has answered. Re-reading those prayers, I’m quickly reminded of the concreteness of God’s goodness and faithfulness.
Mathis writes:
“[God] made our minds such that we’re able to take thoughts further, and do so in greater detail, than our short-term memory can keep track of in the moment. When we write, we not only disentangle our thoughts, draw out our emotions and dream about fresh initiatives, but we also develop them.”
So these hand-written letters help me not only to form my thoughts but also to record them. When I look back on my journals, the entries fill my mind with a panoramic view of God’s continued grace on me and those around me. Every time I see a green highlight, it nourishes my soul by reminding me to “forget not all his benefits” (Psalms 103:2).

3. Journaling Ventilates the Soul

When keeping our nose to the grindstone of ministry, we can often lose our tender affections for the Lord. Pondering God’s faithfulness and journaling his deeds reminds us that we are sons and daughters, not employees. Mathis is right when he says, “Journaling is not just an exercise in introspection, but a pathway for joy.”
Journaling reinvigorates our joy, our love and our drive to serve to the praise of God’s glory. It scrubs away the dust on our affections. It ushers in fresh views of God’s mercy.
Journaling is not commanded, but it is encouraged. Try it. God may use journaling as a means of opening a window to your soul, allowing the fresh air of his grace to ventilate stale affections and renew your passion to serve him, both in the traumas and triumphs of life.

Top 10 Things I Wish Worship Pastors Would Stop Saying

By Jared Wilson

Provided by

“Don’t take this too seriously, except maybe do.”

In which a crusty old curmudgeon rants a little about annoying songleader banter. Don’t take this too seriously, except maybe do.
10. Are we ready to have fun this morning?
The answer is, “Probably not.” The truth is, when this is your welcome at the start of the music time, it tells me where your head’s at. Nobody goes to church to have a bad time, of course, and I’m sure plenty of people go to “have fun,” but is this the point of worship? Is “having fun” where you want hearts directed as you lead people to exalt God? No, it’s where you want hearts directed when you’re just trying to “crush your set” or “rock it out for Jesus” [see #5]. “Are we ready to have fun?” is just slightly worse than this next common opener:
9. How’s everybody feeling?
If I wanted to stretch to justify this statement, I could say that what you’re asking the congregation to do is self-reflect on their spiritual condition and present their real, whole selves honestly and submissively to the glory of Christ as you lead them in adoration of him. But my guess is that 9.9 times out of 10 what you’re really trying to do is get people to say, “Woooooooo!”
8. You can do better than that!
Or some other form of nagging about how we’re not singing or participating to your liking. It’s never really on my mind at a church service to think of ways to impress the worship leader. Similarly shaming is:
7. I can’t hear you!
Well, maybe turn the volume down. We can’t hear us either.
6. [Introducing a hymn] Here’s an oldie we dusted off.
Please don’t apologize for leading us in the rare song that is theologically rich and doctrinally solid. Apologize for not leading us in them more often!
5. “Rockin’ worship.”
Please stop. I know you’ve got a good drummer and amps that go to 11, but referring to church music as “rockin’”—or using the phrase “rockin’ it out”—is somewhere in the category of fanny packs and duck-face selfies.
4. Lord, we invite you to be here.
This is the worship leader’s equivalent of “asking Jesus into your heart.” I think I know what the phrase means, but it reveals something about our thinking related to worship. For instance, is it true that God is summoned by our worship? Or is it actually the other way around? He calls us—we then respond in worship. God isn’t a genie and worship isn’t like rubbing a golden lamp. Nor is he a cosmic butler to be summoned. Don’t invite the Lord into a space like he doesn’t already own it and isn’t already there.
3. God showed up.
Again, I think I know what is meant by this phrase. It can be a way of saying “we felt emotionally touched during the music time,” which can be an OK thing—it would be weird for Christians to never feel engaged emotionally in worshiping God—but it can also be a way of equating emotional reactions with God’s presence in an unhelpful way, in a way that inadvertently communicates to people that when they don’t feel good, God must be absent.
2. Let’s give God a hand.
Translation: I would like to hear some applause.
1. Turn to your neighbor and _____________.
There’s really nothing wrong with this approach, but as a socially awkward introvert, this kind of instruction is a huge heaping bowl of panic attack soup.

Jared Wilson

Jared is a husband, a father of two, a writer of books, and the pastor of a great church. Most importantly, He is a follower of Jesus. His passion is to spread the gospel wakefulness in the evangelical church. His book "Your Jesus is Too Safe" and "Abide" are available now, and is currently writing a third book entitled "Gospel Wakefulness".

Jared on ChurchLeaders   Jared's Website

Everyone Can See the Log Hanging Out of Your Eye. Why Can’t You?

By Matt Rogers

“The log has been around for so long that we assume it’s just how we are made.”

It’s hard to miss Jesus’ point in the Sermon on the Mount. The imagery is just too clear.
“Look at the birds and the flowers, I take care of them and I’ll take care of you also.”
“Don’t hide your light under a basket. It’s useless there.”
“Invest in things of eternal value. Things on this earth will just fall apart or get stolen anyway.”
And then this one:
Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do you not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7:3-5 ESV)
The contrast is compelling, almost comical, and the implications are straightforward. Before you judge the actions of another person, address your own sins, which may be far greater in comparison. This passage, and others like it, are often misread to imply that we should not point out the sins of others. That’s not Jesus’ point. Christian love requires that we call one another to holiness. But before we can do that with a tone of grace, a posture of kindness and a motive of restoration, we must first consider our sins and seek, by God’s grace, to turn from them. We’ve got to take out our log before we can point out another’s speck.
But here’s the problem—at least in my own life. The log is so hard to see. It doesn’t seem to make sense considering the image Jesus uses. No one should miss a log hanging out of their eye, much less be able to notice the meager speck in someone else’s. But we do it all the time. Why? Why is the log of my own sin so hard to see?
On one level, the answer is pride. At the root of my sinful actions lies a prideful heart that is unwilling to acknowledge and turn from my sin. True enough. Since Augustine, pride has rightly been seen as the ground of all sin, the well from which all sorts of sinful actions are drawn. Yet, pride is a somewhat nebulous concept, an easy target to place blame and a challenging enemy to address. Bubbling up from my pride are a number of concrete factors that shape my inability to see, and remove, the logs of my own sin.

The Log Has Been There a Long Time

Logs don’t develop overnight. They’ve been around for a while. The subtle, almost unrecognized, growth of a log over time blinds us to its existence. Like a scar, we just get used to it being there. Someone else might immediately recognize the blight, but to us, it’s just a part of who we are.
The log might begin as a dry wit that masks deep insecurity during a person’s middle school years. Over time, this dry wit morphs into biting sarcasm that eviscerates other people in loveless hostility. Or, the log might begin as a feeble lie meant to make yourself look better than you actually are. Rather than addressing the subtle speck, in time, the log grows to the point that you’ve become a mere caricature of the good Christian who’s all style and no substance.

The Log Is Excused as Part of Your Personality

As a result, we are prone to conflate our sinful actions with our natural predispositions or inborn personality traits. The log has been around for so long that we assume it’s just how we are made.
Take the sin of worry for example. If I allow the sin of worry to fester in my heart as a teenager, then the log will continue to grow. Over time, I’ll get used to the log and fail to notice that it’s there at all. Then, when I do notice it—most likely when someone else points it out—I’ll excuse it away as just part of who I am.
“Well, I’ve just got an anxious personality,” I might say. Or, “I’m just the kind of person who speaks my mind” rather than “I’ve got a sin issue with controlling my tongue.” Such excuses more deeply embed the logs we are meant to extract.

We’ve Tried to Remove the Log Before and Failed

The best time to remove the log is when it first starts growing before you get comfortable with its existence. Some try—they see the sin for what it is and seek to extract it. But they fail.
It’s much like the process of removing a splinter. You get out the needle and the tweezers and go to work—but it hurts, the splinter is deep, so you give up. Intuitively you know that an ingrown splinter will lead to greater pain in the future, but for now, you’d rather not endure the pain.
Anytime you are reminded of the splinter, you remember the pain of the last time you tried to remove it and quit before you even begin. Then, if you ever go to remove the splinter in the future, you find an infection that makes it painful to even touch the skin around the splinter. Now, any hope of removing the culprit will come with great pain.

The Log Is Socially Acceptable

So the logs remain, glaringly obvious to others but hidden from our eyes. To others, our speck looks like a log, and to us, their speck looks like a log, so few are actually seeing logs for what they are.
This problem is compounded by the cumulative effect of logs in a culture. If enough people fail to remove their logs, and their logs look a lot alike, over time certain logs become the cultural norm. Everyone has one. Like flannel shirts and skinny jeans, if enough people have them then no one is willing to call attention to how funny we all look with logs hanging out of our eyes. Logs of materialism or sexuality are difficult to address if everyone else is walking around with the same log protruding from their eyes as well.

We Kind of Like the Log

All of these factors build up a head of steam in our lives. We’ve had the log for many years. We begin to assume it’s just part of who we are. We think we can’t get it out if we tried. And, we start to spend our time with a bunch of log-eyed people.
In time, we find that we start to like the log. We begin to think we should just embrace it—after all, we couldn’t get it out if we wanted to. So, masked behind the foolish cliché of “just be yourself” we begin to flaunt the log in our eye. We wear it as a badge of honor and foolishly call “what is evil good and good evil” (Is 5:20).
This process, over time, makes the simple command of Christ one of the most difficult to practice. It produces a horde of log-eyed people who simply can’t see their log anymore. Not only are we blinded to our own sin, but we are incapable of helping our brothers and sisters address their sins either. Far better to assume today that I have a log in my eye, begging the Spirit to allow me to see it for what it is and remove it before it’s too late.

A Frightening Look Inside North Korea’s Physical and Spiritual Torture of Christians

By Megan Briggs

“The knowledge of the one true God is the greatest threat to the regime.”

The human rights advocacy group Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has just released a report on the plight of Christians in the Democratic Republic of Korea (DPRK), or North Korea. Among other systemic torture, CSW says there are documented incidents of Christians “being hung on a cross over a fire, crushed under a steamroller, herded off bridges and trampled underfoot.”
After years of unprecedented censorship and secrecy on the part of DPRK’s leaders, CSW’s report gives us a glimpse into the torture and horrific murders of Christians in this closed nation—unfortunately, this report confirms some of our worst fears. Starting on page 10, the persecution of Christians are listed out.
The report explains that Christians try to keep their faith a secret—even attempting to keep it from their loved ones. However, the government is so suspicious of Christianity that they ruthlessly find believers out and punish anyone associated. “If discovered, [Christians] are subject to detention and then likely taken to political prison camps (kwanliso); crimes against them in these camps include extra-judicial killing, extermination, enslavement/forced labour, forcible transfer of population, arbitrary imprisonment, torture, persecution, enforced disappearance, rape and sexual violence, and other inhumane acts.”
As to how CSW obtained the information presented in the report, the group explains: “This report is entirely based on secondary sources. On-the-ground research inside North Korea is not possible, and access to recent North Korean escapees with firsthand accounts of violations of freedom of religion or belief has proved challenging.” The majority of their testimonies come from the few escapees who are able to relay the stories of atrocities happening inside the country.
So why are the leaders of DPRK so wary of Christianity, yet somewhat lenient toward other beliefs like Buddhism and Shamanism? According to CSW’s report, Christianity “is identified as a dangerous security threat and a tool of ‘foreign intervention.’ It is seen as a means of conducting espionage and gathering intelligence by South Korean and American intelligence agencies.”
But the government’s fear of foreign intervention isn’t the only reason Christianity is seen as suspect. There is also a leader-worship factor that smacks of the ancient leader-idol worship we are told about in the Old Testament. Suzanne Scholte, the chair of the North Korea Freedom Coalition and vice co-chair of the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, told the Christian Post, “Because the DPRK regime was set up so that North Koreans are raised to worship the Kims as their gods, there is nothing the regime fears more than the spread of Christianity.” Furthermore, “The knowledge of the one true God is the greatest threat to the regime.”
This leader-worship system was put in place by DPRK’s first leader, Kim Il-sung. “Kim [Il-sung] set himself up as a god, perverting the holy trinity with Kim Jong-il as the Christ and juche as the Holy Spirit,” Scholte explained. Juche is the political ideology Kim Il-sung made all North Koreans adhere to and believe to the point of brainwashing. The regime carries on with the teaching today, calling juche the “original, brilliant and revolutionary contribution to national and international thought” that Kim Il-sung left them, according to Wikipedia. “North Koreans are taught from childhood to give prayers of thanks to their father, Kim Il-sung, to say a perverted version of the Apostles creed to their great leader, and to study their ideology in thousands of centers across North Korea,” explains Scholte.
North Korean citizens are also force-fed the Ten Principles from a very young age. These principles are used to indoctrinate citizens with the thinking of the regime on a daily, hourly basis. They are a kind of 10 Commandments by which citizens “regularly evaluate themselves.” The principles speak of the Kim family and emphasize loyalty to them. One escapee recalls learning that Kim Il-sung “was sent from heaven, a leader of the people and leader of the world” while in school.
CSW makes a point of saying that despite the public face the regime shows the international community (one that claims to be upholding the religious freedom of its citizens), religious freedom is not a reality inside their borders. “The violations of freedom of religion or belief in North Korea are among the very worst in the world,” the report claims.
While reports like these are heartbreaking and shocking, it reminds us of the things Jesus told us would happen. “‘Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake… Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved’” (Matthew 10:17-18, 21-22).
So, as you pray for the Christians in North Korea, pray they will be able to endure until the end, that the Holy Spirit will comfort them in their trials and torture, and that they would know the peace of God. Ask God to bring down the idolatrous regime of the DPRK and bring his light and truth to this incredibly oppressed people.
Finally, we would also do well to examine ourselves and ask, “If I were faced with such persecution, would I be able to endure?”

Megan Briggs

Megan Briggs is a content editor and passionate follower of Christ. Two things – she believes – that should be linked together more often. Her experience in ministry to youth and parents as well as the extensive amount of time she’s spent in ministry overseas gives her a unique perspective on the global church. Megan is passionate about spreading the gospel and equipping the church for holiness. When she’s not writing or proofreading, Megan likes to run.

Megan on ChurchLeaders   Megan's Website

Who are your children's heroes?

Real life heroes can set a Christ-like example for your children Disciple your children

We live in uncertain times. The only certainty we have is in Christ our rock. As you raise your children, are you sowing the seeds of taking up our crosses to follow Christ daily? These resources will help you build the faith of your children on God’s Word and the testimonies of those who have gone before us. The Apostle Saul was once a persecutor of Christians. But once he meets Christ, his life is changed. This new graphic novel recounts his miraculous transformation. The Action Bible The Action Bible presents the most important stories ever told in a new, visually engaging way. The stories are communicated in a clear and exciting manner through the illustrations of a former Marvel Comics illustrator. Torchlighters 12-DVD Boxed Set These heroes of the Christian faith all shared Christ on the front-lines. Your children will be encouraged by the stories of these faithful witnesses told in 30-minute episodes. Torchlighters: Corrie ten Boom Story DVD When her family’s faith was tested by the Nazis in World War II Holland, Corrie’s faith prevailed. What is the cost of serving God amidst unthinkable evil? Buy Now

Brazilian People Group First to Use New Software to Translate Bible

Brazilian People Group First to Use New Software to Translate Bible

By Jeremy Reynalds, Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service (jeremyreynalds@gmail.com )

ALBUQUERQUE, NM (ANS-AUG. 2, 2016) -- While Rio de Janeiro prepares for the Olympics, members of a Brazilian people group called the Calon have launched a project that will have effects long after the Games end -- translating the Book of Genesis into its own language, Chibi.

According to a news release made available to the ASSIST News Service, the goal of the project is to complete an audio version of Genesis in one year.

Although there is already some Bible content in Chibi, this is the first translation project to use a new kind of software called Render that streamlines the process of translating the Bible for oral cultures.

“This project is history in the making, and I don't use that phrase very often,” said Jonathan Huguenin, vice president of language recording and global partnerships at Faith Comes By Hearing, one of the three ministries that developed Render.

Eleven Chibi speakers held a two-week workshop in June with representatives of Faith Comes By Hearing, an audio Bible ministry; Seed Company, an affiliate of Wycliffe Bible Translators; and three Brazilian organizations to learn how to use Render.

According to the news release, while the workshop was held in Dourado, more than 400 miles west of Rio, the 800,000 members of the Calon are scattered across Brazil.

The Calon, descendants of gypsies who immigrated from Europe beginning in the 16th century to escape the Inquisition, isolate themselves from Brazilian society, even refraining from sending their children to school to guard against outside influences.

Not surprisingly, literacy is a problem, and Calon believers looked at the translation project as a way to preserve their language.

“The Chibi speakers embraced oral Bible translation and the principles of Render,” said Robin Green, the Render project manager, speaking in the news release. “Watching them work was one of the most satisfying moments of my life.”

Experts say there are more than 1,800 oral cultures like the Calon - representing perhaps 1 billion people - that don't have the Bible in their own language, and many of them don't even have a written language.

Historically, Bible translators have had to create a written language for these groups before creating an audio Bible that people could use, lengthening the translation process by years.

“The oral process requires no compromises to achieve high quality oral translations of Scripture,” said Ralph Hill, a consultant in oral translation with Seed Company, speaking in the news release. “It is now possible to translate and record first and, if desired, print later.”

Pioneer Bible Translators partnered with Seed Company and Faith Comes By Hearing to create Render. Faith Comes By Hearing records audio Bibles and relies on its partners to do the translation.

Render is an example of the merging of translation and recording to create a new tool that will empower oral peoples to participate in creating access to the Bible in their own language.

For more information, visit www.renderpartners.com.

Photo captions: 1) Three men with copies of God’s Word in Chibi, their mother tongue. (https://theseedcompany.org/projects/chibi). 2) Jeremy and Elma Reynalds.

About the writer: Jeremy Reynalds is Senior Correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, a freelance writer and also the founder and CEO of Joy Junction, New Mexico's largest emergency homeless shelter, www.joyjunction.org. He has a master's degree in communication from the University of New Mexico, and a Ph.D. in intercultural education from Biola University in Los Angeles. His newest book is "From Destitute to Ph.D." Additional details on the book are available at www.myhomelessjourney.com. Reynalds lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife, Elma. For more information, please contact: Jeremy Reynalds at jeremyreynalds@gmail.com .

** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net). Please also tell your friends that they can have a complimentary subscription to our news service by going to the above website and then sign up there.

Deaf mute Pakistani Christian girl

Deaf mute Pakistani Christian girl, forcibly converted to Islam, escapes from her abductor

By Dan Wooding, Founder of ASSIST News Service

SIALKOT, PUNJAB, PAKISTAN (ANS – August 3, 2016) -- A deaf mute Pakistani Christian girl who managed to escape from an abductor who forcibly converted her to Islam, is being threatened with death if she does not return to him.

Nasir Saeed, Director CLAAS-UK has told the ASSIST News Service that Muslim clerics claim that Asma -- Asma is her Christian name, while her new Muslim name is Aysha -- from Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan, cannot live with her Christian parents because she had “converted to Islam.”

“According to her lawyer, Hafiz Ateeq Ur Rehman, she was kidnapped about four or five months ago by her neighbor, Ghulam Hussain, who is very influential as he has strong relations with high-profile police officers, politicians and other powerful and influential people,” said Nasir Saeed.

“Her father, Gulzar Masih, always knew about the kidnappers, but being a Christian and poor, he succumbed to the pressure and could not do anything.”

“But Asma has somehow escaped from Ghulam Hussain and re-joined her family.”

Nasir Saeed claims that Hussain is threatening her father and asking him to hand her back, claiming that since she is married to him and has converted to Islam, she cannot live with her Christian parents.

He added that Gulzar Masih went to a local police station, but instead of listening to his grievance, the police officer also pressured him to send his daughter back. To further intimidate the family, the police arrested Gulzar’s son in law, but later on released him.

Ultimately, Gulzar Masih contacted advocate, Hafiz Ateeq Ur Rehman, for help, and has now submitted an application to the DPO (District Police Officer) in Sialkot, but still there is no result.

“Some clerks are also threatening Gulzar, but Asma is not willing to go with Ghulam Hussain,” said Nasir Saeed. “Mr. Rehman has filed a petition with the Justice of the Peace, and an Inquiry Officer has been appointed and the court has asked for a report from him.

“On August 1st, the Inquiry Officer called both parties together, and Ghulam Hussain presented one certificate from a local Madrasah [Islamic School] of Asma’s conversion written with her new name. He also presented a marriage certificate, which showed the name of the girl as Aysha, but listed her her father as Yousaf Bhatti, which showed that it was clearly a forged and self-made document.”

He said that now the situation has become “very dangerous” and Asma and her family are facing “severe threats” from Muslim clerks because they believe Asma was converted to Islam and has reconverted to Christianity and has therefore become apostate and is liable to be killed.

“Nobody is questioning her abductee, who is campaigning against Asma and her family and has endangered their lives,” said Nasir Saeed.

“The police are also siding with Ghulam Hussain because of pressure from Muslim clerks. Gulzar Masih is so scared that he has sent his daughter to some unknown place. Local police are urging him to bring Asma back, while clerks are ready to kill her.”

Nasir Saeed said that the increase of forced conversions and kidnapings of Christian and other minorities’ girls is because of the government’s failure.

“Since the government has failed to investigate Muslim clerks who are suspected of being involved in forced conversion and the issuing false certificates of conversion and marriages, such crimes will continue to occur and I see no end to innocent Christian and other minorities girls’ misery. Instead I am afraid that it will worsen.

“Shamefully, the police, who are supposed to follow the law, often side with the kidnappers, and also come under pressure from the local Muslim clerks, instead of registering cases against them and the perpetrators.

“This attitude and government’s insensitivities have emboldened the criminals and they now commit such crimes without any fear.”

Many Hindus and Christians have already started migrating to India and other countries because Pakistan’s laws have failed to protect them and they feel their honor, life and property, are all at risk.

“Forcible conversion to Islam in Pakistan is an open reality there are several reports, according to which, every year at least 700 Christians and 300 Hindu girls are kidnapped. But despite that the government has failed to take appropriate steps to stop this ongoing forced conversion,” said Nasir Saeed.

“Minorities have no more faith in the government and are also losing faith in the Pakistan courts, too. There is an especially loathsome continuation of dual discrimination towards women -- as females and also as members of minority communities.

“It is a serious issue of survival for minorities in Pakistan and the international community must pay attention to stop the continuous violation of the fundamental and human rights of minorities.”

About CLAAS: Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS) is an interdenominational organization working for Christians who are being persecuted because of their faith in Pakistan. CLAAS works for religious freedom, to stop persecution of Christians in Pakistan because of blasphemy and other discriminatory laws, raise awareness, disseminate information and highlight the plight of Christians on an international level. CLAAS provides free legal aid to victims of religious intolerance in Pakistan, as well as shelter and financial support for the victims and their families.

For more information, please contact Nasir Saeed at info@claas.org.uk . The website is: www.claas.org.uk.

Photo captions: 1) Deaf mute girl with her family. 2) Dan Wooding reporting from Seoul, South Korea, for a TV station.

About the writer: Dan Wooding, 75, is an award-winning winning author, broadcaster and journalist who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, and is now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for more than 53 years. They have two sons, Andrew and Peter, and six grandchildren who all live in the UK. Dan is the founder and international director of ASSIST (Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service (ANS). He is also the author of some 45 books, and has reported from all over the world for ANS, and his most recent overseas trip was to Kurdistan, Northern Iraq.

** You may republish this or any of our ANS stories with attribution to the ASSIST News Service (www.assistnews.net). Also, please tell your friends that they can received a complimentary subscription for our news service by going to the above website and signing up there.