Is Someone Else There? (borrowed)

​I read an article in World Magazine about a Chinese church whose pastor is in prison.  His wife and son are not allowed to see him, only call.  The police also monitor the calls, and if anyone mentions the name of God, the connection is immediately cut.  You know what his congregation is doing right now?  Training small group leaders and church planters!
 
When one of their small groups tried to meet in an apartment building, the police broke in and detained three of the leaders.  That same group reconvened later that same day at a tea house to take the Lord’s Supper!
 
While our persecuted Chinese brothers see their church buildings demolished by their government, and while their pastors are in prison and their phones are being tracked, the church there is growing!
 
Before we complain that church is boring, before we get upset that worship starts too early and Sunday is our only day to sleep in, before we decide to skip church and stay home for some “family time,” we should first listen to the Christians in Muslim and Communist countries tell us why they risk so much to keep tenaciously meeting somehow, somewhere.  I think they have something to teach us about why Sundays matter and what we are missing.
 
Blessings!
Lamar