So if you read the title, you’re probably wondering, “How can the cross be a problem in ministry…it’s MINISTRY! It’s all about the cross.” You’re right. Christianity is about the cross, except when you’re in Kosovo. Here, the cross is taboo and people see it as a sign of evil. How is this possible? Well, let me share a little about the history of Kosovo.
Two people groups settled the nation of Kosovo: Albanians and Serbs. The area was once part of the Biblical area of Macedonia and the people were Christian. In the 15th century, however, the Ottoman Empire conquered the area and for the next 500 years, they were under Muslim rule. Naturally, people converted from Christianity to Islam and the Albanians became Muslim. The Serbs, however, were still Orthodox Christians. After the Ottomans lost control, Kosovo was claimed by the Serbs and integrated into Serbian/Yugoslavian territory. Though the ruling nation was Christian Serbia, the majority of the population was Muslim Albanians. The Kosovo War of ’98-’99 began when Kosovo fought for its freedom from Serbia. During the war, it was Christian Serbs vs. Muslim Albanians, and though there were atrocities on both sides, I am sad to say that the Christians did not represent well. Serbs murdered and destroyed many Kosovar families and homes, and as their parting gift they would carve a cross in the remains.
This brutal use of the cross created a traumatized group of people who associate the cross with savagery and death. The majority of people in Kosovo continue to hate everything about Serbs, including Serbian religion—Christianity. People in Kosovo see the cross as a symbol of the brutality and hatred from the war, and they hate the image of it. I was told a story of little children who received a Bible and were so happy to have it until they went home, found a picture of the cross inside, and returned the Bible because it had such an awful picture in it. The culture of this place has created a bad taste for Christianity and many people want nothing to do with it simply on principle because to be Christian is to be like the Serbs and turn traitor on your culture and family. If you accept the cross, then you are embracing the horrors of what the Serbs did, and many people will never do that.
This mindset has created a very tough atmosphere for ministry in Kosovo. The country is proclaimed to be secular, but over 90% of the population is Muslim and many hate the word Bible or cross. Missionaries come to share of the love and freedom Christ can bring through His death on the cross, but all Kosovaars hear is that the God of the Serbs cannot be good because Serbs are bad, and they hate the word and image of the cross.
So the dilemma is: how does a Christian do ministry in a place where being Christian is perceived as distasteful and traitorous? How do you talk about Jesus, the Bible, and the cross when people see those as tools of hostility? How can I bring people to Christ when they are born in opposition to Him?
Stay tuned for my answer in part 2!
