Here I sit, curiously enough, writing my password-protected blog in a Vietnam beach town where a giant statue of Jesus peers down at you from the top of a mountain, no matter where you find yourself. You literally can’t hide from Jesus’s face in this town even if you tried. This crazy statue is 105 feet tall making it the 3rd tallest statue of Jesus in the world, humbly beating the famous one in Brazil by a couple of feet.
Vietnam, famous for it’s rich history, beaches, and exotic mountains, always forgets to advertise it’s insanely tall Jesus statue. Perhaps it is because to advertise Jesus is to go to jail in this country.
Just in the past few years, the government in Vietnam passed a controversial law on Religion and Belief. It caught the attention of humanitarian groups worldwide, as it was the first law passed by the National Assembly governing religion since the communists took control of North Vietnam in 1954 and the south 21 years later.
The law basically puts into legal written approval, what has been going on in this country for decades. It is illegal to share the Gospel here because that is seen as “proselytizing” and advocating for one’s religion is seen as a threat to national security. Any religious group is required to register with authorities and inform them of their activities with authorities having the right to refuse. And the cherry on top for anyone concerned about human rights: the government can take “ANY action necessary to restore social morale”.
They can refuse whenever they want if they feel that “a certain religious appointment does not have the spirit of national unity and harmony.”
Unfortunately, they have decided that more times than not, Christianity does not have the “spirit of harmony” they are searching for.
That means that Christians can arbitrarily be freely and legally persecuted, churches can be shut down, and missionaries are most definitely banned from the country.
So that explains why I am writing on a password-protected blog.
And why the local government thinks I am a student on a humanitarian exchange, “teaching English, just for fun”, 12 hours a day to screaming and crying babies who can’t go a meal without puking up their rice.
(more to come on the babies.. I really do love them oh so much already)
But what this law doesn’t explain is first, why this Jesus statue is peering over me while I sleep, but secondly and MOST importantly, why we are often too afraid to talk to friends, neighbors, and family about Jesus in a country where we have COMPLETE freedom to do just that.
So I want to shed some light on what I’m learning from my new Vietnamese companions.
Faith has the ability to give you fierce boldness, and this fierce boldness in return will only strengthen your faith 100-fold.
Because you start to see that God is truly good.
All the time.
We were sitting at lunch and my Vietnamese ministry host is talking with his 7-year old son Ben.
“Hey Ben, you know how good God is right?”
Ben naturally sits in a shy silence as any small kid would while his dad and 6 strange looking American girls stare at him expectantly. When he doesn’t say anything his Dad looks him straight in the eyes and says bluntly:
“Ben, you never stay quiet, you tell everyone you meet about how good Jesus is, wherever you go, whoever they are. Never stay silent. Don’t forget this boy.”
That is what fierce boldness looks like.
Last Sunday I went to my first “Underground Church”. Since you have to be registered and regulated by the government to have a church here in Vietnam many house churches have started popping up across the country that worship in secret. The particular church where our host attends is one of these.
Prior to arriving to church he told us that the government has known about their gatherings for several years so not to be concerned. The government found out they were worshipping in secret and attempted many times to shut down the gatherings. Every time they tried to disintegrate the church more people would come back the next week. Even though the local authorities never wrote this particular church a permit, they have decided to just turn a blind eye because of the church member’s relentless persistence.
That is what fierce boldness looks like.
As we were heading over to the underground church I had all kinds of ideas of what it would be like. Secret tunnels and passageways, a code word to get in or some kind of special knock on a sliding trap door. Hushed tones as people read the bible by candlelight in a dark basement.
Our first stop was in a supermarket. The eldest daughter Ann led us in and was looking around at the produce section.
I thought, okay I need to follow her lead so we don’t get caught, so I faked shopped around at the bakery items.
I was waiting for Ann in her broken English to lead us quietly into the deli freezer or behind a sliding door where perhaps the church was meeting in secret.
I wish I could tell you that is how the morning went down, because it would truly make the most epic story.
But after a bit, I realized we had come to the supermarket to eat breakfast. That is all. Eating breakfast as any normal person would do.
Sometimes my imagination needs to cool it.
We walked over to the church after breakfast and it was located in a very obvious 4-story building.
Kids pouring out into the street, music echoing from a floor above.
We were led up to the fourth floor and into a very normal looking sanctuary. Verses painted on the walls, seating for over 100 people. Band equipment.
I quickly realized this “underground church” was nothing like the one of my imagination. It was almost identical to any other church I had been to in Asia.
The service proceeded just as any service would, with music and singing. Preaching and communion. The kind of service that is normal in this part of the world where it seems that they are humbly boasting about how loud their microphones and speakers are able to go.
Nobody was trying to worship in secret at this underground church. Families were worshipping with triumphant looks of joy.
Because while the government currently may not be on their side, they know who ultimately will win this battle.
These people were loudly risking not only their acceptance in country that values unity over all, but they were risking their safety and security.
And they were so grateful. Grateful for this opportunity to gather with fellow believers, grateful for another Sunday of showing their persecutors that fear did not live within the walls of this building.
That is what fierce boldness looks like.
So while I personally may not be risking much in Vietnam with my American skin, and American hair covering me like a big privileged security blanket, I am meeting people left and right who are risking everything for their faith and plan to continue to risk everything long after I leave this country.
The very least I can do is not just appreciate my freedom in America, but take advantage of my freedom. Invite people to a church where there is not the lingering possibility of ending our Sunday in a prison cell. Tell everyone I meet why I believe what I believe.
Scream it from the rooftops because why not.
Because faith is more than a feeling, it’s an action.
It’s opening your doors even when the world around you tells you it’s best to keep them closed.
