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General
Comments on the Law On Religion in Kazakhstan:
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The law
prohibits evangelism to those under 18. This was also true in
Soviet times so there is not only a legal prohibition but a cultural
one.
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The law
is not enforced equally and fairly. If you have a good relationship
with the local authorities you have some leeway. If you don't, you
have no protection (except from God) from fines and being shut down.
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Working
within family and social networks when doing evangelism is one way
of staying below the government's radar.
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The
spirit of the Law is to prevent even the appearance of conflict
between religious ideologies. Free speech is restricted in order to
achieve this goal.
My
Thoughts and Observations on the Church here:
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Most
non-charismatic ethnic Kazakh professing believers no-longer attend
church. Attending church is simply not seen as important for
believers.
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There are
roughly 600 Protestant churches in Kazakhstan (including around 200
Russian Baptist churches). According to the Director of the
Teen Challenge program here, in 2006 alone roughly 200 of
these churches were dissolved due to lack of membership.
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5 of the
11 Kazakh men in ministry that I know personally have had adulterous
relationships while in the ministry. To the best of my knowledge
only one of the eleven believes that such men should be removed from
the pastorate. They use David as their model for this
false (in my opinion) claim.
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Training
leadership here does not start at the same point as leadership
training in a country with a long-standing Christian witness such as
America. True, America's slide has accelerated in recent
years, but the starting point for the average new believer is
decades if not generations ahead of the average new believer here.
Picture America in 50 or 100 years if it continues to slide.
Like Americans, Kazakhs worship their culture and traditions.
They do not see the need to challenge these things after they are
saved and often this view is encouraged by those in leadership.
See examples below.
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A large
percentage of the Kazakh population has been exposed to the Gospel
through door-to-door nationwide evangelistic campaigns. One of the
results of this high-pressure evangelism has been to increase
the fear and distrust of "foreign" religions in the average person's
heart.
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Lastly,
and perhaps most importantly, I believe that the churches here have
the identical problems that we find in the USA. The task of
shepherding does not change. The problems and the scenarios
that we face here are the same ones that you face in America.
The church is like a candle burning on the beach in a hurricane.
It faces opposition from the world, the flesh, and the Devil.
It is an ongoing second-by-second miracle that the church has
survived this long or that any local church survives more than a few
years. The church has big problems and this has always been
the case. That doesn't mean that we don't strive with all
strength that that God provides to pray, exhort, and model Christ
until the day that we drop into the arms of our Savior. God's
grace sustains us and win's glorious victories as the battle rages
all around us. I words of Paul to the Church at Corinth ring
true for our church and work in Kazakhstan.
2 Cor
6:1-10
1And working together with Him, we also urge you not to
receive the grace of God in vain—
2for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, And
on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable
time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”—
3giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the
ministry will not be discredited,
4but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God,
in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses,
5in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in
sleeplessness, in hunger,
6in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the
Holy Spirit, in genuine love,
7in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of
righteousness for the right hand and the left,
8by glory and dishonor, by evil report
and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true;
9as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet
behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death,
10as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor
yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing
all things.
Concerning
ideas for building relationships:
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English
clubs and classes continue to be by far the best way. The people
who want to learn English tend to be culturally closer to us so it
is easier to befriend them.
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Teaching
church members to reach out to their families and friends. This
kind of evangelism is slow but when family members and friends are
saved they immediately have a social link to the church. Kooderbye
has been doing this in his extended family for about 18 months.
There are around 30 people in this circle and they have all heard
the Gospel several times in their own homes. This kind of ministry
helps church members to grow and live out their faith with those
that know them best.
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The third
major area that I believe is strategic for Kazakhstan is
publishing. Published material is nearly non-existent here.
Publishing can reach everyone regardless of the relationships they
have with believers. It is also an essential tool for teaching
believers across multiple churches.
Here are
some examples of where the average new believer is starting from in
Kazakhstan.
Examples
Concerning Integrity in Kazakhstan.
How many
people work in Kazakhstan? Nobody knows because most people don't pay
taxes so they don't report income. Most of the economy is off the
books. Virtually every statistic is wrong because the culture does not
care about truth. Police don't report crime because they think it makes
them look bad. Licenses, permits, diplomas (starting in grade school),
grades and jobs are bought most of the time. Murderers and all other
criminals buy release from prison as a rule. Doctors harm and even kill
patients (by not treating them) who don't pay them bribes. One doctor
infected babies with the Aids virus by giving them transfusions they did
not need so that he could make $10 per child. (See this NY Times story: Medical Care/Corruption In Kazakhstan).
Byeram's brother is dying of TB because doctors routinely give only half
of the required dose in order to double their profit. One Kazakh woman
we know has epilepsy caused by a doctor refusing to remove her child's
afterbirth because she did not pay him a big enough bribe. An American
oral surgeon friend of ours had to leave the country because his
students threatened to kill him for flunking every student in his
medical school class. He didn't take bribes and they didn't do any
work.
Examples
Concerning Marriage.
Marriage does
not involve the exchanging of vows in Kazakhstan. It is simply a
declaration of a couples intent to be legally married, whatever that
happens to mean to them. It is common and acceptable even for
believers to leave their spouse without getting a divorce and have
children with another partner. It is acceptable for men to beat
their wives. Even strong believers will not interfere when their
sisters or mothers are routinely beaten. Believers quietly allow
their daughters to be stolen by strangers. They even participate
in an old Kazakh ritual in which the family of the kidnapper surrounds
the stolen girl and pleads with the girl's family to allow the kidnapper
to marry the daughter (usually after he has dishonored her.)
Believing men try to get their girlfriends pregnant before they are
married and leave the girl if she is barren. Believing men leave
their wives if, after three years, she fails to have a child.
Believing newly weds are expected to live with the man's parents.
The youngest daughter-in-law in this kind of household is expected to do
most of the menial labor for the entire household: cleaning,
cooking, serving meals, washing clothes. At the other extreme,
believing women join their husbands in working long hours while their
young children fend for themselves at home.
Church
Planters will need large doses of God's grace including a forehead like
Ezekiel's because Kazakhs (like all nationalities) are a rebellious
people. Our job is to ceaselessly and fully preach the word and apply
it to life in Kazakhstan no matter what the cost. Please pray for
us. We do our best to stand for the truth in the kind of place that
Paul describes in the verses above. You would think we would get
used to it. But we miss things like elder meetings, and ladies bible
studies, and the many forms of encouragement you take for granted. The
task of changing lives for the Glory of God by preaching the word,
praying, and depending on God is immense and at the same time an
unquenchable desire for us. We see and need God's grace and power every
hour, as I am sure you the reader do too!
Eccl 12:13-14. 13The
conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His
commandments, because this applies to every person. 14
For God will bring every act to judgment, everything
which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.
1 Cor 15:58. 58
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not
in vain in the Lord. |