Speaking up for the persecuted in China

As promised, a quickie that's not related to PCUSA struggles:

Last week's World Magazine featured an eye opening article about the persecuted church in China. It appears that China is cracking down on religious freedom of Christians. Reports from Voice of the Martyrs and Amnesty International confirm this.

The persecuted church (not just in China, but around the globe) features regularly in my prayers, and I long to do more. Tammy and I watched Hotel Rwanda this weekend, and guilt washed over me as I realized that genocide happened in my generation, and our western nations didn't lift a finger to stop it until it had already happened (admittedly, Rwanda's troubles were shortly after our humiliation in Somalia -- where we had just seen the corpses of American soldiers dragged through the street). It made me want to do something more than sit by and watch the suffering.

President Hu Jintao visits the US on September 7, but I don't anticipate much from this visit -- it will focus mainly on trade (China just recently hired big name lobbyists Patton Boggs to represent their interests -- only a slice of the $31 Billion that foreign lobbyists will spend on capitol hill this year -- there are over 36,000 registered lobbyists!)

So, I'm not sure what to do. My faith reminds me that God is sovereign -- He reigns over the nations, but my faith also challenges me to be used as God's instrument. In a free and open society, I believe that means voicing my Christian convictions. And so, I offer this post up, and ask for your thoughts...

Soli Deo Gloria

Russell