Since we moved to Brisbane 7 years ago, the population of the Brisbane local government area has increased by 300,000 people! Church growth and church planting have certainly not kept up with this growth. We are convinced that more churches need to be planted to reach these people with the gospel of Jesus.

I will continue working full-time with Open Doors as we build the team for Christ our Refuge.

Find out more about our weekly gatherings, joining our team, prayer updates, and financial partnership here: http://christrefuge.co

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We departed from Cairo on Thursday morning to explore more of Egypt and connect with more persecuted believers. Our first stop was East Samalut in the Minya Governate – a popular stopover for Christians on the Holy Family Pilgrimage. While we can’t be sure about the specific locations that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus visited while in exile, it is interesting to imagine Jesus spending time in Egypt as an infant. Many Christians live in and around the Monastery of the Virgin Mary – they were very kind to us and had a tangible devotion to the Lord. They were so kind that one mother entrusted her newborn daughter to my care for a few minutes – a precious memory.

After a delicious lunch that included some of the most incredible dips we’ve had so far (Dave certainly enjoyed the dips, singlehandedly cleaning out all the dip plates), we met in a secret upper room with some local Christians involved in discipleship ministry throughout the governate.

One particularly inspiring leader was Pastor *Karim. He has been serving amid great difficulties in this region of Egypt for decades. Growing up in a village, he would often be awakened in the night by the footsteps of police on his roof chasing after extremists. This was understandably a terrifying environment to be a child.

He shared with us that he gave his life to Christ in a small discipleship group and that over the years, most of the other members ended up moving to Cairo or overseas to avoid persecution. He said he, too, was thinking about leaving, and then he had a dream, and in the dream, he heard the Lord say, “A true hero doesn’t leave the battle; they stand and fight to the end.” He woke believing God was calling him to stay amid the darkness around Him and continue to be a light in this community. And what light he has been!

We then asked Pastor Karim if he had a message for the Australian church, and this was his response,

“Don’t escape from the pain. Accept the challenges because, in the middle of the challenge, God is working. Open your ears, open your eyes and see how God is working.”

The challenges around them do not blind the church in Egypt, and they consistently see how God is at work despite the darkness threatening them. This felt like such a stark contrast to our experience of faith in the West; I think so often, as soon as any trials come knocking on our door, we tend to retreat from it and find our heart asking those classic ‘Why God?’ questions instead of leaning in to see how the Lord is still at work amid the sufferings that come.

The persecuted church teaches us to see some of God’s purposes in pain.

Another persecuted believer we met that day in Minya – Pastor *Ezra – had this to say about why God allows suffering,

“When we go through suffering, God is preparing us to help those who are suffering. You will be a high priest in the future – you’ve been through it and can help people. You can help this next generation.”

What a great concept! In Hebrews 4, Jesus is our sinless high priest able to sympathise with us in our time of need. And what a privilege we then have to be high priestly in helping other believers in their time of need.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.” (2 Corinthians 1:3–5 ESV)

In the gospel of Christ, we have received comfort from God that we can be a comfort to those who are also afflicted.

*Bishoi – our favourite tour guide – continues to be a consistent and refreshing example time and time again. An ordinary believer following Jesus in a place like Egypt, he keeps coming out with passing comments that leave our hearts forever marked.

I remember standing outside the bus with the team, the tour guide, our driver, and our security guard while on a break somewhere in the desert between Cairo and Minya and Bishoi casually opened with this line,

“If persecution leaves the body of Christ… it weakens. Persecution is like going to the gym. We grow when our muscles are under pressure. The pressure and burden of persecution brings growth in the Christian life.”

I love that – it’s through the trials and the testings that we build our spiritual muscles, but when those testings leave, we weaken again. Persecution strengthens the saints.

It’s strange to think of persecution as a gift, yet God strengthens the saints through persecution. And that really is a gift. For those in the body of Christ who are not currently being persecuted, learning the stories of persecuted brothers and sisters is a gift for strengthening their faith and spiritual muscles.

I will forever remember the lessons from this day and embrace the challenges of this life, knowing that God is with me and at work in the middle.

*Name changed for security purposes.

—
Read the rest of the series here.

ps from Dave – Mo Salah’s image was all over the front fence of a new block of units somewhere in the middle of the desert… maybe we’re getting closer?

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Now the Italians claim that Mark the evangelist is buried at St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. At the same time, the Egyptians claim that his head is in Alexandria and that parts of his body are here at this church in Cairo. We didn’t get a chance to do any DNA tests to prove Mark’s identity while visiting his shrine, but either way, Mark is a big deal for his pioneering gospel work in response to Jesus’ great commission.

After learning about St Mark, we made our way through a maze of stairs, up a lift, and into a backroom of the cathedral for a confronting and solemn experience visiting the Martyrs Hall.

This was the moment I had been waiting for since learning about our travel itinerary.

Rewind to a story I first heard about in 2015. Twenty-one foreign workers – 20 men from Egypt and one from Ghana – were working in Libya. Terrorists kidnapped these men because they identified as followers of Christ. Forced into a camp for three weeks, each day, they were urged to deny Christ and turn away from their faith. As the three weeks went on, the pressure grew more intense. But all 21 of these men stood firm in Christ, refusing to deny their allegiance to their Lord and Saviour.

Consequently, in January 2015, they were marched out onto a Libyan beach in orange overalls and executed at the hands of extremists. This act of brutality was filmed and then broadcast around the world.

I still remember the horror of learning this story when the news broke in 2015 but also inspired by the immediate and reflexive words of love, grace, and gospel confidence from the Pastor of many of the Egyptian men martyred,

“From the Egyptian church to ISIS: we love you and have pity on you, and pray that God may open your eyes so that you can see the true light in Jesus Christ […] We’re not intimidated by your threats. Death is a vanquished enemy for us, vanquished by the power of The Christ in His resurrection from the dead. We are not armed, and we’re not militant, but our prayers are stronger than all your weapons.”

What a response! These people believe in the resurrection of the dead, knowing that death is not the end for those who belong to Jesus.

It was a solemn moment hearing Bishoi retell the martyrdom of those 21 faithful men and the otherworldy response of their Christian community in the face of adversity.

I could end this blog post here, and I trust you’d be heartened to learn this story of faith.

But there was more to come as the reality of this experience was about to outweigh my pre-existing expectations.

Before we went into Martyr’s Hall, I expected to see 21 monuments for the 21 courageous men martyred on that Libyan beach.

The reality? There was so much more to see.

Yes, we saw the monuments of those 21 men; unsurprisingly, there were a further 29 monuments for those killed in the bomb blast next door at El-Botroseya, but more than that, there were multiple rooms with hundreds of monuments!

Hundreds of ordinary people with portraits on the wall, a quote about their life, and a box with some keepsakes.

It was haunting to walk past monument after monument.

The image that remained most vividly etched in my memory that day was discovering a whole line of empty monument boxes.

Why were they empty? They know that there is more blood to be shed! The boxes will be filled.

The expectation for followers of Jesus in Australia is that, hopefully, following Jesus won’t interrupt my schedule or bring about too much discomfort.

The expectation for followers of Jesus in Egypt is that one day your picture and plaque may be displayed above one of those boxes.

Mike Gore called this my penny drop moment on the trip when I really grasped the reality of life and death in the persecuted church. And it’s true; I can’t get the image of those empty boxes out of my mind.

One of my favourite bible verses that I’ve already shared in part 2 of this series is Philippians 1:21

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (ESV)

The persecuted church in Egypt can teach us to live for Christ, to die for Christ, and to know that even premature death and departure from this life is gain. Gain because we get more of Christ. Gain because we will see his face. Gain because it is worth giving up everything for the sake of the One who gave up everything for us.

The persecuted church around the world can teach us to hold fast to Christ amid the threat of martyrdom, knowing that death is not the end for those who trust Him. Jesus is victorious over the grave, and our tombs will also be empty on the last day.

Father God, thank you for the love and mercy shown to me and all people through the perfect life, sacrificial death, and triumphant resurrection of your Son. May your Spirit give me strength to hold loosely to the things of this world, helping me to believe that to live is Christ and to die is gain. Amen.

—
Read the rest of the series here.

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It’s strange to think that a morning in the desert learning about the Desert Fathers (including one of my church history heroes, Athanasius, who spent formative time away in monastic communities), visiting the 4th-century Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great, having a modern-day Monk sing a beautiful trinitarian hymn to us acapella, seeing what are claimed to be the relics of Elisha and John the Baptist from the Bible, observing Mohammed Salah billboards up and down the desert highways, and enjoying the centring peace and calming quiet of the desert… was NOT the highlight of our Wednesday.

It’s only our second full day, and I’m reasonably sure all seven members of our Open Doors team are falling in love with Bishoi. What a man of contagious joy and with a super-power for telling remarkable stories. One of the things that Bishoi has encouraged us to do is to experience Egypt. The invitation was that we would not just see the beauty of an ancient building still standing, but we would see the hands of the skilled men and women who built it so that we would understand their circumstances and know their stories.

The day’s highlight was the opportunity to experience two stories from 2015 and 2016. These were two stories that moved me when I first heard about them and stories I have shared previously in conversations and sermons.

The contrast from the contemplative morning in the desert to the afternoon back in the hustle and bustle of downtown Cairo couldn’t be starker.

We arrived through heavy security at El-Botroseya Church with the scorching mid-afternoon heat on our backs and the constant honking of horns around the perimeter of the church compound.

I didn’t realise just how close we were about to get to these familiar stories.

In a matter of seconds, we were retracing the steps of a suicide bomber.

Step 1: The Entry

Immediately, we were shown exactly where the suicide bomber had walked in off the street at 10am on Sunday, 11 December 2016.

Step 2: The Wrong Door

Those familiar with Coptic church culture would know that the men sit on the left and the women sit on the right of the church. This newcomer to church started walking towards the door on the right.

Step 3: The Intervention

One man, Nabil, noticed and instantly ran after him wrapping his arms around the terrorist just after he’d entered the women’s door. At that moment, the bomb was detonated.

Step 4: The Impact

As a result of the explosion, 28 women and girls were killed as well as Nabil – it would have been many more, but for the heroic intervention of this observant brother in Christ.

Step 5: The Blood

Outside the church, they have put glass over some of the blood still splattered on the walls 40 metres away from ground zero to remember those whose blood was shed.

Step 6: The Shrapnel

The shrapnel marks that remain on the internal pillars of the church made an indelible impression on me too.

Step 7: The Black Tile

We stood on a black tile placed on the ground as part of the post-bombing refurbishment. This was where the suicide bomber ended the lives of these ordinary followers of Jesus gathering for Sunday worship. We stood in that place and remembered these martyrs.

Step 8: The Twin

On the day of our visit, just two metres from the black tile, we had the privilege of meeting Ashraf. He is the twin brother of Nabil.

Step 9: The Peace of God

Listen to these words from Ashraf reflecting on that dreadful day,

“The sight of the blood and the bodies in the aftermath of the explosion was unbearable. But knowing that Nabil is now crowned in heaven gives me strength. God has supernaturally filled me with condolence, comfort, and peace.”

Step 10: The Resolve

We asked Ashraf,

“Are people still worried and fearful of coming to church?”

His response was,

“Every day we have a liturgy, and every day the church is full.”

In Brisbane, if there’s a bit of rain on Sunday, many churchgoers avoid gathering that day. And yet, look at the lessons from our persecuted brothers and sisters: rather than shrinking back in fear, persecution brings greater resolve. These Christ followers don’t give up meeting together – but adversity draws their community together.

“I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers and sisters, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear. (Philippians 1:12–14 ESV)

El-Botroseya Church believers continue to speak the word of God without fear.

Step 11: The Irrigation

On the desert highway this morning, echoing the words of second-century church father Tertullian, Bishoi said,

“The blood of the martyrs is the irrigation of the church.”

As persecution increases, the Egyptian church continues to meet, disciple, evangelise, and grow – and blood fuels that growth.

Come back tomorrow for the second story we will experience while in Downtown Cairo.

—
Read the rest of the series here.

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The highlight of the ancient buildings and bazaars we visited was spending time in the beautiful eleventh-century Al-Hakim mosque. While seated in the inner courtyard of the mosque, Bishoi quietly told us the story of how Al-Hakim became Caliph. He was a brutal leader known by some as the “mad Caliph” or “Nero of Islam”. Al-Hakim was fixated on destroying Christianity.

To say that Christians were marginalised was an understatement during his reign. Christians that chose not to convert to Islam had three further “choices”:

1/ Be killed.
2/ Stay home.
3/ Only leave your homes if you are willing to wear a heavy iron cross around your neck.

Christians chose the cross. This makes sense – Jesus said anyone who comes after him must carry their cross. These believers were literally called to carry a cross. And it left a mark. Literally. The weight of the cross left a chain mark on the back of their necks. They were ridiculed with the name ‘blue bones’ – but again, these brothers and sisters took the insult as an honour to be considered worthy to suffer disgrace for Jesus’ sake.

Throughout history, Egyptian Christians who refused to convert to Islam had a cross tattooed on their wrist by the authorities and were forced to pay a tax. And yet, rather than shrink from wearing this symbol, subsequent generations of Christians have chosen to mark themselves with the cross – showing that they are unashamed to belong to Christ crucified.

Bishoi had already been conscious of not projecting his voice too loudly in the mosque; as he drew things to a conclusion, he invited us to lean in further and listen carefully to his whisper. And he said these unforgettable words,

“Every stone around you has witnessed the killing of Christians. And yet here we are. Talking about Jesus and the ongoing spread of Christianity while sitting in a mosque.”

What a powerful moment to experience. The reality? The more that rulers and authorities in this world try and stop the spread of Christianity, the more the message spreads.

As we read Psalm 2, we know those who come against the LORD’s Anointed do so in vain. As we heard this morning from Matta, our message is victory in Christ. He is the one who has conquered the grave. He is the one whose kingdom and throne will be established forever.

The invitation remains to respond rightly to this king:

Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2:10–12 ESV)

What a blessing to take refuge in him!

I know that the goal of this afternoon was to be immersed in the millennia-old religious history of Cairo. Still, I hadn’t forgotten about my secret quest: to meet my favourite soccer player – Mohammad Salah. He’s everywhere on t-shirts and billboards, and for a few moments, I thought he was standing in front of me! But then I realised it was a statute. A stunning statue. But also a statue I’d struggle to get back through customs.

It’s only the end of our first full day, but I’m already learning so much from the rest of the Open Doors team about how to process the stories we are experiencing together. Praise God for his kindness.

*Name changed for security purposes.

—
Read the rest of the series here.

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Following a hotel breakfast by the Nile and a brief time in God’s word and prayer, we were ready for our first meeting. Straight away, there was an element of secrecy and danger involved as we met with Matta*. Our group split up into two’s, and we arrived at staggered times at the hotel room. This was to avoid the constant surveillance of authorities (and nosey hotel housekeepers!). While there was a slight risk for our team, there was a significant risk for Matta in associating with us. He later told us that government officials would have interrogated him if they knew the nature of our meetings.

Matta is a significant leader working across denominations in Egypt. His steadfast devotion to the Lord inspired me. He personally knows the constant pressure that the church is under. The day before we arrived, 41 Christians were killed in a fire in a Cairo church. While the media reports quickly label it as an accident caused by an electrical fault, Matta said that local Christians fear there is more behind it and that the incident was an attack.

With a mix of brutal honesty and everyday composure, Matta spoke about the expectation of suffering. He quoted 2 Timothy 3:12, saying persecution is the normal expectation of godly living and that the church has been under pressure from the book of Acts onwards. He said,

“the bible says it; don’t complain about it.”

I felt rebuked. If I’m honest, it’s easy to complain about the circumstances within which I find myself.

Don’t mishear what Matta was communicating; he’s not glamorising persecution. Far from it. He said that believers agonise over it and grieve every time a brother or sister suffers for the sake of Christ. He says emphatically,

“we’re not here to sell persecution; we’re here to talk about the victory in Christ.”

Victory in Christ – what a wonderful perspective! It’s the perspective of the Apostle Paul when he writes from prison (Philippians 3:10, 20). It’s the perspective of the exiled Apostle John when he writes to persecuted believers at the end of the first century (Revelation 1:17-18). And it’s the type of perspective that equips all believers throughout the ages to deal with whatever adversity lay before us.

*Name changed for security purposes.

—
Read the rest of the series here.

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“Dave, it’s okay if you die. I’ll make sure the kids are proud of you.”

Well, that escalated quickly!

These were the parting words from my beloved bride before heading off to Egypt. Strangely, I immediately received them as words of comfort. The Apostle Paul says, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Philippians 1:21). The reality is that for those who belong to Jesus, “it’s okay if you die” is a truth we need to hold onto each day. While death is always grievous, the death of the Christian takes place in light of the certain hope of resurrection life that is ours through Jesus’ resurrection.

Sunday night. 9pm flight from Brisbane International Airport. I bumped into a friend at the airport and let her know where I was going. She assured me of her prayers for the trip. I love reminders like this that God is with me, and what a gift to have people praying as I embark on this epic Egyptian journey.

I arrived in Dubai half a day ahead of the rest of our team, flying in from different locations. It meant I had a casual 18 hours to kill while in Dubai. The length of this layover filled me with dread, and I had flashbacks to the 2004 movie ‘The Terminal’, where Tom Hanks’ character ended up living in the airport for nine months. Let’s hope it goes quickly.

Here’s how I filled the time:

1/ I circumnavigated the terminal about 15 times, discerning the best coffee available. For this Aussie-coffee-loving-snob, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of GET YOUR FIX. I’ve been to a bunch of airports around the world, and while I don’t want to overstate this, I can honestly say this was the best airport coffee of my life. #TravelHacksWithDave

2/ I walked 20,827 steps / 16.6km. That’s a lot of steps to take in an airport; maybe some type of record?

3/ I devoured my favourite burger of 2022 at Shake Shack. I had low expectations, but it was better than NYC’s original Shake Shack burgers! Maybe nine months at this airport ain’t so bad?

4/ I finally finished reading ‘God’s Smuggler’ by Brother Andrew (BA), the founder of Open Doors International. What a breathtaking story! It outlines the early days of BA smuggling bibles to Christians across closed borders way back in 1955. While smuggling bibles wasn’t the purpose of our imminent journey to Egypt, the book certainly put fire in my belly with a greater appreciation for the long-term mission of Open Doors.

One of the big takeaways from God’s Smuggler was BA’s dependence on God for his every need. Whether that’s blinding the eyes of border security from seeing the Bibles he was carrying, trusting in God to provide the financial resources for his ministry, or trusting in God’s timing in his life.

Honestly, this year has already been filled with innumerable opportunities to depend upon God with everything in my life. Learning to trust God is humbling and, at times, painful. But he is good. And he is trustworthy. As my long layover draws closer to an end, I resolve to trust in God more deeply during this trip and with whatever God has for me in the future.

Well, I’ve already obliterated my desired word count for this post, but know that I can’t finish just yet.

Three more things happened to close out this crazy long day:

We ate. After the rest of my travel companions arrived in Dubai, we had enough time to cram like sardines into the train and head downtown for dinner beneath the 828-metre shadow of the Burj Khalifa.

We flew. It’s about 3.5 hours from Dubai to Cairo – long enough for a quality nap. However, there was no time to sleep, as the English Premier League was streaming. In the air. On the plane. Oh my. Science! Unfortunately, Liverpool was held to a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace. Mohamed Salah: no goals; no assists.

We arrived. They say New York is ‘the city that never sleeps’. Let’s give Cairo that moniker too. It was well after midnight on Tuesday morning when we got through customs and out of the airport. And yet, avoiding the heat of the day, it was peak hour at the tennis courts; people were congregating; children were playing; even the cute cats of Cairo were out purring and meowing along the city streets.

Time. To. Sleep.

—

Read the rest of the series here.

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“Dave, prepare to pack your bags; we’re heading out on a field trip.”

These were the words left ringing in my ears from Gabe – my new boss – by the end of my third day on the job.

I was immediately a little nervous about the trip. I’ve read the stories. I know the risks. Risks for our team travelling, but even more so – risks for the persecuted believers on the ground that we would be visiting.

And yet, this felt like the right time. The right time to lean in further, listen more, learn more, and love more.

But let’s rewind a little.

For over twenty years, I have loved learning the stories of persecuted Christians throughout the ages. I am deeply encouraged and spurred on by their perseverance and faith under fire. For at least ten years, I have regularly retold some of these stories of persecuted Christians as a pastor teaching through the bible.

By God’s grace, I now find myself working with Open Doors Australia. For over 65 years, this incredible organisation has existed to help people follow Jesus all over the world, no matter the cost. Standing alongside our persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ is a privilege! And it’s an honour to help Christians in Australia to be mentored in their faith by the persecuted church.

With a global pandemic and ongoing border restrictions, it’s been a few years since the Open Doors team has been able to visit persecuted believers. This trip had been in the pipeline for a long time; what a gift to have joined the team at just the right time to be invited on this journey.

The destination for our trip? Egypt. We’d be heading to Egypt in a month.

Egypt is a country I know a few things about.

First, I know it’s old. It’s in the early parts of the Bible, and a ridiculous number of ancient buildings still stand today.

Second, I know it ranks as the 20th most dangerous country to be a Christian on our current World Watch List.

Third, my favourite soccer player – and Liverpool legend – Mohamed Salah is from there. He’s the current King of Egypt. Goals on repeat. Assists to boot. Strong abs. Now, I know there are over 100 million people in Egypt, but hopefully, I might bump into Salah while on the road.

Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, some recent stories of persecution in Egypt have resonated deeply with me. I hope to get closer to these stories and retrace the steps of some of these recent heroes of the faith.

Stay tuned.

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“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10 ESV)

Learning from and praying for the persecuted church has significantly encouraged my Christian life. Approximately 1 in 7 Christians (~360million) are persecuted for following Jesus. Seeing the faithfulness of my sisters and brothers – even unto death – gives me the courage to keep following Jesus no matter the cost.

Open Doors is an incredible organisation that exists to strengthen the persecuted church through their suffering. Many of you would know that I’ve been a big supporter of Open Doors, so I’m grateful to share with you that I’ve recently joined the team as a Relationship Manager. I’m working to strengthen and build new relationships with pastors and churches in Queensland and Western Australia.

The team at Open Doors are the real deal. I’ve been blown away by the gospel-fuelled, other person-centred, and grace-filled culture of the team in Australia and New Zealand. It’s a gift to learn from CEO Mike Gore and the rest of the team during this season. God is good.

If there are any Aussie/Kiwi Pastors and Church Leaders reading this – hit me up if you’re interested in learning more about how Open Doors are “Helping people follow Jesus all over the world, no matter the cost.”

davem[at]od.org.au

opendoors.org.au

ps – it’s 8 years to the day since I published this persecuted church blog post that went viral: WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH THE ARABIC LETTER IN FACEBOOK PROFILE PICS? (Almost 1 million hits!)

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