Persecution

A previous post about immaturity in the NA church suggested that this had something to do with our easy, "cushy" lifestyle and that we rarely feel any negative consequences for following Christ. Then this morning I read an article by Philip Yancey (one of my favorites). You can get the whole article here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/2005/003/1.42.html

But this particular statement caught my attention and brought a chuckle of surprise:

Yancey said:

I found the same pattern in Myanmar (formerly Burma), a dictatorship with brutal policies against religious activities. The person who invited me to the country informed me, "When you speak to pastors, you should remember that probably all of them have spent time in jail because of their faith."
"Then should I talk about one of my book topics like Where Is God When It Hurts? Or Disappointment with God?" I asked.
"Oh, no, that's not really a concern here," he said. "We assume we'll be persecuted for faith. We want you to speak on grace. We need help getting along with each other."

So maybe these sibling rivalries in local congregations is more widespread than I thought!

What do you think?