Get down on your knees and blog

In Proverbs 31:8-9 we read:

  Open your mouth for the mute,
        for the rights of all who are destitute. 
  Open your mouth, judge righteously,
        defend the rights of the poor and needy.

I am often reminded of this in my role as CEO of The Voice of the Martyrs here in Canada.  Our mission is to glorify the persecuted church by serving His persecuted church.  In his book Tortured for Christ, our founder Richard Wurmbrand wrote,

“I would not have left Romania, despite the dangers, if the leaders of the Underground Church had not commanded me to use this opportunity to leave the country, to be the ‘voice’ of the Underground Church to the free world. They wished me to speak to you of the Western world on their behalf about their sufferings and needs. I came to the West, but my heart remained with them. I would never have left Romania if I had not understood the great necessity for you to hear of the sufferings and the courageous work of the Underground Church, but this is my mission.”

The Voice of the Martyrs today continues the legacy of Pastor Wurmbrand in raising a voice for persecuted Christians around the world.  It is sometimes hard for Christians in Canada to understand that persecuted Christians do not want us to send all of our funds directly overseas!  They urge us to publicize their plight, to tell their stories, to urge governments to intervene on their behalf, and to share their prayer requests with Christians in Canada.  One of our core values as a mission is to serve the Persecuted Church according to their wishes and needs, and not according to our own predetermined strategies. Just as Pastor Wurmbrand left Romania at the command of underground church leaders to be their voice, we are fulfilling the command of today’s Persecuted Church as we share their stories in our monthly newsletter, in books, and through television and radio. 

Today, of course, one of the key ways we do this is on the Internet.  This is why I take the time to blog as regularly as I do.  As I look at the statistics, I realize that there are few ways in which I can personally reach so many with this important message.  I think that as a CEO, that it is important that my voice is heard first-hand and not filtered through a public relations firm or a communications team.  You need to know that there is a real person here who cares deeply for our brothers and sisters.  It’s why I personally Twitter and answer emails and comments posted on our blog.  Cutting myself from the public goes against everything that I believe about leadership.  Blogging is a sacred task for me, in whatever form it takes. Personally, I think Richard Wurmbrand would have blogged had he been starting his ministry in 2009.

May I urge you to join me?  If you have a blog site or use Twitter or Facebook – however that looks for you - get involved in raising a voice for the voiceless (or, as I jokingly said to a friend of mine the other day, raise a tweet for the tweetless).  We have recently seen the impact of the Internet in raising awareness of the problems in Iran.  May I ask you to join me in raising awareness of the persecuted?  Feel free to create links to our websites and blogs.  Embed our videos that are on Youtube.  Follow us and retweet our messages on Twitter.   Write your own material and reference ours.  Feel free!  Anything that is online from our mission is yours to use just so long as you don’t use it for personal gain (and a link or credit line is always nice). 

But for the love of our brothers and sisters, get on your knees and blog – speak up for those who are being persecuted for Christ.