Justice for the Persecuted Church

BY JULES BADGER

Most Salvationists already know Ronji Tanielu as a passionate advocate for justice and, of course, anything to do with his beloved community.

‘I was born in Samoa and raised in the capital city of the entire galaxy and universe—Mangere, South Auckland. I’m three-quarters Samoan and a quarter Tokelauan, and married to a stunning Samoan woman, Rabena,’ boasts Ronji.

A lawyer by trade, Ronji has worked for The Salvation Army’s Social Policy and Parliamentary Unit (SPPU) intermittently for about five years in total.

‘The easiest way to describe my current job with the Sallies is to say that I’m paid to be as positively disruptive as I can to government, stakeholders, decision-makers and corporates in terms of social policy and justice. And, of course, I’m very passionate about the wider vision and mission of The Salvation Army,’ explains Ronji.

Ronji is not backward about coming forward and speaking up when it matters. And while social issues exercise his mind, his real passion is for speaking up and advocating for people, especially the people closest to Ronji’s heart: Christian brothers and sisters who are persecuted for their faith around the world.

Ronji and Rabena have served with Voice of the Martyrs (VOM) internationally as biblical tentmakers and self-funded missionaries over the years. They are still actively involved here in New Zealand, speaking to churches to raise awareness, giving financially and even writing letters to Christians who are imprisoned for their faith around the world. And if it wasn’t for Covid-19 border restrictions, they’d be doing what they do every Christmas—bringing the good news into restricted nations, as volunteers.

‘We used to live overseas, and every Christmas since then we have gone out for a month to help bring the good news to restricted nations. Covid-19 has blocked that usual practice and Rabena and I are still grieving the loss of not being able to serve in this way this year. It’s a massive hit for us. Border restrictions have also prevented us from being able to host in our home and love on persecuted believers from overseas. And Covid-19 has exacerbated persecution in some countries, like Nigeria and Tanzania, as governments use lockdowns to legitimise the closing of churches but not other religions,’ reports Ronji.

For Ronji, justice for the persecuted church is a critical biblical issue—one largely ignored by the church in the West, including New Zealand.

‘Jesus says in John 15:7: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first”. In 2 Timothy 3:12 Paul writes that “...everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”. I’m a lawyer, so I know that the word “will” means we’re talking about a promise,’ explains Ronji.

A weighty burden

Ronji’s burden for the persecuted church began soon after his conversion at 18 years of age. He was a student at the time studying at Auckland University.

‘That was a miracle in itself,’ he says. ‘I had been kicked out of high school and I was headed down the stereotypical South Auckland pathway. I was even contemplating robbing a bank with my friends at one stage because we were desperate for money at home. But one day I went to church with my sister and I heard that I was a sinner before a holy God and that’s why Christ died—that made perfect sense to me. As I studied the Bible, I became interested in the persecuted church that was mentioned repeatedly. I started praying—that’s how I first got involved—praying for people in countries I thought I would never get to. And I started giving money. I was a poor student working three jobs, but I wanted to be a good steward of my resources. The more understanding I developed of a theology of the persecuted church, the more passionate I became.’

Scripture strongly informs Ronji’s theology of justice for the persecuted church. ‘It really is an issue of justice. Where’s the justice for the persecuted church? Who’s fighting for them? Galatians 6:10 says, “…let us do good to all people…”— which we do so well as an Army through our services like giving food parcels and providing addictions services. But tacked onto the end of that verse are these words, “...especially to those who belong to the family of believers”. The numbers tell us that over 250 million Christians are persecuted for their faith every year— that’s the population of Australia times 10! If you look at the UK’s recent report on religious persecution, they found that Christianity is the most persecuted faith in the world. Eighty percent of all people persecuted for their religious beliefs are Christian.’

Ronji is saddened, challenged and disturbed to action by these figures, because they represent real people. ‘That’s a lot of untold stories by the mainstream media, and, to be honest, the church isn’t telling these stories either. Who’s fighting for their justice? If that person in Nigeria or Indonesia or China is my brother or sister in Christ—and Paul says that we are all one body—that’s like my leg being stabbed and put on fire! The rest of the Body would feel that pain and try to do something about it. But that’s not happening much in the West, and that’s what’s made me so passionate. The Church has been suffering from its inception—from day one in the book of Acts, the Church has been persecuted—and we are called repeatedly in the New Testament to do something about it.’

Persecuted Salvationists

Persecution is not new to The Salvation Army. Skeleton Armies arose to combat the success of The Salvation Army in its early days—including here in New Zealand. And while those stories embolden us and fill us with pride and determination (not to sully that legacy of defiance for Christ) we are sometimes guilty of forgetting that there are Salvationists still suffering for their faith around the world today. The recent news from Central Sulawesi in Indonesia included the burning of a Salvation Army centre.

‘A Muslim terrorist group that is aligned with ISIS attacked the village. From the last report, four people were killed—one decapitated which is very common practice used against Christians around the world. Buildings were burned to the ground and it’s been confirmed that one of those buildings was a Salvation Army centre/corps. But you have to understand that persecution of Christians in Indonesia has been happening for generations—it’s nothing new—because Indonesia is the biggest Muslim country in the world.’

Ronji explains that the Indonesian Government has responded by denying that the attacks are linked to religious persecution for several reasons, but one that he agrees with is the concern that doing so would spark more attacks.

‘We can all agree and support that motivation because violence often snowballs. I remember serving in Kalimantan on the border of Indonesia and Malaysia, and looking around and seeing bullet holes and machete knife marks in the walls of the mud hut church I was preaching in. A week before it had been attacked and villagers had been killed because it was a Christian village. There were people there still nursing wounds—it was sobering to say the least. When you’re in those countries the reality of persecution becomes real very quickly. Two weeks after I preached there, there was another attack on the church. So, I think the government really does worry that attacks will add fuel to the fire and result in more violence.’

Ronji takes care to explain that persecution takes many forms. ‘Many people in the West think that persecution means Christians being killed, beaten, tortured, raped or forced into marriage. It’s all of those things, but it’s also subtle things, like not being able to get jobs, or study, or use public transport because you’re a Christian. It’s not being able to drink from the same well in a village or have access to food. There’s also what I call ‘soft’ persecution, and it’s creeping into New Zealand. I recently heard of a church that was not able to advertise publicly on a bus anymore because they were a church and the local authority no longer wants any Christian advertising.’

So what can we do?

Ronji hopes that Salvationists will be disturbed and moved to action by this story. ‘What did Catherine Booth say? “If we are to better the future, we must disturb the present”.’

There are several things we can do from the relative safety of our four island nations, suggests Ronji. First, we can pray: ‘Hebrews 13:3 says, “Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering”. There’s persecution in around 70 countries around the world. Pick a country and pray—Nigeria, Indonesia, China or India. A lot of people don’t know that India is now considered the country with the fastest levels of persecution of Christians in the world,’ reveals Ronji.

Second, we can learn: ‘It’s important that we understand what the Bible says about persecution because these are our brothers and sisters in Christ. It’s a real issue in Scripture but we’re sometimes guilty of glossing over it so these things don’t pierce and penetrate our hearts. Around the world there are people who share the same faith and worldview as us, but we don’t seem to notice or care,’ says Ronji.

Third, we can give: ‘So many of us give a lot of money to support those outside the Body of Christ, which is wonderful and needed, but we’re not so good at giving to those within the Body. We forget to love and care and show compassion to those at risk within the Body. But when the Body is looked after and cared for and protected, it’s stronger and will be a better witness to a dark and dying world.’

Ronji on various mission trips to work with the persecuted church

Gracious, salty and courageous

Ronji pulls no punches as he urges Salvationists to be gracious, salty and courageous in these days.

‘The hard truth about Christianity is that as a faith, it’s exclusive. Jesus says in John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” So, in this world of competing ideologies, world views and religions, Jesus calls us to share a message that is an offensive message—we live in a world that says all roads lead to God, but that’s simply not true. Christ is the only way. On top of that, the gospel calls me a sinner in need of a Saviour! That’s the challenge we live with as Christians in our pluralistic society— we’re not all talking about the same god and that’s why Jesus is exclusive in his statements. So it’s important to, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt…” as in Colossians 4:6. We need to be both gracious and salty because we can’t be ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for salvation. The gospel itself is so very inclusive and open because the message of salvation is for anyone—the whosoever. So, Christianity is both inclusive and exclusive, which is why we need to be both gracious and salty. We abide far too much by the eleventh commandment—thou shalt be nice! But we’re meant to fight for the faith and contend for it.

‘I hope in these days that Salvationists will be full of grace, seasoned with salt, and courageous in their witness, because the world needs Christ!’

MORE INFO | Check out websites of trusted ministries working with the persecuted church: Voice of the Martyrs, International Christian Concern, Open Doors or Barnabas Ministries.