Neither Bomb Nor Bullet

Andrew Boyd

Description

In the warzone that Nigeria has become, Archbishop Ben Kwashi has survived three assassination attempts. A brutal assault on his wife, Gloria, drove him to his knees - to forgive and find the strength to press on. Islamist militants have Nigeria in their sights. These are the terrorists who kidnapped hundreds of Christian schoolgirls - who have vowed to turn Africa's most populous nation into a hard-line Islamic state. Their plan is to drive the Christian minority from the north by kidnapping, bombing and attacking churches. Plateau State is on the frontline. But holding that line against Boko Haram, and standing firm for the Gospel, is Ben Kwashi, the Anglican Archbishop of Jos. In Jos, churches have been turned into fortresses and Archbishop Ben now conducts more funerals than weddings and baptisms put together. He has survived three assassination attempts and his wife has been brutally attacked. Yet his faith grows ever more vibrant. He has adopted scores of orphans who live in his home, including many who are HIV positive. And the challenge of his message - to live for the Gospel even in the face of terror - has never been so timely.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Lion Hudson
• Date de parution: 19 juillet 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780857218445
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Neither Bomb Nor Bullet
"Archbishop Ben Kwashi is a man who follows Jesus in faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit. He not only preaches the gospel of the Bible, but he lives it out in his personal life, family, and ministry. Through his leadership and preaching, thousands and thousands of people have been transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light by accepting Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord."
Foley Beach, Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America

Text copyright © 2019 Andrew Boyd
This edition copyright © 2019 Lion Hudson IP Limited
The right of Andrew Boyd to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication June be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by
Lion Hudson Limited
Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Business Park
Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 8DR, England
www.lionhudson.com
ISBN 978 0 8572 1843 8
e-ISBN 978 0 8572 1844 5
First edition 2019
Scripture quotations marked NIV taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised. Copyright ©1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Ltd, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. "NIV" is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Cover image © 2019 Ben Kwashi
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
To Joel, Sam, and Charles
Your adventure awaits. Get going!
Acknowledgments
My grateful thanks to Release International (www. releaseinternational.org) and my friends at Life Church Petersfield (www.lifechurchpetersfield.org.uk) for helping to make this book possible. And my thanks to my wife Seren for being my hyphen queen and encourager-in-chief.
We all have dreams. Helping Ben Kwashi tell his inspirational story was one of mine.
Forewords
Baroness Caroline Cox , cross-bench member of the British House of Lords and CEO of the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust
I t is a privilege to write a few words about one of my greatest heroes of faith, who together with his inspirational wife, Gloria, is holding a place on one of the most challenging front lines of faith and freedom in our world today: Jos, in Nigeria’s Plateau State.
Archbishop Ben and I first met after his deaconess, Susan Essam, showed him a copy of my biography by Andrew Boyd, documenting some of my work with people suffering oppression and persecution. That was the beginning of such a valuable and valued relationship that we have agreed that whichever one of us outlives the other will speak at the funeral (or memorial) service of the departed one. As I’m now eighty-one, I have reason to hope that it will be Archbishop Ben who will be doing the speaking!
So, what is it that has generated my profound admiration and affection for Archbishop Ben and Gloria?
Firstly, a wonderful Christian living faith. Whenever the Archbishop preaches or speaks about faith, the message is so inspirational that it helps me personally. His faith is "lived out" in a life that demonstrates the reality that faith without action is dead.
Secondly, courage: Ben and Gloria had to flee from their former home as the house was set ablaze by militants. Today, a three-dimensional picture frame contains the only remnants of that home: ashes and a cross twisted by the heat of fire.
Years later, militants attacked their home in Jos, intent on killing Ben. He was away, so they subjected Gloria to unspeakable torture and humiliation. Of course, Ben returned home as quickly as possible and sent an email which I will never forget. It included words such as these: "We praise God that we have been found worthy to suffer for His Kingdom; and we pray that God will use Gloria’s pain, anguish, and humiliation for His Kingdom, His glory, and the strengthening of His Church."
Thirdly, compassion: I have indescribable admiration for the living faith and love exemplified in their personal lives. Currently, in their home are fifty-two orphaned or abandoned children, who live in a security and happiness they never knew before.
Gloria has founded a school for other children in great need. And she gets up at 4 a.m. every morning to cook food for them, which will often be the only food they will have that day. I always leave humbled and inspired. It’s a saying in Britain that "behind every strong man there stands a strong woman". The testimonies to Archbishop Ben’s achievements, supported by Gloria, are a glorious proof of this!
Archbishop Ben and his inspirational team are heroes and heroines of the faith and they worship with more joy than is found in many a church in the "comfortable Christianity" parts of the world. They know that churches are targets for militant Islamist jihadists and so many have been destroyed, sometimes by Boko Haram suicide bombers driving their car or motorbike into a service, leaving many dead and injured.
While I write this, the people of Archbishop Ben’s part of Central Nigeria are suffering horrendous persecution. According to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), 6,000 Christians were killed between January and June 2018, and many subsequently. More than 2 million displaced people have been forced to flee for their lives.
During my most recent visit to Archbishop Ben, we visited one of the camps for hundreds forced to flee from their homes by Fulani jihadists. Local churches and dedicated individuals were doing all they could to help, but conditions were dire: in a room the size of a small gymnasium, 800 women and children slept every night.
Archbishop Ben is calling for your prayers as, together with his courageous, grace-filled colleagues, they valiantly hold these front lines of faith and freedom.
St Paul, in his first letter to the church at Corinth, wrote about how when one part of the Body of Christ suffers, we all suffer. Therefore, we have a biblical obligation to be alongside our brothers and sisters in Nigeria (and many other parts of the world where there is persecution), and if not physically, at least with our prayer support. And, remembering that faith without deeds is dead, we should be open to God’s guidance showing us any other ways in which we can provide support.
In these parts of Nigeria, shamefully off the radar screen of contemporary media coverage, the suffering is indescribable. But Archbishop Ben and Gloria, with faith, passion, and courageous commitment, are doing all they can, with very limited resources, to alert us all to the reality that persecution is not history but a contemporary living challenge.
I pray that we will be worthy of the price they are paying for our faith.
Paul Robinson , CEO of Release International
S everal years ago, I heard Archbishop Ben Kwashi say these words: "If God spares my life, no matter how short or long that is, I have something worth living and dying for. So, I’m going to do that quickly and urgently. That kind of faith is what I am passing on to the coming generations. This world is not our home, we are strangers here, we’ve got business to do, let’s get on and do it."
Those words reveal something of what has made Ben’s life so special: a deliberate choice to devote himself fully to God, to lay down his own life so the life of God might be made real through him.
All true followers of Jesus Christ face the same choice. Will we call upon the grace of God today to live fully for Jesus Christ; are we willing to count the cost of being His witnesses in this world; are we determined to lay down our lives in the service of God’s kingdom, to love people as He loves them?
Ben chooses to live like that in a part of the world where Christians are severely persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. For many years, north-east Nigeria has been one of the most difficult and dangerous places for Christians to live. Persecution has come in many forms and has been relentlessly inflicted as groups such as Boko Haram and Fulani militants have sought to enact their influence and agenda.
I have seen persecution’s effects first-hand: people have been mercilessly attacked, children and adults maimed and murdered by machete, beating, burning, or rifle. I have spent time alongside Ben with children as young as seven who bear the literal and savage scars of persecution in their bodies and in their minds. Right there, alongside those who suffer, Ben chooses to demonstrate God’s love to the persecuted, and the persecutors.
Ben is one of the partners of Release International, which supports persecuted Christians around the world. In Jos recently, I overheard Ben greet some of his pastors with these words, "Welcome, my dead brothers." Later I asked what he meant. He told me, "In northern Nigeria we do not know if we will last this day but, live or die, we do all we can to help people find joy in Christ!"
In the face of imminent danger, Ben, his wife Gloria, and his team are willing to give their lives daily to joyfully serve God, knowing today could be the one in which they are attacked, injured, or killed. In making that choice, they are examples of what it means to be disciples of Jesus Christ.
As you read the pages of this book please don’t fixate on Ben as a "great" person; observe how he has chosen to live fully for Jesus’ sake, and let that inspire you to choose likewise. After all, it is not just in Nigeria that people need to become disciples of Jesus Christ, it’s also right where you live and work.
Contents
Map
Timeline
The Assassins Return
Part One
Benji Bows In
You’re in the Army Now
Stopped in My Tracks
At a Crossroads
On the Shoulders of Giants
That Village Girl!
Breaking the Mould
Gloria Gives Her Answer
Par