Wasting away in a Turkish prison wasn’t how Andrew Brunson would have chosen to spend two years of his life — but after watching turmoil of the last two weeks unfold, he’s more convinced than ever: God was preparing him for this moment. Persecution is coming, he believes. And there’s no greater burden on his heart than to make sure Americans are ready for it.
Looking back, Pastor Brunson never imagined his life’s mission would be advocating for religious freedom. “I thought I’d be in Turkey the rest of my life doing church planting,” he admitted on “Washington Watch.” God had other plans. When Andrew was wrongfully charged and sentenced to life behind bars, he’s pretty candid: it broke him. Nothing, he said, equipped him for the kind of persecution he experienced. “I had counted the cost for some pressure, but certainly not for prison.”
Like most pastors, he’d studied the great leaders of the faith — but none of them really talked about how they coped with the suffering. Over time, Andrew says, the despair broke him. “And every time I broke, I had to get up again and learn perseverance at a deeper level.” But there was a purpose to the pain. “God allowed me to be broken like that so that I could be an encouragement to other people who are going to face persecution.” People, he warns, like Americans.
“I’ve really had something burning on my heart, especially in the last few weeks,” he shared. The waves of hostility are coming, and he believes God has sent him to give the church in America a message. “There’s a real sea change taking place in our country and this generation… The hostility toward followers of Jesus Christ is going to rise,” he warned. “The pressure is coming, and it’s coming very quickly now.” Thinking back over the horrible images of the last two weeks, Andrew said he feels a sense of urgency. “Pastors, especially, and influencers and parents need to prepare.”
“I believe a great sorting is coming to the church, and there will be a lot of division.” There will be a temptation to compromise, Andrew senses. And it’s already happening. “One thing I want to underline from my experience is that those who persecute [are] going to justify it by saying that we’re hate groups, that we have a message of hate.” That’s going to be tough to take. “People are going to say that [Christians] are a threat to safety. ‘You can’t work here. Your views make people unsafe. You can’t use social media. You can’t use your bank account, your credit cards,’ things like that. And churches, ‘You can’t keep your designation as a tax-exempt nonprofit…'” Compromise will be the easy way out.
Jesus tried to steer his followers against that impulse by reminding them that He was hated. He said, “Look, they hated me, they rejected my message. So they’re going to hate you and reject your message. The servant is not greater than the master.” He was preparing them. “That’s why it’s so heavy on my heart,” Andrew insisted. “I feel like we’re not ready. And it’s going to shock people.” So what can we do? What practical steps, as believers, can we take?
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