Our national conversation about Afghanistan has largely left out an acknowledgement of aid workers and Christians who have chosen to stay there, as well as in dangerous places around the globe, to offer help and hope in the midst of war, famine, and darkness. Even in the church we rarely acknowledge, support, and celebrate our brothers and sisters who lay down their lives here to go there, to serve and to stay. The truth is, though, our scriptures call us to forsake ourselves for the love of God and neighbor. Jesus really does ask us to lose our lives to find them. The earliest Christians did that. Ten out of twelve apostles were martyred and hundreds of thousands of Christians died in the first three centuries of Christianity because of wave after wave of persecution in the Roman Empire. Have we in the American church given ourselves over to the idols of safety and security? Have we justified our wealth, health, and comfort by cloaking them in spiritual wisdom and providing for our children? On this episode of All Things we look at the ways our current generation may be abandoning our call to hard things for the glory of God and the joy of all people.

The Americans Who Don’t Want to Leave Afghanistan - article on jenoshman.com

The Americans Staying in Afghanistan - another version of the article above by Jen Oshman at TGC

Together We Are Sent - sermon at Redemption Parker by Mark Oshman