A FORMER North Korea civil servant related the brutal mistreatment of Christians and their babies being killed. Prison guards regularly attempt to get Christian prisoners to recant their faith. Abortions are forced on female prisoners, some in the late stages of pregnancy. There is the idea of collective punishment, where people with bad ideology must be stopped from producing children. The women are forced to have their babies removed and killed.
One forced abortion was on a woman in her ninth month of pregnancy. The baby was still born alive. While the mother pleaded for her baby’s life as it writhed on the floor, the guard came and stepped on the neck of the baby. The mother was publicly executed for pleading for her child’s life.
The blood of the martyrs drenches and waters the soil of North Korea. The civil servant could not understand such faith and later became a Christian.
What kind of Christian leadership is required under such trauma? It must be the Head of the Church Jesus Christ who leads. It must be Holy Spirit filled believers who are able to utter the Words of God with power. The practice of the priesthood of all believers741 is something vital to the growth and expansion of the Church, especially in persecuted countries.
Christians in North Korea are expected to be servant leaders and Spirit filled, to share the Word, pray, and preach the Gospel. One of the reasons for the continued existence and growth of the underground Church in North Korea is that they have not been dependent on a few highly esteemed leaders in the Church but have rather emphasized the raising up of all to be servant leaders who are able to edify and build the Church. At the same time the Church in North Korea recognizes whom God has specifically gifted as shepherds. Such servant leaders are esteemed but not idolized.
The Church in non-persecuted countries can learn much from this. Rather than having the majority of the body of Christ inactive, all members of the body of Christ should again become active as in days of old. Instead of just receiving the Word from leaders who teach them weekly from pulpits, podcasts or television programs, they should become involved themselves in teaching small groups.
There is great need for an equipping and raising up of the body of Christ because all are servants of the Lord. A good starting place is for many to step out in faith and lead a small house Church that meets a few times a week where everyone can share and grow in the Lord.742
While we advocate many servant leaders, we agree with and underline the teaching of 1 Timothy chapter 3 where God has given the qualifications of Church leaders. God continues to use leaders He recognizes, calls and has ordained to help His body grow. Saints under persecution also need to submit to those who exhibit the graces and calling of Christ to be a shepherd of God’s flock. The Church should continue to seek elder brothers with experience in the Lord, to teach and lead them. Such brothers not only protect the home Church spiritually but can also give encouragement and the spiritual direction to start a house meeting under the Headship of Jesus Christ.