[SPECIAL] Reflections on Suffering and the Persecuted Church

[SPECIAL] Reflections on Suffering and the Persecuted Church

From Seeing Jesus with Paul Miller by Paul Miller

March 25, 2026 · 35 min · Season 15 · Episode 9

About this episode

Jon shares reflections from his recent trip to Asia, focusing on the persecuted church and the clarity that suffering brings to faith.

Jon recently returned from a trip to Asia, where he was training church leaders, many from the persecuted church. In this episode, he shares some observations from his travels with Paul and Liz. "A recent trip to Asia really brought a lot of eye-opening clarity to me. It wasn't necessarily designed this way, but it ended up that I had multiple opportunities to work with the persecuted church broadly in Asia. I've had that opportunity over the past few years, but I think as I get to know people on the ground more personally and hear their stories, there are some common observations and themes I'm just beginning to notice and really appreciate." "Suffering brings a lot of clarity." "There's no middle ground when the environment is extremely intense. You're either in Christ or you're not. You're either for Jesus or you're not. You're either a Christian or you're not. It not only brought clarity for them, but also a tremendous amount of hunger. It's really been, indirectly, a kind of poke to my own heart…"

People in this episode

Host: Paul Miller

Guest: Jon

Topics covered

  • suffering
  • persecuted church
  • church leaders
  • Asia
  • clarity in faith
  • personal stories

Keywords

  • suffering
  • persecuted church
  • Asia
  • church leaders
  • faith clarity
  • personal stories
  • Christianity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: the persecuted church

Places: Asia

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