Who am I protecting?

Over the weekend I was with our group of churches for a weekend away. One of the speakers was a lady from South Africa called Angela Kemm. Her seminars were called 'The Priority of Social Justice' and it was very provocative.

Questions such as 'If a non-christian took on your job would anyone notice the difference?' (As a pastor, I desperately hope the answer is yes!).

But what struck me most, was her insistence that as we care for the poor, the needy, the vulnerable that we tell them about Jesus and she challenged the fact that in Britain we have seperated the two. It made me wonder whether I have become afraid myself and why that might be? And then this question struck me with real force: Who am I protecting with my silence? God certainly doesn't need my protection, and I believe the Gospel could do all those who hear it good, so it must be me that I'm trying to protect. This begs the question, don't I believe that God is able to do that, is He not able to protect me that I must do that part of the job for Him? Or perhaps I don't think that sharing in suffering for the name of Jesus (of even the mildest form) is something that should fall to me. Paul clearly thought otherwise.

Hmm, is it a lack of faith in God that I choose to protect myself by keeping quiet when I need to speak up?

For other posts on the weekend see:
Brand New Believer
Road to 'Elder'ado