“They Began To Laugh”

Persecution is in the eye of the beholder. In this Francis Chan interview, he shares the different Christian cultures of American and Chinese Christianity.

“As they shared stories of persecution, I sat in amazement and asked for more stories. After a while, they asked why I was so intrigued. I told them that the church in America was nothing like this. I can’t tell you how embarrassing it was to try to explain to them that people attend 90-minute services once a week in buildings, and that’s what we call ‘church.’ I told them about how people switch churches if they find better teaching, or more exciting music, or more robust programs for their kids. As I described church life in America, they began to laugh. Not just small chuckles—they were laughing hysterically. I felt like a stand-up comedian, but I was literally just describing the American church as I’ve experienced it. They found it laughable that we could read the same Scriptures they were reading and then create something so incongruent” (MMPR, “Q&A with
Francis Chan: Letters to the Church,” The Christian Post, August 31, 2018,
link).