Ten (10) years ago, on 9th October 2015, we launched the NACIC website and social media accounts. After three months of launching, on 30th January 2016, we were informed by our Priest that the District Apostle has instructed that we remove our publications from the internet and that we are committing illegal acts and could face action from the church against us. He further told us that the District Apostle has indicated that we are not allowed to use the church emblem or the name of the church.
You can well imagine what went through our minds. Here, we as young people in the New Apostolic Church were trying to remain in fellowship with our brothers and sisters around the world. We live in China where religious practices are severely restricted. We do not have normal church services or even youth activities like our fellow young New Apostolic brothers and sisters in other countries and for this reason, we decided to use social media as a way of staying connected and “in the loop” with our fellow New Apostolic members outside of China.
This instruction from our Priest, therefore, caused great inner turmoil and spiritual conflict. We discussed the situation among our group and we decided to approach our Priest to ask for clarification on this matter. When we approached our Priest, he was very supportive and listened to us and our concerns. After we spoke to him, he acknowledged our situation and concerns and like a true servant of God, gave us some valuable spiritual advice.
He told us that, being in China, has taught him many things. It is not always easy to align yourself to the wishes of those outside of China, because the situation in China is quite unique and not like any normal Western country. Many people outside of China do not realize this and make decisions without being fully informed.
He told us that when he finds himself in this type of situation, there is one question that he always asks himself, “What would Jesus have done?” His experience has always been that it is easy to align your spiritual behavior when this question is answered honestly. He told us to always follow the example of Christ. After he prayed with us, he told us to wrestle with this question and he would also remember us in prayer.
We left the meeting with our Priest feeling comforted and motivated. When we applied this question: “What would Jesus have done?”, to our problem, the answer became absolutely clear. We decided that we would follow the example of Jesus and continue with our pursuit of seeking fellowship and share the truth of our situation in China. We felt strongly that this was the correct route to pursue.
When we informed our Priest, he smiled and said that he thought we would decide in that direction and that he will pray for the success of our initiative. He also told us that his confirmation text was from 2 Timothy 3:1-5:
“But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!”
Our Priest told us that this confirmation text has been a staff in his hand when assessing situations that requires discernment between what is godly and what is not godly.
Since we made the decision to follow the example of Jesus and continue with our pursuit of seeking fellowship and share the truth of our situation in China, our social media presence have grown from strength to strength and the follower count on our Facebook Page has now reached 50,000.
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