Chris Erdman posts a timely piece about the need for the Church to pursue “white martyrdom.” It’s both brilliant, yet frightening.

“It is that martyrdom we must pursue today. We must form an alternative Christian witness against so much that popularly passes for Christianity. We must intentionally work to raise martyrs—not folks who are preoccupied with dying, but folk who are so preoccupied with life that death no longer holds power over them. If and when that happens, we just might see a church on the earth. If and when that happens, the nations will not only hear but see the gospel. And if we begin with this martyrdom of conscience, our white martyrdom, we will prepare God’s church for the more colorful martyrdom that may still come our way. Whether or not we’re ever called to bleed for our witness, the world will have a more robust and faithful Christian witness because of our efforts. And that may be the most helpful thing we can do for this warring world.”

This is so biblical. It’s right out of the Book of Revelation where the Church follows the Lamb to sacrificial death as a way of embodying the Gospel and participating in the movement of God’s kingdom from heaven to earth.