Nik Ripken speaks at Convo
Missionary dares student body to rethink response to Middle East turmoil
“I’ve been in a bad mood for two or three weeks, and (my wife) begged me to not take it out on the students this morning,” Nik Ripken, author and missionary to the Middle East, said at the start of his Convocation address Monday, Sept. 15. “I don’t think I’m going to listen. I think I’m going to take it out on you anyway.”
Challenge — Nik Ripken speaks of travels across the globe as a missionary. Photo credit: Joel Coleman
Grabbing the audience’s attention quickly, Ripken, who has spent 30 years on mission in the Middle East with his family, sought to describe what it is like to share the gospel in the Arab world.
In his address, he described to students the tension that exists between a desire for justice against radical Islamists and the Bible’s command to extend grace.
Ripken, which is a pseudonym to protect his identity, has authored two books, “The Insanity of God” and “The Insanity of Obedience,” as well as interviewed nearly 600 Christians who live in places of persecution. He and his wife have been involved with missions work in a total of 72 countries to date, according to his website.
“We prepare sheep to go among the wolves,” Ripken said. “We prepare people to get on the plane in the New Testament and get off the plane in the Old Testament.”
Grace being the centerpiece of the missionary’s talk, Ripken encouraged students to seek what Jesus would do rather than jumping to an “eye-for-an-eye” mentality.
“The Church is joining with the government, and we’re believing there’s a political — there’s a military — solution to the (Islamic State), to Iraq and Syria … and here comes Jesus,” Ripken said.
“You’ve heard it be said, ‘Eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,’ but I tell you, do not resist an evil person. … You’ve heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’ but I tell you, love your enemies and pray for them who persecute you,” Ripken read from Matthew 5.
The missionary challenged students to seek love alongside justice, reminding them that, according to the gospel, everyone is guilty of sin and in need of grace.
“Who is standing up in your culture today — who is standing up in the name of Jesus — to say that there is no political solution for this world and its hatred. There is no economic, military solution,” Ripken said. “Who is standing up today … and (saying) here is a godly, Christ like, Jesus-centered response to ISIS?”
Ripken left students with a call to action, a call to reexamine their perspective. Though the religious and political dealings in the Arab world are often hostile, Ripken reminded students that no one is any less in need of the grace Jesus offers.
GOINS-PHILLIPS is the opinion editor