When Neutrality Is Not an Option: Why the Church Must Use Its Resources to Defend Christian and Ethnic Minorities in Myanmar
When Neutrality Is Not an Option: Why the Church Must Use Its Resources to Defend Christian and Ethnic Minorities in Myanmar
(Danny Bawibikthawng)
Introduction: A Moral Crisis for the Church
The 2021 military coup in Myanmar has intensified a longstanding campaign of brutal oppression against the country’s ethnic and religious minorities. Christians, especially from the Chin, Kachin, and Karen ethnic groups, are being targeted through systematic violence, forced displacement, imprisonment, and the destruction of churches and entire villages. According to Human Rights Watch’s World Report 2023, more than 2.5 million people have been displaced, and hundreds of churches have been deliberately destroyed by the regime.
What makes this crisis even more urgent is that many of the Christian immigrant congregations in the United States, Australia, Canada, and Europe, particularly those composed of Chin and other Burmese minorities, are not distant observers but survivors of the same persecution. These churches are filled with families who fled similar atrocities. Today, their tithes and offerings are collected not only in memory of their past suffering but in solidarity with their loved ones who are still trapped under military rule. Many church members have parents, siblings, or children suffering under the regime’s brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing and religious persecution.
In such a context, the long-preferred stance of neutrality by many churches is not only inadequate but morally dangerous. As Suze Wilson emphasizes, “leadership is not just about individuals, but about the social and cultural contexts in which they operate” (Leadership for the Disillusioned). In situations of systemic injustice, the church must respond within and against the broader sociopolitical systems that produce suffering. Walter Brueggemann writes that the church must not provide a moral cover for dominant powers but instead embody “an alternative community” rooted in compassion and justice (Journey to the Common Good).
Therefore, this article argues that church resources, including financial offerings, should be used to defend and support persecuted Christian and ethnic minorities. Such action is not a departure from Christian mission, it is the embodiment of it.
I. Theological Foundations: Justice Is Faithfulness
Scripture consistently commands God’s people to defend the oppressed. Proverbs 31:8–9 calls us to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,” and Isaiah 1:17 urges, “learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.” These commands are not optional. They are integral to the faith.
James H. Cone powerfully argues that “the church’s theology must be rooted in the experiences of the oppressed” and must be “committed to liberating them from their oppression” (God of the Oppressed). David Hollenbach states that “the church’s commitment to justice is not just a matter of charity, but a matter of faithfulness to the Gospel” (The Common Good and Christian Ethics). Gustavo Gutiérrez also reminds us that theology must result in action. “Theology is not just a matter of abstract concepts, but a matter of concrete praxis” (A Theology of Liberation).
If the church does not act when its brothers and sisters are dying, its theology is meaningless.
II. Historical Precedent: Silence Is Complicity
The history of the church shows that when it fails to speak out against systemic injustice, it becomes complicit in it. During the Holocaust, many churches in Europe remained silent as Jews were sent to death camps. In the United States, white churches frequently either supported or ignored the systemic racism of Jim Crow laws. Those moments have left lasting wounds on Christian witness.
In contrast, churches that acted boldly in moments of crisis demonstrated the power of the gospel. The Black church’s involvement in the U.S. civil rights movement, financing marches, protecting activists, and housing freedom fighters, provides a moral precedent for using church funds for justice. Martin Luther King Jr. warned that “a time comes when silence is betrayal” (Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?).
If churches today choose financial comfort over moral courage, they risk betraying the gospel and the people they claim to serve.
III. Financial Stewardship: Money as a Tool for Liberation
Traditionally, church finances are used for buildings, salaries, outreach, and missions. But in Acts 4:32–35, the early church shared all possessions so that “no one among them was in need.” For immigrant grant congregations, who themselves were once in need, this model is deeply personal. Today, many have jobs, homes, and legal status in safe countries. Yet their giving must not become passive tradition. It must be redirected toward justice for their persecuted families back home.
Ronald Heifetz defines leadership as “mobilizing people to tackle tough problems” (Leadership Without Easy Answers). David Batstone affirms that effective leadership in unjust systems “requires a willingness to collaborate and partner with others” (Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade and How We Can Fight It). To give generously to protect the vulnerable is to fulfill the heart of Christian giving.
To claim neutrality in the face of mass atrocities is to betray stewardship itself.
IV. Congregational Leadership: Supporting a Traumatized Flock
In our immigrant congregation, many members have experienced firsthand the trauma of military violence, forced migration, and religious persecution. As Gill Robinson Hickman writes, “leadership is about creating an environment in which people can grow and develop” (Leading Organizations). Ronald Heifetz explains that leadership is also about “mobilizing people to tackle tough problems” (Leadership Without Easy Answers).
In our case, that means helping our members understand what is happening in Myanmar, providing space to grieve, and offering pathways to respond, whether through prayer, giving, or advocacy. Mark R. Gornik emphasizes that congregations must engage with the structural realities that affect their people (To Live in Peace: Biblical Faith and the Changing Inner City). The offering plate is not a ritual; it is a weapon of peace when directed toward justice.
V. Community Leadership and Partnerships: Expanding Impact
Adrienne maree brown writes that the most resilient systems are “adaptive, decentralized, and interdependent” (Emergent Strategy). No church is equipped to address systemic injustice alone. Community leadership includes building partnerships with nonprofits, advocacy groups, legal teams, and local governments.
Marshall Ganz observes that “leadership is not just about individuals, but about the networks they build and mobilize” (Why David Sometimes Wins). To build impact, the church must network its finances, relationships, and voice toward structural change.
Cornel West powerfully states that “justice is what love looks like in public” (Democracy Matters). If the church is to be known for love, it must be seen fighting for justice, not as an outsider to suffering, but as a participant in liberation.
VI. Leading in Liminal Times: Embracing Uncertainty with Courage
Susan Beaumont defines liminality as “a time of disorientation and transition, where the old way is gone, but the new has not yet emerged” (How to Lead When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going). This is the condition of many immigrant churches today, grieving the past, uncertain of the future, yet called to act faithfully in the present.
Leadership in such times does not mean having all the answers. As Dr. Kidd emphasizes, “leadership is not just about providing answers, but about asking questions and creating space for exploration and discovery” (Transformation Leadership). Mary McClintock Fulkerson argues that in liminal seasons, leaders must take risks and challenge unjust power systems (Places of Redemption).
Walter Brueggemann reminds us that “the task of leadership is not to provide answers, but to ask questions and create space for imagination and innovation” (Journey to the Common Good). We do not need perfect plans; we need faithful action.
Conclusion: This Is the Church’s Moment
The persecution of Christians and ethnic minorities in Myanmar is a moral emergency. The global church cannot afford to stand by. Our faith, our resources, and our leadership must rise to meet this moment.
Gustavo Gutiérrez insists that “the church’s mission is not just to provide aid to the poor, but to work towards the transformation of society” (A Theology of Liberation). Paulo Freire writes, “the oppressed must be their own liberators” (Pedagogy of the Oppressed), but the church must stand with them, resource them, and amplify their voices.
James Baldwin warns that “we are all trapped in a history that is not of our making” (The Fire Next Time), but the church has the power to shape the future.
Let us not be remembered as those who kept our budgets safe while our brothers and sisters perished. Let us be remembered as those who gave because we believed justice is the beating heart of the gospel.
As Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice” (Strength to Love). Let the church be the ones pulling it forward.
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