By Kyle Reese   

http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4539&Itemid=9

I must admit that, prior to my trip to Uzbekistan, I was skeptical of “underground churches” and the cloak-and-dagger style of mission. I had witnessed this style of mission used in manipulative ways by some mission organizations in order to invite support and sympathy. I’m grateful for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s philosophy of working in the open, giving witness to church and government alike. However, visiting with my Uzbek brothers and sisters, I’ve now traveled to a place where the practice of the Christian faith really is dangerous and must be carried out with extreme caution.

Thankfully, it appears that the world is paying attention to the lack of religious liberty and freedom in Uzbekistan. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and the U.S. State Department have labeled Uzbekistan as a “country of particular concern” for its government’s violations of religious liberty. What remains to be seen is what can be done to provide religious freedom for all the Uzbek people, no matter their faith commitment.

Which brings me to the question, “What am I to do?”