everything you thought you knew about morocco is probably outdated. the land seems to strike fear in some individuals. i am not going to lie to you, when i was invited to do this seminar and training of worshipers and musicians i was thinking...
wait, what? morocco? don't they feed christians to the lions?
upon the landing it was quite clear that this perspective could not be farther from the truth. there is a great respect for imams in the land. so when you confess to be a missionary they are taken to that term as you might think of a stranger coming into your home and telling you they are going to raise your children. a lot comes with that very terminology, "missionary," which will be discussed later. however, if you confess to being a pastor or teacher of the word, it seems, they hold a high respect for individuals of a similar fashion to their beloved imams. teachers of holy texts, worshipers of "sacred deities" and things of this nature. this sounds weird, even as i type it, but the mentality is completely different. no matter how many malls they build with massive aquariums and no matter how many wonderful "american" restaurants they invite to build revenue and try to be western they will always have the mentality that they have in common with their islamic brethren from around the world.
yet still, they are very tolerant to internationals. they hate american foreign policy but don't marginalize americans with what washington dictates to the rest of the world. and i echo the evangelical population of morocco with a hearty amen! the king of morocco, mohammed vi, has a very strong resemblance to what we find in the pharaohs of ancient egypt. it literally is allah, mohammed the prophet, and then mohammad vi according to the people of morocco. in reality islam is a smoke screen.
the "underground church" is a cool name that people put towards what really is going on in morocco which is the gospel working through the liberal tolerance that is islam. don't for one second think that god is not at work even in the most wicked of any regime. conversely, don't think you are safe just because you are in a dominantly tolerant society to preach openly in public. the simple message for us is to let christ be the light and the conflict that comes when you are faced with the conviction of your sin. you can be a christian and flourish in morocco. quite honestly they need more laborers as the church is growing faster than the pastors can keep up. one pastor will usually be over several congregations not because he wants to but because the church is growing.
i was tempted to entertain the thought of being apart of this movement for a longer term.
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