Former broadcaster pens book on Christian persecution

It’s a book that needed to be written, says Greg Musselman. The former TV and radio sportscaster travelled the world to compile stories of persecuted Christians, and he has published a number of them in his first book.

Closer to the Fire is a detailed account of numerous instances of this kind of religious intolerance and discrimination. The author, however, goes deeper below the surface. Rather than giving a simple and perfunctory retelling of events, he provides a Biblical verse, leading to either a reinforcement of the Scripture, sometimes through his own better understanding of its interpretation.

The book, he explained, should broaden the horizons of so many people in this country who have been insulated from these attacks.

“A part of the challenge in presenting the message that I do in churches across Canada is that’s not the experience that most Canadian Christians have had, that kind of opposition,” he stated.

Musselman also spent time as a pastor but now works as the vice president of outreach for The Voice of the Martyrs, a Canadian non-profit charitable organization dedicated to providing aid to persecuted Christians around the world.

Through his work with that organization, has travelled to more than 25 countries to interview persecuted Christians and produce video documentaries for its missions. He’s been doing this since 2000 when he went to south Sudan and Ethiopia while he was still working for the It’s a New Day show produced by Trinity Television. He went full-time in 2003 and has since been to 40 countries, most of which experience persecution of Christians.

He also tours around Canada by speaking and ministering to various churches where he can share these same stories and spread the gospel.

“We’ve gone to the places where Christians are persecuted and we’ve heard the stories, whether it’s been family members that have attacked them, they’ve been oppressed and arrested by the government, or they’ve been persecuted by militant groups whether it be Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and even unfortunately in some cases, Christendom. I’ve seen persecution of Christians from every angle.”

Through his travels, he has interviewed hundreds of people and recorded their first person accounts. It’s a valuable cause, he continued, because it demonstrates the triumph of human spirituality.

“The conclusion I’ve had – not in every case – that persecution does, in many cases, strengthen Christians’ faith. In some, it does certainly cause some to abandon their faith, but the majority of the people that we have talked to, it has strengthened their faith and it has made them stronger Christians having more of an eternal perspective, looking beyond this world. It’s impacted me greatly.”

These experiences have even made him examine his own faith as he tried to put himself in the victims’ shoes and imagine how he would react. He’s also had to prepare himself for the possibility of an attack against him.

“We do go into places where what we are doing is not appreciated by many people in these countries. We’re exposing violations of human rights, religious rights of those people.”

While the book is an unsettling first look into a widespread problem, Musselman said that he has really just skimmed the surface. There are still many other stories that need to be told.

“In spite of severe opposition, people are still coming to Christ from all different kinds of backgrounds. From that perspective, it’s like the Book of Acts. Things are happening around the world and some of the most amazing things are in the places where there is the most persecution.”