The Insanity of God: An Interview with Nik and Ruth Ripken

PneumaReview.com: Please tell our readers briefly what your film The Insanity of God is about.

Nik and Ruth Ripken: The Insanity of God journeys with Nik and Ruth Ripken as they seek to walk in obedience and follow what God has asked of them. From the hills of Kentucky to the villages of Africa they see God working and shaping and moving them until they come face to face that sometimes it costs a lot to believe and follow Christ. This fact became a stark reality in the civil war, famine, drought and death of Somalia. How do you make Christ known when it could cost those who hear the message their lives?

Nik and Ruth are faced with the tragedy of the death of their son and then go on a pilgrimage that takes them around the globe to answer the question, “Is Jesus Worth It?” They do this by going to believers living in places where persecution for their faith is an everything event and they ask them to share their stories.

The Insanity of God allows the viewer to see and hear some of the stories of faith and then struggle with that question along with Nik and Ruth.

 

PneumaReview.com: How did you choose the nations you went to in order to conduct your interviews?

Nik and Ruth Ripken: When we first felt the urgency of this task we developed a “Persecution Task Force” to help guide us. The group sat together and decided to open the Bible and see where the verses that addressed persecution and the cost of faith and found that from Genesis to Revelation this has been the plan. Following Christ costs something. The countries were selected by using Open Doors “World Watch List”. Nik looked at the list of the 50 most persecuted places on the planet and then grouped them together. He started in the Soviet areas where they had experienced persecution for many years and were coming out of the worst times. He knew they would have much to teach us. Then he moved to the other Communist areas. After that he moved back through areas of Buddhism, Hinduism and finally landing in places where Islam is in control.

 

PneumaReview.com: What qualities impressed you most about the people that you met with?

Nik and Ruth Ripken: The answer to this question could take volumes. If we had to narrow it down to a few ways that these believers impacted us, first would be the deep joy they exhibit when they talk about Jesus and who He is in their lives. No matter the persecution that has tried to silence them, they live in joy.

They know the power of prayer. So often they would begin conversations and we realized they weren’t talking with us but with Jesus because they felt we were busy doing something else. Jesus was so real to them. They experienced Him working in their lives.

 

PneumaReview.com: What lessons can believers in the West learn from persecuted believers?

Nik and Ruth Ripken: There have been three foundational principles that believers in persecution want to share with the church in the West.

First, in the Bible persecution is normal. In the West we believe persecution is bad but for these believers they understand that persecution is a reality for those who follow Christ and they consider it a privilege to suffer for Jesus. It is true – persecution is hard and they will not deny that but they want to be obedient through their suffering.

Second, the number one cause of persecution is people coming to Jesus. As followers of Christ we must pray for people to come to Christ but when we pray for persecution to stop the only way that God can answer our prayers is not have people believe. Believers in persecution ask us to pray like Jesus did in the Garden. “Let this cup pass. But not my will by your will be done.” We need to pray for God’s will to be done. These believers are thrilled that we pray for them and often share they could not survive without the prayers of those in the West but they want us to pray that they will be obedient through their persecution. We want to pray like Jesus.

The third one is difficult for as we do everything we know to do. We learn languages so we can share the Gospel. We study the culture and try to witness in culturally appropriate ways. We invite people into our homes and we share meals together. We share our story of finding Jesus. We share God’s story from His Word and we witness. No matter how much we do right when people come to Christ there will be persecution for where there is a harvest there will be persecution. As a result of us sharing our faith with others people will blame us for getting people hurt. They will point fingers at us and say that if we had kept our mouths shut and just helped people with food, shelter, clothing then these people would not be persecuted. Believers in persecution ask us not to quit, not to turn around and run. The question we must ask is are we tough enough to stay the course?

 

PneumaReview.com: What types of responses would you like to see people have to the information that you have presented in your books and in the film?

Nik and Ruth Ripken: Believers in persecution say they are grateful that we pray for them but they share that the best way we can partner with them is to witness where we are. When we share Christ with those around us – family, friends, co-workers, neighbors we are giving priority where our brothers and sisters in persecution place their voice.

We want people to read the books and see the film and grasp the amazing joy it is to live for Christ right where we are, across the street or around the world. With billions of people not having access to Christ we have a huge task and responsibility. Satan’s greatest desire is to deny people access to the Gospel. When we share Christ, we are not allowing Satan to hold people hostage.

 

For those who recognize God calling them to action, how can viewers learn more and respond to the film?

Nik and Ruth Ripken: As we mentioned above we pray that each person will begin to share how Jesus changed their lives with someone. One 95-year-old gentleman who read the book wrote an email to share that he had been a Christian for many years but had never really shared it with anyone. He promised God that every day he allowed him to live he was going to share Christ with someone. May we all take up that challenge.

Another great way that people can respond is to get involved with a local church. If a person is feeling that overseas is where they want to go plant their lives there are many organizations that can facilitate that happening.

 

Do you have plans to release more books or films based on the research that you have gathered?

Nik and Ruth Ripken: Currently we are working on developing a teaching tool of the five-day training that we do. This is taught in schools, churches, groups but we feel we must get it in a usable form that many can access. Believers in persecution have taught us so many things that need to be shared and we can’t get everywhere so we will be developing a resource that can assist in getting the stories and principles shared. We do have ideas for several more books and will see what God does with that.

Companion website: http://www.insanityofgodmovie.com/