Persecution. This week's WORLD magazine uncovered this startling potentiality,

"Time has been working on a sensational cover piece: the inside story of evangelical "special ops," missionaries working undercover in the Muslim world. Mission agencies don't want the story told: The risk of imprisonment, torture, or death for Christian workers in the Middle East is the reason.

Time editors have sent a four-page e-mail to their reporters worldwide explaining what they want: "We are planning a major piece on the flood of Christian missionaries, most of them evangelical, to Muslim countries. We will touch on all kinds of missionary work ... but we will eventually narrow our focus to a more radical crew of proselytizers: those who proclaim the Gospel of Christ, even if that means risking deportation, imprisonment, or death."

Of special interest to Time: "Often, to avoid detection by authorities, this new breed employs a tactic called 'tentmaking' or 'tunneling.' Essentially, this means doing some kind of other work as a cover or pretext, when [the] real goal is preaching.... How exactly do they get away with preaching in such a hostile climate? (We are fascinated by this secret-agent aspect and would like to hear about it in great detail.)"

Jim Kelly, Time's managing editor, told WORLD he is "sensitive to the consequences that any story has" and that his magazine is "a responsible publication that weighs carefully anything that goes into the pages of the magazine."

This reminds me of John Piper's sentiment that it is God's design to spread the gospel through the persecution of the church. We must plan to be persecuted, but woe to him through whom the persecution comes.