Listening and Learning in the Middle East

In October I spent a week in Amman, Jordan, listening to Arab Christians from Palestine, Iraq, Lebanon, and Egypt. While I reflected on their stories of persecution and pain, I found myself asking the same question I asked myself six years ago when I first let the tragic reality of AIDS propel me to action: Why didn't I pay attention to this sooner? In a recent online article I explained why this trip to the Middle East left me with a profound sadness --and with a follow-up question that won't go away: What is mine to do?

Lynne Hybels is the Advocate for Global Engagement at Willow Creek Community Church and author of Nice Girls Don't Change the World.