Indonesian Pentecostal Leader and Pastor Lumenta Dies At 72 (Worthy News In-Depth)
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
JAKARTA (Worthy News) – Pastor Johannis ‘John’ Hus Lumenta, the restless, dedicated secretary-general of Indonesia’s main Pentecostal denomination Gereja Pantekosta di Indonesia’ (GPdI), has died, Christians confirmed to Worthy News early Sunday.
Lumenta, who helped to care for GPdI’s estimated three million members through challenging times in the world’s largest Muslim nation, was 72. “He has gone to the Father’s House in Heaven,” Christians told Worthy News.
Lumenta, who suffered from strokes and difficulties walking, preached the Gospel despite persecution by Islamic authorities and groups in several areas.
In extensive interviews with Worthy News and its news partner BosNewsLife in recent years, Lumenta estimated that dozens of church members and other Christians were killed in recent years due to their faith in Christ as Islamic extremism spreads in Indonesia.
“We want the world to know that we are suffering for Christ,” Lumenta told a Worthy News/BosNewsLife reporter in Indonesia at the time. “We are not people who compromise, but fighters for Christ.”
He spoke with Worthy News ahead of Indonesia’s 75th anniversary as a sovereign nation. The Netherlands handed over sovereignty to most of its former colonies in 1949. But since then, Christians have been among Indonesians suffering under decades of autocratic rule, endemic corruption, and now a rise in conservative and hard-line interpretations of Islam.
Lumenta had mixed feelings about Indonesia’s links to its former colonial master. He recalled that Dutch Christians founded his denomination in 1921. Songs written by late Dutch missionary Margaretha Alt are still part of the liturgy in its more than 22,000 congregations.
“The doctrine of these songs is important. We don’t want to forget and abandon our roots. As a church, we remain deeply indebted to the Dutch. I regret that because of the [colonial] history, we don’t have a close relationship with the Dutch Pentecostal churches. I hope that will change before the second coming of Jesus Christ.”
ROYAL COUPLE
He also met Worthy News when Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima visited Indonesia to apologize for wrongdoings during the colonial era.
Lumenta wondered why the royal couple’s 2020 program included “interreligious dialogue” among other issues with religious and political leaders.
“To me personally, talking about interreligious dialogue is nonsense,” Lumenta said. “It sounds like making a compromise. As a man of faith in Christ, I believe in the Truth. Interreligious dialogue is more about politics. It has nothing to do with growing our faith. Or making us more and more vibrant or victorious for Christ. That’s my view.”
But back in The Netherlands and other Western countries, many churches are now closing, Lumenta noticed. “Perhaps that’s because Christians there are living in very wealthy conditions. Since they do not have much pressure, they have become easygoing people. That’s unlike us. Sometimes we don’t sleep well. We are aware all the time of the difficulties we face.”
Ironically, Lumenta linked persecution to church growth. “The more the pressure, the more the blessing. Because it unites us in prayer and fasting.” He added: “Probably, it is a fact that churches in the comfortable West are not as strong now as those in the developing countries like Indonesia.”
Instead, “We have a lot of problems in, especially mostly Muslim populated areas. Churches have been bombed, closed, and burned. Believers have been beaten and murdered for their faith.”
However, he adds that while “they can close our churches…they cannot stop the work of the Holy Spirit through our lives. ”
Christians linked these attacks to the increasing influence of Islamic hardliners and conservatives who have pressed for the adoption of harsh Islamic law, or shariah, throughout Indonesia.
BLASPHEMY LAWS
Further complicating the lives of Indonesian Christians are blasphemy laws introduced in 1965, Lumenta noted. They were initially used eight times in the 40 years that followed until 2004, Worthy News learned. But in the decade after the election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as president in late 2004, there had been up to 125 convictions, and at least 89 people were jailed for blasphemy, according to rights activists familiar with the situation.
Under his successor, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who will leave in October, more than 20 people received prison sentences for blasphemy in decisions backed by a growing number of Muslim hardliners, rights investigators say.
Even government officials faced pressure. The former governor of Jakarta, a Christian, was tried and jailed for blasphemy. Muslim groups accused Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama of insulting Islam after saying that his political rivals were using the Koran to deceive voters.
Lumenta, who knew the governor well, publicly disagreed.
“Ahok received a two-year prison sentence because he cited the Scriptures in his speeches,” the Pentecostal leader said, referring to the other name used by the former governor. “Ahok said, for instance: ‘I don’t want to live but to live for Christ.’ He is a man of principle and integrity, and I know God cares for him. I often met him, for instance, in a church where I preached. I pray that God will continuously use him.”
Lumenta also condemned a 2018 decision by an Indonesian court to sentence a woman to 18 months imprisonment for blasphemy. Her crime? ‘Insulting Islam’ for complaining that a neighborhood mosque was too loud. Meiliana, a then 44-year-old ethnic Chinese Buddhist, had argued that the Muslim call to prayer, repeated five times a day, was being played too loudly at the mosque near her house in North Sumatra.“There is much injustice in Indonesia,” Lumenta said about the sentencing.
He was initially skeptical about Indonesian President Jokowi but later expressed hope that life would improve for Christians.
MISSIONARY HEART
Lumenta said his heart was with suffering believers, including missionaries in remote places of Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation.
He was moved to tears when meeting the young GPdI-supported missionary couple Elisabeth Tri Utami and Pastor Adrianus Zalogo in the remote jungle village of Karya Teladan in South Sumatra province in March 2020.
The couple with two children had explained they are ready “to bear the cross for Christ” and that they are disappointed that other young believers tend to go stay in more comfortable cities: “Who will go here and preach the Gospel to these people? It is a joy for me that despite these difficulties, we can work for the Lord in this village,” said Pastor Zalogo in an interview with Worthy News.
Lumenta said he feared that the modern life of the smartphone generation had moved many young people away from Christian principles. “But, it is wonderful to see the congregations here growing despite the circumstances.”
It was this passion for mission that marked his life. He also interpreted for guests, ranging from visiting evangelists to even a Worthy News reporter he told to preach in villages and Jakarta, the capital, instead of only observing vibrant church work.
The elderly Lumenta told Worthy News the church needs a new generation of missionaries. “Sometimes, I am afraid that I am one of the last pioneers of the GPdI. But it is very encouraging to see these young people arriving from cities to humble themselves and serve the Lord here in these villages.”
Despite hardships, the GPdI continues evangelizing with teams and individuals traveling through volatile areas.
GREAT COMMISSION
He had a similar message to people attending his congregation in Jakarta, once torched but rebuilt.
“We have to do that; it is God’s Commission to evangelize,” said Lumenta. “These people here are perishing if we don’t stand up for Christ,” he warned.
“Most Indonesians don’t know the truth. Many have little education. But it is wonderful to see that so many Muslims, Buddhists, and others come to Christ.”
Victoria, a house church leader who knew him well, suggested that as he now “speaks with the Lord,” nothing could make him happier than for this work to continue.
Lumenta leaves behind three children after his wife passed away in 2020. His funeral was held Wednesday with many attending.
Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.
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