The testimony of Maarten Labuschagne testifies to the mercy and love of God

Maarten’s family very occasionally attended a local church, mainly because of his mother. His father was very dismissive of the church but was interested in ‘spirituality’, including occult practices. As a result, young Maarten knew the spiritual world was real. However, his father promoted the view that Christians were weak and hypocritical, thus not what Maarten aspired to be—strong, unbending, and unafraid.

Maarten was proud of his Afrikaner heritage, marked by struggle and an independent spirit. After army training, he spent time as a bouncer and security guard for bars and nightclubs. His fast temper and even faster fists often came close to getting him into serious trouble. Maarten was attracted to the AWB or Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (Afrikaner Resistance Movement). This is an Afrikaner nationalist, neo-Nazi, and white supremacist organization, founded in 1973

However, despite his staunch-seeming, tough-guy exterior, he was desperately insecure and suffered from severe anger and other issues. Maarten shares: “Heavy metal music, particularly Van Halen’s song Runnin’ with the Devil, was my anthem. As time went by, I tried to change, as I saw and realized I was hurting others. Strangely, perhaps, I didn’t always like acting the way I did. I saw a hypnotist (about 15 times), and a psychiatrist, out of desperation. Nothing worked—my life felt as if it was doomed.“

In September 1998, in utter desperation, Maarten cried out to God: “God, you have to change me!”, even challenging God’s right to send him to Hell if He failed to do this. My cry was mingled with doubt over whether God was real or would respond. But it was utterly genuine, a recognition that I could not save myself. I didn’t then understand the assurances His Word gives for the repentant heart, but I certainly knew that Hell was real, and I didn’t want to go there. Almost instantly, he says, he was profoundly converted and felt a dramatic release from the stress, anger, and hatred that had bound up his life.

The Bible assured me I was a new creation; I got rid of my personal weapons and other AWB paraphernalia from the old life and cut off all ties with the group. However, coming to genuinely love and appreciate people of other cultures and ethnicities would take time. One significant milestone in that process was at a service in a large, multicultural church in the South African city of Durban. Maarten was asked to give a brief testimony from the pulpit. For someone who was usually fearless, public speaking terrified him. Nervously, he addressed the crowd, many of whom were indigenous Africans or of Indian extraction. He confessed he had been in the AWB and had passionately hated them. Expecting a disastrous, vengeful response, he was instead brought to tears by many tribal African believers who came up and expressed forgiveness and love. It was then that he fully understood that they were his brothers and sisters in Christ, not any sort of enemy.

As his Christian faith grew, he was baptized and went to Bible College. He was also a pastoral counsellor at one of the biggest drug rehabilitation centres in South Africa. To help others struggling with broken lives and a lack of hope, a few years ago Maarten set up a simple website under the banner of Jesus Rules Ministries (JRM). On it, he shares his testimony and invites a response to the Gospel. JRM has since expanded to include a small church fellowship in a rural community, pastored by Maarten.

With no fear of man (Proverbs 29:25) due to his upbringing, Maarten passionately uses street evangelism to reach out to people who are broken or without hope. His trademark tools are a large cross and thought-provoking sign, complete with photos including from his AWB past, and boldly stating e.g.: If you tried the thug life or the drug life and it hasn’t worked, try Jesus!

Maarten is often ignored or ridiculed and occasionally threatened by passers-by. He recently had his main sign hijacked and dragged down the road behind a car! Despite the difficulties, the work has resulted in many powerful testimonies. Desperate people, involved in crime and violence or on the verge of suicide, have been transformed by encountering Jesus.

Michael Cook chats with former racist militia member Maarten Labuschagne in latest Creation Magazine http://www.creation.com