A Look Back - Ethiopia

Many of you have been asking about my recent trip to Ethiopia.  How was my trip?  What did I learn?  What does this mean for our future ministry?  How was the food?

I just want to say that, no matter how hard I try, I will never be able to fully explain or describe how much I learned during and grew from this trip.  Words just won’t do it justice.  But, I guess I’ll try.

For those who don’t know, I went to Ethiopia from 30^th November to 10^th December of this year to visit Sports Friends, a sports-based ministry of SIM.  The program was started in Ethiopia ten years ago and has since spread to Kenya, Thailand, and Nigeria, and now they are looking to expand further into Malawi, Peru, and Zambia.  And that’s where I come in.

Many of you have kept up with my frustrations since arriving in Zambia a year ago.  After beginning our ministry at Lusa in May, we have found less and less for me to do there.  Almost all of the limited number of community volunteers are female, so Tiffany has been able to build some strong relationships while I just sit on the sidelines.  We’ve seen the feeding program for the children improve to provide weekly meals, but usually the food is cooked by the women while the kids are in class, and so again I just sit around.  I tried to start a Bible curriculum for the school, but the teachers would only occasionally teach it. 

During all this, I would continue to play with the idea of starting a sports ministry here in Solwezi.  Regularly I would brainstorm with Tiffany ideas on what a sports ministry would look like here.  How often would we meet?  For how long?  Would we incorporate a Bible study?  Before we play?  After we play?  How many leaders would I need?  Our list of questions grew and grew, and we prayed and prayed.

Then, one day, seemingly out of the blue, all those prayers seemed to be answered.  I received an email from the SIM Zambia director asking if I was interested in traveling to Ethiopia to learn more about Sports Friends.  My gut response was to jump on board right away, but I told him that Tiffany and I would pray about it before I gave him an answer.  So we did.  And I went.

And I am so glad I did.

While in Ethiopia, I had a chance to meet with a handful of the almost 150 SIM missionaries serving in that country.  I learned about their organizational structure, their philosophy of ministry, and what God is doing through them among the people of Ethiopia.

I had a chance to meet with several leaders from Ethiopia Kale Heywet Church, the largest evangelical denomination in Ethiopia, boasting around 8 million members.  I learned that a fully self-governed, self-supported, and self-propagating church in Africa is more than just a dream – it’s a reality.  I learned how this church was actively sending missionaries to other parts of the world, including areas where Western missionaries are not allowed entry.

And I had the chance to visit with Sports Friends Ethiopia leaders and learn from them.  I learned that Sports Friends is more than “just” a sports ministry.  It’s more than playing games so that young people come to church.  It’s more than establishing a fun environment where people feel safe and can have fun.  It’s so much more than all that.

Sports Friends is changing lives.

We visited a church that started when a 12 year old Muslim boy came to Christ through Sports Friends.  This boy’s life changed, and soon his family began asking questions before ultimately placing their faith in Christ as well.  This church now has close to 80 members, provides 2 Sports Friends teams, and is planting churches in the Muslim community around it.

We met a young man who went through the program and is now the only believer in his family of 50.  Ostracized by his parents, this man is now a church leader in a local “mother church” that is actively planting churches in the community, including the one mentioned above.

We met another young man who was addicted to drugs and alcohol until he came to Christ through Sports Friends.  He is now an active participant in the ministry, coaching a team and praying that he can impact more youth for Christ.

I could go on and on.

But what makes this program so different from other sports ministries?  Not being the foremost expert in this area, I would attribute it to the emphasis on character building and leadership development.  Sports is the vehicle by which contact is made and relationships are built, but it is by no means the focus of the ministry.  Changed lives through the power of the Gospel is key.  Church leaders are trained as coaches, the youth are invested in, future leaders are developed, and growth is undeniably seen.

Empowering leaders.  Strengthening churches.  Changing lives.

Sports Friends in a nutshell (though this by no means does it justice).  My next post, whenever I get to it, is going to look at what all this means for our ministry here in Zambia.

Oh, to have a time machine...

The remnants after Jungle's "dinner"

The other night, Tiffany and I returned home from dinner with friends to find that Jungle had eaten The Rainmaker.  I guess I wasn’t supposed to be reading that book right now after all.  So, I picked up a small book I received in Ethiopia called An Indigenous Church in Action, by Alfred G. Roke.  Not really the most compelling title, but after reading the first three pages, I’m hooked.  Below are a few excerpts from the book, along with a comment or two from me.  Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts!

“This was, and is, a truly indigenous church, where the principles of self-support, self-government, and self-propagation were adopted, by the Spirit’s leading, right from the outset.  There is a world of difference between this method of working, and the usual method of waiting to hand over responsibility to the native church, until in the opinion of the foreign missionary it is sufficiently mature for this to be done.  An unbiased reading of the New Testament will convince that the former method, the truly indigenous method, is God’s way of evangelizing the world.”

~A.L. Harris, in his foreword dated January 1^st, 1938

So, what about when this opportunity for planting an indigenous church from the start is already long gone?  Like, 100 years gone?

The book itself begins:

“The objective of all true missionary effort is the world-wide propagation of the Christian faith; not the Christianizing of the whole world, but its evangelization.”

~p. 7

In other words, the primary objective is spreading the Gospel, NOT Christian religion in its various forms and practices.

“We aim not at bringing the whole world to Christ, but at the bringing of Christ to the whole world.  The universal objective therefore must be the evangelization of every people.  The local objective, and result of the former, is the planting of a church.  Neither objective is possible without God, but both are with Him.”

~p. 7

Again, evangelism is paramount, and the natural outworking of evangelism is the planting of a church.  This church, however, need not look, sound, or feel like the missionary’s concept of church, but rather reflect how the indigenous believers come to express their faith in their Savior.

Okay, last one for now:

“Any activity, by whatever name it may be called, if it does not soundly contribute towards the missionary objective, must sooner or later be acknowledged as unsatisfactory.  Much work has begun in all sincerity, and those who today are called upon to carry it on, feel it is in vain.  In many cases the younger missionary is faced with the possible surrender of the vision that carried him to the field, and is in danger of settling down into an old established rut which cannot bring him or his coworkers any nearer the great objective.  A candid examination of the facts regarding a great deal of present day missionary work will quickly prove that all is not right.”

Two quick thoughts.  First, this was written in 1937, yet we still face these same issues today.  Second, and I will conclude with this, the writer is NOT saying that community aide programs such as schools and hospitals are bad.  The preceding paragraph actually describes them as outworkings of ministry.  But, if these programs, no matter how sincere they are, stand in the missionary’s way of sharing the Gospel, then there is a problem.  If this problem is allowed to persist for many years, and gets passed from one generation of missionary to the next so that the new missionaries to the field are forced to push aside the goal of evangelization in order to maintain the tradition of help over the Gospel, something has gone terribly wrong.  This issue cannot be allowed to continue.  Change must take place.  So I ask,

WHEN DID MY WORK BECOME MORE IMPORTANT THAN CHRIST’S WORK?

Access to the Father

“Because you are close to God, because of your skin.”

I stopped by the post office to check our mail this morning and one of my favorite security guards greeted me joyfully. He told me he thought I would be at church, which normally I would on a Sunday, but our church had a special Christmas event last night and therefore cancelled church this morning. Anyway, he said that they (he and another man with him) unfortunately couldn’t go to church because they were securing things. So, they read the Bible together and pray. (Yay for them, right?) He said they pray to God to protect them, that they won’t be endangered. Then he said that only God and I can protect them.

Me? How can I protect them? I responded: “Only God can protect you from danger – I can’t protect you!”

And that’s when he said it. That I could protect them through my prayers to God, because God will listen to me because of my skin color; as if having white skin is a prerequisite to having a close relationship with the Lord.

Is this what is being taught? Is it a belief that is widely held by our Zambian brothers and sisters? I find myself wondering if it is a remnant of colonialism or if it’s the result of false doctrine (or both). Some churches in South Africa and elsewhere teach that the black Africans are descendents of Ham, father of Canaan. After Noah awakes from his drunkenness In Genesis 9:25-27, it says,

“He said, ‘Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers.’ He also said, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. May God extend the territory of Japheth; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave.’”

The idea in the doctrine is that the black Africans are an inferior race, subject to slavery. It’s the same theology that had so many Civil War era Americans convinced that slavery was morally and spiritually acceptable.

As Luke prepared to go to Ethiopia, a European man told us that in Ethiopia, the people don’t look at themselves as inferior to whites, making it much easier to have mutual friendships and mutual working relationships. In contrast, it is very difficult to have strong mutual relationships with our Zambian brothers and sisters. Despite our sin, our shortcomings, and our brokenness, we are still viewed as “superior.” Perhaps that is why there is one church here absolutely convinced that they need an American pastor (they really want Luke) to grow. Perhaps this is why children seem to take great pride in greeting a muzungu (white person) and receiving a response. Maybe this is why when I pick something up off a shelf in Shoprite, others around me immediately look at the same thing in the hope of imitating my selection and becoming just a little more like me.

But regardless of the whys and hows, it’s wrong. I told my friend this morning that he is my brother. He has the same access to God that I do, and the Lord listens to his prayers. In Revelation 7:9 it says,

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”

It doesn’t say that the Americans or Europeans will be in front – in the cushy seats – VIP seating. It doesn’t say that the Zambians will be sweeping the floors or asking others to pray on their behalf. It says we will all be standing before the throne of God and the Lamb.

We are all sinners – all guilty before God until the price has been paid for our sin. And through the death of Christ on the cross, it has. One death for all mankind; not proportioned out based on our race or the intensity of our sin. We are all disobedient; and we all have access to redemption.

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” – Galations 3:8

I pray that I encouraged my dear brother this morning. After all, that’s what he is – my brother. We share a common Father, and have equal access to that Father. And as he sits praying and reading his Bible and wishing he were at church, I am humbled that he would think of me (running a few errands on a Sunday morning), as greater in the Kingdom of God. And I am forever grateful that our salvation is not through our actions, but only through Christ.

New Opportunities; Renewed Vision

So I am crazy impulsive and have a crazy awesome idea that I should probably flesh out before I dig a giant hole of crazy. (How was that sentence for quality English?)

Anyhow, here’s a little background… When Lusa Home-Based Care was under the guidance of an organization out of South Africa, money was sent from the US to build dormitories and other facilities. We’re talking upwards of $70,000. As is so often the heart-breaking case here, that money never made it to Zambia, and we have no dormitory. The same organization apparently promised many community members around Lusa that their work (cooking, gardening, teaching, and other jobs that are considered voluntary right now) would be paid. When that money never showed up, the people didn’t see a reason to show up either. So now, Mama Yoba and Regina are running the place with a handful of volunteers – mostly women who are benefitting from the work we’re doing at Lusa. Our (unpaid) teachers are ready to throw in the towel, and apparently many people are still bitter about the money thing and blaming Mama Yoba. (Learned all of this today)

That said, we’ve started to see things turn around. One by one, people from the community are learning that it truly is better to give than to receive, and have a desire to get involved. Through donations and hard work, we now have fish in our fish ponds, maize in our maize fields, and will soon have chickens in our chicken coops. Two big craft markets at local mines in the next two weeks promise some serious income generation as our expat friends will be in Christmas-buying mode. Using Dave Ramsey’s Money Matters teaching on budgeting via envelopes, the organization actually has money when the water bill comes or other needs arise. We have weekly Bible studies and the handful of people who are coming are now taking turns leading through a book on the women of the Bible. But our efforts to help the children – what Lusa is really about – are falling short.

In recent months, we’ve restarted weekly feeding programs for the 30 or so kids (of about 80 we have on a register) who are coming for school each day. But school has turned more into a loosely run day care. The kids show up at 7. When the teachers show up, it’s usually by 8. Then they finish at 10. We have kids ages 2 to 15 all in the same “class” and there is little structure or anything by way of a lesson plan. And, Lusa has been serving the same kids for several years. Some are single or double orphans; some are sick; many are vulnerable; and some just come to Lusa because their parents would rather send them to us for free than put forth the money to get them into school. We’ve discussed raising the funds to provide first term school fees and uniforms to put 40 or so of the kids into the public school system (about $15 each). Assuming we can get these kids into school, here’s where the idea comes in…

The purpose of Lusa is not just to provide a helping hand to the community, but also to share the love and grace of Christ. The purpose is hope. We don’t have the man-power nor motivation from the community to run Lusa as a school – but what if we go in a whole new direction? What if our efforts at Lusa get people excited about working there, and allow them to forget the bitterness they might have from the previous problems? What if we stop trying to be mediocre in an area (school) where the kids would be better served in the local school system, and focus our efforts on being awesome and glorifying to God with something that’s definitely a need and not one that’s being met elsewhere?

So here’s the idea. Similar to what Child Evangelism Fellowship does with Good News Clubs, turn Lusa into a community center – an outreach center – a place where kids and teens can come to hear about Christ, play sports and games, hang out with each other off of the streets, and realize that people care about them. Rather than run a school for 3 hours in the morning for 30 or so kids, we could have club meetings throughout the day or with different ages every day and be open to the entire community. For example, the grade 1 kids in the community might get off school at noon, and then come to Lusa for activities; and then the grade 9 and 10 girls might come at another time or on another day. We would still help the most vulnerable community members through our income generating projects – helping supply food and school fees and visiting and caring for them – but we would also be able to reach, minister to, and love on potentially hundreds of kids each week. And, hopefully, inspire and lead these kids to be Christ-loving, God-fearing, generous, loving adults.

Would LOVE LOVE LOVE to hear your thoughts and have your prayers. We are discussing the idea with a local pastor whom we respect and admire (and happens to be the chairman of the Lusa board) tomorrow. Also (NEWS FLASH!), Luke will be going to Ethiopia in early December for training in an SIM ministry called Sports Friends, which would be a huge part of the new focus if we go that way.

I personally haven’t been this excited about the potential at Lusa in a long time. We were actually quite discouraged with the state of things when we first came, but ever so gradually have been able to see a way moving forward. Will you pray with us as we continue to seek the Lord’s direction in this?

The Fame of HIS Name

I want to make a difference in the world for the Kingdom of God.

But what, truly, is my motivation?  Is it to make His name great?  Or is it to make MY name great, to be remembered by men as a great minister of truth to the world?  I would like to say it is to make Christ famous, but so often I don’t feel that to be true.  I may have preached last week (in Kiikaonde) that the purpose of the Christian in the world is to make God known.  To make Christ famous among the nations.  But so often I feel this longing to be known myself.  It’s almost as though I hope that I will become famous if I make God famous.  It’s like my own little version of the prosperity gospel.  I work for God; He makes me famous.

But that’s not how it works.

I read Matthew 26 this morning during my devotions.  Tucked away in the beginning of this chapter is a story of a woman who takes an expensive bottle of perfume and anoints Jesus’ head with it.  She took what she had and used it to honor her Savior.  The disciples were upset by this, arguing that she should have sold it and given the profits away (weren’t they just SO holy?).  Jesus commended her for her actions, and promised that her deeds would be forever remembered, for this story was to be included with the telling of the gospel.

And it has been.

For about two thousand years, the story of this woman has been included in the gospel according to Matthew (and also in Mark 14 and John 12).  But the woman’s name is not included.  It is only when we read the parallel account in John that we learn that this woman was Mary, sister of Lazarus and Martha.  Only one of three accounts give the name of the person who was to be honored for her faith.  Jesus commended her, praising her act of faith.  But her name was not recorded.  The actions may have been rewarded and remembered, but not with earthly fame for the individual.  All earthly fame belongs to Christ.  His name is to be glorified.  His name is to be made famous.  Not ours.

Not mine.