A Letter from Kabwata

Zambia Has Lifted The African Cup of Nations Trophy!

2012-02-15T01:46:00.000+02:00

“I sawthat under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to those withknowledge, but time and chance happen to them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11).

I just had to blog on this! The great daythat Zambia has been waiting for in the world of football (what Americans call“soccer”) has finally come. The Zambian national football team went into the2012 African Cup of Nations as underdogs, having performed below par even intheir preparatory matches. However, around midnight Zambian time, on Sunday 12February, we became the African champions. We beat Ivory Coast 8-7 on post-matchpenalties after a goalless 120 minutes. The rest is now history.

After the win, the whole nation went crazywith excitement. Due to a pending trip out of the country, I missed watchingthe match. I was packing and only saw bits of the match as I picked up variousitems for the trip from the lounge where my household was glued to the TV. Iwent to bed while the match was still on. However, as the clock struckmidnight, there was enough noise to wake the dead. So, I finally got up anddecided to spend the time meditating on what all this should mean to me as aChristian in Zambia.

There is no doubt that our nationalfootball team has done us proud by winning the African Cup of Nations. Footballis big in Zambia and in Africa as a whole. Life in the compounds and the ruralareas revolves around kicking home made balls around with bare feet. There isno second or third sport in Zambia, as is the case in so many other nations ofthe world. For us it is football, football, and football. Hence, when almostour entire football team perished in a plane crash off the coast of Gabon in1993, it was the biggest funeral this nation had ever experienced. Peoplefailed to go to work.

The Zambian football team celebrating a goal

Hence, it is so easy for me to simply joinin the mindless frenzy that has gripped the nation. However, it is my Christianduty to ask, “If Jesus were a Zambian, and he was around today, how would hehave responded to all this?” In other words, how does the Bible expect us torespond to the kind of good news that we have as a nation today? We are theAfrican football champions; what thoughts should fill our minds and hearts?

I ought to celebrate victory insport

Tobegin with, I found a number of Bible passages that suggested that biblicalauthors recognised the important place that competitive games had in life andthus justified the exhilarating joy of the victors. I noticed that they oftenreferred to this sphere of life as parallels with the spiritual life in orderfor us to learn vital lessons on how we should live our lives as Christians.Here are a few examples:

Theapostle Paul wrote, “Doyou not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives theprize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control inall things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But Idiscipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others Imyself should be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:24-27).

Zambian team captain, Christopher Katongo, in full flight

Paulwould not have used the athletic and boxing world to make such an importantpoint about the Christian life if competitive games did not occupy a prominentplace in life in his own day. His point is that there is a prize to be won atthe end of our Christian lives. We must have the same spirit of discipline anddetermination that sports men and women have if we are going to reap such areward from the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ on the final day.

Theapostle Paul also wrote, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I havekept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness,which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not onlyto me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). It seems that to this godly man nearingthe end of his life, the best illustration of what a Christian should expectupon his demise is that which an athlete receives when he wins a competitivematch. So, surely it must be reasonable to award a successful sportsman orsportswoman. Congratulations are in order!

The Zambian football team after scoring the decisive goal

Theauthor of the epistle to the Hebrews also used something of the sporting eventsof his own day to urge Christians to emulate sportsmen in the spiritual realm.He wrote, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let usrun with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, thefounder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before himendured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of thethrone of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Manyspectators often surround a person competing in a great arena. This in itselfought to be a spur for him to summon all his energies to win the game accordingto its rules. A person participating in such an event will only have essentialclothing on him because anything else will hinder him from obtaining the prize.As in the case of Jesus, the present “loss” is nothing compared with the exhilaratingjoy of final victory.

Herve Renard commanding the troops onto victory

Icould go on giving further examples. It seems to me that the theme ofdisciplined preparation, competing according to rules, determination during thecompetition, and the awarding of prizes to the victors, were common knowledgefor the people in Bible days. Hence, I should not only learn spiritual lessonsfrom this, but I should relate to the world of sport in such a way that I couldbe used as a point of reference for spiritual truth. In this case, celebratingthe winning of the Zambian national team is in order.

Iought to celebrate with godly moderation

However, I also found that a number ofbiblical truths that pervade Scripture demanded that, in celebrating our victoryas Christians, we should do so with godly moderation.

Christopher Katongo, the team captain, with the coveted trophy

Firstly, although we are very proud to beZambians today (especially with the aroma of victory still in the air), we mustremember that we are first-of-all Christians. We are not Zambians who happen tobe Christians but Christians who just happen to be Zambians. As important asnational boundaries might be for the purpose of our political wellbeing, theyare artificial at best. In fact, in dying for us on the cross, Jesus came tobreak down so many of the boundaries that presently separate us as humanbeings. In the eyes of God, therefore, the one boundary that truly matters isthat between sinners and saints. Hence, even as we feel proud as Zambianstoday, we must not express this pride to the point where it clouds our primary citizenship,which is in heaven (Philippians 3:20).

Secondly, this was but a game. As peoplewere running through the streets tonight and shouting at the top of theirvoices, I was tempted to get a loudspeaker and remind everyone that what wehave won is but a game. Yes, it is a big game, an important game, a vital game(due to our previous poor performance), and a very competitive gave; but it is agame nonetheless. We should not give it the aura of the overthrow of anoppressive and corrupt dictator or the saving of a human life from sin andfinal destruction in hell. That is why the use of competitive games in theBible passages quoted above are all examples from the lesser to the greater (seealso 1 Timothy 4:7-8). Like the angels in heaven (Luke 15:7,10), our greatestexcitement as Christians must be when a soul gets saved.

The congested road all the way to the airport with a fan on top of a car

Thirdly, the accolades and awards that theZambian national football team have already begun to receive will beshort-lived. There is no doubt that Christopher Katongo and his team willreceive a heroes’ welcome upon their return. (In fact, I almost missed theflight at mid-day later today because of the amount of traffic all the way tothe airport). For much of this week, they will be the centre of attention forthe whole nation. However, all this euphoria will soon be covered over by thesands of time and we will be back to the realities of life—unemployment andpoverty, HIV and AIDS, corruption, etc.

We read earlier that, “Theydo it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable” (1 Corinthians9:25). There is one celebration that will last eternally. It will takeplace when Jesus returns as Victor to take his people home—and we will bevictors together with him. The awards we will get on that day will be for alleternity. Our present celebrations should show the world around us that weawait a more glorious one. Henry Alford (1810-1871) captured this momentmagnificently in his hymn when he wrote,

Ten thousand times ten thousand

In sparking raiment bright,

The armies of the ransomed saints

Throng up the steeps of light;

‘Tis finished, all is finished,

Their fight with death and sin;

Fling open wide the golden gates,

And let the victors in!

Some ladies dancing by the roadside in celebration of Zambia's victory

And, finally, to God alone be theglory

Sothen, let us celebrate. Zambia has lifted the African Cup of Nations trophy.Yet, as we do so, let us remember that it is God who gave us the victory. Itwas certainly not the spirits of our [football] ancestors who helped us win. Itwas Mayuka and not Ucar (if you will forgive the pun) who did it! Yes, theChipololo boys and the technical staff worked very hard. We should not denythat. However, the wise man Solomon once said, “I saw that under the sun therace is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise,nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to those with knowledge, but time andchance happen to them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11). In other words, we won becauseGod had ordained it that this time we would taste the sweetness of victory. Letus, therefore, not forget to return thanks to God for his favour upon us. If wecelebrate with godly moderation, we will not be guilty of idolatry—a verycommon sin in the world of sport!

The Zambian team near the place where their predecessors perished

Bible Colleges Worth Attending In Zambia--Covenant College

2012-02-09T22:39:00.000+02:00

[Last week I forgot to add my usual introductory statement at the commencement of the blog post on a Bible College worth attending in Zambia. This week I should not commit the same omission. I represent Kabwata Baptist Church on the board of trustees of the Covenant College and so have been involved in this college at a policy level. We have also reaped quite a number of missionaries from the graduation podium of this college. So far, all these men have proved themselves very capable for the work of church planting. I will let, Dr Heinrich Zwemstra, their recent principal, tell us about this college in the heart of the Eastern Province of Zambia. Heinrich, over to you...]

Covenant College ispart of Covenant College Zambia Trust, registered with the Registrar of Societiesin Zambia. It is situated 400km east ofLusaka on the Great East Road, close to the town Petauke. The College was started in 2001 because inthe Eastern Province there are a lot of lay pastors who are enthusiastic aboutpreaching the word of God, but they never had the opportunity or means to goand study somewhere. Some of them didnot even have the opportunity to finish school. They are a lot like Apollos in Acts 18:24-28.

Many of them are good preachers, but theyhave never learned how to use their God-given gifts and knowledge. The work which Covenant College does, throughthe grace of God, is therefore very important. They equip pastors (likePriscilla and Aquila did with Apollos) so that they understand the gospel inthe right way, and preach it in the right way. In this way there are more and more pastors whopreach the gospel of Jesus Christ to their own people, and consequently thechurch of Zambia grows in quality and in quantity.

David Lachman, presently the only full-time lecturer, with his wife and child

Mission Statement

Covenant College strives to glorify God as an interdenominationaltraining institution, on a Reformed basis, which assists local churches withthe training of their pastors and men who have pastoral responsibilities,mainly focusing our efforts in the Eastern Province of Zambia, seeking tostrengthen the church of Jesus Christ and extend the Kingdom of God.

Who do they train?

They aimto train male church leaders who have not received adequate pastoral training.These men must already be involved in pastoral work. Their church mustrecommend them for training.

They value a good relationship with local churches. They encourage themto send students to Covenant College and accept the graduates for ordination intheir respective churches.

Why do they train?

Thecollege’s desire is to assist churches by training their leaders. They praythat the training the students receive will lead them to increasingly glorifyGod, grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, show true faithand sanctification, become better witnesses of the Gospel by their words andexample, and enable them to equip the members of their churches for ministryinside and outside the church.

The college believes that the Word of God should take full control overreligion, culture, and the daily life of every Christian. For a pastor to leadhis people into this reformation of life, he needs to be trained in explainingand applying the Bible.

Students in class during a normal day of lectures

What do they teach?

Theircurriculum focuses on the main theological subjects. They aim to give thestudents a thorough understanding of the Bible as a whole and as individualbooks. Using Systematic Theology, they stimulate a consistent understanding ofBiblical truths. They teach the students about the history of the worldwide,African and Zambian church. They concentrate on practical subjects: preaching,pastoral work, missions, and governing the church.

All the teaching is based on the Bible. Their interpretation andapplication of Scripture is guided by several Reformed Confessions. These arethe Westminster Standards, the 1689 Baptist Confession, the Thirty-NineArticles, and the Three Forms of Unity. They do not force these confessions ontheir students. Instead they show the students the value and usefulness fortheir theological development.

The character oftheir training

CovenantCollege approaches teaching comprehensively. Teaching should encourage spiritualgrowth, instil a servant’s attitude, develop intellectual gifts, and shapepractical skills. Under practical skills they concentrate on farming, so thatpastors are better able to support themselves and their families. When they develop such skills, their life andbusiness becomes an example of Christian stewardship and responsibility fortheir church and community. They arealso mentored with pastoral sessions and visits to the churches in which theyare serving.

We offer three year courses at Diploma and Certificate level. For theDiploma, we are accredited with Mukhanyo Theological College in South Africa. For the Certificate some teachers teach inboth English and Chinyanja.

Children being taught in a community school supported by Covenant College

Other ministries

Each year there arewomen’s meetings at the College for the spouses of the students. The wives of the missionaries discuss thewomen’s work in the churches and other relevant topics. These meetings are very special for thewomen.

Not onlyis the training of pastors important, but also to bring the gospel tochildren. Every Saturday children fromthe villages around the college come for the children’s ministry. Miss Marjanne Hendriksen takes the lead in teachingthem songs based on Scripture, telling them stories from the Bible and helping them to colour a picture about the story. During the semester some students andteachers from community schools help her.

Togetherwith Zambian helpers Miss Hendriksen also visits community schools in the areaand gives the teachers training in how to give Christian education to thechildren.

Most ofthe pastors training at Covenant College are tentmaker pastors who make aliving through farming. Because of thisthey are also given training in farming. The College itself is situated on a farm and provides food for thestudents who live there and receive training during the week. The farm is also a good example of how tofarm, and they are privileged to have a good agriculturalist, Mr Phil Bailey, whotakes the lead in this ministry. RecentlyJackson Kasolo, a Zambian from the Copperbelt, joined him in leading thisministry. He also stays on the farm withhis family. They do not only train thestudents, but also teach the rest of the community good farming methods. A lot of people from the nearby villages areemployed as pieceworkers on the farm

Phil Bailey with his "Farming God's Way" team on the farm

Thecollege tries to keep contact with the students who graduated. Therefore they have conferences where theyprovide them with further training. Theyalso invite pastors who have not yet studied at the college to encourage them tocome for studies.

Currentlythere is one permanent lecturer at the College, Rev. David Lachman. He is sent by the Free Church of Scotland(Continuing) and also stays at the college with his wife and two children. Heis assisted by 3 local teachers.

For moreinformation contact Rev. Lachman at dlachjr@gmail.com or visit thewebsite http://www.cczt.org

Bible Colleges Worth Attending In Zambia--The Sovereign Grace Theological Seminary

2012-02-02T21:01:00.000+02:00

Sovereign GraceTheological Seminary — SGTS for short — was born in 2006 as a joint project ofthe Sola 5 association of churches. (Sola 5 is an “Association of God-centredevangelicals in southern Africa.”) After operating from South Africa for twoyears, the Sola 5 association handed SGTS over to a group of four ReformedBaptist churches in Lusaka and we have been operating from Lusaka since 2009.

Our vision

Our vision is “to be a centre of excellence for reformed Biblical scholarship,devotion and teaching, impacting Africa with the gospel of Christ and aGod-centred world view.” That’s quite a mouthful! In plain language, we arerooted in historic Protestant Christianity yet want to listen to the Spirit ashe continues to speak through the Word of Scripture; we want to recognize ourdependence on God through humble devotion; and we want to lead people to adeeper knowledge of God through his Word. Our central concern is to train menwho will be godly shepherds — lovers of God and his Word, lovers of men, andfaithful expositors of Scripture.

A group of students during a contact session in Pretoria, South Africa

Distinctive approach

SGTS’s approach israther different to that of the other seminaries featured on this blog. Ourprogramme uses a distance-learning approach rather than a lecture-centred one.As much as we recognize the importance of relationships and face-to-facecontact, we have also become aware that there are many pastors and aspiringpastors who are unable to relocate (with or without their families!) to attendfull time training for three or four years. Through our distance-learningapproach we allow our students to remain in their places of work or ministryand supply them with written and audio-visual materials to guide them throughtheir studies. This doesn’t mean, however, that we neglect face-to-face contactor meaningful relationships. Twice a year we hold “contact sessions” for a weekat a time in South Africa (Gauteng), Zimbabwe (Harare), Zambia (Lusaka) andNamibia (Windhoek). These contact sessions provide an opportunity for studentsto meet one another and their lecturers. Relationships begun in this waycontinue through the year and beyond. We are thankful that, despite thechallenges of distance learning, one of our students could testify, “For me,SGTS is not just a college but a family.”

The fact that manystudents are deeply involved in ministry enables them to apply what they arelearning immediately. It also means that they come to their studies with heartsand minds full of practical ministry issues — which has its own way ofenhancing learning.

The distance learningapproach helps us to realize the vision of impacting Africa, and we have hadstudents from South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.

Pastor Kennedy Sunkutu handling one of the contact sessions in Lusaka, Zambia

Study programme

At the moment SGTSoffers a one-year Certificate in Theology, whichprovides an introduction to academic skills (reading, writing and criticalthinking), as well as an overview the Bible, theology and church history;Christian vocation and the call to ministry are also covered. The academicstandard of the courses is high and intending students should have a secondaryschool pass that will equip them for tertiary studies. Our intention is toexpand our programme to the level of a Bachelor’s degree and beyond as the Lordprovides the needed resources.

Students in discussion during a contact session in Harare, Zimbabwe

Present and future developments

SGTS is in the processof merging with the African Christian University to become its theologicalfaculty. The vision of African Christian University is to raise up servants ofGod with a transforming world- and life-view. All academic training will beoffered from a distinctively Christian perspective (yes, even mathematics!) andteaching will emphasize mentoring and discipling, rather than just lecturing.This merger will expand the seminary’s vision and help it to realize its goalof impacting Africa with the gospel. One of the initial plans is to add aresidential programme to operate alongside the distance-learning programme.

For more information —either as a prospective student or a partner in the ministry — please contactthe SGTS office by email (admin@sgts.org)or by telephone (+260-971-746-487).

More information canalso be obtained from www.sgts.org or from www.acu-zambia.com.

Our 2012 Missions Conference—What A glorious Time It Was!

2012-01-31T11:05:00.000+02:00

“The HolySpirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I havecalled them.’ Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them andsent them off” (Acts 13:2-3).

Straight from our missionaries’ prayerretreat (which I reported on in the last two blog posts), we began our in-housemissions conference—and what a conference it was! It ran from Thursday 26th to Sunday 29th January 2012. Whereas we had begun our missionaries’prayer retreats many years ago, this was only our fifth missions conference. Weare glad to note that it has not yet fallen into the category of “one of thosethings,” which members do not really bother about.

Our conference banner by the road side, with a drunken man sleeping on the grass
(living proof that our missions work starts right at our doorstep!)

I would like to urge Zambian and Africanevangelical churches to include missions conferences in their annual calendars.As I wrote in my blog this time last year, I wish we had started this earlier.It has really put our involvement in missions work in top gear. This is not amarketing gimmick. I can safely say that our missions involvement wouldprobably be less than 10% of what it presently is if it was not for ourin-house missions conference.

Our missionaries answering questions from the congregation

Our missions conference has three goals.The first is to increase prayer for missions. This is done as our missionariesgive presentations on how their work has been in the last one year and whatthey are hoping for in the year to come. The second is to increase workers formissions. At every missions conference, we send out pleas in the congregationfor more church members to answer the call to missions. The third goal is toincrease finances for missions. We urge members to pledge a one-off amountduring the conference and a monthly amount for the rest of the year. Theexponential growth has been particularly observable in the area of finances.

A member of the church asking a question after one of the presentations

In order to ensure an increase in prayersupport, as I have already said, the missionaries prepare PowerPointpresentations and share them with the members. KBC presently has elevenmissionaries and ten other mission stations without missionaries. So, it wasnot possible for all of them to show us what they were doing during these fewdays. However, from the few whose presentations we saw, it was so encouraging tosee the people in the mission stations and the work taking place there. Somesituations were more challenging than others. Yet all mission stations calledfor more intense prayer support. It was nice to notice that the presentationsimprove every succeeding year.

Three ladies in the church singing "People Need The Lord" to the congregation

This year our preacher was Ronald Kalifungwa,pastor of Lusaka Baptist Church. The theme was “The Role of Ordinary ChurchMembers in Missions”. On the first day (Thursday), Ronald urged our members tomake KBC a true spiritual home for missionaries. On the second day (Friday), hepreached on the importance of each member contributing financially and inpractical ways to the work of missions. On the third day (Saturday), hepreached to us about ensuring that prayers are ever rising to God on behalf ofthe work of missions. And finally, on the fourth day (Sunday), he preached onthe various imperatives that go with the preaching ministry. This was anordination address because we were ordaining yet another missionary.

Pastor Ronald Kalifungwa preaching during the conference

Sunday, the last day of the conference, wasparticularly special because of two reasons. The first was the ordination of KasangoKayombo as a missionary. He is presently one of our deacons and has alreadybeen very active in a church plant that we commenced officially at the start oflast year. The more he laboured there the more his sense of call was confirmed,both in his own heart and in those who witnessed his labours. Hence, when lastNovember he came to the elders asking that he be set apart as a missionary,both the elders and the congregation gave him an overwhelming endorsement.Sunday was the culmination of the whole process. It felt like the church inAntioch (Acts 13:1-4), only they sent two of their elders. What a joy it was tosee yet another soldier being sent out to the battlefront to fight for thesalvation of souls and the crown rights of Christ!

Part of the congregation inside the auditorium on Sunday morning

The second reason why Sunday was special wasbecause that is when we take the offering and pledges for the work of missionsfor the next year. We then have lunch together before we announce the figuresto the congregation. We call this, “The grand announcement.” I will admit that,as a pastor, this is usually my most anxious moment. I will also admit that sofar I have felt totally rebuked afterwards for my lack of faith in God and inGod’s people. This year was no exception. The church gave twice the amount thatwe targeted for the one-off amount and the monthly pledge went up by 36%.Whereas the one-off amount is as good as banked (and distributed to variousprojects in the mission field), pray for our members to remain faithful in fulfillingtheir monthly pledge to the work of missions so that our missionaries can bewell supplied.

Part of the congregation had to sit outside for lack of space

As yet another missionary conference comesto an end, I do not pat KBC on the back because I know that there is much, muchmore that we can do. However, when I look at the little that we have been ableto do thus far, and then look at the potential that lies untapped in ourconservative evangelical churches in Zambia, and in Africa as a whole, I wishthat all our churches had such conferences. We need to give the work ofmissions a more visible place in our church calendars. Pastors must campaignfor the work of missions. Missiologists will tell you that Africa has thepotential to become the next greatest force for world missions. Oh, that we maywake up this sleeping giant!

The ordination of Kasango Kayombo as KBC's latest missionary pastor

Faithfulness Is Important—But It Is Not Enough

2012-01-25T23:51:00.000+02:00

“Andnow these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these islove” (1 Corinthians 13:13).

Our missionaries’ prayer retreat endedtoday. One of the issues that we dealt with is a perennial one—“How should apreacher handle his lack of converts?” One answer that I often hear and havenever quite agreed with is, “God has never called us to be successful but to befaithful. So, what matters is your faithfulness.” In one sense the answer iscorrect, but in another it is defective. Let me explain.

One of the most appropriate biblical textsthat shows the importance of faithfulness in a preacher is 1 Corinthians 4:2,where the apostle Paul says, “So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and asthose entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that thosewho have been given a trust must prove faithful.” Inthe light of this, anyone who sacrifices faithfulness to God in order to havenumbers in his church is not a true servant of God.

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
(painting by Michelangelo in 1512)

Notfaithfulness but love

However, my argument is that the chiefvirtue in Christianity is not faithfulness but love. Love is the queen of allgraces. Paul wrote, “Andnow these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love”(1 Corinthians 13:13).

Faithfulness is an expression of love. Inthis context, faithfulness must be seen as the way a servant loves his master.This is seen in all vertical relationships. A wife expresses her love to herhusband by submitting to him. Children express their love for their parents byobeying them. Slaves, servants, and employees express their love for theirmasters and employers by being faithful to them. Hence, in 1 Corinthians 4:2,Paul says that men ought to regard preachers as servants of Christ and preachersmust express their love to him by being faithful.

However, when a preacher is wrestling withhis spiritual barrenness, what bothers him is not so much the expression of hislove for his Master but the expression of his love for sinners for whom Christdied. Granted, in seeking “numbers” one may be tempted to use gimmicks in orderto get “decisions for Christ”. Yet, the men I was with this week are welldecided as to faithfulness to their Master. They love him too much to resort tounderhanded ways.

An artist's depiction of Hannah praying for a baby

Faithfulnessalone cannot satisfy

So that is not the question. And it is notfair to make them forget about their longing to see souls saved by assuringthem that at least their faithfulness to God is still in tact. That is liketrying to comfort Hannah in her barrenness by pointing to her relationship withher husband, Elkanah. He tried that method when he said, “Hannah, why are youweeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to youthan ten sons?” (1 Samuel 1:8). Well, we know that for Hannah that was not theissue. She desperately wanted a child!

In the same way, the barren preacher iswrestling with how to come to terms with his barrenness in the light of hislove for souls. He will not be satisfied with the fact of his faithfulness toGod. He wants to see the eyes of the spiritually blind opened. He wants to“turn men from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God so thatthey may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctifiedby faith” in Christ (Acts 26:18). He is not trying to do this out of a sense ofduty. The love of God for the lost pulsates in his soul.

Think about this: No medical doctor worthyof his calling would content himself with faithfully discharging his duty tohis employers if none of his patients are recovering. I have met with a fewChristian doctors in Africa who are really distraught because of a lack ofmedicines and basic medical equipment, resulting in many of their patientsdying from diseases that under normal circumstances they can cure. They arefaithful but that does not satisfy them. They want to save lives. Now, if thatis true of those who save bodies from death, how much more should it be true ofpreachers who save souls from an eternal damnation?

A resident doctor examining a patient in Africa

Biblicalexamples of barren preachers

So, we are back to the first question: Howshould a preacher handle his lack of converts? His love for God has continuedto express itself in faithfulness to God. But how should his love for soulsexpress itself in the light of his spiritual barrenness? I want to suggest thatthe answer lies in simply looking at biblical examples of barren preachers. Howdid they handle this? They certainly did not content themselves with merelybeing faithful. No, love for souls caused them to cry to God for fruit. Theywept, they groaned, they pleaded with God for souls.

In the Old Testament, we have an example ofa “barren prophet”. His name is Jeremiah. He had preached repentance among theIsraelites but instead of heeding his warnings they persecuted him. In the end,God’s judgement fell upon them. Jeremiah did not content himself withfaithfulness to his God. No, Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet. Listento him: “Oh,that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I wouldweep day and night for the slain of my people” (Jeremiah 9:1). A love for soulsmakes a strong man weep.

In the New Testament, we have yet anotherexample of a “barren preacher”. His name was Paul. Whereas he had an abundantharvest among the Gentiles, Paul was ever burdened about his apparent lack offruit among his fellow Jews. In Romans 9, Paul explains the hardness of theJews towards the gospel as being due to God’s purpose in election. Yet, as hebegins this chapter, he exhibits deep and tender affections towards hiskinsmen. Paul speaks with intensity when he testifies, “I speak the truth inChrist—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit—I havegreat sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ forthe sake of my brothers, those of my own race, the people of Israel” (Romans9:1-4). Paul was faithful to God, but that was not enough. He yearned for thesalvation of the Jews.

Whereasit would not be quite right to refer to Jesus as a barren preacher, yet we knowthat he was despised and rejected by men (Isaiah 53:3). How did he handle that?Did he simply content himself with his faithfulness to the Father and hisknowledge that only elect sinners will ever get saved, and thus shrug off therejection of sinners that he suffered? Well, the Bible gives us a peep into thesoul of the Saviour as on one occasion he looked at the city of Jerusalem as hewas descending into it. “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he weptover it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what wouldbring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:41-42). The loveof the Saviour for lost sinners compelled him to weep.

The wailing wall in Jerusalem, the city over which Jesus wept

Andso pray and plead for souls

What are we learning from these men “oflike passion as we are”, and from others who have had to wrestle withbarrenness? It is that true love for souls cannot be satisfied withfaithfulness to God. It is a tragedy in Reformed circles when men insulatethemselves from this brokenness of soul by the doctrine of election or by aclaim to “faithfulness to God”. Where dowe find this in the Bible? Nowhere! Rather, like barren Rachel crying to Jacob,we should constantly plead with God, saying, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”(Genesis 30:1).

In seasons of barrenness, we should pleadwith our congregations to pray for us. We should have seasons of prayer andfasting, humbling ourselves before God and asking that he would allow our eyesto see some of the fruit of the travail of our souls and be satisfied. Inpastors’ fraternals we should confess to one another about the sadness in oursouls because of the lack of fruit in terms of souls being saved. This shouldissue in tearful prayers for fruit. That is how love ought to respond tobarrenness. Faithfulness is important—but it is not enough!

The Kabwata Baptist Church Annual Missions Week Is Here!

2012-01-24T11:58:00.002+02:00

“Whilethey were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart forme Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them’” (Acts 13:2).

Yesterday, all our missionaries troopedback to base for our annual in-house missions week. I remain most grateful thatevery year, since we started this special missions week, we have 100%attendance by these men. Some of them are able to come with their wives, butothers are not able to due to family demands—especially those with youngerchildren who are still in school.

Raphael Banda, one of our missionaries, presenting on ensuring biblical church membership

The first event in the missions week is themissionaries prayer retreat. This began last night. We are hidden away at alodge, reviewing the previous year and strategizing for the year ahead. Lastnight, it was a time of fellowship as we shared testimonies from the previousyear and prayed for one another. This morning presentations have begun. Thiswill go on up to tomorrow evening.

On Thursday, our missions conferencebegins. Ronald Kalifungwa, the pastor of Lusaka Baptist Church, will be ourmain preacher. He will be handling the theme, “The Role of Ordinary ChurchMembers in the Work of Missions.” These meetings will go on up to Sundaymorning, ending with an ordination service. We will be sending out our latestchurch-planting missionary (Kasango Kayombo), who is presently one of ourchurch deacons.

The missionaries having fellowship on the first evening of the prayer retreat

Pray for us, as we go through this week.The work of missions is so important that we would hate to see our members andmissionaries going through this week as “just one of those things”. This is where God’s heart is. He gave his Sonfor the salvation of the world! We long to see our members going beyondAfrica’s major cities. We want to reach Africa’s rural areas, where cults andethnic religions are really flourishing. We want to get to the world’s citadelsof Islam and Hinduism. We want to be used of God to reach the Jews in theMiddle East and the atheistic communists in the Far East. These placesdesperately need to hear the world’s best news. May God make us relevant to theunfinished task!

Bible Colleges Worth Attending in Zambia--The Baptist Theological Seminary of Zambia

2012-01-19T14:42:00.000+02:00

[I begin this blog bywelcoming my 100^th “follower”, Nathaniel Penland. I keep my eyes onthe counter, and so was waiting with bated breath for 100 to appear. As I saidbefore, it is good to know that there are 100 people out there who have joinedthe club of ardent followers. Thanks!

This week’s BibleCollege Worth Attending in Zambia is the Baptist Theological Seminary ofZambia, located right here in Lusaka. It was one of the very first efforts byBaptists in Zambia to provide residential theological training and clocks 45years this year. I will allow the Academic Dean, Dr John McPherson, to take usby the hand through this introductory blog.]

“Andthe things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust toreliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:2, NIV).

PURPOSE

Froma central campus and eighteen local training centers in the southern Africancountry of Zambia the BaptistTheological Seminary of Zambia (BTSZ) provides contextualized theologicaltraining to God-called and gospel-committed leaders to reach people for Christand gather them into reproducing congregations. We are here to prepare godlyleaders for a worldwide church.

LOCATION

TheSeminary campus is located on a 22 acre tract of land in the south-easternsection of Lusaka, Zambia, along Twin Palm Road. This rapidly growingresidential area provides opportunity for community-based ministry. In additionstudents have the opportunity to ministry in numerous local training centersspread throughout the country. Zambia has proven to be a highly responsiveplace for gospel preaching and church planting and development.

Student doing an assignment in the seminary library

A BRIEF HISTORY

The Baptist Theological Seminary openedits first classes in January 1967, with a student body of five men and four women.The first classes were held at the Baptist Building on the Great East Road neardowntown Lusaka.

By 1968, some residences for studenthousing had been constructed on the 22 acre campus on Twin Palm Road insoutheast Lusaka. Classes were then shifted to the campus with men and womenmeeting separately for classes in two of the student houses. This arrangementcontinued until the main educational building (classrooms, offices, temporarylibrary, kitchen, etc.) was completed.

A separate library building was completedin 1988, and presently holds 15,000 volumes and Internet facilities, followed in1994 by a 350 seat Chapel. Finally, a conference center, including lodging andmeeting facilities, was completed in 2005.

The Seminary is presently at CandidateStatus, the final step before full accreditation, with the Accrediting Councilfor Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA). BTSZ is governed by a Board ofGovernors appointed by the Baptist Fellowship of Zambia, composed of over 1,500Baptist congregations throughout the country. We continue to work inpartnership with the Baptist Mission of Zambia, the International MissionBoard, and Southern Baptist Convention.

A section of the seminary chapel that can seat 350 congregants

STUDENTS AND FACULTY

The Seminary welcomes for study studentsfrom among Baptists and other groups compatible with conservative evangelical Christianbeliefs. We thank God for a total of 261 graduates who are now servingthroughout the country in various ministries such as pastoral, chaplaincy, para-church,and educational work. Our particular foci for study are the interpretation andproclamation of Holy Scripture, and practical experience in ministry. Both ourprograms of study and faculty are designed for these purposes.

Faculty, both full-time and adjunct,include: Principal Rev. Ezron Musonda (M.A. in Theology, Cape Town TheologicalCollege), Academic Dean Dr. John McPherson (Ph.D., Southern Baptist TheologicalSeminary), Business Manager/Instructor Rev. Misheck Zulu (M.A. in Theology,Cape Town), Director of Field Education Dr. James Pack (D. Min. in Christian Education,San Francisco Theological Seminary), Registrar Dr. Van Thompson (D. Min. UrbanEvangelism, SBTS), Mrs. Misheck Zulu (M.A. in Theology, Cape Town), andInstructor In Biblical Languages Rev. Emile Masabarakiza (M. Div., Golden GateTheological Seminary).

Former students who graduated in 2010

PROGRAMS OF STUDY

Our guiding principle is to providequality, biblical instruction at all the levels required by Baptist churches inZambia. We aim to "start whereverthey are and go as far as God leads them."

TheBaptist Theological Seminary of Zambia offers two post-secondary programs ofstudy, the Diploma of Theology (DipTh) and the Bachelor of Theology (BTh).Educational requirements for the Diploma of Theology are completion of Grade 12and a minimum of five “O” level passes with one of the passes being in Englishlanguage. Full-time students would normally complete the Diploma of Theology in3 years. Educational requirements for the Bachelor of Theology degree are completionof Grade 12 and a minimum of five “O” level credits with one of the creditsbeing in English language. Full-time students would normally complete theBachelor of Theology degree in 4 years.

Tomeet the needs of those with full-time employment, the Diploma of Theology andBachelor of Theology are available on a part-time basis in night classesmeeting in a downtown setting. Requirementsfor these programs are the same as above, but the duration of study isextended.

Principal: Rev Ezron Musonda

Forthe spouses who do not qualify for either of the post-secondary programs (andother interested parties), BTSZ offers a Women’s Ministry Program. This is a3-year fulltime, on-campus program, which prepares the student for a supportiveministry in the church and community.

Inorder to meet the needs of those unable to qualify for the above due toeducational background or location, we recognize non-residential training atthe Certificate level in 18 centers spread throughout the country. Many of ourfaculty, current students, and alumni teach in these centers, benefitting boththe teachers and students. As mentionedabove we aim to “start wherever they are and go as far as God leads them.”

CONTACT INFORMATION

Ifyou are interested in partnering with the Baptist Theological Seminary ofZambia as a student, prayer warrior, or supporter, please contact:

Rev. Misheck Zulu baptsem@zamnet.zm

Rev. Ezron Musonda btszambia@zamnet.zm

A Warning To Professing Christians

2012-01-16T08:06:00.001+02:00

Somethirty years ago, when I was a university student, I came across a statement byBishop J C Ryle that powerfully riveted itself to my mind. I made a small A4-size poster of it and put it up on the notice board in my room. I lost it when I graduated from university. Since then I have looked for it and failed to find it. I havetried to Google it, but even that has not yielded the desired fruit. I finallyfound it today (13 January 2012).

Bishop J C Ryle

Allalong I had been searching in the wrong place. I knew that the statement hadsomething to do with a warning to Christians. Hence, I kept looking in Ryle’s A Warning To The Churches. Iliterally searched the book, sentence by sentence, several times over. Now thatI have found it, I realise that it was in Ryle’s Holiness. The statement is found in the chapter,“Visible Churches Warned.” I will not reproduce the whole chapter here, as thebook is readily available on the Internet. In fact, you can even read a PDF version of the chapter HERE. It is chapter 14 in the book.

Thefirst paragraph below is the statement that shocked me out of my socks somethirty years ago. I have added a few more paragraphs to make this a fuller blogpost and to also give my readers some more of the heart of this great bishop. Iwish that all bishops today—including myself—could write and preach like this!

* * * * * *

Ifear much for many professing Christians. I see no sign of fighting in them,much less of victory. They never strike one blow on the side of Christ. Theyare at peace with his enemies. They have no quarrel with sin. I warn you, thisis not Christianity. This is not the way to heaven.

I often fear much for those who hear thegospel regularly. I fear lest you become so familiar with the sound of itsdoctrines, that insensibly you become dead to its power. I fear lest your religionshould sink down into a little vague talk about your own weakness andcorruption, and a few sentimental expressions about Christ, while real,practical, fighting on Christ’s side is altogether neglected. Oh, beware ofthis state of mind. “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22).No victory—no crown! Fight and overcome!

Young men and women, and especially thosewho have been brought up in religious families, I fear much for you. I fearlest you get a habit of giving way to every temptation. I fear lest you becomeafraid of saying, “No!” to the world and the devil—and when sinners entice you,think it least trouble to consent. Beware, I do beseech you, of giving way.Every concession will make you weaker. Go into the world resolved to fightChrist’s battle—and fight your way on.

…Let me warn all formalists andself-righteous people to take heed that they are not deceived. You fancy youwill go to heaven because you go regularly to church. You indulge anexpectation of eternal life, because you are always at the Lord’s Table, andare never missing in your pew. But where is your repentance? Where is yourfaith? Where are your evidences of a new heart? Where is the work of theSpirit? Where are your evidences of regeneration? Oh, formal Christian,consider these questions! Tremble, tremble and repent.

…Let me warn all careless members ofchurches to beware lest they trifle their souls into hell. You live on yearafter year as if there was no battle to be fought with sin, the world, and thedevil. You pass through life a smiling, laughing, gentleman-like or lady-likeperson, and behave as if there was no devil, no heaven, and no hell. Oh,careless Churchman, or careless Dissenter, careless Episcopalian, carelessPresbyterian, careless Independent, careless Baptist, awake to see eternalrealities in their true light! Awake and fight hard for life! Tremble, trembleand repent.

Bible Colleges Worth Attending in Zambia--The Central Africa Baptist College & Seminary

2012-01-12T17:04:00.001+02:00

[This is my second instalment of blog posts on Bible colleges worth attending in Zambia. As I said last week, I am posting them as their information gets to me. I have watched with amazement at how CABC has grown over the last few years. I have no doubt that if the management and faculty maintain the same ethos, the sky will be the limit for this institution. It is certainly a college worth attending. Let me allow the principal, Phil Hunt, to take us by the hand and show us what is happening there.]

Central Africa Baptist College& Seminary, founded in 2006 in Kitwe, Zambia, exists to “train the next generation of servant-leadersin Africa for Great Commission living.”

The beautiful Central Africa Baptist College campus

Central Africa BaptistCollege has been called into existence for the express purpose of preparing menfor the New Testament Gospel ministry. The curriculum has been structured tofulfill this purpose and the faculty is unreservedly committed to this goal.Graduates will have the necessary tools and content material to enable them to takeleadership positions and to fulfill their calling adequately whether it be inthe home, the pastorate, establishing local churches, the mission field, or inChristian education.

CABC has many distinctives,which justify its founding and continued existence. It is committed totally tothe primacy of the New Testament church as God’s ordained instrument of witnessand work in this age. It thus trains its students in the ideology and functionof the local church. The School emphasizes expository preaching based on astudy of the Scriptures considering original languages and settings.

Phil Hunt with the mayor of Kitwe at the official opening of the CABC facilities

Theological educationoffered by the college flows from the authoritative, inerrant Word of God. CABC affirms a literal approach to theinterpretation of Scripture. It emphasizesexegesis and Bible exposition courses, all of which are coordinated in acoherent, unified network of systematic theology. This is accompanied by courses in expositorypreaching, church history, pastoral theology, church administration, andmissions.

The scholastic side ofcollege life is not at the expense of heart preparation for the ministry. Agenuine desire to preach and a tenderhearted concern for the souls of men arefostered as best as is known how. A weekly ministry in a local church is requiredof all students. The practical, pastoral side of the Lord’s work is emphasizedin the classroom as well as the academic. Not neglected is one’s personalrelationship of obedience to God through the Scriptures. While rejectingvarious forms of pietism and mysticism, CABC nonetheless attempts to nurturethe inner man and enhance the maturing process that any correct exposure to theWord of God will bring.

Some students attending lectures at CABC

Discipleship is the contextin which both the practical and academic aspects of the college are carriedout. The staff and faculty are committedto a life-touching-life approach to ministry, in and out of the classroom. New Testament servanthood demonstrated byJesus Christ is a vital part of the character development of each. The administration, faculty, and staff leadby demonstrating humble and sacrificial service to others. No person is beneathbeing served and no task too humble to be embraced. This biblical philosophy of servanthoodproduces leaders who reflect the character of Christ by humbly serving andboldly proclaiming the truth of the gospel.

With such distinctives andphilosophy, the college puts forth a product that will meet the need forwell-trained and qualified workers in the Lord’s harvest field across Africa.Central Africa Baptist College & Seminary pledges uncompromising loyalty tothe Scriptures and remains totally committed to the thorough equipping of mencalled of God into ministry.

Alfred Nyirenda, a guest lecturer, giving lectures at CABC

Central Africa BaptistCollege seeks to quench the thirst for theological training in Africa in fourspecific ways:

1. The college isorganized around the direct presentation of truth in a lecturer-centeredclassroom situation. Students attendclasses on the college campus either full-time or part-time.

2. Three times ayear, expository preaching block classes are held at the college campus inKitwe. These block classes are open tothose wishing to advance their theological and ministry training but are unableto enroll for an entire semester.

3. Extension blockclasses are offered at various venues across Africa. These classes are designed to providetheological education to pastors and church leaders unable to leave theirministries and train on the CABC campus. Extension classes are being conducted in South Sudan, Zimbabwe and inMalawi in 2012.

4. The Seminary isscheduled to open in 2013. Classes will be offered in a multiple-approachformat. A combination of block classeson the CABC campus, online courses and evening sessions will be the means bywhich the classes are offered. The goalis to offer an MDiv.

Attendance at a recent block class with Dr Doran

Central Africa BaptistCollege offers a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Bible (Theology). There is a minor for those wishing to serveas Chaplains that includes 30 credit hours of instruction in issues specific tothis ministry. There are immediate plansto expand the degree offering to include a degree in Biblical Counseling and adegree in Education.

A combination of full-timeand adjunct faculty faithfully minister in the classroom. These faculty membersare drawn from within Africa as well as internationally.

The academic standards atCABC are equivalent to similar institutions abroad. After graduating from CABC our students haveenrolled internationally in various Masters Degree programmes and are excellingin their studies. CABC will seek regional and/or international accreditationfor their degree programmes.

Two smiling graduates!

God has blessed the college witha campus adjacent to the Copperbelt University, off Jambo Drive in RiversideExtension. There are dormitories forsingle men and flats for married students. More information about Central Africa Baptist College can be found ontheir website www.cabcollege.org. Those interested in contacting the collegecan get in touch in the following ways:

Call or text the officeat +260977415011.

Email at info@cabcollege.org

On Facebook at CentralAfricaBaptistCollege.

Philip Hunt serves as presidentat CABC. He would love to chat with youif you desire more information, are a potential student, or if you would liketo host an extension block class in your area. You can contact him throughemail at phunt@cabcollege.orgor on cell at +260976153466.

My Tribute To Martin Holdt (1941—2011)

2012-01-07T18:13:00.001+02:00

Last night, Ronald Kalifungwa and Ireturned from South Africa, where we went to attend the funeral of a dearfriend and ministerial colleague, Martin Holdt. The family was gracious enoughto allow us to attend the burial in the morning before we attended the memorialservice in the afternoon. Both events were conducted with God-glorifyingdignity and simplicity, befitting the man who was being remembered and whoseremains were being buried. I have no doubt that tributes will continue to flowfrom around the globe in honour of this Mr Valiant-For-Truth. This is my owncontribution.

"Yours truly" with Martin Holdt in 2002

I first met Martin Holdt in 1990. I read ina Banner of Truth magazine that the Reformed Baptist Association had beenformed in South Africa. Keen on linking up with them, I wrote to inform themabout the budding Zambian Reformed Baptist movement. I was invited to attendtheir next RBA event, which was a training session for black South Africanpastors. One of the most memorable events there was hearing Martin preach. Ireturned to Zambia and told the brethren about this powerful and unforgettablepreacher. Later in the year, Ronald Kalifungwa and Choolwe Mwetwa accompaniedme for yet another visit to the RBA training sessions. When they heard Martinpreach, they understood my excitement and we determined to get him to preach inZambia.

In August 1991, Martin Holdt came (togetherwith Vernon Light) to preach at our small conference. His commitment topreaching in general and to Zambia in particular spoke volumes to us because heleft his wife in South Africa fighting with cancer. In the end, he had to leavea day earlier because she suddenly turned for the worse while he was with us.Since then, Martin became an elder brother figure to the burgeoning ReformedBaptist movement in Zambia. We owed a lot to him and learnt a lot from him.

Martin Holdt preaching in Zambia in 1991

I owea lot to Martin Holdt

Martin Holdt was a true encourager of thebrethren. It was because of him that I got a bicycle in 1990, which was to be thechief means of transport for me for the next six years. The church had boughtme a bicycle to use in my pastoral work, but it was stolen within a week of itsbeing purchased. Upon my arrival in South Africa, a few days later, I toldMartin about it, and he, unbeknown to me, also told some friends of his (Nicoand Anita van der Merwe) about it. Well, as I was leaving to return to Zambia,Nico and Anita showed up with a brand new bicycle—with gears—and I took it backwith me to Zambia! I often wondered what the thief who stole my previous “ThirdWorld” bicycle must have been thinking, seeing me riding my new bike. I am surehe wished he had waited a few days before pouncing on my home. He would have stolenbetter booty!

Nico and Anita van der Merwe

Martin was also the man who opened the doorfor my international preaching ministry. He took the risk. It was because ofhim that I first preached outside Zambia. The first was in South Africa in 1990and it was at Emmanuel Baptist Church where he pastored. It was also because ofhim that I first preached outside Africa. He had been asked to preach in Canadain 1992 at the International Baptist Conference in Toronto, but he had to turnthat down due to his wife’s ill health. Martin then recommended my name andthen wrote to me asking me not to be afraid if I got the invitation. I got theinvitation and accepted it with fear and trembling. Thus began my internationalpreaching ministry. In the first decade of this ministry, I often discoveredthat it was Martin Holdt who first suggested my name to conference organiserswherever I was invited.

When Kabwata Baptist Church finallyobtained the piece of land on which we have since built our church auditorium,offices, and ministry centre, Martin made it a personal project to help usraise funds for the building project. He ensured an account was opened in SouthAfrica for this purpose. He also often made appeals whenever I was preaching inSouth Africa for congregations to give towards our building project. He evenseconded to us a handyman (Glen Carlson) from the USA to help us. Hence, in theinitial stages of our building project, most of our support came from SouthAfrica.

"Yours truly" on the new bicycle soon after it was purchased

Martin was a man of prayer. Often when wewould talk on the phone he would tell me, “My brother and fellow partaker ofthe heavenly calling, I pray for you everyday.” I wish I could say the same tohim. During his memorial service, his daughter brought the cushion on which heknelt for prayer. It was totally worn out. She said that was also the conditionof his knees and elbows. I must say that his prayer life put mine to shame.

I should also add the fact that Martinspoke directly into my life whenever he thought things might not be well withme. On one occasion, after I returned from preaching in South Africa, he wroteto me asking if all was well with me. He said that my preaching had lackedunction and a few people had expressed concern about it. He thought I soundedbrash and arrogant. On another occasion, he had heard from some brethren that Iwas studying with a liberal university and was very concerned about it. Whereasothers were content to whisper to one another about it, he wanted to discussthe matter directly with me. On both occasions, I appreciated hisforthrightness. There were also a few times when we locked horns on doctrinalsubjects. We still remained friends despite those times of intense fellowship!

Martin Holdt leading his congregation in the Breaking of Bread

Ilearnt a lot from Martin Holdt

The first lesson that I learnt from MartinHoldt was to have a single-eyed devotion to Christ. Everything about himrevolved around Jesus Christ, as a living and mighty Saviour. This is whatinformed and inspired his preaching. This is what made him love the church andcontinue serving in it until the very week of his death. The church was thebride of Christ and the apple of his eye. Martin was willing to spend and bespent for its health and prosperity. He was content to let the world go by—toknow no gain or loss—as long as God was glorified, sinners were saved, and thechurch was edified.

The second lesson that I learnt from MartinHoldt was to love one’s wife and children. In the early years of my knowingMartin, I often ended up being hosted in his home. I observed the tenderaffection that he had for his wife, Beryl, and children. When his wife was illwith cancer, one could observe how he made her comfort the centre of hisattention, until she went to be with the Lord. His greatest longing for hischildren was their spiritual well being, and on a number of occasions we prayedtogether for them.

David, Martin Holdt's son, who is pastor of Springs Baptist Church

Another lesson I learnt from Martin Holdt wasthat sound doctrine was worth fighting for. Martin spearheaded the resurgenceof the Reformed Faith in South Africa, especially among Baptists. He was behindthe formation of the Reformed Baptist Association—as a rallying point forBaptist churches of a Reformed persuasion in South Africa, enabling them topool their resources together for the furtherance of the work of God in SouthAfrica. He also spearheaded the formation of Reformation South Africa, a magazine that kept Christianschallenged and informed about the progress of the Reformed Faith in SouthAfrica. As he fought valiantly for the truths of God’s elect, he did so with charity.Thus, to the end, he remained within the context of the Baptist Union of SouthAfrica.

Martin Holdt's son, Jonathan (and family)
Jonathan is pastor of Bethany Baptist Church

Yet another lesson that I learnt fromMartin Holdt was not only to seek to preach in the power of the Holy Spirit,but also to seek to raise up preachers with similar aspirations. No one candoubt that Martin was one of the greatest preachers in South Africa towards theend of the twentieth century. The Spirit of the Lord was certainly upon him. Heoften pleaded for prayer that he may preach with unction. No doubt, God heardthe prayers of his people on behalf of his servant. Martin, however, wanted tosee this high sense of call to expository preaching to be more common in thepulpits of South Africa. Hence, he often held schools of preaching for thispurpose. He also started a journal, Preachingand Preachers, which aimed to encourage preachers to preach effectively.

Martin Holdt also loved books. He not onlywas an avid reader but he also encouraged others to read good books. When hewas at Emmanuel Baptist Church he encouraged the growth of the BarnabasBookroom and during his last pastorate at Constantia Park Baptist Church healso encouraged the growth of the Augustine Bookroom (run by his wife,Elsabe). At every conference he was involved in, he not only ensured thatthere was a good book-table but he also personally advertised the books. Hegave away hoards of good books. I am one of those who benefited from his largeheart. Our own church’s Evergreen Christian Bookstore draws inspiration fromhis example.

Elsabe with her husband, Martin Holdt, in 2009

MartinHoldt died preaching Christ

The last pulpit Martin Holdt preached inoutside South Africa was the Kabwata Baptist Church pulpit. By an act ofprovidence, last November he came to Zambia to preach at an inter-churchmarried couples one-day conference, which was hosted at my church. I missed theevent as I had only arrived from Brazil that same day. However, the next day,having preached at Lusaka Baptist Church in the morning, Martin preached atKabwata Baptist Church in the evening. He looked rather tired, but he summonedthe energies in him to preach from the text, “Examine yourselves to see whetheryou are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5). He pleaded with us to seeksalvation in Christ. I am glad that the Lord gave me one more chance to meetthis valiant knight in shining armour, who had done so much for the cause ofChrist in southern Africa. He has now gone to his reward!

Martin Holdt preaching his last sermon at KBC, as if saying, "Farewell my friends!"

Bible Colleges Worth Attending in Zambia--The Lusaka Ministerial College

2012-01-03T14:39:00.001+02:00

As I commence my first blog post for 2012, let me welcome my 90th blog follower. Welcome Phil Barnes to "A Letter From Kabwata". We are slowly inching towards 100 followers. Let me also thank the many others who follow through email. It is good to know that people "out there" are reading what takes me quite some time to put together!

I have asked about eight BibleColleges in Zambia that I would recommend to anyone to send me some informationabout themselves. This is in order to introduce them to my blog readers. Theyare certainly worth your support and onward commendation. It is for that reasonthat I am involved in one way or another with each one of them. I will beposting their details in the order in which they have sent me theirinformation. As you will soon discover, their programs and fees do not fitevery potential student. So, if you ever want to do theological studies inZambia, look at the full list and then choose the one that best approximatesyour need. At least I can guarantee good quality input from the lecturers!

The first Bible College that sent meits information was the Lusaka Ministerial College, started by James Williamsonsome time in 2010. I will let James speak for himself.

James Williamson helping one of the students

My family and I moved to Zambia in January 2010. I had visited several times starting in 2006,and came to Zambia as a missionary sent by my home church in Louisville, KY,for the purpose of assisting with ministerial training in Zambia. Shortly after arriving in the capital Lusaka,I began to get to know a couple of Reformed church planters under our newchurch home, Kabwata Baptist Church. Oneof these church plants was located in Kabanana. It became clear that there was need and desire for ministerial trainingamong the pastors in these places. Iconsulted Pastor Mbewe about this need, and was encouraged to pursue the workof establishing a training program for ministers in these communities. Pastor Mbewe said these are “orphans raisingorphans,” spiritually speaking.

Isaac Makashinyi lecturing at LMC

We met with the ministers’ fellowship in Kabanana andtold them of our plans and invited them to participate. My Reformed friends in these areas invitedpastors from other denominations to come as well. In addition, during the months leading up tothe start of the college, I asked various experienced pastors to help us inthis work. They were very generous togive their time and energy to LMC, and continue to do so to this day.

In May of 2010, we began meeting in Kabanana. We had about 12 students at first, and overthe next half year the number increased. Eventually, the building we were renting was reclaimed for other uses bythe landlord, but we soon found a more accommodating and permanent home atEmmasdale Baptist Church. Its pastor,Isaac Makashinyi, teaches Greek and other courses for the school. The location has the benefit of easier accessfor several of our students, and has made us able to reach other compoundssince it is on one of the main routes for the minibuses.

LMC students attending lectures

The college meets every week on Wednesday and Fridayfrom 8:00 to 14:00. We also have classesevery Saturday for those who work full time during the week. The collegeoperates on the typical Zambian school schedule of three months on, one monthoff. Students can enter at the beginningof each term in January, April, and August. We encourage any interested students to “come and see,” with noobligation to join before they get a taste of what the college is like. We have about 25 students in total registeredas of the end of December 2011.

Three of the key requirements for students applying tothe school are: 1. a satisfactory completion of secondary school; 2. a cleartestimony of conversion and understanding of the gospel; 3. a call to/desirefor the pastoral ministry affirmed by his church. We make clear our theological convictions,and have the 1689 Confession of Faith as our doctrinal standard, but we invitestudents of various denominations to study at the college.

Ronald Kalifungwa lecturing at LMC

The whole of the curriculum for LMC is intended toequip and develop men for pastoral ministry in the local church. The school offers ascending levels of studyfrom what we would consider the bare minimum basics for a local pastor to moreadvanced studies in the different fields. The full Bachelor’s Degree level curriculum takes about 3-1/2 years tocomplete.

Lecturers for LMC include: Victor Kanyense, RonaldKalifungwa, Conrad Mbewe, Isaac Makashinyi, Kennedy Sunkutu, and GraveSingogo. Some of the courses offeredare: Doctrine of God, Interpretation of Scripture (Hermeneutics), Preaching,Pastoral Counseling, Christian Ethics, History of the Reformation, The HolySpirit, Doctrine of Salvation, etc. Speaking on behalf of the college, I’m very thankful to these men forputting in so much for the sake of training our students. I do not hesitate to say that this group ofpastors is undoubtedly the best theological faculty in Zambia. It is a blessing and privilege to work withthem, and to provide our students the opportunity to learn under such men. One of the requirements for students is thatthey attend services of the church at which their instructors preach at leastonce a month. We also are developing amentorship program so that each student has significant one-on-one time with aprofessor with which they are paired, in order to discuss the nuts-and-bolts ofpastoral ministry in a more informal and detailed way.

A group photo taken during a day of lectures

But students also need to be self-learners. We feel that personal study of Bibledictionaries and reference material, commentaries, systematic theologies, andpractical ministry books like Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students are avital part of the student’s studies. Therefore, all students are given access to a large library oftheological books located at Kabwata Baptist Church. But also, all students of LMC are eligible topurchase a Kindle pre-loaded with over 50 theology books, which serve as basicresources for study. The Kindle isavailable to students at a cost of only 500,000 kwacha (about 100 dollars),which is less than half the cost to the school itself.

Anyone from Zambia interested in information about theschool should contact Isaac Makashinyi or one of the other men listedabove. To apply to the college, contactAndrew Sinkamba, our college administrator, at +260 966 497 317.

LusakaMinisterial College is only 1-1/2 years old. We are still developing and growing. And that means that we would very much appreciate your prayers andsupport for this work! Because we areworking with many pastors who cannot afford tuition, the school is, in effect,a labor of love that gets its support from churches and individuals in the USand in Zambia. If you are interested insupporting one of the students, or in some other way contributing to the workof the college, you can write to lmczambia@gmail.com. Thanks in advance for remembering this workbefore the throne of Grace!

Zambia as a Christian Nation

2011-12-30T16:09:00.000+02:00

(What you have below is a slightupdating of a paper I presented at a Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) churchleaders forum, which took place at the Anglican Church in Kabwata on 17th September 2005. It was initially entitled “Why It Is Wrong To ConstitutionaliseChristianity In The Zambian Constitution.” I have decided to re-issue thisstatement because today marks the 20th anniversary of thedeclaration of Zambia as a Christian nation by the late president, FTJ Chiluba.It is a good juncture to restate my convictions about this issue. Pardon itslength!)

Late President, FTJ Chiluba

Letme begin by stating that as I argue for the reason why Christians should NOTinsist on Zambia being constitutionally declared a Christian nation, I am painfully aware thatthere are some very good colleagues of mine who think otherwise. Ihave the greatest respect for them, though, as you shall see from this paper, Iseriously beg to differ with them on this point. I do not doubt the goodintentions of many of those who want Zambia to be a Christian nation byconstitutionalising Christianity, but I think that they are still wrong.

The reasonsgiven

Thereasons that have been given for the declaration of Zambia as a Christiannation and for putting this into the constitution are many. However, when youhave assessed all of them, in the end they can be classified under foursections:

1. Sothat Zambia can be governed by righteous laws. The assumptionmade by those who put this argument forward is that righteous laws will only beours if there is a declaration in the constitution. ANSWER: Sadly, that is notthe case. Righteous laws will be part of this nation if the church does itsGod-given work. The church is to achieve this, not by forcing the majority’sreligion upon the minority but by our being salt and light in the world. We areto work like yeast in the dough. That is the way in which we will ensure thatthe laws we see to be right are enacted in the nation. As we permeate societywith the Word of God, the majority will want righteous laws to be enacted overthe land. That is the way we are to do it.

2. Sothat we can have the blessing of God. This is a rathersuperstitious reason. There are many who think that the kind of pronouncementthat was made by President Chiluba in 1991 and the subsequent inclusion of thestatement in the constitution will bring economic prosperity to Zambia. ANSWER:That has never been God’s way of doing things. Mere declarations do not changea culture of laziness and corruption that stifles growth and kills a nation.Rather it is as those of us who are Christians learn to put the Bible intopractice through stewardship, hard work, and faithfulness that prosperity willcome. To attempt any other method is mere superstition and it will fail in theend—much to our shame.

3. Itis just a matter of fact. 80% of Zambians are Christians. Wepray when opening Parliament, our presidents have been Christians, etc. ANSWER:If this is the reason, then there are so many “Christian” nations in Africa andthe world. So I wonder why we should be fighting over the matter. Then SouthAfrica, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Britain, America, etc.,are all “Christian” nations. So, why the fuss? Surely, there must be somethingmore we are trying to do than just stating a fact.

4. IfMuslims have declared their nations as Muslim nations and even institutedSharia Law, we should also do the same. Many who putforward this reason are aware of the suffering that Christians in Muslimnations are going through for their faith and they want to prevent that fromhappening here by a constitutional declaration. ANSWER: Sadly, this kind ofreasoning makes Muslims call the tune and we dance to it. No, as Christians weshould be the ones showing the Muslim world how civilisation ought to becarried forward. Remember also that when Israel started wanting to be likeother nations, that was the beginning of their downfall. It will be the samefor the church. Rather, we must follow the Word of God as a church. Also, weneed to understand that there is one major difference between Christianity andIslam that makes such copying erroneous. Islam is essentially territorial. Itthinks in terms of taking over actual political power and square kilometres ofland, even if the majority in that place are not Muslims. Then from the outsideit enforces its religious norms on the people under its power and on itsterritory. Christianity is not like that. Christianity works like yeast in abatch of dough. It captures individuals one by one, through reason and regenerationby the power of God’s Holy Spirit. Thus it works from the inside out. That iswhy Christianity does not need political power to be on its side and does notforce itself on people. And yet it’s the most powerful force in the world!

Thedoctrinal error

Itseems to me that the greatest problem with this declaration and itsdocumentation in the Zambian constitution is that in fact the whole thing is aserious doctrinal error. According to the Bible, there is only one “Christian”nation. It is the church. The Bible says, “You [the church] are a chosenpeople, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that youmay declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into hiswonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God;once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter2:9-10). At one time, in the Old Testament, this was the special privilege ofthe nation of Israel (see Exodus 19:6). But ever since the Lord Jesus came intothe world to inaugurate the New Testament church, this privilege has beenpassed on to the church. No one has the right to pass it onto another group,however well meaning he might be.

Manypeople go to the text that says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD”(Psalm 33:12 and 144:15) and use this to teach that if a president orconstitution can state that the nation belongs to the Lord then blessings willflow upon that nation. But is that what this text is teaching? Look at the contextof this verse and you will see that it specifically refers to the nation ofIsrael. Psalm 33:12 says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, thepeople he chose for his inheritance” (Psalm 33:12). Who are those people whomGod chose for his inheritance? It is the nation of Israel in the Old Testamentand the church in the New Testament. To apply that to Zambia is crazy, to saythe least. In fact, in this text it is not us choosing God but God choosing apeople to be his. The text says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,the people he chose for hisinheritance.” Do you see the error of using this verse to justify declaringZambia as a Christian nation? It is torturing a verse until it confesses a lie!

Thecorrupting effect

Anotherreason why we should be very concerned as Christians about this declaration isthat when in history a thing like this has happened the result has been thecorrupting of the church. This was the case when Emperor Constantine declaredhis entire empire Christian. The persecuted church, which had turned its worldupside down with the gospel, soon lost its spiritual power as corruptionentered into it. It has been the same right across the ages. When the churchand the state have joined hands in the dark, daggers have begun to fly to thehurt of the innocent. Remember that the Spanish inquisition was done in thename of Christianity when the church had locked hands with the state. Withoutover-personalising the issue, I say, look at the marriages and family lives ofthose who were in the fore-front of the declaration of Zambia as a Christiannation. Look also at what has come to light concerning where state funds wentever since pastors started going around with diplomatic passports. I repeat: Thesesteps only injure the church and its testimony. It has been the same acrosshistory and it has already repeated itself in Zambia. Things will only getworse if we do not learn from history. We must never go that way!

Whatdo we want to achieve?

Thequestion that must be asked by every sane individual is, “What do we reallywant to achieve as Christians by this declaration?” Many people have begun toclaim all kinds of advantages which will be ours as a church in Zambia if thisdeclaration is upheld, which to my mind do not need the declaration at all! Forinstance, do we really need a declaration in a constitution in order for thoseof us who are Christians to actively participate in politics, or those of uswho are church leaders to pray at functions where we are called to participate,or to pray and counsel with the state president at his wish, or to invitepreachers from abroad to preach among us, or to establish more and morechurches around the country, or to have Christian programmes on radio ortelevision, etc.? I do not think so. We have been doing all these things sinceIndependence in 1964, well before 1991; so we do not need it in order tocontinue.

Onthe other hand, if this declaration is meant to give the church an advantageover people of other faiths in the governance of the nation, to securediplomatic passports for church clergy, to gain appointments for some clergyinto positions in government, to have exclusive rights to proselytise over theairwaves, to use state funds to put up church buildings and purchase churchpews, etc., then it is wrong. There is no biblical argument for the church tosecure such favours from the state. Apart from that we should realise thatstate funds are taxed from every citizen, whatever his religious inclinations,and so must be shared equally. To give undue advantage to one religion over andagainst another is to be unfair—even if that religion is Christianity.

Howwe should achieve our goals

Thereis no doubt that the Christian church has work on this earth to win the lost toChrist and to build them up in their most holy faith. My point is that we donot need the state to be on our side in order for us to do this. All we need isspace. That is all. To claim that by some decree of parliament, or constituentassembly, or state president we can achieve more spiritual fruit in this nationis to totally miss the nature of Christianity. It is at most a mere fruit ofsuperstition or at least a failure to realise what the Bible means when itsays, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary,they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4). We areto win the world through prayer and the preaching of the gospel, and notthrough any undue advantage given to us by presidential decree. This is whatPaul wanted Timothy to know as a young pastor of a church. He said, “I urge,then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving bemade for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may livepeaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, andpleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and to come to theknowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God andmen, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men – thetestimony given in its proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed aherald and an apostle-I am telling the truth, I am not lying-and a teacher ofthe true faith to the Gentiles” (1 Timothy 2:1-7). Notice the combination ofprayer, preaching, and the quiet lives of Christians as a witness for Christ.Let people become Christians because they see the way in which those of us whoare Christians conduct our lives in the home and the work place. When our livesadorn the gospel, and our preachers faithfully preach the gospel, then ourneighbours will come to Christ. And as more and more of our neighbours becomeChristians then we shall see them enact righteous laws and obey themwhole-heartedly. This is the Zambia we want, and this is the biblical way toachieve it. So, let us not seek to achieve this in any other way.

Whatthe State really is

Perhapsthe best place to end this presentation is by bringing us back to firstprinciples. What is the state and what is the church? Once we come to abiblical understanding of these two institutions and what their purposes are,we will have no problem seeing the absurdity of declaring Zambia a Christiannation (or a secular state) and enshrining it in the constitution.

Thestate (or national government) is there primarily to protect the vulnerable byregulating relationships and punishing offenders beyond the immediate contextof the family (domestic government). If it were not for the fact that familieshave to co-exist in a sinful world there would be no need for national government.Each home would merely look after its affairs. But what happens when a husbandfalls in love with a sweet sixteen and kicks his wife out of the home? Thestate comes in by regulating the only legitimate context in which a husbandcould do that. It also protects the woman who is kicked out by ensuring thather interests are taken care of. Also, in cases where an external enemy (eithera thief breaking into a home or a foreign army invading a village) threatensits citizens the state has a police service and an army to protect thevulnerable. That is the job of the state. Nothing more. It, therefore,functions on the premise of natural law and fairness. It is a gift of God forthe whole of humanity to ensure co-existence and peace. We must not give thestate any greater role than that. Many of us have reached a point where we wantthe government to even come and sweep the dirt in front of our door! That iswrong. Apart from ensuring this mutual co-existence through the protection ofthe more vulnerable among us, we ourselves as individual citizens and as homesmust do the rest.

Thechurch on the other hand is redemptive. Its work is that of bringing peopleinto the right relationship with God. It needs to be very defined as to itsbelief systems because it is not about protection primarily but about takingpeople somewhere—to God. Who that God is, what he wants from us, and what heplans to do for us and to us, is what religion is all about. Concerning thosematters, the church will want to be very definite. In that sense, through itsteachings, the church will have an influence on the state—but only indirectly.Its influence will be upon the individuals whom it has convinced as to itspoint of view. As these individuals carry out their responsibilities within thepale of the state (or government) their decisions shall be coloured by theirindividual belief systems. Where this clashes with that of others, the statewill come in only to protect the vulnerable from physical harm. That is all.The state must never go beyond this.

Thisis why it is crazy to want to define the state in religious terms. It is simplyan institution to ensure the protection of the vulnerable on the basis ofnatural law. That natural law of fairness is plain even to a child who has notbeen to school or church because it is deeply ingrained in us. The child maynot know how to work out the finer details of fairness but when those who areknowledgeable have done their work, the child will see that the action takenhas been fair. Therefore, there is no need to give the state a preamble of somereligion or other. It should be left to do its primary job, and theconstitution should be primarily about that and nothing more.

Conclusion

I know that oneof the main worries of my brothers who want to ensure that no-one tampers withthe declaration of Zambia as a Christian nation is that those who are opposingthat stance want it to be instead declared as a secular state. I am equallyopposed to that. Let us simply leave Zambia as it is. Some may say that bydefining or describing the nation as secular we are avoiding giving it areligion. Secularism is a religion. Its god is the human being and what hewants. This is what is killing Western civilisation. We obviously do not wantit here. Let us simply enjoy being “one Zambia, one nation”! What matters isthat the vulnerable among us are being protected by regulations andenforcements that make sense to true natural justice. Amen!

Should A Pastor Ever Answer A Call To Another Church?

2011-12-26T18:17:00.000+02:00

[Written on Saturday, 24^thDecember, 2011] Last night my family organised a small surprise 50^thbirthday dinner for me (when we were younger we called such events “parties”—butthat sounds rather worldly now). As is the custom at such events, the birthday“boy” has to say a few words. Among the many people I thanked for my wonderfulhalf a century on this planet was Kabwata Baptist Church. In the process, Istated that it was partly because of such a wonderful relationship that I have hadwith everyone in the church—including the elders and deacons—that I continue toturn down calls to move to other spheres of service.

This morning, as I soberly reflected on theevents of the previous evening, I realised that I needed to say more on this. Should a pastor ever answer a call to moveto another church? Within our Reformed Baptist churches in Zambia, thereare only two of us older pastors who have not moved churches yet. If any of theothers wrote such a blog post I am sure some readers in our church circleswould think it is self-justification. Since the other older pastor does nothave a blog, it just hit me this morning that I am best placed to clear the airon this subject—at least for the Zambian Reformed Baptist constituency.

Is apastor married to his church?

Usually, those who believe that a pastormust never move churches think in terms of a pastor’s relationship with hischurch being like a marriage. It must be “until death do us part”! Hence, tothem, when a church approaches the pastor of another church to consider comingto be their pastor, it is akin to a man going to propose marriage to a womanwho is already married. Such a proposal is immoral, to say the least. And the“divorce” that takes place when the pastor leaves is perceived as unfaithfulness.How could the pastor do a thing like this? Of course, when they are the oneswho want to fire the pastor, they do not think of it like that any more!

Again, like a man who has been divorced byhis wife for another lover, many members go through a lot of unnecessaryself-condemnation. They continue to ask themselves what it was about them thatwas so deficient that this man should prefer the pastorate of another church.Were we not paying him enough? Did we not care for him enough? Sometimes theyeven blame other church members who were less than cordial towards theirpastor. “You see, your bad attitude towards the pastor is what has made himresign,” they say to the culprits. This can result in very bad feelings withinthe church. A pastor ought to state the reason why he is leaving. Hence, suchheart-searching or witch-hunting is totally unnecessary.

Is apastoral move a betrayal?

Accepting a call from another church isquite a dilemma. There is always a section of the church that feels betrayedand abandoned. Many people join a church because of the preaching that theyfind there. Having come “window-shopping” a few times, they find that theregular preacher of the pastor is scratching right where it is itching. Hence,they decide to apply for membership and make this church their home church.Therefore, one can understand their sense of “what shall we do now?” when it isannounced that the pastor is leaving. It is like settling down for a meal inyour favourite restaurant only to be told that your favourite chef has quit.You fear that the meals will never be the same again in this place.

Granted, not every pastoral move can bejustified. Some pastors move from one church to another for purely mercenaryreasons. Such people should have never been in pastoral ministry in the firstplace. (I will qualify the financial issue later in the blog post). Others movebecause they are running away from the first smell of trouble. They wouldrather leave the flock in the hands of wolves than risk shedding blood for thesake of the flock. Again, such “hired hands” are better off selling bananas inthe market.

Whenis a pastoral move ever justified?

Unlike the other elders in the church,whose ministries begin and end within the local church in which they areoverseers, a pastor’s primary calling is that of a preacher of God’s Word in God’sworld and in the universal church. It is in the same bracket as an apostle, aprophet, and an evangelist (Ephesians 4:11). You cannot limit any of these callingsto one single congregation. Such men do not begin to function when you callthem into the eldership office. They begin to function as soon as they senseGod’s call and they do so in obedience to God. Their “secular” job soon becomessecondary and at the first opportunity to move on they will do so. When thechurch calls them into the eldership, all it is doing is to provide them withofficial recognition and also an official platform from which to carry out theirGod-given calling. Whereas, their primary sphere of labours will be within thatlocal congregation, it cannot be limited to that sphere.

Aninward disturbance

Every so often, a pastor will begin tosense within his own spirit that his time of ministry in a specific locality iscoming to an end (e.g. 2 Corinthians 2:12-14). Like his initial sense of call,this inner experience can be quite disturbing because the pastor will have sunkhis roots in that local church and that locality. However, as with his initialsense of call, the pastor will begin to pray about this and even share it withhis wife and his most trusted friends. Where his relationship with his fellowelders is very healthy, he may also elect to share this unsettling experiencewith them even at this early stage.

Usually, as this is taking place, a pastorwill often receive a call from another church (or another area of ministry) andwill want to investigate this further, praying that if it is God calling him togo and minister there God himself confirm it. Often, as he prays andinvestigates, something in his spirit (or, shall we say, Someone) confirms thatthis is it. He feels a great sense of peace about accepting the call. Wherethis ties in with the counsel of his unbiased and most trusted friends, apastor usually concludes that it is God telling him that it is time to go andpitch his tent elsewhere. He must obey!

Agreater sphere of service

Sometimes the sense of inner disturbanceoccurs because the pastor’s preaching and teaching ministry has far outgrownthat of the church. His sense of fulfilment in that local church’s pastoralministry, therefore, diminishes with time. Hence, when a door for moreeffective ministry opens up, he quickly takes it up and finds a greater senseof fulfilment. That is normal. Surely, he who gifted him must have had in mindwhere such gifts are best used. The apostle Paul, in 2 Timothy 2:5-6, likenspreachers to farmers and runners. Part of their sense of fulfilment is that ofbeing stretched to their limit. They would rather burn out than rust. They wantto use all possible means to save as many as possible (1 Corinthians 9:22),according to the gifts that God has given them.

Legitimatefinancial reasons

A pastor may also move due to financialconsiderations. By this I do not mean that a pastor is a gold digger. Rather,God has never called a married man to sacrifice his family on the altar ofministry. Rather, how a man manages his household is part of his qualificationfor ministry (1 Timothy 3:4). So, every so often, as a pastor’s family grows, thechurch’s capacity is unable to meet the basic needs of his family—food,clothing, education, etc. The pastor may bring this to the attention of thechurch and bear long with this situation. He may consider other options (e.g.what we call “tent-making” or his wife working outside the home). However,where things do not improve and his sense of guilt with respect to this primaryresponsibility begins to haunt him, a door of ministry opening into a pastoratewith better perks may be God’s answer to his prayers.

Avoidingbreaking a church

Closely related to this is a situationwhere the church becomes intransigent to the pastor’s ministry. This oftenhappens with churches that have a long tradition and refuse to change under thenew pastor’s ministry. Finally, the pastor realises that he must either becomea resounding gong or move on to another sphere of service where he can call thetune according to what he thinks God wants him to accomplish among his people.To stay in such a situation often leads to the church breaking you or youbreaking the church. This results in either you or the church becoming bitter. Thuswhen a call comes from a church that seems to be more willing to be led by thepastor, he concludes that since he only has one life, he should not spend ittrying to move the immovable. He is better off spending his few years on earthin a moveable church.

Whatshould a church losing its pastor do?

Imagine how it must have been when the HolySpirit said to the church leaders in Antioch that he wanted their twopioneering pastors, Barnabas and Saul, to move on (Acts 13:1-3). Many wouldhave been very confused by this turn of events. However, they saw that thechurch of Jesus Christ did not begin and end with them, and that elders with acall to the preaching ministry tend to be moved around as the Lord sees it fitfrom one pulpit to another. Hence, they prayed for them and let them go.

In the same way, it is important to seeyour pastor as, first of all, God’s servant to the wider church. Thus, insteadof putting a guilt trap on him, a church should finally say, “May the Lord’swill be done.” The church’s eldership should answer questions biblically, especiallyfrom those who are confused because they are experiencing this severance forthe first time. Then the church must make an effort to have a farewell mealwith the pastor and his family to show appreciation for his ministry and topray for his next phase of work. Such a wholesome send off shows the maturityof a local church. As painful as the loss might be, it is best to trust theLord that he will give you someone else who will lead the church’s pulpitministry into the next phase of its life.

What I have shared here is what normallyhappens. A number of my fellow pastors have moved pastorates and some arepresently on the verge of moving. Generally speaking, I have found that theirreasons for moving can be classified into one of the reasons given above or acombination of a few of them. It needs to be stated that the details of allcases will certainly have slight variations. In God’s providence, no twosituations are ever the same. Even identical twins, when related to moreclosely, are actually different!

EUREKA!

2011-12-22T12:02:00.001+02:00

Tradition has it that the famous Greekscholar Archimedes used this exclamation (which in Greek means, “I have foundit!”) when he accidentally discovered how you could calculate the volume of anirregular object. It is said that as he walking into a bath he noticed that thelevel of the water rose according to how much of his body he submerged. Thecoin clicked! If he could then take that same amount of water and put it into ameasurable container then he can know the volume of his body—and indeed of anyirregular object. Eureka!

Well, a few days ago I also shouted“Eureka!” upon discovering that I grow a new nail every three months. How did Imake this discovery?

On 20th September I participatedin the Zambian presidential and parliamentary elections. After voting, to makesure I do not come back to vote again, one of the election officials painted myfinger with indelible ink. I noticed that every month, the position of this inkmoved about a third downwards. Finally, two days ago, i.e. 20th December,I noticed that the mark had reached the tip of my finger. Eureka!

Three years ago, when we had our previouspresidential and parliamentary election, I made a similar observation and foundthat exactly three months after the election the indelible ink had reached thetip of my finger. Like Mary the mother of Jesus, I treasured up all thesethings and pondered them in my heart. However, this time I have confirmed thisand, therefore, could not keep quiet.

Not wanting to share ignorance in the nameof knowledge, I Googled “How longdoes a nail take to grow”. The answers I got were between four and six monthsfor fingernails and much longer for toenails. By implication, I am veryhealthy. This is on the assumption that the older you grow the slower the renewing process, until the degenerating process overtakes it. At the age of fifty, therefore, that is a very pleasant and reassuring discovery!

It is amazing how many things take place inour body while we are unconscious of them. Our bodies literally renewthemselves while we go about our business. I am sure if I were to study alittle more of this, I may discover that the “me” that was born 50 years ago isnot the “me” that exists today. All the cells that made up baby Conrad havesince passed on and a totally different Conrad exists today. That is, ofcourse, if all I am comprised of is matter. Thankfully, I am a spiritual being.This body is simply a tent in which I live. But what a wonderful tent!

Evolutionists will probably tell us thataeons ago our fore-parents realised that if they did not renew themselves theywould die and hence they kick-started this renewal exercise within the body inorder to live longer. The whole thing is outrageous and comical!

The truth is that God made us in such amarvellous way that while we are busy with our usual errands, the body would berenewing itself, with old cells giving way to new cells. No wonder the Psalmistexclaimed, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderfulare your works; my soul knows it very well” (Psalm 139:14). I guess that issimply a more godly way of saying, “Eureka!”

Preaching In Zambia’s First Baptist Pulpit

2011-12-18T22:57:00.000+02:00

This morning, I had the unexpectedprivilege and joy of preaching in Zambia’s first Baptist pulpit. I say that itwas unexpected because as at this time yesterday I did not even know I wasgoing to preach anywhere. How did this happen?

I am part of the steering committee of theZambian Baptist Historical Society, which aims to help preserve the history ofBaptists in Zambia. Yesterday, we were conducting our first day of historicallectures. This was an initiative to get the ordinary Baptist folks to hearbiographical sketches of their forebears. This first day of lectures was heldin Kitwe at the Central Baptist Church.

Preaching with an interpreter in Paul Kasonga's pulpit

Since most members of the steeringcommittee had never seen the site where the first Baptist missionaries settled,we decided to go there before heading back to Lusaka today. The KafulafutaMission is a few kilometres south of Luanshya, which is on the way to Lusaka.So, as we were leaving the Central Baptist Church in Kitwe, we informed theleaders of the Northern Baptist Association (the present custodians of thesite) that we would be in Kafulafuta the next morning and wanted to worshipwith the congregation there.

Well, in the evening we got a call from oneof the leaders of the Association saying that I was the one to preach thefollowing morning. At first I was reluctant and complained to the person whogot the call for accepting this request on my behalf. I was on leave and reallywanted to rest. A few moments later, it hit me that I was being asked to preachin the first Baptist church building in Zambia’s history and I was to do so inthe month when the building would clock exactly ninety-five years. I was topreach in the pulpit from which Paul Kasonga preached the everlasting gospelthat laid the foundation for Baptist work in Zambia. What a privilege! Fromthat moment I was like a little child looking forward to his first day inschool. By 03.00 hours in the morning, I was wide-awake!

"Yours truly" with Paul Mumba and Northern Baptist Association leaders

We arrived at Kafulafuta Mission at 08.00hours today and after the preliminary greetings, we went to the gravesite ofOlive Doke, Paul Kasonga, and Anasi Lupunga. This is my third visit to theplace where the first leaders of the Baptist work in Zambia are buried and itis always an emotional experience for me. We found the church pastor andanother church leader at the gravesite slashing the grass to enable us see thegraves. Such humility is rare among us city dwellers.

Almost all the readers of this blog willnot know Olive Doke, Paul Kasonga or Anasi Lupunga, and so let me tell you alittle about them so that you can appreciate why today was so special for me.

Beside the grave of Olive Doke

Olive Doke was not the first Baptistmissionary in Zambia. Henry Masters and William Arthur Philips, who came toZambia in 1905, preceded her. Her dad (J J Doke) and brother (C M Doke) came to“spy out the land” in 1913. On their way back to South Africa, her father diedin what is present-day Zimbabwe. Clement returned to Kafulafuta in 1914 andOlive joined him in 1916 when she was only 25 years old. Other missionariesjoined them in due season from South Africa, the Scandinavian countries,America, and Australia. Olive has ended up being the longest serving Baptistmissionary to this very day. She retired from the mission in 1959 but remainedon the mission field until she died in 1972, fifty-six years since her coming.I have written a brief biography of Olive Doke. Her story is one of astonishingcommitment to and great accomplishment through the gospel.

Beside the grave of Anasi Lupunga

Paul Kasonga was the first indigenous leaderof the Baptist church in Zambia. He is known as “Paul the Leper” because mostof his adult life he suffered from and later died of leprosy. Yet, despitebeing weak in body, by 1931 his name was added to that of the missionaries as aleader of the work in Kafulafuta. He and Olive were like two peas in a pod. Indue season, Olive often deferred to Paul on matters that had to do withleadership at the station, especially after Fiwale Hill mission station wasopened and most of the missionaries moved there. Paul became the pastor of thechurch at Kafulafuta and laboured there until his death in August 1954. In his latteryears, he preached from a wheel chair as he lost both feet to leprosy.

Standing on the grave of Paul Kasonga

When Paul Kasonga died, Anasi Lupunga tookover as pastor of the church at Kafulafuta. They had laboured together for anumber of years and had been ordained into the pastoral ministry together inJune 1953. So, Anasi was the natural choice to pick up the mantle left behindby the passing on of Paul. He died in 1970—two years before Olive Doke. Of thethree individuals, only Anasi was ever married. Consequently, his gravestonewas erected by his children and grandchildren. Olive’s was erected by the SouthAfrican Baptist Missionary Society, and so it is also in good shape. PaulKasonga’s grave is a disaster!

So, this morning, I found myself in thepulpit that was once occupied by Paul Kasonga and Anasi Lupunga. As you can seefrom the photo, the building itself is well past its “sell by” date. Its wallsare cracked, its windows are all broken, and its roof leaks while it issupported by blocks that have been put on top of it. However, as one who hasread about the great feats that were accomplished in this place in the days ofOlive, Paul and Anasi, I went up that pulpit today with a great sense of awe.

The first Baptist church building in Zambia in need of refurbishment

I left Kafulafuta this afternoon thinkinghard about what we should do as Zambian Baptists to preserve the graves and thebuildings that speak of the heroic feats of our spiritual forebears. Onepossibility is the centenary of the opening of the first Baptist churchbuilding, which will be in 2016—five years from now. If we spent the next threeyears raising funds for the centenary, through the auspices of the ZambianBaptist Historical Society, and then used the last two years to refurbish boththe buildings and the graves, we could have a less embarrassing event thatyear. This is just an idea. What do you think?

My 50th Birthday—I Thank God For This Milestone!

2011-12-12T17:28:00.001+02:00

“The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasantplaces; surely I have a delightful inheritance” (Psalm 16:6).

I have just clocked 18,263 days on God’splanet, i.e. I’m 50 years old today. I know that in most Western countrieswhere geriatrics is a challenge, I am still a very young man. However, insub-Saharan Africa, where the vast majority of our populations are below the ageof 20, I have already begun to be referred to as “mudala” (old man). Once upon a time, I would have vehementlyobjected to being referred to as such, but not any more. The tale-tell signsare evident in every sphere of my life.

Perhaps the most frustrating is my fadingmemory. This is not good for me, as I am still pastoring a growing church.Every so often, I look at the membership list and cannot for the life of memake out who the person is behind the name. Then there are those embarrassingmoments when I meet someone whose name I am supposed to know and I need tointroduce him or her to the person I am with…but the name is gone! Or, I am inthe heart of a discussion and then am briefly disturbed. As I return to thediscussion, I cannot remember what on earth I was talking about. The subject iscompletely gone!

Then there is the physical wear andtear—the sagging waistline and cheeks, the greying hair, the thinning circle ofhair at the back, and the growing wrinkles on my face. Who can argue with suchan array of witnesses? When I was getting my recent passport, the cameraman keptshowing me the photo on his digital camera before taking it for printing. TwiceI rejected the photo and asked him to retake the shot. There was noimprovement. Finally, I just had to admit that this was what I now look like.Thankfully, my wife married me before age took its toll on my countenance.

I have also noticed a very disturbing slowingdown of my reflexes. In football (i.e. soccer), which I rarely play these days,I noticed this phenomenon. I would see the ball coming and time myselfperfectly. However, just as I thought I was kicking it, I would notice that ithas gone right past me and I would go tumbling to the ground. Something hascertainly changed in my body. I can now see why men of my age prefer to playgolf—the ball is motionless until you hit it!

Previously, I needed to go to the gym tolift weights. But now, standing up is weight lifting. I can also understand theperson who said, “Before I turned 50, I used to jog 6 miles a day, but now Iknow a short cut.” I often have to talk myself out of taking such shortcuts.Having made the mistake of marrying a nurse, I am having to pay for this inmore ways than one. Every so often, Felistas brings me a banana, a watermelon,and an orange—all cut up into a fruit salad—and tells me that this is mybreakfast. What??

This is the oldest photo of me (1964?). I am right in the middle of the family photo!

Okay, enough of this negative stuff. I amhappy to have clocked 50. Whereas many people would demand a recount upon beingtold they have clocked 50, I do not. I think that this is because of a numberof choices I made in my late teens and early twenties—the choice of a Saviour,the choice of a career or vocation, and the choice of a wife.

As I pause at this juncture in my life, Iam deeply grateful to God for having allowed me to live the life that I havelived. Apart from the values instilled in me by my parents and guardians, themost seismic transformation took place when, at the age of 17, I gave my lifeto Christ. Guided by his Word and strengthened by his Spirit, I have been ableto make the conjugal and vocational choices that have brought me where I amtoday.

Next year in September, God willing, I willbe celebrating 25 years in the pastorate of Kabwata Baptist Church. Then a fewmonths later, in January 2013, I will be celebrating 25 years in marriage toFelistas. So, the last half of my life has been spent with one wife and in onevocation—and both have been a tremendous blessing to me. I know that when Iresigned my job as a mining engineer to take up the pastorate of a church ofsome 35 individuals in a rented welfare hall in Kabwata (of all places!), manypeople thought I had gone crazy, but I trust history has since proved that itwas a call of God.

I would want to say much, much more on mywife and my pastorate, but that will pre-empty the blog posts that I intend towrite when those two Silver Jubilees come around. So, all I will say for now isthat I have been very blessed to have met and married Felistas some twenty-fouryears ago. God has blessed us with the most wonderful (biological and foster)children that any person would ask for on this side of eternity. Each time Ilook at the photos of my wife and children in our bedroom, I whisper a prayerof gratitude to God. I have been blessed beyond measure—and I mean it.

The latest photo of me was taken in Brazil last month. Felistas is standing next to me.

What about KBC? It is a wonderful church. SeeingKBC turn into the gospel outreach machinery that it has become through itsvarious ministries and missionaries has given me a great sense of satisfactionas I clock half a century. It is the doing of God. Last night, as the KBC youthcamp came to an end, I sat behind the hundreds of youths listening to the preachingof God’s Word. I prayed that God would be pleased to save them so that theirlives on earth may not be destroyed by sin but rather that they may liveproductive lives for God’s glory. Apart from this, one of my greatest joysstill remains seeing the number of individuals whose lives have beentransformed through the gospel that God has been pleased to allow me to preachover the last twenty-four years at KBC.

Let me end my blog post by also thankingGod for the kind of friends that he has been pleased to give me. Friends makeor break a man. The phrase “peer pressure” is often spoken of in negativeterms, but I want to say that the peer pressure I have experienced from myfriends has been very positive. My friends have put their relationship with Godas of prime importance. As they have made their way up their career orvocational ladders, money and possessions have not been primary factors intheir decision-making. They have wanted to be at the centre of God’s will. Theyhave sought to be godly men, godly husbands, and godly fathers first beforeexpressing that godliness in their careers. I have been very close to them andcan assuredly state that they have lived lives of transparent integrity. Theyhave been good examples to my children as they have come to know them. If I wasto recount who my closest friends are by name, anyone who knows them wouldimmediately confess that they are made of the choicest gold.

So, I can say, “The boundary lines havefallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance”(Psalm 16:6). As I look into the future, I have but one prayer:

“Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,

Pilgrim through this barren land.

I am weak, but Thou art mighty;

Hold me with Thy powerful hand.

Bread of heaven,

Feed me till I want no more.

“When I tread the verge of Jordan,

Bid my anxious fears subside;

Death of death and hell’s destruction,

Land me safe on Canaan’s side.

Songs of praises,

I will ever give to Thee. Amen!”

Pray For Our Christian Youth Camp

2011-12-09T09:31:00.001+02:00

For the last ten years or so KabwataBaptist Church has been holding a conference for young adults in July and acamp for teenagers in December. Thus, as I write this blog post, our youth camphas just begun. It will be running until Monday 12^th December with afinal morning message before the kids go home.

The banner outside the KBC premises announcing the coming camp

The period of preparation had its owndemands. I very well remember when this camp started. We had about 35 youngpeople whom we took out for camp that December. The night we were setting uptents (its was a real camp!), it rained cats and dogs. We were all wet andhungry by the time the tents were up and so campfire was also a time to hangourselves up to dry. We feared we had lost the enthusiasm of the kids. Wrong! Toour amazement, it was this first night that proved the highlight for thecampers when they later testified about the camp.

The four camp leaders introducing themselves to the campers

Okay, I began saying that the period ofpreparations had its own demands. That camp that began with 35 young people hasgrown. This year we are anticipating 1,000 of them to show up. The camp hasbecome the destination of choice for many young people in our sister churchesand neighbourhood once they have survived the rigours of studying forend-of-year school tests and exams.

George Sitali, one of our elders, reading out "The Riot Act"--the camp rules

In order to make the event economical forthe young people who are coming, KBC members had to make financial pledgestowards the running of the camp. Then we needed a whole lot of soldiers to dothe registration, ensure discipline, cook and serve food, lead meetings, handlesmall group devotions and Bible studies, help with one-on-one counselling, leadvarious sporting activities, etc. About 80 church members volunteered for thistask and underwent training at the hands of one of our regular youth camppreachers, Pastor Saidi Chishimba.

Mwindula Mbewe preaching the camp's keynote address

Yesterday, the camp began. We already hadabout 600 young people in. Usually, the numbers peak on Saturday. It was goodto see the enthusiasm in the young people as they looked forward to a weekendtogether. The theme for this year’s camp is “2 Heaven With U” (if you don’tunderstand that, you probably do not qualify to be at this camp). MwindulaMbewe preached the keynote address. It was good to hear his preaching. My heartalways yearns to see young people on fire for Christ. I also cry to God that hewould save many youths during the camp.

The campers listening intently to the keynote address on the first night

Due to the huge numbers of young people inattendance, the camp has been divided into three groups during the day. Adifferent preacher will handle each of these groups. Pastors Saidi Chishimba(from Faith Baptist Church, Kitwe), Choolwe Mwetwa (from Central BaptistChurch, Chingola), and Isaac Makashinyi (from Emmasdale Baptist Church, Lusaka)are the preachers who are labouring in the Word among the young people thisyear. We also have other speakers who will be handling many seminars in theafternoons, dealing with various youth-related topics. The evening meetings arecombined sessions.

Part of the congregation on the first night--pray for their salvation!

This camp is meant to be a spiritual “combinedharvester”. We long to see lives saved at an early age. In the past, we havehad our prayers answered but we do not take this for granted. We have knownmercy drops but we are longing for showers of blessings. So, if you are aChristian and have read this blog post, I beseech you to take a moment to rememberthis camp in prayer. During the period leading up to the camp, we have alreadyexperienced some attacks from the Evil One. Pray that his efforts will bethwarted and that God will use this camp to bring many young people to himselfin repentance and faith. Thank you!

We Need Grace To Be Truly Hospitable

2011-12-05T08:20:00.001+02:00

It isnow 2 weeks since I last uploaded a blog post. I think that I am finallyregaining my equilibrium after the shocking details that led me to write mylast post. I could not find the energy to talk about anything else whilethe dark cloud still hovered over my soul.

Theother day, I was at a funeral. I saw a lady in thecongregation whom I had not seen for a while. Seeing her took me back manyyears down memory lane. It must have been in 1983 (some 28 years ago), when Iwas a student at the University of Zambia. This lady and her husband livedwithin 30 minutes walk from the university. A Christian friend of mine had notdone well the previous year and had been asked to repeat the subjects hefailed, and so he could not be accommodated on campus. Not having any relativesclose enough to the university to host him for this year, he came to me to askfor help.

The entrance to the University of Zambia

I wasthe chairman of the University Christian Fellowship (UCF) and so I quickly lookedat the various options. As I thought and prayed, this couple came to my mindand so I decided to approach them to ask if they could host this brother forone year, while he repeated the courses. I walked over to their home with himby my side. As soon as we finished the greetings, I got to the subject andasked them in his presence if they could host my friend.

Thiswas youthful zeal on my part. To begin with they were not even members of mychurch. This lady’s husband used to preach at the University ChristianFellowship fairly often and hence was quite well known to me. His favouritesermon, which he often felt inspired to preach, was on Hophni and Phinehas. Hissermons were often more rebuking than edifying. At the height of his preaching,in a harsh voice, he would call you chickens or pigs, using the vernacularlanguage—“muli nkoko!” and “muli nkumba!”—to emphasise your lack ofguts or your spiritual compromise. Being young people, we loved that kind ofradical preaching.

Thankfully,after a slight pause they agreed and kept this brother for the one year that hewas doing his part time studies at university. He later cleared these coursesand went on to complete his university studies. I am sure my friend will remaineternally grateful for the role that this Christian couple played in his lifeat such a time as this. As I saw this lady in the congregation at the funeral,I wondered how I would have reacted if a young adult brought his friend to myhome and asked my wife and me to do what I had asked of them. Agony!

Theysay a little confession is good for the soul. I think I would have asked thatthe young man’s parents should be the ones to come and ask for this favour,hoping that they would not dare to do so since they could only ask people whomthey knew. Then my mind would have gone through all the possible challengesthat this was going to present to my family, hoping that one of them would bestrong enough for me to turn down the request if his parents so much as daredto come and ask. In other words, I would have put every conceivable obstacle infront of them instead of readily accepting the challenge the way this coupledid.

"A little confession is good for the soul"--this represents me!

Ormaybe it would have been one of those days when I would have had a mostpowerful quiet time with the Lord. Perhaps passages of Scripture would fill mymind like, “Whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, forthis is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12) and “Do not neglect to showhospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares”(Hebrews 13:2). Then, and perhaps only then, would I have responded the waythis couple did. We need grace in order to be truly hospitable, don’t we?

When A Pastor Commits Suicide

2011-11-20T16:36:00.001+02:00

“Strike theshepherd, and the sheep will be scattered” (Zechariah 13:7)

I amon my way home from the funeral of a fellow Baptist pastor who committedsuicide. I got the news on Thursday morning (which explains why my usual Thursdayor Friday blog post is absent; I was too deeply affected to do anything). Thenews came as a shock to me—and indeed to everyone else who knew the pastor. Hehad been an intern at Kabwata Baptist Church for a few months over ten yearsago. He was a very fine man and slightly younger than me. I last met him twomonths ago when I was preaching at a pastors’ annual retreat. He has leftbehind a wife and three young children, plus a devastated congregation.

Whena pastor commits suicide, apart from the emotion of shock there is also a lotof disappointment and dismay. As one member lamented, “Pastor was the one whoalways encouraged us to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ when overwhelmed by thechallenges and difficulties that confronted us. How could he fail to handlewhatever it is that made him take his life?” Some people who heard were evenquestioning his salvation: “Can a Christian commit suicide?” Others found inthis the proof that the pastor was a hypocrite all along.

Moral failure and shame

So, whatmade this pastor take his own life? It was serious moral failure coupled with ahigh sense of the dignity of the pastoral office. His suicide note readsomething like, “I know what I have done is wrong, but I cannot face theshame.” He had gone into a depression but due to the nature of what took himinto the depression, he failed to open up to anyone until the night before hekilled himself. He shared with a visiting fellow pastor who counselled him andhis wife. However, the next morning he went and took his own life out of asense of shame.

Shame.That is a very powerful word. As pastors, we are moral pillars in society. Weknow that and our church members know that. Hence, it is the height of infamywhen they discover that we were doing in secret what we denounced in public.The community also knows us as men who want them to abandon their ways of sinand so it is disgraceful for them to learn that we were secretly eating thevery food we were telling them not to eat. It is embarrassing to be found in thismoral contradiction. The enemies of truth and morality rejoice and want theworld to know that all the holier-than-thou men of the cloth are hypocrites.

Thesense of shame grows the higher you go up in the estimation of people. Thepastor who committed suicide was in the leadership of the fellowship ofevangelical pastors in his town. He was also a denominational leader in thewhole province. Since he had been pastoring in the same community for over tenyears, he had also become very well known among the common people in that town.Therefore, the height from which he had fallen was quite high.

Everypastor needs to know that when there is moral failure that is the beginning of the end of one’s ministry. Even when thehypocrisy is not discovered, the conscience receives a mortal wound and so thepreaching loses its cutting edge. Certain topics are avoided or dwelt on toomuch in the preaching, and so the church gets a lopsided ministry. Sadly,appetite grows with feeding and sin is cultured in darkness. So, hidden moralfailure tends to repeat itself until God says, “Enough is enough”: He opens thewardrobe and the skeletons fall out.

The mixed reaction of people

Imust admit that I was surprised by the positive comments from people abouttheir pastor despite the way in which he ended his life. In private and informal conversations many people—includinghis wife—spoke highly of his prayer life, his hard work, his ministry ofencouragement, his selflessness and generosity, his love for his wife andchildren, etc. At the burial, the incoming principal at the college where thepastor was trained assured the church that the college would be willing to helpthem find a replacement. A shout was heard from the congregation, saying, “Buthe will never be like this man!” No doubt they felt robbed of a very rare assetfrom heaven.

Whenone pastor falls, life becomes next to impossible for other pastors. It takes avery long time for the church to recover from the trauma and feel that they cantrust another pastor. All pastors become guilty until proved innocent. For awhile you do not want to be identified as a pastor in the streets of town. Theglances from the people seem to say, “Oh, so he is another one of those hypocrites.” Pastors’ wives also start seeing mortaldanger whenever they see a young lady laughing with their husbands onthe church grounds. Consequently, many pastors’ master bedrooms become scenesof intense fellowship for a few months. The wives mean well but this phobiamakes them see feminine suicide bombers behind every skirt.

Asusual, when a thing like this happens, everyone knows exactly what the pastor wasor did which led to his fall (which they themselves are not or will never do). Theybecome self-appointed spiritual pathologists and diagnose with the skill of aspecialist: “The pastor must have stopped praying long ago.” “These pastors areall just hypocrites”. “The pastor must have had marriage problems”. “You mustnever counsel single women alone.” “A pastor must only counsel a woman once andthen hand her over to another woman to continue the counselling.” “He was justcareless”. “When counselling a woman you must always involve your wife.” “Pastorsare too proud to be open with one another.” Adinfinitum. Ad nauseam.

Pray for your pastors

Duringthe funeral service, the preacher pleaded with all Christians and especiallypastors to have bosom friends in whom they can confide. He emphasised the factthat we all need real friends—friends before whom we can afford to bevulnerable. There is no doubt that this is part of the problem. The higher yougo in ministry the more admirers you have but the fewer real friends. A veryclose friend to the pastor who committed suicide asked, “Was I so bad that myfriend would prefer to kill himself than to confide in me about his spiritualstruggles?” I am sure he is not the only one doing some heart-searching duringthis period. There is no doubt that the late pastor’s wife must also besearching her heart like this.

Ihave only one appeal: Pray for your pastors. The devil is real and there isonly one that is stronger than him—not your pastor but God. Satan knows that ifhe can strike the shepherd, the sheep will scatter. Hence, he targets pastorswith his most potent missiles. Many Christians are oblivious to this fact. Theytend to simply admire their pastors as if they were super humans. They projecttheir childhood invincible comic heroes (Spider Man, Mr America, etc.) upontheir pastors and simply watch them as they fight sin with heroic energy in thecommunity and in the church. They forget that pastors are also fallencreatures.

Iwill be the first one to confess that there are times when my struggle with myown fallen nature is so vicious that I wish I were still a private unknownChristian plying out my trade as a mining engineer in the Zambian copper mines.I would be less overwhelmed by my failures and would not carry so many peopledown with me. So, I end this blog post with an impassioned plea that all thosewho know me (and especially the Christians in my own church) should pray for meto run my race well to the very end. As Paul pleaded with the Thessalonians (1Thess. 5:25), I say, “Brethren, pray for us!” One song kept ringing in my heartas we drove more than 900 kilometres back home today,

“O to grace how great a debtor,

Daily I am constrained to be!

Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,

Bind my wandering heart to Thee.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to leave the God I love;

Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,

Seal it for Thy courts above.”

Are all elders “pastors”?

2011-11-14T02:09:00.001+02:00

“It was he whogave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and someto be pastors and teachers…” (Ephesians 4:11).

The current Kabwata Baptist Church elders (with two pastors)

Thisis an age-old question that will never die. In fact, like fish out of water, itis best left alone to beat itself on the ground until it dies a natural death.Picking it up and trying to aid it in the dying process often results in it slippingout of your hands and falling back into the water, and thus gives it a newlease of life.

Thenwhy on earth am I bringing up this subject? It is because in the second of thetwo conferences I preached at in Brazil (I am typing this on the plane flying backhome) one of the speakers brought it up. He argued that all elders are pastorsand all pastors are elders. In fact, he stated that he does not want to becalled a pastor but simply an elder. He challenged us to show him in the Biblewhere anyone, except the Lord Jesus Christ, was called a pastor.

Hewent so far as to say that he did not believe in “this thing called a call tothe ministry”. It is very misleading, he said. If a person claims that he iscalled by God to be a pastor it shuts out the church from assessing him. “Howcan you question a person who says that God has called him? Everything istaking place inside him and you are not in there!” Instead, he argued, it isthe church that must call a person. He asserted, “God calls a person throughthe church. That way the church can assess whether a person should be an elderor not. We Presbyterians are wrong on this point. We need to correct this.”

An appreciated note of warning

Of course,where I was seated I thought, “Oh, please, not again.” I think that people meanwell who question the distinction in the eldership between those who claim tohave the call of God upon their lives to the preaching ministry and those who simplyexpress willingness and a desire to serve as overseers in already establishedchurches. There can be a very unhealthy separation between the two that makesthe latter feel like second-rate citizens in the eldership. In fact, sometimesChristians speak as if there are three distinct offices in the church—thepastor, the elders, and the deacons.

So,let us at least agree that there are only two offices in the church—elders anddeacons. That is not the issue. The bone of contention is whether it is rightto speak about two kinds of elders, and thus designate one kind as “pastor” andthe other simply as “elder”? I think that a case can be made for both sides ofthe argument, and the Brazilian brother brought out some of the chief arsenalsof those who contend that there should be no difference. Elder is the officeand “pastor” is simply the work that elders do—period.

Letme say that I have a lot of respect for those who hold on to this position. Isee sincerity in their arguments. I also see a concern to remove the clericalChristianity that puts a reinforced concrete wall between clergy and laity, andso alienates ordinary Christians from a sense of ownership in the church. Itturns pastors into priests who alone seem to be hearing the voice of God. Sucha division invariably leads us back to the pre-Pentecost, Old Testamentreligion. It also opens us up to the extremities that have dogged extreme-Charismaticcircles, with their untouchable anointed servants of God, who have become demagogues.

There are two kinds of elders

Havingsaid that, however, it is equally clear to me that those who often argue forthis position fail to also give credence to the fact that there are equallysustainable and tenable arguments for the other position. In other words, thisis a matter where we must agree to disagree and wait until heaven to see whowas actually right. Let me state a few arguments for the position that thereare certainly two kinds of elders within the eldership—those who claim to havethe call of God upon their lives to the preaching ministry and those who simplyexpress willingness and a desire to serve as overseers in already establishedchurches.

Letus at least admit that 1 Timothy 5:17 suggests that those elders who governwell and labour in the Word and doctrine must be treated differently from therest. They are to receive double honour, which in the context suggests bothdistinct recognition and pay (see the use of the Greek word “time” in 1 Timothy 5:3, 6:1). At least,let us admit this much.

But,should those elders who distinguish themselves this way be the only ones to usethe title of “pastor”? It should first be stated that the Bible does not makemuch of titles. It especially discourages titles when they go beyondacknowledging the distinct service someone renders in the church and becomes away of grading people in the church into classes. So, strictly speaking, weshould not be fighting about titles. We are all just brothers and sisters inChrist.

Ionly address this because the argument is not simply about common titles butabout obliterating the distinction in the eldership between those who claim tohave the call of God upon their lives to the preaching ministry and those whosimply express willingness and a desire to serve as overseers in alreadyestablished churches. Those who say that all pastors are elders and all eldersare pastors are essentially saying that there is no difference between thesetwo because “all the elders pastor”. So, why deny them the title and only giveit to those in the eldership who claim to have a call to the preachingministry?

Ithink that those who argue like this use an argument that is very weak. If wesustained that argument with the title of deacon, then all Christians should becalled deacons because all Christians “serve” (the word “deacon” simply means“servant”). But that is not true. The Bible clearly teaches that some people inthe church can be officially called deacons. We can push it even further andsay that since every Christian evangelises—or at least ought to—then everyChristian should be called “evangelist”. But again that is not true. Thereappears to have been only some Christians that the Bible used this term for. Itis clear that titles in the New Testament were not simply given to peoplebecause of what they do. Again, let us at least admit this much.

Who is supposed to be called pastor?

So,who in the New Testament enjoyed the title of “pastor”? Thankfully, we have alist that includes this title in Ephesians 4:11. Referring to the Lord JesusChrist when he ascended to heaven, Paul says, “It was he who gave some to beapostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastorsand teachers…” Would I be wrong to suggest that whatis common about the men in this list is their call to the preaching ministry? Lookat each one of them. Christ calls men to this work and then gives them as giftsto the church. Through their preaching ministries, souls are won to Christ,churches are planted, and Christians are built up in their most holy faith.They do this not primarily because they are part of an eldership but because ofa sense of calling upon their lives. They are compelled to preach (1 Cor.9:16)!

I think that the Achilles Heel of those who see no differencebetween “pastors” and “elders” is that they commence from the position of analready fully functioning eldership in the local church. In that context, youhave the leisurely comfort of even questioning the issue of calling to the preachingministry and limiting everything to simply levels of giftedness with words.After all, you already have an inherited crowd to oversee!

We need to start from the position where there is no church. Whowill go and plant new churches in virgin lands? Elders? Surely it must be menin whose hearts the gospel is a burning passion—apostles, prophets,evangelists, and pastor-teachers. It is these men who will willingly sacrificetheir professional careers because of a sense of call. It will take years ofpainstaking and lonely labours of evangelising and then discipling new convertsbefore men with the rudiments of eldership qualities can be nurtured, trained,and ordained.

When such an eldership is finally in place, these men with a senseof call to the preaching ministry will work with them as a team to oversee thechurch. They will work with them as “first among equals”. For the other eldersto now turn around and start claiming that there is no such thing as a call tothe preaching ministry and there is no distinction between “you and us” ispreposterous. In fact, when you look at Acts 15, when referring to Jerusalem’s fullyfunctioning eldership, Luke kept referring to “the apostles and elders”, althoughthe apostles were elders (as can be proved by 1 Peter 5:1). Therefore, would itbe patently wrong to also distinguish the prophets, the evangelists, and thepastor-teachers within the eldership? Well, evidently, Luke did not think so(see also Acts 13:1).

In conclusion

Well,as I draw this blog post to an end, let me make it clear that my goal was notto convince anyone who already holds to the position that all elders arepastors and all pastors are elders, and that, therefore, the terms should beused interchangeably. Because that was not my aim, I have not answered theusual questions that arise from the position I hold on to. Rather, my purposewas to simply show that those of us who see things differently do have somebiblical premise on which we do so. We are not simply upholding unbiblicalpractice and tradition.

Webelieve that a healthy eldership in an already established church ought tocomprise those who claim to have the call of God upon their lives to thepreaching ministry and those who simply express willingness and a desire toserve as overseers. Whereas the Bible uses the terms “overseer” and “elder”interchangeably, it seems to leave the term “pastor” to those with a verydistinct call to the preaching ministry—like apostle, prophet, and evangelist.I hope I have also shown that to argue that the Bible uses titles merely on thebasis of what people do in a general way in the church would render othertitles meaningless. And finally, please remember that the issue of titles isnot a hill that I am willing to die on.

Now,what have I done? I think that I have picked up the fish that was beatingitself to death on the ground. I fear that it may have slipped out of my handsand fallen back into the water!

The Book that Changed My life—The Herald of His Coming

2011-11-10T13:20:00.000+02:00

“ThisJesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as yousaw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11).

(Stop Press: On Tuesday morning, I woke Felistas up with the newsthat the counter on my blog had just crossed the 100,000 mark. I had hoped shewould be as excited as I was and perhaps pour me a cup of coffee incongratulations but she did not. I guess many others with much more trafficvisiting their blogs, like Tim Challies, would not find such news exciting.That is their traffic per day! But I must say that I have had my eyes on thatcounter for a few months now…waiting for the 100,000th visitor. So for me, thatwas a precious milestone. It took a little over 3 years to get there. Let ussee how long it will take to reach 200,000. I am watching the counter, thoughnot that anxiously any more).

The nextinstalment of “The Book That Changed My Life” is from Barnabas Chiboboka. He ismarried to Grace and the Lord has entrusted into their care four biologicalchildren. He is a Chartered Accountant, but has also specialised in managementstudies. He fellowships at Kabwata Baptist Church, but is presently attached toa new church plant (Bonaventure Baptist Church) in the southern tip of Lusaka.He loves premarital counselling, and has counselled many young couples on theeve of their weddings. He also loves poetry and since 1987 has been compiling acollection that he hopes could be graduated into hymns! Well, let us hear aboutthe book that changed his life…

* * * * *

The imagery ofthe descent of Christ at his second coming, the authority, the power, and the glorythat will surround his return, as described in the scriptures, made early imprintson my mind that will never be obliterated: That I should be invited to be partof this great ceremony is amazing and incredible—not for time, but foreternity. The imagery of his second coming still rings fresh melodies eachearthly day. To be part of this grand occasion is something that cannot beimagined. Yet, it will come to pass as God has said.

It was a monthlymagazine, and not necessarily a book that left indelible imprints on my mind.In my early years of seeking salvation (Grade 6-7), I subscribed to a number ofChristian magazines, which I received regularly. One such magazine was THE HERALD OF HIS COMING published bythe Gospel Revivals Inc. of Los Angeles. I was an avid reader of this magazineand one topic that I looked forward to reading in every issue was the Second Comingof the Lord Jesus Christ.

This topic reallyexcited me even though I was not yet a Christian. I later understood why the imprintsof the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ were painted in indelible stainson my mind. God used this topic as the means to arrest and compel me to bend myknees to the King. The period of searching was between 1980 and 1981.

F.B Meyer wroteone such article published in March 1981. It was simply entitled “The Second Comingof Christ”. Another one was by Horatius Bonar and yet another was by R H Hudges.These two were published in 1980. They were entitled, “Are you looking andliving for his coming?” and “Prepare for him”, respectively. In fact, peace wasdenied me for three years and the very prized topic haunted me because I realisedI was not ready to meet him at his second coming. Thankfully, at the end ofthat period I found peace in believing in Jesus Christ as my Saviour andaccepting his lordship over my life.

I now look forwardto his return and agree to the statement of faith below for Gospel Revival Inc.in theory and in practice:

“We believe thatJesus, some days after His resurrection from the dead, ascended to God inheaven (Acts1:1-10; Eph. 1:15-23). We believe in the personal return of Jesuswith power and great glory (Luke 21:27), and that His return is an event forsaved people to look forward to with great expectation and with constantwatchfulness and prayer (Luke 21:34-36; 1 John 3:2-3). We believe that this same Jesus, which wastaken up from the apostles into heaven, shall so come in like manner as theysaw Him go into heaven (Acts 1:1-11).”

Preaching at the Encontro de Fa Reformada in Brazil

2011-11-06T20:19:00.001+02:00

“Be shepherds of thechurch of God, which he bought with his own blood” (Acts 20:28).

The beginning of November found Felistas and me in Brazil where westill are. I am preaching at the 12th Encontro de Fa Reformada conference at the Igreja Presbiteriana NovaCidade (New City Presbyterian Church) in Manaus.

I reported on my last preaching trip to this conference in 2008 onthis blog (click here). This is probably my fifth visit to this conference,which I had the pleasure to be a part of at its commencement in the year 2000.During my last two visits, it had grown into two conferences in Manuas andGioania. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the conference is now in sevento nine cities, covering a fair section of the northern part of this vastcountry.

Pastor Jaime Marcelino

The theme for this year’s conference was “Pastoring the Church ofGod” (click here to visit their website). The host pastor, Jaime Marcelino,preached on “Pastoring for Eternity”. Hernandes Lopes failed to make it due toill health. Tedd Tripp, author of the book Shepherdinga Child’s Heart, preached on “Pastoring the Family”. Tarcizio Carvalhopreached on “Pastoring as a Model for Families”.

Solano and Betty Portela, and Tedd and Marge Tripp

Solano Portela (who always interprets for me at these conferences)preached on “Pastoring in a World of Darkness”. It is clear that much thoughtis put into the breakdown of the theme of the conference. Pastor JaimeMarcelino is a very meticulous planner. I was not too surprised when I learnedthat he was trained as a Civil Engineer. The preachers also do a very good jobin sticking to their topics. Yours truly dealt with “Pastoring the Pastors”.

Elisama (left), Pastor Jaime Marcelino's eldest daughter, with a guest

Part of the headache of organising a conference in Portuguese with afew of your preachers being English speakers is how to get them to listen tothe Portuguese preachers. Pastor Jaime insists we benefit from the sermons too.In most countries, this is solved by putting the foreigners at the back withsomeone whispering into their ears in a language they can understand. That isnot the case here. Solano’s wife, Betty, types out the sermon while it is beingpreached and Felistas and I sandwich her between us so that we can read what isbeing said.

Noeme, Pastor Jaime Marcelino's other daughter, playing the piano

This year, she had the extra task of translating for the Tripps. Oneway would have been to have them sit behind her while craning their necks inorder to see what she was typing on her laptop. Instead, she connected herMacBook Pro to her iPad in such a way that whatever she was typing on herMacBook was automatically being seen on the iPad. So, Tedd and Marg satcomfortably on their pew and “listened” to the sermon in English. Marvelous!

The Igreja Presbiteriana Cidade Nova, where the conference was held

The week was also spent enjoying Brazilian hospitality. We stayedwith Pastor Jaime’s family (as we always do) and savoured every moment. MrsFransisca (Pastor Jaime’s wife) goes to town to make sure you eat the very bestof Brazilian delicacies. With Felistas sitting next to me, I cannot indulge toomuch. However, I make sure that I leave enough space for the desserts. They arejust delicious!

The musicians (guitarists) in the Lord's house during the conference

During the conference, we also went to other homes for our lunches,together with the other preachers and their hosts. Included in this entouragewas a brother from Angola, Antonio Mussaqui, who also attended the conference.

Tarcizio Carvalho preaching during the conference

What the Brazilians fail to achieve because of the language barrier,they certainly make up by their warmth and friendship. It is as if you arestill in Africa. Of course, their hugs are a trademark that we cannot match upto.

Antonio Mussaqui bringing greetings from Angola

I have been asked to return in 2014 in order to celebrate with thebrethren here the 15th anniversary of the Encontrode Fa Reformada conference. That year the FIFA Football World Cup will alsobe held in Brazil, with some of the matches taking place in Manaus itself. I amscratching my head to see how I can kill two birds with one stone and I havethree years to figure it out!

Pastor Jaime Marcelino with his dearest wife, Francisca

The Book That Changed My Life—A Woman After God’s Own Heart

2011-11-02T21:49:00.000+02:00

Mynext instalment of “The Book That Changed My Life” is from Mrs Lumpuma Kayombo.For 10 years she worked as my office assistant at Kabwata Baptist Church until shegot married to Pastor Ndonji Kayombo. She is now a member of Trinity BaptistChurch in Kitwe, Zambia, the church that her husband pastors. God has blessedthem with a 3 month old daughter, Wenyi. She serves in the children’s ministry in the church where she teachesSunday school. Well, let us hear about the book that changed Lumpuma’s life…

** * * *

Ifirst came across the book, A Woman AfterGod’s Own Heart, by Elizabeth George, about six years ago when a housemateof mine borrowed the book from a friend. I did not pay too much attention to itthen because I was single and thought it was a book for those who were marriedor preparing to get marriage. However, I did realise that it was a popular bookbecause there were a number of women waiting to read the copy that my housematehad. A few years later, a friend of mine who is a bookshop manager recommendedthat I buy a copy. And, being the good marketer that she is, I bought it not fullyrealising what a precious treasure I had just acquired.

InA Woman After God’s Own Heart,Elizabeth George writes about how a woman can grow in her walk with the Lordthrough reading the scriptures regularly; and, with God’s word as a foundation,is able to look after her home, her husband, and her children, and minister toothers in a God-glorifying way. Elizabeth also highlights how having yourpriorities right helps you to grow spiritually and to give out to others.

Godmust be at the top of the list, followed by your husband, children, the home,and lastly other people that God brings your way. Practising these prioritiesdaily helps you to manage your time and energy, and basically have control overyour life. Elizabeth, however, encourages flexibility, bearing in mind theprovidential acts of God. She also talks about developing yourself spirituallyfor your own benefit and the benefit of others.

AsI began to read the book I saw how instructive it was in dealing with one’srelationship with God, and how one could truly be a woman after God’s own heartwhether single or married and whether working or at home. My friend and Idecided to study this book together with three other friends. We would read thebook in our own time and schedule a day to review the particular chapter and pointout the lessons we had learned, encouraging one another to apply them in ourindividual lives. We would then pray for our individual needs and particularlythat we would live our lives according to the lessons learned that day.

Thebook helped me to understand more deeply the need for me to maintain myspiritual life because it affects all areas of my life and that I can only dothis by being close to God and rooted in his word. It helped me realise theneed to meet with the Lord regularly for me to have a fruitful Christian lifeand glorify God in the way I handle various issues in my life as a woman. Thechoices you make in life depend on your life’s priorities!

Elizabeth George

Ilearned to keep my priorities right while I was still single and saw thespiritual benefit of doing so and being in charge of my life. I’ve been marriedfor 2 years and 10 months now and have continued benefitting from thisprinciple. When I got married, I had to change towns and so decided to startanother reading club with another friend and we continued reading through A Woman After God’s Own Heart. She hasalso found it very beneficial and recently used it to counsel a young lady preparingfor marriage.

Thanksfor this book, Elizabeth. God is using it to bless many hearts!

The Book That Changed My Life—The Death of Death

2011-10-27T19:42:00.003+02:00

Mynext instalment of “The Book That Changed My Life” is by a friend, AllanNdambasha, a Zambian who lives with his family in Phoenix, Arizona, USA. He ismarried to Victoria and together they have two children, a son called Abel (16)and a daughter called Linga (12). Allan works inIT in a local school district and Victoria is a registered nurse. Let us hearabout the book that changed Allan’s life!

** * * *

In1992, I attended the reformed annual conference that was held in Kitwe, hostedand organized by two congregations of the Christian Missions in Many Lands (CMML),namely Kitwe Chapel and Riverside Chapel. As usual, there were a number ofbooks that were distributed free of charge. One of these was a little bookletentitled An Introductory Essay on the Death of Death in the Death of Christby Dr J I Packer.

Basically,as the title suggests, Dr Packer was trying to encourage Christians to read avery important work by a 17th century writer John Owen called The Death of Death in the Death ofChrist. In this book, Owen argues for the doctrine of particular redemptionand against universal atonement. The only problem is that the book is a verydifficult read and consequently, many people who make an effort to read it soonbecome discouraged partly because of its archaic language but mostly due towhat Dr Packer calls Owen’s lumbering literary gait!

Sowhat Dr Packer does is to try and describe for the readers the immense value ofOwen’s work. He does this by contrasting Owen’s understanding of the gospelwith the modern mind-set in evangelical Christendom. He uses theologicallyloaded terms like Arminianism and Calvinism and explains them in a simple butvery comprehensive way.

Forme the real benefit of this booklet lies in its ability to display thatcardinal difference between the authentic gospel and modern day gospel. Themodern gospel is so man-centred whereas the authentic one is God-centred. Godhas used this booklet to foster humility in my own life and I have clearerappreciation of what it means to preach the gospel.

Farewell to our 2011 Grade Seven Class

2011-10-25T14:04:00.002+02:00

“Train upa child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”(Proverbs 22:6).

Eagle's Nest School Grade Seven Class singing a hymn to the congregation

(PREAMBLE: Let me welcome the 80th follower to this blog. I wish I knew the name but I failed to figure that out. I am technologically challenged! The good news, at least for me, is that we are slowly reaching 100,000 views. I know that is nothing for some blogs because that is their daily readership. I should not despise the days of small things. So, I am watching the counter very closely.)

Every year just before our Grade Sevenpupils sit for their final primary school leaving examinations, we hold aspecial service for them and their parents. The aim of this service is toprovide the church with an opportunity to meet with the children and theirparents, because 80% of them are not members of our church.

Misheck Kumwenda leading in worship

It is also a good opportunity for the membersof the church to meet the teachers because, again, most of the teachers of ourchurch school are not members of Kabwata Baptist Church. They are members ofsister churches. Hence, this once-a-year service provides a window ofopportunity for all who are involved in the school to meet with the members ofthe sponsoring church, and vice versa.

In the midst of a secularised society, theprovision of Christian education goes a long way to arrest the gallopingatheistic horse that has destroyed what once was the Christian West. Thefoundational truths of God and his world need to be the moorings to which all thedisciplines of education are anchored.

Chilambu Filakati doing the Bible Reading

Once the poison of secular education isinjected into the primary infrastructure of the worldview of children, itdestroys the development of their thinking from that point onwards. Their worldremains totally disjointed and ultimately meaningless. It is in order to play asmall part in arresting this trend that we have started and developed the EaglesNest Christian School.

This school is part of the church’sevangelistic efforts and comes under our children’s department. Through theschool, we continue to labour hard to introduce children in the neighbourhoodto the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to a Christian worldview. The schoolalso provides us with a vital interface with many parents in our community. Weoften use these opportunities for evangelistic purposes.

Mrs Honester Kumwenda, the Headteacher, introducing the school staff

Hence, whereas most Christian schools aimto bring the children of Christian parents under the influence of Christianteaching, when we started this school, we deliberately went into the communityto invite those who are not members of our church to bring their children toour school. This is why even now 80% of the children in our school come fromnon-Christian homes, or at least from homes where the parents or guardians arenot members of our church.

It would be difficult to tell how many ofthese children come to genuine faith in Christ by the time they leave ourschool at the end of Grade Seven because they do so before they become teens. Wehave since baptised a number of them later in life. We have no doubt that thetime they spend in Eagle's Nest School is used by God to put precious truths intheir hearts that later germinate into saving faith.

A parent, Mr Katoto, thanking the church for the ministry of Eagle's Nest School

For me, this farewell service remainsspecial. I have never forgotten how I wept when we had our first farewellservice a few years ago. The children had become so precious to me that at onepoint when I looked into their faces during the worship service the thought of parting with them grippedme with grief. I wept like a baby. I have grown up now and do not cry any more.However, my prayer continues to be that God will claim these young souls forhis own in due season, so that, if we do not ever meet on this side of eternity,we will do so in heaven. Amen!