Who built you?

Some of our students (L to R): Paul, John, Doug & Ezi

One of the blessings of the way we teach is that it affords the opportunity to get to know our students. We teach small classes, allowing for interaction, discussion and relationship building. Abby & I both teach daily with our distinctive styles which tends to keep things interesting. For the past two weeks, we've been teaching a group of students in Livingstone, Zambia and it's been great!

Abby focused on family and church systems, encouraging the students to reflect on the relationship between their family of origin and the ministry to which the Lord has called them, and to think carefully about their church families. She then spent time helping them understand God's plan for our walk with Jesus from the book of Titus, building a pyramid of being in Christ, becoming with Christ and doing through Christ, in that order. She then taught them how to use Psalms as a prayer book to deepen their walk and ministry, and finished by leading them in a reflection on the question, "Who built you?" In other words, who built your walk with Jesus and what do you remember most about them? Abby always amazes me when she teaches because she makes it easy for students to open up, even while she's teaching such key content.

I spent the entire time on understanding the Bible, teaching them the biblical basis for Bible study, the Bible as revelation, the structure, subjects, story & world of the Bible, characteristics of healthy Bible study, general guidelines & practical rules of biblical interpretation and ending with tools for Bible study, both written and online.

Throughout our time, many local issues came up and we had serious discussions about their personal experiences and what's happening in their churches. It was exciting to work with students who care so very deeply about honoring Jesus in their ministries and who want to build healthy churches!

As to the impact of our training, one student commented, "Where have you been all these years? If I had had this training when I was younger I would have avoided so many mistakes!"

We're grateful that the Lord has allowed us to do this, and grateful that you have joined us in our mission. Thank you!

Please pray for our students as they continue in their ministries, and for us as we turn our attention to the coming shipment of supplies from the U.S., followed by a visit by two GTN teams who will come on the 27th to do two days of training in Livingstone.

Awesome God!

Our Australian friends and guide (L to R): Emily, Annette, Abby, Isaac, Doug, Megan & Kevin

We had a lull in our training schedule, so Abby & I decided to take a trip to Chobe National Park, something we hadn't done in some time. What a great decision!

In addition to seeing God's magnificent creation in all its grandeur, we also met some amazing Christians from Australia and the Netherlands. What a refreshing and encouraging time this trip turned out to be!

Hope you enjoy the photos!

Sunset at Chobe

Cape Buffalo in the Early Morning

Greater Kudu at Chobe River

Fish Eagle

Baboon Mother and Baby

Flying Zebra

Giraffe

Impala Fleeing African Lioness

African Lioness on the Move

Sable & Giraffe

Spotted Hyena

Magnificent Male African Lion with Black Mane

Cape Buffalo (notoriously poor eyesight) and African Lion

Redbilled Hornbills

Elephant All Tied Up after Crossing Chobe River

Giraffe

Elephant Enjoying Lunch after A Roll in the Dirt

Maribou Stork at Sunset Overlooking the Chobe River

"Let the little children come to me..."

Lemmi, Live School graduate and pre-school teacher!

As we drove up, I traveled back to 2011, to teaching under the trees outside the Sooka UCZ Church, using a white board hanging by rope from tree branches, and enjoying eager students sitting on benches in the sun while I stood in the shade. It was a serious class, a good class and it was further confirmation at the time that we were on the right track.

Entering the church compound, I saw the familiar faces of several of our former students, including Lemmi who was standing outside with his pre-school class. He's the teacher of a class of twenty or so students drawn from the surrounding villages. At a cost of K15 ($1.40) per month, it's a serious investment for parents and Lemmi has worked hard to help them understand the benefit of early education. It has not been easy and has required many home visits and lots of follow-up.

Lemmi is an unlikely teacher for this age group in Zambia where young children are typically taught by women, just like in the States. But, as we were to see, he's a natural and the kids love him. Abby dove right in with the kids, of course, singing songs and enjoying the class, and Lemmi introduced each of them with a song highlighting their names. The Lozi culture is a musical culture so this was no surprise.

Live School is designed to multiply church planting and mission through its graduates and we have certainly seen many great examples of this, and Lemmi is certainly one of them.

"I guess you could say, maybe I could say, it's my calling," Lemmi offered quietly. We enthusiastically agreed, affirming the legitimacy of his call and strongly encouraging him.

Lemmi and some of his children, the future leaders of Zambia!

We also heard about the level of sacrifice his call has required of his family. His wife and kids live in Mwanamatuku, a bush village which is a five hours walk away. They stay there because that is where their farm is. Every Friday, Lemmi walks home to spend the weekend with his family, work the farm and worship in his home church, and every Sunday afternoon he walks back to Sooka to teach.

As we looked into the faces of the children, we couldn't help wondering what the impact will be in their lives because Lemmi has answered God's call. Imagine the possibilities!

Please pray for Lemmi, his family and the kids. Pray for their parents who sacrifice financially so they can attend pre-school. And, pray for us that we are faithful to God's call in our lives while we are here in Zambia!

Africa arise!

The Rise Missions Conference is predicated on a simple premise: Southern Africa is no longer a mission field; it is now a mission force!

When Abby and I were invited to The Rise, we had no idea what to expect except that I (Doug) knew that I would be preaching once and teaching two seminars.

Our first indication of what our week would be like came when we were warmly welcomed into the home of Stephen and Kedibone Mmotlana. Nestled in a very nice section of Mabopane, their home offered a comfortable bedroom and a delightful family. We so enjoyed getting to know them and cherish the beautiful hand-crafted pillow covers they gifted us with to remember them by. Kedibone is a professional interior designer and the pillows are beautiful!

(L to R) Barbara (Kedibone's friend), Boitumelo (daughter), Doug, Kutlwano (neice), Abby, Stephen & Kedibone

The Rise is sponsored by a single church, the Ark of God, in Mabopane, South Africa. It is led by Pastor Isaac Modise and his wife, Rachel, who work closely with the World Mission Center and Live School. Willie Crew, the retired leader of the World Mission Center (WMC), whom I had met before in the U.S., and Dr. John Scholtz, Chairman of the WMC board, were both outstanding speakers at the conference.

(L to R) Isaac & Rachel Modise, Abby & Doug

The Rise's passion for cooperative mission in Southern Africa was evident throughout the conference which brought delegates from four countries, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia and South Africa. The Malawi delegation was unable to come because of the devastating conditions there this year due to the ongoing drought.

My preaching and teaching focused on: 1) Our "Missionary God" (Genesis 3) who seeks, forgives, honors, loves and sends us; 2) Jesus' "Greatest Commission" (John 20) to do mission as he did and continues to do, focusing on his humiliation, incarnation, proclamation, demonstration, crucifixion and resurrection; and 3) "Transformational Mission" both within and outside the church which includes every Christian joining in with what the missionary God is doing by learning, praying, sending, going, welcoming and/or mobilizing.

Highlights of the conference included joyfully worshiping with Christians from other African nations and sitting under amazing and inspiring teaching with a decided emphasis on the Gospel of the Kingdom, meaning the Gospel applied to every area of life from our world view to family life, business, our use of money & power, our citizenship, etc. A major sub-emphasis, if you will, ran throughout the conference, and that was understanding and developing the church as an extended family, not as an institution!

Praise and worship at The Rise!

The Gospel of the Kingdom was consistently contrasted with a "Gospel of Salvation" which has dominated the Southern Africa church, a truncated Gospel that offers salvation but does not demand a new way of thinking and living or even the renunciation of traditional worship practices such as ancestral worship. Amazingly, we discovered that the local Presbyterian, Methodist and Lutheran churches do not require their members to renounce ancestral worship, but allow them to continue to maintain and use their family altars while remaining members in good standing.

This watered down Gospel reminds me of the compromises many mainline churches have made in the U.S. over the last two to three decades, always trying to accommodate the culture instead of calling for its transformation by the Gospel.

In contrast to this, the Rise was a radical call to action, to serious discipleship and 100% allegiance to Jesus Christ. This was accentuated by a stirring commissioning service on the final night!

It was delightful to establish relationships with new friends like the Mmotlana family, Isaac & Rachel and Dr. John Scholtz. We also connected strongly with several pastors from Zimbabwe and Zambia, opening up possibilities for future training.

The longing for training by the delegates and their desire to take the Gospel of the Kingdom to all of Southern Africa and beyond stirred us deeply. Hearing the Gospel from a Southern African perspective forced us to examine our own understanding of the Gospel, and indeed of God himself. Once again, doing mission is transforming us more than those to whom the Lord has sent us. We are grateful!

By the way, both Abby and I have both been invited to teach at next year's conference, scheduled for June 30-July 4. We have joyfully accepted.

Please pray that the commitments that were made at The Rise will be put into action, for Isaac and Rachel as they lead The Rise movement into other Southern Africa countries, for Stephen and Kedibone and their family, for the World Mission Center & Live School, and for us as we continue our mission with a fresh perspective on the Gospel of the Kingdom!