Heart FOR Africa in the Heart OF Africa

It’s as close to a scene out of the African Queen movie as you can get. Situated on the banks of the Wamba river in DRC, even the name of the village sounds perfect: Kikongo.

Proving that Kikongo is at the Heart of Africa!

But that’s where the similarity to a 19^th century story-book safari ends. Why? First, our visit to Kikongo started with a 59 minute flight in a Cessna 206 piloted by MAF program manager, Nick Frey. Second, instead of the romanticism of a jungle rainforest, we discover some of the tough, realities of mission work in the center of present-day Congo.

Glen and Rita Chapman both grew up in Kikongo as missionary kids. Now, they’ve been serving in this same place for almost three decades with the American Baptist mission. After a mid-morning snack served in the dining room of the house Rita’s grandparents built, we head out to tour the hospital and pastors’ school.

“Some of the things we see happening now are really discouraging and make us wonder if our time of service should end soon. The hospital no longer has adequate funds to maintain normal lab equipment and most doctors find they can make more money selling cheap Chinese medicines in neighboring towns than providing good service here,” Rita explains.

Glen demonstrating his "magnificent flying machine!"

At the pastors’ institute, Rita tells about an even more complex problem. “Self-trained pastors are coming into this area preaching a new version of the prosperity gospel based on an unhealthy preoccupation with spiritual warfare. By instilling fear in the local people about the power of Satan and evil spirits, they find a profitable business offering special prophesy and deliverance prayers for those who will pay for it in order to gain spiritual protection. Churches like these are popping up all over devastating our own congregations. Strong theological training is desperately needed for future pastors, but this competition is challenging their motivation for training altogether.

Despite these discouragements, Glen and Rita carry on with dogged and even creative endurance. A newly, MAF-installed satellite antennae gives them 24-7 connection to the Internet and regular ministry updates on Facebook. And thanks to help from missionary inventor, Steve Saint, Glen regularly flies a powered parachute at tree-top level to nearby villages in order to show the Jesus Film.

Cruising the Wamba River

But the Chapman’s real love for the land and its people is revealed on our dugout canoe ride across the Wamba for lunch at a neighboring village. Showing us the way, they help us dig our fingers into a meal of fish, plantains, squash seed, fermented manioc and stewed greens with caterpillars. It’s clear how much at home they are in this setting and how loved they are by these villagers. It helps me understand the pain in their eyes when they explain the troubling changes happening around them.

“Too bad you didn’t bring your swimming suits,” Glen yells above the din of the outboard motor on our way back to the airstrip for our flight home. “The water’s perfect. . . and the crocodiles stay pretty much in the swamps at this time of day!”

Glen and Rita—I thank God for you and pray for His strength and wisdom as you continue serving Him in this challenging “Heart of Africa.”

Glen and Rita Chapman

Catalytic Boost

The Democratic Republic of Congo is not exactly known for its great reputation of unity. Rampant tribalism and ethnic divisions have kept this country fragmented for years, even within the church community.  That’s why the meeting I attended this week in Kinshasa was so unusual.

I’ve been hosting a first-time visit to DRC by two friends who represent a missions-minded American foundation and thought it would be good for them to hear first-hand reports from national church leaders. Thinking we could have a nice, intimate conversation with ten or fifteen leaders, I was surprised to see our room packed out with over forty-five men and women representing most key national churches and ministries.

In order to help my friends gain a broad perspective, I asked each participant to address questions related to evangelism strategy successes and hindrances. Although each report started out addressed to my guests, it soon changed as people in the room began realizing they were hearing things from each other they had not known before. This was especially true between resource providers, like Scripture Union or Crusade and the actual church denominations that have been struggling to implement new evangelism strategies. It was pretty cool watching the lights come in the eyes of these men and women as they began swapping business cards right there during the meeting in order to connect later.

Equally impressive to me was the long detailed list of obstacles and hindrances discussed during the meeting. Going far beyond the typical gripe of not having enough money, these folks listed sophisticated issues such as lack of credibility of those ministering to professional businessmen, cultural differences over the issue of possessing more than one wife, and racial discrimination between bantu Africans and newly converted pygmy Christians.

By the end of the day, six themes emerged as topics everyone agreed needed more follow-up: youth outreach, holistic evangelism, church planting methods, media, electronic technology, and leadership training. Before we parted for the day, a plan was set up for future meetings on each topic.

Little did I dream that an innocent request for an informational meeting would eventually become a catalytic boost of encouragement toward partnering together in national evangelism for DRC.

Listening Centers

100%!  The answer she finally gave was 100%.

Want to know what the question was? You’ll have to read to the end of this blog.

It’s not every day that I get asked to host someone on a first-time visit to Kinshasa, DRC. For the past couple of days, that’s what I’ve been doing-- introducing two representatives of a significant, mission-minded American foundation to key national church and ministry leaders from this huge country. One of those is Bishop Nyamuke, who has been sharing about five different elements of a national evangelization strategy that includes helping children develop a healthy, Christian world-view.

“We have over 18,000 schools in our country managed by Protestant churches,” he explained. “But even though we are free to teach biblical truth, it’s not happening. Over five million children enter our schools as pagans at  first grade and leave twelve years later still as pagans.”

To emphasize the need for youth outreach further, Nyamuke arranged an entire afternoon for us with school children from two different churches. Through songs and testimonies and even a fiery mini-sermon by a sixteen year old boy, we learned about some of the cool things being promoted among Congo churches. One is the eleven Listening Centers that have been established recently throughout the city of Kinshasa.

Yvonne and her children groups sharing with us in Kinshasa, DRC

“We have learned that many children struggle with deep emotional needs and yet have no place within their families, schools or churches to talk about it,” said Yvonne, one Nyamuke’s designated youthwork trainers. “Now we’re training school chaplains specifically how to listen and sensitively deal with children who are willing to come and open up about their issues.” As we probed further with Yvonne about the types of things children grapple with, we learned that a big one is the sexual abuse of young Congolese girls by fathers, uncles, brothers and other males in their community. 

That’s when I asked my question: “Yvonne, what would you guess is the percentage of teenage and pre-teenage girls in Congo that experience either sexual abuse or harassment?” She paused for a long time before answering, her face becoming quite sober. “Basically one hundred percent,” she said.

For the next three months, I have the privilege of having my four-year-old granddaughter, Elizabeth, living in our home while my daughter’s family is in the USA on furlough.  When I stop and think about Elizabeth growing up in an unsafe world that that had virtually 100% certainty of sexual abuse, it just turns my stomach. And yet, it sounds like that is what every young girl can expect growing up in Congo—and I would suspect a good share of the rest of Africa as well.

If there ever was a time, place and reason for biblical transformation of cultural values, even in African Christian communities, it is this issue in the Congo and it is now!  Thank God for Bishop Nyamuke, Yvonne and Listening Centers that are now beginning to do something about it.

Seeds of Hope

The demonstration flowed through the center of town. Bodies of those killed during the previous night were carried along to accentuate the point that international security forces were far from making this city a place of peace. This time it was primarily Muslims protesting the indiscriminate killing of their kind by the Antibalaka—a self-proclaimed vigilante group committed to ridding Central Africa Republic (CAR) of Islam. Although the international media consistently identifies the Antibalaka as Christians fighting again Muslims, nothing could be farther from the truth. Claiming powers from witch-doctor hexes, these animistic-background groups believe they are impervious to the bullets (bals in French) from AK-47 rifles. Thus their name: Anti-bal-AK. Meanwhile most Protestant churches remain proponents of non-violence and peace.

One of the many armored personnel carriers used by
French troops on mission in CAR

Because of the demonstration, Bertin, director of ACATBA*, was late in picking us up for our ride to the airport. But then, our Air France flight was also late—like a whole day late! Problems with non-functioning runway lights yesterday forced the flight to divert to Yaounde, Cameroon instead. So finally, a day later, I’m seated onboard and glad to finally be going home, even though I know I’ve missed all my on-going connections in Paris. There’s something about spending so many years in Africa that helps one appreciate and live out the meaning of the popular phrase, “Il faut patienté” (You must be patient.)

Area of downtown Bangui where demonstrations happened
the next day

As I leave this past week in CAR behind, I wonder what the future will bring this troubled country. I’ve experienced the results of a dysfunctional government that can’t even fix street potholes in its capital let alone provide basic services for its people. I’ve seen the discouragement in the eyes of those weary of wanton killing that still occurs somewhere almost every day. I’ve talked to national church leaders who can hardly talk when they recount stories of churches burned, pastors executed and their wives raped. But I’ve also witnessed the resilience of people whose faith in God gives them hope to endure.

I’m impressed that ACATBA is “hanging in there” committed to Bible translation for the forty-some tribal languages of CAR. And I’m even more touched by their desire to add elements of community care to their village translation work—like offering basic health services or simple water projects. As Bertin says, “How can we only be interested in bringing them the Gospel message if we are not also willing to demonstrate Gospel action?” He also believes this is an important way to help people regain credibility in Christianity, especially for those who are actively rejecting their faith believing God did not protect their loved ones during the atrocities of this civil war.

With this sort of determination to press on, I’m so glad ACATBA will have the on-going support and assistance of Wycliffe Associates as expressed through several practical projects that Africa Area Director, Al Hawthorne hopes to provide. And I count it a privilege to be a part of that help by continuing to provide organizational training, mentoring and encouragement for Bertin, his team and his board of directors. God willing, during this next year, I will help them develop a church relations strategy, create a PR video and possibly even accompany Bertin on a fund-raising trip abroad to develop some new donor relationships for the future.

More than anything, I’d love to see those seeds of hope still present in these CAR friends blossom into continued fruitful ministry for many years to come.

Myself with Bertin, director of ACATBA

* ACATBA stands for Association Centreafricaine pour Traduction de la Bible et Alphabetization

Cold Showers and Bullet Holes

The instructions next to the shower said, “One-Turn on water, Two-Turn heater knob to position 1 or 2, Three-When finished, reverse process.” But, no matter where I turned the knob, even to position 3, no hot water was produced. So as I stepped under the showerhead and endured the rush of yet another cold morning shower, I thought to myself, “Oh well, that’s Africa for you. You just can trust things like this to work here when you need them.”

Downtown Bangui

It was my first morning in Bangui, Central Africa Republic and after breakfast at the Grace Brethern Guesthouse, Al Hawthorne, Africa Director for Wycliffe Associates (WA) and I headed over to ACATBA, the national Bible translation organization for this country. The plan was to spend the day with Bertin Oundagnon-Basso, the director, learning how well his organization had survived the past eighteen months of rebel crisis and civil war. It didn’t take long, however, for casual chatting to evaporate as Bertin began explaining the realities they had experienced.

Showing the scars of the warning bullets fired at him

For those who have already forgotten that CAR has even been in a crisis, here’s a quick review: About two years ago, radical Muslim foreign militia began pouring over the Chad and Sudan borders and quickly gathering national Islamic groups together into a loose network, called SELEKA. Within months, they had toppled the current, weak, government and put in place their own leaders.  Specifically targeting Protestants and Catholics, SELEKA, led primarily by the Arab foreigners burned and looted churches, homes and businesses with accompanying killing and rape. This immediately created street clashes with non-Muslim gangs (called Anita-Balaka) looking for methods of revenge. Hundreds of people were slaughtered on the streets causing thousands to flee the country. Now with French and UN troops holding a lid on things, there seems to be an uneasy cessation of hostilities.

Bertin showing where he was pushed
up against a wall by rebel militia

All of this became very real for Bertin on March 24 last year when two different groups stormed the ACATBA compound and looted vehicles, computers and anything else they could haul away. Most sobering of all was hearing the account of SELEKA men shoving Bertin up against a wall, demanding keys to everything and giving him five minutes to deliver. They then fired two shots from an AK-47 into the wall inches from his feet to show him how serious they were.

Even more sobering was hearing that one of ACATBA’s translators himself was shot and killed by rebel militia while attempting to hide out in a hospital.

As amazing as Bertin’s account was, what was more amazing yet was to learn that despite these tragedies and difficulties, ACATBA continues on involved in every single translation project they were doing before except one which is out East, located in the heart of the SELEKA – controlled territory. To meet the men and women of ACATBA and witness their personal dedication in translating God’s Word firsthand is as moving an experience for me as any I've had on any recent trip to Africa.

In light of all that I've seen and heard this day, enduring a cold shower all of a sudden seems pretty petty.  Maybe the things that really count are working just fine here in Africa after all.

Beyond Good Enough

We have expressions for it, such as “notching it up a level” or “a whole new order of magnitude.” But these simply are not adequate to describe what Anita and I recently experienced at the Salzburg Music Festival.

The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as seen from our wonderful
center section seats in the Salzburg Festival Music Hall

One of Anita's “bucket list” dreams has been to hear a live concert of the Vienna Philharmonic in their native Austria. So, after ironing out the wrinkles in her dress and my shirt after our trip from Nigeria, we prepared for a special evening during our holiday stop in Salzburg on our way home to Spokane.

Married to someone who has been singing for the past forty years in community and symphony choirs, I am no stranger to classical concerts; but nothing I’ve heard in the past equaled this experience in Austria. With renowned conductor Daniel Barenboim on the podium, world-class principals soloing in each section of the orchestra, and each member of the orchestra playing with their whole being, I learned just how amazing orchestral music can sound. The newly remodeled, wood-paneled Festival Music Hall seemed perfectly tuned to enhance the symphonic richness and vibrancy of this event. Also, it was a special treat for Anita to hear opera superstar Placido Domingo as guest soloist and the excellent Vienna Singverein as the choir for Reger's Requiem.  

Why a blog post about a classical music concert? Because there is much that reminds me of what it means to serve God with excellence. So often I feel that I (and many of my fellow Christians) become all too satisfied with OK performances in ministry endeavor. Worse yet, when I make OK good enough, it quickly becomes my performance standard, and I don’t even stop to think about what true excellence could or should be. Maybe I’ve become too influenced by an American culture overly sensitive to building up self-esteem by cheering every Little Leaguer who strikes out or giving a standing ovation at every single concert, regardless of the performance quality. Whatever the case, I realize that striving for something more—something really excellent—has not always been my top priority.

Anita had the special privilege of meeting  Placido Domingo after the
concert and getting his autograph on our concert program

That is one reason listening to this concert was such a stunning experience. From the execution of the first notes of the Adagio movement of Mozart's Maurerische Trauermusik in C minor, which were played so quietly that I wasn’t even sure the concert had begun, to the gripping themes of Bruckner’s Symphony  No. 4, I felt I was in the presence of something truly special. The orchestra could play so softly and exquisitely in one section of a piece; then it could expand in volume and palpable power to a truly magnificent finale. It was as if my soul was telling me, “Yes! This is the way a great performance sounds.”

On top of that, I was personally inspired to see outstanding musicians like Barenboim and Domingo, who have been performing for several decades, still demonstrating uncompromising professionalism in the execution of their craft. It was clear they have not allowed OK to be good enough for them.

And neither should I. 

Getting It Wrong

New Megachurch in Abuja, Nigeria

One of the lingering impressions I’m taking away from this trip to Nigeria is how possible it is for well- meaning Christians to get it wrong. Today, the overwhelming theme among many Christian churches in Nigeria is the prosperity gospel. Teaching that God wants to bless his faithful with health and wealth, the “name it, claim it” theology now dominates Christian areas of the country. Even here, there are now massive megachurches sprouting up, led by pastors who point to their personal biz jets as evidence of God’s blessing. But more often than not, these church kingdoms are built on the contributed earnings of poor people taught that, if they give sacrificially, God will eventually reward them with the desires of their hearts. To me, this theology is closer to the mindset of a casino gambler than that of solidly biblical Christian.

As Anita and I spend a few days in Austria on our way home, we’ve seen another form of Christianity that has gotten it wrong. This time it’s the old, traditional Catholicism present in the many historic churches and cathedrals we’ve visited. The two dominant pictures we see in every case are Jesus as a tiny, helpless child or as a suffering, crucified criminal. In either case, the Son of God does not come across as a conquering victor over sin and death, but as an uncompelling symbol of weakness. As one Austrian Christian brother put it, most Austrians rarely view Jesus as someone with whom they need a personal relationship because they believe in God and have been baptized. Why do they need a relationship with Jesus?

Here are two representations of what I'm talking about, the first taken from a church in Salzburg, the second from St. Stephen's cathedral in Vienna.

Both these experiences in Nigeria and Austria have been good reminders that Christians everywhere must be careful how to apply God’s Truth lest they simply get it wrong!

Biblical Balance or Contrast?

Our third and final Ministry and Marriage seminar was held here in the city of Jos, Nigeria over the span of three evenings. Anita and I were delighted to have over forty people, mostly couples but also some singles, joining us for our sessions.

The event was hosted by the Nigeria Bible Translation Trust (NBTT) that allowed us to use their Hall of Praise for the event. Better yet, they helped us out by running their back-up generator so that we could keep our PowerPoint projector running during the frequent city power outages that occurred.

Jos is located four hour’s drive north of the capital city, Abuja, where we held our first two seminars.

As a result, it is much closer to what Nigerian’s call the northern belt which is where the largest percentage of Muslim’s live. We also learned that people appear here seem to be more impacted by traditional African culture when it comes to practices of marriage and family. Many of our interactive discussion times centered on how to practically apply biblical teaching which is often in stark contrast with common cultural marriage habits.

One participant stated, “When a man pays such a large bride price to marry his wife, the usual attitude is that he has bought her and that she is therefore his possession that he can do with as he pleases. That is why the biblical principle of sacrificial service of husbands toward their wives is such a challenge, even for those engaged in church and ministry work.”

Anita and I have been learning so much about Nigerian culture during this trip. It’s been great receiving affirmation for our seminar and plenty of invitations to return for more training in the future, but we see how what we have offered has only cracked the door open on a truly significant topic of interest and concern Our hope and prayer is that all of those who participated in our seminars will be challenged to continue thinking through just what they many need to do to truly bring biblical balance to their ministry and marriage.

Armed Robbery!

No. It did not occur to Anita and me. But it did happen two nights ago to eight friends of ours, some of whom were our hosts for the Ministry and Marriage seminars we gave in the city of Abuja.

The group of eight were in a hotel having a debrief meeting after a regional gathering for the MANI network. (MANI stands for Movement of Africa National Initiatives.) Several armed men came into their room and forced them to give up money, laptops, iPads, wristwatches and other valuables. Thankfully, none of them were physically harmed, apart from the emotional trauma that such an event produces.

One of our friends, Reuben Ezemadu, was able to slip his cell phone under a sofa and that is how he was able to call for the police afterwards plus send us an email note telling of this tragic incident.

Having been robbed in our home years ago when we lived in Kinshasa, DRC, Anita and I know how abused and violated one feels when something like this occurs. It also has made us realize this country of Nigeria continues to offer huge challenges to anyone wanting to be engaged in active ministry here.

The good news part of this story is that one of the folks had their iPad security system alive and therefore was able to trace exactly where it was a few hours later. The police were able to make a raid on that house and found one of the men with some of the stolen property.

Thanks for all of you who have been praying for our own safety during these two weeks.  We have a day to go before we fly out for Europe and then home.

Under His wings,

Jon

Ministry and Marriage--Nigeria Style!

My wife, Anita, and I have now completed our first full week here in Nigeria and have finished two of three scheduled seminars on balancing ministry and marriage. For me, it’s been a special treat to have Anita accompany me this time, as opposed to working solo as I have the past two years.

The emphasis of our presentation has been to challenge couples involved in ministry work to find biblical balance between the demands of work and the priority of their marriage. We’ve been contrasting perspectives on both of these from current popular culture and Scripture. We’re trying hard not to let our Western cultural biases color our conclusions but, instead, help participants make their own comparisons between traditional Nigerian viewpoints and what the Bible has to say about it.

As a result, we’ve learned so many interesting aspects about traditions and habits here in Nigeria even among couples who are strongly committed to their Christian faith. Here are a few:

·         ***African culture says that men should always be the authoritative and domineering head of the home. Men in ministry struggle with living out this expectation from their extended family along with also knowing the Bible says they should love their wife sacrificially, as Christ loved the church.

*** Nigerian pastors have inherited the role of the tribal high priest, whom everyone venerates with the highest respect and seeks out for all life decisions. As a result, many pastors experience a status of huge respect among their parishioners that sets them apart and easily leads to excesses of pride and self-glorification. 

*** A wife’s expectation of submission to her husband often extends to the extended family as well, meaning that she can be routinely ordered around by her husband’s parents or elder brothers.

All of these realities and many more have led to some stimulating discussion times during our sessions as we’ve attempted to encourage a biblical worldview on both ministry and marriage.

Frequent power outages have impacted our seminars, causing major interruptions in our PowerPoint presentations.  Then there are the heightened security conditions. This has meant that some participants have been delayed up to several hours just trying to get to our meeting venue because of the multiple police checkpoints along the way. In one case, we waited for over an hour to start the session and had only three people there. By the end of the session, however, there were twenty-five!

Tomorrow we will begin our third seminar, this time in the city of Jos that is higher in elevation than Abuja, so the weather is quite comfortable. We’ve learned that announcements have been made on the radio, and posters with our picture have been displayed all over town. So, we’ll see just how many people show up this time. Whatever the case, we’re praying that God brings those who will benefit the most from our seminar and, therefore, become more effective than ever in both their ministry and their marriage.

Language Legacy

I hated it!

I was only twelve’s years old, but I my parents’ idea that I should start taking French lessons was not something I wanted to do AT ALL.  And it didn’t help that my sister, who was three years younger, and my grandmother, who was a whole lot older, consistently outperformed me on every single “dictée” and “examen.” Furthermore, I thought, I was being raised in Portugal and already knew how to speak Portuguese, why did I need to know French as well?

Little did I know that one day, I would be spending two days in Dakar, Senegal, where everyone only speaks French, mentoring a young ministry leader from Guinea-Bissau, who only speaks Portuguese, and try to write a blog about it to folks who only speak English!

Miguel Indibe, is the director of the Projeto Tradução de Guinea-Bissau (PTGB) an initiative to reorganize efforts to finish translations of the Bible in the remaining unwritten languages of his country. After completing several years of seminary training in Brazil he returned to his native land just two years ago to take on his new duties not realizing how challenging it would be for him to fully launch this new national effort. Thanks to Wycliffe Associate CEO, Bruce Smith, I was asked to extend my Nigeria trip for a couple of days and meet with Miguel to offer help him do some strategic planning and figure out just how to develop his new organization.

That’s why the last two days have been a delightful time of sitting together with Miguel here at the WEC guesthouse in downtown Dakar getting to know this enthusiastic young leader and discussing everything from board governance to cash-flow spreadsheets. The side benefit for me has been learning a ton about his tiny, mostly forgotten country on the west coast of Africa.

Guinea-Bissau was a former Portuguese colony that along with Angola, Mozambique and the Cabo Verde islands, still use that language. Even though it is a tiny country, however, it still has around fifteen native languages that have never been put into written form.  That also means there are no Bibles in those languages that people can read in their heart language. Miguel wants to do something about that.

Receiving some help from the national Evangelical Church, the primary Protestant presence in the country, PTGB has had some generous support from a group called One Book, a group out of Canada that encourages indigenous translation effort. Nevertheless, to achieve his goal, Miguel will need to connect with other key partners in the future and to do that, he must first make some major organizational changes in order to build some needed stability and credibility.

If the openness and teachability I’ve witnessed during the past 48 hours is any indication of his leadership capability, Miguel is well on his way. It’s been a privilege to pass on my thoughts, ideas and experience in mission leadership to him and even look forward to a possible follow-up trip to Guinea-Bissau sometime later on.

I guess I do have to admit that if all those years as a kid learning French and Portuguese meant that I would get a chance to do something like this, it was definitely worth it after all!

Standing Amazed

“A real eye-opener! A paradigm shift! Has given me a whole new perspective on how I should live my Christian life!"

These were typical statements written on the evaluation forms at the end of the two workshops I’ve gave this past week in both Jos and Abuja, Nigeria. To be honest, I’m more than slightly amazed by such strong reaction. What started out to be some basic instruction on biblical fundraising principles has certainly ended up becoming much more for virtually all of the seventy-plus participants in the two seminars.

My training event was divided into two days with one main subject each day. First, I attempted to lay a solid foundation on a theology of stewardship. Then, I showed how best practices of fundraising for ministries could be built on that foundation. Using what I’ve been learning myself during the past year from Tim Keller’s messages and the writings of my friend, Scott Rodin, I attempted to show how differently a steward mindset is from one that believes we get to control what we possess. Everyone appreciated the practical examples of fundraising methods, but it was really Day One that impacted folks the most. As I’ve reflected on it, I see at least three possible reasons.

1.       Prosperity Gospel--Nigerian churches are rampant with this false teaching. Many pastors are using it as a means of draining what little financial resources their parishioners have in order to pad their own pockets. Nigeria has the richest Christian churches in all of Africa, if not the entire Global South. Limousines and private biz jets are openly flaunted by Nigerian mega-church pastors as evidence of God’s blessing.  In contrast, my seminar friends immediately saw how a theology of stewardship directly counters a “name it—claim it” thinking. If everything we own belongs to God in the first place, managing it as a steward looks very different than greedily chasing after more material stuff.

2.       Gate-Keepers—African culture in general and in Nigeria specifically, anyone in leadership is venerated, especially pastors who are viewed as being the mouthpiece of God. As a result, pastors tend to become little monarchs who tightly control their ecclesiastic kingdoms. One fall-out of this is that few churches will open their doors to have a mission organization share about its ministry let alone consider financial support for anyone outside of the church. That’s why there was immediate interest in the transformational model I presented in the workshop of approaching churches as partners in the Great Commission as opposed to “begging” for a charitable donation.

3.       Harvesters vs. Sowers—Thanks to Scott Rodin’s insightful little book, The Sower, I explained the difference between a Harvester fundraising mindset that seeks to reap as much support income as quickly as possible with a Sower’s mindset of investing into people’s life-long journey of becoming a godly steward and letting God’s Spirit do the motivating for giving. This truly was a paradigm shift for most workshop participants and many pledged they would immediately change the way they interact with supporters.

Everyone at the workshops agreed that the people they wished could be challenged by this seminar were Nigerian pastors. So, several of them are already brainstorming on how we might be able to put together a more nationwide event a year from now that would specifically target the gatekeeper church leaders of this country. It will be exciting to see what happens.

There are a few times in my ministry career when I felt like I was simply doing something regular and normal, only to be blown away by how God unexpectedly used it as a channel of His blessing for others. Presenting these two workshops this past week in Nigeria has definitely been one of those times.

Nigeria--The Untold Story

As I write this blog, I’ve now been in Nigeria for a full week.  My workshops and seminars have gone great—a subject for my next blog post. But what has overshadowed everything else on this trip has, of course, been the news story of the kidnapped girls of Chibok.  Even as I write, the CNN channel in my hotel room is broadcasting a live report being made just a few miles away here in Abuja, an interview with a Major General of the Nigerian Army. It’s clear that this story is finally making its impact on the world, as it should have weeks ago right after the kidnapping happened.

But what has been most interesting to me is to listen to the comments of my local Nigerian friends and contrast them to the international news stories I’m seeing on TV. That contrast can be summed up in one missing word: Christian!

Absent from virtually every broadcast I’ve seen is the element that concerns local citizens the most—the fact that the Boko Haram has again and again specifically targeted Christian populations of Nigeria. Do you ever hear it reported that the school where the girls were taken from was specifically a Christian school? Or that a similar Islamic school not far away was not touched at all?  Or that several girls who were able (allowed?) to escape were all Muslim? Why is it that these facts never seem particularly relevant to the international media?  I can tell you these and other key facts about recent Boko Haram attacks on Christian villages, churches and schools have certainly not been missed by the population here in Nigeria.

One reason for this is the backdrop of growing frustration Christian populations in the middle of the country have about the slow by steady progression of Muslim Fulani tribal people moving down from the north. During the past several years, these nomadic cattle people have slowly, but surely, taken over traditional farming areas, pushing the non-Muslim farmers farther south. I’ve heard reports that sometimes the Fulani intentionally set fire to farmers’ fields as a tactic to dominate the land for their herds. As their numbers expand in a given area, they get key Imams elected to government offices who, in turn, support legislation that favor further Fulani expansion.

Now, they have moved into the rich, fertile Plateau State and in just the past year and people report seeing herds of their cattle on the outskirts of the city of Jos. Increasing civil disturbances and “incidents” in the city’s outlying areas have caused Christians to fear for their safety and therefore move out of those areas which are immediately back-filled by newly arriving Muslim Fulani. All of this has made many of the Christian ministry leaders I’ve been speaking with this past week more and more concerned and nervous about the future stability of their country. “The Fulani may not be as radical as Boko Haram,” said one friend, “but their ultimate intention is definitely the same—rid Nigeria of all Christian presence and turn it into an Islamic State.”

With 170 million Nigerians in this country, more than half of which are Christian, that is probably not going to happen anytime soon. But what could certainly happen is a bloody civil conflict not unlike what caused Sudan to be split up into two competing nations.

Is it any wonder that these local Nigerians are more than concerned when they perceive that the full story of Christian persecution does not get reported about the kidnapped Chibok girls?

Bail Out!

1st Lt. Arthur Lewis - US Army Air Force

It was early morning on November 10, 1944. A B-17 “Flying Fortress” bomber took off from Rougham Field just outside of Bury St. Edmonds, England. The plane climbed up to join 235 other bombers and 154 P-51 fighters all being deployed on a mission to disable the Luftwaffe airfield at Wiesbaden, Germany.

Positioned at the very front of the plane was a young First Lieutenant by the name of Arthur Lewis. As the plane approached its target, he peered through his Norden bombsight, lining up the cross-hairs on the airfield below and pulled the trigger to release his bomb payload. Just then, however, the plane was hit by flack immediately setting two of its four engines on fire and puncturing its Plexiglas nose. Some of the fragments of the clear plastic Plexiglas struck Lewis in the face blinding his left eye. The pilot immediately put the plane into a steep dive that succeeded in extinguishing the engine flames but which also left them at tree-top level, alone and separated from the rest of the squadron.

Running on just two engines, the crew attempted to get as far as they could back to England but realized that they would have to abort the mission somewhere over Belgium—hopefully behind friendly Allied lines. The pilot gave the order for the crew to “bail out” and one by one the men jumped out of the plane already at a dangerously low altitude. Lt. Lewis dropped out through the bomb bay and immediately pulled his ripcord deploying a white, silk parachute. Seconds later, he was on the ground, landing in the soft dirt of a farmer’s garden.

Possible field near where Dad landed with his parachute.
Note the remains of a former windmill.

For the past day here in Belgium, I have been reliving the events of this B-17 mission as I’ve attempted to relocate and explore the very places that my father experienced on that fateful day in November 1944. Thanks to some on-line World War II forums, I learned about the exact location where Edgar Prigmore and Jack Malahy, the pilot and co-pilot of that B-17 finally were able to crash land the plane in an open field. I’ve triangulated more or less where my Dad landed with his parachute and also discovered the house that belonged to Dr. Vander Schueren, a local village doctor who took care of my dad for a couple days helping to remove some of the pieces of Plexiglas from his left eye. 

Dr. Vander Shueren's former home in
St Levins-Houten, Belgium

Although the plane was scrapped and never returned to service, all of the crew survived and were soon reunited to fly more missions with the 94^th Bomb Group of the Eighth Air Force. My father completed 34 of 35 missions before the war finally ended. That led him to feel called to return to Europe as a missionary and finish out his “tour of duty.”

Standing alone alongside those quiet fields in rural Belgium, it was pretty amazing to think how much my own life has been impacted by the events of that fateful day. From my dad surviving a dangerous mission and parachute drop to my growing up as an MK in Portugal and inheriting his passion for missions, I am deeply touched by the way God orchestrates the events of history to shape our lives.

And I hope something similar will be said of me some day what is written on his tombstone at the Fort Snelling veterans’ cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota:  He finished his final mission.

Very CRAF-ty!

For the past week, I’ve been participating in the Consultation Regionale d' Afrique Francaphone (CRAF.) This is a gathering of French-speaking ministry leaders who have met every two years for the past sixteen to share best practices in mission outreach across their continent. The venue of a vintage seaside hotel in Dakar, Senegal has been a great place for this meeting as men and women not only enjoy lively African worship in the lecture hall, but all sixteen workshops and training forms have been able to function during the day in the available boardroom/classroom facilities.

Despite the fact there are quite a few white faces in the mix (usually Western mission staff working in Africa) CRAF is totally run and managed by Africans themselves. Having attended way too many consultations dominated by Westerners, particularly Americans, I’m finding this distinct African flavor of CRAF to be very refreshing.

One of the sober highlights of the week was a poignant personal report brought by Anatole Banga, the representative from Central African Republic. The accounts he shared and even a short video taken secretly by a cellphone of the atrocities carried out specifically against Christians by the foreign insurgents was simply too horrendous to even explain or repeat. How governments like my own can stand by and give political excuses for non-involvement in such a human tragedy is simply beyond belief. And despite a few French troops now guarding the Bangui airport, Anatole claims there are still street killings every single day.

My reason for coming to CRAF was in response to an invitation to be one of the trainers for the CRAF Institute, a set of nine elective courses offered morning and afternoon. My topic was Biblical Stewardship and Resource Development – a fancy title for how to do local fund raising. Because many had never heard the word “intendance” (stewardship in French) before, hardly anyone signed up at first for my course. But by the time the word got around, I had about thirty of the 120 total CRAF participants joining me. And, it’s cool seeing how “intendance” has become a real buzz-word of this conference.

What really blew my mind, though, is how the folks in my course started making applications of Biblical stewardship to other areas of life besides just fund raising. “This would totally change how we ‘do church’ here in Africa!” said one person. “We simply have never really been shown that the Gospel is not just about spiritual restoration but also restoration of all areas of life.” As a result, I now have a standing invitation to return sometime to Senegal and lead a more in-depth exploration with local pastors of how to create practical applications in their own context of Biblical stewardship.   

One thing is for sure: it’s great working together with such CRAF-ty people!

Downsizing for Survival

It’s not what I came out here for. The original plan was a follow-up visit to this national Bible translation organization in northwestern DRCongo to provide the next stage of training in management and board governance principles.

 Instead, I discovered my friends here were grappling with a serious financial and management crisis that threatened their survival. Within two hours of stepping off the airplane in Gemena, DRC, I found myself addressing the board of directors and offering counsel towards an action plan than meant drastic downsizing.

Part of the reason I was recruited by Wycliffe Associates to provide organizational development training for national groups like these is because many of them have faced sudden transitions from being implementers of Western projects to now running complete programs all by themselves. Often feeling like they’ve been dropped into the deep end of the pool, many struggle to implement the basics of management without adequate training.

Meeting with board members and an after lunch shot at the director's home

 

 

That’s why I wasn’t totally surprised to find myself trying to explain to both management staff and board members that an approved budget that has twice as much expenditure as expected income simply doesn’t work!  Even then, it took some colorful graphs and cash-flow charts to help them see how they had no more options left but to cut costs and downsize--immediately.

So, although this week here in one of the most remote parts of Congo did not unfold the way I had expected, it has certainly been one of swapping earned friendship and credibility for some tough advice that hopefully will allow this important Bible translation ministry to survive onwards and even rebuild itself on a new, stronger foundation.

Of course, not all has been hard-nosed management discussion.  I’ve been treated every day to a lunch and dinner of very authentic Congolese food consisting of fufu (boiled manioc), pondu (manioc leaves), chiquong (fermented manioc) and boiled plantain bananas!