Two men climbed into my vehicle for a 20 minute ride. After learning that they both call themselves Christians, I asked the first what his church teaches.
First man, Mr. Rambau*: I attend United.
Seth: I don’t know that church, United? Does it have a full name?
Rambau: United African Apostolic Church.
Seth: I’ve never heard of that one. What is its teaching?
Rambau: [Pause] What?
Seth: What does it teach? When you meet together what things do you learn? If a man wanted to go to Heaven, what would your church tell him?
Rambau: Keep the 10 Commandments.
Seth: Anything else? You are forgetting something. What are you forgetting?
Rambau: No, I am not forgetting. You must keep the commands.
Seth: There is one Big Thing you are forgetting! If you forget This, you are a goat, not a sheep; in the dark, not the light; a child of Satan, not of God; an unbeliever, not a believer.
Second man, who had been quiet up until now, Mr. Sithole: Christ!
Seth: Yes, that’s it! Mr. Rambau, you forgot Christ just like most other people who ride with me. For 20 years I have evangelized, and most people forget Jesus just like you. He does not come out of their mouths because He is not in their hearts.
After some more discussion, I turn to Mr. Sithole who had surprised me with the correct answer “Christ” a few moments earlier.
Seth: I’m glad and surprised that you answered with Jesus, Mr. Sithole. But may I ask if your church loves money?
Sithole: [Pause] That is a tricky point. I can say that we do love money. That is something we need to work on.
Seth: I am afraid because I see very few churches or pastors that love Jesus more than money.
Sithole: Yes, that is the truth. We all love money even when we are at church.
Seth: In your opinion, do we still need missionaries for the Tsongas and the Vendas?
Sithole: Yes, we do because our churches are still filled with false teachers. There are very few like you. [He has only known me for 15 minutes.]
Having offered them both tracts with my contact information, I encouraged them to read their Bibles and think much of the Son of God. Then 2 different Venda pastors from two different areas, who both made important admissions about the state of the church in this area, disembarked.
*Names were changed. Find more stories like this in the “Accounts of African Religion” Category to your right.
