2010 Update Letters

8 January 2010

THE RESOLUTIONS OF TIYANI SHIHLOMULE

Last Thursday we organized a Christian New Year’s Party complete with soccer, food, and a time of reflection on Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions. (See picture.) The 20 or so young men really responded as Paul explained 25 of Edwards’ 70 Resolutions written before the age of 21. Each man received a copy in both Tsonga and English, and to our delight the group seemed genuinely interested in them.

Four days later without any external prompting or discussion, Tiyani, a 16 year old church member, showed up at my house with his own Resolutions. Here are a few of them.

  • I am resolved to use plenty of my time to know God and to have joy in loving him.
  • I am resolved to use time wisely and if I don’t, I must cut my sleep time to cover the time which I have lost.
  • I am resolved to help my mother in a loving way and to pray deligently for the salvation of her.
  • I am resolved to work hard to become a Christlike character so that others may get saved through it.
  • I am resolved to doing my math and physics as soon as I gain new lessons I should memorize and practice them.
  • I am resolved to examine myself and whenever I see a weakness in me I should get rid of it as soon as possible.
  • I am resolved to do what I can with what I have where I am.
  • I am resolved not to let any entertainment get in the way of me and God or my schoolwork.
  • I am resolved to evangelise at least one person a week.
  • I am resolved to stay humble and to know that I am only dust.
  • I am resolved to defend the gospel with all my might.

If you have been praying for the Holy Spirit to save people, for young Christians to be solidified in their faith, or for God to raise up clear-thinking men, then I hope you will take some time to thank God for answering your prayers in this young man. And then continue to pray without ceasing for those whom the Father has entrusted to our care. Perhaps you might even want to choose 2-3 of these resolutions yourself for 2010.

NEW SERVICE

On Wednesday night 14 people gathered in the Mahungu’s nearly finished garage despite muddy paths brought on by the off and on rains. I taught about praying for things that will advance God’s Kingdom and then we all wrote down the name of a lost loved one we could pray for. The Africans are very slow about offering prayer requests. In my entire time here (nearly 6 years) I may have heard 3 prayer requests offered publicly. So I usually come armed with requests to give the whole group. It worked last night. We prayed for about 17 minutes for unsaved relatives and sins that we need to gain victory over. Even 1 of the 6 adult visitors prayed. At times like that, it was rewarding to be a pastor.

BEST BOOK OF 2009

After time for reflection, How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin Schmidt won the 2009 gold medallion from Meyers’ Memorial Library. Schmidt presents 14 categories of modern life and then examines how they have changed for the better because of Christianity. More than my mind was stirred as I worked through history and saw that practically every positive aspect of modern life had at least in part been birthed by a follower of Christ who made his particular contribution because of his devotion to Christ. For example, Johann Kepler as an act of service to God discovered the first three astronomical laws which formed the basis for modern astronomy. Let me know if this sparks your interest to get a copy.

A number of you have referenced praying for the four men I mentioned last month. I will update you when there is a change, but feel free to ask questions as well.

Resolutely,

4 March 2010

LIFE ORIENTATION

High schools in SA offer a class called Life Orientation that is still a little bit of a mystery to me. Supposedly they learn how to adjust from African rural life to modern life, but I can’t vouch for the curriculum. Until now. I asked the principals of some different schools if I could teach from the Bible how the students can be true successes. Positive words like “success” seem to carry a lot of weight. So every Thursday and some Fridays God has allowed me to teach multiple classes of 20-40 10th-12th graders. The first lesson was on the Protestant Work Ethic with each succeeding lesson spiraling closer and closer to the Gospel.

So far, one young man has begun attending our Youth Bible studies and two more spoke with me about it today. Please pray on your Wednesday nights for ability to communicate smoothly in Tsonga and for a sometimes unruly group to receive wise instruction.

IT’S BIBLE TIME

In 23 days the Elim Baptist Church will reach out into our community with a Neighborhood Bible Time crusade. We want to love children the way Christ did in Mark 10, and we have a settled confidence that he can save them. Please pray with us for the convicting call of the Holy Spirit to reach these children’s hearts. Our plan right now is to spread out the teaching between Amy and two church members in the class room, and myself and two more church members in a combined rally time. We are grateful to Larry Koontz and NBT for the ribbons and general support. Now if I could just find a Tsonga word for “booster.”

Our prayers are directed in three ways, and we humbly request your prayer as well.

  1. See children converted.
  2. Provide the church members with a chance to labor in unity in teaching and evangelism.
  3. Make contacts with parents in the community at a Good Friday service April 2nd.

And as a prelude to this ministry, last Monday two 11 year olds who have been in Amy’s class for months came to my house asking how to be saved. We are praying for men, and the Father sends them to us as seeds to be carefully tended as they grow.

PEOPLE ON OUR MIND

Here’s a reminder of

  • Mzamani: He is the father of three children and husband of Murun’wa. Presently he is working about 5 hours away so we only see him once per month. He is growing in grace and every Saturday we connect briefly on the phone about a chapter of a book we are reading together.
  • Rudzani: He is a 24-year old who is now living in Johannesburg looking for work. In recent months he had really shown more commitment and interest in the church before heading off to the city for employment. Pray that he would not fall.
  • Siphiwe and Themba: Two boys around 20 years old who are now living in Johannesburg because of the schools there. Pray that they would resist temptation without the support structure of the church.
  • Mary: A new woman who has recently begun attending and has shown interest in church membership. After a Bible study Monday, I think she’s a believer.
  • Vincent: A young man staying in the village who has been absent from church for about 5 months now. He will have to be removed from membership if he does not respond the next time Mzamani and I visit him.
  • Akani and Acres: Two good-spirited teenage boys who consistently come to church and youth meetings, but are not ready to follow Christ.
  • Mercy: Between her job that now takes her away every Sunday, two kids, and problems at home, she is in need of prayer and Christian growth.

Planting and watering,

10 March 2010

My closest African friend is now with Jesus. This morning at somewhere around 5 am an oncoming car tried to pass another vehicle in a fatally short distance. He met head on the company vehicle driven by Mzamani Desmond Baloyi, and a few moments later he was with his Savior. Mzamani came to Christ around April 2004 when a white man gave him a tract and greeted him in his own language.

Shortly after his conversion he submitted to baptism, and I gave him an English study Bible, which he loved and used till his death. Following his conversion, his wife came to Christ and was baptized, and we saw a whole family get serious for God. Two of his four children have been saved, and the last two are still under 5.

He lived in a two room house and helped support other family members including a handicapped older sister and his mother. I can remember walking up to his house for a visit and hearing Mark Minnick’s familiar voice emerging from a CD player for the edification of any nearby English speakers. He also read books by Jay Adams, Herbert Lockyer, and AW Pink.

Mzamani spoke slowly with me in Tsonga so I could learn, never tired of my grammar and vocabulary questions, eagerly listened to Bible truth, and cultivated a discerning mind about Bible doctrine. However, I am most touched today, a few hours after hearing about his death by the memories of real friendship he gave me. On his day off, he just showed up and started digging on the foundation for my house when we were building. Last year he purchased a small plaque for me including a note about friendship. When my bakkie was broken he hitch-hiked with me into town to get it fixed. Without any carnal motivations, Mzamani treated a younger white man like a friend and brother.

He will be missed as a leader in the church, a father of his family, and a friend, but he was faithful to his profession of faith to his unexpected death.

Sorrowing, but not as others,

4 April 2010

THE FUNERAL

The kind words, prayer, and concern that so many expressed for the passing of a brother in Christ that you did not even know strengthened and encouraged us over the past few weeks. Amy pasted many of the e-mails together into a letter and presented them to Mzamani’s wife, Murun’wa, the week of the funeral.

The week of the funeral I had the chance to meet the manager of a hardware store where Mzamani managed the security officers. Though he had only been on the particular contract for 6 months the manager praised him as an exceptional worker and man. He said there was something different about Mzamani—he couldn’t remember meeting a man like him. Furthermore, he asked if they could have a special memorial service with all the employees to honor him.

African funerals take anywhere from 7-11 days with a lot of visiting and preparation for hosting several hundred people. Then on Monday-Friday evenings there is a brief message and prayer time at the house. Add on to that the funeral service on Saturday and the Sunday church services as well. Thankfully, I had the chance to make positive contacts with many African men, but four in particular were interested in Bible studies and further discussion about Christianity.

Please continue to pray for the widow, our little church, and these who have been stirred.

EVANGELISM AND ENTHUSIASM

Last Sunday, Elim Baptist Church began a children’s evangelistic rally. We had around 120-130 kids each night from ages 7-14. The agenda included singing (Tiyani), verse memory (Murun’wa), a lesson on one of Jesus’ parables (Amy), catechism questions (Siphiwe), review (Ntwanano), and a dramatic retelling of The Holy War (myself). It took a lot of work to get the church members that involved, but in the end they all did a good job, and the kids were nearly as affected as the workers. The children were good listeners, proving a well-planned program can enable even kids to learn a strong theology of salvation. Three of our helpers were people who come to our church, but are not yet ready to give their testimony and be baptized, so were we evangelizing children or adults?

A FEW NEW FOLLOWERS

So what results can we show from the week of evangelism? This morning several Baptist churches gathered in the town for a combined Easter service. The Tsonga congregations mingled with the Venda, Afrikaans, and English believers while listening to a Sotho preacher from our college. Paul and Melinda practiced for weeks with the students to put on a great Easter program complete with music, preaching, and food. For me the climax of the worship was the baptism of five believers:

  • Verengerai is a Shona LBI student who had been sprinkled as a child, but was convinced by Scripture that he must obey the command to be immersed.
  • Akani (16) and Acres (14) for whom many of you prayed (refer to the letter on 4 March) were both touched by the week of NBT. Akani gave a great testimony basing his conversion on Jesus’ words in John 33 and 336.
  • Vutivi (13) is Mzamani’s niece who was practically his daughter. She too gave a good testimony and has been with us since our first efforts at children’s ministry 4 years ago.
  • Eugene (12), our next door neighbor who is also an orphan, has been troublesome in the past; but last Friday he said that the stories about The Holy War convinced him that Prince Emmanuel should rule in his heart instead of Diabolos.

Grateful to see God work,

9 June 2010

VILLAGE LIFE

After finishing a Bible study with Mzamani’s brother Oriel last week I started the 10 minute walk back to my house. The first of two roads that will take me home is about 12 feet wide and probably half a dozen or so people greeted me as I walked. Sometimes I have to stand aside for the occasional pickup truck. I passed the one home that is well-known for making traditional beer, and as always, the pair of 3 foot high speakers was out corroding the village with rap exported from America. Of the score of homes I pass, only a handful have mud-brick rooms.

Turning off the road I traced my way back through the slightly overgrown path connecting the area my house is in with the other collection of 100 or so homes I was coming from. The creek is full because of the unusual amount of rain we had this year, but there are a few stones to help the traveler on this well-worn path. Most homes have corn and other vegetables growing in the yard along with the occasional bush or flowers.

Kids seem to be everywhere, and these days you can usually hear them blasting plastic, one-tone trumpets starting from just after sunup because the World Cup starts tomorrow.

There is one nice cement road coming from the town about 30 minutes away running through our village and eventually connecting Mbhokota (where Paul lives) and then another 20 minutes to reach Bungeni (where Joel lives). Our house sits off the cement road about a quarter mile.

Modern Africa still has dramatic poverty, but especially in South Africa the average person has running water, a cell phone, and too much interaction with the worst of Western culture. I am writing this because as I walked back from that Bible study, I wondered if a portrait in prose might help you to imagine our life and ministry a little better. Oh, and please remember Oriel Baloyi in prayer.

HE BEING DEAD YET SPEAKS

Richard Baxter was the most prolific writer of the English Puritans. As a pastor he took to personally visiting his church members to catechize them. In so doing, he was able to see many family members and friends come to Christ. In February I began reading one of his most famous books, The Reformed Pastor which takes a good 80 pages to explain why and how to catechize church members. So in April we started meeting in church members homes about once per month to study the questions and answers. If you are not familiar with catechisms, it is a serious of questions and answers that the students must learn by memory. For example:

Q: Have I always been a Christian?

A: No, I was born again when I repented and believed the Gospel. Mark 115

Our church members have responded well to this even enjoying their one hour per month. And we have had about 7 unconverted people consistently attending the catechism classes. Please pray for God to open hearts through this methodical tool. And if your pastor doesn’t have a copy of this wonderful book, get him one.

EVENING DEVOTIONS

Akani, the 16-year old who was baptized in April, has been faithful at church for months now to both services. Recently his 70-year old grandmother (who is a regular visitor at our home) told us that he has begun leading family prayer time at his home. Back in 2006 Akani had come to our church for a few months, but then he quit. Without any warning last October he started attending again. He was converted in February and has been faithful since. Please pray for his growth.

ACCREDITATION

The college will see its first graduating class in November, Lord-willing. We are striving to give the students an enduring, theological education while we pray that He will call many of them to the ministry. While we are still striving for accreditation with the SA Department of Education, we are attempting to build a network of Gospel-loving churches who would be willing to endorse the program and potentially support the students. Please pray that God would grant us continued growth with the students and wisdom as we plan.

Fishing in winter,

18 July 2010

FRIEND DAY

Once a year we especially encourage the church members and friends to invite relatives and neighbors to a Friend Day. Since we don’t want to trick people with gimmicks we are open about our purposes: we want people to hear a Gospel message and experience a Biblical church environment.

Today somewhere around 30 adults and teens were present including a number of visitors. Our entire church was involved with food preparation (for our first all-church meal), teaching two different Sunday School classes, and Murun’wa (Mzamani’s wife) and her daughters sang “There is a Redeemer” in Tsonga (translated by Melinda Schlehlein). I explained the thief on the cross from Luke 23 urging them to realize their need for a new heart.

A number of unconverted people came today. Their presence and spiritual conditions call for prayer.

  • Kenny and I have another catechism meeting this Saturday.
  • Calvin is a 20-year old from up on the mountain who’s been coming for several weeks.
  • Oriel is Mzamani’s brother who has studied with me a number of times.
  • Khensani (“thanks”) and Masingita (“miracles”) are two twin sisters who have been with us for about a month.

Finally, Siphiwe, a 20-year old young man and faithful church member, asked for prayer because his family members have been mocking his Christianity with statements like, “You might as well quit now because your Christianity won’t last.”

AT HOME

Usually we get the most responses when I write about family news which reminds us of how many family and friends care about us.

First, Caleb fell out of a tree last Wednesday and broke his leg. He will be in a cast for the next few weeks as his parents are learning the fruits of the Spirit.

Recently I was singing Isaac Watts’ “Jesus is Worthy” when I heard a 3-year old voice echoing in the background, “Jesus is worthy to receive, honor and power divine…”

While our first son is reading Dr. Seuss, Colin has taken to the lesser-known, but more substantive Dr. Bavinck.

In Christ alone,

“There are two things, which I have always looked upon as difficult. The one is, to make the wicked sad; the other is to make the godly joyful.” Pastoral wisdom from Thomas Watson

8 August 2010

RARE HONESTY FOR A SLIPPERY MOVEMENT

More than 70% of South Africans claim to be Christian. And that’s pretty much a standard statistic for most southern African countries. Churches are common in rural, southern Africa. I can think of three within a 10-minute walk from my house. The average church attendance in our area seems to be between 10-50 adults.

However, the predominant kind of Christianity in the rural areas could make signs like the one in the attached picture. Because of apartheid in South Africa, this country has the greatest gap between the rich and poor. The unregenerate mind is always attracted to money more than the beauty of God in Christ, but those natural desires are especially pronounced in a context of poverty.

Furthermore, most of the churches in the villages do not follow a confession of faith or doctrinal statement. A pastor may use salvation terminology only to comment later about how Christians should have a standard of living similar to that of a king. Ultimately then, the real draw card for church attendance is healing from poverty, AIDS, and a hard life, not freedom from sin’s guilt. In an ironic sense, the rewritten verse in the attached photo was useful, because it clearly stated what is often left implicit.

Add to this recipe a church membership that is not encumbered with church discipline, and you have a pretty good description of the average African indigenous church: prosperity gospel, no written doctrinal standards, and a lack of church discipline. If this is Christianity, then rural southern Africa is largely converted.

I have no patience with the prosperity non-gospel. The prosperity gospel encourages affections for Jesus because of money; Jesus’ Gospel encourages affections for Jesus because of his perfections and our sinfulness.

Here’s a list of further problems with the prosperity gospel.

  1. It is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
  2. It urges sinners to commit idolatry.
  3. It denies God’s sovereign purposes for pain as revealed in Scripture.
  4. It ignores Biblical teaching on wealth.
  5. It discourages logical thought about the Bible, a work ethic, sickness, economics, and politics.
  6. It inoculates people from hearing the truth because they think they already know Gospel.
  7. It has never been accepted in the Christian church until the 1980’s.
  8. It contradicts the lives of the many godly, but poor, believers in the Bible and history.

SOME ENCOURAGING TESTIMONIES

The students returned about 6 days ago as classes resumed last Wednesday. There are 9 full time students and 3 more who are attending the night class in “Contemporary Christianity” (which contains a lengthy discussion and refutation of the prosperity gospel).

Mike Sarireni, a Zimbabwean, second-year student testified that over the break he was asked to preach without notice. So he opened his Bible to one of the passages he had learned and marked at the college and told them “they needed to love Christ more than money or things.”

After having grown in his comprehension of the Gospel, Verengerai Mavesere began a weekly Bible study at his church in Zimbabwe regarding the essential truths of salvation. Nearly 100 people came each week.

PRINTING

Recently, my friend Forrest McPhail remarked via e-mail that conversions often require months or even years of preparation before the interested sinner finally is prepared to follow Christ. Hoping to facilitate that process for the lost as well as build up the converted, Paul and I wrote and edited 100 questions and answers dealing with the foundational doctrines of Christianity. Stitched together in a 4 x 6 booklet, we sold our first two copies of the new Tsonga catechism today. We are very grateful for Godfrey Ngomane, the pastor of the Mashamba Baptist Church, for his invaluable editorial aid in correcting our Tsonga translation. Please pray that memorizing Bible doctrine will bring “awakened sinners” to the Savior.

For a theological center,

John 3:16 from the attached photo: “Jesus came on earth so that whosoever believes in Him should cease to be poor, but be forever wealthy.”

30 September 2010

COMPETITION FOR THE GLORY OF GOD

Four teams assembled and competed this year in the fourth annual Bible Quiz tournament. As I’ve mentioned other years, the competition was exciting, and we were very grateful again to have electric Bible Quiz lights. This year the questions were mainly from Genesis and 2 Peter. Here’s a sample:

Question: Did God create Adam and Eve because He wanted friends?

Answer: No, God has never been lonely.

Question: How many marks must a pastor have before 2 Peter marks him as a false teacher?

Answer: Even one if he refuses to repent.

The competition was intense again this year as the competition came down to the two teams that were fighting it out last year. A tie forced us into extra questions before Elim finally won.

The great majority of these 23 young people do not have saved parents. Please pray that they would take these 125 doctrinal bricks and build a solid foundation in their hearts for persevering in the faith.

AFRICAN PASTORS CONFERENCE

Even though churches are very common in southern Africa, pastors who point their people to Christ alone through the Scriptures alone are very uncommon. Through the vision of some wise men, the ministry of African Pastors Conferences has attempted to influence Africa’s many rural churches with the true Gospel.

Last week we had the privilege of attending one of these conferences about two hours from our home. Paul and I drove our students and a pastor from another village for the three-day gathering. The main speaker was a Baptist from Zambia, and Paul and I both gave lectures on different aspects of Biblical Evangelism. We were glad our students could see black, solid, expository preachers. Fellowship with Africans who love Christ and the Gospel was a great blessing as well as the books the APC sells for a mere tip of the actual cost.

Please pray that God would revive South African pastors for a truly Christ-centered, Bible-preaching ministry.

LBI’S FIRST GRADUATING CLASS

Four men have reached their final weeks of study at the Limpopo Bible Institute. For three years they have been immersed in expositional studies including classes like How to Study, Hermeneutics, Systematic Theology 1-3, and of course the individual books of the New Testament. Both Paul and I have seen noticeable growth in their ability to interpret the Bible and we are hopeful that God will use these men in ministry in the near future.

The graduation is set for the 16th of October. As they consider how they can best serve God, would you please pray for these men?

  • Jastone Sebola is a Venda who started a Tsonga children’s ministry. He asks good questions in class and has an interest in being a pastor or missionary.
  • Justice Sebola is the twin brother of Jastone. They are both about to turn 24 and have been orphans for several years now. Justice is quieter than his brother, but is totally committed to serving God however he may be used.
  • Through the providence of God Tebogo Mogane arrived at our school from a home about 5 hours away. His English is excellent, but so too is his Sotho, Zulu, and now Tsonga. He wants to serve God, but is unsure of what specific role that will be.
  • Sidwell Mthombeni has been saved now for 4 years and lives in Bungeni just 15 minutes from LBI. His character and spiritual growth have been steadily increasing over the past few years. Presently he is assisting Pastor Godfrey Ngomane in the village of Mashamba.

If by any means we might attain,

11 November 2010

PLANTING FLOWERS TO THE GLORY OF GOD

For over four years, my wife and I have been living in Makhongele village trying as many methods as we can think of (or borrow from our rather clever teammates) to start a Christ-centered church. Directly, we have hosted home Bible studies, evangelized door-to-door, cooked breakfast for teenage boys, printed the catechism you read about a few months ago, and a handful of other mildly effective techniques.

Indirectly, a few other strategies have presented themselves as we try to grapple with the causes of the ongoing, omnipresent poverty in rural Africa. Through planting grass, flowers, and garden in our yard, we are hoping to send the message that personal and societal improvement comes through hard work and planning. Since the great majority of Africans want freedom from the ugliness of pervasive poverty, they may be attracted by this kind of obvious demonstration of a Christian view of beauty. Several of our neighbors have started planting grass as well, at least two of whom specifically said they got the idea from us.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Another try at communicating a Christian worldview is our road project. The dirt road that leads to our house stretches a mere 500 yards from the cement road before reaching our plot. But there is a steep incline that becomes impassable during the rainy season. Though it’s a bit messy, we can climb it because have a 4×4 while the rest of the community struggles in the mud. So several months ago I began organizing bricks and other materials to fix the road ourselves—as a community, without government freebies.

I printed out a chart where the community members could donate $7 per household to buy all the materials, and then we would all donate our hands as the workforce. Well, it wasn’t the pyramids of Egypt, but the picture shows a 50-meter stretch of cemented paving bricks that took three Saturdays for the community to lay.

One week with tools in hand, I had the privilege of publicly explaining the Gospel to a group of men who have repeatedly turned me down for in-home studies. The conversation shocked me because it was unusually interactive; they were actually interested in asking questions. It helped that there was a “pastor” there from an African church who asserted early on that God is like a school teacher, he only expects us to get a 60-70% on the goodness test to pass the entrance exam to Heaven. That easy opening allowed the other men to listen to and participate in a dialogue about the law of God and His unflinching holiness. One of our church members was also working with us, and he was even able to interact with a few volleys. Because of that discussion, a neighbor of mine who has previously been disinterested in religion or Bible studies asked me privately about church, and we have a meeting set up as soon as I return from our family vacation.

There are a few other ways we are trying to impact the community with a Christian worldview, but these two should give you a general flavor. I deny the social gospel (ie. The Good News is salvation from poverty, illiteracy, etc.), but I affirm that the Gospel does affect every aspect of society. And those effects may ultimately draw some to repent and believe in Christ.

ONLINE

Thanks to the hard work of Paul and Melinda, the Limpopo Bible Institute now has a website online. Please check out www.lbi.org.za. A vision-casting church in Chariton, IA has invested money for a larger, more permanent building (the present building is also Paul and Melinda’s home), so please pray for wisdom and an increase of students.

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MINI-MEYERS

Though Facebook has probably already done its job, we are thrilled that this coming April the worldwide shortage of Meyers’ will be one closer to being fixed. Amy is doing great so far, and we appreciate your prayers.

With tools in hand,