3 January 2013
YEAR IN REVIEW
After tossing out headlines on Facebook, some of these details may be already known, yet here’s a review of our last year.
Our church is holding steady at 23 members with another half dozen at different stages of considering membership. Amy’s children’s Bible class and our Wednesday Bible studies have prepared another half dozen children for baptism.
We lost three quality young men last year to university, and it looks as if two more will be joining them this year.
But we also have three serious guitar students now. All year Acres (17), Vutlhari (14), and Mbuyelo (12) have been practicing and shortly we hope the older ones will be playing in the services.
This year saw Caleb finish kindergarten as well as the birth of Carson Taylor. But those interested in such details would probably be far more satisfied with checking out Amy’s new blog for a lot more family, ministry, and homeschooling information (plus photos). I’ve got to admit that I read it. And if you’re not tech-savvy, there’s a “follow” button on the right of the webpage if you want her family updates just to come right to your inbox.
For the last couple years I’ve recommended a book once per year. Thankfully, every year someone has caught my interest on the subject although admittedly last year’s was a little more difficult. But this year I’ll make up for that with a very readable book that every parent or even older teen could enjoy. Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child by Anthony Esolen is fantastic. A smile repeatedly broke on my face as Esolen mixed an endless flow of samples from great literary works of art throughout Western civilization to prove the most basic (and politically incorrect) beliefs of a classic and enduring culture. You will not be sorry you invested the time or money. If you’d like to read a chart I made grading all my books from the year, let me know.
CHRISTMAS SERVICE
On Christmas morning three churches gathered in Elim for a worship service remembering the incarnation. We had the sermon early on in the service with songs and testimony afterwards as a response to the Word. One of the year’s highlights was hearing testimonies from church members like, “There were times when I was really tempted with sin, but I just want to thank God for the group of believers here, so I haven’t quit.” Or, one of our members urged us all to memorize more Scripture this year so that we would persevere. One of Paul’s church members (our great teammates are away on furlough) thanked God for the Bible and the preaching since it is so much stronger than the secular education he has received for four years at a state university. And the singing after such testimonies reached new heights of volume for our congregations.
PASTORAL VISITS
Each year I’ve been loosely visiting our church members around December for spiritual accountability and growth. I close the meetings by asking them how I can pray for them in the coming year. Here’s a few answers:
- “Pray that I would not quit the Christian life.” (Most common)
- “Pray that my mother would be converted.” (Asked by a 14 year old in front of her mother)
- “Pray that I would understand the Gospel and evangelize better.” (From a 17 year old girl, baptized in 2012)
- “Pray that I would be a man of character.” (Request of a 19 year old boy, also baptized in 2012)
We would be grateful for your fellowship in prayer with us.
In Christ,
21 January 2013
The Baptists got drenched
Rivers, rain, and water are prominent pictures in Scripture demonstrating intense feeling and the powerful working of God’s Spirit. But yesterday’s experience was not a metaphor.
Yesterday was Elim Baptist Church’s fifth anniversary Sunday. Today is the 8th day of rain. It poured yesterday the entire day. Rivers of water were running by the crèche where our church meets. The women were cooking for 60, but only 20 showed up. The gullies—in some places—were taller than Colin. Saturday morning it stopped, and we thought the rain was over, so we went to work cleaning the crèche, cutting steps into the dirt pathway, and removing unsightly weeds and grass from the entry pathway. Then from a clear sky the rains returned again in the afternoon and went right through Sunday night.
Before the service started my suit jacket was dropped in the river of water at the building’s entrance, and the current started carrying it away. I could wring out my tie. The passenger’s window on our bakkie slipped out of its bracket and irretrievably down inside the door itself. Amy’s shoes were swallowed up by the mud only a few steps from entering the building, and a number of people worshipped barefoot that day.
However, in spite of those factors the testimonies from church members were encouraging. Murun’wa (mother of three whose believing husband passed away in 2010) praised God for her salvation and grace to keep loving Christ. Akani (19 years old) thanked God for another church member who was instrumental in his conversion 3 years earlier. Tiyani made a slide show of our church’s first 5 years. Amy and Tiyani sang a special song. My message focused on the Thessalonian church reaching independence after only three weeks of teaching from Paul. (Acts 17:1-4)
Positively, one of our two men, Rudzani Rambau, has been working in Joburg for several years. He surprised us all by returning from the city for a brief three-day visit. (Friday to Sunday only, his first visit to the village in more than a year) During that brief stay, he evidenced his commitment to the church by working with us Friday and Saturday and then worshipping with us on Sunday. Privately, he told me that there are very few churches like ours where he works that can really help people stay away from sin.
A new year at LBI
Our Bible institute and our church are the same age. February 11 we will begin our sixth year of training men to be pastors or church leaders. So far, 6 men have committed to studying theology this year—all of them in the first year, and 5 of them having wives and children. Three of them are already pastors, and the others aspire to that office. Please pray that we can work out housing and be filled with the Spirit as we both lecture and model a Christian worldview to these men. Also pray that each man will have a teachable spirit especially when it comes to opposing the prosperity gospel and the other doctrinal fungi that grow in its shadows.
Hard to find, but not impossible
While our weekend was busy with preparations for the Lord’s Day, last Friday was also the anniversary of my wife’s birth. She entered her fourth decade festively by homeschooling the kids in the morning, practicing music for the church service in the afternoon, and preparing food for the church until around 10 pm Friday night. King Lemuel says that a woman like her is difficult to find, and once procured she should be valued above a cache of jewels. When I married Amy, the worth of my portfolio increased exponentially.
For the Founder and Finisher of our faith,
15 March 2013
Remove Not the Ancient Landmarks
Solomon told us, “Remove not the ancient landmark,” but someone had to set up those landmarks in the first place. Our church is in the process of “landmarking” it’s ground with a fence. To that end, we’ve been digging postholes and selling Bibles to raise the money. Lord-willing, Saturday we’ll cement the first 40 poles for the fence. Because the few men our church has are all out of the area, the teenaged boys and I have been doing all the work so far. These weekly workdays have been profitable for building character as well as a fence. Please pray that we would honor God as a church while working through the complex factors that go into an architectural effort.
Nearing the Water
A number of people have expressed interest in salvation, the church, and baptism these days. We would appreciate your prayer for the Spirit of God to begin His lasting work in their hearts. On Easter, our churches are planning to baptize any who are ready.
- Matimba: This 19-year old has been attending our church for about a year and a half. He faithfully attends church, but has been reluctant to be baptized.
- Hitler: The current chief’s 19-year old brother attended our church years ago. Last year he returned, purchased a catechism, and has been much more eager to follow Christ. He now professes salvation but is not yet baptized.
- Kulani: At 21, he has already taken a wife and may at any time move to the city for a job. However, since January, he has been coming to church and doing Bible studies. Two weeks ago, he professed faith in Christ. Pray for him to be baptized before he leaves.
- Mr. Ngobeni: I don’t even know his first name because, as the father of one of our church members, he always calls himself Father of Acres (his son). After a sudden interest in spiritual things, we’ve studied the Bible each time he has returned home from his job (a week in January and a week in February). He has professed faith in Christ and also attends a Baptist church near his work in Johannesburg, which I found for him via Google.
- Irene: Close friend of two maturing (spiritually) women in our church, Irene shows sporadic interest, and even asked me in January to pray that this year she would be a serious Christian.
- A stack of kids: Amy’s Sunday School class and my efforts at a nearby ministry for “orphans” has given us about half a dozen children who are learning and showing promise.
Crossing the Pond
In 2011 we visited our family and friends while I fulfilled some requirements for seminary, but our last real furlough where we were able to visit all the churches was in 2008. Currently, we are planning to return from May-August this year. We are excited to spend time in America again, and hopefully, we’ll get to see many of you. But if you’d like to visit with us online, I’ve begun following Amy’s example by blogging at Son of Carey.
Plowing, sowing, and sometimes reaping,
23 April 2013
THE NUMBERS
We compiled these statistics below as a way for you to get a picture of some interesting aspects of our life and ministry over the past 4 years. You may perhaps recall that we tried this before our last furlough in October 2008.
1 Sunday school child saved from choking with the Heimlich manuever
2 Broken bones—both on Caleb
2 Blogs started by our family
3 Babies we have had since our last furlough
3 Men baptized since 2008 (All three have since moved away.)
5 Age of our church in years.
5 Number of church members initially evangelized and invited by one of our church members, Reineth Baloyi (3 more that she has invited are still studying and attending)
5.50 Cost of gas per gallon in US dollars
6 Days until we get on the plane
7 Minutes Amy was at the hospital before Carson showed up.
8 Tasks officially delegated to different believers for the smooth running of the church
9 Average number of verses our church members are trying to memorize each month to quote the entire book of James.
9 Graduates from the college (4 are currently serving as pastors and 2 more desire the office of bishop in the next few years)
9 Number of people who have been disciplined out of the church from 2009-2012. (usually for lack of attendance)
9 The exchange rate—we used to get 6 rand for a dollar, now it’s 9 to 1.
9 Number of weeks our phone (landline) has been out of service in 2013 alone
13 Number of people baptized from 2009-2012 who are still church members.
20 Weeks Amy has been in the US since leaving 8 years ago (This furlough is planned from May-August.)
23 Unemployment rate in SA
75 Guests Amy has cooked for in 2013 (not counting group and church functions)
127 Number of questions in our Tsonga-English catechism
1,000 Close estimate of the number of lectures taught at LBI since 2009
1,250 Dollars paid for the plot of land our church building will one day be on—all raised by our church members by offerings and selling books and no-bake cookies.
Please pray that our church members would demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit, an abiding love for Jesus, and Christian character in the absence of their pastor. Our teammates Paul and Melinda will also be working overtime for our church as well as the college.
While we are in the US, it would be our privilege to meet with as many of our friends and supporters as possible.
Counting it all joy,
28 August 2013
Living on the road
While Paul and Barnabas were staying “no little time” with their sending church (Acts 14:28) on the first furlough, they probably enjoyed many conversations and seasons of prayer with their fellow believers.
Following their example, for the last four months we have traveled to our nine supporting churches plus six others for the joy of fellowship. In that time, we’ve changed the oil on our borrowed Dodge Caravan four times and seen too many children’s play areas at fast food restaurants. When we weren’t talking about family, missions, or theology Amy and I worked our way through Emma by Jane Austen (that’s quite a long novel by the way). Though the kids were great for the most part in the car with only a few warnings to “stop right now,” I don’t even want to imagine doing this for 12 months!
Amy reported on our road trip from a mom’s perspective, and I wrote about a philosophy of furlough including a great example of a church. We bless God for the encouraging words and conversations of so many church members who have taken an interest in our family and ministry, like Mrs. Winegarden from Faith Baptist in Michigan who faithfully “takes a trip to South Africa every morning,” she said. Or Pastor Tim Leaman who loaded me up with a stack of new books from Banner of Truth—it is my goal to have them all read by our next furlough. Of course, there was also the 2 week long bout with poison ivy that Caleb and I endured together.
This month as a family we are focusing on being joyful. When we replay the names and memories of so many who have supplied our needs (mini-van, cell phone, clothes, snacks for the kids, etc.) and refreshed us with thoughtful conversation, a satisfying kind of happiness arises in our hearts. We thank God for your kindnesses on our behalf.
Back home
During this time, Paul has been faithfully preaching at our church and visiting our members, but we long to see our teammates again and rekindle relationships for the sake of the gospel. Our return flight is Tuesday night, September 3, and we should arrive at our home Friday afternoon. Please pray that our church members would persevere in godliness and Christian disciplines. From one of our church member’s reports, I am hopeful that Kulani and Va-Nyalungu are near to salvation.
Flying away,
16 September 2013
A Long Walk
In 2008, my teammate met Solane Maluleke, a well-educated man living within a few hundred yards from Paul’s house. Over the years Bible studies between these two men accrued like so many drops eventually filling the cup brimful. Solane enjoys reading, took a course at LBI, and even joined us at a pastor’s conference in 2010. Both Paul and I (though I only knew Solane incidentally) received emails about spiritual topics and questions from this man. When Trinity Baptist Church (Paul’s church) needed a meeting place, Solane’s garage was opened wide for weekly worship. In open demonstrations of spiritual interest, he has surpassed not only other evangelistic contacts, but also other church members.
Yet he refused to be baptized.
Until Sunday, 8 September 2013, Solane was a church attender who watched as the other members took communion and led the services. Two days after Amy and I returned to our home, I had the privilege of baptizing this man at a joint service where Elim and Mbhokota worshipped together.
So, we are rejoicing with Paul over seeing his friend join him in the most important family. We rejoice with Trinity Baptist over seeing a man commit to walk the road together to the Celestial City. And we rejoice with the Father over the public evidence that a sinner has repented. Pray that God would bless the believers in Mbhokota and Elim with many more men who are willing to step into the water.
But why does it take so long? From 2008 until 2013 is a lot longer than I was taught in evangelism class. Nor is that a unique example: Rinette Baloyi, an encouraging and active church member at Elim also took from 2007 until 2012. Many of our church members have taken months or years before trusting Christ. I am currently working with three other young men who have been attending our services and present for personal Bible studies for over a year. When I ask the question, “Are you ready to follow Christ right now, or do you need some time to think about it?” they still say, “More time.”
I hope to explore some of the reasons that evangelism takes time in my blog, but in the meantime, you can read this summary by Paul. Pray that we would not rush the soul-work of plowing, sowing, and harvesting, and also that the Lord of the Harvest would bring an increase.
NEARLY SETTLED
After the flights from the US to Johannesburg, we arrived in our home Friday evening about 7 pm after a few adventures. Our house was in good shape thanks to two of our church members who stayed there as well as our teammates keeping an eagle eye. Two thieves did break in, but the young men staying in the house knew them from the village, tied them up with Amy’s washing line, and left them on the cold cement all night. In the morning, they woke up the still-bound, would-be thieves with a bucket of cold water.
Church attendance at EBC has been very low over the past few months, but Sunday there were a number of adults including the father of one of our teen boys that I’ve been evangelizing. Currently, I am working with three different men who are interested in the gospel.
Amy started homeschooling last week. While teaching, “Quench not the Spirit” for the letter “Q,” Colin kept clearing his throat. When he was asked to be quiet, he said, “My tongue is trying not to quench the Spirit, but my throat is quenching the Spirit.”
The kids are observing a multi-legged bug outside. After some time, Caleb lets it go peacefully, but Colin turns around and steps on it. Caleb objects loudly to which the younger rejoins, “That’s how life is. Things get clushed.”
Settling,
11 November 2013
Putting Down Roots
After four hours in drizzling rain, the three young men and I who had braved the elements for this week’s work day finally succeeded in cutting the taproot from a thorn tree whose trunk was about 30 inches in diameter. This particular specimen was in the way of our property line so we remembered John the Baptist’s line and laid the axe to the roots of the tree.
Harry (the worker in the background of the work photo) has been worshipping with us for nearly a year now. Today I offered to provide lunch for all the workers since they did a good job under adverse circumstances. For Harry, I offered him the option of receiving a good lunch or a new Bible—but not both as a test. I was pleased when he chose the Bible which he received yesterday morning. Even before professing faith, he’s been as consistent as our most faithful church members for months at our workdays.
After Saturday’s workday, we met on the Lord’s Day to remember Reformation Day for the first time in our church’s history as well as experience the Lord’s Table. We have found that unbelievers can be specially drawn to Christ as they passively watch others partake in this unique picture of the gospel. I explicitly ask questions like, “What still holds you back from showing your faith in Christ publicly when these others have done so?”
Last week I was in Joburg retrieving our shipment from the US as well as visiting people in our church. In total, I saw four men, two of whom are members at EBC. All of these men are away from homes and families for months at a time while they look for a way to make a living in the city. We had good fellowship in Christ as we discussed whether each man was spiritually growing, slipping, or staying the same as before.
Currently, there are five teens who are considering baptism and five adults including two couples. In December, when college students and workers have returned for a few weeks, we have scheduled a baptismal service. As you pray for us this month, pray that God would cause the roots of those in this group to be firmly planted in Christ.
Pastor’s Conference
Two weeks back (21-23 October), we organized the African Pastors’ Conference again in Louis Trichardt. The conference focused on “Preaching Christ,” and though the attendance did not reach very far into the rural churches, we were pleased to see a half-dozen LBI graduates in attendance as well as another dozen or so serious pastors from different parts of South Africa and Zimbabwe. I had the privilege of addressing the men on “Preaching Christ in an African Context.” We hope the preaching and books were profitable to nourish the most vital root of a pastor’s pulpit ministry.
Wastemore Sarireni, an LBI graduate who was present at the conference, has started a church about 3-4 hours from ours in Zimbabwe. Though he was offered a full-time job here in SA, he chose rather to plant himself in his village to see a church bear fruit. Lord-willing next week he will preach at EBC as we consider taking him on for support each month.
Around the Family Hearth
Amy is rejoicing that everything we shipped arrived safely last week, and I am rejoicing that I have a super-organized wife! There are still a few boxes of books that are awaiting the arrival of their new bookshelves, but the aside from that, the house is returning to normal. You can check out her blog for more details if my account is too Spartan.
And speaking of blogs, I changed hosts a few months ago which gave me a better domain name, but lost any email addresses of those who had been receiving my posts in their inbox. If you are interested in receiving posts on theology, missions, and culture in your inbox, please re-enter your email address.
In hope that we might be rooted in Him,
