Tales from Tanzania

While I was in the Kenya, one of the big stories, both in the national media, and among Christians particularly, concerned events in the Arusha region of Tanzania, near a town called Loliondo. Significantly, given where we were, this is only just over the border between Tanzania and Kenya, in Maasai territory. A retired Pastor there in his late '70s felt God tell him to provide a "medicine" for people, and has started doing so. This has apparently resulted in miraculous healings of cancer, AIDs and all kinds of ailments. The twist is that you have to take the potion in his compound. If you try and take it to drink elsewhere it can prove fatal.

This is having an enormous impact across the whole of East Africa, and the queues to see Babu (as he is known) stretch for several kilometres. People are taking their relatives out of hospital to get to see him - and some have died before they make it. To get a glimpse of how huge this story is, try typing "Loliondo healings" or "Loliondo miracles" into Google; you'll get pages and pages of results. If you click here, it will take you to a video from Kenyan national TV about it.

Perhaps inevitably, Christians are divided about this. Babu is a retired Pastor, who, I understand, had a respected ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran church; and it seems that the testimony he gives about all this is framed within a Christian context. On the other hand, to others this seems more like the work of a pagan medicine man than Christian healing (but equally we in the West are quite happy to accept the medicine of secular atheism...). All the information I have about this is, of course, second hand, though some of it comes from people who have been to Babu and drunk the medicine. I think, on balance, I was relieved that there was unlikely to be any pastoral necessity for me to have to make a judgement on all this! But equally, it serves as a reminder to pray for those of our African brothers and sisters in positions of responsibility who do. Discernment needed, methinks.

Musings on moments in Maasailand..

Now for some reflections on the time in Kenya. These are a bit random in terms of order, and signifcance, but here goes anyway. I suppose the one other thing to say that might explain some of these reflections is that I was last there, in the same community, six years ago, in 2005. With all that in mind, here are a few reflections and memories arising out of our time there:

• Kenya has changed in 6 years, and there are definite signs of progress in some areas - the road from Nairobi to Narok being one good example. That said, progress is patchy and inconsistent, and there remains a lot of work to be done.


• It was fascinating to see how mobile phones have become so widespread, even where people don't have ready access to electricity. Shops where you can pay to charge your phone have become quite common, and there was a nice touch in the church in Naisoya; it has also become common for churches to have a generator from which they might run an electric keyboard and basic PA system...and in Naisoya at least, folk attending church will hand their phones to the PA guy who will charge them while the service is going on.


• Inflation has hit Kenya hard. That was obvious in terms of food prices, and especially in fuel prices. A litre of unleaded was around 3/4s of the UK price - and let's face it, the average income in Kenya is a lot less than 3/4 of that in the UK. I guess what all that proves is that global economic fluctuations tend, like so many things, to hit the poorest hardest. It puts moaning about prices in the UK in context, that's for sure.


• Spiritually, while there are many Maasai Christians in and around Narok, it remains true that there are many scarcely reached areas, and it was encouraging to hear of David Kereto's still fresh vision that these folk need to be reached with the gospel and have a church planted among them.


• The sponsorship fund that we have established from WCF continues to have a significant effect in and around Naisoya; and it was lovely for some of the team to meet not only the sponsored children, but their parents. Not that their gratitude is the reason for taking part in the programme, but it puts a very human face on it, and stops it becoming a completely anonymous donation.


• That underlines one of the key memories for me, both with the folk in Naisoya, and with the church leaders who attended the seminar I took. It really is a tremendous privelege to be able to count these people as friends, not just objects of philanthropy. I'm convinced that the gospel makes that possible in a unique way, as we all come before God in the same way, irrespective of our background or status.

Again there's a lot more to say, but hopefully that will give a flavour of things. There's one more thing that was in the background a lot while we were there that I'll post about tomorrow...

Moments in Maasailand...

How can I sum up the ten days spent in Kenya? With difficulty to be honest, but let's have a go. In terms of the basics, we spent the first week or so in Naisoya. There has been a link between WCF (and the other Harbour Minsitries churches), and Naisoya for around 10 years now; with the church there (now known as CCI Naisoya), and with the schools, via a child sponsorship scheme, whereby around 70 children are now sponsored. This sponsorship enables them to go to school, get uniform and a good meal at lunchtime. What is left once the individual child's needs have been met is then used to fund the (now 5) nursery level schools that the church has begun. Many of the children are now at the local state funded primary school, and some are shortly to begin secondary education. I spent one morning at the newest nursery school in nearby Osonkoroi, and had the privelege in the afternoon of visiting Pereruan, the girl our family has sponsored since the scheme started, and her mother in their home. Not an experience I'll forget in a hurry. The next 2 days I spent teaching a seminar for CCI church leaders (and some from other denominations), in an area just over an hour's drive away from Naisoya, with Patrick, the Pastor at CCI Naisoya, acting as my interpreter. CCI is a fast growing movement in Kenya, and David Kereto, our host and initial contact in Kenya, is the denomination's General Secretary (amongst his seemingly endless list of responsibilities and projects). I really enjoyed these 2 days, the folk were responsive, engaged and very welcoming, and there was a real sense of God's presence among us, with a number of them testifying to real encouragements. The picture below shows some of them outside the church in Ntulele, where the seminar was held, during one of the breaks. Then we spent time visiting other projects David Kereto is involved with, including a water project, some land for a refuge for girls fleeing from circumcision or forced marriage, which is due to be built this summer. In the middle of all that I managed to get my hair cut very short by a Maasai barber in Narok town (the main town of the area) for less than £1 including tip. Sunday saw us worshipping with CCI Naisoya, and I had the privelege of speaking. Then the next day we moved on to the Maasai Mara for a mini safari, before flying home.
There's loads more to say, but I think I'll save my reflections on all this for another post....

Kenya Chronicle

Just a brief update as we are somewhere with an internet connection, and a little bit of time. It's been a fascinating week, with some great opportunities. Having expected to take a 1 day seminar for Maasai church leaders, I discovered on arrival it was in fact 2 days...but it seemed to be very well received, and it was great to feel friendship and fellowship with church leaders from a very different background. As well as that it's been good to see a little bit of the many projects that the Maasai Evangelistic Association is involved with - water projects, nursery schools and church planting, and the land for a rescue centre for girls fleeing circumcision or forced marriage. There will be photos on here when I get back, and maybe some more detail too...

Updates?

Well it has been very quiet on here...and it will probably be for a bit longer as well, as tomorrow I'm off to Kenya for 10 days to visit a church and projects we're involved with from WCF, with a small team. If I find power, and an internet connection there might be updates while I'm there (although that combination is quite unlikely, it has to be said). If not, there'll definetely be a report when I get back.

Bible reading programme (2)

Part 2 of our Bible reading programme at WCF, that will take us from April to the end of June, is now avaiable online here, if you're interested....

Church, but not as we know it....

Well, we're now into a week of readings in the book of Acts, giving us a snapshot of life in the early church. There is clearly a gap between the picture of church life presented in Acts and what most of us experience now. What I find fascinating is how different Christians define that gap.

For some, the gap is all about our experience of the supernatural, the work of the Holy Spirit. Linked to that (but not always), for others, the gap is all about evangelistic effectiveness and boldness in witness. Equally, for others it's all about the common life of the early church, their commitment to narrowing the gap between rich and poor. Or it's about their willingness to break out of their comfort zones and take the gospel cross-culturally.

The point is that we tend to read our own priorities back into the New Testament, here as in so many places. It seems to me that when we take the lenses of our own preferences off, it's about all these things and more besides. What we need more and more to learn to do is to let our reading of Scripture shape our preferences and not the other way round.

A dirty word...

Going through Mark's gospel in our Bible reading programme, one of the things that comes out from very early on is Jesus' authority; authority to teach, authority over sickness and the demonic, over the weather and the natural world, authority to call people to follow Him.

Even as you come into the final week of Jesus' life, whether in cleansing the Temple, or even in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus is so often the one in charge, rebuking the one who struck off the ear of the High Priest's servant. Authority is a bit of a dirty word nowadays; it's there to be kicked against, rebelled against. And frankly, more often than not, my sympathies lie with the rebel, the one who stands up to authority rather than with those who exercise it. I guess it's what comes of having been born post-1960!

The thing about Jesus' authority is that it is authority of relationship, not of status as such. And it comes out of His submission - to His Father's will in Gethsemane, and to His understanding of the Scriptures (see eg Mark 14:49). The fact is, we all desire to have more authority; maybe not status as such, but the ability to take control of our circumstances, for instance. The irony seems to be that authority of that kind comes out of submitting to a higher authority - the highest authority, God's. To reign you have to submit, to gain control you have to let go.

Oh dear

Well, maybe the issues around the recent judgement on fostering and Christian views of sexuality aren't so straightforward after all. Or at least, maybe the judgement isn't as clear cut as orginally presented. At least that's the view of some Christians who have studied the judgement see here, and here, for example. Others, meanwhile are still concerned, albeit for different reasons.

Hmm. Where does that all leave us? First, if it is true that Christians, for whatever reason are deliberately reporting this in a sensationalist manner, that is a cause for concern. Second, whatever the facts about this particular case it does highlight the tensions that arise when everything in public life is framed around questions of "rights". Inevitably, someone else's rights will conflict with mine at some point, and if in some way or other, society opts to prefer one set of rights over the other, someone will be unhappy. Maybe Christians have got too used to other people being unhappy for too long. For all that, there are some important questions here about how we bring up children, that the Bishop of Croydon highlights on his blog. Once the dust has settled on this case, I'm sure it won't be long before a similar one comes out of the woodwork.

Fostering tolerance...?

Yesterday's High Court judgement about the suitability of a Christian couple as Foster carers because of their views on homosexuality is a cause for concern. I must admit that there are many of these cases that have made the press recently where, in all honesty, I'm not sure where my sympathies lie. Where, it looks like some Christians have a victim mentality, or seem to do their best to come across as narrow minded with an unhealthy focus on sex.

But this seems different. The ruling seems to suggest that holding orthodox Christian views about sexuality makes you somehow unfit to care for children of a certain age. Now I don't claim any expertise on this, and certainly don't want to jump on any hyper-conservative bandwagon; however this is troubling. As always, some helpful comment at the Jubilee Centre website...espcially interesting as they had previously suggested that the Christian B&B owners who were in the news last month were in the wrong (and I happen to sympathise with them on this). I've no doubt this won't be the last we hear on this.

Inside out: the challenge....

Well, we're now in Mark's gospel in our Bible reading programme. And there's nothing like a good healthy dose of Jesus' teaching to set us right in our views of human beings and how they work....and of ourselves and how we work. In fact in yesterday's readings in Mark 6:34, Jesus teaches us this stuff as an outworking of his compassion for us. However uncomfortable some of it is, we need to hear it.

And some of it is uncomfortable. Today's passage in Mark 7:1-23, while at first sight seeming to be simply about ancient Jewish regulations, in fact strikes at the heart of our favourite contemporary excuses for ourselves. How we act, Jesus says, is very simply a product of who we are inside...there's no use blaming external circustances, what has happened to us, social influences etc. No doubt these all shape us in a variety of ways. But when all is said and done, it's not what goes into us that makes us 'unclean' but what comes out from us. Ouch!

Objecting....

Its one of the quirks of my family history that both my natural grandfathers were conscientious objectors during World War II. That raises all kinds of questions in itself, which are only compounded by the fact that my paternal grandfather's family were actually of German Jewish background. But for all that I'm strangely proud of this fact - I can remember my Gran talking about being "sent to Coventry" for 6 months by the people she worked with because her husband had refused conscription, and how she kept going into work and doing her job in that period.


The thing that strikes me about conscientious objectors is that, by that stage, they recognised that the public mood had moved on, that war was happening, and was even quite popular; but they refused, on grounds of conscience, to be part of it. It seems to me that, just maybe, there's a model here for our engagement as Christians with certain elements of contemporary society. Take sexual ethics as an example. The simple fact is that as far as the vast majority of people in the UK today, especially those under 40, Christian sexual ethics simply don't make sense. As far as those currently in their teens and early twenties are concerned, the Christian attitude to sex - whether in terms of the value of virginity and marriage, or attitudes to homsexual activity - is a foreign language.

There are all sorts of responses we can adopt to that. Some are valid and helpful, others probably less so. But maybe part, at least, of what we need to be doing is seeing ourselves as concientious objectors. Society as a whole seems to have accepted certain courses of action as valid, and shouting more loudly, or trying to influence the corridoors of power is unlikely to change that much. So maybe we should graciously but determinedly acknowledge that we will follow our consciences after all...and maybe we should be looking to train young people who are serious about following Jesus in a way that they realise that this is the deal.

Profiting from the prophets

Well this week in our Bible reading programme, we've been with Isaiah. And it's been interesting getting feedback, and realising that some people struggle sometimes with reading the prophets, while others seem to love it. There are all sorts of reasons for that, and all sorts of pitfalls when reading the Old Testament prophetic literature. (Eg, what should apply to us now, what applied to God's people in specific historic circumstances, does some of it apply to modern day Israel?). And there's no doubt that lengthy denunciations of sin can seem hard to digest after a while - though perhaps for precisely that reason we should let them do us good.

For me, the key to profiting from the prophets is to recognise that so much of their writing takes the form of poetry; and poetry is heart language. What we see above all in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Habbakuk, Hosea and their fellow prophets is God's heart. Often it is God's breaking heart because of the sin of His people. but even when there is apparent punishment being declared, the purpose so often is to cause the people of God to rediscover Him again, to turn from idolatry, immorality and injustice and rely on God again, to love Him in response to His love. The prophetic books are in many ways love letters - often sadly the letters of a lover who has been jilted - from God to His people, expressions of His heart. And as such they address us in a deep way, even when our external circumstances are vastly different to those of the original hearers and readers.

The week that was....

Well, it's been a bit quiet on here over the last week, mainly because it's otherwise been anything but quiet. Our daughter, Isobel, managed to dislocate her elbow and fracture her humerus playing netball (yes, a non-contact sport) in a school tournament. This has involved a rapidly growing acquaintance with Lewisham Hospital - the nearest to where it happened - culminating in surgery last Thursday to wire the bone. The only other thing to say about it is that we've seen the National Health Service at its best through all this. There are no doubt weaknesses and problems with the system, but the care that Isobel has received has been excellent. So three cheers for the NHS!

In the middle of all that, I was invited to attend the Newfrontiers leaders UK prayer and fasting days last week. There were 800 or so there in Peterborough, and it was an excellent time. And for me as an outsider to Newfrontiers, it was a fascinating opportunity to get an "inside" view of what has undoubtedly become one of the most significant movements in UK church life. There's lots more that could be said about that - but for all that I wouldn't go along with Newfrontiers in everything (and there's probably lots that could be said about that too), the overwhelming impression was of a movement in a time of transition, passionate about remaining open to the Holy Spirit and new possibilities in what God was calling them to. The challenge for me was to emulate that attitude myself.

Fighting talk

Well, now we're on to the life of David in our Bible reading programme. And it's a bit of a whistle stop tour. But one of the interesting things about David is that he has a clear promise of what God is going to do, from when Samuel anoints him as King; but getting there is long, drawn out, dangerous and at times looks highly unlikely.

And when you come to 2 Samuel 5 it still takes 7 years for the full promise to be realised. And David has to fight for it. Last week, as Moses and the people of Israel came out of Egypt they were told, "The LORD will fight for you, you need only to be still" (Exodus 14:14). Now David has to take the initiative and fight himself to see what God has promised come to pass. Conclusion: you can't read one bit of the Bible and draw a "simple" principle from it that will apply in every situation. Conclusion (2): God deals with us as individuals and expects us to work through with Him how to handle the specifics of the situations we face. In other words, we mustn't treat the Bible as if it's a book of off-the-shelf answers for all situations. God's Word is far more bespoke and made to measure....more costly to us, perhaps, and requiring more patience, but vastly more precious too.

Eyes wide open?

What do Moses and Abraham have in common? That's not the opening to a slightly obscure, embarrassing attempt at a joke (honest); rather a quick reflection on what's come out of the readings on the lives of these two Old Testament giants. In both cases - for Abraham in Genesis 18 (with the three visitors), and Moses in Exodus 3 (with the burning bush) - it would have been easy for them to have been so absorbed in what they were doing, in their priorities, that they missed God seeking to get their attention. Fortunately, hospitality in one case and curiosity in the other, meant that God did get their attention.

But when we're in our daily/weekly routine, I wonder if there's much time and space for hospitality or curiosity sometimes. And I wonder what we miss because of that. At our Biblefresh group this week I was amazed that 4 out of 11 people present could testify to having heard the audible voice of God at some point in their lives. Even so, that's far from the norm. Maybe we just need to keep our eyes peeled (grim phrase, I've always thought) a bit more for the ways that God is trying to get our attention. At least I do.

Last thoughts on Abraham

Well, just as we've moved on to Moses in our Bible readings, some final reflections on Abraham.

I was struck by Aeon's comment yesterday (you can listen here) about how Abraham invariably pitched his tents under trees (eg Genesis 12:6, 13:18), and that the shade of trees was considered a holy place where you could meet with God. And then of course, there is the observation that wherever he goes Abraham builds an altar (eg Genesis 12:7)....

Taking these two together I think gives an insight into what sustained Abraham, as he journeyed around, not sure where he was going to end up, and trying to hold on to promises from God that must have seemed more and more unrealistic as time went on. Basically, in the middle of all that, he put himself in places where he would be likely to meet with God. Surely, that speaks to us - in an often hostile environment, where we too struggle at times to hold on to God, we need to be those who deliberately put ourselves in places where we are likely to meet with God; in personal prayer, worship and Bible reading, and in corporate worship and around the communion table. Not exactly rocket science, maybe. But true all the same.

How to read the Bible for all it's worth....?

I came across this quote from C.H. Spurgeon, one of the figures from Church history I can't help but admire. It certainly challenges the way I read the Bible:

He [Christ] leans over me, he puts his finger along the lines, I can see his pierced hand: I will read it as in his presence. I will read it, knowing that he is the substance of it, - that he is the proof of this book as well as the writer of it; the sum of this Scripture as well as the author of it.....You will get at the soul of Scripture when you can keep Jesus with you while you are reading.

Who'd have thought....?

Well, so there was an (admittedly failed) attempt at theological discussion at the Treasury Select Committee yesterday, initiated by an MP to the Chief Executive of Barclays, who appeared seriously out of his depth....then continued after a fashion on the website of the Guardian newspaper. Click here for more. Strange days indeed.

Questions, questions

I continue to be encouraged by the number of people who are taking copies of the Bible reading programme that we are following at WCF. And by what I'm hearing from people who are obviously using it to read their Bibles, and then asking me all kinds of questions on the back of it. (While I'm here, I'll just mention in passing that there are all kinds of other Bible related initiatives at the moment, and give a plug for an old friend of mine who has just started a blog as he reads through the Bible in chronological order this year. You can find it here.)

One of the things that strikes me, especially as we're going through Genesis is that lots of people are faced with all kinds of questions in what they read. Now, you'll probably know that I'm all for asking questions, and not just taking things at face value. But sometimes it seems to me that the questions can also become distractions, red herrings. Things that will actually create distance between God's Word and us, so that we can't hear what it says to us. So, how do we handle this? This is by no means the final word on this - any suggestions you've got, please leave as a comment - but here are a few guidelines that might help with this:

• What is the main point of these verses I've read? Do I need to know the answer to this question before I can take that on board?
• Does the question relate to some aspect of what we can believe about God, or how we live the Christian life - or is it a question of detail, of history?
• Am I trying to read this as if it were a modern day newspaper rather than an ancient, human document - that in ways we'll never fully grasp is also the always relevant word of God?
• How can I get nearer to an answer...who can I ask, what resources can I access? Surely it's better to do a little research rather than remain stuck on something. In particular, try & find out how Christians through the ages have answered the question. Let's face it after 2000 years it's unlikely that we'll be the first ones to ask something.
• Above all, and I know this might sound simplistic, but why not talk it over with the Lord. If you get stuck on something it could even be that you're meant to take a bit more time over it, thinking and praying because God wants to speak to you through it.

I guess to sum it up - where possible, let your questions be springboards to relationship with God, rather than barriers. Of course, that's not always easy; but that's why we're encouraging small groups to discuss these readings together. Any thoughts?

New Year, new look....

Thought it was about time for a change in the appearance of this blog....hope you like it!

Start at the Beginning

Well, here's the first post connected to our Bible reading programme...if you're following it, you'll know that we've started with the early chapters of Genesis. So often these passages become footballs of controversy, kicked around by Christians who seem to have lost sight of the fact that they are playing for the same side, and that most of the goals that they celebrate scoring are in fact in their own net. It seems to me that these opening sections of the whole Bible are hugely significant, not so much for the insights they do or don't give into how we got here, but for what they tell us about God, and why He put us here; and why things are the mess they sometimes seem to be.

That's why the focus in Sunday's message (you can listen to it here if you missed it) was on what God wants to say to us at the start of 2011, rather than on a prolonged discussion of creation and evolution. If all Scripture is God-breathed and "useful...for training in righteousness", then we need to be trained by these verses, not simply informed by them. And I pray that will be true for all the rest of the portions of Scripture we look at too.