from dearth to delight

In case you ever wonder why we don’t communicate as much as we used to or what a typical day with Charlie looks like these days, maybe this video will provide a little insight…

Oh, Bjorn, in case you and Kendall have a serene little baby girl, then we should consider the possibility that Charlie was supposed to go to you.

This is a lengthy blog, but it so accurately describes our passion for ministering in a place like Zambia, even though it is technically “reached” with the gospel. Please, we would love if you would take the time to read it!

Below is a good portion of a blog by Kevin DeYoung about his recent speaking trip in South Africa. A few sentences really stuck out to us and really sum up so much of what we see here in Zambia.

“Bad theology destroys and keeps the gospel from people. South Africa, like most of sub-Saharan Africa, is overwhelmingly Christian. The state of the church can seem impressive, but mature Christians in South Africa will tell you a different story.”

Being sent out from Bethlehem Baptist Church, we hear a lot about (and totally agree with) the importance of reaching the unreached in the world with the gospel. But it’s also really important to keep missions in balance and remember that just because a place is “reached” doesn’t mean that there isn’t still a lot of work remaining for missionaries.

Again, Kevin says, “South Africa (I would add Zambia) is ‘reached’ with the gospel in a technical sense, but the need for good teaching and sound doctrine is tremendous. If you want to serve the Lord in a Bible-starved location in the English speaking world, there are many places in South Africa (Sub-Saharan Africa) for you to go.” (emphasis added)

I’ve noticed a trend lately as I listen to sermons from the States that refer to ‘missions,’ ‘mission,’ ‘being on mission,’ or ‘being missional,’ usually there are two choices that the pastor will give: 1) stay at home and be on mission or 2) go out into the world to the unreached. But in the middle, there is a huge need to go to countries in the world that are technically “reached,” but lack discipleship, theological resources, and knowledge.

I think it’s also important to remember that America is really solid politically. But, politically, things here in Africa can change in a matter of weeks that can really hurt the Church and set it back years…Not to mention that 97% of all the people in the world living with HIV live here in Sub-Saharan Africa…And here in Zambia, 46% of the population is under the age of 15 years old. How will this next generation respond to the gospel and the growing advance of Islam here is Zambia.

More from Kevin DeYoung below:

“2. As with any international trip, receiving is just as important as giving. Although I did a lot of teaching, I also did a lot of learning. It was great to see the reformed churches in South Africa, though small, yet growing. I left the country with a great deal of respect for the pastors I met: Tim, Al, Dez, Clint, Grant, Doug, Ken and many others. These are sharp men, committed to sound doctrine and expository preaching, and committed to seeing the gospel advance in South Africa. The “gospel-centered” movement in the country is, in many ways, still the size of a man’s fist, but I sensed clouds of blessing gathering overhead.

3. I understand the good news of Revelation 21:25 better than ever. Violent crime is rampant in South Africa. Almost everyone I talked to had been robbed, broken into, or threatened at some point in recent memory. One church we preached at had a sign saying they were not responsible for injury, theft, or death on the premises. Many South Africans shared with me that the most surprising thing about America is the absence of security walls, fences, and guards around our homes. You simply don’t find many buildings in the city without some serious security in South Africa. What good news that the New Jerusalem will be so gloriously safe that “its gates will never be shut by day.”

4. Although tensions still remain, I was encouraged to see the gospel bringing together whites and blacks in a way that would have been impossible (and illegal) twenty years ago. Our contacts were with white churches, but in each of them we saw more racial diversity than you find in most American churches (which is not entirely surprising since whites are less than 10% of the population in South Africa). At the pastors conference in Joburg it looked to me like the split between whites and blacks was roughly fifty-fifty. And at the same gathering there were dozens of first languages other than English. Isn’t it remarkable that the gospel does more for diversity than diversity for its own sake can ever do by itself?

On a related note, we were privileged to have Conrad Mbewe travel from Zambia to host the events in Joburg for us. What a wise, capable, and godly man. I’d gladly have him for my pastor.

5. Bad theology destroys and keeps the gospel from people. South Africa, like most of sub-Saharan Africa, is overwhelmingly Christian. The state of the church can seem impressive, but mature Christians in South Africa will tell you a different story. The Dutch Reformed Church is weak and getting weaker, awash in theological liberalism and secular agendas. The black church is beholden to the false gospel of health, wealth, and prosperity and the worst kinds of syncretistic charismania. South Africa is “reached” with the gospel in a technical sense, but the need for good teaching and sound doctrine is tremendous. If you want to serve the Lord in a Bible-starved location in the English speaking world, there are many places in South Africa for you to go.

6. There is a great need for theological education in South Africa and in the Global South. We came across a number of evangelical institutions working hard to train pastors, but not nearly enough for a country of 50 million. While the first priority in the missionary endeavor is, in many places, for pioneering church planters and evangelists, in many places the church is weak for want of solid teachers and educators. If there is anything we take for granted in the American church more than money it’s our easy access to the best books, training, and theological education. Let’s pray for the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his field, and to help make sure the seed that is sown is good seed and the crops that have been planted are strong enough to endure.

7. Christian publishers should consider what they are doing to further or frustrate the Great Commission. Everywhere we went we saw pastors and churches influenced by books coming out of America. Without much (that I could tell) in the way of indigenous theological writing and with (often) a great theological vacuum to fill, many South African leaders look to U.S. authors to fill the gap. When they get hold of Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, or some pragmatic book about ministry methods, the results can be disastrous for generations. To my surprise, even the influence of the emergent church is still significant in South Africa.

Conversely, when good books get in the hands of good pastors, healthy churches can be established and grow. I was particularly thankful for the legacy of John MacArthur in South Africa. With his radio programs airing for decades in the country, many Christians have been introduced to expository preaching and good theology. A number of pastors have gone to The Master’s Seminary for training. Invariably, the “MacArthur men” were leading some of the strongest churches. Newer resources from the [Young Restless Reformed] movement seem to be having a salutary effect as well. If only publishers would consider more than profits and furthering “conversations” when they send their books out into the world.”

As you may have seen in our latest newsletter, we are expanding the CROSS Project from just dealing with HIV/AIDS and issues affected by HIV in Zambia, to also putting together a 4-5 lesson Domestic Abuse Curriculum to teach in churches.

Over this past month or so, we’ve been trying to interview pastors and go to other NGOs and churches and find out more about the prevalence of domestic abuse in Zambia and if churches and other organizations are doing a lot to confront it. We’ve found out that, yes, domestic abuse is a very common problem in Zambia and very culturally excepted (Zambia only passed a comprehensive domestic abuse law in 2011) and not that many churches or organizations are doing much with domestic abuse, at least around Lusaka.

Below is video that was made by a secular organization to lobby the government to pass the 2011 domestic abuse law. Even though the video tells stories from a rural part of Zambia, these same issues are very prevalent here in the capital where we are, and maybe even more so.

Please pray for us as we seek to help churches catch a vision for combating domestic abuse in their own congregations and communities for the glory of Christ and his Body, the Church. This could really be an issue that the Church could lead the way in in Zambia and not be lagging behind the NGOs and government, as it has with HIV/AIDS issues.

A Mini Bus getting washed in rainy season. 

Each week, the CROSS Project Team teaches at three different locations, usually at churches around the Lusaka area. I usually pick up John and Eta, our two national workers for the CROSS Project, somewhere along the way. So, for them to get from their houses to the meeting point, they have to take a Mini Bus.

A Mini Bus is a small Toyota Hiace Van that crams anywhere between 12-18 people (or more) in. There are hundreds of them around the city all painted bright blue and are pretty much the entire public transportation system here, besides some bigger buses that we would see in America and also walking. Like any other vehicle on the road, in Zambia they need to have two stickers on their front windshield, indicating that they have paid their road tax to the government and passed their vehicle fitness test. Road Tax is like your license plate tabs/stickers that most States have back in the USA (although Minnesota, for some crazy reason, makes you put tabs on the front AND back plates, but I digress…). And vehicle fitness is where you take your car to the Road Traffic Safety Administration yard, and they check it over and deem if your car is worthy to drive for the next year…Which, I absolutely hate doing, because it can turn into a very lengthy process, but it probably is a good idea considering all of the very unfit vehicles I see driving around here.

Mini Buses are not known to be the most law abiding vehicles on the road, so, most of them don’t have up-to-date Road Tax and Fitness done. To monitor if people have their road tax and fitness up to date (and sometimes ask to see the driver’s license), the police setup check points all over town. You always know there is a checkpoint ahead, because you see dozens of mini buses and cars making u-turns, hopping curbs, crossing the median, and driving the wrong way down the road trying to get away from the check point.

Lately, John and Eta will call me and let me know that they will be a little late, because their mini bus is now taking a detour down back roads and ally ways, out in the bush, or down cow paths to try to get around the police check point. Usually, in the background I here people yelling at the bus driver to let them off and give them their money back. Things like this are frustrating but also a little amusing in that I always picture the big public transit buses in Minneapolis trying to get away from the police and jumping curbs and going down ally ways. It’s pretty hard to imagine in Minneapolis, but yet it seems so normal here…

Happy Easter from Zambia!