Great Commission Praying

Here is an excellent article on Great Commission praying by Chuck Lawless, dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

Interview with a Congolese Soldier...

Here is an interesting and sad interview with a Congolese Soldier.

Hallowed be His Name

When people in our modern age think of God, they seem to think of him in terms of a jovial old Grandfather sitting on the front porch of heaven, watching the world pass him by. If we were to ask people to describe God in one word, what kind of responses would we receive?

Loving.

Forgiving.

Kind.

Gracious.

All of these are certainly true, but there is one that surpasses them all and is the most important of any of his attributes. Or rather I should say it is not merely an attribute but that it is wrapped up in his very nature. It is an attribute often forgotten and de-emphasized in our speaking of God.

So what is this thing I speak of? It is the Holiness of God. This is the chief of God's attributes. God's love is a Holy love. God's forgiveness is Holy forgiveness. God's kindness is Holy kindness. God's grace is Holy grace.

It is a dangerous thing for us to forget the Holiness of God. It is dangerous for our own souls because if we forget the Holiness of God, we will lose our sense of wonder over what Christ has accomplished in order to bring us back to God. We will lose our wonder over the gospel if we forget the Holiness of God.

R.C. Sproul writes, "Today I am still absorbed with the question of the holiness of God. I am convinced that it is one of the most important ideas that a Christian can ever grapple with. It is basic to our whole understanding of God and of Christianity."

Did you catch that? "Basic to our whole understanding of God and of Christianity." What does this mean for the church? What does it mean for missions? What does it mean for you and me? If the church doesn't rightly understand God's holiness, her message will be skewed and she will become more concerned with trivial things than with the things God commands. For missions, if we do not understand God's Holiness, then we become man-centered and not God-centered in the task of expanding God's kingdom. For you, if you do not understand the holiness of God, you will lose wonder over what the Savior has done in order to reconcile you to God.

God is passionate about his glory. Are you passionate about his glory? Is the first cry from your lips in the morning, "Hallowed be his name"? Is the last cry from your lips at night, "Hallowed be his name"? Let us battle together to see God's name hallowed and reverenced in our lives. May we think, speak, and feel at all times, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by your name".

"Holy is his name." (Luke 1:49)

Prayer-Walking Report (Kintambo)

For any of you who have followed missionaries much, you have most likely heard them talk about "prayer-walking." Prayer-walking is simply walking around in an area and praying for open doors for the spread of the gospel and praying God's blessings on the people who live in that community. Some have described prayer-walking in this way: "Praying on-site with insight." There is nothing magical or more powerful about walking through an area while praying for it than there is just praying for the same area sitting on your couch in your living room. However, it does seem to help me pray more specifically for different things that I might not have thought of otherwise while I am praying. For instance, today as I was prayer-walking an area called Kintambo, I passed a school and I prayed for the students inside. As I passed a hospital, I prayed for health, physical and spiritual, for those living in Kintambo. As I passed a ridiculous poster of an "evangelist", I prayed that people would not be lead astray by the "hype" of health, wealth, and prosperity, but would take up their crosses and follow him in their daily lives. These are just a few examples and there are many more.

In addition to the benefit of "praying on-site with insight", prayer-walking gives me the opportunity to look for "sons of peace." In Luke 10:1-11, we find a description of Jesus sending out the seventy-two. He gives them several different instructions. Here is a small portion of the instructions he gave them: "And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him, but if not, it will return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house." (Luke 10:6-7) As I'm walking and praying, I tend to turn a few heads. This happens for several different reason. The first is the color of my skin and the second is that you don't see many people with my color skin taking public transport and walking to get where they are going. As I'm walking I tend to ignore the usual jeers of "Mondele" or "Chinoise" and I continue on my way. Occasionally, however, someone greets me and they smile and they inquire as to what I am doing. From there a conversation begins and this is where I start to see if they are a "person of peace." So how do I know they are a "person of peace?" There are several things. (1) They are generally kind. They receive you in to their home or place of business and offer you a chair to rest. (2) They are joyful at your presence and show a desire to have a relationship with you. Many times they may have less than pure motives. They may want to put me down as a reference on a visa application or they may think that by becoming my friend I will give them money, etc. I let them think what they want and just give them the Word. (3) The offer of starting a Bible Study at their home is usually received with joy. Sometimes this third one may take more than one visit.

I say all of that to help you all pray with more insight when I tell you I am prayer-walking and looking for "sons of peace." Those are the kind of people I'm seeking when I go out prayer-walking. Today, while in Kintambo I met two potential "sons of peace." Please pray for Dide and Freddie. I met these two men today and they showed some of the above characteristics. These two men represent an opportunity to start two Bible studies, one in Kintambo and another in a place called Limite. So please pray for Dide and Freddie as I follow-up and try to visit them again. Pray that Bible Studies would begin in these men's homes and they would become disciples of Christ and follow him. Thanks for your prayers!

Overwhelmed...

Many people come to Africa as missionaries expecting to do God's work and then instead God ends up doing his work in them through Africa. Today was one of those days. God is teaching me things continually as we live and minister in this African megacity of Kinshasa. I'm continually stretched as I try to think through a comprehensive strategy to plant churches and make disciples in this city. It seems that around every corner there is some challenge that seems too great to overcome. Around every corner, there is a task that seems too great for me to accomplish. Today, I prayer-walked in a small area of the city called Yolo. As I walked and prayed, I was overwhelmed at the poverty. I was overwhelmed by the masses of people. I was overwhelmed by the smell of open sewage. I was overwhelmed by the poor sanitation and the huge amount of trash piled up everywhere. I was overwhelmed by the Kimbanquist who preached at me that Jesus was a Savior for white people and that Nzambe (God) did not raise him from the dead. I told them Jesus is Savior and King. They called me a liar. Overwhelmed? I think so!

This afternoon I have been in a state of shell shock as I've been thinking through this occurrence. As I've thought about it, I've come to realize that this feeling of being overwhelmed is God's grace toward me. Why? Because this feeling of being overwhelmed strips me of any self-confidence I have and it sends me fleeing to the all-sufficiency of my Savior and King. I can't do it, but he can! I can't open the eyes of the Kimbanguist, but he can! He is sufficient to help me in every task and in every overwhelming moment. One of the first things I ever heard in seminary was to begin to pray for God to make me weak so that I would be stripped of reliance on self and be turned toward reliance upon God. I was also taught that in the Bible there is no self-esteem ever mentioned, there is only Christ-esteem. Who is sufficient to start a Gospel movement among Kinshasa urbanites? Not me! Does this cause me despair? No. It does however send me fleeing to Christ for his help. My faith is not in my ability but in his. My faith is in his promise that there will be one from every tribe, tongue, and nation that will bow before his throne. He will receive glory from the nations of the earth. Rev. 7:9

Sango Malamu ezali nini?

Yesterday was probably the highest point of my time thus far in this sprawling city of Kinshasa. I finally preached in Lingala without a translator. This has come after several weeks of frustration in my own heart over feeling so inadequate to teach or speak anything of significance into the lives of Congolese people. I could talk to them about the weather. I could talk to them about where they live. I could talk to them about their family members. But now after 9 months on this continent, I felt like I communicated the gospel well without any help from a translator. The title of the sermon was, "Sango Malamu ezali nini?" which means "What is the Gospel?" The points were simple and straightforward. I watched the pastors writing feverishly in order to catch every little point. This is not to point out any excellence in me as an orator or preacher because there isn't. It is simply to illustrate that there are some pockets in this city that have an incredible hunger for the gospel. There is a church on every corner here in Kinshasa but the majority of the members have no idea about the gospel.

Here in Kinshasa, almost everyone goes to church, almost everyone prays, almost everyone says they are a follower of Christ, but the majority of people do not know the gospel. Sound a little familiar? Sound a little like the United States of America? Churches everywhere but a famine of true understanding of what is the true gospel? Yesterday was a glorious day for me. We were sitting there in the congregation, sweating like we were running a marathon. Hope was running around and playing in the dirt. Sophia was crying because she was hot. We were singing choruses in a language not our own. We were hearing and UNDERSTANDING as people gave testimonies of God's provision. I stood and preached and the words came out and I didn't have to translate them in my head! Praise God! Praise God! Praise God! He is truly sufficient for me in all things! All of this reminded me that God never calls me to do something that he will not equip me to do. If he calls you to a task that seems greater than you can imagine, then jump in headfirst and be amazed as the God of all provision makes a way for you to strive with all his energy to do what you view as impossible. Join me in praising God for his sufficiency! He will accomplish his purposes! He will draw all nations to himself! They will bow and worship the risen Christ! Nzambe akumama!

March Update

Answered prayers...a safe return

We had a rather uneventful return flight to Kinshasa from Nairobi on February 17, and we were happy for all of our Congolese friends to meet baby Sophia. They are all rejoicing with us!

Lingala

We’ve jumped back into learning and practicing Lingala, and we are enjoying communicating with the Congolese people. We were greatly encouraged yesterday when our teammate Alan and Tyler conducted the Bible Study in Mitendi completely in Lingala without the help of a translator. The Lord is blessing our efforts.

a team is coming to help!

In the next few weeks, a team of college students from Lakeview Baptist Church in Auburn, AL is coming to minister here through evangelism and discipleship. They will spend time in the local universities and also in Mitendi. We can’t wait for them to be here!

Developing a strategy for kinshasa

Tyler’s job title with the IMB is “strategy leader” for Kinshasa. That means he is responsible for developing a strategy to reach the 10 million people in this mega-city with the gospel. As we are just beginning our ministry here, we are really seeking God’s direction as to which locations of the city we should focus on first. Please help us pray for that dirction from the Lord!

Prayer Requests

1.Continued perseverance in speaking Lingala.

2.A group from Lakeview Baptist Church in Auburn, AL is coming to do discipleship and evangelism in a few weeks. Pray that the Lord will give them safe travel and a fruitful time of ministry here.

3.Pray for discernment as we begin to further relationships with Congolese and as we start to begin new Bible studies in different neighborhoods.

For daily prayer requests, go to www.twitter.com/pray4congo.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers, and for the emails and e-cards you sent for Jennifer’s birthday this past month. You have been a blessing to us.

Please feel free to forward this on to anyone who would like to pray for the Congolese people and for the work God is doing here. May God bless you!

More funny things about Congo...

1) It is perfectly acceptable for men to wear capri pants, as long as they have a matching shirt.

2) Underwear with "OBAMA" written on it is easily accessible to buy on the side of the road.

3) In Lingala, the rain doesn't "fall". It "beats." Mbula ebeti.

4) Water is sold in a bag.

5) I'm frequently called after the name of an American wrestler, Ken Masters. As I walk through the market, people call out "Ken, Ken".

6) We saw a police officer one day with what appeared to be one of those glow-in-the-dark child's toys from "Barnum and Bailey Circus." He was proudly using it to direct traffic.

7) If you buy things on the side of the road, they may or may not work. Always risky!!!

8) Heterosexual men can walk down the street holding hands as a sign of close friendship.

9) When a person graduates or accomplishes something else of importance, they put cooking flour on their heads and ride down the road hanging out of the car windows, blowing whistles.

10) .50 cents is a perfectly acceptable tip for a meal in a restaurant.

Funny things about Lingala and Congo...

1. You don't smoke a cigarette, you drink it. "Olingaka komela cigarette?"  Literally translated, "You like drinking cigarettes."

 
2. You don't drive your car, you carry it.  "Nakokumba motuka."  Literally translated, "I will carry the car.

3. Pregnant women eat dried clay. 

4. If you have a tube of antibiotic ointment, then you can open a store and call it a pharmacy.  I seem to see signs for a "pharmacy" every 15 feet.

5. If someone calls you fat, they are paying you a compliment.  Jennifer, Hope, and I have been called fat many times since we've been here.

6. You can always fit one more person into your taxi.  Always!!!

7. If a dollar bill has the slightest tear, then it is no good.  However, Congolese Franks could be put in a blender, taped back together, doused in gasoline, stuffed in a dude's underwear and it is still perfectly fine.

8. It is perfectly acceptable to eat bugs.

9. You don't say hello, you give it.  "Pesa Mbote."  Literally translated, "Give Hello!"  We say this to Hope frequently when we are meeting new people.

10. People wear T-shirts with English sayings on them, while having no idea what they actually say.

11.  A pint of Eddy's Ice Cream cost $25.  This is funny from my perspective but not so funny from the perspective of my pregnant, ice-cream-loving wife. 

More to come...

Jesus is the fountain of living water...

Here are a few pictures of a factory being built in Kinshasa to make ceramic water filters to help provide clean water to Congolese.

There are children everywhere in this area, they are very curious to see what's going on.

All of the bricks are made by pouring concrete into a form and then letting them dry in the sun. These are for the wall that will surround the site to provide some security for the equipment.

Another one of the children...

Me trying to look like I know what's going on...

The buildings were constructed by a team from University Baptist Church in Alabama. Thanks to those from UBC who worked hard to build these.

PLEASE PRAY THAT AS CONGOLESE HAVE THEIR PHYSICAL NEED OF CLEAN DRINKING WATER MET, THAT THEY WOULD ALSO REALIZE THEIR GREATER NEED TO KNOW THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATER, WHO IS CHRIST!

PLEASE PRAY FOR ALLEN, WHO IS AT ORIENTATION NOW, PREPARING TO COME TO KINSHASA TO WORK WITH THIS PROJECT.