I’ve been hanging out with Koulandiso Tendeng this week (you know him as Dave Miller) in Africa. We’ve spent the week together sharing the gospel and trying to plant churches. I’ve got to die someday: I really hope I die someday doing something like this rather than playing Bejeweled Blitz.
It scares me sometimes to stand at the headwaters of what I hope will be a family of enduring churches. To try to insulate them from my mistakes, I often tell them, “We just want you to read God’s Word and do what it tells you to do.”
Sounds so easy, right? But can we all be honest enough to admit that it takes a great deal of courage to do that? Sometimes what the Bible says comes up against our traditions (infant baptism, anyone?). Sometimes it comes up against our relationships (church discipline against a friend?). Sometimes it comes up against our own self-interests (forgive up to seventy-times-seven times?). Wimps will never read the Bible and do what it says.
And so, sometimes I feel a bit like a hypocrite when I say something so simple to these people. For them, doing what the Bible says will mean stepping apart from a centuries-old tradition of demonic animism, risking tribal exclusion, risking economic persecution, and embarking bravely upon what must be a terrifying new journey. Nevertheless, no other way could be so rewarding or safe.
May God, as I ask Him to give courage to these dear friends, give it in equal measure to my own soul.
Dr Adrian Rogers spoke of this very thing after returning from a trip to Russia. He siad that he asked his Pastor translator what he thought of American Christians. The Pastor said, “Not very much.” Dr Rogers was shocked and wanted to know the reason.
“American Christians talk about commitment. They talk about committing their lives to Jesus Christ. We teach our people to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ. When we come to Jesus Christ, we give Him our very lives and we live for Him because He is our Master.”
After hearing that story from Dr Rogers, and he said something very similar, I surrendered to do what God says to do in His Word. I am certainly not perfect at it. It is a daily process of surrendering this or that to the Lord. It is daily taking up our cross and following Him.
Thanks for the encouraging word today, Bart. I Am reminded early this morning to surrender my day to Him.
“We teach our people to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ.”
Several years ago, I sat in a church to hear the testimony of Southern Baptist missionary Ralph Bethea. Ralph had returned to the U.S. to recover from a beating by machete-wielding robbers in Kenya. His wife Lynda had been killed in that attack. The pastor of the church, who had grown up with him, introduced Ralph and his ministry by saying “Ralph is proof that any old bush will do.” Brother Bethea slowly made his way to the pulpit, stared at the pastor in the front row, and said “Any old ‘surrendered’ bush will do.” He had learned the price of surrendering all to Jesus.
Bart & Dave, thanks for sharing with those folks in Africa the hope that is within you. Surrender, in their culture, is indeed costly.
Excellent points Bart,
To be totally convinced by the Holy Spirit that He has set me free is a great freedom, and there are many times I deliberately squander that freedom because of selfishness, tradition, lack of courage, etc., etc.
I think I do understand this verse better everyday as I am convinced about the real value of stuff and the hinderance of pride.
“For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” NASB
O how much better it is to be filled with the fullness of God, than it is to rely on the fullness of man!
I hope your journey has been fruitful!
The Lordship of Christ Jesus is reason enough to bow the knee to Him and submit all to His will. No easy matter, because our old nature is still present, still demanding its own way. There is, therefore, a struggle between the New Man and the Old; man is a walking civil war. Doing what the Lord commands is not easy matter, but it is preferable to doing what we want to do. It has been my privilege to study Black History (today, it is called African American History) and to observe Black Folks in their conduct. While there are those like Whites who observe no rule, no restraint on practice or return of evil for evil, there are others who show by their very lives that the Christian Faith has truly taken root in their lives, a root that intertwines with the roots of being that go back to Africa, a root that provides the supernatural strength to forgive those who have wronged them, a root that has produced some of the great music in world history, the Negro Spirituals, which inspired Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his struggles with Nazism. I had to the privilege with my son of preaching the funeral of a young Black man who had been murdered. His mother said to the young man who had killed him, “I forgive you.” Later, we had the privilege of participating in her funeral along with her pastor. She was a person of rugged determination, an accomplished school teacher who could win over a racist bent on doing harm, a woman who suffered great grief which I am not at liberty to discuss. She ranks in my estimation with a number of great Christian believers whom it has been my privilege to know. Such people inspire one to want to do what the Bible says even if we come woeful short of its standards. The Apostle Paul declared that love does not become enraged ( I Cors.13:5: “is not easily provoked,” KJV), and yet we find him and Barnabas became enraged at one another over John Mark (Acts 15: the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other” KJV). We all come up short at one time or another. Thus, it behooves us to be careful in rendering judgment on others who might violate our sense of outrage by some seemingly reprehensible violation of the biblical teachings. Just remember David, who is was recognized by Peter as not only the King of Israel and as a prophet, but also as the patriarch, and that in view of the evils he had done. A preacher with a Bible school education (in a local church, mind you) reminded me that the gifts and callings of God are without repentance (on God’s part). Roms.11.
Does Dave’s African name, Koulandiso Tendeng, mean “the Big Fella, Who Eats the Most of our Food?”
Just wondering.
David
PS. BTW Bart, I heard they gave you a feminine name????
My Bayot name, I am told, means “he who brings his cattle to market, doesn’t get his price, and so takes them home without selking.” Some variation of “stubborn” I suppose.
In reality it was the chief of Dioher village who gave me the name and it was his grandfather’s. So, I was honored.
And Bart’s name – well I’ll let him respond.
Is ‘selking’ supposed to be ‘selling’ or ‘sulking’? It makes a big difference in interpreting the name.
My name is a lot less girly than “Volfan”
Well, what did your feminine African name mean, Bart?
David
Even adding 007 to the end of it doesn’t make Volfan more masculine, does it?
Oh yes, it’s very masculine. Vol Fan and 007. I’m an agent of the TN Vols! Very manly thing to be.
David
🙂
Good article. I like seeing the photos of you all that Dave has been posting on Facebook. The segment of video that made it out was nice too. Keep up the good work.
It scares me sometimes to stand at the headwaters of what I hope will be a family of enduring churches. To try to insulate them from my mistakes, I often tell them, “We just want you to read God’s Word and do what it tells you to do.”
In many ways this should be our attitude every time we stand in a pulpit, when teaching a Sunday School class, instructing our children, or even just dealing with people any time.
Just one thing, for what it’s worth: church discipline done right doesn’t destroy relationships; it establishes relationships in Christ. Any relationship broken due to church discipline was not caused by the discipline – it was caused by the unrepentant sin that the discipline was brought to bear on. To let that go without practicing church discipline is to pretend that a broken relationship is just fine and does more harm than good.
Brother. I enjoyed this article very much. One can take away many things from the article. For me, I was encouraged in that I should be committed and surrender my life to Christ in reaching lost souls who are dying and on their way to hell.
With that said, I would like to ask for guidance and counsel from other Godly men in this group. I was saved and baptized in a independent fundamental baptist church on August 15, 1999 while serving at Camp Pendleton, CA as a Marine. I also worked 8-years as a security specialist with DHS/USCIS until 09/11/2010.
Now getting back to my question(s). I have a continued desire to serve the Lord here in the Philippines where I am retired. I was separated/divorced in 2010-2011. I got remarried last February 2014. The question(s) I have is regarding the ministry. I have a desire to reach lost souls here in my wife province [Biliran Island, Leyte, Philippines]. I don’t want to be a pastor per se, but I believe I can reach lost souls here without having any title or position. For we are all ambassadors for Christ. I am not looking or needing support as does a missionary. I live here and collect pensions from the military and government. So the support isn’t an issue. I just want to reach lost souls for Christ.
I guess the question(s) I want to ask or would like to get the opinions from other Godly men; what or how should I go about starting a ministry here? Another concern I have is regarding tithing. I do not have a church of like faith to attend here in the province, but I am a firm believer in tithing. So, who are where should I give my tithe to?
I can also be reached by e-mail at curtis24lakers@gmail.com. I would truly appreciate any and all guidance and opinions. I do request that you provide scripture backing because yes I want to start a ministry here, but I want to stay in Gods word. Everything I do, I want to be able to back it up in scripture.
Love and prayers in Christ,
Bro. Curtis Ake