A Very Special Mother

Today, I am lifting up my wife, Margaret, as “Super Mom”.

She got our daughter off to a great start in life–and, I’ve watched Christy become a great mom to her two boys as well. Christy had a great role model for the job of mom.

What many people do not know is that Margaret was mother to hundreds of Ugandan youths who passed through our ministry in Africa. She found ways to sponsor deserving young people in secondary school. She was their advocate with the school administration–which was usually only marginally competent. She watched over those young people like a mother hen. Checking their home work, praising them when they did good, chastising when they did poorly….but, always encouraging them to be the best.

I don’t know exactly how she did it all–but, I do know that more that 75 young people got through secondary school (high school) because she found the money to pay the schools, outfit the uniforms, pay the hostels, buy the books, and supply the personal items each student needed. One of her “daughters” she supported through to a Masters Degree.

The mission organization we served in those days had the “twofer” policy–like many mission organizations. They got two workers for the price of one. Her contribution was never officially recognized–and, her role as “mom” to hundreds of young people went largely unnoticed by denominational “officialdom”. She wasn’t doing any of this for praise or recognition, she did it because it was the right thing to do. And, in her own quiet way she simply poured her life into the lives of many Ugandan youth that had lost their own mothers to war or disease.

Today, God has blessed her with her own ministry job–one that receives recognition and a salary. Through her new job she has touched 109 different countries with the word of God.

Thank you Margaret for being a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, and the most genuine person I know.

GREG

Falling Into The Wrong Hands ….

My greatest–all time greatest–fear is returning from Africa with some kind of sickness….a sickness that would be simple and easily treatable in Africa….but, a profound mystery for the American medical system. Well, this past week has been my nightmare week.

During the last two weeks of April I visited in four countries in Africa. One of those countries was Malawi–a country in southern Africa is is mainly lake–and a place where there is a problem with Bilharzia–a small blood fluke. That small blood fluke–a worm–spends half of its short life in snails that infest the lake. The other half of the life cycle of the blood fluke–the half where they spend their honeymoon and get the new family started–takes place inside a human. (How those new little hummers get out of the human and back to the lake I’ll leave for you to figure out!)

Having lived in a Bilharzia area (Lake Victoria) and having traveled to other Bilharzia areas (Lake Malawi), I have had the experience of being that happy breeding ground on a couple of occasions. The usual procedure is this: you go to the local clinic, they draw some blood and find some enzymes present with the blood flukes. The clinic dispenses about six “horse pills” and you go home, take the medicine. The next morning you are over Bilharzia.

This past week I woke up with a moderately high fever, joint pain, and muscle pain. It was serious enough that I had Margaret take me to Urgent Care clinic. Of course all of this is happen just on the anticipated cusp of the swine flu “pandemic”. The first day was spent at Urgent Care explaining the finer points of Bilharzia to DOCS that aren’t interested in having it explained to them by a patient. I was admitted to the Hospital and put into an isolation room–all the while trying to explain to everyone that I simply had Bilharzia and needed “the pills” and I’d be alright by morning. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were consumed repeatedly stating that case to “infectious disease experts” who pretty much blew off whatever I was saying–even though they hadn’t a clue as to what was causing the fever and other symptoms.

Tuesday–finally–the bilharzia pills were found and a decision was made to “at least try” that approach. By Wednesday morning (after taking the bilharzia medications) I was well! SURPRISE!!!!!!

Today I am resting and hoping to restore the strength and reserves I lost while the DOCS dithered. I feel much stronger. I took Kijana for a nice long walk this morning and did some small projects around the house. I don’t feel 100% yet, but I am doing much better.

GREG


Visit The Second Half Christians


The Blood, The Book, the Blessed Hope.

When I was a small boy growing up in Wilmington, California–definitely NOT a middle class experience–there was a Baptist church just down the street from our house.  I remember it becuase the sign board outside announced that they were preaching, “The Blood, The Book, and the Blessed Hope.”  Of course we were Foursquare, so we could already snicker up our sleeves about them having “cut off one of the four essential corners” of the Gospel.

But, today I read this quote from Greg Laurie about asking Billy Graham an essential question. “‘Billy, if you knew as a younger preacher what you know today, would you emphasize anything more as a younger preacher than you find yourself emphasizing today? Whithout missing a beat, he responded, ‘I would preach more on the cross and on the blood. That is where the power is.’”

If I were going to add anything to that statement it would only be this:  I would also preach more on the precious Name.  Yesterday as I stood in an HIV/TB ward at a hospital in Manzini, Swaziland, I was asked to pray for a man who lay dying from the disease.  I’ve done this a thousand times in East Africa, but this was my first time to pray over a dying man in Swaizland.

It’s hopeless you know.  As you stand there and watch the last breaths ebb out of a body desecrated by HIV.

But, I’m so glad that I know that ONE at who’s name every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that HE is Lord.  I’m so glad that I can stand there touching that frail body and invoking the NAME of one who is the Great Physician.  Confessing that it was by His stripes we ARE healed.

Ok, I know the cross, the blood, and name aren’t popular today.  But, I don’t care…because I’ve experienced the power of the Cross in my own life…I’ve seen the power of the blood as I watched people’s lives transformed…and, I know the Name of that one that heals sickness, delivers from demonic oppression and sets captives at liberty.

GREG

The Lord Gave …. And The Lord Has Taken Away.

This morning was a wonderful time of worship in one of the local churches in Cape Town.  I certainly enjoyed the singing, the preaching of the Word of God, and the fellowship with other believers.  Having said that, I must also tell you that this week-end I have been meditating on these words from Job:

“Then Job arose and ^ctore his ^drobe and ^eshaved his head ^fand fell on the ground and worshiped. ²¹ And he said, ^g“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I ^hreturn. The Lord ⁱgave, and the Lord has taken away; ^jblessed be the name of the Lord.”

^{22 k}In all this Job did not sin or charge God with ^lwrong.”

I am struck by how opposite the world-view of Job is from much of what passes as Christianity today.  Job was a committed monotheist.  Had he been a more modern Western Christian he would have said, “I’m having a huge struggle with the Devil, but, in the name of Jesus I a commanding him to release what he has stolen from me.”  Or, words to that effect.  No, Job attributed the blessing he had received as having come from God.  And, Job attributed the loss of that blessing to the sovereignty of God.

Today the Church in America faces some huge crisis times.  We have interpreted the event of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the light of life enhancement.  WWJD came quickly to mean, “What Will Jesus Do”.  Need a financial miracle in your life?  Come to Jesus and He will rescue you.  Marriage and family falling apart? Jesus can give you ten easy steps to a successful marriage.  What ever you need–take it from Jesus.

Everyday my e-mail box is stuffed to the gills with new dire warnings and predictions of what is about to “come upon us”.  I have before me at least a dozen petitions to sign to inform President Obama of my displeasure with his policies…and, another half dozen dire warnings of civil rights being taken from Christians in America.  Most likely there is some truth in each of these urgent messages of impending doom.

For the past 20 years I have stood with Christians in the Southern Hemisphere–and, I am more of a Southern Hemisphere Christian than anything else.  We have stood in the face of persecution, of denial of human rights, ridicule by the ruling elites, and marginalization in  the society, and in some cases, threats of death. One thing I learned from my brothers and sisters in the Southern Hemisphere is that when all is lost, when every arm of government or civil society has turned against you…when, faced with overwhelming odds the Church in the Southern Hemisphere has learned–as Job had learned–to say “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

One of the primary reasons for this is the fact that Southern Hemisphere Christianity has been interpreting the Christ event–not so much in terms of how “it” can enhance my life–but, in terms of being transformed from a dominion of Darkness to the Kingdom of God’s dear Son.  When everything is being taken away from you, you can still say “Blessed be the name…” because your Christianity is not interpreted or experienced by the measurement of material gain, but, the deep transformation of a life that sees beyond the material world and understands the great gain of a heavenly kingdom which cannot be taken away.

America has been blessed as few nations in the world’s history have been blessed.  The Lord gave us a good and fruitful land.  We had–at one time–a government that at least acknowledged the importance and sovereignty of God.  Now, the Lord has taken away.

Do we now have the maturity to–like our brothers and sisters in the South–raise up and say “The LORD gave….the LORD has taken away….BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD”?

GREG

^c See Gen. 37:29

^d Ezra 9:3

^e Jer. 7:29

^f [1 Pet. 5:6]

^g Eccles. 5:15; [Ps. 49:17; 1 Tim. 6:7]

^h [Gen. 3:19; Ps. 90:3; Eccles. 12:7]

ⁱ [Eccles. 5:19; James 1:17]

^j Ps. 113:2; Dan. 2:20; [Eph. 5:20; 1 Thess. 5:18]

^k ch. 2:10

^l ch. 24:12

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Job 1:20-22). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

Reflections On A Visit To Zimbabwe

Afterward, I was still surprised by my chance encounter.  It is one of those happenstance encounters where you find yourself seated on an airplane beside a person of interest.  In this case a government official from Zimbabwe.  I have watched the downward spiral of Zimbabwe for about 20 years, so, I was anxious to engage this person in conversation.

The burning questions I have had in my mind for the past two years was this:  At some point in printing money, wouldn’t a reasonable person take a step back and think, “This is stupid”! (O.K. I phrased the question much nicer than that, but, you get my drift.)  I mean, when the one million dollar bill came out, didn’t it strike someone as rather a daft idea? Ok…so, I phrased all of this in  velvet covered diplomatic terms.

The answer I received from my seat-mate was, “It was the handwritting on the wall we refused to read.”  WOW!  What a stunning statement!  But, it got me thinking as well. What “handwritting on the wall” is our USA President, Congress, and Supreme Court refusing to read?  Of course the chance of me sitting next to President Obama on my next flight is fairly slim–and, Senators and Congressmen are about as rare as well.

So, I hatched a scheme to ask that question.  I went out on the street in Harare and purchased three TRILLION Zimbabwe dollars.  Nearly as many dollars as the entire US budget. (Total cost of three trillion Zim dollars?  50 cents).  When I return home I intend to write this cautionary tale out as a personal letter to every Senator in the US Senate–inside the letter I will include about 50 BILLION DOLLARS to each one.  (I understand they are attracted to sizeable personal donations…and, this should do it.  Like cops to a donut).  I want to ask each one, “What hand writing on the wall are you choosing to ignore?”

My hope is that my unusual souvenier offered in such a manner will provoke some thought on the part of our elected officials.  If not, they could save it and use it for subway fare from D.C. to Virginia once they have finally trashed our economy.

GREG

Audio Bible Listening in Malawi

The wisdom of age marks the face of this lady from Malawi

This past week I have spent in Malawi doing follow-up and evaluations of our Faith Comes By Hearing programs through the Bible Society.  We met with over 65 group leaders–some of whom were Muslims–that listen regularly every week to several chapters of the New Testament followed by discussion.  The discussion questions that came from this group (they were listening to Matthew 5) were very insightful. The audio Bible works very well in oral cultures–and, is a development that is speeding the Word of God around the worl

The WORD became flesh and dwelt among us.

When I was about 5 years old, my Dad was attending seminary.  He was learning Greek, and thought it a hoot to teach me to recite some scriptures in Greek.  John 1:1 was one of those: “In the beginning was ^bthe Word, and ^cthe Word was with God, and ^dthe Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God.” Very wonderful words, indeed.  Especially wonderful words to be thinking on Easter Sunday morning.

I’m no longer five years old, and, I’m pretty familiar with John’s use of the logos and its ties to Greek thought.  However, both Islam and Christianity understand that The Word was existent in heaven from eternity.  For Islam it is one of the huge paradoxes of their religious system.  The Koran has ALWAYS existed in heaven.  Problem is this: Once you have said that…that both Allah and the Koran have co-existed in heaven from eternity, you have just committed the greatest sin of Islam!

The huge difference is that for Christians, the Word became flesh. While for Muslims the Word became a book.  But, sometimes when I am listening to Christians talk, I think for some of them The Word also became a book.  We have difficulty with this because we are a literate society and for us words are objects! Objects that are written down and can be referred back to time and time again.  I’m not ranting about literacy or trying to downplay the contribution that literacy has made to human development.

What I am wondering is this:  If 50% or more of the world’s population is pre-literate, then how will the written Word impact their lives and societies?  Is it possible that God has chosen to use things like the revelational African Independent Churches which are “weak on the word” (according to our western sophistry) to speak His word into oral cultures?  Reading the Old Testament one finds a God who is much more comfortable with orality than with literacy–even though there is no thought that God is illiterate.  He just seems to have a very different way of understanding “words” than our technological literate society has.

GREG

^b Rev. 19:13; [Heb. 4:12; 1 John 1:1]

^c 1 John 1:2; [ch. 17:5]

^d Phil. 2:6

The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Jn 1:1-2). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

God, Orality, and Literacy

Recently I posed the question: Is God–the Living God of Heaven and of Earth–primarily ORAL (as a communicator/thinker/”learner”) or is He primarily LITERATE?  Most responses that I received suggested that I had finally gone around the hill, and was ultimately wasting my time contemplating my navel.  Ok, I can understand that…because very few missions people–let alone typical USA thinkers who receive their information as pablum from the major media outlets–even think about orality.  But, if our society is rushing headlong into secondary illiteracy (or, post-literacy for the politically correct), then the question deserves some thinking.