I’m continually blown away by the thought and the reality of being in Africa. It’s incredible to experience what I watched on Discovery Channel all those years. Well, to an extent. I’m not seeing any elephants or rhinos or giraffes, but I’m experiencing the culture through spending time with locals and eating from a traditional African diet. I’ve been told on more than one occasion that Christianity in Africa is wide spread, but rooted rather shallow. I’ve also been told (and experienced) that some of the churches in Africa are very well alive and rooted like an oak. There are those who claim Christianity because their evangelizing neighbors suggested it, or because their family attends church, but there are also those who claim and grasp onto Christianity because they see Christ as their true Savior, providing them with a love and freedom that can’t be obtained anywhere else in the universe.
This sounds a lot like America to me. Look at the Bible Belt; churches are spread all across the USA in varying levels of density, at least providing the vast majority of Americans an opportunity to attend church. Christianity runs wide but not very deep. I’d even venture to say that our country that prints “In God We Trust” on our currency has Christian roots much shallower than that of Africa. How many people go to church because they want their neighbors to see them in the pew one row closer to the front? Or because it’s the morally responsible thing to do on a Sunday morning? How many people live their Sunday behavior out the rest of the week Monday through Saturday? How many Americans attend a weekly Bible study? How many American Christians have ever stayed up all night at least once for an all-night prayer & praise worship session?
You know, this past month in Rwanda, our pastor and his church organize an all-night prayer/praise session Every Friday. Every Friday. Are you getting this? Every single Friday, the pastor and several leaders and members in the church will come into a home in the community (they don’t even have to be a church member, or even a visitor of his church!) and start praising about 10pm and go non-stop until 5am. There could be 25 people in a room the size of your big American kitchen, dancing and singing and praying and praising the name of Jesus well past the point of being tired… every… Friday. They face being ridiculously tired every Saturday as a result, but gee whizz you know what? God somehow miraculously energizes them and prepares them for the next day, and the next, and the next, and the next Friday. They don’t keep their religion inside their church walls either. We almost daily walked around the community to share the gospel and encourage those who already believe; just walking around with a Bible in my hand. Remind you of anyone, of any stories in the Bible? And they think their Christian roots are shallow? I ask, what’s wrong with the American Christian? Why shouldn’t Africa be sending missionaries to our country?! Well, that’s something I’ll be working on.
My good friend and spiritual advisor Heith Daniels (now a team leader on K Squad) tells it like this (I’m paraphrasing here). ‘Think of our belief like an ocean. You can spend all your time on the surface and never know the depths of God’s love and creation. Or you can spend all your time studying the depths of God’s word and secret things in the darkness of your own confines, and totally miss out on the life and splendor that flourishes in the shallower sun-kissed parts of the ocean.’
So how about you? Are you a believer just floating around the sea of Christianity on your relaxing floatie soaking up the rays? Or are you a devoted deep sea scuba diver with your nose so glued to the words of scripture that you never see how life is giving you chances to apply and share what you’re learning? God wants us to both study His word, seeking the intimate details of scripture, as well as bask in the glory of His creation and relationships. Enjoy your warm new floatie, but do a bit of diving too, and invite your friends while you’re at it.
Now my team and I are in Kenya. We’re staying with a married couple who operate a school for all sorts of kids. I expect this team to pour out everything we have into this ministry. Is anything less appropriate? Please pray for us, that we have energy and patience and growth. See the left side of the blog page to check out my teammates, or just note the names here for prayer: Raj, Leanne, Aubrie, Anna, Kaleena, Brian. We only have 2 more months in Africa, followed by 2 months in Europe. You can expect me and my teammates to return to the States as changed people, and we’ll come packing a spiritual punch to bring change to people back home. Let’s deepen our roots and explore all that God has for us. I guarantee He will surprise you and bless you like you never experienced.
