Our time here in Africa has been unforgettable! But it hasn’t been the breathtaking scenery or the cultural differences that have made it memorable. It’s been the people. And more specifically, our African brothers and sisters in Christ. We’ve had the opportunity to go to several churches in both Malawi and Zambia. And although we’ve learned many good things from each of them, there are three things I’ve found they all had in common. Things that I think we, as American Christians, can learn from. Now, before I begin, I want to say that I am basing these three points purely off my own experiences. These are not meant to be hard and fast conclusions. I’m sure not all African churches do these things, and I am sure there are American churches that do these things very well. But without further ado, here we go.
Number 1: Dancing encourages joy. While being here in Africa, there were times I went to church with a bad attitude. Don’t be so spiritual; you know you don’t always just love going to church. But after about 15 minutes in to the worship service I found it impossible to hold on to that sour spirit. Was it the music? Nope. Many times the only instruments they had were their hands (but man, could they clap!). It was their joyful dancing. In African church, I’ve seen that joy and dancing are synonymous. Now, I understand that we shouldn’t get carried away by our emotions. But I think that there are physical actions that we can do to set the stage for God to work. For example, many of us begin our prayer time by preparing the environment. We stop our tasks, turn down the noise, and even position our physical posture in a way that will cause us to be most attentive to God. Good physical disciplines are the starting place for good spiritual disciplines. My experience in the African churches is that dancing (from the little-bit of arrhythmical, white-boy dancing I attempted) really does cause joy. When I danced, I found myself becoming more thankful for my current situation and it caused me to be more aware of God’s goodness. Also, there is something about joyfully praising God and dancing with other fellow believers who are doing the same, that creates a sense of unity and directs our souls Godward.
Number 2: Emphasis on Prayer. I benefited greatly from the African Church’s emphasis on prayer. We especially saw this true in Malawi. Almost everyday they have a morning service called “Morning Glory”. . .a very early morning service. It starts 4:30 a.m.! I can’t say that I made it to every Morning Glory, but when I did I was always blessed and challenged. The main focus of Morning Glory is on prayer. Pastor Ghent (our Malawi ministry contact), would present 3 points of prayer, and then we would all pray out loud, simultaneously, on those prayer points. There is something special about devoting your first waking moments to God in prayer. It made me hunger to pray more and for longer periods of time. And not just during Morning Glory would they devote themselves to prayer, but occasionally they would have all night prayer sessions at the churches. Of the many lessons that African Christians have taught me,one of the greatest is the desire to see the world affected by God’s kingdom through the communion of prayer.
Number 3: Authentic Hospitality. I’m from the South, so I know a thing or two about hospitality. But sorry Paula Dean, you got nothin’ on Africa. Listen to this. We’re entering a village to minister to a church, and the congregation meets and gives us a welcome parade! No less than 40 people gathered around our van and sang songs to welcome us. The parade lasted for at least a half-mile! Once we got to the church, they carried our heavy bags (mine was sitting around a plump 50 lbs. at the time) to the house, greeted us and continued to sing for us. Not being used to this kind of generous hospitality, all of us were, needless to say, a little taken aback. I have never felt more welcome in my life! And it was one of the best memories of my life! Now, I’m not saying we need to give welcome parades to our church guests on Sundays, but I am saying there is something we can learn from the attitude of these people. Their hospitality, I believe, stems from their humility. They do not size up their guests, as we sometimes do, comparing them to ourselves, surmising whether we are better than them or not. I think sometimes our pride keeps us from being genuinely hospitable, but their genuine humility causes them to be hospitable.
I could go on about all the wonderful things Africa holds, and we’re not even leaving yet! We still have next month in Zimbabwe. But one things is for sure, knowing the people here is like being around a living, breathing sunset. Their joy is illuminating and you walk away a better person for having known them.
