Unschooled, Ordinary Men
Presenting themselves one by one, they gave their names, the name of their village, and a piece of news from the church that they pastor.
These village church leaders are so spread out that they often feel alone and isolated. This simple activity reminds them that they are not alone, that they are a part of something bigger than themselves, and that God is at work in many different villages at the same time...often doing some of the same things. That's why we do a quarterly Biblical training seminar for all the church leaders in the movement of Églises Évangélique Du Christ - to bring all the hot and smoldering embers together and light the fire once again.
One church leader shared the news that they had finished building their first building and were meeting in it every week.
Another leader said that their church, still meeting under a brush hangar, had decided to start saving their money to build a building in 2018.
One leader announced that their church is made up mostly of women - mainly older women and sick women. Only four men attend.
Yet another shared that their church is full of children. The adults struggle between following animism and Christianity, yet the children are learning a pure Christian faith from a young age.
One leader talked about the mixing of Muslim faith and Christian faith in his area. Another said that their church leader had recently turned back to animism. At the same time, even another leader spoke of how he sees people turning from false religion and placing faith in Jesus now more than ever before.
Leaders reported persecution and struggle, isolation and loneliness. Yet they also shared that their churches are growing and becoming more faithful. The faith of the people is becoming more true and firm. They are noticing more unity and less division. More joy and less anger.
It's amazing how persecution and church growth are directly related. It's been that way throughout history, and it still proves true today. Want the church to grow? Pray for a faith worth persecuting.
Some of these men have been pastors for years. Others are brand new. I was particularly touched by one man who was asked to lead the church in his village because he knows how to read. He has never been trained as a pastor, yet he reads the Word of God to the people who come to listen. Is an untrained man who reads the Bible...is he a church leader? Does this group of hearers who come to listen qualify as a church? If you ask me, a resounding yes. Absolutely yes.
As I wrote down the name of each church leader and the village where he pastors, I thanked God for each and every one of them. They are each different - various levels of education, wealth, and knowledge of God's Word. I won't even begin to compare them to the pastors of the United States, yet God has chosen them. He has called them to lead his flocks in Burkina Faso, and he equips those he calls.
Sometimes when I look out at their faces in the training fall full of church leaders, I can't help but think that they look a whole lot like the twelve disciples - unschooled, ordinary fisherman that don't really know what they are doing, but God is using them to change the world.
Pray for these men that God has called. Pray that the Holy Spirit puts a fire in their bones to shepherd the church, disciples the believers, and preach good news to the lost. Pray that the fame of Jesus would spread like wildfire among the dagara people in a way that can only be accounted for by an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Pray for spiritual awakening that begins in the lives of the church leaders themselves and then catches on among the believers and spreads through their communities to the outlying and farthest reaching corners.
These village church leaders are so spread out that they often feel alone and isolated. This simple activity reminds them that they are not alone, that they are a part of something bigger than themselves, and that God is at work in many different villages at the same time...often doing some of the same things. That's why we do a quarterly Biblical training seminar for all the church leaders in the movement of Églises Évangélique Du Christ - to bring all the hot and smoldering embers together and light the fire once again.
One church leader shared the news that they had finished building their first building and were meeting in it every week.
Another leader said that their church, still meeting under a brush hangar, had decided to start saving their money to build a building in 2018.
One leader announced that their church is made up mostly of women - mainly older women and sick women. Only four men attend.
Yet another shared that their church is full of children. The adults struggle between following animism and Christianity, yet the children are learning a pure Christian faith from a young age.
One leader talked about the mixing of Muslim faith and Christian faith in his area. Another said that their church leader had recently turned back to animism. At the same time, even another leader spoke of how he sees people turning from false religion and placing faith in Jesus now more than ever before.
Leaders reported persecution and struggle, isolation and loneliness. Yet they also shared that their churches are growing and becoming more faithful. The faith of the people is becoming more true and firm. They are noticing more unity and less division. More joy and less anger.
It's amazing how persecution and church growth are directly related. It's been that way throughout history, and it still proves true today. Want the church to grow? Pray for a faith worth persecuting.
Some of these men have been pastors for years. Others are brand new. I was particularly touched by one man who was asked to lead the church in his village because he knows how to read. He has never been trained as a pastor, yet he reads the Word of God to the people who come to listen. Is an untrained man who reads the Bible...is he a church leader? Does this group of hearers who come to listen qualify as a church? If you ask me, a resounding yes. Absolutely yes.
As I wrote down the name of each church leader and the village where he pastors, I thanked God for each and every one of them. They are each different - various levels of education, wealth, and knowledge of God's Word. I won't even begin to compare them to the pastors of the United States, yet God has chosen them. He has called them to lead his flocks in Burkina Faso, and he equips those he calls.
Sometimes when I look out at their faces in the training fall full of church leaders, I can't help but think that they look a whole lot like the twelve disciples - unschooled, ordinary fisherman that don't really know what they are doing, but God is using them to change the world.
Pray for these men that God has called. Pray that the Holy Spirit puts a fire in their bones to shepherd the church, disciples the believers, and preach good news to the lost. Pray that the fame of Jesus would spread like wildfire among the dagara people in a way that can only be accounted for by an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Pray for spiritual awakening that begins in the lives of the church leaders themselves and then catches on among the believers and spreads through their communities to the outlying and farthest reaching corners.
Comments
Post a Comment