Part of this care for others includes sharing of faith and teaching, counselling, listening and learning to see the world in new ways. The word relationship may sound simple to the ear, but it is deeply profound. My upcoming trip to Kenya includes the building up of relationships while we are teaching a people very poor in money, but rich in faith and love. Relationships are extremely important in Africa, and there all time seems slowed down to accommodate visiting each other. It's we fast-moving people who miss this. The Kenyans call us mzungus, or those who 'run in circles' because to them it seems like we do. So relax, and hear a talk about relationship.
I've called my talk "missions are more than evangelism," partly because of the type of teaching trip I'm doing in Kenya in a month. Some of you may have heard the little spotlight on the mission and service fund each week. You might picture in your mind overseas children who need practical help, small churches that need financial support and social service groups that reach out to refugees, and immigrants, ESL programmes and literacy workshops. Yes, this is mission, in the social end to it. But, are there not ways to be more personally involved then just sending a cheque to head office?
There are ways to be involved in mission right here in our community, and later we will tell you about the Alpha Course. Mission is all around us, here in the National Capital Region, and also where I'm going in Northern Kenya. But what exactly are missions?
Missions include evangelism (which is the sharing of the good news of Jesus), discipleship (which is helping others live the Christian life, training or equipping them to carry out their sense of call), practical help and encouragement of others. This is something that we can all do, as long as it comes from our personal faith in Jesus Christ and from God's word, the Bible.
Telling others is a natural way to share a relationship that can set your life on fire, give it great meaning, and fill you a sense of being loved. In the great commission (which Henry read earlier), Jesus not only commanded telling others about him and baptizing converts, but also "making disciples and teaching them to obey his commands." Discipleship and teaching are necessary because they make our faith grow and we can learn more about Him.
Someone who disciples others can also be called a mentor. The relationships that we have with our mentors are important in helping us grow in faith, in our love for Jesus, and also in our friendship with each other. This means our relationships grow horizontally and vertically at the same time - kind of in the shape of the cross! Mentors can also be a vessel that Jesus would use to touch us and draw us into deeper relationship with Him.
I know that when I decided to have a relationship with Jesus and not just try to follow the Ten Commandments, I felt like I fell in love with Jesus - it became a very special relationship. Actually I DID fall in love with Jesus, and I wanted to know more about the Father and the Holy Spirit as well. I became so hungry that I attended three services on Sundays plus two Bible studies.
One of my first pastors was a kind of mentor for me. He was also called Laurie, and we would have these special "Laurie-Laurie-Ann" chats. Shortly after an experience that deepened my faith, I shared with him - that prayer to God the Father was now like chatting with "Dear Uncle God," and that God was now a family member. Laurie liked that one so much that I ended up being in his Father's Day sermon that year. Laurie was one of my mentors when I was a newly-on-fire Christian, and he taught me, encouraged my faith and inspired me to always look to Jesus. He showed me that the importance of our faith is one of relationship more than following a rule book.
When I was learning Christian counselling, I discovered that healing also must happen within relationship - that of the counsellor and counsellee. Counsellors are basically another kind of mentor, and they teach us about healing broken relationships. Since they can be in instrument of God, they are called to be God's hands to others.
Being God's hands to others is shown in a popular Eastern Christian icon that depicts Jesus with no hands or feet. Why does he have no hands or feet? There are no hands or feet shown because WE are his hands and feet! He works through us! This gives us an incredible privilege of being in relationship both to God and to others … and in having God work through us.
Every time God works through me, it is an amazing feeling. It blesses the other person, and gives me a wonderful feeling that causes me to praise God for his goodness. We can at times be as Jesus to others, as you will soon hear.
I also found that balanced learning is best in the context of relationship. This is not just imitating people that you trust, which is natural and normal. This concerns the actual discovery itself.
In first year seminary I learned that all truth is God's truth. This is the principle that because God created the world, there are divine patterns within creation. These are physical laws of the universe called physics, and can be read almost like a book by scientists. Even though we've messed up some of this order in the environment, many times you can still see this in nature, in astronomy, in physics, and in how babies are formed.
Paul also talks about this order in creation, when he says that "what may be known about God is plain to [everyone] for since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature has been clearly seen." [Romans 1:19-20] Solomon mentions in Ecclesiastes 3:9 that
eternity is in the hearts of humanity … God has placed it there! Why would he do this unless we are created to be in relationship with Him?
Discipleship and encouragement of others is also a relationship, and this is part of what we will be doing in Africa. Tony read earlier that Paul encouraged young Timothy to be bold in his faith. He mentions Timothy's family with fondness and encouragement. Paul essentially is discipling Timothy in these verses, encouraging his inward faith, the outward aspects of it, and blessing his family. Later on in the chapter, he says "What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus. [2 Tim 1:13] Timothy's discipleship with Paul included learning and encouragement within the context of a close friendship.
Discipleship and teaching establishes patterns for newer Christians to live by. We can act like spiritual brothers or sisters, just as Paul did with Timothy. As it is for parents and siblings to help with young children, so it is for more mature Christians to encourage and guide the newer ones.
Dale, another former pastor of mine, likened evangelism to fishing and said that it may be "easy to catch the fish, but someone has to clean them." In this he encouraged that discipleship can be done by many Christians and not just clergy.
From what I've been hearing from different prayer movements, such as the Sentinel Group and prophetic people like Marc Dupont is that revival, is coming to Canada. In revivals there are many new Christians. Who will be there to disciple them, encourage and love them, and to teach them? Will you? Will I?
Jennifer earlier read a scripture that talks about the importance of the church as a BODY - a living entity that needs all of its parts. It needs nurture and care - this includes us - we also need to be loved, encouraged and equipped every day by God. Yet it also includes us ministering to each other. This again is relationship - we are called to love each other…to respect and work in harmony with each other.
Not all of us are called to be teachers, but we are all called to encourage and honour each other. Do you remember what the minister says when babies are being baptized? We essentially promise to look
out for the little ones, to encourage them in faith, and help their parents fulfil those baptismal vows.
We are a part of the body - we are to care for the newer parts of the body.
When I was last in Kenya, I officially worked with Somali refugees, and I loved this ministry. However, I also found that I had an unofficial ministry - that of encouragement of other Christians. Part of this was realized when I became a mentor to my roommate, who was a missionary to the Sudan. We were led to share deeply, pray and journal together and we both grew spiritually during our time with each other.
One weekend, my missions partner and I stayed on a friend's farm up in the beautiful coffee-growing area of the Aberdares, northwest of Thika. Maina was very good to us, especially to me, because I was ill on the water. We were taken to his church, which was full from the combination of five congregations. I found these Kikuyu people very welcoming, and to make it easier for them, I went by the name Annie, since they couldn't pronounce Laurie. It literally came out of their mouths as "Roly."
After the service, they first had an event called a harambee, an outward display of fundraising along the principle of "So and so gave this, can you top it?" I was led to give 50 Kenyan shillings, which wasn't much, but I then embarrassingly heard the words "this 50 shillings came all the way from Canada. Annie wants to show her love for us. How about if you show your love for us too?" Actually they did raise enough for the Sunday school by this method, but it seemed too public for me.
After this they had a Sunday school pageant, and some of these skits were quite good. The winning play was based on the five wise and five foolish virgins in Matthew 25. The youth pastor asked me afterwards to dance with the children, which is something I normally wouldn't have done, but I was willing … and sure enough, the Holy Spirit of God emboldened me to dance with kicking my legs up into the air. The children loved it, just as the pastor had said. Afterwards, we had simple Kikuyu refreshment of beans and potatoes and I approached the Sunday school teacher of the winning team. When I gave her my congratulations, she was amazed that I would even speak to her… and she couldn't respond with anything other than a startled look. I was puzzled, and instead spoke with the youth pastor, who had responded to me earlier.
He thanked me for being so open with the Kikuyu Christians and for treating them like family. I stressed:
"but we ARE family, pastor. It says in Gal. 3:28 that we are all one in Christ Jesus. There is no Jew or Gentile, there is no Canadian or Kenyan, there is no black nor white."
While this is true, many people don't really act this out. My Kikuyu friends had been looked down upon by British or North American missionaries, and not treated as equals. Yet they are equals, even if they don't have the resources we do. When I explained how I felt to this pastor, he was almost in tears. He prayed that there would be many more missionaries and teachers with my attitude to combat the very strong heritage of colonialism and he called me special since I was following what Jesus would do.
Another Kenyan that I ministered to was a lady named Anne. We hired her to teach our Somali children in preparation for Canada. One day Anne was late, and I looked after the children. One of the girls noticed a watch I was wearing that had roman numerals on it. So I taught her Roman numerals, and in the middle of this impromptu lesson, Anne arrived. She continued what I started and encouraged me that I was a good teacher (which surprised me at the time).
Over the months I was there, Anne and I became friends, and it was easy to encourage her. One day shortly before I was to leave Kenya, I invited her to have a meal with me in my apartment. She told me that she was touched by my kindness and wanted to be like me. When she told me about a thief who literally grabbed the watch right off of her arm, I looked down at my own arm and remembered that my roman numeral watch was one of two that I had brought with me. I was then led to give her that special watch as a memento of our friendship. This was only one of the ways I was led to bless her.
After I returned home, I received a letter from Anne that praised my kindness towards her. In the midst of her letter was the phrase, "please, tell me how I can be saved?" I was surprised at her question, since I had thought she already had a personal faith. But no, she didn't have this faith yet, and was drawn to it by seeing it in me. I wrote her back with a prayer of introducing her to Jesus personally, of him forgiving her sins, and filling her with His life.
She wrote back again and told me that her whole faith journey was changed. She was now excited with her faith and was eager for more. I was amazed that God had used me in this way - but again, it was about relationship. Some people call it relationship evangelism, but basically God works through people - we are his feet and hands. And when we allow God to work through us, it touches others and everyone is blessed.
I am looking forward to what God will be doing in my upcoming Marsabit Kenya trip. I will be going back to Kenya, but this time instead to an extinct volcanic region in the middle of the north Kenyan frontier. We have been asked by their bishop to teach and encourage the local lay evangelists.
We are to be like Paul to Timothy, and to teach and encourage them. I will have three talks for them, and we will have Bible studies, prayer times, worship and healing ministry. I have been trained in all of these areas, although I confess I will need prayer especially for the confidence to teach. I'm not sure how large the groups will be, so I may be nervous. We are also asked to go 'into the field' with them as they tell others of their faith in the living God.
Although I've been to Kenya before as you have just heard about, the Marsabit trip to come is a bit of a mystery other than what we have been asked to do. I can tell you a bit of what I found on the internet.
Marsabit is a very small frontier town that probably looks lush and fertile to the people of the surrounding Kenyan desert, because it is green and there is well water. It is a place where Rendille and Boran tribespeople water their cattle from the wells. These wells are so deep that they form a human chain to reach the water. Apparently these shepherds sing beautiful songs as they work together, so the wells are called "singing wells."
Marsabit is the last stop for any travellers driving the overland route to Ethiopia. Drivers must be part of a convoy for safety reasons, because the frontier is full of Kenyan, Somali, Ethiopian and Sudanese bandits, due to past and present wars. Marsabit has two gas stations, a few hotels and schools, a bank, a grocery store, post office and a small hospital. It almost sounds like cottage country, doesn't it? It even has two national parks on its doorstep, and lakes that fill extinct volcanic craters.
Although Marsabit may be crawling with backpackers at certain seasons, or by those enroute to safari, the people of Marsabit are very poor. Two years ago Food for the Hungry set up stations there due to drought and famine. Campus Crusade also visited there this year with the Jesus film, which was well received.
Since they are so poor, I intend to dress as plain as possible and will even leave my engagement ring at home. I will also be wearing dresses all of the time, because traditional Kenyan women are very modest and always wear dresses. It is best to be as much like the people you are with. Paul spoke about this in 1 Cor. 9: 19 - 22, when he said:
"Though I am free and belong to no one, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became a Jew, to win the Jews … To the weak I become weak, to win the weak, I become all things to all so that by all possible means I might win some for the gospel."
Now, I wonder if you are asking, this is great about Africa, but what about Kanata? What can I do right here in regard to missions and discipleship? Besides praying for and supporting me, of course!
How can WE grow deeper in our faith to be effective Christians? How can we gain from discipleship ourselves or encourage others in their faith? Have you considered the Alpha course?
Alpha is often advertised as being for new Christians, and it is in many ways. It is good as a refresher course for mature Christians. It is good for introducing unchurched people to our faith in a non-threatening way, and many people do come to faith through it. Yet as a way of discipleship, Alpha really encourages Christians in their faith through relationship, honest discussion, worship, and wonderful food. Ask any member of Kenosis here, or Nancy, what Alpha means to them or to me. It is not a fad, but is a way of presenting the gospel and of discipleship. Again, relationships are just as important in Kanata as they are in Kenya, and they have Alpha there too.
Some of you have been hearing the name of Alpha off and on through Tony and through David Sherwin. Tony has been running Alpha here since 1998, and those who have attended have been encouraged in their faith and have made new friends. Many of my friends who helped me grow roots into Kanata are from the Alpha community, and I really thank them for that.
Alpha is more just a project that Tony gets excited about everytime he holds a course here. Alpha is a world-wide movement that started in London, England, and once Nicky Gumbel from Holy Trinity Brompton became involved, it grew exponentially. I will allow Tony to tell you just how big it has become. Trust me in saying that it is very big, and is all over the world, even Kenya.
Tony and I lead a number of Alphas. Tony leads prison Alpha at the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre, and is also looking at two other prisons. I will be helping lead a women's Alpha with my friend Lorna at Betheseda Renewal Centre. Tony and I will also be leading an Alpha here at Glen Cairn starting in September, and he will tell you about this later. Even in Ottawa, this movement is growing quickly, because it is touching lives, and we as leaders are blessed to be a part of it.
Why am I going to Kenya? To strengthen my Kenyan brothers and sisters in their faith. I also love them … and will probably leave another part of my heart in Kenya as I did eight years ago.
Why do Tony and I do Alpha? Again, to strengthen Christians in their faith, and introduce Jesus to others who need his friendship. And… we love them.
So what is it that makes this all 'work?' Relationship!
How are we empowered in our faith? Again, by relationship - first a relationship with Jesus, then our relationship with others
I pray that this truth will be realized in all our hearts today and may your relationship with the Lord and with each other be blessed. I thank you all in advance for your prayers!
