May 11, 2008
The Stupidity of Seeking Prosperity
Jesus told them this parable:
“This guy’s work did really well and he prospered. And he thought: ‘Now what do I do? This house is too small for me and all my stuff.’
So he decided: ‘I know – I’ll get out of here, and move to a bigger place. Then I’ll have plenty of room and can get all the stuff I want. I’ll take early retirement, and live off my pension and investments. Then I can take it easy, enjoy life, and do all those things I never had time for when I was working hard.’
But God said to him: ‘You fool! Tonight you’re going to die. Then all that you have hoarded for yourself will go to waste.’
In this way God will judge anyone who seeks his own prosperity and comfort, but does not give extravagantly to the poor and to God’s purposes.”
(Lk 12:16-21)
April 14, 2008
The parable of the field
This is a true story, told to me by Pastor Pierre:
In a certain village among the Gourma people, when it is harvest time, all the young people will first go and harvest the field of the village chief, before going to harvest their own fields.
The young men harvested the millet, and the young women then gathered up the heads of grain to take back to the compound of the village chief. The men laboured through the heat of the day, and finished harvesting the whole field by nightfall.
The village chief was watching the women gathering up heavy loads of grain in large bowls on their heads to bring back to his grain store. But he noticed that there was one lazy woman, who would only gather a little each time.
Towards the end of the day, he spoke to the women and said:
“Hey, you see how hard the men have been working. They have finished harvesting the whole field. Now, before you go home, I want each of you to make a special effort to bring one more really big load of grain.”
The women went off, and piled the grain high. They came back straining under the load. But the lazy girl just gathered a small amount as usual. When they arrived back at the chief’s yard, and were about to unload their grain, he stopped them.
“Thank you for your hard work today,” he said. “The load you are now carrying is for you to take home with you, as my thanks for what you have done today.”
All the women who had made a special effort to fully load their bowls laughed, and headed home with their reward. But the lazy one was ashamed to go home with the evidence of her laziness. She tried to pour out her load for the chief.
“No!” said the chief. “You will take home what you have worked, so that everyone can see how lazy you are!”
(cf 1Cor 3:8)
December 26, 2007
Jesus discovers Christmas (Jn 2:13-16)
When it was nearly Christmas, Jesus went up to London to celebrate and worship with the Christians.
But he found the Christians at the shops, wasting their money on tacky decorations and expensive presents, and stocking up for parties. Other Christians were even selling “Christian merchandise”, making profit from the marketing of the festival.
So he made a whip out of electric cords, and drove them away. He took the money of the merchandisers, and chucked it out the window, and overturned their sales booths. He said to them:
“Get these out of here!
How dare you turn the way of God’s salvation into a market!”
July 31, 2007
The Parable of the Orchestra
A certain king prepared an orchestra for his son’s wedding, that the orchestra might play a concert to honour his son at the wedding feast.
Everyone was invited to join the orchestra. To each person who accepted the invitation was given an instrument, that they should learn to play in harmony with everyone else.
Some of the players used their instruments every day, practising in preparation for the great day. They began to join with others to practice together, and they started playing in public. Some people laughed at them. But many loved the music. And some said they would come to the concert, and that they too wanted to learn to play.
Other players were too busy, or too afraid of people laughing at them, and so they practiced in secret, but never joined with other musicians to play in public. And so they never got as good as they should, and they never learned to play in harmony with an orchestra. And the people didn’t understand when they said they were musicians, for they never heard the music.
Still others wrapped up their instruments carefully and hid them in the cupboard so that they would not spoil. They were glad they had received the gift from the king, and that they were to be in the orchestra. But when others said they should use their instrument, they got angry. “The instrument is for the king’s feast. It is for his pleasure, not for the pleasure of the people”, they replied. “You think you can earn your place in the king’s orchestra. We cannot earn our place by being good enough – it is given to us. We should keep ourselves for that day.”
On the day of the great feast, the orchestra assembled. But there were those who brought their instrument, still shiny like new, but they were unable to play. And they were covered in shame on that day.
“Did I not freely give you your instrument and a place in my orchestra?” asked the king. “And should you not therefore have used your instrument for others, so that my concert hall might be full, and that a beautiful symphony might be played to honour my son? For it is in playing for others that you would have learned to play for me. But now you cannot play. So what now shall I do with you…?”
Tags: christianity church parables orchestra mission faith kingdom of god
July 16, 2007
They have so little, but...
Anyone who has spent time in Africa, and has an open heart, has probably said this, usually followed by "they are so generous with what they have", "they are so happy", or "they are rich spiritually".
(Try Googling the phrase "they have so little but" + "africa", and go and read the results.)
The starkness of this realisation is usually accompanied on the return to "home" in Europe or the States, with a sense of dislocation, and of the superficiality of our lives here. It is a constant theme I have heard many times, and yet after a short while, the impact passes as we re-adjust to the busy-ness of life, and it becomes but a poignant memory.
But what was going on there? Was God, in that moment, not giving us a glimpse of something? A hint that maybe life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions, or the success and security that we are striving after? That maybe with our wealth we are actually the under-developed nations of the world socially and spiritually? That by our single-minded pursuit of the goal of economic prosperity, we are destroying community, shutting out God, and reaping social breakdown, with its violence, immorality, isolation, and disfunctionality? That we cannot serve both God and money?
And maybe that God has chosen the poor - that they may be rich in faith and inherit the kingdom? (Ja 2:5)
And, if so, what shall we do about it? Is God maybe calling us to adjust our lifestyles? To swap material wealth for spiritual wealth? To exchange security for a life of faith? To pursue the good of others rather than just our own agenda?
What do you think?
Tags: africa wealth riches poverty faith christianity discipleship
February 14, 2007
Spit on me!
“Adama, spit on me!” came Ousseini’s faint cry behind me just as I was leaving.
Since Adama is my name here, I turned back to Ousseini’s hospital room to respond to the call to spit.
Ousseini
I had been visiting my friends at one of the “tent camps” for the flood victims, some of the people we are building houses for. They had a visitor from Tasmakat, Ousseini, who was lying on a mat on the ground in obvious pain with swollen feet and a very distended stomach. They of course had nothing with which to pay for treatment, so I took him to the hospital, paid for the few pounds of his prescription, and prayed for healing for him in the name of Jesus.
The next day I went to see him. It was then, as I turned to leave the room, that he called me back: “Adama, tuutam!” - “Adama, spit on me!”
Spit and Mission
Islamic religious teachers here are regarded as having healing as part of their role, which usually involves reciting certain Quranic verses, accompanied by light spitting on the ill part of the body (for example see here). So Ousseini was asking me to pray for him again.
I prayed again for healing in the name of Jesus, laying my hand gently on his head. (And not actually spitting in case you were wondering…) And each time I visited him he would hold out his hands and – day by day with slightly more strength – ask me to spit on him.
Today at Gorom-Gorom Hospital
Today I was woken from a well-earned siesta to come and see Ousseini. Gorom-Gorom medical centre was unable to do all needed to help him, and he had to be evacuated to Dori. I came to the hospital and sorted out the ambulance and gave him a bit of money for his treatment when he got there. And prayed for him of course.
The hospital was an emotionally challenging place today. In the next room to Ousseini was a young man crying out in pain, who had apparently been bitten by a rabid dog. Aisha, a Bella lady whose uncle had a distressing-looking fungal growth over a large part of the side of his head called on me to come and look at him. And Amadu, an old man with what looked and sounded suspiciously like TB, also called me in with the now familiar “Adama, come and spit on me!”
Jesus the Healer
The Quran acknowledges that Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead, and Muslims here know that he rose alive into heaven. So it is unremarkable to them that healing should be asked for in the name of Jesus.
Please pray for healing for my friends, and that our Lord would stretch out his hand more to heal in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And please pray that people would see and meet the God of love who is revealed in Jesus, and come to him for fullness of life. Thank you.
Tags: burkina faso africa burkina gorom-gorom gorom spitting sahel healing Jesus mission spit
August 17, 2006
The Mission Continues… Part 2: the faithful servants
This is part 2 of a number of posts where I will share a bit about the vision for my continuing work in Burkina, and some thoughts about mission and the church today.
“Joseph” had a dream from God. He is a tailor from the Mossi people, and is a Christian. He used to come to Gorom-Gorom occasionally to work, and would then return his home town. One day he had a dream in which God showed him a pile of money and a Fulani New Testament. God told him to make his choice – would he work for money, or for the word of God among the Fulani? Based on that dream he moved to Gorom, learned the Fulani language, and is using his tailoring business to support himself and his family in sharing the gospel.
“Isaac” is also Mossi, a pastor working in the north of Burkina. There are no local church-goers in his town. Some missionaries helped him start a small grain bank. He buys grain when it is cheap, and when the price rises, he sells it at a slight profit, but below the commercial rate, and keeps some in reserve for people in particular need. Thus he supports himself, brings a little stability to the volatile grain market, and helps those in need. His wife also helps support him by making and selling soap. He has learned one of the local languages, and does evangelism and AIDS awareness seminars in local villages.
“Sambo” is another Mossi pastor who speaks Fulfulde, working in a remote town in the Burkina Sahel, with a handful of poor Christians, in his church, who are unable to support him financially. He works a field, but, as a “foreigner” the land he has been given is poor quality and unproductive. With a loan, he was able to buy some goats which he uses to try and support himself by fattening them up and selling. He barely makes enough to feed his family, and is frustrated that he doesn’t have the time or resources to do more in evangelism or to help the people in need around him.
Missionaries in their own land
As well as local Christians like Yero, there are increasingly some excellent Burkinabe workers in the north of Burkina, guys who are not local to the area, but who have vision, commitment, and ability. They have proved themselves in their faithful service accepting hardship to serve in this difficult area, and could do so much more if they had a little more resource and training. Many of them have learned local language, but their training as pastors has not really been shaped for the cross-cultural pioneering ministry in which they find themselves.
Serving the servers
What they do NOT need is
a) Dependence upon well-meaning but inappropriate western charity, or
b) Western-style ministry training that repeats the cultural compromise of our own failing churches.
However, with a little hand up, and some additional cross-cultural training, I believe they can become even more effective than they are now.
As outsiders to the region, they do sometimes face issues of cultural prejudice from the Fulani, but, as Isaac is discovering, the love that he is showing people is finding a response in people’s hearts and homes. It is probably more possible for these guys effectively to incarnate Christ to the Fulani than it is for us as white missionaries, because we come from – and are seen as being in - positions of influence and wealth, whereas they serve from a position of weakness and simplicity. The question is how can we most effectively work with them to combine our resources with their availability to bring a positive transformation in their communities.
So, the second area in which I want to be involved in the coming “season” is working with these guys to help them find ways to support themselves in their ministry, and to understand and work through the cross-cultural issues they face as Mossi servants among the Fulani, so that they can become more effective as agents of spiritual and social transformation in the places they live.
Part 1 was here. More soon.
Tags: burkina burkina faso church mission jesus christ missionary ministry africa fulani christianity
Continue reading "The Mission Continues… Part 2: the faithful servants"
August 09, 2006
The mission continues... Part 1: Yero and co.
This is the first part of a number of posts where I will share a bit about the vision for my continuing work in Burkina, and some thoughts about mission and the church today.
A Fulani Village in Burkina Faso
Saadu, Sambo, and Hamadu lounged on the mats and chairs, Fulani tea bubbling away in the background, and listened attentively as Yero told a story. It was a story about two Fulani men travelling with their cows, and a dilemma that arose. I could see the listeners getting involved as they pictured themselves in the situation of the herders in the story.
"What do you think?" asked Yero, "What should they do?"
An animated debate started. After a while, everyone looked at Yero, and asked what he thought, as the originator of the dilemma. And Yero began to talk about the teachings of Iisaa Almasiihu - Jesus Christ. Everyone became quiet again, and listened attentively once more...
Yero used to be a Muslim religious teacher. But finally it was in Christ that he found the forgiveness, grace, and truth that he had been looking and striving for. It was in the Quran that he first came across Jesus, and it was the honour given to Jesus there that first drew him to look more at Christ. He is thankful for his background in Islam that led him to Christ, but he knows his hope is in the one who died and rose again, and he longs for his family and friends to know this same life-changing encounter.
As I listened to Yero, I knew that I would never be able to share the good news of Christ, nor incarnate the life of the kingdom of God to the Fulani anywhere near as well as Yero does among his own people. I resisted the temptation to teach him the "4 spiritual laws" - his Fulani parables were a much more powerful way of getting people to engage with the story and message of Christ, and explore what the kingdom of God might look like among the Fulani.
Be careful how you build
Small though the Fulani church there is, it is maturing, and there are people like Yero who are exploring what shape that church will take as they tell the story of Christ within the Fulani context. The church of Christ and the ministry of the kingdom of God must be built on local people like Yero, and not on expat missionaries. They are able to relate the message and life of the kingdom to their people in a way unencumbered by the cultural, economic, and spiritual baggage that we bring from our western context.
Of course, they have their own challenges, as they seek to work through how the kingdom of God relates to their own cultural and religious heritage. One of the things I want to do is to try and help people like Yero work through those issues, and find ways forward that are genuinely Christian, and genuinely Fulani - without being corrupted by a western cultural approach that has become so tainted by our individualism, consumerism, and rationalism.
Tags: burkina burkina faso church mission jesus christ missionary ministry africa fulani christianity
Continue reading "The mission continues... Part 1: Yero and co."
May 06, 2006
God, AIDS, and manicures
Have we lost sight of God, or re-made him in our own image? These unsettling and provocative observations and questions come from an evangelical Christian friend, who has given me permission to share them with you.
"I find myself in the place where my view of God is shifting. Well, maybe that's premature. I guess I've realized that as much as I would try to deny it, my God is very white & very Western. I've been reading outside my comfort zone lately, and have realized that I can't reconcile my God to the world I see. Clearly the problem isn't with God, it’s with me.
How does one understand God when your whole village has been starving for as long as you've been alive? How does one understand God when your country has been destroyed by war, and He doesn't seem to intervene...
…I guess what is rolling around in my head is the uncomfortable exposure I've had to evangelicals who laud God for providing them a parking space when they need it; or when getting a good deal on a manicure, call it a "Holy Ghost deal". Not to say that I believe God isn't interested in the details of our lives... but...... when millions of women pray for food for their starving children, or that someone would take care of their children when they've died of AIDS... or water to drink... or seed to plant...”
What are your thoughts and responses?
Tags: god christ jesus christ aids manicure africa faith christianity
April 16, 2006
The empty tomb doesn't convince me
Let's face it, Mary wasn't convinced by the empty tomb - she thought the gardener had stolen the body. And Peter wasn't convinced by the empty tomb either - he just couldn't work out what was going on. And the rest of the disciples simply dismissed the whole thing.
What did convince them all was meeting the risen Christ.
A world-changing event
Do you remember where you were when you heard about 9-11? An event so momentous that it changed the world?
Well, the disciples and Mary, and later Paul, would never forget being witnesses to this world-changing event - an event so huge that it re-shaped their understanding of reality, history, and the meaning of their own lives. It meant that that this world is not all there is, and that death is not the final word. It meant that Jesus was who he said he was, and that God was intervening in human history to throw open the doors of the kingdom of heaven to everyone.
A first-hand testimony
And this was the story they told - the story of meeting - and eating with - the physical, risen Jesus, with the wounds in his hands and feet, yet able to appear and disappear. Not some story of an empty tomb, and some hobbled-together conclusions, but their own experience of meeting the risen Christ. Paul reassures doubters about the resurrection by referring them to over 500 people who saw him alive again after the crucifixion.
As Rowan Williams has pointed out, this is not a reality that is threatened by a third-hand, second-century story - let alone a 21st-century novel.
As the disciples told the story of Jesus, the world was turned upside-down, because these were people who were actually living as though it were true - loving and serving one another, giving up their goods to help the needy, and suffering and dying for the message. They were no longer living for the prestige, possessions, and pleasures of this world that so many of us today who call ourselves Christians still pursue.
A life-changing reality
The resurrection of Christ gives hope to us all. It offers the Muslim assurance that there is forgiveness. It offers the poor and downtrodden the promise that the suffering of this world is not all there is. And it offers to each of us the foretaste of God's new reality, the future made present, where we can begin to experience freedom from fear, shame, rejection, and slavery to destructive habits.
All of this is for us in Christ, if we will come to him to receive it. For we too can meet the risen Christ.
But the resurrection also declares that we can no longer live as though this world is all there is. And for those of us who do have the possessions, comforts, and power that this world offers, that is a challenge. For Jesus lays claim to our allegiance, and assures us that real life is not found in the abundance of stuff or adrenaline rushes we have, but in giving all for him. Shall we then live for Christ? Or shall we claim his name, but continue to pursue our own prosperity, pleasure, and preference?
"He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." (2Cor 5:15)
A wonderful message
Christ is risen! - He is risen indeed!
I am convinced that Christ is risen, and that his resurrection offers hope for the world. May God help us today to rejoice again in the wonder of this world-changing truth, and to give ourselves to live as though it were as true as it actually is!
Tags: jesus christ jesus christ easter resurrection empty tomb death meaning of life
December 14, 2005
Gut-ache and grain stores
“Hey, tubaaku, umma! Yuwoonde wari!”
I sat up groggily and looked around me. It was the middle of the night, but the stars had disappeared in a thick blackness. The wind was whipping up unrelenting clouds of dust, announcing what Yero had just called out:
“Hey, white man, get up! The rain’s here!”
I watched blearily as, buffeted by the wind, he opened the tiny 2 ft square hatch to the granary. The granary (you can just see it in the background in the photo) was like a little thatched hut on stilts, about 5ft in diameter. He invited me to clamber in. I blinked, not quite understanding what was going on, but scrambled through, and Yero followed me.
Of course. His small hut had a leaky roof, and there was just enough room for his wife and kids to shelter. But the granary had to have a good roof to protect the precious remainder of last year’s harvest from the weather. So we settled in and tried to make ourselves comfortable in the dark amongst the millet. In the silence, with the hatch open, we felt more than watched the rain suddenly thunder down, attacking and pounding the dry earth. It was a good feeling, knowing that our work in the fields the last few days had not been for nothing. If the rains continued like this for a few more weeks, Yero and his family would have food for another year.
I had come from Gorom-Gorom to spend just two weeks with Yero. I’d been there about a year, and my progress in learning Fulfulde, the language of the Fulani , had reached a plateau. I needed a short time of total immersion to give it another boost. A nearby missionary was teaching Yero the way of Christ, and had suggested this might be a good place to come for a couple of weeks. Yero had become a Christian, but had been forced to leave his village because of his faith. He had set up a hut by his field just outside the village, and sometimes men would stop by when passing. Some came to berate him for abandoning God. Others obviously wanted to stay friends, risking the wrath of the local imam for associating with the apostate Yero. Yero had learned the basics of reading, and we were reading together through Luke - almost the only New Testament portion we had in Fulfulde at that time. The idea was that this would help his reading and his understanding of the way of Jesus, while I was force-fed a daily diet of undistilled Fulfulde.
Yero was captivated by reading the story and teaching of Christ in his own language, and it was thrilling to see him amazed by accounts which I had become almost inured to through over-familiarity. The challenge of Jesus’ words came afresh as I saw again what it must be like to hear them for the first time – the provocative and deliberate challenge to the complacent self-satisfied religion of those who considered themselves God’s chosen. How we need that challenge afresh in our lives…
Yero’s favourite bit was 6:27-42. Whenever someone stopped by, he would read that passage: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” And he would do it. Those who had mocked and rejected him, he would welcome, and give them food and tea.
I enjoyed most of my time there – apart from two days of agonising gut-cramps, which had me doubled up on my mat in the shade under the acacias. Occasionally I would let out a grunt of pain, to the great amusement of Yero and his wife. The Fulani take pride in their "pulaaku", never expressing pain or discomfort, and I heard Yero’s wife laughingly telling her friends that the white man had been “crying with agony!”
It was only two short weeks, camped out with Yero and his family by his field. But I learned a lot in that short time – not only about Fulfulde and Fulani culture, but also about weakness and dependence as part of the shape of our ministry of the gospel. Too often we go with an arrogant, even colonialist attitude, imagining ourselves saviours rather than servants. We go thinking only of what we can give or teach, rather than what we ourselves might need to learn. We have the idea it is our strengths that God will use, rather than our weaknesses. Yet the gospel is cross-shaped – expressed in weakness, service, and suffering. And its treasure is in jars of clay that need to be broken for it to be released. The cross is not just to be announced, it is also to wound our own lives.
A couple of years ago, I went back to visit Yero and his family. He is one of the strongest Christians among several Fulani believers in the area now. They reminded me about my time there all those years ago. They still laugh at me “crying with pain”, and at Yero getting me to climb into the granary in the middle of the night. I know I myself met with God there, in my weakness. I know I learned from Christ through the life and response of a new Muslim convert. I hope and believe Yero was blessed too by our time together. But I know that if he was, it wasn’t because of my brilliant preaching or powerful ministry. I didn't have any of that to give.
All I had to offer was the willingness to have gut ache, be laughed at, and spend a night in a granary.
Tags: burkina faso africa stories burkina fulani bible fulfulde pulaaku ministry mission missionary
November 09, 2005
One faith, one baptism…two wives…? (Part 2)
In part 1, I began to tell the story of Yusuf’s struggle to get baptised, and the hesitation of his pastor because of his denomination’s opposition to baptising polygamists.
Several interesting comments were made, generally agreeing that theologically there is no reason why Yusuf should not be baptised. But the issue we faced was how to do that. For Suley to do it would be to dishonour and disobey his leaders. For me to do it would be to undermine the authority of the local church which I am there to serve in Burkina Faso. And to suggest Yusuf goes elsewhere to get baptised assumes the presence of another denomination, an awareness that Yusuf did not possess of such options, and an individualism that is more western than Biblical or African.
The story continues…
In fact, there was another church in the area, and this denomination took the attitude that men with more than one wife could indeed be baptised, without having to send any of them away. They could not of course take any further wives. But they would have to continue to provide for all their wives. (It is interesting to see the proscription in Exodus 21:10 : “If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights...”)
Pastor Suley agreed that the best solution would be to approach pastor Pierre of the other church, and suggest that Yusuf join his church.
I don’t know how many church leaders would be so generous and selfless as to actually suggest that a valuable member of their church should join another church because it would be better for their spiritual growth….?
Pastor Pierre, a Mossi like Suley, was very welcoming. Sitting under the mat shelter in the church yard, a pot of Fulani tea bubbling away in the corner, I translated as he interviewed Yusuf about his faith. Pierre thought he could find someone in the church to translate the Sunday messages into the Fulani language for Yusuf. And he asked me to lead Yusuf through the baptism classes.
Yusuf started coming to the new church, a challenge in itself. The Mossi and Fulani have very different cultures, and a history of conflict and mutual distrust (I wrote about some of these issues here). Often, after a church service, Yusuf and I would sit for ages, discussing why things were done the way they were, and looking at the Bible together. With Pierre and Suley’s agreement, I started a mid-week cell group for the Fulani from both churches, where they could worship and develop an understanding of their faith within Fulani culture. On Thursdays Yusuf would walk into town from his village for the main market, and in the evenings we would meet with the little group. Often Muslim Fulani friends would join us too, as they became interested in the story of Jesus. Yusuf would stay the night with me, and in the morning he would head back to his wives and children. But on Sundays, he would come in again to the Mossi church service, and more discussion afterwards.
The day and night of Yusuf’s baptism was one of the highlights of my life. Read about it here.
Back in his village over the following months, Yusuf worked out how to live out his faith as the only Christian in his village. Little by little he shared what he had found with his family and his neighbours. When I visited him, it was great to hear him telling Fulani parables to his visitors, drawing them in as he asked them questions about the meaning, and leading them to the truths of the gospel from within their own culture. I resisted teaching him the “4 Spiritual Laws” approach to evangelism, as I saw the good news being told among the Fulani more effectively than I would ever be able to.
And then one market day several months later, he and his wives and children all came to town and stayed the night with us. Gently Yusuf told us that he thought his wives were interested in following Christ, and would we interview them please? Hawa clearly had more understanding of the message of Christ than Salimata, but they had both seen the change in Yusuf’s life, and that the way of Jesus was good. They were nervous about the consequences, but both decided they wanted to follow the way their husband had chosen. That day Hawa and Salimata both prayed to give their lives to follow Christ, and to receive life in his name.
Another new beginning, and the story continues. Please pray for Yusuf, Hawa, and Salimata as they seek to live for Christ as ambassadors for the kingdom of God among their neighbours and community. Officially, as a man with more than one wife, Yusuf can never be a church elder. But in practice, he is the most mature believer in a large area, and effectively the founder of the church in his village. In the meantime we look for the day when both his wives also choose to take the step of following Christ through the waters of baptism.
Tags: burkina faso africa polygamy burkina fulani church baptism mission
October 20, 2005
One faith, one baptism.... two wives...? (Part 1)
The pastor wouldn't baptise Yusuf. What should I do now?
To be fair, pastor Suley wanted to baptise Yusuf, but his denomination in Burkina Faso wouldn't baptise polygamists. They insisted that only the first wife was truly the man's wife, and that he should get rid of any subsequent ones.
No-one questioned the reality of Yusuf's faith. He used to be a religious teacher in Islam, and could actually read and understand the Quran in Arabic. He had seen how highly the Quran spoke of Isa al-Masih, ibn Mariyama - Jesus the Messiah, son of Mary, and had discussed with teachers of the "Jesus way" over a period of time. Finally, he came to pray and receive forgiveness in the name of this same Jesus the first Fulani Christian in his village.
I say finally, but that was the start of a long period of discipleship. He testified that straight away he saw changes in his life - he no longer got angry the way he used to, and his character changed as he became a calmer man. But he also had a lifetime's worldview, teaching, and practices to sift through, to see what from his previous life he should retain, and what should change. Since there was no church in his village, could he continue to pray at the mosque, but in the name of Jesus? Could he fast with everyone else during the month of Ramadan? And what about Tabaski, when the Muslims killed sheep in memory of Abraham offering up his son, who was saved by the sheep provided by God? Could he kill a sheep too, in thanks for that event's prophetic fulfilment in Christ's death? Islam and the Quran, he said, had helped him develop a love of God, and had led him towards Christ - what should he think of that now?
So many questions.
He was unfazed by being the only follower of Jesus in his village. He was the head of his household, and a hard worker, whose fields generally gave a good harvest, so he was not dependant on anyone. He read the Bible on his own, switching between Fulfulde and Arabic to check more accurately the meaning. Not everyone understood why he had decided to follow this way, and there were some who ridiculed him. But he was patient and calm, and answered when people asked him. And little by little he tried to explain the Jesus way to his two wives.
Funnily enough, he hadn't even intended to take two wives. He loved his first wife, Hawa, and they had moved some years before to another village to be near a charismatic Islamic teacher who had started a new sect. Yusuf had got disillusioned and had returned home, but Hawa had decided to stay. So, when Yusuf arrived back home, he took another wife, Salimata. Then Hawa came back too. He loved them both, and did his best to treat them both the same, even buying them the same sets of clothes.
When he could, he would walk into the nearest town on Sunday to go to church. Whenever he came, pastor Suley would try and find someone to translate everything into Fulfulde for him. And whenever he could, Suley would get his 50cc moped and head out across the fields and dunes to visit Yusuf. They had no language in common, but they developed a friendship. As Yusuf grew in faith and read his Bible, he started to ask about getting baptised. That's when Suley came to see me to explain that his leaders wouldn't allow him to baptise Yusuf unless he got rid of Salimata. What should we do?
Interestingly, the Bible doesn't actually make such a big deal of polygamy. Yes, it is clear that "one man, one wife" is God's plan for marriage from the beginning, and is the reflection of the relationship between Christ and his one bride, the church. This is the solid foundation for society, and in fact, most polygamous marriages I know have endless problems of arguments, favouritism, and manipulation.
And so, a qualification of eldership is that they have only one wife, unpholding and modelling this good basis of society. And yet, the very fact that that is a qualification for eldership indicates that there must have been other Christians in the 1st century church with more than one wife. They are nowhere told to get rid of any of their wives - they are simply disqualified from eldership. On the other hand, divorce is clearly frowned upon, and to get rid of a wife would have been to bring shame upon her, and maybe to leave her destitute.
Pastor Suley agreed with me that it wouldn't be right to tell Yusuf to send Salimata away. But he also didn't feel it was right to go against his leaders by baptising Yusuf. What then should he do...?
To be continued....
Tags: burkina faso africa polygamy burkina fulani church baptism mission
July 08, 2005
What does the Lord require of you...?
David Wayne at Jollyblogger has written a post on Live Aid, the ONE campaign and Africa. I don't agree with the assessments of all those he quotes, although it does give a perspective on different Christians ways of looking at the issue. He quotes an interesting perspective by Gideon Strauss, and promises us more of his own thoughts in the coming weeks, which I look forward to.
This is what I commented there:
"I've been a missionary for 15 years in one of the poorest countries in Africa. I am convinced that preaching the gospel and making disciples of Christ is the best thing we can do for the development of Africa. But I am also convinced that the situation of extreme poverty in Africa and elsewhere is an injustice that challenges us as the church to respond in our personal lives, in our discipleship, in our church life and mission, and - in the pattern of Amos and others - in our prophetic role towards political leadership.
For this we need humility and to struggle with what God requires of me. We need to avoid the arrogance of certainty in claiming we have answers - especially when they come without the cost of the cross. We need to avoid dividing ourselves from fellow believers by throwing our lot in with either Socialist or Capitalist solutions, and instead seek what the Bible has to say, and how it critiques both.
If we as the church are to be a model and channel of God's kingdom of justice and righteousness, this must have a serious impact on our lives as we consider our mission to the world and our attitudes towards our own wealth and comfort...
I would love to see a more Biblical and (to use Andy Jackson's phrase) missional discussion of these issues taking place among Christian bloggers."
Links to my articles this weeks on: Biblical attitude to the poor, Corruption, Aid and Development, Debt, and Trade.
Tags: g8 poverty make poverty history africa mission church discipleship
July 05, 2005
Protest and the kingdom of God
What a difference the protests in Edinburgh were last night from the peaceful rally of 225 000 people on Saturday. The protest of several hundred anarchists and anti-capitalists began yesterday in apparent good mood. And it seems many wanted to keep it that way. But it soon turned disruptive, with clashes between a minority of protesters and the police. Accusations were flying thicker than the stones, bottles, and supermarket trolleys. Some locals accused the protesters of starting the trouble, while others blamed the police with antagonising the situation and using "bizarre" tactics. 90 people were arrested, and 20 injured.
It is easy to dismiss the whole protest because of the violence of the few, but it is worth asking some deeper questions. I am sure that some were out for violent confrontation from the start, although one does wonder if that would have happened if the police hadn't been there in such force, since it was they who seemed to be the object of the violence.
Looking at the websites of some of the groups concerned, the Carnival for Full Enjoyment say "we seek the end of this system based on profit, and we work towards a global community based on freedom and cooperation." I am sure there are those in this movement who are genuinely angry at injustice, and frustrated by the apparent powerlessness of peaceful protest. As Christians, we might disagree with these protesters' approach and solution, but we too, surely seek a kingdom that is not based on profit, but one of "justice, peace, and full enjoyment in the Holy Spirit" (Rom 14:17). We are to be a community of an alternative lifestyle, called the church, where this is possible, and we are to refuse to bow down to the lordship of either Mammon or Caesar.
The zealots were of course the political revolutionaries of their time, and their approach was one of violent confrontation with the political authorities. I suspect Simon the zealot would have been there in Edinburgh yesterday. Yet, in Jesus, Simon found a different kind of revolutionary. Jesus called his people to live by a different set of values - the values of the kingdom of God that offered a true alternative to the self-seeking of this world's system. Instead of violent confrontation, he taught the way and power of the cross. He didn't seek political power, but he did call people to a total new affiliation - to himself and the values of his kingdom, where everybody, especially the poor and weak, found worth and freedom. Yet Christ and his teaching were seen as a political danger. The affiliation to a new Lord, and a kingdom that gave freedom and worth to the downtrodden threatened to undermine the ruling system value. The church by its existence was a protest. And the followers of Christ suffered for it.
We are not called to violent protest. We are called to Christ. And in bending the knee to him alone, in accepting his Lordship over our lives, we declare that Caesar is not Lord, and that we will not serve Mammon. We commit ourselves to be a people shaped by the cross, where we choose self-denial, serving, and suffering in the pursuit of obedience to God. We choose to be a kingdom where all people can find worth and freedom, where the poor, blind, and outcast can feast. We are to be people who demonstrate and proclaim a different system, and in this offer a challenge and protest against that of the world.
Yet we are too compromised to offer a threat. We have bought into the system of this world's values of possessions, prestige, and pleasure. We willingly bow down to Mammon, and to Caesar. We are not offering an alternative vision to that of the political pursuit of national prosperity. We are offering no hope of a different possibility for the Simons of today. We are no threat to the system that accepts the suffering of millions in the pursuit of our own prosperity. And so we enjoy our comfortable Christianity. And others suffer for it.
May 15, 2005
Pentecost - birth of a missionary community
Part 1 – A town in Israel, 1st century
The church is born – the day when God came to live in and among his people by the Holy Spirit. That day transformed a group of fellow disciples into the family of God. Just a few days beforehand, Jesus had told them that it was about to happen. These were apparently his last words to them before he returned to his Father – a sort of “DON’T FORGET what I’ve told you….” Rather like parents going away for the weekend. Just before they leave they repeat – again – that one most important thing to remember:
“When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and to the very ends of the earth.” And off he went. (Ac 1:5-9)
The day of Pentecost for Christians is not only about the birth of the church and the equipping with the Holy Spirit for our communion with God, power for living, and gifts for service of the saints. At the very heart of this day is the passing from Christ to us of the baton of God’s purpose to bless all nations – the gospel announced in advance to Abraham (Gal 3:8).
It is the day when the tide changes from a centripetal force, calling all nations to the temple at Jerusalem, to a centrifugal one, thrusting the temple out from Jerusalem into the nations. And, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, that day is marked by people from all nations, hearing the good news for the very first time in their own languages, before returning with it to their home lands.
It is a day when not only God comes to dwell among men, but also when his presence overflows beyond Israel to the world, beyond Gen 12:2 (I will bless you) to 12:3 (and all nations will be blessed through you). It is the day of moving beyond xenophobic self-interest to xenophilic other-centredness, that the whole earth may be filled with the glory of the Lord! The kingdom of God and his presence are now for all peoples, all tribes, and all languages.
This central feature of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost - the proclamation of the wonders of God in other languages to people “of every nation under heaven” tells us something. Its message is that we are and must be a missionary people. Our identity is inescapably tied up with mission. We are not only the recipients of his grace, but the channels of it to the world. When we are not missionary, we are not the church.
At Pentecost, God declares: “Today I am pouring out my grace to every nation and people, and I am sending you with this grace,” and so he says: “Go therefore…”
Part 2 – A village in Burkina Faso, 20 centuries later…
The darkness of the night was only accentuated by the few paraffin lamps scattered around the open ground. In the darkness, the shapes of small groups of people could be made out.
This was one of the early Fulani conferences, when the few Fulani Christians from around the country gathered together. Most were used to being the only believer in their village. And so these conferences had become a huge encouragement, as they met with other Fulani who were following Iisaa Almasiihu – Jesus Christ. The previous year we had had a record 40 people. This year there were about 80. Still small beginnings from a population of about 1 million Fulani in Burkina, but hugely significant as Pentecost began to have its effect with the birth of the church among them.
Being mostly new converts from Islam, they were unused to singing in worship, and the songs had been sung with serious intent, but uneasily, and somewhat stiltedly, as though they weren’t sure they were doing it right. I looked across at two of the old men, sitting straightfaced on the ground. They were clearly not yet convinced singing was a valid way of worshipping God.
Then, almost tangibly, everyone grew still and silent. And, in the darkness, a single, beautiful voice sang out clear through the night:
Bernde am na weli ko mi rewi Iisaa
Bernde am subi ko mido rewa Iisaa
My heart is glad that I am following Jesus
My heart has chosen to follow Jesus
I looked again at the old men. They were convinced. There was something pure, unpretentious, and spiritual about the song. The presence of Jesus was felt, the church was being born among another people. Men and women were coming to know God. The kingdom of God was touching people’s lives. The praises of God were being sung in new tongues. Pentecost was continuing to flow.
April 05, 2005
Jesus in the mosque
"Bismillah!" The imam stepped back to welcome me into the mosque.
I had gone on one of my 'walkabouts'. On these occasions, I set off to wander around town with no particular plan, just to see whom I might meet, and to share the story of Jesus with those who want to listen.
Although I was by now a familiar sight to locals, visitors from outside villages were often surprised to see a tubaaku, a white man, dressed in the long Muslim robe topped by the ubiquitous turban, ambling round the dusty streets of this small Sahelian town. At times like this, I would often get called into people's homes. Sometimes it would be people who had seen me around or heard me preaching at the market, but who had been too timid to come and talk to me in front of the crowds. Sometimes it would be people with sick children, asking for prayer. Sometimes it would just be the hospitable invitation to an outsider or a friend.
I had been passing the mosque, and the imam was standing in the doorway.
"A salaam aleykum!" I called out in greeting.
"Wa-aleykum a salaam!" he replied. I approached, we shook hands, and we went through the normal greeting sequence, asking after each other's health and family.
"Toy njaata?" (Where are you going?) he asked.
"I'm just off to talk with people about the story of ennabi Iisaa Almasiihu." Fulani Muslims know of ennabi Iisaa Almasiihu, the prophet Jesus Christ, and his Injil (gospel) from the Quran, and hold him in high esteem.
The imam welcomed me into the mosque. I kicked off my sandals at the door, and went in.
Continue reading "Jesus in the mosque"
March 27, 2005
Easter Sunday
He is risen!
What does this mean to you? When we were asked this at church a few weeks ago, most people - including me - replied very personally - it means I am forgiven, I can know him, I don't need to fear death etc
Wonderful stuff. But it's not only about us. As I sat in church on Good Friday, celebrating Christ's death for me, I was suddenly overwhelmed with heartache for the Fulani - for the 99.97% of Fulani who don't know what it means to celebrate Christ's death and resurrection, who are still looking for freedom and forgiveness and hope.
If his resurrection declares God's acceptance of what Jesus accomplished on the cross and proclaims him both Lord and Christ (Ac 2:36), if it declares the arrival of the kingdom of God, and the start of the new creation, and the forgiveness of sins, it does it for the whole world. It announces that Jesus is Lord of all nations, not just of Israel, and that God is wanting now to pour out his grace and blessing and justice to all nations. The resurrection means mission.
That is why, following his resurrection and before his ascension, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts all record Jesus sending his disciples into the world. The consequence of the resurrection is a comissioning to the world.
The resurrection is a glorious cause for celebration. But it is also a sending to the world - to take the forgiveness and freedom and justice of God's kingdom to all nations.
March 25, 2005
Good Friday
"It is finished!"
The way of Christ is the way of the cross.
The will of God is accomplished not through might and strength, not through wealth and influence, not through cleverness and manipulation.
The will of God is done in weakness and self-giving service through suffering, even to death.
There is no other way to accomplish the will of God but by the cross.
And there is no other way to Easter Sunday, except by way of Good Friday.
"No pain, no palm;
No thorns, no throne;
No gall, no glory;
No cross, no crown." William Penn
"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Jesus
March 24, 2005
Maundy Thursday
This via Maggi:
"At the height of his game, Jesus took time to teach the disciples the valuable lesson that being the Messiah meant he was the chief servant. His plan for global world domination was not through a sword or a chariot but through a bucket and a towel." Will Samson
March 17, 2005
Jesus and shopping
One of my biggest struggles when I return to the UK from Burkina Faso is shopping.
In Gorom-Gorom, I have got used to seeing people battle simply to feed their family day-by-day. The local shop is probably smaller than your kitchen, and almost certainly has a smaller selection of food. So going to a supermarket that seems as large as Gorom-Gorom itself, with shelves weighed down with dozens of varieties of thousands of foods is always emotionally overwhelming when I first come back. We are blessed with such abundance – much of which of course comes from the very nations where people are struggling to feed themselves. And so we shop till we drop. But do we ever stop to think about what God requires of us in the way we shop?
Well, as Christians, we probably don’t buy stuff we consider immoral. But is that it? Does that then give us the right to just spend the rest of our money on ourselves as we like? In what way are we accountable to God for the way we shop? What does Christian discipleship have to say about shopping, and the whole question of stewardship of the wealth God has entrusted us with?
Continue reading "Jesus and shopping"
February 22, 2005
Making disciples or converts?
Messy Christian is a Malaysian Christian, and talks here about the persecution she experienced as a new Christian, and the struggles she had with inadequate support in the church. Her experiences of persecution are similar in many ways to those of Fulani converts, but her story also has wider relevance.
It raises good questions about what church is supposed to be for new converts - are we just looking for "scalps", or are we functioning as the new community of the kingdom of God, where people can find love, grace, and support as they find their way into the new life of Christ? To her credit, MC avoids bitterness, and sees how God strengthened her through her experience. But at the same time, many fail to make it through those early trials because the church fails to function as the family it is supposed to be.
I want to write more soon on some of the approaches we have tried as we explored holistic discipleship and community with Muslim converts among the Fulani, and think about how some of that might transfer also to the Western context.
February 20, 2005
Emerging church and multicultural society 3
From pre-modern Africa to the post-modern West.
The first two parts are here and here.
As the first Muslim Fulani decided to follow Christ, we were faced increasingly with the question of how to do church. Should we introduce them to the Mossi church, which would have severe cultural problems and consequences? Or should we start a separate Fulani church, adapted to their culture, but effectively dividing the church of Christ along ethnic lines? Thanks for those who made suggestions. This is what we did:
Part of the problem, I decided was that we still talk, think, and act about church as though it were a Sunday morning meeting, rather than the community of believers. While the weekly gathering can have an important part in the life of the church, it is only a part of that community life. For example, how many of the “one-anothers” can we do in the Sunday meeting? Love? Serve? Offer hospitality? Forgive? Honour? Be devoted to? Accept? Be compassionate? Submit? Encourage? There is not a lot of one-anothering going on in most Sunday meetings. All these require social interaction. The church is primarily meant to be a community – a community in Christ that expresses itself in worship, fellowship, and mission.
Continue reading "Emerging church and multicultural society 3"
February 08, 2005
Brazilians to Burkina
It looks like we will be getting two new missionaries joining Steve in Djibo very soon. The two are part of the "Radical Project" of Missão Horizontes, the Latin American branch of World Horizons' facilitating Latin American missionaries into the 10-40 window.
We are finding that these guys are generally excellent - passionate in prayer, zealous in evangelism, compassionate, and effective at getting alongside people and building bridges to Islam. The journal EMQ (Evangelical Missions Quarterly) did an interesting article on their training, which includes 3 years in preparation, and 2 years on the field. The plan is to send 300 more missionaries to the 10-40 window over the next couple of years.
Much of their approach is indeed radical and exciting, and reflects the reality that, as the worldwide church is increasingly "non-western," the mission force is also more and more from "non-western" and "developing" countries such as Brazil, Korea, and India. Often these countries are less hindered by the materialistic concerns of the western church, and have a passion that we sadly lack. They face their own cultural and financial issues of course, and are not able to follow old western models of missionary work, and so it is exciting to see new, radical approaches being developed.
It'll be great to have them on board in Burkina.
February 03, 2005
A witness for Christ
"Bring the child here," said Ali, and the boy's mother led him submissively to sit in the dust before us. He had been suffering with bad headaches for some time, and was unable to sleep. She knew Ali was a man who knew the Quran, and had asked Ali if he could heal the boy.
I first met Ali a few weeks before. He called to me as I was passing by his sewing machine at the market, and asked me to come and see him. When I visited him, he explained the dream he'd had of a shining white figure, holding out his arms to him. We read the description of Jesus at the start of the book of Revelation, and Ali recognised the man from his dream. Over the following weeks we had begun reading the Bible together. Ali was keen to know more about this Jesus, of whom the Quran spoke so highly, and who had now appeared to him personally. But he was a respected older Muslim in the tight community of this small Fulani town in West Africa, and had not yet decided what he was going to do about it.
He reached out his hand and gently placed his thumb and one finger on the boy's forehead. He began quietly reciting verses in Arabic, pausing occasionally to spit lightly on the boy's head. When he had finished, he sat back: "Bismillah!" he said, indicating that I too should pray. So I too laid my hand on the boy's head, and prayed in Fulfulde for healing in the name of Jesus. When I had finished, the boy got up and went back to his mother, and Ali and I continued our discussion.
The next day, Ali told me the boy was healed.
Ali and I continued to meet, and finally he confessed his faith in Christ. But Ali was reluctant to identify himself publicly as a Christian. He knew the cost would be high, that people would not understand, and he would lose the friendships and influence he had. So he continued to read the Bible, to pray in the name of Jesus, and to go to the mosque. But now, when his Muslim neighbours came to him to ask him for religious or spiritual advice, he would start in the Quran, and lead on to the Injil - the Gospel - one of the holy books of Islam.
I have no doubt of the genuineness of Ali's faith in Christ. I have no doubt too, that if he publicly confessed Christ, he would suffer as a result. If he were able to stand, and integrate into the Mossi church there, I am sure he would grow firmer in his faith. But that presents its own challenges - and he would also lose his opportunities to share Christ among his neighbours. I have laid it all out before him. He knows the choices and the consequences, and has made his decision - for now - about how to work it out.
Please pray for my friend Ali, that God will continue to lead and strengthen him. His story raises many questions. But above all, I'd like us to see that Christ is continuing to reach out in love to the many Muslims who love God. And our response should be one of love, friendship, and encouragement as they seek Him.
Tags: burkina faso africa emerging church burkina church fulani mission church and culture
January 19, 2005
Emerging church in multicultural society 2
What do we do about Ibrahim?
Ibrahim is a Fulani interested in the gospel. He lives in Gorom-Gorom in the north of Burkina. There are no other Fulani Christians around, and no Fulani church to bring him to. There is a Mossi church, but the Mossi and Fulani are culturally very different, don't speak each other's language, and have a history of mutual distrust. Ibrahim recognises the integrity of the Mossi Christians he knows, but his experience of the Mossi church has been rather confusing so far. Other Fulani too are hearing about Christ, and interested in following his way.
How do we do church in a way that is relevant to the cultural identities of all the different groups in our society? How can we be church in a way that will be outreach-orientated, permitting people to meet God within their own cultural context? These are questions that are as relevant in post-modern UK and US, as in pre-modern Burkina Faso.
In response to the traditional "one size fits all" approach to church, some "church growth" and "emerging church" thinkers have proposed the doing church separately for each cultural sub-group in a society. In Gorom-Gorom, this would mean a church for the Mossi, and a separate church for the Fulani. In post-modern western cities, it may mean a church for youth, a church for post-moderns, a church for Asian immigrants etc.
I've always felt a a tension with this idea. On the one hand I believe the incarnation shows us that God wants to meet us where we are in our humanity. While in some ways the church is clearly to be counter-cultural, there is also a divine approval of the relationship of church and culture. The church should still be incarnating Jesus into every society - that people may meet God and worship him in a way that is accessible to their own cultural identity. The Fulani should not have to become Mossi to be able to meet God.
On the other hand I believe in the unity of the church, and think that having separate churches for each group undermines this unity and risks perpetuating the divisions and distrust that are supposed to be destroyed in Christ. If we all divide up into comfortable monocultural groups, it raises questions about the nature of the resulting expression of church:
• In this multiplicity of church expressions, where is the visible unity and mutual love and concern of slave and free, Jew and Greek, Fulani and Mossi, post-modern geek and hymn-sandwich grandmother that demonstrates the kingdom of God?
• Who will look after the old, frail, needy, and culturally awkward? Where will their place be?
• How will we be able to benefit from those who are different to us? My friend Richard's young son, Joshua came home one day after church, and was talking about a conversation he had had with Gladys, who is 100. Where else in society outside of family do children and the old get the opportunity to benefit from each other, if not in the church? Where else in society do we get the opportunity to benefit from those who are different from ourselves? In what way are we one body, with many interdependant parts?
Jesus welcomed all to himself. His gatherings were a mix of all segments of society. Because that is the nature of the kingdom of God. And the church therefore is only truly the church when it expresses this wonderful mix.
As my good friend Richard Sudworth observes, as he labours to do church in multi-cultural Birmingham:
"My take on the nature of church, which includes, in part, a sense of how we view our "good news", is that it encompasses the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the white, the black etc. There must, then, be some striving towards connectedness that pushes us to learn from each other and to enjoy the riches of diversity within the church....Or is everyone out there assuming that the future of church is fragmentation down to multiple little moncultural units...that cease to be church?"
How do we work out this tension in relation to the need for us to be culturally sensitive so that people can meet God within their own diverse cultural contexts? There must also be ways for the whole church to interact - where grandmothers talk with chidren, where geeks eat with the homeless, where Asians hug the Welsh, where the strong help the weak, where the Mossi and the Fulani demonstrate the power of the gospel by celebrating Christ together.
So what do we do with Ibrahim and his friends? Do I aim to start a separate Fulani church? Or do I try and get him into the Mossi church?
I will write more about some of the ways forward I have been exploring in the Fulani ministry in Gorom-Gorom in Burkina Faso, as I struggled with these questions. But, whether you are writing from post-modern UK or US, pre-modern Africa or Asia, or elsewhere, I'd like to hear any comments.
Part three is here
Tags: burkina faso africa emerging church burkina church fulani mission church and culture
December 23, 2004
Church in a multicultural society 1.
The first time I took Ibrahim to church, I realised it was a mistake.
Ibrahim is Fulani, and a Muslim. He is a tailor at the local market, and was one of my first friends in Gorom. As I began to learn the language, I would go and sit with him to drink tea and try out my new phrases. As his friends came and started chatting, I would sit precariously on the wobbly wooden bench by his old foot-powered sewing machine, frowning with concentration as I tried to make out something of the banter.
“Aan ka, a doomuru” suddenly exclaimed one guy, who had been watching me. I understood enough to know he was calling me a mouse, but didn’t know why. He imitated me sitting there silently, head switching side to side, as I followed the different speakers, and everyone cracked up laughing.
As my Fulfulde began to improve, they started to ask me about the way of Jesus, and I struggled to find words to express my faith. They would then reply with Fulfulde proverbs, at which everyone but me nodded with understanding. Or with local Muslim wisdom, which assumed so much cultural background that I had no idea where to begin to respond. The good-humoured discussions rambled on over several months.
So one day, I invited Ibrahim to church. Since there were no Fulani Christians, we went to the Mossi church. The Mossi are the main people group in Burkina, and the church has grown quite dramatically among them. They are a cheerful, colourful and friendly people, and they worship God exhuberantly, with drums, loud praying and singing, and sometimes even dancing. I don’t think they had ever seen a Fulani in church before. Ibrahim walked self-consciously into church in his long Muslim robe, and his turban, with every eye following us as we headed towards the only free spaces, right near the front.
As the service got under way, I began to realise that this was going to be a challenge. Ibrahim didn’t understand either French or Mossi, and no-one was available to translate into Fulfulde. The singing, shouting, and dancing were all so alien to Ibrahim, for whom worship is a solemn affair. Drums for the Fulani are for either worldly celebrations, or “spirit festivals.” It must have been all quite bewildering – nothing he could recognise as worship or prayer, nothing he could hear as good news, nothing he could relate to culturally, but rather an emotional and noisy Mossi jamboree. They were worshipping God well enough, but for a Fulani, it was just confusing.
I did my best to explain what was going on, and Ibrahim looked around, without judging, but without illumination. He spotted the guy from the post-office, a guy who Ibrahim respects as honest and upright. But after the service no-one came to talk to him. The Mossi Christians felt uncomfortable. They didn’t speak Ibrahim’s language, and wouldn’t know what to say to him anyway.
During the following weeks, Ibrahim’s friends criticised him, and made fun of him for going to church – did he want to become a Mossi? And for a while, he backed off. But he has remained a good friend. We have continued to talk about faith and the way of God. But I haven’t taken him back to the church. We have continued to chat at his sewing machine, or at one of our homes. But I realise that taking him to church was not going to help him spiritually, even if God was in the house. Other ways of introducing him and his friends to Jesus and his family would have to be considered.
Coming back to Britain, I see the situation is not so different. We also live in a multi-cultural society. And the culture of our church meetings is often completely foreign to those living around where we live. Britain today seems a much more spiritually open place than 15 years ago. But our church meetings are maybe not always the place where street youth, clubbers, refugees, or post-modern intellectuals will meet Jesus in a way they can relate to. Maybe they are not always places where everyone finds the expression of spirituality and community that their own hearts respond to. We may be worshipping God well enough, but it can leave others feeling like an outsider at someone else’s party.
We too need to think about how we should be church in a way that focuses not only on our own worship, but also on mission so that others can meet and celebrate God, find the blessing of his kingdom, and become part of his family, without necessarily having to become exactly like us.
Part two is here
Tags: burkina faso africa emerging church burkina church fulani mission church and culture
December 16, 2004
Emerging church and the 10-40 window
There’s a lot of blogging going on about the “emerging church,” referring in particular to new ways of doing church in the post-modern western context. Of course, of more significance world-wide is the emerging church in Africa and Asia. We don’t hear a lot about it in blogworld, because of course few African village pastors have access to computers and the net to share their insights and struggles as they seek to form worshipping, discipling, mission-minded communities in the context of their culture. But that – pre-modern – situation has so much to say to us as we seek how to do church in our own cultures. Lesslie Newbigin of course is a great example of how thinking from that context can inform our own journey. Does anyone know of anyone currently blogging from this context?
I’ve also been wondering how much awareness and engagement in the “western” emerging church there is with international mission and justice issues. Looking around, there doesn’t seem to be a lot. How, for example, is the emerging church thinking about responses to Sudan? Or third world poverty? Or the 10-40 window?
I googled “10-40” and “emerging Church” and mostly just found comments on emerging church that had been posted at 10:40am…. Which suggests it’s not currently a hot topic. So, in case you think a 10-40 window is a free spot in your schedule in the middle of the morning…
The 10-40 window is a term used to represent the most needy region of the world, between 10 and 40 degrees north. In it are the poorest people in the world, and the largest concentration of people untouched by the story of Christ. Yet church investment there in terms of money and personnel is minute compared to what we spend on our Christian meetings and buildings. If the western emerging church is supposed to be missional, then I look forward to seeing mission in all its forms shaping the church of the future.
December 11, 2004
Partying with the poor
“A soodi baali di ginan naa?” Have you bought the sheep yet?
My Fulani friends always started asking the question about three weeks before Christmas. As Muslims, they know Jesus was born by the power of God, and honour him as a great prophet. So it was normal that we should celebrate his coming into the world.
Each year, Seydou and I would buy a couple of sheep, and invite as many of our Muslim friends as we could squeeze into our yard for a meal to celebrate the birth of Iisaa Almasiihu – Jesus Christ. Inevitably, everyone brought a friend, and then other passers-by would come and join us to. Year by year the yard grew more crowded.
Continue reading "Partying with the poor"
December 10, 2004
Emerging Church
It was December. The moon was up, and there was the low buzz of voices in my yard. Small groups of Fulani were scattered around, sitting or reclining on mats and chatting. I was about to leave Gorom-Gorom, after more than 10 years praying and working to see the gospel accepted among the Fulani there. There was now a small group of about 12 who identified themselves as Christians, and were struggling to find their way forward as his disciples.
During the day, we had been to the local church, filled with Christians from the neighbouring Mossi tribe. The Mossi and Fulani have a long history of mutual distrust. Culturally, the two peoples are very different, and it has not been easy for the Fulani converts to fit into the Mossi set-up. Today, one of the Fulani believers, a man trained in the Quran and regarded as a teacher by his fellow villagers, was being baptised there. Missionaries and Fulani believers from across the north of Burkina had come to join us. It was the largest gathering of Fulani Christians Gorom had ever seen – there must have been about 20 of them.
Afterwards, the Fulani came back to my yard to celebrate. We killed a sheep, and feasted. Hamadou and Buryma made the local tea. And afterwards people settled into small groups to relax.
After chatting with different ones for a while, I stood back and looked around me. On one mat, under the acacia tree in the middle of the yard, an impromptu music group had formed. One of the Fulani was playing Fulani-style music on my guitar. Another had taken a calabash, and was tapping out a rhythm on it. And a third had taken a millet stalk, which he had turned it into a makeshift flute, and was trying valiantly to keep in tune with the guitar. And they were singing worship songs to God. Some lads who had been passing my gate had come in to listen.
On another mat, not far from where my cow was tied, a second small group had the Fulani New Testament open, and were gathered around it. Those who could read were reading it to the others, and they were unselfconsciously discussing what it meant.
A third group were debating animatedly, but respectfully, with the Islamic religious teacher from across the road, who had seen that there was something going on, and had wandered in to find out what was happening. Others were just relaxing, drinking tea, and chatting.
I was overwhelmed with what I was seeing – this was church! Baptising, feasting, worshipping, witnessing, bible-centred mega church! This is what I have dreamed and worked for.
It must be said, this is not the Gorom-Gorom community of believers – some of these Fulani would return the next day to their villages, over 100 miles away. And those who are in Gorom area face many challenges – with poverty, and with their own struggles, as well as with opposition from within their community. The church among the Fulani is small and fragile, in need of prayer and nurture. But the Holy Spirit is at work among them, and this was a glimpse of what he is doing. That evening was one of the most exciting of my life.
For all its fragility, there was reality in that fellowshipping, worshipping, witnessing little community in my yard that night. This wasn’t about meetings. This was about sharing a common faith, identity and journey as Christ’s family.
And that is church.
Tags: burkina faso africa emerging church burkina church fulani
November 02, 2004
Going to the Margins
I came across this quote by Henri Nouwen at Rich Johnson’s blog. Like it.
"Those who are marginal in the world are central in the Church, and that is how it is supposed to be! Thus we are called as members of the Church to keep going to the margins of our society. The homeless, the starving, parentless children, people with AIDS, our emotionally disturbed brothers and sisters - they require our first attention.
We can trust that when we reach out with all our energy to the margins of our society we will discover that petty disagreements, fruitless debates, and paralysing rivalries will recede and gradually vanish. The Church will always be renewed when our attention shifts from ourselves to those who need our care. The blessing of Jesus always comes to us through the poor. The most remarkable experience of those who work with the poor is that, in the end, the poor give more than they receive. They give food to us."
