Listening to an African Preacher

One of the toughest spiritual disciplines is listening—to God, to another believer, to a seeker or a skeptic. It’s also hard for Western Christians to listen to believers from the non-Western world. By listen, I mean take them seriously with the intention of learning and even being guided and counseled by a non-Western believer.

Recently I attended an immigrant African church in a Chicago suburb and I decided to try listening intently to the preacher.

The preacher was a Nigerian church planter who recently graduated from Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology in Kenya. He and his wife, also a graduate, were visiting Chicago-area churches planted here by their African denomination. I was one of the only non-Africans in the service. He preached in a style the congregation understood and enjoyed. I’m sure I missed many of the finer points in his sermon.

I was impressed with the intimacy he had with the Bible. He referred to stories, historical events and sayings of Jesus and the apostles as if he was speaking of his own past. Indeed, the characters of the Bible were people with whom he felt great kinship. Their experiences were directly relevant to his own. How God related to Abraham—his main text was Genesis 15:7-18—was how God related to him.

Many Westerners have noticed how comfortable and enthusiastic African Christians are towards the Old Testament. They feel at home in that part of the Bible. It’s no wonder because in both cases, we have an agricultural society with strong tribal and family-based cultures. While parts of the Old Testament can feel strange to Westerners, Africans know exactly what’s going on and embrace the text with great joy.

The preacher told the congregation that when he was preparing the sermon, he asked God for a revelation from the text. What he received was a challenging word for the congregation. In the text, Abram waits for God to reveal himself through an animal sacrifice. God eventually manifests his glory in the night but while Abram waits, his challenge is to be alert and to persevere in obedience. Keep doing the right things. God will show up when the time is right. Don’t slack off was the message.

Lest anyone think he was encouraging the idea of “salvation by works,” the preacher quickly reviewed Abram’s faith in God’s promise that was counted as righteousness. God was not waiting for Abram to achieve some level of righteousness before he could be blessed. There is a connection between persevering and blessing but it’s not about our standing before God or our identity as followers of Jesus.

Receiving God’s promise of blessing was a major point of the sermon and it raised the issue of the “health and wealth” Gospel often associated with the African church (actually it was and continues to be exported to Africa by Western Pentecostal preachers). After the service, I spoke to the preacher about this issue. He agreed there is a problem in Africa with a false doctrine of expecting financial wealth as a result of personal faith that false teachers exploit for their own gain. His message was to counter that bad teaching by emphasizing the importance of perseverance and consistent obedience even when life is hard.

I had to admit my own hypocrisy as one who already lives with great financial and educational blessings and then criticizes, even gently, the yearning of African believers for similar blessings. The fact is that God does intend to bless his people and to bless abundantly. The Bible is full of such promises. This particular African church, mostly made up of African immigrants, is only too aware of their great blessings which is why their praise services go on for hours and why they keep emphasizing to each other what God expects them to do with those blessings.

The pastor of the church told me their goal is not to be an African church but to be an American church with African immigrants racing out to unchurched Americans of all backgrounds. They have a long way to go to attract non-Africans but I appreciate the goal. I hope and pray the Gospel they import into the United States will show us how to manage the wealth God has given us better than we have. Consumerism has devastated our faith and our corporate life as churches and we probably need African preachers among others to guide us back on to the right path.

I pray that I am willing to listen and to obey.

By Paul Heidebrecht

Churches Respond to Political Crisis in Kenya

The political crisis in Kenya that erupted after the disputed presidential election on December 27, 2007, has put the church on the spot. Many consider churches to be the most reliable institution in African societies. So how are churches responding to the crisis?

Here’s a part of a letter circulated on February 4, 2008, by Oscar Muriu, pastor of Nairobi Chapel, that offers a glimpse into what churches in Kenya are seeking to do:

On Thursday last week, a number of pastors met asking What more can the men & women of God do in our present crisis? What more can the church do? After much discussion they agreed to do 5 important things within the next 1-3 months.


1. Mobilize the church to spiritually cleanse this nation. Before the election several politicians engaged the help of a well-known witchdoctor from Tanzania, to come and pray over the towns and provinces they were claiming victory over. The witchcraft was conducted in Kisumu, Eldoret, Nairobi and Mombasa the very epi-centers of the violence we have experienced. What demonic influence did that act unleash upon this nation? How do we close the floodgate or portal that he opened up? And what of the floodgates that have been opened out by the bloodletting, the killing and the burning of churches?
Our politicians will broker for peace; the business community to restart business, but only the church can cleanse this nation spiritually. If we do not do so people will turn back to the old ways, charms and witchcraft for spiritual protection against the evil that has been unleashed. In preparation for the spiritual cleansing, Christians will be called to a concerted, unified time of fasting and prayer.

2. Mobilize churches to take in Internally Displaced People. Nakuru is full, and cholera is a real risk. Tigoni got 7,000 new IDPs last week because of new threats to certain tribes. It is the same all around the country. We need to open up our church doors, and allow these houses of God to be shelters in this hour of need. Let people associate the Church with mercy and help. If we play safe with our buildings, or do not want the inconvenience God may well declare Icabod.
But what if a church is not an ideal set-up for IDP? Compared with where they are staying right now, almost all our churches are much better places. Karura Community Church shared their story. They are in a tent, with prefab Sunday School buildings, but they still took in 250 people. God has blessed them in amazing ways as a result.
We can all try and do more for the internally displaced people. Many do not even want to stay in a camp, they just want help to go home squared. Many others are pleading for a little help and capital to rent a room for 3 months, and to restart up their business ventures asap. What can each church do?


3. Use the Media to speak a message of hope to the nation. There are far too many negative stories in the paper, and not enough stories of Christians helping others; stories of grace, etc. We will use the media (even if it means purchasing space) to tell positive stories, give pastoral letters, mobilize the churches to act as one, etc. We shall also work to have a voice in the local community FM stations, especially in the rural areas.


4. Mobilize the church to Community Networking. one church told how, when pamphlets started going around threatening people of a certain community, how it had called together all the church leaders in the community and agreed they would not allow the community to be ruled by fear. So the leaders went out into the community and started encouraging people on the streets, meeting places, etc to reject division, embrace tolerance, and actively reach out to one another. It worked. They then teamed up with the DO, Chief, etc and have instituted a community program to make people positively aware on what their community will stand for. We can network other churches and interested parties for peace.


5. Mobilize the church for a Caravan of Hope. The pastors agreed to mobilize 200 500 pastors from all over Kenya to conduct a Caravan of hope march from Mombasa to Nairobi to Nakuru to Eldoret to Kisumu, visiting all the hot-spots, conducting cleansing services, counseling the traumatized, bringing food and supplies and hope to the displaced, comforting the bereaved, healing the sick.
Because this is a statement by the church, on a national scale, hopefully ministering to the whole nation, the desire will be to mobilize as many pastors as possible, to dress in collars, and to minister together as a sign of unity, doing that which only the church can do. 500 ministers together would speak to this nation.
The caravan will take a week from Mombasa to Kisumu. This is not a physical march, but a caravan of vehicles. The caravan will mobilize the local pastors of these places, and as the church of Kenya, commission them to go after the cleansing, and cleanse other areas in their province, hence covering a much wider area.
We are also suggesting that the Caravan of Hope mobilize funds and rebuild the AOG church that was burnt down in the Rift Valley, plus build a memorial for the many who died there as they sought shelter in the house of God.

Secretariat - To make all this possible, it was suggested that a secretariat be set up with the sole purpose of mobilizing the church and planning logistics. The secretariat will be led by those pastors who are willingly give up their usual church work and focus on this single task alone.
The purpose of the secretariat will not be to highlight any particular church or denomination, but to mobilize the goodwill and participation of as many churches and ministers as possible, so we can act together as the church in Kenya. Once this work is done, the secretariat will disband. Work will begin immediately with those already available.
I will serve as a point person at the secretariat as my co-pastors have graciously freed me to mobilize others. Already 30 members of Chapel have also volunteered to serve full-time at the secretariat. Several computers and office equipment/desks have also been donated. We are presently looking for offices to set up this week.

Can I plead with you to be help us with this effort? Our biggest need will be funds to mobilize the whole church, and funds to care for and feed the displaced people we take in or minister to. We also need you to pray mobilizing the church without falling into the battle of disunity & personal agendas will take the Lord . . . but we must try, and we must believe that the church of Christ can rise above that for the sake of the nation. Please help if you can.

Sincerely,

Pastor Oscar Muriu

www.nairobichapel.org