The Whole Gospel: Shelter in the Storm

This past weekend Robin and I had the privilege of being part of the Whitworth University's "Missions in Africa" Symposium. We presented a couple workshops entitled "AIDS & Orphans: Shelter in the Storm". The focus was on supporting children in families in AIDS affected communities. Given the scope of the problem and the numbers of OVC (orphans and vulnerable children), institutional care is not a cost effective response and has never been God's plan for the care of children. As I researched, prepared and then presented the workshop it cemented in my mind that the model of family based care of children in AIDS affected communities that we at Two Tunics are trying to expand is the right approach.

But more about that in a later post perhaps. Today what is on my heart is an even deeper issue that continues to be cemented more and more in my mind and heart. The reason why I am about this work. The reason the church must be about this work. The gospel of Jesus Christ. The whole gospel as Richard Stearns calls it in his book The Hole in Our Gospel.

The Missions in Africa Symposium last Saturday started off appropriately with a time of worship and devotions in the Whitworth University chapel. Terry McGonigal, the Whitworth chaplain (and ex-neighbor of ours in Spokane) presented the message. He started by asking us to describe the gospel in one sentence to the person sitting next to us. A couple excellent examples were offered from the audience on the order of "God so loved us that he sent His Son Jesus to die so that we might have forgiveness of sin and live eternally with God".

Terry then took us to a biblical one sentence summary of the gospel in Isaiah 52:7. Many of you are probably familiar with this verse and especially the opening line "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news". "Good news" is the definition of the Greek word translated as "gospel" in the New Testament. This opening line is a well known and cherished verse to those involved in missions. People involved in missions are being Christs hands and feet, going to spread the good news, and this verse tells us that in God's eyes they are beautiful. But sadly we in missions are often bringing only a part of that good news described in the rest of the verse. Maybe we're not as beautiful as we thought.

Terry pointed out the three essential elements of the gospel described in Isaiah 52:7, summarized in the three Hebrew words "shalom" (peace), yeshua (salvation) and Yaweh malak (God reigns). The salvation part is what Christian missions has historically been faithful to. Yeshua is the Hebrew version of the name Jesus which both mean "God saves". Shalom is a deep and rich Hebrew word that is difficult to translate but is much more than peace in the sense of absence of conflict. It is closer to that full and abundant life that God desires for every person in His creation. Yaweh malak or God reigns is an affirmation of the reality of the Kingdom of God. Gods' Kingdom rule is a present reality and not just a future hope. We, the church are to be about establishing God's kingdom in the world, bringing shalom to the world as well as salvation. This 2/3's of the gospel has often been neglected in missions. It is the "hole in our gospel" as described by Stearns.

We entitled our presentation on AIDS & Orphans "Shelter in the Storm". Isaiah 32 is a prophecy describing God's Kingdom. Verse 1-2 says,"See a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each man will be a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm". The storm in Africa is AIDS. In God's kingdom each man is to be a shelter in the storm. Missions in Africa must be about the whole gospel. How beautiful are your feet?

A Tale of Three Churches

This past Sunday was "move in day" at New Life Church in Renton . New Life has become our home church since we moved back from South Africa to Renton WA last November. New Life is a church of a couple thousand people and is alive and growing. Although it had a large facility to meet in with an attached building for it's Christian school, New Life had made a decision a couple years ago to build a new sanctuary and turn the current sanctuary and lobby into "Kids Town" as well as a gym for the school. Sunday was the first services held in the new building. The new auditorium has a feel much like the old building but is larger and will seat 1600 people. There is also a new 400 seat chapel. You can even take a tour of the new facility on the "New Building" section of the website. Although we are newcomers to New Life, we could sense that Sunday was a very special day in the life of this church. It is obvious that this is a blessed church.

Sitting in the new church building on Sunday I was reminded of a chapter in the book "The Hole In Our Gospel" by Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision. I read this book during our recent trip to South Africa. One advantage of spending about 50 hours in airplanes is that it gives you a lot of time to catch up on your reading. The book is excellent and challenging for Christians and American churches. John Ortberg says about the book "It is a prophetic and hope-filled word for our day. If enough people read it and do it, the world will change." That is exactly what the gospel of Jesus, the whole gospel, the one without the hole in it is about - changing the world by changing the lives of people. Stearns says the whole gospel "encompasses tangible compassion for the sick and the poor, as well as biblical justice ... the spiritual, physical and social dimensions of our being."

On the flight back to the USA last week I read the chapter entitled "A Tale of Two Churches". In it Stearns tells a parable of two churches. One, The Church of God's Blessings could well be New Life Church or any number of churches in America. It could also very well be Norwegian Settler's Church in South Africa, our other home church where we worshiped the last four years. Another church with a building program that you can watch from the web cam on the church website.

The other church Stearns describes, The Church of the Suffering Servant could well be Pastor Amos' church in South Africa we had visited the previous Sunday (see my March 26 post South Africa Trip Highlights). As I wrote in my last post, Pastor Amos is one of the key partners Two Tunics is working with in South Africa. He has a powerful ministry in communities where AIDS and poverty are having a devastating impact on people's lives. Communities where spiritual warfare with the powers of darkness is an everyday reality. Through Amos' Jesus Voice Kingdom Ministries people are receiving the whole gospel. People are experiencing real deliverance from oppression. People are responding to the gospel and his church is growing. Growing beyond the walls of the 3 sided tin shed the church meets in and around.
Robin and I with our friend Athena in the church in Mkholombe

One of the pastors speaking to the Mkholombe Church

People attending the church crowd around the shed in the hot sun

These last 2 weeks I have attended 3 churches. All of them have new building programs. Two belong to "The Church of God's Blessings". One belongs to "The Church of the Suffering Servant". I thank God that I have the privilege of attending all of them. I can't wait until my next visit to the Mkholombe church. The Churches of God's Blessings that I attend are doing good things. They are having an effective ministry. They are making at least some attempts to be about the whole gospel. As Stearns says:

The American church in my little parable was not a "bad" church; it was just oblivious to the suffering of the little church in Africa. It wasn't that they wouldn't help the African congregation; they were just so preoccupied with their own programs and people that they failed to see the bigger picture: the reality of the church across the world.

Thank you Lord for letting me see the bigger picture with the small African church in it. Thank you Lord that your gospel doesn't have a hole in it. Thank you Lord that we have the opportunity to partner with Pastor Amos in bringing the whole gospel to people who desperately need its hope. Pastor Amos in front of the new building for the Mkholombe church which needs a roof

A Needed Furlough

Robin and I are preparing to return to the US in November for a furlough of at least several months. September was the four year anniversary of our move here to South Africa and together with our board of directors we have decided that now is the time for us to return to US for at least a time. As an organization Two Tunics needs to evaluate its work since it was conceived in 2004. We need to seek God for his plan for both the future of the organization and role of Mike and Robin in the ministry.

As we are preparing to talk with our board, churches and other supporters about the work of the last four years we have been thinking about how to measure and report what has been accomplished. What is success and where have we seen it? What is failure and what have we hopefully learned from it? What lasting impacts have been made in the lives of people? How has God been glorified?

The temptation is to measure success and results as the world does, with numbers. How many AIDS patients accessed ARV treatment? How many children were fed? How many teachers were trained and creches (preschools) built? How many people came to know Jesus as their Lord and savior? How can we effectively communicate to our supporters the value of the investment they have made in the work of Two Tunics these last four years? What was the return on their dollar? How do we justify that all our time and activity and separation from family has been worth it?

Then thankfully, this morning God gave me a fresh perspective on our upcoming furlough. I was re-reading the final chapter called The Goal of the Gospel in Watchman Nee's book "The Normal Christian Life". In it Nee is commenting on the story in Mark 14 of the woman who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume. Nee wrote these words.

"We could labor and be used to the full: but the Lord is not so concerned about our ceaseless occupation in work for him. That is not his first object. The service of the Lord is not measured by tangible results. No, my friends, the Lord's first concern is with our position at his feet and our anointing of his head. ... Often enough the giving to him will be in tireless service, but he reserves to himself the right to suspend service for a time, in order to discover to us whether it is that or himself, that holds us. "

I pray that God will use the time of our furlough to discover to me what it is that holds me. Is it my service for Him or the Lord Himself?

Thank God for the Gospel

It's been a few weeks since I've posted. Life has been a little crazy over the last month or so. There are many big changes taking place at Genesis and I have been asked to take over more of the day to day management of the bulk of the programs and not just manage the medical care of patients in the Genesis Care Centre. I'll give an update on all of that soon but it has been a matter of much discussion and prayer as it impacts on all that Two Tunics is doing as a ministry here in South Africa.

What I want to share today is an experience I had yesterday at the Genesis Care Centre. I had been asked to do an interview with a Dutch radio station that is recording a series of programs related to the upcoming election here in South Africa. Election day is 22 April 2009 and this will be the fourth free national elections since the end of apartheid. It is a foregone conclusion that the ANC (the party of Nelson Mandela) will win the majority, probably by a 2/3 majority, and Jacob Zuma will become the next President of South Africa. He is the one who was recently acquitted of rape but admitting having sex with the young woman who was HIV positive and said he "showered afterwards in order to help prevent getting HIV". He has also recently publicly married a young woman as his fourth wife (he's married to all 4, not divorced and remarried).

The dutch radio station is going to include a program on the issue of AIDS in their election series and was quite interested in how those working with HIV/AIDS see Jacob Zuma's impact on the issue. But I don't want to talk politics today. What I want to share is about guilt and forgiveness.

As the reporter and I toured the Genesis Care Centre he asked if he could interview on tape a couple of the patients, all of which have advanced HIV disease. We proceeded to interview 2 women and a man on the wards who were quite open and willing to talk about the impact of their disease on their lives (knowing that the interview would only be broadcast outside the country). As we were speaking with the man, I will call him Vusi although that is not his real name, the reporter asked him about how he got HIV. He said that he had been having sex with many women at the same time because in his culture, one is seen as an important man if he has many partners. He stated he now realized that that is wrong and he has committed to changing his life style and realizes he must have only one partner.

Toward the end of the interview the reporter asked Vusi if he had children. He said he had 6 children by 2 woman (I'll call them his wives although I'm not sure if he is married to either). He said his youngest son was 6 months old and was with his wife. He was asked if his son and wife were healthy. He said his son was sick with TB. The reporter then asked directly if they had been tested for HIV. Vusi said both his wife and son were positive. The reporter then said "so you have given this disease to at least 2 other people". At that point Vusi put his head down and began to cry (something not common for a Zulu man in public). He said it was "very painful".

I was surprised by the directness of the reporter's statement as it wasn't a question and had a judgemental tone to it. Vusi did not seem offended or angered by the statement but rather demonstrated true remorse. At that point I put my arm around Vusi as he sat slumped over his bed. I shared with him that we are all guilty of many wrongs. The Bible clearly states that we are all sinners and equally guilty in the eyes of God. I shared that although we are all guilty we can receive forgiveness from God, because through Jesus, God has provided a way for us to be forgiven. If we turn away from our sin, repent and receive that forgiveness through Jesus, we can experience a new life of peace with God. That does not mean that there will be no consequences of our sin but that we will not be judged by God and can forgive ourselves and others.

All of this was communicated through an interpreter who then said Vusi knew the truth of what I had said because he was a priest in his church. I am not sure of the church and most priests or pastors of the local indigenous churches are not trained and are more or less self appointed. I encouraged him to speak to Pastor Abraham, the Genesis chaplain about what we had discussed and he indicated he has been talking with Abraham.

As I was speaking to Vusi, the reporter was listening and recording the conversation. He was quiet and I wondered what he was thinking. Was he a Christian? Had he ever heard the gospel message before? How would he or another non-Christian (assuming he is not a born again believer) have dealt with Vusi's painful guilt? I would be at a loss to deal with it if it were not for the gospel. Perhaps the conversation I had with Vusi will have a greater impact on the reporter than with Vusi (who apparently has already accepted gospel forgiveness).

I thank God for the answer he has given me for the pain of guilt that I experience in my life. I cannot imagine the pain of knowing I was responsible for the suffering, illness and possible death of my 6 month old son from AIDS. But I am also thankful that I have an answer to share for the emotional pain that is part of every HIV/AIDS patient that I see. Without it I am helpless and can offer little hope. Thank God for the gospel of Jesus Christ.