Hope for Africa? Trend Studies Reveal Looming Crisis and Opportunity

/ Phill

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Africa caught my attention when two recent economic studies crossed my computer screen this month within hours of each other.

The amazing, surprising, Africa-driven demographic future of the Earth, in 9 charts, a UN Population Division study, projects that Africa is the place to watch. The indicators are that it will outstrip the other continents in economic as well as population growth. It will dominate the 21st century.

Then, Why African Entrepreneurs Outperform Their Peers When the Playing Field is Level, an article from the Wharton school of business. The title pretty well summarizes the findings. African entrepreneurs are more productive and creative when they work in a comparable setting. Poor governance, infrastructure, and resource management on the continent hold them back.

Both of these studies findings seem counter-intuitive. They point to enormous opportunity and potential for Africa to change its destiny. They also point to tremendous challenges ahead.

Historically Africa is the continent that has received the most aide and yet stubbornly is the most impoverish. These studies suggest we are on the cusp of a major transition IF Africa can overcome its challenges in the area of governance and resource management.

WOW! These are exciting prospects.

I am reminded of one other writing about this situation. Darrow Miller wrote in 2005 about Africa’s problems and mentioned one other factor that both of these studies ignore. In his booklet, Against All Hope: Hope for Africa, he alludes to Africa’s great potential in its people and resources. He also recognizes a great spirituality among the peoples. Yet one thing they lack is a worldview that aligns with the principles of the God of the Bible. True transformation cannot take place without a transformation of the heart and a renewing of the mind. Without this transformation the other changes are less likely to happen, and if they do, they will not be to the benefit of the people.

Where does all of this lead. Tentmakers. There is tremendous opportunity, even need, for tentmakers to participate in the transformation of Africa.

1.    Africa is ripe for economic development.

2.    It needs men and women of faith to permeate the marketplace bringing economic development while demonstrating the practice Biblical principles.

3.    There is a growing movement among the African community to prepare and spread out and take the gospel to the whole continent in a wholistic ministry that touches every part of the continent and penetrates to the to the heart and soul as well as the purse.

4.    Tentmakers contribute to the economic as well as the social and spiritual development of their communities. When enough of them are active they can change countries and continents.

5.    Tentmakers model Christian values within the workplace and the culture.

6.    Tentmakers do not require massive outside support structures and funds – nor do they create the expectation that such is necessary for the community and the church to prosper and grow.

God is mobilizing his church. There is great opportunity for the expansion of tentmaking workers in Africa. There are a few pivot points in history where the decisions that are made determine the social direction for many decades. This could be one of those times. Are the “men of Issachar” interpreting the times and preparing to march?

These projections “…aren’t destiny, of course, and lots of people are already trying to change them… But this is the direction the data points today. Whatever happens, it should be quite a century.” (The amazing, surprising Africa-driven demographic…)

May God grant wisdom to the brothers in Africa as they guide the church through these times. And may He grant the rest of the church the wisdom to support where they should, and to give have the grace to allow the African leadership to grow without undo interference.

All Africa TI Tentmakers Congress Amazes!

/ Guest Contributor

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Steinar Opheim of TENT Norway and Ari Rocklin of Global Opportunities had the pleasure to train 53 focused leaders from many African countries to become trainers.

From their questions it became apparent that they were grasping this new model of missions that is not dependent on funding. There will be an upcoming follow-up article on the course for trainers that took place immideately after the congress. God is at work through the African tentmaking movement!

Six Principles for Sharing Your Faith in the Workplace: Or Anywhere Else

/ Phill

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Most Christian want to share their faith but for one reason or another they often don’t. It may be fear of embarrassment, or offending someone; or the sense that the time is not right, or that they lack adequate preparation and don’t know the right methods.

To keep it simple, the best time and place is in the course of everyday activities while you are in the presence of non-believers. One can learn a lot by following the example of the Apostle Paul. Let’s take the account in Acts 17.22-31. Paul is in the Areopagus where the thinkers from Athens all go to hang out and talk. What can be observed about his interaction with them.

1. He was ready. His preparation was not for a specific kind of situation or encounter. Rather he had prepared himself by prayer, prior study of God’s Word, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. He knew what he believed and trusted God to guide him to bring to mind what was needed for the specific situation.

Today that might look like a person who is active in his church and spends time in Bible study, prayer and spiritual development. Ideally, he has a mentor, or discipleship relationship with others in the body of Christ. He does not allow the church program to dominate all of his agenda and balances his time with family and with unsaved from his neighborhood or work.

2. He was positive. Even in the face of hostile doubters he was not hostile towards them. Instead he pointed out their religious interest and commended them for it. This became a bridge to introduce them to the real God.

Find something in the life of a person you are witnessing to that reveals their desire to do good, or a subconscious awareness of void in their life that only God can fill. Talk about it sympathetically with them.

3. He started where they were. Paul accepted the limitations of their knowledge and started from the point of their awareness. They had erected a statue to the unknown god because of their fear of not “covering all the bases” and causing trouble for having omitted one of the gods. They recognized forces and beings outside their control had impact on their lives. So he started from the point of their thinking and took them further.

In today’s world it might not be a statue but it could be videos or pop music that express social failure or despair. It might be the idea that every path leads to God or all gods are the same so it is not important. Perhaps it is signs of violence or loneliness in the neighborhood. Whatever, condition we find people in we need to understand them and start from that point.

4. He showed interest in people. He went and hung out where they were. He listened to them and showed interest in the things that interested them. He obviously, spent time understanding the poets and philosophers who had shaped their thinking.

It is so disheartening when a Christian says, “I couldn’t go there, they do ____ (fill in the blank with your choice of sin) there. Exactly, that is where you find the needy, not in church. A woman in our community spends her time in strip clubs befriending sex workers and listening to the stories of their broken lives. When they realize they are at the end of their rope, they reach out to her and she ministers God’s love to them.

5. He told them the way to reconcile with God, when the time was right. He did not begin by telling them they needed to be reconciled with God. First he had to gain their interest and confidence. When he sensed they were ready to understand the importance of the way of reconciliation then he tells them of God’s plan.

One does not have to wait to be asked before talking about God’s plan of reconciliation, but it should be at a time when their conversation reveals they are aware of a problem. This calls for sensitivity to the leading of the Spirit.

6. He gave the Word, and then he left. He gave them the message and then moved on. He knew that what he had to say was controversial and that most were not convinced. But he chose not to stay and argue (harangue) with them. He planted the seed and then left the Holy Spirit with them to use it in their minds for a while. It’s best to give people some space to “digest” what they have heard and leave them hungry for more, rather than to feel that one is pressuring them to go where they do not want to go. The Holy Spirit will continue working in them, and when the time is right they will come back for more.

Global Opportunities founder, Ruth Siemens, tells many stories of how this works in her article on Fishing Evangelism. Once after misplacing a great sum of money her staff realized her concern. When it was found staff commented on how lucky she was. She quickly replied it was not luck but that she prayed to God and he helped her find it. She did not elaborate at the time and walked away. Later when the staff person was having a problem of their own she approached Ruth and asked how this relationship with God worked and if she would pray for help in her need. The staff person was ready and responsive at that point.

These are simple principles… Be ready…  be friendly…  be intentional…  be interested…  trust in the Holy Spirit… move on. Practice them. It’s not that complicated.

The Most Important Thing in Discipling

/ Guest Contributor

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“It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus.”  —Robert Murray McCheyne (1813-43)

When Christians think about or discuss discipling, they think about method, about how to—about what topics to cover, how to organize them, how to cover each one, assignments, and time structure. But the apostle Paul didn’t think this way. He thought about following Jesus, imitating him so that people could see how to follow Jesus by watching his example and following him. Paul distilled it this way, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Cor. 11:1) He repeated this principle consistently.[a]

Missionary George Patterson loves to say, “People are apers. They are always aping someone.” Paul understood this. He knew believers would copy him. So he imitated Christ in all of life, doing everything to the glory of God,[b] and called his churches to imitate him just like he imitated Christ. His churches knew how to work hard and do quality work. Paul showed them. They knew how to serve customers well, how to handle the joys and struggles of work, how to suffer shortfalls with genuine contentment. Paul showed them. And they knew how to integrate work and ministry. Many were recipients. They saw as well as heard God’s grace through Paul.

So foremost in discipling is living and thus exhibiting godly discipleship. Accordingly, saintly, fervent pastor Robert Murray McCheyne said, “It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus.”

When we see a Christian living some tough truth in Scripture like putting God’s kingdom first and hear how they think and respond, it is easy for us to begin to do it. When I arrived on the campus of Johns Hopkins as a new InterVarsity staff member, I ended up having to launch a new group. This made it easier to build new patterns. But the Christians were very intimidated by academic demands and by relativistic secular humanism. None of them believed that they could seek first the kingdom of God…and that then all these things they needed would be added unto them. They did not believe that they could put God and his purposes first and still be good students. And they did not believe that the gospel could transform people on campus. They had never seen these things practiced in their youth groups. We faced a huge hurdle.

So I started a discipleship group which they committed to attend unfailingly and to do whatever God showed us in the Bible together. Then we began studying what God wanted us to do in personal Bible study and prayer, bearing witness, working together, etc. Slowly, they began taking small steps of faith, stepping out into the “impossible.” God honored, and they took more steps. My faith and example helped and as members shared stories, others emulated them. They began giving time to God’s purposes in their lives and they began reaching out.

Over the next two years, incredible growth occurred. They developed patterns of personal Bible study and prayer, of studying together and praying, of witnessing. And they discovered that they could seek Christ’s kingdom first and still be good students. In fact, they became better students. They also found that God did work in people’s hearts and they came to Christ!

But the impact on those who came to Christ and on new Christians arriving on campus was amazing. They found it much easier to build these practices into their lives. When they first arrived they did not believe these things were possible either, but they saw Christians doing it and copied. Within two years the group grew to 60 with nonbelievers steadily coming to Christ and believers being changed and following him.

Christians must see the truth lived to understand and do it. They cannot do what leaders teach but do not do. Actions negate words. When leaders teach something they don’t practice, they have not figured out how to do it in real life. They lack the faith to do it and cannot show others. They cannot pass on what they do not know. Followers can’t see the truth, understand it, or put it into practice. Instead they copy what they see.

This explains much weakness and failure in the church. We are attracted to method, technique, and organization. Many pastors talk about God’s great power to save people, but run a program powered by polished performance, trendy music, no offense messages, and emotive group dynamics. Nonbelievers often respond to the emotional pull rather than the convicting work of the Spirit. Also, Christians equate strong feelings in worship with genuine love for God even though their life does not match.

Leaders tell people to trust God because he is in control, but clearly worry about money or health or whatever. So their hearers do the same.  A friend has gone through a very tough time facing the risk of bankruptcy and losing property. She kept saying that she just put it in God’s hands and trusted him. Yet she worried constantly so that she lost weight and could not focus in her work. The threat was huge. But she was not able to rest in God in the midst of the darkness. She was simply emulating others, worrying intensely while thinking she wasn’t because she kept saying that she was just trusting him.

Nothing can substitute for likeness to Christ. Only by living example can people see the reality of Christ’s teaching, believe it is possible, and understand how to do it. Christ-likeness is more caught than taught.

I have seen wonderful examples. I remember a speaker during Spiritual Emphasis Week at Bible school who radiated joy in God as he opened Scripture to us. He awakened in me deeper longings to pursue God. I also knew someone in high school who lived in such enjoyment of God that friends would stop and ask him what caused such joy and peace in him.

I learned how to dig out what the Bible is saying with inquisitiveness, diligence, and carefulness from Christians who showed me how and opened it to me. I’ve learned more of relating to, loving, and moving nonbelievers toward Christ through the example and teaching of Ruth Siemens and Ari Rocklin. Dr. John Alexander, President of IVCF, powerfully showed the priority of godliness in leadership above all else. Over and over he said, “Godliness comes first.”

[a] 1 Cor. 4:16; 1 Th. 1:6; 2 Th. 3:7, 9; Phil. 3:17; Of imitating other examples: 1 Th. 2:14; The writer of Hebrews uses this idea in 6:12 and 13:7. Example and model are used similarly in Phil. 3:17; 1 Th. 1:7; 1 Tim. 1:16, 4:12; Tit. 2:7

[b] 1 Cor. 10:31