Three Things Bible School Taught Me

 I have been privileged to pass through four Bible schools and receive theological training. There is a focused sharpening that school gives you that if rightly used can be a great blessing. It is worth stating that Bible schools do not make pastors, churches do. The discipleship instruction in 2 Timothy 2:2, “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” is given in the context of the local church. With that said, Bible schools are a helpful complement to churches in training men. They come alongside churches in training men for the work of ministry. Here are three things school taught me.

1. Rigorous study and reading widely  

School forces you to study rigorously. There is something about assigned reading that makes school reading different from your social reading. You are forced to read a diverse range of books and to finish them by a set deadline. You are further required to exercise high levels of comprehension from the assigned reading. This lesson though often painful and exhausting is extremely valuable in ministry. It instils a valuable discipline to read extensively and deeply. The effectiveness and longevity of one’s ministry are in some ways tied to their diligent study.

2. Dealing with constant pressure

Deadlines and due dates are the student’s primary source of stress. By the end of the first week of the semester, after all the classes are introduced, the student goes away with a stuck of books and a load of assignments that will be due over the coming months. All the required reading, writing, quizzes and exams combine to build and apply pressure on the students. This pressure is necessary and intentional. It teaches discipline and perseverance. School in many ways comes down to one’s discipline and endurance. It is not enough to have academic acumen. One requires the resolve to persevere amidst unending pressure. Those who endure the “pressure cooker” of school are prepared for the pressure of ministry. There is a reason Paul exhorted Timothy to endure hardship, it is because ministry comes with all forms of hardships. The minister of the gospel must be able to handle the often unceasing pressures of sin, deadlines, sermon preparations, difficult relationships, hard and urgent decisions and criticisms etc.

3. Structured and broad thinking

In many ways, school is structure. It first structures your everyday life, through classes, semesters and the duration of the program. Then the assignments structure your life in the sense that they dictate what you give your time to, such that the students who usually excel and make the most of school are those who have a defined structure in their lives. This kind of structure is an essential element of ministry for the minister. It is important in personal and ministerial planning, leading meetings, sermon preparations and delivery. Unstructured people, meetings, ministries and sermons are difficult to follow.

Furthermore, school teaches you to think broadly, by reading widely and engaging with other schools of thought. You engage with other views by reading the people who hold the position. It gives you both an appreciation of the thinking process and argumentation of others. It also helps you understand the dynamics other people faced at different times in church history.

The narrowness and shallowness that people who are not widely and well-read have are painfully hard to bear. They often treat every issue with the same weight and they refuse to see the complicated nature of some matters. This kind of spirit simply betrays one’s lack of structured and broad thinking.

Bible school is a blessing and a useful tool. It teaches the student rigorous study, instils the ability to handle pressure and helps them develop structure and think broadly. I am grateful for the privilege of studying and for the blessing of using what I learnt in the local church.

 

Handling Generational Differences

I once walked into a public place on a hot and sunny day, carrying my Tendai (4 months). He is rocking a T. shirt and shorts, no hat, no socks and no jersey! The moment I enter the room, I can see and feel the stares from the elderly mothers! I know what they are thinking and what's coming, so I put on my serious "don't talk to me" face. But it's all in vain since when was a motherly African woman dissuaded by a mere look? So in a manner typical of our mothers, one of them walks over to me and loads me with a series of questions, where is the mother? Why did not you put socks and a hat on him? And where is his little blanket (covering)? Thankfully, she caught me on one of my spiritual days! So I engaged her about the heat and how irritable kids get when they are hot and sweaty. And she closes it off with, what a lovely baby? Boy or girl? What's his name? How old is he? Please keep these little ones warm. "It's good you are spending time with the baby; please keep it up." Funnily, I walked away smiling and with a sense of appreciation for my culture once more. Why would a stranger walk up to me and question my parenting decisions? Simple, in Africa, we believe "it takes the whole  village to raise a child." And in our culture, the older generation must instruct and guide the younger generation in the various ways of life. It is both a duty and an obligation. As always, there are valuable lessons to remember for the sake of harmony.

1. You cannot explain African culture apart from communal living. It affects & influences everything we do and believe. We do life together, and one of our famous sayings is "it takes the whole  village to raise a child."

2. The young generation must learn humbly and heed the counsel from the older generation. We may disagree, and we may have google and "baby centre." But they have the experience; you are a testimony of their parenting abilities. As much as they are some progressive ways of doing things, we must appreciate that those who have gone before us can teach us a lot.

3. The older generation must be gracious, humble and tactful in their imparting of knowledge. For good or bad, our generation is becoming more progressive, innovative and individualistic by the year and have bought into the illusion of self-sufficiency. That said, you cannot impose advice just because that's how you did things. Further, the older generation must equally learn what they can from the younger generation.

4. We must be tolerant and not impose our thoughts on every situation. It's okay for one child to be wrapped up in 4 or 5 layers of clothes and another child to be wrapped up in 2. Remember, each of those parents loves their children and are not entirely ignorant. Respect, grace and kindness must inform our interactions.

5. Christians need to remember the exhortation of the older teaching, the younger in the local church context and ongoing discipleship relationships. Let's not avoid these relationships despite the craziness of the culture. We must instead pursue relationships that are informed by scripture and motivated by love. 

Prophets, Pastors, Politics and Predictions

The emotional dust and tensions from the August 12 Zambian elections are settling. The euphoria is steadily giving way to the backlash. The people who felt oppressed and victimized are calling for vengeance. The grieved over corruption are demanding for justice to prevail. And those who made false declarations and predictions are coming under fire. That brings me to the “prophets” and “pastors” who made declarations and predictions purporting their utterances were of divine origin. As providence would have it, the declarations made with pomp and pride were flat out wrong. And the “men of god” have eaten humble pie. It may be easy for us to find joyful satisfaction in the public and overdue humiliation of these people. However, a closer examination suggests that their actions are a problem for the Christian faith and the Church of Christ. One growing trend post-election is a general mockery and questioning of the relevancy of Christianity. The prophets and pastors are synonyms with Christianity, and that is a problem and here is why. 

They are making a mockery of the Word of God

The God of the Bible is self-revealing. He has from the beginning revealed himself to his creation. In times past, he spoke through prophets and in various ways. It is, therefore, common to find the prophets of the scriptures declaring, “Thus says the Lord.” The scriptures tell us that now, the Lord has spoken through Jesus Christ (Heb 1:1-3). Hence the many exhortations to know the Word of God and obey it (1 Jn 2:3, Jn 14:15, Jas 1:22). This is because the scriptures are sufficient and sure Word of God (2 Tim 3:16-17, 2 Pet 1:19-21). The current crop of prophets who conjure up dreams about the outcome of football matches and elections and attribute them to God is a mockery. The reason the Lord reveals himself to his people is to communicate his nature and redemptive purposes. When the prophets of God spoke, it was solemn and sober. The word calls people to know God, worship him, and it warns people of the dangers of disregarding the Word, ways and will of God. It is a mockery to merely reduce God’s word to predicting the deaths of public figures, the outcome of football matches and winners of elections.

They are making a mockery of Christianity

As people listen to utterances of the prophets that are ridiculous and outrageous, they equate it to the Christian message. Sadly, that is the image they have created of Christianity. They are left wondering, “what is wrong with this bunch”. One political and humanist activist recently wrote in part, on her social media platform, “religion makes it near impossible to have rational and especially difficult conversations in Zambia…” Loud, pompous and colourfully dressed papas are tarnishing the name of the Christian faith. Especially when they are the only voice people hear.

They are misleading the masses.

It is painful to see the people who flock to these prophets and drink in their utterances regularly. Hundreds and at times thousands follow them on social media and tune in to listen to their talks or rants. These live broadcasts range from name-calling, slandering,self-declaration of their powers to mind-boggling laughter. I once stumbled upon one man of God who was offering to fix phones and electrical appliances during a live-streamed gathering! And all the people affirmed his call with praise. Worse still, people send their kwachas to men like these. Sincere in their efforts but extremely lost and misled.

We cannot keep silent.

False prophets who are proud, sensual and greedy for money will always be there (2 Pet 2). But we cannot allow them to be the only voices people hear. We cannot keep silent while they misrepresent our God and his Word. We cannot afford to let them misrepresent the Christian faith. We must give a reason for the hope that is in us (1 Pet 3:15). We must earnestly, graciously and boldly make a case of a rational and reasonable Christian message, without which life cannot make sense. We must not cast a blind eye on or laugh off these utterances. No matter how enticing they might be, we must call them for what they really are, false!