Thursday, March 14, 2024

Pouring Water on New Plants

This time of year, Uror county is dry and brown, with small scattered trees. Cows have been taken some distance away from the towns to find grass and water. The dry season is nearly over, so people are preparing their fields for when the rains come. But there is pervasive fear and struggle for hope, because of the fear of being attacked in rural areas. The people of Uror have suffered numerous attacks in recent years by some from a neighboring tribe who steal cattle, kidnap women and children, and sometimes kill people. Many have been displaced in the attacks, even after they were recovering from the war and devastation of 2013.

The central town of Yuai as we are landing on the airstrip

A bore-hole for getting water requires hours of waiting in line

A beautifully decorated tukul (house)

This is the community we stepped into last week to conduct a Healing Hearts Transforming Nations workshop. I was glad that God provided a good team of mature church leaders who have strong connections in Uror County and real love and concern for people there. We were accompanied by Rev. John Tut, who started the churches in Uror county but is now in Juba in his final year of getting his degree at NTC.

Our team as we left Yuai.

A group of about 8 people walked for 3 hours from their village to attend the workshop. Another group of about 6 people came from the further village of Pieri, about a 5 hour walk away. And within Yuai, the central town where we were based, we had participants from 6 different churches.  

Participants in the workshop

A drama to demonstrate the unity within the Trinity

One of the highlights for me was the experience gained for 2 of our new facilitators. Rev. Michael Char was trained in 2022 as a facilitator, but because he lived in a remote area he did not have a team to work with to conduct workshops. This was a good opportunity for him to return to the area where he was born and to get some practice in teaching. Rev. Yagub was just trained last year and has helped to facilitate one workshop in Juba. They both worked hard to master the content and the dramas and they were encouraged as they saw people grasping these important truths about God’s love and power to heal our hearts.

Michael and Yagub perform a drama about forgiveness

Nailing our pain to the cross

Knowing the deep loss and pain that participants had experienced, it was moving to see them nailing their papers to the cross, representing giving over that pain to God. We stood together in a circle and watched the papers burn, singing and praying our thanks to God for shouldering those burdens from us. The following morning, a few people shared that they had been able to sleep peacefully for the first time in years, or that their heart finally felt at peace. "My soul finds rest in God alone, my salvation comes from Him." I love seeing Psalm 62 come to life!

Blessing each group in the final celebration

As our team debriefed after the workshop, one person said that this workshop was like "pouring water on new plants". It was important for growth, but would require more water and time to truly see the change and the growth. Please pray for the people of Yuai, that God's Spirit continues to bring healing and peace. 

Sunset over Yuai from the stream at the edge of town

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

“If My Wife is Holy Enough, Can I Take Another?”

The “long semester” at Nile Theological College began earlier this month. I am teaching Contextual Theology, one of my favorite courses. Some rightfully argue that all theology is contextual, that is, our understanding of God is birthed from our experience, from our context. Stephen Bevans describes contextual theology as “dialogue” between two realities: the experience of the past as recorded in Scripture and church tradition, and the experience or present to which we who do theology now live (Bevans, 1992). David Bosch, the noted South African missiologist, describes contextual theology as “theology from below,” from the underside of history, informed by the social sciences, a theology whose primary “interlocuter” or communication partner is the poor and the socially marginalized (Bosch, 1991).

As my students and I are learning together, we recognize the need to understand the Gospel and how it relates to our cultures and peoples. On that note, at the end of class during our second week together, John, a pastor, who sits in the front near the door, asked a personal and culturally informed question when he asked, “If my wife is holy enough, can I take another [wife]?” Despite some chuckles from a few classmates, I assured John that his question was appropriate and helpful. When I asked the class if John’s question was a question shared by other members of John’s people group (the Nuer), everyone affirmed that to be the case. As we were at the end of the day, I suggested that we return to John’s question at the beginning of class the following week.

Before we met the following week, I prepared a worksheet which listed several questions and a list of scripture references concerning marriage to help us. My goal was threefold: to discuss the meaning of marriage according to the Nuer and other people groups in South Sudan, to discuss what Jesus says about marriage and God’s original intention for marriage, and to compare the two. As we began the discussion about the purpose of marriage according to local Nuer culture, these dominant themes emerged: the priority of children, protection, status, power, and overpowering others through procreation of sons. We discussed the reasons a man would have more than one wife, all of which can be identified in the above themes. When we looked at what Jesus said about marriage, we observe that he cites the creation account in Genesis,

"But at the beginning of creation God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one. (from Mark 10: 6 – 8)

One important distinction between the purpose of marriage defined by Jesus and by the Nuer lies in the idea of companionship and becoming ‘one flesh’. This idea was not cited as a purpose for marriage according to Nuer tradition and culture. 

The root question we discussed was whether it was good for a Nuer man, or even a pastor, to take a second wife, commonly practiced here in South Sudan. It seems that the motivation for John taking a second wife is that his wife is becoming old. One of the students, half-humorously and half seriously, quipped, “Well, if a wife’s husband is getting old, shouldn’t she also be able to marry a second husband, a younger man?” 

One experienced pastor felt that despite church law, which permits lay church members to have more than one wife, that the practice of marriage within the church should be for all men to have one wife only, that being the case for pastors/elders and for everyday Christians. Considering scripture, his view rings true, but the culture is still so strong. How do we make sense of the two? Although I am not sure we fully satisfied John in response to his question, I do believe that as a class we had a meaningful discussion, addressing John’s question from many important angles.

A couple of days later I was asked by an Ethiopian neighbor concerning how I had advised my student. I told him that my goal was not to give advice, but rather to help my student and the class meaningfully explore this issue for themselves, finding solutions and owning decisions. Advice from a missionary might be helpful in the short run, but long-lasting and transformative change will result from thoughtful and scripturally informed decisions made by local Christians themselves. As Christians, we invite the light of the Gospel and the Person of Jesus Christ to speak into our contexts and our cultures. Jesus must be Lord over all. In the end, as my professor at Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) says, “Our faith becomes our culture.” Lord, may it be so!

Friday, January 19, 2024

Juba Evangelical Bible School - Open for classes!

The leadership of the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church has been working hard for the last year to open a Bible School. And this month, classes started at the Juba Evangelical Bible School! We recorded a short (5 minute) video update from the principal, Alphonse Andrew, including some clips of the opening ceremony and orientation.


The vision for the Bible School is to train people who are not able to meet the academic standards of Nile Theological College, or those who do not want a degree but want to learn about theology and practical ministry. It is considered a 'companion institution' to NTC. Please pray for the students and teachers as they start the first term of classes.

We are praying for the funds to start building classrooms on the new land that SSPEC has for the Bible School. If you would like to contribute, you can do so through SSPEC's account with PC(USA), at this link: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/donate/e052148/

Saturday, January 6, 2024

Heaven Came Down to Earth!

When people have asked me, “How was your Christmas?” My response has been, “Heaven came down to earth!” We did not attend a large church gathering with thousands in attendance like other places in Juba, but instead accepted the invitation from Yagub, a former student at Nile Theological College, to come to the small church he pastors on the edge of Juba, near the Nile. I agreed to preach, baptize, and then to lead in the Lord’s Supper. It was a full day.


Worship on Christmas morning!  

As Kristi and I arrived a bit early and waited for others, we engaged Palam and Akir, two boys sitting behind us. They were active, playing with the large balloons above, dressed in their new Christmas gear. I asked them if they knew whose birthday it was today. In limited English but without hesitation, Palam responded, “Today is God’s Birthday!” Wow. What a great response! Yes, today is God’s birthday. God was born to us in the person of Jesus Christ. I do not think a more astute theological description could be made.

More people came, slowly. The chapel began to fill, mostly with children and women. I have always been impressed with the value Yagub gives to children, centering them and giving them attention. It feels like this church is a place of “welcome” for children in the neighborhood. The church is a safe place for them. Some of their mothers and other women from the neighborhood, both young and old, attend. Most speak Arabic, and some speak only their mother tongue, Dinka. One Dinka woman came over to speak with us in her limited Arabic. It was a nice moment of connection. I often feel convicted in spirit when I witness my African counterparts sit down in church; the very first thing they do is offer a quiet, humble, and unobtrusive prayer. One woman, upon arrival, immediately went to the side of the church building and leaned her head against the wall as she sat in her chair. I could see her lips moving in quiet prayer. She had come with a heart of worship and the desire to commune with God. I admired her, giving thanks for her gentle witness. Later, she would be one of the thirty-nine people baptized.

This Advent Season God has impressed on me the role of the shepherds in the Nativity story. These were humble people living on the margins of Jewish culture and society. They were not given much value. Yet, God gave them ultimate value when the angel came and delivered the message to them about a savior being born at that very moment in Bethlehem, even giving them a sign of what they would find (see Luke 2: 8 – 20). God also chose to work in and through young Mary and her husband Joseph, neither of them noteworthy by the standards of the world. And so, as I stood there on Christmas day in this humble church building on the edge of the city, reading this story in the local Arabic and then proclaiming the Good News, the Gospel truth that God centers those on the margins, I shared how though we may feel “small,” God sees us as “big,” as important.


Bob shares from God's Word
Gospel of Luke 2: 8 - 20
 
Our response to God’s Word on Christmas morning could not have been more poignant and meaningful. Heaven came down to earth. Women wept as I liberally placed water on their heads three times, baptizing them “fi isim ta Abu Allah, fi isim ta Yesu El Missih, fi isim ta Ruh El Kudus” (in the name of Father God, in the name of Jesus the Messiah, and in the name of the Holy Spirit). Children received this rite, supported by parents, adults, and pastors. I became physically tired, but not tired in spirit. I willed myself to continue. Pastor Matta, from war-torn Abyei which straddles Sudan, exhorted parents to pray for their children each morning and to instruct them in the faith. Given my role in worship that morning, I had not planned to lead us in the Lord’s Supper, but I prepared myself, just in case, for that possibility. Standing again before the congregation, I recounted the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and one-day return of the Lord, I visibly presented the elements of bread and juice; I was supported by Pastor Matta and an elder as we shared the elements with all gathered. One woman standing in the front row, the most dignified and well-dressed woman in attendance, burst into sobs as she received the elements of Christ’s Body.

Pastor Yagub asks questions to those to be baptized
 
Bob baptizes...

Kristi and I arrived home that afternoon tired, but full of God’s grace, peace, contentment, and joy. Truly, there is no greater thrill and joy in life than serving our Lord Jesus Christ together with members of His Body. No money or possession will ever match this matchless joy. God is pure existence, and we exist in Him. God is Love, and we love in Him. We are born of God, for others. May His Name forever be praised!

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Tis the Season...for Baptisms!

 During the Christmas season in South Sudan, many congregations celebrate baptisms. It seems a fitting connection, that as we remember God leaving his glory to be born as a human and suffer with us, we also celebrate people declaring that they repent of their sin and join Christ in his invitation to new life in Him. This weekend, we were invited to worship with one of these congregations celebrating baptisms, and it was truly a joyful celebration. 


More than 15 children were baptized, along with around 10 teenagers and adults. What struck me as remarkable is that this is a new congregation, less than 1 year old. This is the first time they have celebrated baptism in the congregation, and the number of people is a sign of the strong growth they have experienced. 

Some of the children and their parents lined up for baptism

The lead pastor of the congregation, Rev. Samuel Jock, began the church as an Arabic-speaking congregation several years ago. They have moved around to various locations and in 2022 finally built their own building next to the offices for SSPEC. They discovered that in the neighborhood around their new building there are many Nuer people. The congregation worshipped in the classical Arabic from Khartoum, which many of their neighbors did not understand. So they started a second service in the Nuer language and assigned one of the Nuer members to lead the service. As a practical service in the community, they started offering classes in the evenings, teaching people to read and write in the Nuer language, because many were not able to go to school, and children today only learn to read Arabic or English. The Nuer service has grown dramatically, and now has an active youth choir and a children's choir. Pastor Samuel assigned a young man, Moses, to be the primary one leading the activities of this Nuer congregation. Another young man, Lony, has taken the responsibilty of leading worship and directing the choirs, including teaching some of the members to play the keyboard! As Pastor Samuel recounted this progression to me, he rejoiced at how God has opened this door and that the congregation is obviously meeting a need.

The adults and teenagers who were baptized,
along with the pastors and deacons who facilitated.

We praise God for giving new life, and celebrate baptism as a sign of spiritual vitality in that new life. Next week we plan to visit another congregation in Juba also planning to do baptisms - on Christmas Day! Please join us in praying for the Holy Spirit to continue the work of transformation and renewal in these people and congregations as they celebrate their new life with Jesus.