In about three weeks I head to Zambia. I’ll be spending two weeks there working with Pastor George Palo of Harvest City Church. I’ve known George for about a year now and I’m really excited to see his country and see in person all the people and stories that he’s shared.
One of the things that is most exciting to me is George’s heart for mission. It was not too far into a recent conversation that I realized that he really understood and had a great grasp on the fact that the church is called for the sake of mission, for the sake of being a community that is a “sign witness and foretaste of the Kingdom of God.” (From Newbigin I think). He used all the missional language. He talked about how their church needs to engage their city and be incarnational and listen well to help meet both the physical and spiritual needs of the people there. He talked about the need for their church to be a good neighbor and good resident of Ndola. He talked about the need for the church to care better for the poor and help address the big, huge problem of AIDS and street orphans…
But, here’s the thing that struck me the most. He’s never read Newbigin. He’s never read Bosch. He’s never read Guder. (In case you don’t recognize those names, they are important names in the field of Missional Theology) You know what he’s read? The Koran… just kidding. The Bible of course. George knows the Bible so well. Not only does he know the Bible, but he reads it in such a fresh way. It shouldn’t be so suprising to me that someone could read the Story of God, the redemptive story of the people of God, and understand these things without having to read all the missional texts. Perhaps its way too easy to forget that the Bible itself is the most “missional” text that we have.
I wonder, what does this say about the way we read the Bible in the West? To me, this shows how we so often bring our own baggage and wear our “western glasses” as we read and interpret the Scriptures. I know this because I didn’t read the Bible see things like these for most of my life. But I am a firm believer that they are major themes of the Bible. Somehow I missed them completely. Now, I know that George wears his own African set of glasses. This brings about its own challenges to be sure…
But, part of the reason I am so excited to spend time in Zambia with my friend George is that I’ll be given an opportunity to look through a new set of interpretative glasses. Not only from the experience but from the conversations with the many African men and women that will come about on the trip. I am fairly certain this will change me and the way I see the world forever and allow me to better place myself, my family and my church community in the mission of God.
On another note, I came across a blog from a man named Jim who was in Zambia and had the opportunity to attend George’s church. One of his blog posts makes me even more excited to worship with his community…
“At the end of the service, we were singing a song that had as its tag, “God you never, ever let me down!” And during this time, anyone who wants to can make their way to the front and dance and sing to the music. The whole place is dancing and swaying and singing anyway, so I guess it’s just a small step for someone to walk a few paces to the front. Anyway, in the middle of this song, with about a dozen or so men and women up front leading and dancing, a young man in his 20s came forward. His legs were obviously much thinner than the rest of his body; they were crooked, and he walked with a pronounced limp. I watched him as he hobbled to the front. As he turned around, he had the most radiant smile, and he began to dance as best he could, and he was singing, “God, you never, ever let me down!” I was moved to tears by his faith and his worship.”
You can read the rest of his blog here…
In a related story, my church, my friends and my family have shared over $2300 towards my trip. This leaves me about $2200 left to my goal. If you would like to give towards this mission, feel free to contact me or you can donate via paypal.