In Light of the Gospel

My last post was about the Sunday Service in Mbarara, and I did not get a chance to provide another update after that. We flew out Tuesday night from Uganda, and I arrived in the USA late Wednesday afternoon. Once I get a chance to go through the pictures and get some distance from this trip, I will post some evaluations and thoughts. Thank you for the comments, emails, and prayers.

It is now almost 9pm in Kampala, Uganda. This morning at 8am I was able to preach at the large church connected to UBI in Mbarara. It is called All Saints Church, and it was very encouraging. They have four services from 7am until 1pm because they cannot fit everyone in the church. The service I preached at was their English service, so I did not need a translator. I preached on Romans 1:16-17 and the importance of the gospel for not only the world, but for Christians too. It went very well.

Kampala is about 30 minutes from Entebbe, which is where our plane will fly out Tuesday night. We will visit Jinja tomorrow, which is a place that some consider the beginning of the Nile (which is flowing out of Lake Victoria). There are some stories connected to this location and David Livingston’s attempts at finding it when he was in Africa.

I have really enjoyed spending time with the mission team from Mississippi. I was at UBI while they were doing most of their work. They have explained to me how much they did with the children in town. I do not know if I will be able to give another update. Thank you for praying.

Today was the big graduation. There was a sermon, as well as introductions and speeches by numerous people such as the Chairman of the Governing Council for UBI in Uganda, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees from the USA, the Bishop Emeritus of the local church, a guest of honor from the government, and several other people.

The exciting moment was the presentation of awards, as students received their diplomas or certificates. This was the first official graduation in the history of UBI because it has only recently received a License to operate as a Tertiary Institution. So we had 92 candidates who graduated today, 82 for the Certificate and 10 for the Diploma. Since this is the first year for UBI to officially grant degrees, this number represents some students who finished their work from 2006-2008.

This morning I finished the series of messages on Ephesians. The students were very thankful for the teaching on the Bible. One of the leaders of UBI explained to me that it was not only helpful for the content, but also as an example of how to preach through a whole book. He explained that expositional preaching in Uganda is not very common, and they try to teach this at UBI. At the end of the seminar, we gave away 6 ESV Study Bibles. There were three top graduates for the past two years, so each one of them received a Bible.

During the day, my friend Earl and I were able to meet with one of the members of the National Board of UBI. He owns and manages a hospital. After our meeting with him, we were able to tour the hospital. It has about 100 beds, and it was a very well managed place. We were really encouraged by his work to help people with malaria and HIV/Aids.
In the evening, we had the UBI Graduation dinner. This lasted about 4 hours. In Africa, each representative of different councils will give some type of speech. So we had about 10 speakers, and each one spoke between 10-30 minutes. At the end of the speeches, the group from Mississippi gave away some shirts and ties for the graduates, and we presented ESV Study Bibles to the Chairman of the National Board of UBI, the Chairman of the Graduation Service, and we donated about 10 ESV Study Bibles to the UBI library. I was so encouraged by the response of the Ugandans.

Tomorrow is the graduation. It will be a long ceremony, from about 9am-2pm. There will be different speeches and presentations, as well as a sermon. A local minister was supposed to preach the sermon, but Amos called me once we got back to the hotel and asked if I would preach the message tomorrow. So it looks like I’ll be preaching. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan over here in Africa, but I have to get something prepared. They asked me to keep the sermon with the theme of the conference from the book of Ephesians, so I think I will preach on Ephesians 2:1-10. If I can, I will provide an update tomorrow.

Yesterday was a very encouraging day. I spent most of my day at UBI again, teaching through Ephesians and interacting with the graduates. I taught three times, and I covered Ephesians 4:1-6:9. We examined the issue of servant leadership in the Bible as well as life. Of particular importance for some of the Ugandans was connected the gospel to our obedience; many of them realized for the first time how the gospel is the power and source of our obedience (as in “to walk in a manner worthy of your calling“). We looked at specific instances in the life of the church, the family and the workplace.

I have also enjoyed meeting with other leaders here in the Church of Uganda. I have visited with many of members of the Governing Council, as well as other representatives within the local church. In the evening, Amos Magezi and his wife Jean invited the whole missionary team over to their house for dinner. It was a really good time. Each one of us was able to share with the group about the many experiences on this trip.

Tuesday was a great day. I taught my first two sessions at the seminar for the UBI graduates. I do not remember the exact number of graduates (I think it is 40), but there were about 200 people at the seminar. It was a great turn out, and they really enjoyed it. They actually broke out in song a few times during my sermon. Johnson Twinomujuni, my translator, told me that they sing when they really like something I said. Johnson is a teacher and leader at UBI, and a very important part of its ministry. He did a great job as my translator.

The group from Mississippi is helping some of the churches in the area. They are doing Vacation Bible School each morning and different sporting activities each evening. I have not been able to attend any of those events because I have either been teaching at UBI or at meetings, but I hope to see what they are doing today (Wednesday). Maybe I will be able to give another update later tonight.

We arrived safe in Mbarara, but I wouldn’t say sound!

The drive from Entebbe was rough. I am traveling with my friend Earl Blankenship, and he even told me that the road was the worst he had seen, and he has been here several times. They are in the process of widening the road and paving parts of it, which meant that we spent a lot of time on gravel and dirt and dodging huge (HUGE!) potholes. My wife will testify that I am the kind of guy that doesn’t handle trips well when I don’t drive, but sitting in the back seat swerving for several hours just about did me in today.

But we made it to Mbarara, and I was able to visit with my friend Amos Magezi and meet his wife. I was able to meet Johnson Twinomujuni, who also works and teaches at UBI. Meeting Johnson was great because we have corresponded through email. Johnson has helped to start a group of married couples (called “Gold Couples”), and I spoke to them this afternoon, and we had a great time of discussion. They even sang a song of glory to God for us being here, and for God protecting us on that road trip.

Tomorrow starts the retreat for the UBI graduates. I will be teaching through the book of Ephesians with the helps of some elders who are on this trip with a group from Mississippi. I have mentioned before that I am on the overseas board of UBI, and the board members on this trip will be helping to meet and instruct the leaders at UBI. So here are a few specific things to pray for:

• Continue to pray for safe health and travel as we are here.
• Pray for the group from Mississippi as they help with outreach opportunities (VBS, Sports, etc.)
• Pray for the retreat with the graduates and leaders of UBI
• Pray for the meetings that will be conducted this week

I’ll try to provide a short update tomorrow about the first day of the retreat.

We arrived in Entebbe, Uganda, last night (about 11:30 pm) after flights through Amsterdam and Nairobi, Kenya. We stayed at a local hotel, near the airport, and recovered for a day, before we head out in the morning to Mbarara, Uganda (which is southwest of here). Once we leave Entebbe tomorrow, the drive will take about six hours, and that is not via an interstate highway system as we drive in the USA. It is a rough six hour drive. I don’t know if I will be able to post updates once I reach Mbarara, but I wanted to provide a brief one now. Thanks for praying!

I am getting ready for a mission trip to Uganda and will be leaving tomorrow. I am on the board of Uganda Bible Institute, and I will be traveling over there to participate with other board members in some meetings with faculty and staff, and I will also teach and preach while I am there. My teaching responsibility will be the book of Ephesians to a seminar of graduates as well as other instructions for the leaders at UBI. Hopefully I will be able to provide some updates while I am there, but I am not sure how much access I will have to the Internet. You can visit UBI’s website here.

Back in February, John Witvliet, Director of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship & Professor of Music and Worship, gave a presentation at Union University on the topic of “Psalms: A Gymnasium for the Soul.” The whole lecture is helpful, but there is one particular part of the lecture in which Witvliet said something that I find very important.

Witvliet described the significance of the “worship wars” not as contemporary vs. traditional. He points out that is not helpful. Rather, he suggests the key issues are expressive and/or formative. It is not necessarily the case that this is an either/or, but these are the two categories that we are working with in worship.

Most contemporary worship is almost purely expressive without much consideration for the formative aspect. In other words, what will the Christian look like in 30-40 years after worshiping in a completely expressive way? On the other hand, classical Christian worship has a more formative direction.

I have often thought of the importance of seeing worship as formative, and I mentioned this in my own presentation at Union. I have not, however, considered the perspective of contemporary worship that Witvliet describes (expressive). I think it is importance that pastors think about not only expression in worship (which is the default position of our cultural situation), but also the formative nature of worship. You can listen to Witvliet’s presentation here.

Christianity Today has a helpful post in the history of Martyrdom here. The information is very helpful. I provided one of their graphs below.

The tree of life my soul hath seen
Laden with fruit and always green
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree

His beauty doth all things excel
By faith I know, but ne’er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree

For happiness I long have sought
And pleasure dearly I have bought
I missed of all; but now I see
‘Tis found in Christ the apple tree

I’m weary with my former toil
Here I will sit and rest a while
Under the shadow I will be
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive
It keeps my dying faith alive
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree

[HT: Ray Ortlund]

Phil Gons:

Logos Bible Software just launched a new website called ref.ly (think bit.ly). It allows you to share Bible verses as links via Twitter and other places where you have a limited number of characters and want to keep the URL as short as possible.

Thanks Logos!

Russell Moore has a new book published by Crossway titled, Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families & Churches (you can read some sample pages at the link). The book has been well received, and Justin Taylor did a video interview with Russell Moore about it.

God, the strength of all them that trust in thee, mercifully accept our prayers; and because the weakness of our mortal nature can do no good without thee, grant us the help of thy grace, that in keeping of thy commandments we may please thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

-The Collects of Thomas Cranmer by Paul F. M. Zahl

This is too important not to pass on to others, although some of you probably saw this at Justin Taylor’s blog. Justin explains:

You wouldn’t know it from the mainstream press, but Andrew Sullivan writes about this weekend’s events:

This is an immense story of human freedom in a critical part of the world. After Obama’s election, it is the biggest event in world history this year. And letting these courageous protestors know that we are with them is vital.

Hugh Hewitt writes:

If the Iranian people have the courage of the electorates in Ukraine, Lebanon and Philippines, this could be the week that the three decades of Islamist terror export begins to unravel. All of western media should be focusing every resource at its disposal on the election fraud and Khamenei’s and Ahmadinejad’s resort to brutal thuggery against the Iranian people. At Denver’s airport this morning I was amazed that coverage was at a minimum on CNN. Like the revolutions of 1989 in Europe, the next few days could have enormous consequences for the world for decades to come.

Andrew’s blog has a continuance stream of links and updates.

Craig Carter thinks we should. He found Akin’s comments from Joe Carter’s post, and provided these six reasons for large families:

1. God has never rescinded his command to “be fruitful and multiply.”
2. There are numerous passages in the OT that view children as a blessing from the Lord (eg. Ps. 127:3).
3. Contrary to much conventional wisdom, the world’s birth rate is declining rapidly…
4. Christians have hope for the future because of our faith in God.
5. All abortion and some forms of contraception should be rejected by Christians.
6. Christians need to submit their wills to God and accept children as gifts from Him, rather than as “projects” or “products” of our own wills.

Read the whole post for his explanations.

You probably think that statement comes from a Presbyterian, or at least someone of a covenantal persuasion in terms of the covenantal nurture of children. Well, then, you might be surprised at this one.

This week Trevin Wax posted a 4 part interview Dr. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Seminary. Here are the individual posts:

• On Akin’s Vision for Missionary Theologians
• On Turning Around the SBC
• On the Great Commission Resurgence
• On SBC Calvinism and Evangelical Cooperation

The second one caught my eye when Trevin posted it. He asked Dr. Akin, “What do you think are the major reasons for the declining number of baptisms and our shrinking membership?”

Akin gives two answers. First, Southern Baptists have become “practical inclusivists” because they have no sense of the “urgency about the plight of the lost.” Akin’s second answer is worth quoting in full:

Secondly, Dr. Mohler has pointed out a fact that is kind of funny and sad at the same time. You can almost document the stagnation and decline of baptisms within the Southern Baptist Convention as the decline in the number of children that Baptist have.

The truth is, (and I said this in my Axioms sermon that’s either famous or infamous depending on your perspective) we have bought into the mindset of the modern world in that we think that less children is best or at least better. Because we have less children, we have less family members coming to faith in Christ.

This is amazing! He does qualify his answer by saying that Baptists have been baptizing children at a very young age, and they need to stop because that is not really Baptist. Nevetheless, this issue is so important. What you have here is a Baptist acknowledging that the future of the church is bound up in our children. Sounds very biblical to me, but I am not too sure that Baptist theology reflects the importance of what it means to “disciple” those children and nurture them in the faith, as opposed to pressing those children into some kind of crisis conversion. At the very least it means that Baptists need to engage and develop a more robust theology of children than they currently have.

I enjoy reading Front Porch Republic, and this week Caleb Stegall posted a link to an article at Wall Street Journal by his friend Tony Woodlief (who blogs here). The title of the article is, “Ya Gotta Have (Real) Friends.” It is a reflection on modern friendships, Facebook, and life. Near the end of his essay, Tony explains:

“My 298 Facebook friends aren’t the ones who remember our dead daughter’s birthday or leave flowers at her grave. Nor among them is the pastor who baptized each of our children and waged a personal holy war to keep our marriage from crumbling years ago. We have these deeper friendships because we’ve tried to build a life in one place. They sprang up because the stuff of life happened to this cluster of us living near one another, and much of it was too joyous or heartbreaking not to share with someone. If friendship is the key to happiness, then maybe this is the key to friendship, to be enmeshed — not just tangentially or voyeuristically, but physically — in the lives of others. That can be hard to swallow in a culture that prizes individualism, mobility and privacy.”

Thanks for reminding us of this Tony.

The Cal.vini.st blog is celebrating one full year of blogging by giving away two copies of BibleWorks 8.