The True Church Disciples!

Acts 2:42 - And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

The Christian faith is a teaching and learning faith. In fact, the last words of our Lord to His disciples in Matthew 28:19 were that His disciples were “to go and make disciples of all nations”. So it is that the early church positioned itself to teach and embody the doctrines of they had learned from Christ so that there was a body of truth called the “apostles’ teaching”. This was not just mere intellectual grasping of theology but the real theology hammered out in real life as evidenced in the fact that the believers also persisted in the fellowship of the apostles. Discipleship is as much about doctrine as it is about applying that doctrine to our lives. The disciples watched and learned from the apostles’ lives and thus partook of their fellowship.

The local church needs to assert herself again as a center of discipleship in teaching doctrine and spiritual parenting or else she loses her Kingdom mandate. These are the times when "people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths” (2 Tim 4:3, 4). Moreover, members of the local church need to ask themselves again if what they are hearing from their pulpits is consistent with the Bible. Otherwise they will be supporting error and myths that have nothing to do with the Kingdom of God as we sometimes see on TV. Like somebody said, “if it’s true it’s not new; and if it’s new, it’s not true”.

May you have a passion for God’s word! May you grow in your doctrinal understanding! May you live the doctrine that you say you believe! May you grow in your discernment of errors, heresies, and myths! May you contend for the true faith of our Lord Jesus Christ!

A Response to Richard Chirombo’s “How is One Called to Serve God”*

Pentecostals, Charismatics, and Neocharismatics seem to be misunderstood by the media in Malawi judging not only by the mostly negative press they engender but also the seeming unawareness as to their distinctions. A case in point is Mr. Richard Chirombo’s “How is One Called to Serve God?” in the religion section of the Sunday Times of May 13, 2012 (http://www.bnltimes.com/index.php/sunday-times/headlines/religion/6345-how-is-one-called-to-serve-god) which I think is illogical, misunderstands and misrepresents Pentecostal and Neocharismatic churches, smacks of elitism, and really denigrates these churches as anti-intellectual without warrant. Mr. Chirombo’s article has as its main point to show that the “consensus in Pentecostal churches is that God, and not academic qualifications, remains the pulley that elevates individuals to church roles” and juxtaposes this against the backdrop of “mainline churches” who are continuing “to offer comprehensive training to laymen aspiring to become officiating clergy”. I find Mr. Chirombo’s article wanting in that the evidence he proffers us does not warrant such a conclusion and, in my opinion, may actually be detrimental to the public perception of Pentecostal and Neocharismatic churches.

The article is illogical on two fronts. First of all Mr. Chirombo want us to believe that his article is based on a “consensus” amongst Pentecostal churches but he only interviews three “Pentecostal” leaders, Bishop Geoffrey Matoga (Faith of God), Reverend Otis Bushiri (Enlightened Christian Gathering), and Rev. Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi Assemblies of  God). How can three church leaders’ opinions – not practices of those churches or at least official positions – form a “consensus” amongst Malawian Pentecostal-Charismatics who may make up about 20% of the Christian population in Malawi, roughly 2 million people? Secondly, Mr. Chirombo confuses qualifications for ordination into pastoral ministry with qualifications to minister. For example, it seems that the officials of “mainline” churches he quotes are speaking of ordination to ministry when they speak of academic training while one of his three “Pentecostals” is speaking of merely exercising one’s ministry as a believer. That is why he quotes Bishop Matoga as saying, “It is God that qualifies one to perform tasks in the church; it has nothing to do with qualifications” (italics mine). Surely there are many members of the “mainline” churches, especially in Protestant circles, who preach on Sundays but have no theological training. In fact, Rev Andrew Mponda of Blantyre Synod clear states in the article that “calling” into ministry is given a priority in the ordination process, insinuating the difference between “calling” and being ordained. Rev. Chakwera’s comments reiterating the need for theological training for ministry seems to be in response to the Rev. Bushiri’s bias against academic theological training which makes it all the more confusing to find that a “Pentecostal” is actually defending theological education in an article which wants us to believe the opposite! It almost feels as if the respondents were asked different sets of questions.

Mr. Chirombo also misunderstands the different groupings amongst what he terms “Pentecostals”. Strictly speaking of the three interviewees, only Rev. Chakwera is Pentecostal and the other two are better termed Neocharismatics. Briefly, Pentecostals are those denominations (like Assemblies of God, Apostolic Faith Mission, Full Gospel Church of God, Church of the Foursquare Gospel, and others) that came out of the 1906 Pentecostal Revival which broke out on Azusa Street in Los Angeles, California and spread throughout the world. The earliest of these churches were invited to Malawi by Malawian matchona (migrant workers) like Robert Chinguwo who was a former member of the Mbare Apostolic Faith Mission in Harare and began a congregation in Jali, Zomba around 1933. Lyton Kalambule, another matchona who had worked in Durban, South Africa, founded both the Full Gospel Church of God in 1931 in Ntcheu and later the Assemblies of God in 1945. It should be stressed that these men of God began Pentecostal congregations before they invited missionaries to join them in their work. On the other hand, Neocharismatic churches arose out the interdenominational charismatic Blantyre Revival of the 1970s and 1980s which spread to other urban centres of Malawi by groups like New Life for All, SCOM, Scripture Union, and other fellowships. Many members of both Catholic and Protestant churches became “born-again”, took part in charismatic fellowships, but remained in their churches. These “born-agains”, I argue, are better termed charismatic as they have remained in their denominations and have been a source of renewal in them. The fellowships turned into ministries which evolved into churches such as Living Waters Church International, Calvary Family Church, and All for Jesus Church, to mention a few. These believers are better termed Neo (new)-charismatic Christians to differentiate them from the Charismatic Christians that are still in Catholic and Protestant churches. Though there are many similarities between Pentecostals and Neocharismatics, they are different in their history and aspects of theology and practice. For example, Neocharismatics tend to recognize apostles and prophets as continuing offices in the church while Pentecostals tend to be more democratically governed. So to lump them both as Pentecostal is to misrepresent them.

Mr. Chirombo does not seem to make distinctions amongst formal, non-formal, and informal training all of which are validly held by educationists as training. He assumes that only formal training is valid training that is why he can refer to the other modes of training as “shortcuts” that are eschewed by the CCAP. Again this is erroneous thinking smacking of elitism that wrongly assumes that only those that have academic qualifications are fit to do pastoral work. Not only did Jesus himself train his disciples non-formally, the rapid spread of the Pentecostal-Charismatic movement has proven the opposite true.

Finally, I find Mr. Chirombo’s caricature of “Pentecostals” quite dangerous as it stereotypes all “Pentecostals” as anti-intellectual when in fact only one of his three “Pentecostal” respondents (Rev. Bushiri) seems to hold such a stance. It then begs the question: Can such an anti-intellectual grouping really be beneficial to the development of our society? Judging by Mr. Chirombo’s article at face value one must respond in the negative. Moreover, if Mr. Chirombo can willingly set aside evidence that clearly shows that two of his three “Pentecostals” are actually educated people – Bishop Matoga is a retired Polytechnic mathematics lecturer while Rev. Dr. Chakwera holds a Master of Theology from UNISA and a Doctor of Ministry from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (USA) – and yet still arrive at the opposite conclusion, what are we to say about his intentions vis-a-vis “Pentecostals”? Mr. Chirombo and those that write on Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity in Malawi will do well to get their facts rights especially since this is a considerable social movement. Perhaps a little reading on the many Kachere publications and Religion in Malawi on the topic will do the trick.

*An edited version of this blog appeared in The Sunday Times of 27^th May 2012 in the religion section on page 2 as “Pentecostals are not Anti-intellectual”. The online version had not yet been uploaded as at the time of blogging.

The Test: Do You Fear God?

⁹ When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. ¹⁰ Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. ¹¹ But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” ¹² He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” ¹³ And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. ¹⁴ So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” – Genesis 22:9-14, English Standard Version

God always tests His chosen person to prove him/her worthy of the destiny He has for them. Abraham – the man who God chose to bring about His blessing to a sick, dying, and fallen world in Genesis 12:1-3 – had to be proven worthy of such a global responsibility. So God tested him. God told Abraham to go and sacrifice his miraculously-born heir-apparent on Mount Moriah, some three days walk in the hills of Jerusalem from Beersheba. Abraham is ready to gut his son as a sacrifice to God when the angel of the Lord stops him. God had seen that Abraham not only had faith in Him but also feared Him when Abraham obeyed to the point of nearly killing his son.

Abraham feared God so much that he was ready to kill the only earthly thing that made his existence worthwhile –  the son through whom God’s promises would come to pass (Gen 12:1-3; 15:5-6), the heir of all his wealth (Gen 15:1-4), the one whose birth had stabilized his troubled marriage to a then barren Sarah (Gen 16:1-2), and the reason he had changed his name from Abram (“exalted father”) to Abraham (“father of many nations”) (Gen 17:5). He had died to his ambitions and aspirations deeming God more fearsome that the non-achievement of his destiny. However, when he did “kill” his son, God not only proved Abraham worthy of the destiny He had promised him but, I think, Abraham had a greater appreciation and affection for his son as he had received him back from the dead. Moreover, in obeying God, Abraham opened the door to God’s provision. For it was here that God revealed Himself to Abraham literally as “the God who sees” the need and provides for it (Gen 22:14), a reminder that God will always provide miraculously for those that obey him fully.

May obeying God be more important to you than your perceived “failure” or what others may think about your commitment to God! May you obey Him even when it seems “unjust” to you! May you sacrifice that thing that is keeping you from walking in greater fellowship with Him! May you see the resurrection of God’s destiny and vision today! May God provide for you miraculously as you sacrificially obey Him!

The Test of Faith Proves You Fit for Your Next Level in Destiny

After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” ² He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” ³ So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. ⁴ On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. ⁵ Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” ⁶ And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. ⁷ And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” ⁸ Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together.  Genesis 22:1-8, English Standard Version

If Abraham is going to be the carrier of God’s blessing in the earth, then Abraham must be proven fit for that high calling. So God tests him. His test shows that he is a person who has truly believed God because when called upon to sacrifice his most cherished object in the whole universe, he does not seem to protest against God even when what God is asking of him doesn’t seem to make sense. How can God, who promised that Isaac would be the heir of Abraham’s promises, require that Isaac be sacrificed? Abraham had an unquestioning faith in God so that he still believed that somehow God would still be able to fulfil his promises to him. Every step Abraham took to Mount Moriah, where he was to sacrifice Isaac, must have solidified his faith in the goodness of God.

As you go through your crucible today and can’t seem to understand why all these evil things are happening to you or why God would allow you to go through such hardship, remember that it may be your test. So just believe in the goodness of God and the promises He has made to you about your destiny. You shall not fail! You shall excel! And you shall be proven fit for the next level! Amen!

Intimacy with God Births a Breakthrough in Prayer

²² So the men turned from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. ²³ Then Abraham drew near and said, “Will you indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? ²⁴ Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city. Will you then sweep away the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it? ²⁵ Far be it from you to do such a thing, to put the righteous to death with the wicked, so that the righteous fare as the wicked! Far be that from you! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” ²⁶ And the Lord said, “If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” ²⁷ Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes. ²⁸ Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking. Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?” And he said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” ²⁹ Again he spoke to him and said, “Suppose forty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of forty I will not do it.” ³⁰ Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak. Suppose thirty are found there.” He answered, “I will not do it, if I find thirty there.” ³¹ He said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord. Suppose twenty are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it.” ³² Then he said, “Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak again but this once. Suppose ten are found there.” He answered, “For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.” ³³ And the Lord went his way, when he had finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. – Genesis 18:22-33, English Standard Version

God’s promotion in Kingdom authority comes with it a Kingdom responsibility. So now Abraham is privy to what God is about to do in Sodom as God’s “confidante”. That status carries with it the responsibility to intercede for Sodom, especially for the righteous resident in it. Hence God’s revelation comes about so that we can do something redemptive about that situation. This saga reminds us that God wants to be approached in prayer, that God is the Judge to whom all the earth must give account, and that God is just and merciful; it also reminds us that we be bold to approach the willing God who has chosen to work with us in bringing about His purposes in the earth, that we should have a passion for those that are lost, that we should be humble in prayer before God, and that we should not weary in intercession.

May you have a passion for those you know that are still in the Sodom of sin and need God’s rescuing! May you boldly intercede for them to come to a saving knowledge of Christ! May you persistently cry out to God for the salvation!