Uganda and the Homosexuality Issue

By Anthony:

Recently a friend alerted me to a new documentary coming out called, "God Loves Uganda."  It's a documentary arguing that evangelical missionaries from the United States have been largely behind the strong passion of Ugandans to outlaw homosexuality.  You've probably read about this bill in the news in recent years.

I haven't watched the documentary yet but I have seen many short clips from it and I think it is important that I give you some information about this controversial issue from my perspective.  I think that the documentary is skewed from what I can tell.

Before I begin my analysis, let me just state my view on homosexuality.  I agree with the Christian Reformed Church that homosexual orientation (that is, same-sex attraction) is not sinful in itself, and most often it is not a choice.  But I do believe that acting sexually on that same-sex attraction is sinful.   However, as Christians we are called to love all people, no matter what sins they deal with, and we should respond to those people with same-sex attractions, with love, compassion, and a willingness to listen.  I also disagree with the proposed bill in Uganda that would make homosexual sex or related behaviors into criminal behavior.  While I think homosexual sex is sinful, I do not think it falls under what a secular government should condemn as criminal.

Okay, now let me explain why I think the documentary is skewed, and in doing so, I'll give you more of the context surrounding the issue of homosexuality in Uganda.

You can read about the documentary and the point of it here - http://www.godlovesuganda.com/film/story/

Next, you can watch the trailer below or watch it here.


This video below of questions and answers about the documentary is particularly enlightening.  This shows me that their agenda is not just to say that the bill is a bad in Uganda, but that the view that homosexuality is sinful, is also a wrong view.  I think it would be better for them to be honest about that up front.  If they believe that, fine, but then don't pretend the documentary is only about whether it should be a law or not.



You can view many more clips and videos from the documentary - here.

Okay, now these are some things that should be kept in mind if you watch the documentary, or discuss this issue of Uganda and homosexuality with any of your friends or churches.

1.  None of the missionaries I know in Uganda are trying to stir up bigotry and hatred towards homosexuals in Uganda, nor do I know of any of them that are supporting these bill proposals.  Maybe there are some out there, but if there are, I think they represent a small minority of missionaries in Uganda.

2.  The bill does not advocate for genocide of all homosexuals.  The death penalty is only for certain severe cases.  From Wikipedia - The bill divides homosexual behavior into two categories: "aggravated homosexuality", in which an offender would receive the death penalty, or "the offence of homosexuality" in which an offender would receive life imprisonment. "Aggravated homosexuality" is defined to include homosexual acts committed by a person who is HIV-positive, is a parent or authority figure, or who administers intoxicating substances, homosexual acts committed on minors or people with disabilities, and repeat offenders. "The offence of homosexuality" is defined to include same-sex sexual acts, involvement in a same-sex marriage, or an attempt to commit aggravated homosexuality.   I think there are great reasons to be against the death penalty in these cases too!  But it's important to have our facts straight when talking about this.

3.  Ugandans have been against homosexuality for a long time.  This is NOT a new passion that American evangelicals have brought to Uganda.  If you know the history of Uganda, you know that possibly the most important heroes in their history were young boy martyrs in the 1800's.  Read about them here - Uganda Martyrs.   These martyrs are more important to Ugandans than I think people like George Washington or Benjamin Franklin are to the average American.  Every year thousands and thousands of people come to Kampala to remember the martyrs.  They are celebrated by Catholics and Anglicans, the two biggest church groups in Uganda still today.  Why were they martyred?  Because as Christians they refused the requests of the king to have homosexual sex with them.  For the past 100 years these martyrs have been celebrated for resisting homosexuality.  The idea that homosexuality should be resisted is not some new thing promoted by American evangelicals!

4.  The violence suggested by the bill against homosexuals is also not new.  In our discussions with Ugandan friends about this issue, we were informed that if someone in a village is found out to have committed homosexual acts, mob mentality would quickly take over and that person would be put to death.  How often does this actually happen?  We have no idea.  But this is what we were told.  Again, I'm not saying this is a good thing!  But my point is that these are not "new" ideas implanted by American missionaries.

So, from what I can tell, the documentary doesn't take these ideas into account.  It seems quite biased, but I will try to watch it when I can.  If it comes out on DVD while we are in Uganda, feel free to send it to me :)

I do think there is some tiny bit of truth in the documentary.  I don't like a lot of what I see going on in Uganda regarding this issue.  And I don't like some of what a couple individual missionaries are saying in the documentary.  But it seems like a very poorly done and ridiculously biased documentary.  Please read this additional review of the documentary as it brings up many other important criticisms of the documentary that I have not addressed.  God Loves Uganda: In a documentary along the lines of 'Jesus Camp,' who's demonizing whom? by John G. Stackhouse, Jr.  It is an excellent review.  After reading it, I'm left thinking this documentary should rank as one of the worst documentaries ever made, almost totally false propaganda.

In the question and answer video above, they said that no missionaries stood up to say that killing of homosexuals is wrong.  Well, we have done so in our conversations in Uganda.  And here I am saying so again.  So let's all be in prayer for Uganda over this complicated issue, for guidance for their leaders as they sort out what to do, and for Ugandans to have the love of Christ for all people.  And let's pray for ourselves as well that we will be people of love and compassion to all.

"Do Not Wear Yourself Out to Get Rich..." Proverbs 23:4

By Sara:

I just finished reading the book "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger" by Ronald Sider. If you are interested in topics like giving, justice, and poverty, I strongly recommend that you read this book. But in case you don't have the time, let me give you an overview of what it is about and how you can change your lifestyle to help the poor. I can't give all the details, so if you want to know more, I'd suggest reading the book so you can understand Sider's arguments better.

This book was a good balance to "When Charity Destroys Dignity." That book left me thinking about how important it is to give wisely, but at the same time, wondering how I could practically do that. "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger" gives those practical applications for giving. It explains why Christians should care for the poor far more than they already do, yet without causing dependency in the process.

The book begins by explaining, convincingly, why there is a problem in the world. We all know that there is a lot of poverty out there, but do we realize what a problem it is - or how very rich we really are? At least 1.2 billion people live without furniture, extra clothes, food in the cupboards, electricity, running water (or clean water for that matter), books, literacy, hospitals, or monetary savings. Another 1.6 billion aren't much better off. In fact, the richest 5% of the world's people earn 114 times as much income as the poorest 5%. Sider gives far more statistics and information to convince the reader that we are very affluent. And he goes on to describe some rationalizations we might make to give less to the poor.


We may think there are good reasons to keep as much as we can for ourselves, but as Christians, we need to realize that God cares very much about the poor. Sider gives a lot of evidence from the Bible about God's concern for justice and for the rich to help the poor.

So if we are convinced that God wants us to give to the poor so they can live and have justice, what do we do? Sider goes into the many complex causes of poverty. I can't describe them all, but he talks about sinful personal choices, unbiblical worldviews, disasters, inequalities of power, colonial injustice, and structural injustice in economics. He explains how market economies are pretty good, but need changes in the way they operate in order to promote greater justice in the world. Left to itself, a market economy is mindless and will supply what the wealthy can pay for even if that means millions of poor people starve. He describes the problems this causes with the poor and the environment we live in and gives ideas about how things could be improved.

And how do we respond? Well, first Sider says, once we care, we need to examine ourselves. We, the affluent, have, more often than not, made our affluence and possessions our god. Here is one particularly striking quote:
"...we are caught in an absurd, materialistic spiral. The more we make, the more we think we need in order to live decently and respectably. Somehow we have to break this cycle because it makes us sin against our needy brothers and sisters and, therefore, against our Lord. And it also destroys us. Sharing with others is the way to real joy."


Do you know how much the average person in the US gives to charity - all charity? In 1998, it was 2.1% of their income. Church members gave to churches, on average, 2.66% of their income and 0.4% to other benevolences.

If we want to be more generous, Sider gives many ideas about how to do this. Here are just a few of them:
1. Graduated Tithe - give 10% on what you calculate to be the amount you need to live on, then give an extra 5% on each $1,000 you make above that base amount (15% on the first 1,000, 20% on the second, etc.).
2. Live in community so you can share belongings with others instead of owning it all yourself.
3. Balance your giving between emergency relief, development, and broad structural change, but don't neglect other areas of Christian work like evangelism.
4. Question your own lifestyle and work to reduce your budget by spending less on food (like eating less meat, growing food in a garden, etc.), lowering your energy consumption, resisting the appeal of advertising, resisting obsolescence (buy quality products when you buy and keep them a long time), refuse to keep up with clothing fashions, etc.
5. Make sure you evaluate the work of the organizations you give to. Among other questions to ask: is justice rather than continual charity (dependence) the result of their work? And do they use their funds efficiently and wisely?
6. Practice the Sabbath. Rest one day out of seven and do your best to limit the hours you work - turn away from the mad consumerism of our culture.

Sider also talks about working for social change. Encourage our country to have a more caring foreign policy and correct the weaknesses of our market economy. Make international trade more fair, reduce unmanageable debt among very poor countries, protect the earth and empower the poor.

These political things seem impossible to change and you may wonder how you can possibly impact these societal causes of poverty. Well the book does mention some organizations you can support that effectively promote such structural changes. A few of those are: Bread for the World, Debt AIDS Trade Africa, and The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility

Also, as a woman, I want to mention that emphasizing better education and health care for women is a very effective way to combat poverty. A majority of the very poor people in the world are women. And for every additional year of schooling for women in poor countries, infant mortality rates decline by 5-10% and the fertility rate decreases too.


And now you know some specific ways you can be more generous toward the poor in a wise way. Let's go out and give with joy!

Machine Gun Preacher

By Anthony:

Recently I watched a movie called "Machine Gun Preacher."  It is based on the true story of Sam Childers, who became a Christian soon after getting out of prison, and went on to pastor a church.  He later went on a mission trip to Uganda, and heard about the Lord's Resistance army and how they were abducting children.  He then felt called by God to both build an orphanage to feed hungry children affected by the war, and also to fight against the LRA in Southern Sudan in order to protect these children.  I thought the movie was very well done in all ways: acting, plot, special effects, etc.   It was very thought-provoking.  And it was well balanced.  The movie did not leave you with easy feelings.  There was stuff in the movie to make you think what he was doing was not a good idea and maybe even wrong, and stuff in the movie to make you think he is a hero.  They show him as a real person, with flaws and virtues. 

I'd recommend seeing it if you feel like learning more about the suffering northern Ugandans and the people of South Sudan have gone through, or if you are up for wrestling with tough issues.  The main issue raised is whether we should use violence to protect the innocent or whether violence only begets more violence.   I think I'd probably end up on the side of being willing to use violence to protect children. On the other hand, I'm not sure what I think of Childer's behavior for 2 reasons. 

1. He took things into his own hands, rather than trying to create bigger more meaningful change (such as getting other governments involved, having the US send aid to Ugandan army, etc.).  He seems to be the typical Westerner who doesn't want to work things through in a slow African way, but wants to jump in and immediately take charge himself to instantly solve problems.
2. There have been many Ugandans who were trying to end the violence with the LRA through peace talks, and a reconciliation/forgiveness process. For an American to come in and continue the violence, while many Ugandans were trying to solve the issue peacefully, well that is troubling and could have hindered efforts to have peace talks.  

It's tough to know the right answer. I certainly understand his motivation.  Perhaps it is we who are complacent and uncaring, and he is the one on the front lines doing what needs to be done. 

The movie also has some powerful scenes of him talking to Christians, to try to raise more money to feed his hungry children in Uganda.  It shows Christians who think they are poor, but are continuing to buy frivolous stuff while people are dying of hunger.   It was convicting to say the least.

The website of the real person is here - Machine Gun Preacher.  You can read about him and his ongoing ministry.

African Friends and Money Matters

By Sara:

When we were in Uganda in 2009-2010, we had some friends recommend a book to us: African Friends and Money Matters.  In the midst of teaching, preparing lessons, and visiting villages, we just never got around to reading it.  Now that I actually had the opportunity to read it at my leisure, I wish that I had read it before.

Here at the farm, I borrowed the book from the farm manager and read it (Anthony read it too).  It was filled with so many stories and thoughts that we had when we were in Uganda.  For example, the book talked about how Africans tend to be spontaneously hospitable while Westerners tend to be more charitable through impersonal and planned giving.  We noticed this when we once arrived in a village where we didn't know who was going to meet us.  Random people brought out chairs for us to sit on and gave us water.  It turned out that they were complete strangers who were simply willing to show us hospitality.  That would have been a difficult thing for a Westerner to do.

Another example of a thought we had in Uganda is in the following quote: "Westerners see that it is unjust that they have so many material goods while many of their friends and fellow workers do not.  Yet they do not know what the solution is to this problem."  We knew that even though we were relatively poor by American standards, we had far more possessions than the Ugandans around us, but we struggled with knowing how to be generous and wise in our giving.

I hoped that by reading "African Friends and Money Matters", my questions and struggles would be answered.  But of course, there are no easy answers.  However, I did really appreciate the descriptions of general differences between Africans and Westerners.  Many were differences I noticed while in Uganda and others were new to me.  So here are some of the thoughts that I thought were especially pertinent.

The book explained that there is a social obligation in most African cultures to give to one's family or close friends who ask for help, but not to just anyone who asks.  It was good to know that there are some unspoken guidelines about the appropriateness of asking others for things.  So culturally, even for us, there would be times when people would really have no expectation that we would actually give to just any complete stranger.

I learned that most Africans readily share space and possessions, but are possessive of knowledge, while the opposite tends to be true for Westerners.  This was very interesting because Anthony will be participating in Timothy Leadership Training, where the premise is that people will learn from the training and then go out and show it to others.  And I will be working with farmers and encouraging them to share their knowledge and good ideas with others.  I appreciated knowing that this could be very counter-cultural for the Africans we will be working with and meeting.  And it is good to know that we will be challenged to become more free in sharing our possessions with others (I think this is something we are learning here at World Hunger Relief, too!)

Africans also usually desire to be mutually dependent upon one another, which can be frustrating for Westerners who are not perceived as being economic equals and therefore never in need of reciprocal assistance even though people frequently ask them for assistance.  It was helpful to know that this is the way most African society works.  However, it is confusing and a bit discouraging to think that we can't really ever be a part of that mutual dependence with our African friends.

In conclusion, the book didn't give clear answers to the question of how to be generous without being foolish in your giving, but it did give some good general suggestions at the end of how to live in Africa.  For one thing, it is good to be generous, but also to learn socially acceptable ways to say no to requests.  Secondly, the book encouraged Westerners to make African friends who they can trust to give them advice when they need it.  Such friends can help you determine whether someone unknown to you is really in need or not.

So, then, if you are going to live in Africa for any period of time, I would highly recommend this book.  Even though it may leave you with more questions than you had to begin with, it will make you start thinking through some important topics.

"Hearing God" - Book Recommendation and My Story

By Anthony:

(Before I even start this post, I want to note that you are welcome to leave comments to help me or others with this difficult topic, or to ask your own questions).


I recommend you read the book "Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God" by Dallas Willard.  This book is all about developing an intimate conversational relationship with God.  Willard writes a lot at the beginning about how God created us for relationship with him, and the starting point is for us to believe that God can and actually does communicate with us.  Willard talks about many different ways that God communicated to people in the Bible (as well as now), including dreams, visions, an audible voice, etc., but he focuses most of the book on listening to the quiet inner voice of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.  It is his view that God gives precedence to this method of communication with his people for various reasons.  The book is full of advice, warnings, cautions, suggestions, and encouragements all about how to listen to God well.  He talks about how this is a relationship with the Living God so there is no concrete formula he can give for us to do.  Willard doesn't give any easy answers, and yet there is a lot to ponder in the book for anyone wanting to become more intimate in their relationship with God and better at listening to his voice.

There is actually quite a bit I disagree with in the book, and it isn't particularly well written.  My main negative concerns are summarized in this critical book review.  I agree with almost all of this review.  If you know of other more well written books on this topic of hearing God, please let me know.  But I'm recommending you read this book anyway, even with these concerns, because it is an interesting and thought provoking read, and it helped me grow in my relationship with God.

The reason I wanted to read this book is because I've really wrestled with the issue of hearing from God and having intimacy with him ever since my college years.  Let me tell you some of my story before going back to the book.  I had an ongoing spiritual crisis during college, which was strange in that I felt close to God most of the time, and yet had lingering questions and doubts about God's existence and the trustworthiness of Scripture.  This was caused firstly by questions raised in my classes and books I was reading.  They were questions and issues of many diverse kinds and I won't get into them here.  The important thing to know is that God eventually brought me through those intellectual doubts and questions, and I ended up being stronger in faith because of it than I would have been if I refused to face those hard things.

Aside from the many intellectual doubts and questions, there was a personal reason I doubted God's existence and the trustworthiness of Scripture.  But perhaps it was more that I was wrestling with God and questioning him rather than doubting his existence.  In high school I had a passionate loving relationship with God, but slowly I became more and more dissatisfied and frustrated that my experience didn't seem to fit with what I read in the Bible.  I saw God in Scripture doing miracles all the time,  giving people dreams and visions, showing his presence to people, and speaking to people all the time with an audible voice.   Why wasn't he showing himself to me and speaking to me?  I craved more intimate relationship with him, and the Bible said he created me for relationship with him, so why didn't he reveal himself more clearly to me?  Why didn't he speak to me as clearly as a human friend speaks to me?  Why didn't he give me dreams, visions, and miracles?  I believed that God could do these things, and I couldn't think of any reason why he wouldn't do them.  And so it made me wonder whether God doesn't really want such an intimate relationship with us as I had been led to believe.  Or perhaps the people in the Bible were just more special and I shouldn't expect God to work in my life the same way.

I mostly worked through this issue back in college, getting good counsel from family and mentors.  The four points below are the theological ideas that comforted me and helped me overcome that personal struggle back in college.  I'm listing and explaining them as they might be helpful to some of you as well.  Overall, these ideas have been more beneficial in my life than this book.

1. Humanity's fellowship with God used to be perfect but was marred way back in the Garden of Eden.  Adam and Eve used to walk and talk with God but then were cast out from the garden when they rebelled.  We are still feeling the effects of this today.  Yes it is true that now we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, but that reconciliation has not seen its final end.  We have yet to see Jesus, and that is why the Church longs for that day, crying out Marantha! Come Lord Jesus and come quickly!  We long to give Jesus a hug and speak to him face to face.  In the meantime, we can still talk to God whenever we want and can still listen to him, but our communication and fellowship with him is not as intimate as it will be when Jesus comes again.  This is part of the already-but not yet tension in the Kingdom of God.  This idea helps me to wait patiently, knowing that my passionate request that God make my relationship with him more intimate WILL one day be given to me by Him.

2. Maybe God doesn't reveal himself so clearly because he wants us to seek him out.  He wants people who are willing to put a little effort and time into knowing him well and hearing his voice.

3.  The idea of God being our buddy is not quite biblical in the sense that people talk about it often today.  It's very true that God is our friend and has an intimate relationship with us.  But perhaps God's relationship with us doesn't work the exact same way as me talking and listening to my wife.  Maybe he rarely talks to people audibly.  Maybe he is not constantly giving special messages to each of us every day.   Some Christians today act like miracles and visions and hearing God's clear voice are a daily occurrence for them and should be for everyone.  But I re-looked at what the Bible says and realized that most of the miracles and crazy manifestations of God's presence or voice happened to only a few people, and with hundreds of years of mostly silence in between, and these events happened mostly at very important points in the salvation history of this world.  This thought helped me to be less demanding of God in wanting these things in my life.  Realizing that God has always only done these things sparingly showed me that something isn't wrong with my relationship with God.    Furthermore, when we read the New Testament, we don't read explicitly that the apostles were saying every day, "God told me this and that."  It doesn't seem like they were constantly hearing private messages from God, as some Christians make out to be their experience today (though obviously we do read of some occasions that the apostles heard God speak to them or guide them).

4.  I reminded myself that God has spoken to us in an amazing way through Scripture, and we need to properly value that part of God's communication to us, even as we seek to hear his voice personally.



Now back to the present day. Even with the above theological ideas, I still have always had this nagging feeling that there was more I could be doing to hear God's voice better.  Willard's book "Hearing God" greatly helped.  The main thing it did was to help me become more confident that I am actually hearing God's voice internally though the Holy Spirit living within me.  I have tried to listen to God in the past, and have felt like I have heard at times, but usually have been confused because I kept only hearing my own thoughts and my own voice in my head.  Willard convinced me that God does speak to us right now, primarily through the still small voice of the Holy Spirit.  Willard convinced me that God speaks to us through our very thoughts, and even through our own internal voice.   This means that I don't have to hear some new foreign voice in my head to believe that God is speaking to me.  God can speak to me in what sounds much like the voice of my internal thoughts.  Surely it's still a bit complicated as not every thought in our head is from God; we can have very sinful thoughts that come from our sinful nature.  But God can and does speak to us in our minds and souls.  We just have to practice at distinguishing what is our own internal voice of rambling thoughts, and the authoritative direct voice of the Lord.

Willard also helped me to conclude that I have been seeking the wrong things and ignoring what God has already given to me.  I have been seeking the writing in the sky, the dreams, the visions, and the audible voice.  But the whole time I have had the Holy Spirit living within me.  As I read, I said to myself, "there is nothing new here, of course I knew that God speaks to me this way, and yet I have been mostly ignoring his voice!"  Willard talked about people like me who craved the dreams and visions, and the spectacular.  He talked about how that is a sign of immature faith.  Christians crave those things just because they seem spectacular even though they aren't as helpful or relational as the Holy Spirit inwardly speaking to us.  Dreams and visions are vague and unclear, and not an easy medium of communication.  They often need to be interpreted.  We shouldn't crave the spectacular for its own sake.  We should crave God and his clear voice, and he has given us that in the intimacy of the Holy Spirit living within us.

Another thing Willard talked about which I resonate with is that he said the Bible doesn't give us all that we want and need to hear from God.  It gives us all the truth we need for salvation and God speaks to us through it, but we still crave a conversational relationship with God that goes beyond the written word.  Further, there are things we need to know that the Bible doesn't tell us.  Just as the Church needed the Holy Spirit to tell them to send Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:2), so also sometimes we need God's guidance about issues in our lives that the Bible doesn't speak to.  Scripture gives us guidelines about who to marry or what company to work at, but what if we desire to know God's will in a particular situation?  Is it crazy to think that we can ask God and wait for an answer?  I don't believe God will always give us a clear yes or no, nor did Willard say that He would, but I think it would be just as foolish to presume that God wouldn't.



Since reading this book I've been practicing being quiet and listening for God to speak to me in the stillness of my mind and soul.  My life with God has definitely become a little more intimate. On some occasions, I have heard God speak to me.  My method is to stop all my own thoughts, focus on being with God, and tell him I am listening.  I resist strongly any attempt to imagine what God might say to me, and instead wait for a thought or phrase to enter my mind.  Often a thought pops in that I would not have conjured up on my own, which I think is some kind of evidence that it is God speaking to me. 

When I first started doing this regularly after reading the book, there was one message from God I heard on three different occasions - "I've been here with you the whole time, it's just that you haven't been listening."  I have also felt God's love and affirmation in powerful ways.  It's powerful to read in Scripture that God loves us.  But it's also powerful to hear God speak to you, "I love you" or "You are my child and I take delight in you and the things you are doing."  Those affirmations of love have strengthened my soul.

Much of the time a thought doesn't come.  And it's not always easy to listen.  I've found asking God "yes" or "no" questions is particularly difficult, as both answers shout in my thoughts constantly.  Listening to God this way is definitely complicated.  I wish God had made it easier and clearer.  Even with this intimate still small voice, it can be very hard to determine what God is saying, or what is coming from our own thoughts, our own sinful nature, or other places.   However, there are some tests we can use to determine if it was really God speaking.  1. We need to compare the message with what the Bible says.  2. We can check with other Christians, to see if they can confirm or agree with the message.  3.  We need to make sure the message fits with God's nature, meaning that it isn't flippant, but clear, authoritative, and loving. 



In summary, the book was far from perfect but was very helpful in getting me to appreciate and listen to the Holy Spirit.  I have a lot yet to learn.  But I do feel like my relationship with God is on a new level of intimacy, something I've craved for a very long time.  I'm treasuring my relationship with him much more deeply and I hope the same can become true for you.

Thoughts on Free Stuff

By Sara:

Living at World Hunger Relief, we think a lot about living simply just like we did when we were in Uganda.  (For one thing, we use composting toilets so our waste doesn't leave the farm!)  Anyway, World Hunger Relief exists to help alleviate world hunger in three main ways: through training people like us, through motivating people in the US to think about the sustainability of the way they live, and through partnering with groups around the world who work to end hunger.

So something I have been thinking about recently related to the sustainability of the way I live and simplicity is that it is hard to say no to free stuff. 

We all experience times when we are offered something for free, whether it is free samples of food at the grocery store or free notepads and hats at conferences.  Often, when we are offered such things, even if we don't need them, it's free, so we take it.  This can lead to cluttering up our house with stuff we don't need.  Or if it takes the form of free food you don't necessarily want or like, but you feel obligated to take and eat it, since it is free.  Then, you might even end up eating too much.  In college, I remember how I was never willing to turn down a free cookie or chip clip or pen because even if I wasn't hungry or if I had 20 more pens at home, maybe I would need it later!  (Okay, maybe I still might fall into that mentality...)

Anyway, all this led me to think about mistakes missionaries and short-term mission trips can make with handing out free stuff.  It isn't always bad to give to others, but we need to realize that if it is hard for us rich people to say no to free stuff when we already have more than we need, then surely it must also be hard for people who are materially poor to say no even if it is something that doesn't meet their needs at all.

Also, it seems that we often value things we paid for more than we value items which we have been given for free.  Anthony has found some websites that offer free music and so he has ended up with more music than he could ever listen to.  Now, when he is deleting excess songs, he finds that it is easier to get rid of a free song than to delete a song he paid 99 cents for even if the one he paid for has lyrics he's not comfortable listening to.  I know we've talked about this before, but as an example, when it comes to handing out Bibles to people who don't have them, it is worth considering whether it might not be more valuable to someone if they have to work for/buy it than if the Bibles are being handed out for free all over the place.

So then, this is a difficult subject.  Material possessions are not all bad, but they can own us.  And they can be destructive in interactions with the materially poor.  Therefore, I have a challenge for all of us who already have too much stuff and still struggle with saying no to more.  Here is my roundabout way of getting to that challenge: When people travel on mission trips from the US to poorer countries, it seems that one of the biggest things that we take away is that "the people there are so joyful in their relationship with God and they hardly own anything!"  And then we go back to the US or Canada and think that the application for what we just learned is to be thankful for all the stuff we do possess.  For certain, it is good to appreciate what we have as a gift from God, but maybe a further application would be to also reduce the amount of stuff we have.   Maybe, like the materially poor, we would depend more on God and have a greater appreciation of his provision for us if we didn't have as many possessions to distract us.  Let us take a good look at what we own and consider what kind of hold it might have on us.  Are our possessions keeping us from joy in the Lord or do they make us think that we are completely self-sufficient?  What are we willing to give up in order to be closer to God?

Timothy Leadership Training Part 2

By Anthony:

I just completed my second week of Timothy Leadership Training (TLT).  If you don't know what that is, I explained it back in January when I completed the first week.  See this post: Timothy Leadership Training Part 1.  But here is a short summary.  In Africa and many other places around the world, pastors and church leaders have a very difficult time going to a seminary, or even getting any kind of biblical, theological, or practical training at all.  TLT tries to fill the gap for these pastors.

It is a simple inductive training, somewhat like a Bible study, in which groups of leaders and pastors can study the Bible together and be trained in basic topics like stewardship, preaching, or caring for God's people.  It's simple but powerful material.  And most of the learning comes directly from the Bible and from discussion.  The real gold of the curriculum, however, is that it forces you to put into action in your church or community what you have learned in the lessons.  TLT has proven to be transformational in churches all over the world, by God's grace.

Last week we met in Grand Rapids at the Holiday Inn.  I was cold all week after being in Texas heat!  This time, I studied two topics (out of 7): Biblical Preaching and Teaching the Christian Faith.  Although the real reason I am taking this training is just so that I can teach it to others, I appreciated the lessons learned in these manuals and will integrate what I have learned into my own preaching and teaching.

Just like at my last training, I had the opportunity to fellowship with pastors from all over the world, some of them important leaders in their denominations and churches overseas.  Most of them were here for the training so that they can teach it to others in their home countries.

But it might interest you to know that at least half of the people taking TLT in the US are regular church members, and not pastors.  Some are getting the training to equip themselves to do ministry here.  Others are taking TLT to train leaders in their churches here.

And then some are being used by God to take this training to other countries.  I think this is a great thing and a good way to do short term mission trips in ways that help without hurting.  If you are interested in short-term overseas mission work, you could consider becoming a TLT master trainer and equipping a group of pastors in another country with this training.  They would then eventually pass the training on to others in their country without you.  You would not set up this training in other countries by yourself, but would work with TLT staff to do so.  If you have questions or are interested, let me know.   At each training I go to, we hear testimonies of couples, usually retired couples, who are doing this and God is using them in amazing ways.

This picture shows most of the people of my small group who studied the same topics I did.

At the end of the week, we explained our action plans and prayed for each other, asking that God would make these plans come to pass, by his grace.

Book - "Wizard of the Nile"

By Anthony:

I would like to recommend that you read the book I just finished called, "The Wizard of the Nile: The Hunt for Africa's Most Wanted," by Matthew Green.  It is about a journalist who goes to Uganda and tries to get a meeting with Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA, which terrorized Northern Uganda and parts of Sudan for decades, fighting against the Ugandan government, and committing numerous atrocities against civilians.

If you want to know more about the recent political situation in Uganda, or more about the LRA, then this is a book for you.  By reading the book, you will also get some sense about what Ugandan life is like, and what kinds of interesting tribes and people there are in Uganda.

In the book the author gives nice summaries of the history of the region, after doing quite a bit of careful research and interviewing many people.  I knew a fair amount about Uganda already, but I learned a lot that I didn't know. 

The author gives a more realistic picture than we are used to, of Joseph Kony, the current Ugandan government, as well as the role of the United States in the conflict.  He doesn't defend Kony, as Kony is certainly responsible for thousands of child abductions and countless atrocities.  But he does explain Kony's role in the political situation, and shows us he is more than just a demon possessed madman (as we like to think of him, though he may indeed be that too).

Here are a couple things that I found interesting.  We tend to think of the LRA as this rag-tag group of children with AK-47s thrust into their hands running around maybe strung out on drugs.  But as interviews with actual child soldiers in this book make clear, the LRA was a pretty sophisticated fighting machine, with divisions and tactics, modern weaponry, intelligence officers, and strategy.  They trained and got themselves ready to fight.  And the children and other soldiers really gained a sense of camaraderie with each other, in the same way that I think modern soldiers today become very close during combat. 

I also learned that there was at least some aspect of really wanting to rebel against the government in the agenda of the LRA.  It was not just about randomly committing atrocities.  They had some reasons that made good sense as to why they were fighting against the government.  And I learned a lot about Uganda's current president.  It was troubling to see that some of the cultural/political realities that started this conflict are in some ways still there.  Uganda is completely at peace right now, and the LRA is out of Uganda, but that doesn't mean everyone is happy with the current system.

What was further really troubling to hear was about how the Ugandan government with help from Western aid organizations and governments just put Northern Ugandans in camps whether they wanted to or not, for their own safety.  And their lives in the camps for years and years ended up giving them far worse suffering and a far greater death toll, than they may have faced if they had been allowed to stay on their homelands.  Life in the camps was horrible and full of disease and squalor.

Sometimes the book seems more like a travel adventure book than a really good analysis of the situation, but I still found it helpful.  I really appreciated his descriptions of former child soldiers, as well as reporting on his interviews with them.  I didn't think the book was necessarily excellently written, but it is definitely worth a read, and it is easy to read, especially if you want a good starting point at understanding the LRA in Uganda.

Evangelism is Not Offensive

By Anthony:

Evangelism in our culture is normally seen to be offensive and intolerant.  To tell someone that they need Jesus or need forgiveness for their sins, or shouldn't be living a life without God is very politically incorrect.  Unfortunately I think many Christians are buying into this lie.  I want to argue in this post that evangelism is not at all offensive and intolerant, though some people may indeed be offended by it.  It is actually a loving and caring thing to do.  Even for people who believe the Christian faith is false, or who believe that God does not exist should still see evangelism from Christians as a loving action.   Here are a couple of videos that show my point.  I thank my brother for pointing them out to me.  First, a funny video from the show Seinfeld.

In this clip, Elaine's boyfriend is certainly not a model Christian.  His faith seems pretty shallow.  However, Elaine herself points out to us the true nature of evangelism, that it is a loving and caring action.  Elaine is most upset in the show, not that her boyfriend is a Christian, (though she doesn't like that either), but that he doesn't care enough about her to try to get her to become a Christian.  He seems to not care at all that she is going to Hell, since he doesn't try to talk to her about his faith.  Elaine remains firm in her rejection of the Christian faith, and yet she is still greatly bothered by his lack of love and evangelism.  Even this secular television show points out to us that our culture's notion of evangelism being offensive is based on false logic.   If we really believe what we claim to believe, we should be sharing our faith with others because we care about them.  If we don't, we might seem less offensive, but actually we are callous and uncaring towards non-Christians.

Next, an atheist named Penn Jillette argues the same point.  Although he is an atheist, he sees the true logical and loving nature of evangelism, and argues that all religious people should proselytize.  

People should want to be evangelized to by Christians, (even if they are convinced that God does not exist), because that shows that Christians care about them.  At the very least, people should expect Christians to evangelize to them.  If we don't share our faith, it makes people think our beliefs are a bunch of nonsense that even we don't really believe.  Sharing our faith with someone is not intolerant.  Real tolerance means respecting people and allowing them to believe differently.   Tolerance does not mean we shouldn't try to influence other people.

I can't guarantee that it won't offend someone if you tell them about Jesus, but it shouldn't offend them.   Evangelism is loving.  We were commanded to love our neighbor, and sharing our faith is the greatest application of loving our neighbor.  We should care about whether they have eternal life or not.  If what we believe is true, then sharing our faith is the most loving thing we can do.  It is a beautiful thing to do.  It is sharing good news, not bad news.

Romans 10:9-15
⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Timothy Leadership Training Part 1

By Anthony:

I have just completed my first of three weeks of Timothy Leadership Training.  Here is a summary of what it is, taken from their website.

"TLTI" stands for Timothy Leadership Training Institute, an organization that took root in Africa in the 1990's and has since developed rapidly throughout the world. The mission of Timothy Leadership Training Institute is to train pastors, evangelists and lay leaders, enabling them to build viable and healthy congregations and communities in the spirit of 2 Timothy 2:2, "Entrust what you have heard from me to those who will be qualified to teach others." TLT goals include the growth of faith, generosity and productive work accounted for through regular reporting.

I took the first of three parts of this training last week in Houston and stayed with my cousin Andy and his family.   He is a Christian Reformed pastor here.  It was great to see them, but unfortunately I still had to drive a few hours each day of the training.  A Japanese seminary student, Keisuke, also stayed with them and we drove together.   We had some crazy adventures navigating the highways of Houston and got lost a fair number of times.  Here is a picture of us.

The training itself was good and is from a Reformed biblical perspective.  I am very excited to utilize this training in Uganda.  There have already been some TLT trainings in Uganda, but there is plenty more to do.  There are still many untrained pastors with no theological education.  And TLT is also really good for training up lay church leaders.

The curriculum is very simple, so there wasn't really much new for me.  But almost the whole time, you read passages of Scripture, so it was a great week of digging into God's Word.   The curriculum is centered around making concrete action plans to carry out what God's Word teaches, so even though all the passages were familiar, taking this training gave me a personal push to practically do the things God says.  The entire training consists of 7 manuals of about 14 lessons each, which can be taught very flexibly in whatever time arrangement one sees fit, whether teaching a couple manuals in an intensive week, or teaching one manual over several months of weekly meetings.  The manuals are: 1. Caring for God's people, 2. Stewardship, 3. Biblical Preaching, 4. Teaching the Christian Faith, 5. Serving God in Work and Worship, 6. Overcoming Violence in the Family, and 7. God's Plan for Sustainable Development. 

The style of learning is very interactive.  It is not one person lecturing.  Together the group reads Scripture and discusses.  But it doesn't have the subjective feel of "what does this mean to you?"  It has the feel of, "this is what God's Word says, so let's discuss how to carry out this clear teaching of God's Word."  If you were to glance at this material, you probably would not think to use it in a typical North American church.  But although simple, the material has a way of really getting you to change things in your life to carry out what God says, and I could see this material being helpful in churches here.  Below are some pictures of the small TLT group I worked with this past week.  We were the ones doing manuals 1 and 2.

We had a very international group of people at this training.  I am amazed hearing about the ways God is using TLT in various countries around the world.  The transformation that it brings in churches is hard to believe.  The material doesn't seem really incredible when you look at it, but God is sure using it in big ways.  Perhaps its simplicity is why it works so well.   I was also humbled hearing the stories of what local pastors are doing around the world.  They put in double the hours I do, with a tenth of the resources I have, and they do it for practically no money.  Their sacrifices are incredible.  And most of their stories we probably won't hear about until we are in Heaven.  Here is a picture of our larger group, praying for each person and their action plans.

I think TLT will be very helpful for the Ugandan pastors I know.  The goal is to teach them so that they can teach others.  And that can take place relatively quickly.  Once I complete all 3 weeks of TLT, I will be a master trainer.  The goal is to have a group of Uganda pastors who are master trainers (having completed all 7 manuals) who can go out and keep the teaching spreading.  I'll write more about Timothy Leadership Training as the year goes on.  I'll have my next training in June.  I would guess that TLT will be between 1/3 and 1/5 of the work that I will be doing in Uganda.  I'll figure exactly how much later when I am there.

The Paralysis of too much freedom

By Anthony:

I've reflected on this before, that is the problem of having too much freedom and choice.  You may remember reading my other post called - "Freedom in Choice?"  Read it again if you forgot about it :)

Recently a friend referred me to a TED talk that was on this same theme, called "The Paradox of Choice."  Watch it here.  It's really good, I highly recommend it.  He of course affirms that some choice is good.  Having no freedom or very limited freedom is not good.  But he makes the argument, convincingly, that too much choice actually causes us to freeze up in our decision making, and can actually reduce our satisfaction and happiness in life.  I think all of us experience this, as he shows with numerous examples, and yet we don't seem to realize it, and don't change our life practices in order to have more satisfaction.

For some of us, this might be a hard concept to understand.  Living in another country for a while without a lot of the conveniences you are used to is one way to help you to understand having more satisfaction and more "freedom" of a sort, even when having less, or having less choices.  It would probably also work to purposely limit yourself to less choices, and less things.

This is something that I learned while we lived in Uganda, and perhaps one of the reasons I miss living there so much.  If you asked me if I wanted to have intermittent power, I'd say no.  If you asked me if I wanted to have a library with only a few books, I'd probably say no.  If you asked me if I wanted to be limited to only watching the movies that I own, I'd probably say no.  If you asked me if I wanted to be limited to the food I could purchase at a Ugandan market, and go without my favorite cereals and chips, I'd probably say no.  And I could add many similar questions to this.  But when you add all of these things together, it's make for a simpler life, a life less confusing and complicated, a life with less time spent on making choices, and a more exciting satisfying life.  It also makes for a life, I would argue, in which you appreciate the things you do have much more.  It made the movies and books I owned much more special and treasured and I got more use out of them. 










It made it much more exciting to find a favorite food at the supermarket.  I just about guarantee you that I had more fun coming back from a shopping trip in Uganda after finding a bag of Doritos, than you usually do going to the grocery store buying whatever you want every time.  You came home with exactly what food you wanted (or thought you wanted after looking at 100 choices), but I came home feeling excited and grateful for that bag of chips, and you might have felt nothing especially positive.  Makes you wonder, doesn't it?  Is our plethora of choices at the supermarket really making us better off?

I'm not trying to judge all of you.  I am just like you.  It is very hard to have this satisfaction and simple life in the United States.  Even after being in Uganda, I fell back into the same life patterns while living here.  It makes me wonder if we have to stop worshiping the idol of freedom and choice, and purposely give ourselves some more limits, less choices, and more self-control.  I wonder if it is sinful for us to agonize over life choices (especially simple choices like what bag of chips to buy), when our concerns should be on more important things.   Further, I think it is very hard to cultivate the biblical virtue of gratitude when you always have so much choice.  With simplicity and less choice, it is easy to be grateful for what you have, and occasionally really grateful for unexpected circumstances like a week with no power outages.  But if you always have everything you want, and there is no special occasion for gratitude, there might tend to be only occasions for complaint when we don't get what we want.

This is a really interesting topic to me as I've pondered ways to limit myself in order to live for God more, make my life less complicated, and enjoy life more.  If you have any thoughts on this, or have some contrary points that I should keep in mind, please comment below.  I like a healthy debate :)