September Update

by | Oct 5, 2017 | Health, South Africa

In the film “Forrest Gump”, the lead
character says, “My momma always said life was like a box of chocolates. You
never know what you’re gonna get.” This is very true of life in the Anglican
Province of Southern Africa. When you first meet someone, you are not quite
sure of their churchmanship…high church, low church, or anything in-between
church…charismatic, evangelical…and then there are conservatives, liberals,
progressives…the whole gamut. So, I have learned to do a lot of listening
before I say anything lest I inadvertently offend a potential disciple and lose
them even before we begin.
The brilliance of the material we use to
teach intentional disciple-making is that it is a mere structure based on the
model of Jesus…the windows and doors and furnishings must be supplied by the
person using the scaffolding we provide in our training. Whether that be Rooted
in Jesus, The God Who Is There, Alpha, Pilgrim, or any number of possible
studies that will bring the disciple into a deeper walk with Jesus…that is the
ultimate goal. To walk with and as Jesus walked…anchored in the Word, empowered
and in step with the Holy Spirit, energised by constant prayer.
As homework, the trainees are given a 60-Day
Chronological Study of the Life of Jesus to complete. There are accompanying
free videos online for them watch if they have Internet access. If not, the
study stands on it’s own. I also encourage them to do a chronological study of
the Bible as well as this will give them a firm foundation on which to stand
when engaging in disciple-making.
Last week, I (Johann – Louise is not with
me on this trip L) attended the three-day Provincial Standing Committee Meeting.
While not officially invited to attend as a member, I did have the opportunity
to address the participants together with the head of Growing the Church,
Bishop Martin Breytenbach. It seems that merely being introduced by Archbishop
Thabo was enough to open a number of doors for me. The title “The Reverend Doctor”
was used and the assembly was told that we had started and run a theological
College in Ethiopia…at that point it seemed as if I gained credibility…not the
way I wanted it to be, but titles are important here, and if that’s the way
forward, then so be it.
I managed to talk to Bishops and
representatives from all the Dioceses in the Province save St Helena
Island…Niassa, Angola, and Namibia all want us to come and do training in their
respective areas. Praise the Lord for this! Pray that Growing the Church will
receive the necessary funds to be able to make all these trips! Our budget was
cut in half recently.
From PSC I went up to the city of Polokwane
in the north-eastern part of South Africa to train seven members of the
Volunteer Internship Program (VIP), or the Secret Seven as I like to call them.
This Diocese is biblically well grounded and the participants already deeply
engaged in kingdom ministries. We will return to this Diocese in February next
year.

From Polokwane I returned to the Gauteng
area…here I will train Diocesan representatives together with a few of the
faculty members we have trained on previous occasions.
On the way down, I stopped to see Louise’s
aunt who had just had gallbladder surgery. We spent a good two hours chatting
about the Lord and all He means to us. When I first arrived she was out of
breath and obviously in pain, but after we prayed together, she seemed to be
much better. The change was actually quite remarkable. Praise the Lord for that
too!
I will report later on the training here in
Gauteng. We are going into a busy month, but most of our activities will be
centred in and around Cape Town. I miss Louise and I am looking forward to my
return on Sunday.
Love you all.
Blessings.

–>

Johann and Louise
Man-Made Islands

Man-Made Islands

by | Oct 4, 2017 | Solomon Islands

One of the most interesting cultural/geographical features I have seen in the Solomon Islands are the man-made reef islands that can be seen in and around various lagoons.  Many of the original builders/settlers of these islands were displaced from the bush-lands many generations ago.  Slowly, canoe load by canoe load, these settlers brought pieces of dead coral and piled them upon one another, until their islands were built.  This picture is taken at mid-tide–the water level will rise a bit higher than seen here.  Historically, these sea people would catch fish and create shell-money (still an active currency) to be traded with bush-people for sweet potato, cassava, taro, etc.

Called to Community

Called to Community

by | Oct 3, 2017 | SAMS-USA

Today there are billions of people on earth, so why do some of us still feel lonely? We pack our schedules with bible studies, community group, church, and volunteer projects, but we still can feel a void.

God didn’t intend for us to be alone. We were created to crave community with others. Whether single or married, we are all in need of community, but what does community look like?

The Nicene Creed summarizes the Trinity this way:

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father…. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified.

The Trinity means that God is in a community; and because God is three in one, this means God is community. So, even before the creation of man, there was a perfect community. If Genesis 1:26 says that God made us in his image, then he must want us to be acommunity as well.

What prevents us from this is that we are a fallen people. We tend to want to meet our own needs first, and when they aren’t met, we move on to the next thing that comes our way. We live in a broken world consisting of broken relationships. Our sinful nature keeps us separated from God—true community. Think about when Eve ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. She was tempted to have unbelief about God and his true intentions for us.

There is good news, though, and redemption for community which can bring us into a relationship with God and others. When we repent and acknowledge our sinfulness, we can turn to God who sent his son to die on the cross for our debts. Jesus has redeemed us from our sin and unbelief and has called us for a life everlasting with him. When we acknowledge this, we experience the transforming love of Christ. Community grounded in Him fosters love and encouragement that can then be shared with all nations.

It can be difficult to grow in community, but it is God’s desire for us. When we grow in community, we are growing in him!

SAMS would like to build community with you. Every day, we pray for our missionaries and senders. We want to pray for you too. Send us your prayer requests here.