One thing we have seen very thick here in Africa is the spirit of religion... we have seen so much of how this spirit takes what may start out as good intentions and then twists it and causes all relationship with Christ to be killed.
One of the things that has been really hard in working here so close with the church is we find ourselves often times working hand in hand with the people who teach for religion and not relationship with Christ. Its hard to know sometimes what to do with that... its hard to know how to fight in the battle against this when its against the very people that you being asked to follow.
I was very encouraged this last week by meeting Pastor Wilbur. Pastor Wilbur is the head pastor for True Vine... He was pretty busy during the time that I spent there but every chance I had to talk with him I was very inspired by his heart and the way he knows and loves Jesus. He offered to drive us back to Busia himself... and he shared some things that truly broke my heart to hear... but at the same time it offered me so much hope to see his determination in fighting against it.
Pastor Wilbur shared with us how he has seen that many westerners look at the African church and think that it is rapidly growing... but he told me that they are mistaken and that the church in Africa is actually dying. He said that tradition has crept in and that Africans are greatly tempted by this... and it has caused many many people in Africa to forget about really knowing God to just participate in Sunday morning services and baptisms. He said (and we have seen this all over...) how people are eager to commit to Christianity in the hopes of finding prosperity. Poverty is thick here... you can't walk down the street or even outside of our house with out being reminded of this... so you can imagine the temptation to "sign on the dotted line of salvation" in the hopes of finding a way out of their current situation. But the "salvation gospel" does not hold weight... there is no way that they can stand on it as soon as trials come... and they always come. Pastor Wilbur was telling me about an out reach he is getting ready to start in Busia for the children that live on the streets but he said that he has been running into problems with other Africans hearing his ideas and wanting to turn the orphans into a business for profit. Pastor Wilbur has such a neat and passionate heart for the children and he said how people give him a hard time and don't understand why he does what he does if it is not for profit. (From Pastor Moses we have even heard that many African pastors seek a pastoral role just to have a stable job to support their families...) We have been seeing the devastating effects of this religious mindset (and the using of religion as a business...) and how corrupt things become when they are not done out of understanding and wanting to share the love that the Father has lavished upon us. It is heartbreaking to see how deep the problems lie in the African church, and its heart breaking to see that somehow the driving force of love has been removed and a desperate selfishness has taken its place. Living a life apart from "religion" is of the up most importance to myself and to my team... and it should be for all who claim to follow Christ... it is relationship with Him that is what changes lives and calls people into something different and offers true hope. I want that for the people here... I want them to see that they don't need speakers and sound systems to have church. It was such a light to meet Pastor Wilbur and to hear him speak against these things and to hear about how he teaches against it when he trains the leaders and pastors that he works with.
Please keep the church in Africa in your prayers. Pray for Pastor Wilbur to have courage to keep fighting against this and for the pastors like him that they "would not grow weary of doing good". Pray for the pastors who are caught in this... that their hearts would desperately crave to walk with the Father so that they can live and model it to the people in their churches. Pray for me and my team that we would have wisdom in knowing when to speak up and that the Father would pour down his love on us so that we can love the people that are being placed in our lives during our short time here in Africa.