Another Brit Abroad

As I was beginning to write this post, I honestly had no idea where to begin and how to fit in all that has taken place over the past few months. It’s certainly been a while since I wrote on here so I must start by apologising about that. However, as I began to reflect more on the past year I began to realise that there’s been a reoccurring theme which many reading this may also be able to relate with. Simply put, we’ve been shown to be vulnerable and feel weak, yet I believe someone far more supreme has still been in complete control…and no I’m not referring to Lewis Hamilton and the Mercedes Team.

I’ve been immensely encouraged and challenged over the past few months as, as a church, we’ve been looking through a great letter written by a guy called Paul to the Colossians. I’ve been reminded of Christ’s supremacy over all, that only he is the true wisdom of God and that being fully sufficient, he brings fullness and dwells within all who would humbly depend on him. There are radical implications to this in a whole range of areas but I found these realities to be particularly helpful to dwell on, in the following areas…

Christ is supreme, even in times of trauma…

A few months back some uninvited guests came to visit the property, on which I stay, for a short while. They didn’t even have time to stick around for a brew and seemed in quite some urgency. In fact, I’m sure one of them was just keen to have a WWE wrestling session, which spiced things up a bit. So, all in all, not your average surprise visit.

Well, to get to the point more seriously, some big guys stormed the property, came charging in and stole valuables from those of us who were around. Only three of us were directly affected. One of the girls and I staying here were roughed around a bit but we praise God that we didn’t sustain any injuries. It was hard to lose valuable items and for peace and a sense of security to be stripped from us. The following few days weren’t easy. However, despite the fear, loss and feelings of insecurity all of us can testify to the fact that Christ was in control over that situation. In the days that followed all of us experienced remarkable peace which helped a lot and all of us had items replaced thanks to insurance or the generosity of people in the church. All of us can all testify to how that experience made us a lot more grateful to the things we often take for granted such as security, peace and life itself. The experience also helped us dwell on the ultimate security that we have in Christ and the lasting value and satisfaction of being in a relationship with the King of the whole universe. 

Christ is supreme, even in times of uncertainty…

COVID has certainly thrown so many things into chaos and put so many people in a position of uncertainty. Currently, in South Africa, we’re grateful that we haven’t experienced a second wave which means that we are able to enjoy the benefits of lower restrictions. As a church, we’ve started meeting for services, in person, and the small groups for youth have also began to meet, back in person. It’s been encouraging to see more people drawn back. As I write, we’ve all just held a slightly bigger youth event with all of our youth small groups together and it was great to see many of the teens back together again after such a long time.

My plans going into next year have also changed and the future looks more uncertain than it has in a long time. I’ve decided to put off my theological studies until next year, at least, for a whole range of reasons and continue my role as the youth worker at Hope Church into 2021. One reason for doing this is because of the opportunities which have come up for me to continue at Hope at leading the youth and getting involved in launching the new men’s ministry into next year. Alongside this there are study opportunities in biblical counselling and a module with Crosslands, looking at engaging God’s word with culture and context.  The second main reason is the exciting developing relationship with a young lady called Nomfundo. She’s going to be based in Jo’burg and Hope church next year and so I would most definitely be lying if I didn’t mention this to be a significant reason to hold back on my studies and stick around in Jo’burg for at least another year as well.

Christ is supreme, even in times of weakness…

As the year is beginning to come to a close, I know many are really feeling the strain of what has been a hard year. Many on our staff team are exhausted and drained despite rejoicing in being able to meet, in person, with people again. I can certainly relate with these feelings. It’s been tough at times and I’ve often felt shaky with things but praise God for sustaining others and I during this period and for continuing to be at work. Christ is supreme especially when we feel weak and I’m praising him for teaching me important lessons of trusting in him deeper in all things.

Christ is all and in all and for that I am grateful and wish to encourage those reading too with this monumental reality.

God bless and take care,

Adam

So, in the last post, I raised 3 key questions that I was asking, heading into the lockdown which we now find ourselves in, in South Africa.

Before beginning to answer the questions, in the last post, I was keen to convey the need of perspective. This is the perspective of the hope which I have which is concrete, irreversible and undoable and it’s a hope which anyone can have if they trust in the Lord Jesus.

It’s this perspective which is driving us, as a youth ministry, to respond in the way we are and this will be unpacked but, as a reminder, the questions I was asking are as follows:

 

Can we continue to engage in a context which is so diverse, particularly with the differences in accessibility to resources? If yes, how?

Can we now engage effectively with so many of our youth families who aren’t properly connected into the church community, aside from the youth ministry? If yes, how?

Can we show love to our youth and their families, in this situation? If yes, how?

 

 

The answer to the first part of each of the questions above is a resounding ‘YES’. By God’s grace, we can still engage, we can still connect and we can still love, in this time. We can do these things even though it may seem hard at points. Let me give some brief answers to the ‘how’ of these questions below:

How can we continue to engage in a context which is so diverse, particularly with the differences in accessibility to resources?

We’ve decided that aiming to keep the midweek Bible study groups (called Pulse groups), which we had before COVID struck, should be maintained as closely as we could to what we had before. We wanted to do this to ensure that teens would still be in virtual groups, where they already knew people. We also wanted teens to be in a group where they could continue to build relationships with other teens and leaders who they will continue to be in groups with, when all of this eventually passes away. Thinking beyond lockdown is also important.

The major barrier to meeting virtually is the barrier of access to wifi/data, so that teens and their families can stay connected. Many of our teens and parents are in a position where they don’t have wifi and data is expensive. However, we praise the Lord, that many people have been incredibly generous in offering financial support to sponsor data for these teens and their families. This ensures that more of our teens and families can remain connected and online resources can be accessed. It’s been great to see people sacrificially serve by giving in this way, to the work of the Gospel.

 

How can we now engage effectively with so many of our youth families who aren’t properly connected into the church community, aside from the youth ministry?

In each of our virtual small groups, we’ve been linking up key parents to a particular group (who are already plugged into the church community). We’ve been encouraging these parents to reach out to the other parents of teens in the group, to invite them to other small groups which are running, in the church. We’ve also been wanting to use this as an opportunity for people other than myself and other leaders, from the church, to engage with these parents.

 

How can we show love to our youth and their families, in this situation?

Pray and connect. Prayer is crucial! If we’re not praying for the teens in our groups and their families then we’re getting the order of things wrong. We need to strive to work hard with Gospel resolve but we do so in humble dependence in God, recognising that without him, we won’t see any growth in this time. We love our youth and their families by first praying!

Then we connect. We’re seeking to connect our teens into these small virtual groups and ensure that they can access resources and make calls. We want to follow up with the teens in our groups to check up on them, encourage them and point them to Christ. We want to do the same with our parents, so we are engaging through encouraging leaders but, as I said, also through parents engaging with other parents.

 

So, there we have it…

A few thoughts and pointers on how we’re seeking to progress in this time of uncertainty. We press on in radical prayer, we press on with Gospel resolve and we humbly depend on Christ! Even through the chaos and uncertainty of these times, Jesus is in control, his kingdom will still grow and his purposes will come to pass.

As I wrap up, I must take this opportunity to mention how an amazing group from the UK (photo above) were able to fully immerse themselves into the youth ministry, during the developments with COVID but also before. It’s with great sadness that on Saturday we said goodbye to this amazing group of young ladies who were nothing but a joy to have around, despite their efforts to keep me humble. I was particularly impressed with all of their zeal, willingness to learn new things and eagerness to throw themselves into what was going on at church – particularly, the kids and youth ministry. Each of their servant hearted attitudes were so evident and it was beautiful to see how they were able to have such a profound impact, in such a small space of time. They will be missed greatly this side but I’ve no doubt how God has got great plans to use each of them for the extension of his Kingdom. Kirsty, Emily, Eleanor, Eliza and Molly, we salute you. A special mention must go to Kirsty, the team leader, who was able to lead the team so well through so much uncertainty and turbulence. The team were an inspiration to us all and we have much to learn from this group.

 

You will hear from me again soon!

 

Peace,

Adam 🙂

I’m finally back on the blog again. It’s been too long – at least for me. You may have enjoyed the break from my long, waffling articles and poorly constructed sentences. Not to mention the poor jokes.

A few weeks ago, I was intending to write a post and my thinking back then was that there was a lot of ground to cover. However, then there was this virus that struck, which kind of threw everyone a little bit.

So, I’ll do what I was always planning to do, which was to give you an update on how things are developing in the youth ministry but I’ll do so in light of the COVID 19 situation. I’m keen to write about the very specific area of how the youth ministry I help to lead, is in the process of responding to all that is going on. I’m going to hit you with another two parter. This post will provide some context and food for thought, as we go into the second part which will seek to provide some more lengthy answers to questions I’ve been wrestling with (see below).

The build up…

Suddenly, what felt so distant from South Africa became a close reality in a matter of weeks and just like most parts of the world, the actions taken by the government started to bring home the severity and reality of the situation.

I would be dishonest if I told you I didn’t first feel discouraged by how things quickly turned from where we seemed to be going, as a youth ministry, when all of this hit. My prayer for the youth ministry has been that more of our youth would be drawn into our groups, particularly, the midweek small groups. The other leaders and I have been longing that the youth would grow to love and serve each other better and ultimately grow in their love for the King of the Universe. Prior to the situation we find currently ourselves in, I felt that momentum was building in the youth ministry, growth seemed to be happening and prayers were being answered. Then, all of all a sudden, something this big happens which leads me down the path of wrongly thinking that all of these good things will surely come to an abupt halt.

The initial actions taken by the South African government were swift and were tighter than many of the first moves made by other countries, who’ve been experiencing an outbreak of the virus. As I write, we are currently on day 7 of what the government has stated will be a 21 day lockdown (most are expecting for this period to be extended). It was necessary for the government to respond with the speed and gravitas with which they did given the vulnerability of so much of the South African population. Many in the country can’t safely quarantine with many living in small spaces under one roof and then who households living in neighbourhoods which are densely populated. Many don’t have access to the healthcare which would be needed to help to fight such a virus. To add to this, the vulnerability is accentuated massively with the large number of people (approximately 7 million) who are immunocompromised living with HIV and TB.

The youth ministry at Hope Church is formed of teens and their families, coming from a range of backgrounds. There have been so many questions to consider, as the situation has been developing on a daily basis.

Questions such as…

Can we continue to engage in a context which is so diverse, particularly with the differences in accessibility to resources? If yes, how?

Can we now engage effectively with so many of our youth families who aren’t properly connected into the church community, aside from the youth ministry? If yes, how?

Can we show love to our youth and their families, in this situation? If yes, how?

 

The need for perspective

As I was able to take some time to pause and reflect on how we move forward, it was good to be reminded, once again, about how little control I have over the situation I find myself in. I know this as a reality in my head but so often, I fail to live it out because I realise that it’s not a reality that always penetrates into my heart.

As a Christian, I firmly believe that I’m fully dependent on the relational God of the Bible. I can enjoy the care of a powerful Father, instead of being left to a frightening loneliness where everything is down to me. You see, I don’t view God as a nice ‘add on’ to life or even just a psychological crutch but view him as essential to my existence – as the source of all life, love, goodness and grace! And all of what is going on in the world, at the moment, and what we’re coping with in the youth ministry has helped me to realise, yet again, how much I need God. It’s been another wake up call for me, for sure.

I believe that we’re called to respond to all that is going with faith, hope and love and not fear. More of this will be addressed in the next post, as I explore what that looks like in the youth ministry. However, despite some fears I may have (I’d be lying if I said I had none), I can remind myself of an ultimate reality and a certain hope which calls me to not fear.

I have a hope which is concrete, irreversible and undoable and so does anyone who trusts in the Lord Jesus. I’m encouraging people around to use this as an opportunity to point more people to the hope in Christ, to see people safe for eternity. I’m also encouraging people to love others by caring in other ways by demonstrating God’s love, care and compassion. We can love each other in so many tangible ways as we unite and come together and demonstrate the love of Christ to the people around us.

My answer to the earlier questions I’ve been wrestling with, in the youth ministry, is a resounding ‘YES’… to the first part. By God’s grace, we can still engage, we can still connect and we can still love, in this time. We can do these things even though it may seem hard at points. The answer to the ‘how’ of all of this will be explored in more depth, in my next post to follow shortly. Watch this space.

 

Peace,

Adam 😊

So, I’m going to take a break from the current series and am going to jump onto the ten year challenge band wagon, in my own special way. I needed to take a break from the depth of the current blog series and I’m sure you did too (did you notice the key word, ‘break’ – yes, that means that I’ll be back to the series I was previously writing on but that will be for another day). In the meantime, to kick start 2020 on this blog , let me begin by writing something slightly more light hearted and… well… I couldn’t help myself anyway, FOMO got to me. But… (it’s the 21^st century Mum you can use that word to begin a sentence now, sorry), at the same time, the idea of posting a picture of me from 10 years ago was enough to spur me on to get thinking about how I could go about doing things slightly differently. So, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls…and anyone who identifies in between… let me present…

Ten key things I’ve discovered over the past decade!

This will be in no particular order and ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. A random observation: judging on the basis that you learn something new every day, that would mean that I should have learnt at least 3650 things, over the course of this decade (that’s not including the 2 days gained because of 2 leap years in this decade). So, in bootcamp like fashion akin to the selection of the special few in X Factor and American idols finals – I’ve gone for the absolute minimal and condensed this apparently long list down to a mere ten things. Synthesis on steroids, I know. I think if I went for a smaller list, people who’ve supported me in different ways over the decade might begin to feel it was definitely a waste of their precious time. You’re probably feeling like that now, as I continue to waffle and you lose the will to live. So, anyway, let me press on.

Important disclaimer: Please don’t read too much into this list and take my selection of ten things learnt over the omission of other things as a sign of my need for desperate help. Although, I’ll give it to you, if you know me, you know that I don’t need to do much at all to show the heights of craziness and incompetence which I can reach, even on a good day. So, without further a do…what have I learnt over the past decade…

• As this decade has progressed, I think I’ve got more silly, not less…some may even dare to say more immature (I’ll let you make the call on that one)… Ranging from dressing up in wacky costumes to the humiliation of those around me, acting as a silly Brit whilst abroad and experimenting with ridiculous recipe combinations, as part of independent living.

• I can now say that I’ve lived in Johannesburg for the second longest period of time, in my whole life – even longer than Manchester and Southampton. Johannesburg does now really feel like a home from home and I look forward to continue working and exploring this side.

• I’m musical and know that I can utilise rhythmic abilities in certain settings but, interestingly enough, dancing has never been one of those. I foolishly tried at a birthday party a couple of years ago and the famous comment made was that I was doing this due to ‘liquid courage’! My response was that this was simply the typical behaviour of an unhinged children’s and youth worker.

• The people of the United States of America and the United Kingdom are capable of electing two buffoons that behave and look like each other…how frighteningly amusing (I say, writing from thousands of miles away from both of these places)

• Unity in diversity is incredibly important to pursue – in fact, it’s a Gospel issue. Gosh, I just realised that I originally mentioned, at the beginning of this post, that I was going to give you a break from all of this. You didn’t actually think I was going to do that, did you? However, to try to honour my commitment, I’ll only ask you to read my last few posts for context.

• My family are an inspiration to me (even though Mum critiques the grammar on my blog posts). I’ve grown to love them more and more over the last decade and also appreciate their advice, wisdom, time, love, humour and so much more which they have shared and poured out into me.

• I went from death to life! Yeah, really, I’m not kidding here. By a country mile, this is the best thing I discovered in this decade! Check out the bio of this blog to find out more…

• My head could quite easily feature on a ‘natural geographic’ show with all of the contours on it. The form of my head was revealed to me and it was the first time I saw it since I was last shown my baby photos (which was a while ago).

• I continued to remain bizarrely optimistic that England would win more world cups this decade and was proved wrong, more often than not. However, the women’s cricket team did come through to win the ODI Cricket World Cup in 2017 and the men’s cricket team then came through in the ODI Cricket World Cup, in 2019, hosted in England – there’s hope for British sport yet.

• Finally, there have been so many times when the plans that I’ve made haven’t worked out but in hindsight, it has been for the best. So many times, I believe God has taken my first major life plans, over this decade, and screwed them up and threw them out of the window. It is wasn’t for this happening, I almost certainly wouldn’t be writing on this blog now. God has demonstrated how he is in ultimate control, how I really am not and how I need to humbly depend on him. I need to depend on the one who wants the best for me and loves me more than I could ever imagine, despite my mess. He is faithful and just.

I like what Nicky Gumbel tweeted the other day:

‘Look back and thank God.

Look forward and trust God.

Look around and serve God.

Look up and seek God.

#HappyNewYear’

And if you skipped to the end because you did lose the will to live: Here’s a song I finished writing at the beginning of last year which I hope encourages you, going into 2020 – a song about God’s faithfulness:

God bless and many blessings for 2020 🙂

Adam

‘They say, “Jesus was Conservative”
Tell ’em, “That’s a lie”
No, He not a Liberal either if you think I’ll choose a side
They say, “‘Crae, you so divisive, shouldn’t be a black church”
I say, “Do the math, segregation started that first!”
Hey, you want unity? Then read a eulogy
Kill the power that exists up under you and over me
I said, you want unity? Then read a eulogy’

The above are lyrics from Lecrae’s song ‘Facts’ which I think set up this discussion well.

We’re going to be notching up on the controversial dial…hold tight.

In this post, I’m going to be addressing the lack of action that is often taken in the evangelical church, to pursue genuine unity in diversity, in our churches. In many ways, I’m going to be quite critical, but I do hope that I come across as not lambasting but addressing the issue in a thought provoking, constructive and gracious way.

To begin with, I’ll be giving some considerable time to looking at what seems to be some of the source of the problems to passivity. Once I’ve looked at some of these, I’ll then be beginning to explore potential ways forward. Please do bear in mind that the context which I am writing into is predominately the dynamics of race but hopefully they’ll be some helpful parallels to draw on for other differences we see in our churches, e.g. class, age, gender.

So, let’s get started. I sense that the evangelical church has often taken minimal action to make real, authentic progress in these issues because there’s been a big lack of recognition of the sources of some of the problems at hand.

The reality of power dynamics…

Let me use the example of how I seem to view this playing out with seeking unity amongst a racially diverse church body…

The lyrics which are quoted above convey sentiments which are unfortunately reflected in the experience of many of my brothers and sisters. These are sentiments which often come from a place of ignorance which is often also coupled with a sense of superiority. In the church circles which I’ve been part of, over recent years and am currently part of, I very rarely hear views which express acknowledgement that structural injustice currently exists, within the church. When referring to structural injustice, I’m talking about when it comes to the power dynamics and influence of white evangelicalism.

To explain even more simply, the church circles which I’m part of seem to refuse to recognise that their way of doing things (often the white and western way of doing things) has been closely tied with the oppression of many others who don’t look white… and…here’s the crunch…continue to be so.

Many in the evangelical church will recognise this oppression when it was at its height…the most obvious forms of this were on display during the years of British colonialism, slavery then the Jim crow laws in the states and Apartheid, in South Africa. Then suddenly, to be brutally honest, there seems to be a failure to recognise how hundreds of years of white supremist thinking didn’t just come to an abrupt halt. The fact of the matter is that shadows of systems of white supremacist thinking, even in the church, didn’t just suddenly disappear….

Let me build on more of what I mean. I get the impression, from my experience, that it’s perceived that there’s a set way of doing, a whole range of things. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not criticising the church for holding onto truths of the Gospel which are found to be a primary issues. I completely recognise that there are non-negotiables in the Christian faith which need to be rightly defended from liberal understandings and interpretations. However, the problem that I often find the evangelical church falling into is when Gospel truths are conflated with cultural expressions of worshipping and doing church. Both of these are often, unintentionally, placed in the category of non-negotiables.

Any way of doing church which comes into conflict with the white and western way is so often snubbed as being liberal or charismatic and may not be taken seriously. I feel, a white, western expression of church is so often viewed as the ‘right’ way to ‘do’ church in our evangelical circles. It is superior thinking, which is wrong, domineering, colonial and needs to be challenged.

My opinion, is that once many of our churches grasp that this is one of the deeper issues, only then can genuine progress be sought. My fear is that there are many churches and institutions that aren’t dealing with some of the deeper rooted issues and, instead, attempting to move forward by implementing solutions that won’t last long. We don’t want to be placing plasters over deep wounds but instead ensuring that a wound is treated carefully and properly, in order to enable full healing.

So what next?

When churches in the evangelical sphere recognise that they are likely more prone to falling into a trap of assuming that a white, western way of doing things is the right way, then there’s a fundamental further step. The church then needs to be convinced of why seeking genuine unity in diversity is a gospel issue and not a side issue to explore when you’ve got enough time. Now, to nuance this, I’m not saying that all churches should be multi-ethnic. Churches should always match and represent the communities which they are positioned in. However, congregations, wherever placed, will find diversity along some lines, even if that’s not along ethic lines. Pursuing unity in the diversity of these other areas is just as important as pursuing a unity along multi-ethnic lines. Other areas may include class boundaries, gender and even age.

A summary so far…

So, to summarise so far, two traps that I feel the evangelical church can often fall into. Firstly, the thinking that the ‘white’ and ‘western’ way of doing church is the right way. Secondly, the thinking that pursuing unity in diversity isn’t a gospel issue or even a serious issue. I must repent when I fall into the trap of thinking these things and so must my fellow brothers and sisters, who may also fall into these traps.

The Gospel transforms…

We’ve recently been going through the Gospel of Luke in our bible studies, at church, and when we encountered Luke chapter 19, some big implications hit me. Luke 19 features the famous story of Zacchaeus the tax collector. We are told that not only is he a tax collector but he’s a ‘chief tax collector’ (Luke 19:2). He’s basically a chief ‘sell out’ who works for a ruling regime who exploits his people just so he can line his own pockets at the expense of the people’s suffering and pain. It’s striking that Jesus invites himself over the house of this dodgy individual…but what happens next is incredible. The cannon ball shot power of the gospel invades his soul. It’s here, when confronted with Jesus, that Zacchaeus confesses, ”Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay them back four times the amount’’ (Luke 19:8). The good news that has come to him has made him aware of and convicted him of participation in this systemic injustice. I also find it interesting that Jesus says ”Today salvation has come to this house’’ (Luke 19:9) – this is said after Zacchaeus’ transformed action. It would seem to be that his actions were a radical demonstration of his recent saving faith which propelled him into action.

So, what does this mean for us?

Well, firstly, let the story above, and in fact the Gospel itself, drive us to radical humility like it did with Zacchaeus. Let’s pray that we will be helped to recognise that we mess up and continue to mess up in serious ways – interpersonally and institutionally. As evangelicals reading this and particularly those who are white evangelicals, let’s begin by repenting of some of the wrong thinking we may have slipped into, in this area. But let’s rejoice that the work of Christ is enough to fully heal, restore and reconcile us to God. Let’s also rejoice that this work spills over into our relationships with each other as well. The power of the Gospel most importantly impacts our vertical relationship with God but also our horizontal relationships. What monumental hope that should give us as we seek a way forward.

Zacchaeus’ saving faith also propelled him into action. Let us be propelled into action. In Zacchaeus’ situation, his action was to seek to right the wrongs he had committed and give even more back. I wonder what we could do?

A few practical pointers to working a way forward… Let us depend on Christ as we listen to our fellow brothers and sisters. Let’s be prepared to step out of our comfort zone and be intentional with relationships with those who are different from ourselves and may ‘do’ things differently. More likely that not we’ll find we’ve got a lot more to learn than we think, if we listen carefully to those different from ourselves.

Finally, in this whole discussion, let our views be shared in love even when we feel we’re speaking truth. Let our words be seasoned with grace and I do profoundly apologise if you feel I haven’t been gracious in this post.

My prayer is that this post, and the couple that have proceeded it, will get you thinking and prompt further discussion in this area. Do feel free to contact me to share your thoughts on what I’ve said. I’d love to hear what you’ve got to say, even if you disagree with me.

So, until next time…

Peace,

Adam

In my previous post I gave some reasons, although very brief, about why I believe addressing the issue of unity in diversity and seeking to encourage this is a Gospel issue.

Ephesians Chapter 2 v11-22 (as posted last time) is one many passages in the Bible that clearly explains the impact of the Gospel on relationships horizontally and vertically. By that I mean, that Paul, the author of the letter to the Ephesians, makes it clear that these two very different groups of people who hated each other (Jews and Gentiles, in the context) were united together by the cross of Jesus. Jews and Gentiles had far more beef with each other than any Man City or Man United fans. But the letter talks about the unity coming about as the dividing wall of hostility is destroyed because of Jesus’ death on the cross. And as one people, one new humanity united together, they were also united to God, through Jesus’ death on the cross. As one new humanity, they are also part of God’s household and part of this grand new building, together, with Jesus at the centre.

Of course, the challenge to any Christian reading this part of the letter is to live in unity, to live as one family and to live as citizens together in God’s kingdom!

In the context of this post, we must be looking within but also be challenging our young people. If they consider themselves to be part of God’s family then what impression are they giving when they only hang out with the same group of people. What impression are giving when they coexist and tolerate the others who happen to also be around, who are different to them?

Surely, in light of our unity to one another and to Christ we shouldn’t just tolerate each other….we need to love each other as who we actually are to each other…family.

With all that was written in the previous post, all of this begs the immediate question, how can I strive to make a difference in the area I have a significance influence over i.e. the youth ministry at church? That’s a question which I’ve been wrestling with for all the time I’ve been working at Hope Church for.

The answers to two big questions remain the same now to what they were two years ago. Is the youth ministry at church diverse? Absolutely! Is the youth ministry united in the diversity? No.

It’s a somewhat demoralising synopsis of the ministry but honesty is a crucial step towards moving forward. As the leader of the youth ministry, I’d love to say that we’re a united youth ministry that beautifully reflects part of the bride and body of Christ. However, we’re not and I’ve got to at least take some responsibility for this. Divides that we see in the youth set up are most evident along racial and class lines (but it’s also worth noting that class and race are so entwined in the South African context). I must also point out that I do not wish to tar everything to an extent which ignores the progress which has been made. Interracial friendships which have been formed and examples of people stepping outside of their comfort zones to engage with those different from them has been a blessing to witness. However, we’ve still got a very long way to go.

Even though I feel somewhat responsible for the divisions we see in our youth ministry, it’s also reassuring to be reminded that ultimately, when hearts are involved, I can’t take the weight of responsibility. Only God can transform hearts for all our young people to see the importance of loving and engaging with people different from themselves. Only the Gospel of Jesus has the power to do this transformative work. None of my elaborate strategies or head scratching can bring about those kind of results!

Saying all of that though, as instruments in the redeemer’s hand we are called to proclaim the Gospel of Christ and live wholeheartedly for him as well as encouraging others to do so. Consequently, a large part of my role must include thinking hard and implementing plans to help facilitate the best possible environment for the young people to unite in diversity. We must create an atmosphere which encourages relationships to be forged and built in the midst of a diverse context and my hope and prayer is that changes going into next year will be used by God to bring this about.

We have a mission statement for our youth ministry going into next year which can be summarised in four words:

United, Know, Serve and Reach

We are seeking to be a Gospel family, united together to know Christ better, serve each other and the church better and seek to reach out to our community with the Gospel.

At the heart of the ministry going into next year, we’re keen to make small group Bible studies the nucleus of the Youth ministry. We’ll be inviting the teens into the property which I stay on and hosting them for midweek Bible studies where we’ll be seeking to strengthen relationships with them, as leaders and longing for relationships to grow amongst the teens themselves. In my limited experience in youth ministry and even looking back on the days when I was a teenager, being invited into someone’s home and even having food provided did a huge amount to bring down barriers. It also gained the respect of me for my leaders and gave me a much more welcoming environment for me to be myself, open up and get to know others in a deeper way. If you’re are a praying person then please do be praying for these groups which we’ll be either restating or launching at the beginning of next year.

Please could you also be praying for a summer camp taking place this week. The camp is called Crossword and hundreds of teens are currently gathering to have lots of fun together and hear the Gospel clearly proclaimed. Please pray for the teens to respond to the Gospel by submitting to Jesus as the King of their lives. Pray that an outworking of this would be that strong relationships would be forged on camp and for there to be unity in the diversity on camp.

A few months back, our youth ministry held a fundraiser for this camp where we held a silent auction. The event was a resounding success on multiple fronts. Most importantly, we raised a lot of money to help send our teens on camp. Followed by this, it was an event which seemed to be enjoyed by people across the whole church and to the delight of many of the teens it culminated in me losing all of the hair on my head! This wasn’t due to stress you would be pleased to know but because I clearly set the teens a challenge which was too easy to complete. I said to the teens that if, they themselves, raised a set amount of money for the auction (a cunning ploy to get them to run and own the event) then I would shave all my hair off? They succeeded so the shears came out. The results are below and the comments flowed in. I’m humbled to work with people on the staff team at church who made the following comments. ‘Adam, did one of your parents drop you when you were a baby, given the shape of your head, which I can now properly see? Moments later…’Adam, I think your head should appear on a national geographic programme with the amount of contours on it!’. It’s be a pleasing sight to see the hair growing back though – an early Christmas present.

Stay tuned for my next post in the series, ‘Unity in diversity’?, where I’ll be tackling the topic ‘Unity in diversity? Evangelical passivity is a problem…’

 

Peace,

Adam

I’m back and over the coming weeks I will be turning up the notches on the controversial dial….

Over the next few blog posts, I’ll be seeking to address the topic of ‘Unity in diversity’ in some of the areas which I’m engaging with. This post is an introduction to the series and I must start by pointing out that I’m in no way an expert in this field. The time I’ve had to research and experience a range of areas, which fit into this topic, will be incredibly limited. I’m not going to be able to give you masses of detail on the topic, even with what I have engaged with and experienced. Also, some of the things which I may write, in this coming post and future ones, may even upset or offend you. If that is the case, then I do apologise for any offence or upset caused. The sake of writing this series of blog posts is to not be controversial for the sake of being controversial. I strongly believe it’s a topic that needs to be written, spoken and acted on far more than it already is, particularly in the church. I also recognise how the dynamics around the discussion around this area can sometimes be polarising. What I’m seeking to do is simply provide you with some of my experiences in the area of unity in diversity and then seek to take a Biblical worldview to engage with some of the specific issues, which I’ll be addressing. I do hope I speak the truth but importantly speak it in love and do forgive me if you ever feel that I’m not abiding by this.

So why? Why am I writing about unity in diversity? A proper answer to this question should take up the content of a book and in fact, as I go through the series, I’ll be recommending books which address the topic in a much better way than I ever could. But without further a do, let me synthesise in a few brief paragraphs:

Talking about unity in diversity is incredibly important. In fact, it’s a Gospel issue. I’m going to be focusing more on the diversity we see when it comes to racial and ethnic backgrounds but diversity can be seen in so many other areas too. The obvious other areas around us include gender, culture and class. It’s helpful to note that two of these areas, race and class, are in fact human constructs but for the sake of etymology I’ll still engage using these terms and recognise them for how they’re used now in society.

If you’re a Christian reading this, we need to address unity in diversity because the Bible does. When we refuse to act on the implications of unity in diversity, I would go as far to say that we’re seriously undermining the value of each human as representing God’s image.

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them male and female he created them. Genesis Chapter 1 v 27

Furthermore, we’re not even taking the Great Commission, given by Christ, seriously when we refuse to act on the implications of unity in diversity. Please note, these implications will be explored in some more detail in following posts.

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew Chapter 28 v 18-20

I know I fail to live out to live out the Great Commission in this specific area, on a regular basis. I need to recognise my need to become more like Christ in this area but I know that as I also seek to grow in this area myself I’m also called to speak out and encourage others to live out the Great Commission – to raise disciples who will obey Jesus’ commands and seek to live out a new identity, if they have accepted Christ into their lives.

The Bible clearly demonstrates that our relationship, as humanity, with God matters. However, it also clearly demonstrates how our relationships with each other matter, as well. If you’re a Christian reading this, then how seriously do we as Christians take Jesus’ commands to love God and to love neighbour in the area of racial unity?

Even in a secular society and amongst people who aren’t Christians, I’m still called to be salt and light and reflect the light of Christ in the darkness where I do see so many wrongs and abuse, in this area.

So, all of this begs the immediate question, how can I strive to make a difference in the area I have a significance influence over i.e. the youth ministry at church? That’s a question which I’ve been wrestling with for all the time I’ve been working at Hope Church for.

I’ll be posting again very soon on the topic of unity in diversity in the youth ministry of the church I work at. In the meantime, to give you a heads up, let me give you a small glimpse into what I’ll be addressing over the coming posts:

 

• Unity in diversity? Progress must be made in the youth ministry…
• Unity in diversity? Evangelical passivity is a problem…
• Unity in diversity? Dear fellow white people…
• Unity in diversity? Hope for the future…

 

I’m going to be bold and explicit and I hope that the posts prompt further discussion and engagement amongst people who read them. You may disagree with points I make and that’s ok. I would love to hear more from people that may disagree or want clarity on something I write so that we can engage further.

Let me leave you with one of my favourite passages in the Bible (if I’m allowed one?). It’s from a letter written by Paul to the church in Ephesus and this place had a diverse context. I hope you can begin to see why this passage is incredibly relevant to the topic being addressed and in fact foundational to our youth ministry. More on this in my next post though:

¹¹ Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— ¹² remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, ¹⁵ by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, ¹⁶ and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. ¹⁷ He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

¹⁹ Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, ²⁰ built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. ²¹ In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. ²² And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Ephesians 2:11-22

 

Peace,

Adam

They did it! They really went on to do it! Yep, England finished second best in the Rugby World Cup! Well done Eddie Jones and the boys…just one place to go…bring on 2023…

I will tell you what was good to see… and I mean this. It was a very significant thing to see Siya Kolisi, the first black springbok captain, lifting the Web Ellis Cup, to the delight of millions of South Africans. I appreciate that sport can’t solve the problems of a country but boy can it provide a sense of excitement, togetherness, inspiration and even hope that not a lot else can rival. Even as a die hard England rugby supporter I’m so glad that South Africa won the World Cup. Of all nations in the tournament, they’re the country who needed it the most. So, it was a joy to witness it go their way, even if it was in a rather embarrassingly emphatic way! My renditions of ‘God save the Queen’ and ‘Jerusalem’ were soon to be quickly forgotten. My new target of learning the SA national anthem suddenly became a priority and challenge set by those around me.

So then, in other news, since returning from my visit to the UK in June/July there have been quite a lot of changes or developments. Let me spend most of this post explaining a bit more.

In short, I’m loving my new role! It’s been such a blessing and joy to lead the youth here at Hope church. I would be telling a big lie to you if I was to say that it hasn’t come without its challenges – there have been many over the past couple of months. However, I’m grateful for how God has provided me with the strength, energy, wisdom and even renewed passion to manage the situation and long to see the youth work grow. I’m enjoying the opportunities to plan for the youth set up next year and think through how we can move forward as an area, strengthen unity in the diversity we have and look to reach more teens with the Gospel.

On top of this, you may remember that I was planning on going to George Whitefield College to study theology in Cape Town.

Well….so came a further development…don’t worry…it’s good news! A few weeks ago, an idea was proposed to me by the Pastor of Hope Church. This was about whether I would be at all interested in postponing my studies at GWC and commit to going in 2021, instead, and stay on at church another year. However, it was made very clear that he was still keen for me to do what was right for me and that if I thought that this would be studying next year then he would still back me all the way but was eager to suggest staying on as a possibility, also.
After various conversations with people, I’m more confident that things will look different going into 2021, with regards to staffing and the future youth plan. Also, I’ve been really enjoying my job and with the ideas and teams I’ve been building so far, I’d actually be keen to oversee this into next year, as well. I’ve also been presented with the opportunity to undertake some biblical counselling training with the church next year, as well. Longer term, this would add a lot of value to future college experience. So, with all of this in mind – after much thought and prayer, I’ve recently come to the conclusion that I would like to pursue staying on another year in Johannesburg and pursue studies going into 2021, instead. It’s a decision I really feel I’ve owned.
So, there we have it – the bombshells have been dropped and the big news shared but do please be continuing to partner with me in your prayers as I seek the Lord’s will in all of this and seek to trust in him wholeheartedly.

To add to all of this, would you believe it, Hope Church have had their first carol service of the year already! We had it at the evening service, on Sunday just gone! I know right…there’s something profoundly disturbing about singing Christmas carols, at the beginning of November but to wave the big lump of cheese around…the message of Christmas is for all year round, right?!

We have a lot of students who attend our evening service and we couldn’t bear the thought of them missing out on belting out some Christmas anthems. So, we held a carol service before they finish their exams and run away from us, for the holidays.

Do, also, check out a song I’ve recently written and sung on Sunday, which I hope encapsulates some of the key reasons for why we celebrate what we do. (Why we celebrate what we do…later this year)!

Do stay tuned for the next post which will be coming soon! I’ll be writing about a recent fundraiser that the youth team held to raise funds to send our teens on summer camp. I’ll also share the horror of saying goodbye to my hair but I will leave you hanging for now…until next time.

Peace,

Adam

You may be aware about some of the trouble that’s recently erupted, here in SA. Tragically, there’s been another wave of attacks and protests against foreigners. As well as this, a couple of high profile femicides have led to a wave of protests against gender based violence. It’s tragic that these horrific rapes and murders took place but it’s a good thing that a lot more people are talking about the issues again, which you may know are such prevalent issues, in the country.

The church that I work for are currently going through a series on these recent eruptions, called #enoughisenough. In the first talk we looked at the topic of violence against women and I felt the Pastor spoke really sensitively and boldly on this issue. I was keen to have the youth in the talk and then we took some time to chat about the talk and the issues, as the boys and the girls in separate groups. I was bowled over with how well the youth engaged and the amazing questions they had. The depth of their engagement was not only really encouraging but also incredibly insightful.

I’m eager to share with you some of the profound things that were raised in our conversation with the youth boys, to give you an insight into the level of engagement. I was pleasantly surprised and perhaps you may be too?

So, I helped to lead the discussion with the group of boys that came on Sunday and I was eager to hear their thoughts on what had just been said in the talk we sat through. We launched straight in by opening up the conversation by asking the boys to raise challenges, thoughts and general ideas that were raised in their mind, from what they had just heard.

For most of the discussion, I was encouraged to experience that my main role was really to simply help facilitate the discussion, as a lot of the boys were quite open to sharing some of their thoughts. So, the conversation began with the opinion being raised about it not seeming fair that all men seemed to receive the label of ‘trash’ and seemingly get blamed and tarred with the same brush. To provide context, for those who are unaware, a movement called #menaretrash has re-emerged recently after high profile rapes and murders have sparked more protests and an outcry on social media.

The point was also raised by some of the guys that all rape is bad and therefore the question was asked about whether the topic being discussed at hand should encompass all those effected by rape – men, women and children. I was pleased that some of our youth were happy to share these views on how they felt but I was even more amazed by the response which followed. One of our youth members responded to both of these comments with a maturity that I felt was way beyond his age.

We all looked on in amazement at the response which followed, which addressed the severity of colonialism, apartheid and poverty playing significant roles and causes in leading to a dysfunctional environment. The idea was presented that this would have shaped mindsets and attitudes in such a profound way leading to the issue which we were exploring being an issue which is predominately one way. It was flagged up that key statistics show that the main issue is violence by men and so often this takes the form of being by men on women but it does of course feature violence by men on men. The point was fleshed out as the person making the point highlighted that addressing the specificity of violence by men against women doesn’t infer that this isn’t an issue amongst women who may also violate men. However, due to the nature of the issue being so one sided it was pointed out that the main issue at hand is violence by men and against women, so therefore it must be addressed and recognised as such.

Following this part of the discussion, I had the opportunity to begin to steer the conversation in a direction about, how as young men, we can live, speak up and use our position of power in society for good…for redistributing power more equally… for the sake of God’s kingdom, reflecting God’s character and living as Godly men in this world.

In thinking about how this may look practically, there was push back by some of the boys about the effectiveness of protests. It was mentioned that despite the value of raising awareness, it would seem that many people in protests may not have thought through a viable solution to take things forward. Consequently, we as leaders encouraged the boys to think about what would work instead…instead of receding into a mindset that could produce inactivity and passivity. The point was raised that we can often be overwhelmed by the enormity of the issue at hand that we probably get overwhelmed to a stage of doing very little or nothing at all. However, the challenge posed was to consider what we can do. If we, as men, play our own part and far more men had that same mentality of taking responsibility, then we could begin to see the story change and the narrative flipped around.

There was a profound question asked about how to confront and challenge abuse in a context where it could be argued that certain behaviour of perceived abuse is really no abuse at all but simply an accepted cultural practice. This could have been talked about for a lot longer than we did – it was such a good question to ask. I wonder how you would begin to answer it?

We also talked about the fact that it’s the heart which ultimately needs changing in the brokenness which we see – the heart of the problem is ultimately the problem of the human heart. That’s how the power of the gospel ultimately transforms, restores, heals, gives hope and leads more people to seek to change…as people saved for good works.

Over the next few Sundays we’ll be looking at violence against children, violence against foreigners and then pressing more into restoration and healing from what’s happened and currently happening.

It’s my prayer that the teens will continue to engage well with these issues and that the chats had won’t fizzle out but be the start of an ongoing conversation about how we can address these issues… and address them in light of the Gospel.

Love and peace,

Adam

In the report that I was asked to write summarising the youth work at church last year, I wrote, ‘I’m confident in summing up last year by stating it was a crazy, fun packed, eccentric filled, ground breaking, yet Gospel centred year.’ Woven into those descriptions also feature uncertainty, division, tension, anxiety to which you might be thinking…how?!

In particular, the last few months have been a bit of a roller coaster but it’s been a ride which has brought and is continuing to bring about so much positive change. Witnessing how the Gospel is so relevant and speaks into immensely challenging situations faced by the young people and those on the team, has been incredibly powerful.

I’ve been immensely encouraged to have witnessed signs of how God has been at work in the hearts and lives of many of our young people and leaders. Personally, I can testify to the change that I’ve seen in my own heart, even though circumstances may have seen rough at times. A challenging few months have helped me to see, even more clearly, how my true hope of satisfaction and rest are found in God. A mindset of dominating self reliance has been shown to be such a fragile and short sighted way of thinking and has been burned away at many points. I know that this has been the case for some of our youth and leaders this year as well and I praise God for the powerfully painful lessons he has been teaching us.

So, crazy – yes, fun packed – at many points, eccentric – a chaotic mix and Gospel centred largely because it was Gospel centring.

Lyrics from a favourite hymn of mine have been in my mind recently – ‘Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love, here’s my heart, oh, take and seal it seal it for Thy courts above’ (Come thou fount of every blessing).

On the theme of change in the youth work, last week, the man, the myth, the legend that is Marvin Mukhavhuli decided with the church leadership that it was best for him to step down from overall leadership of the youth work at Hope Church. This was decided to give him the best possible opportunity to recover from long term illness by stripping back on his workload and easing back into things as and when he feels able. So, without further a do, I must say the following:

This legend has been a mentor to me, a leader, a great friend, a brother, my banter buddy and a soldier for Christ. He’s been this to me and I’m sure this and so many other things to so many others. His passion and zeal for seeking to help engage the Gospel with young people is infectious. His care and compassion for those around him are so evident to see. His relational and warm nature is a gift from God which has been and will continue to be used to encourage, spur on and lead many to Christ, as he presents Jesus to these young people.  He’s an ambassador for Christ and I am grateful to be able to spend eternity with this wonderful gent!

 

This does all then lead to the question of what happens next…?

Well, in light of the decision that was made, after discussion, careful consideration and prayer the church have encouraged me to step into the role of interim youth worker for the next few months to build a stronger team and help the senior leadership of the church in overseeing the transition into next year. We’ve discussed the role and expectations and I’ve felt that it would be right to step into. I’m confident that I’m going to be mentored and managed well in the role and have already been freed up to give a lot more time to helping things run as best as we can.

I’ve been saying to people that I’ve been pushing for someone to fill the role of a youth worker who has been freed up to spend more time but just wasn’t expecting that to be me! I’m incredibly excited about the role I’m stepping in to and recognise I have some big boots to fill. In many ways, I don’t feel ready for it but to be honest at whatever point of having to make this decision I’m not sure I would feel completely ready.

Marvin joked with me that I’m now the Nick Fury of the team (apologies to all the non Marvel fans out there…if you don’t know who he is, ask Google)! Not sure what to make of Marvin’s illuminating comparison though – a middle aged black man with an eye patch…the resemblance is uncanny.

On a slightly more serious note, if you’re a praying person then could I encourage you to pray for the following things:

I would really appreciate your prayers for wisdom and guidance as I continue in conversations and begin to plan some ways forward. Pray that I would continue to be honest with myself and the senior staff, at church, about how I’m feeling as I progress and that I wouldn’t heap unnecessary expectations on myself because I’m confident they are not there by the leadership. Pray that I would be wise with my time, prioritise well and that God would continue to use me and the current team around to build a bigger team of leaders which would help us to engage and minister more effectively to the teens. Pray for the teens and their continued spiritual growth too.

Finally, if you could keep praying for Marvin, as well, that would be much appreciated. That he would keep growing in a dependence in the Lord and would be able to feel that stepping back and doing what he can when he feels up to it would help him in his recovery.

 

Looking forward to updating you further. Onwards….

 

Peace and love,

Adam 🙂