Wednesday, December 28, 2005
The Future of Faith In -----------
I’m in and out of countries with war, famine, and major crisis, mobilizing communities of faith and followers of Jesus to serve those places as Jesus would have. I’ve just returned from such a trip to 3 nations and, though tired and fighting a cold, really had an awesome time. When I went to one of those places for the first time in early 2002, there was a man that followed me quietly around. He was from one of the ethnic minorities of that particular nation. One night, late, he knocked on the door of the room I was in--he wanted to talk. "You are Christen?" he asked in his broken English. "Yes, I am." "Me too. I am pastor of my family and two other families here--but very dangerous." I responded, "I, too, am a pastor." His eyes lit up. "You pastor, then you must teach me." How do you teach a guy in a few hours all he needs to know? I gave him my Bible, a Swindoll book on Moses I had with me, a Lucado book, along with Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven life--it had just come out.
On my trips there, I’ve never been able to connect with the guy or find him again, though I’ve tried. As I was getting ready last week, there was a knock on the door at the place where I was staying--it was my friend. I couldn’t believe it. We embraced, and began to talk. He told me how he had used my Bible and the books to help teach others.
What would his faith look like? How would it shape our view of God, not just how would we shape his view. I began to ask him many questions--this was a first generation believer--how did he view God? What was his theology? What would a first generation believer with very little contact with other believers believe? This is a fascinating thing I’ve been asking a lot lately given I meet people like that globally who don’t have centuries of the Christian faith. What are the non-negotiables, how do they define things? When Christianity is taken to its bare bones, what is it really? I asked him, "Who is Jesus to you?" God’s son--and God was his reply. "What do you mean, God?" He replied again, "He is God." He didn’t know the language of the Trinity, but he believed that Jesus was human, Son of God, but divine God, as well. Wow! For no one to teach him, that’s pretty amazing. I then asked him, "How do you believe a person becomes a Christian?" "Two things, Mr. Bob, first you must seek God, then when you find Him, you must obey Him. This is what happened with me. I sought God and, in time, He revealed Himself to me and as He did, I obeyed Him." It’s true, you can have your Four Spiritual Laws, your Roman Road, all of that, but it comes down to hearing God’s voice and then responding to His invitation and--he did that. The faith that he will take to the future is simple and powerful.
We spoke about many things, as we were finishing. He wanted me to meet someone later that day and we set up a time to meet. He showed up at the appropriate time and with him was his 12-year-old son. With great pride he said, "I want you to meet maybe the youngest Christian in . . . This is my son and he is very smart, Mr. Bob." He is 12 and has a beautiful name. He took the Purpose-Driven Life book and memorized parts of it and then taught it to the children in his house church--a 12-year-old teaching children! He’s very smart and top of his class and wants to be educated. I told him I’d do my best to help him if he keeps his grades up. I’ve been blessed to be able to help many kids do this both believers and non-believers, alike. I asked him, "So, what do you want to do with your life?" "I want to grow up to be like my Dad--I want to help people like him and like Jesus." I began to have to fight the tears and then just gave up. Here is a young man in a very uncertain place in very uncertain surroundings with a very certain faith. He is the future faith of this nation. I had already met many significant people that are movers and shakers in this nation--but perhaps not a single one more significant or important than this young man.
I left that nation driving down roads that were dangerous and uncertain-- but with a strong confidence God was there, and so were my brothers and sisters in Christ--and the future of faith there was strong. God is strong and present in every situation, especially those where all hell is breaking loose.
On my trips there, I’ve never been able to connect with the guy or find him again, though I’ve tried. As I was getting ready last week, there was a knock on the door at the place where I was staying--it was my friend. I couldn’t believe it. We embraced, and began to talk. He told me how he had used my Bible and the books to help teach others.
What would his faith look like? How would it shape our view of God, not just how would we shape his view. I began to ask him many questions--this was a first generation believer--how did he view God? What was his theology? What would a first generation believer with very little contact with other believers believe? This is a fascinating thing I’ve been asking a lot lately given I meet people like that globally who don’t have centuries of the Christian faith. What are the non-negotiables, how do they define things? When Christianity is taken to its bare bones, what is it really? I asked him, "Who is Jesus to you?" God’s son--and God was his reply. "What do you mean, God?" He replied again, "He is God." He didn’t know the language of the Trinity, but he believed that Jesus was human, Son of God, but divine God, as well. Wow! For no one to teach him, that’s pretty amazing. I then asked him, "How do you believe a person becomes a Christian?" "Two things, Mr. Bob, first you must seek God, then when you find Him, you must obey Him. This is what happened with me. I sought God and, in time, He revealed Himself to me and as He did, I obeyed Him." It’s true, you can have your Four Spiritual Laws, your Roman Road, all of that, but it comes down to hearing God’s voice and then responding to His invitation and--he did that. The faith that he will take to the future is simple and powerful.
We spoke about many things, as we were finishing. He wanted me to meet someone later that day and we set up a time to meet. He showed up at the appropriate time and with him was his 12-year-old son. With great pride he said, "I want you to meet maybe the youngest Christian in . . . This is my son and he is very smart, Mr. Bob." He is 12 and has a beautiful name. He took the Purpose-Driven Life book and memorized parts of it and then taught it to the children in his house church--a 12-year-old teaching children! He’s very smart and top of his class and wants to be educated. I told him I’d do my best to help him if he keeps his grades up. I’ve been blessed to be able to help many kids do this both believers and non-believers, alike. I asked him, "So, what do you want to do with your life?" "I want to grow up to be like my Dad--I want to help people like him and like Jesus." I began to have to fight the tears and then just gave up. Here is a young man in a very uncertain place in very uncertain surroundings with a very certain faith. He is the future faith of this nation. I had already met many significant people that are movers and shakers in this nation--but perhaps not a single one more significant or important than this young man.
I left that nation driving down roads that were dangerous and uncertain-- but with a strong confidence God was there, and so were my brothers and sisters in Christ--and the future of faith there was strong. God is strong and present in every situation, especially those where all hell is breaking loose.
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