Leadership, Integrity and Nation building. – by Amoko Fodomula Laku In this chapter I am going to offer ideas that can increase a leader’s power and strength with others in any organisation or nation. By ‘power’ I mean, “the ability to influence or control people, the ability to achieve something or make something happen, politically – control of a region, a country or a government”.[1] A ‘strong’ leader is someone “who has strength, confidence, determination, is not easily broken in their emotional health and who is good at leadership”.[2] Bombs, mines and explosions cause havoc everywhere they are used in anger. People are injured, maimed, even killed indiscriminately. Yet the cars and trucks on our streets and roads are mostly powered by explosions – explosions that are under strict control. In a similar way power and strength for leadership may be abused or properly used. What I am suggesting will encourage good use of power. So, first we need to ask a question. ‘What is leadership?’ For us to give specific instances that can increase any leader’s power with others, there must initially be a job description for the role of leader, that has been set by, evolved and developed by the field or appointed field committee. The whole team, organisation and prospective leaders need to read this carefully before finalising any appointment for a given time. The job description and responsibilities need to be clear, authoritative and directional. My purpose in writing this chapter is to help churches, missions, business organisations and even governing political parties, to see things differently and then to gain the skills and competencies needed for the multicultural contexts of today. Then everybody can create environments at their workplaces that make Gods’ reconciling initiatives visible and powerful, encouraging all people to work together and well. We all need skills for discerning accurately where our organisations are. Only then will the complex and changing systems we employ, and the people who work them, become practical and purposeful actions in our intercultural lives.[3] For the leader to be strong and powerful he/she needs to have the following: An advisory committee The role of this committee is to advise the leader to share what people on it feel is the best thing to do, the best way to move forward to act as board members for the ideas of the leader to discuss major field activities beforehand, with a view to bringing recommendations to assist the leader in the evaluation of new workers to handle, with the leader, any personnel problems within the organisation. Close accountability Accountability means to be in a position where other people have the right to criticise or ask explanations of the leader. Accountability permeates all levels of leadership and the administration of any organisation, so that no one can ‘go it alone’ but must follow the chain of administration or coordinating council or leaders’ council, with the workers. Leaders who are working under an accountability team will have power in every step they are taking, because they will be backed up by the team/board members as long as they feel that the leader is respecting and honouring them. Clear responsibilities The main responsibilities of the leader need to be clear to all. That will give him/her power. Examples of areas may include: initiation and implementation of objectives and strategy pastoral care of all workers orientation appropriate language learning arrangements the assessment and placement of new workers the development of workers’ gifts and ministries the maintenance of unity and cultivation of a spirit for full fellowship in the organisation full co-operation with relevant committees training for other leaders the transfer of responsibility to others building communications both within the organisation and to outsiders.[4] It is obvious from 1 Peter 5:2-4 that a domineering, autocratic form of leadership is not the scriptural pattern. I am sure this applies equally to leaders of political and religious groupings: “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away”. The teaching of Christ in Matthew 20:25-28 makes it clear that the leader must be pre-eminently a servant, a servant to the group being led. “Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many”. Authority In the final analysis, the basis of any leader’s authority is from God. Trace the word ‘leadership’ through: Numbers 27:18 Numbers 33:1 Acts 15:22 Galatians 2:2 Hebrews 13:7 Hebrews 13:17, “Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you”. Hebrews 13:24. 1. Authority to lead is given to a person by the Lord (entrusted) 2. It may be developed by acquired knowledge (expertise) 3. It can be gained from fellow workers who see the quality of his/her life and work (earned respect) 4. and from his/her appointment (election, the legal basis). Any person who does not know his or her source of authority cannot lead properly. Role expectancy Expectation from both the leader and team or organisation members needs to be clear from the terms of work, activity/ministry. What will further the agreed objectives? The care and concern from the leader towards the team or organisation members can encourage this. The leader is often looking for results, while the followers look for personal recognition based on a caring attitude by the leaders. The leader needs to carefully use some of these approaches, especially in organisational leadership. This focus on implemental and leaders’ empowerment is intended to deepen the organisation’s interpretive and relational capacities for intercultural life. Positive care for people often produces more careful people. Know the leadership triad Those in leadership need to attend to activities which help them perceive, interpret and act concerning the situation on the ground. This is helped by understanding the leadership triad: Interpretive leadership which is about means for providing the resources and guidance needed to shape a community of learners, that pays attention to and interprets both texts and contexts. Relational leadership shapes all the human connections internally and externally and attends to the health and synergism of those relationships. Implemental leadership guides and initiates both activities and structures, so that an organisation’s message embodies meanings and relationships. By overlapping people remain vitally connected with one another and the team. If they lose their cohesion, then organisational dysfunction results. Be a good follower Someone said that, “the best leaders are ones who also know how to follow”. Many leaders in the Bible were first followers, such as Joseph, Genesis 37-50, and Daniel, Daniel 1-6. A leader may also step out of leadership gracefully and become a follower again, after having enjoyed a leadership position. Unfortunately, it is a difficult thing for many leaders to step out of a particular place of leadership. Part of the price of leadership is to not hold on to your leadership position too tightly. If you do, you may find yourself defending the top of your hill when it is time to retreat and to find another hill. Daniel was a gracious man, who did not hold onto his leadership too tightly. He could go with the flow of promotion and demotion. Joseph and Daniel went with the ebb and flow of leadership in their respective days. Humility is a good trait for any leader to have, because it keeps him/her from having too high an opinion of their own leadership. If you are willing to give up your leadership, you will not protect it at any cost. This attitude keeps you from being corrupted by the power that comes with leadership. If you can keep free of corruption, it can spare you, your followers and the organisation you are leading, a lot of pain. [5] No pain, no gain When we look at most of the leaders in the Bible, we begin touching on the issues of suffering as part of the price for leadership. Most paid a price for leading their people and community. There was the pain of confusion, rejection, hardworking, of following wisdom, maintaining integrity, losing leadership, isolation, as well as facing up to any revealed personal shortcomings. Why does suffering play such a large part in leadership training and the actual job of leading? The answer is very simple: because leadership is a skill carried out by imperfect people in an imperfect world. Leaders care for the needs of others. There is a price to pay when you care passionately about something. Leaders are vulnerable because of their positions. They are always being evaluated by others. Good leaders are in the process of still growing themselves, so effective leaders never stop personal learning. We need more effective and powerful leaders than ever before, because there are more voices crying out for leadership in the world, nations, churches, missions and organisations. We need men and women whose lives imitate those people in the Bible who were worthy of the name ‘leader’. “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ the same yesterday and today and forever”, Hebrews 13:7-8. To imitate the faith of former leaders, we need to study their lives and think back over the lives of those we have watched and listened to. Jesus Christ is 100% consistent, the same yesterday, and forever. The lessons He taught in the past from Scripture and society apply to us today. He enabled them to live lives of faith in their workaday worlds. He will enable us to live the life of the applied Christian faith today. Clinton said, “Leadership is a lifetime of lessons. It is not a set of do-it-yourself correspondence courses that can be worked through in a few months or a year”.[6] To have changes in our communities and a better future we need leaders, as Elmore put it, “The way to make a batter future is to impact the next generation of leaders, to give them a head start in their leadership and to help them avoid some difficult pitfalls”.[7] Be a visionary person Leadership is a lot about the future, and the future is about vision. Today’s leadership sees what we need to be tomorrow and implements the God-honouring ways of getting there. Characteristics of successful leaders have been extensively studied in recent years. The results show that vision is the only characteristic of effective leadership that is universal for skilled leaders: 1. to establish a vision 2. to set standards for performance and 3. to create a focus and direction for organisational efforts.[8] It is the privilege and responsibility of leaders to move people, nations, governments, churches, missions and organisations, from where they are today to where they need to be tomorrow. This happens through goal setting, long forward planning, vision casting, or some other names given to developing a fresh, compelling and achievable vision for the future. The vision should build on the mission concept by describing specific future achievements, that would represent substantial and worthwhile fulfillments of the mission. Vision needs to be accomplished by reality, because realistic leaders always respond to the facts. Realism means to be under no illusions. The leader must be an ethical person. An ethical leader is always sensitive to people, for ethics basically means to be of service to others. The crown of all is courage, because a courageous leader always claims the power to initiate, act, and risk. Courage means to act with sustained initiative, full of power, with confidence and hope.[9] Conclusion I propose all of these points to help us to become better and more effective leaders. Remember, being called a leader does not mean that we are providing quality leadership to people around us. Leadership can come from anyone, whether they are called leaders or not, because those who serve, communicate, train and build up the team, are the real leaders in any situation regardless of their title or salaries. May God help us be good leaders, who help others to become leaders too. “Together let us impact our generation for good and take leadership to new levels of excellence, by paying the price to be leaders whom God can use and people can follow”.[10] Discussion guide Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted 1. In your nation/community today, why do you think it is necessary to “gain the skills needed” to lead for “the multicultural context”? 2. How do both 1 Peter 5:1-7 and Matthew 20:20-28 develop power for any leader? What lessons must be learned by the leaders? 3. Looking in a mirror what could a leader see about him/herself in Hebrews 13:7-8? Remember, sometimes a mirror shows us things we do not want to see! 4. “It is the … responsibility of leaders to move people, nations, …churches and organisations, from where they are today to where they need to be tomorrow”. Make suggestions for how this can best happen. Support your arguments from Scripture. [1] Macmillan School Dictionary (Oxford, England) 2004. [2] Ibid. [3] Mark L. Branson, & Juan F. Martinez, Church Cultures and Leadership, a Practical Theology of Congregations and Ethnicities (Inter-Varsity Press: Downers Grove, Il., USA) 2011. [4] Stewart Dinnen You can learn to Lead, A Manual for People in Leadership (Christian Focus Publications: Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland) 1997. [5] John W. Stanko So Many Leaders, So Little Leadership, Beyond the Power of Position Lies the Price of Leadership (World Alive Publishers: Nairobi, Kenya) 2009. [6] Dr. J. Robert Clinton The Making of a Leader (Navpress, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA) 1988. [7] Dr. Tim Elmore Nurturing the Leader Within your Child, What Every Parent Needs to Know (Magna Publishing Co. Ltd.: First Edition, Mumbai, India) 2003. [8] Guy S. Saffold Strategic Planning Leadership through Vision (Evangel Publishing House: Nairobi, Kenya) 2008. [9] Peter Koestenbaum Leadership, the Inner Side of Greatness, a Philosophy for Leaders (Wiley Imprint: San Francisco, CA, USA) 2002. [10] John W. Stanko So Many Leaders, So Little Leadership, Beyond the Power of Position Lies the Price of Leadership (World Alive Publishers: Nairobi, Kenya) 2009.

Christian theology in a Sudanese context. God's word written down and published. It took over 1,600 years for the Bible to be written. God the Holy Spirit used people who were as different as kings from peasants, fishermen, poets, clerks and doctors. Between them they authored the sixty-six books. Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages were used. While lots of different subjects are covered, there is one underlying message throughout it all: God the Father saves people through faith in God the Son, as witnessed to by God the Holy Spirit. The original documents were written on papyrus, parchments (shaved and scraped skins), vellum (specifically calf skin), pottery, stones, clay and waxed-wood tablets. All of these have limited life spans. They are easily destroyed. This resulted in new copies often being made by hand, for hundreds of years before the printing press was invented. The first Hebrew Old Testament ever printed was in A.D. 1488 at Soncino, north Italy. The first Greek New Testament ever printed was contained in Complutensian Polyglot, Volume 5, in A.D. 1514. Printing multiplied the number of copies more easily. The standard collection of sixty-six books in our Bible is called the ‘canon’. The church did not create the books included in our Bible. It recognised them as being given from God and it set the limit on further additions. From early in the second century five basic questions were asked as they evaluated all the documents going around the Christian gatherings: 1. Does God’s authority come through this one? 2. Was the author a known, godly servant of God? 3. Is everything in it authentic and proven to be reliable? 4. Is there evidence of God speaking and working through it, transforming people’s lives? 5. Did the very earliest church accept it and use it? The Old Testament canon accepted by the church was the one Jesus had used and never questioned. The New Testament canon was needed by this time, to keep in the authority of the original apostles’ teaching and to keep out writings from the growing number of false teachers (1 Timothy 1:3-7; 2 Peter 2:1-3; 1 John 2:18-27). The same Holy Spirit Who superintended the writing of all the individual books, also superintended the recognition, selection and collection of them into our Bible. By doing this, Jesus Christ kept His promise to guide His disciples into the truth (John 16:13-15). The written canon of Scripture meets the church’s two great needs: for teaching the truths by which all Christians should live, and for pointing out errors into which Christians frequently fall, encouraging their correction. Athanasius of Alexandria in Egypt, wrote the earliest list for a New Testament canon the same as ours, in his 'Easter letter' of A.D. 367. The same list was recognised at the Synod of Hippo A.D. 393 and the 3rd Council of CarthageA.D. 397. Thinking it through. (a). What is the difference between a ‘church-created’ Bible and a ‘church–recognised’ Bible? (b). Why was a ‘canon’ (standard) of Scripture needed? (c). How did Jesus describe the Bible in John 16:13-15? What can we learn from this?

Thoughts from my journey with JESUS. One Replacing Another to restore their Great Relationship Bible reading Romans 5:1-21. When you read this I will hopefully have had the first (or more) of three planned operations, each under a general anaesthetic in my local hospital. It has been discovered that I have tumours, polyps and swellings in my bladder and prostate. Incredibly I saw them myself during a recent cystoscope. Amazing to see bits of me I have had all my life – for the first time in 70 years! Because I have had two previous vigorous cancers in my throat, in 2006 and 2009, the doctors are moving very quickly for me this time around. I definitely thank God. All this has made me think about my death, which may not be very far away. Of course only God knows when for any of us. Thinking about my death immediately makes me think of my salvation. One follows the other. Although I am today[1] already saved thanks to my Lord Jesus, and 24th June 1962 I was saved by being ‘born again’ in a London church meeting,[2] one future day I will be saved when my Saviour Jesus welcomes me to live with Him, and multi-millions more people, in Heaven’s glorious home. But notice, only those born again will enter Heaven, John 3:3-7. Our Moslem friends believe they are saved by praying five times a day, along with many other actions they must do. The call to prayer issued from the mosques five times a day reminds us of the obligation on Moslems to pray (salat). Prayers must be said towards the western corner of the Ka’ba in Mecca. Outside of the mosque a prayer mat is used to keep separate from the world. The Moslem must be ceremonially clean, hence all of the ritual washings.[3] Saved Christians must remember there are big differences between: 1. the Islamic understanding of "being saved" compared to our Christian concept of "being saved", and 2. the means which followers of Mohammed or Jesus trust in to enter Heaven. In Christianity, salvation is about the purification of the heart/soul/life by atonement. This atonement is made for sin by ‘an external Saviour’, that is Someone other than the human being himself or herself. Christianity has solid and living hope in this atonement because a person must be pure to go to Heaven. Many Christians and Moslems know that their own hearts and lives merit God’s judgement with a just punishment, not salvation. But while Moslems keep trying to save themselves, Christians have known God Himself show them His much better Way. All people “think and do things which are against what God wants for us”. This is called Sin. Sin makes everyone Stand In Need before the Holy God. Atonement means “bringing God and believers back into a good relationship”. To the Christian, salvation is “God rescuing humans from sin and bringing them into good relationship with Himself. Christ’s death is the (only) basis for salvation”.[4] About 20 years ago a Moslem Imam from Oxford, England, was invited to Truro Anglican Cathedral, ten miles from where I live, to take part in a discussion. I don’t remember the exact title, but it was something like ‘How all religions are heading in the same direction towards ultimate heaven’. I was in the audience of about 200 people. The Imam spoke interestingly and well. Afterwards there was a time for questions. I was invited to be the first and politely asked him, “Do Moslems believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross?” He answered cleverly by not giving an answer! He knew where I was heading with my question. As the meeting closed 45 minutes later I was invited to ask one last question. I asked the same question as I had at the beginning, saying gently, I felt he had not answered me. This time could he just say, “Yes” or “No”? He looked down and quietly said, “No, we Moslems do not believe that Jesus died on the cross”. I had time to reply, “Then Moslems and Christians cannot be going to heaven the same way. Because it is only through the death of a Mediator, a Substitute, a Saviour, that Christians trust they are going to Heaven”. And I recited: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God … You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly… But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us … Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him!” Romans 5:1-2, 6, 8-9, (italics mine). For every Christian, it is only through a trusting belief in Jesus Christ the Saviour that any individual is guaranteed a place in Heaven. In Islam, no person has such a guarantee. For a Moslem salvation may be achieved through a person’s own good works, including proper behaviour and regular worship. The Bible continues: “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation”, 5:11-12. Read again the title of this short article on a very big subject: “One replacing another to restore their great relationship”. The theological term for this is “Substitutionary Atonement” - Jesus’ death in our place. God came to Jesus’ cross in the ‘100% divine 100% humanity’ of the Person of Jesus. There He substituted Himself for us. This is why Moslem’s do not wear crosses or have crosses in mosques like many Christians wear themselves or have in their churches. Moslems do not believe Jesus died on the cross. Take to your heart a message from one of my favourite Bible teachers, whom I heard on many occasions, in his London All Souls Anglican church and at major Christian conferences in Australia, England and Canada, Rev. John Stott: “The biblical gospel of atonement is of God satisfying Himself[5] for us. The concept of substitution lies at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting Himself for humankind. Man asserts himself against God and puts himself where only God deserves to be; God sacrifices Himself for humankind and puts Himself where only humankind deserves to be. Man claims prerogatives which belong to God alone; God accepts penalties which belong to humankind alone”,[6] (italics mine). Can you see the warning? Do not put yourself or your efforts forward for your salvation. God has provided a Saviour, Himself, for you. Your efforts are no substitute for what God has done! They never ever can be. Genesis chapters 1-3 describe how we people got into the mess we find ourselves in. Death became the normal end of life for everyone since first man Adam. Spiritual life leading to eternal life in Heaven is for everyone who trusts their past, present and future to Jesus Christ. Adam did this, without understanding it fully, when God covered his and Eve’s nakedness using the skin of an innocent but sacrificed animal, see Genesis 3:21. Every time you see a parent clearing up the mess made by their young child think of this. God has resolved our mess! He came Himself and cleaned it up for us. This is why the Christian gospel is such good news! Some people say accusingly, ‘Where was God when Jesus Christ was crucified?’ Their implications are, ‘Why didn’t God protect His man? Why did God desert His prophet Isa? How could God lose Himself in a battle with Satan whom the Qur’an calls Iblis?’ The Christian answer is deep in its simplicity: “All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: be reconciled to God. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God,” 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, (italics mine). God’s initiative, not man’s. God’s doing, not man’s. God fully forgives. God completely reconciles. He (Jesus, God as man) became what we all are, (a sinner), so that any one of us can become a son or daughter of God, (Christian), ready for Heaven’s family gathering. “For if, by the trespass of the one man (Adam), death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One Man, Jesus Christ! Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One Man the many will be made righteous … where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” Romans 5:17-19, (italics mine). One Islamic Hadith that addresses this issue is Sahih Bukhari 8:76:470. It shows how Moslems, including Mohammed himself, have to trust in their own good works to be saved: “Allah's Apostle (Mohammed) said, "The deeds of anyone of you will not save you (from the fire [of hell])." The Muslims asked, "Even you (will not be saved by your deeds), O Allah's Apostle?" He (Mohammed) said, "No, even I (will not be saved) unless and until Allah bestows His mercy on me. Therefore, do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and worship Allah in the forenoon and in the afternoon and during a part of the night, and always adopt a middle, moderate, regular course, whereby you will reach your target (of Paradise)”. I have read of Moslems who say with some scorn, ‘There is no religion easier than Christianity’. They explain ‘In Christianity you don’t have to do anything. You just have to say, ‘I believe in Jesus and that he died as a sacrifice for my sins, and that he is god in the flesh and one in three, trinity, etc. etc.’, and you will be saved. Such men and women are so wrong! They forget that our Lord Jesus said to people who wanted to follow Him in this life and go with Him into the next: “Then (Jesus) said to them all: ‘Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for Me will save it’”, Luke 9:23-24, (italics mine). As a teenager I was only once sent off in an inter-school soccer match. The referee heard swearing and whistled for a foul, pointing in my direction. He sent me off. It was not me who swore. Behind me stood by far the best player in our team. Knowing how good he was I walked from the pitch, taking the sending off he deserved. And I still feel hurt by it now, 55 years on!!! My team mates knew what I was doing. Our school went on to win the match. My perfect Lord Jesus was much more honourable when He substituted Himself in my sinful death on Calvary’s cross. Never has such great Love been expressed. God loves every human being and offers this sure and certain Way of salvation to everyone. Costly to Him but freely to us, though it will demand 100% of our lives once we are born again. Adapted from BiMonthly Encouragement 60, 10th June 2019. Discussion guide 1. With John 3:1-18 open before you explain your understanding of my “I am-I was-I will be” saved. 2. Discuss the practical differences between trusting in one’s own actions for salvation compared with trusting in ‘an external Saviour’ (for the Christian, our Lord Jesus Christ). Think about: a). Differences in motives for living b). Differences in responses toward God c). Differences in demands and responsibilities accepted on one’s life. 3. Who takes the initiative in personal salvation? What makes some people trust in God and other people trust in themselves? Illustrate your answer from personal life or from the Bible. 4. The selected quote describing our Lord Jesus as Mediator, Substitute and Saviour, has seven or eight words that show real blessings for the trusting Christian. Can you list and share them? “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through Whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God … You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly… But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us … Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! … For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation”, Romans 5:1-2, 6, 8-9, 11-12. 5. Illustrate ‘substitutionary atonement’ from Genesis 3:21 and the surrounding Bible passage. “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them”. Consider - personal sin - death - blood - covering - starting again. Perhaps you can write one paragraph, or one page (maximum), and read it to the group. You may, of course, use other Scriptures as references. [1] Written 22nd May 2019. [2] See our Lord Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus in John 3:1-18. [3] Islam – Section 6 the Pillars (Carey College: Whitefield House, London) 1987, pages 5-11. [4] Debbie Dodd Dictionary of Theological Terms in Simplified English (EMIS: Wheaton College, Il.) 2003, pages 23, 130-1 and 125-6. [5] God’s wrath (His righteous judicial anger) satisfied His judgement on our sin, which was all placed on to His Son Jesus. Jesus fully died, before He rose to life again by a miraculous act of God His Father. This is my note of explanation. [6] John Stott The Cross of Christ (Inter-Varsity Press: Leicester) 1986, pages 159-160.

The prophet Haggai 2:8-9, 13-14. God Rules, O.K.? This is the 11th of 14 sermons from the Minor Prophets – the shorter prophetic books in our Bible. Add to them Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel and you have the Prophets as the largest single section of the Bible. I wonder how often do you read from, meditate on, see what God has for you in, the Prophets? The Lord Jesus will help you understand “what is written about Himself in the Prophets”, Luke 24:44, and we must not be “foolish and slow of heart to believe”, Luke 24:25, 26. Things revealed by God belong to us, Deuteronomy 29:29. Illustration: Many of us are blessed with choices of food to eat, clothes to wear. We are all blessed with all of God’s word in our language. Why act as if there was no choice? Why eat the same food? Wear the same clothes? Why read the same, familiar Bible portions every day? Christian maturity tackles deeper issues! How long does a baby remain breast/bottle fed? Born again Christians need to grow into maturity. (a) Haggai tells us the date of his four messages: 1:1, 2:1, 2:10, 2:20. King Darius was a world ruler following Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar. The folk who received Haggai’s messages had lived through the devastation of war. Their fathers or grandfathers lost in war and were displaced into exile, far away from their homeland. The generation to whom Haggai preached were Jews by lineage and ancestry, but Babylonians by birth. They were strangers to their own culture. Born and raised as Third Culture Kids. Application: Does that remind you of any people you know today? You may think of those Sudanese from the South (I don’t like the word ‘Southerners’). You may also think of refugees from Eritrea, Ethiopia hoping for a better life somewhere else. You may also think of ex-pat children, western in appearance but not in language, nor culture, nor life experience. God had Haggai preach then to people on the move, and me now, preaching to His people at a specific time and a place in history. Under three leaders, three large people movements happened as first, Zerubbabel, 50,000, (Ezra 2:1-67), then Ezra (Ezra 7:6) and finally Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2:11, 12) led the exiles who were ready to return to Jerusalem and their surrounding lands. The stories of what happened to them warn displaced Southern Sudanese, refugees and ex-pat people that going home with great ideas is not easy. Things do not usually work out as people think they will. Dreams of home “over there” are often shattered when a person arrives. Years had passed for some since moving back. Their homeland was still a rubble. No promised development. Living was tough. In their hearts they may have thought God had forgotten them. And they may have asked, “Why did we come here?” (b) Haggai tells us and them Who was speaking to them in their situation. Thirteen times it reads “The Lord Almighty says”, 1:2, 5, 7, 9, 14; 2:6, 7, 8, 9(x2), 11, 23(x2), AV, RSV, LB. Older translations say “The Lord of hosts” – “He Who is Yahweh, God of the armies.” A significant title. Haggai wants people to know that military power is not real power! Behind history unfolding is Almighty God outworking His purpose. Haggai says 22 times in 38 verses “The Lord’s word is”, “The Lord declares”. Illustration: Today, of course, we look back on this prophecy, they lived through it. For us it’s like riding in a European train at 150 mph with your back to the lead car and engine. Out of the window you can see where you have been! You can work out where you are by what you have just been past. So we learn where we are in our walk with God as we look back into this open revelation. Application: These returnees had sacrificed to go back home. And it had not worked out. The “2nd year of Darius” brought peace, but not prosperity – not yet. It brought tremendously hard work. Ezra 5:1 and 6:14 both tell us that Haggai and Zechariah preached a message of strengthening and encouragement to the people. “Keep on”. “Look at your priorities”. “Evaluate and adjust”. “Persevere”. Haggai 1:12 summarises the word of the prophet (and the word of God). “Governor Zerubbabel*, high priest Joshua*, and the whole people obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the message of the prophet Haggai, because the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord.” Notice above * there is no secular/sacred division. All life is worship. I want to share with you a ten-word summary helping you to learn from this Scripture – 1. Hear words. 2. Discern source. 3. Fear God. 4. Do what He says. 1. Hear the words. Five times a phrase recurs in Haggai’s preaching. 1:5, 1:7, 2:15, 2:18(x2). “Give careful thought to your ways.” “Give careful thought to this.” “Give careful thought.” Other translations say “Consider your ways.” “Consider how you have fared.” “Think it over,” says the Lord of hosts. “Consider how you have acted and what has happened as a result.” 2:7LB. Commentators add ‘Choose wisely the course of action you will take’. ‘Think carefully. Act well.’ I said earlier: ‘Keep on. Look at your priorities. Evaluate what you do and adjust to meet present need. 1:2-6 may help us apply this personally, or even corporately as KIC. Do we tend to make life comfortable for ourselves to live in – but choose to forget that is uncomfortable for God? Are we satisfied in ministry with little fruit for a lot of expended effort – because we don’t believe God can do much more?* Jews blamed for inactivity rather than opponents blamed for attacks! 1:7-11 challenge us. Are we doing what we want or what God wants? Is the ‘opposition’ or ‘hardship’ we face day to day actually coming from God Who is deliberately withholding His blessing until we re-adjust our Christian service into His priorities? Hear the words! Now you must test what I say. I attempt to apply today. Illustration: Is the lack of financial viability for Theological Training here simply because the whole set-up is adhering to a church required wrongly imposed western format? Is the lack of teachers in a senior school/or lack of funds for church schools actually because the schools are refusing to adapt to their changing world? Is the lack of a Mission director/team leader basically because there is no vision for a director to direct? Is the problem obtaining visas for some work, a direct result of deception or disregard of government policy and regulation in the past? Or is God in fact closing the door? Is the current state of the National Church the direct result of our (forefathers’) missionary policies? God may call us to repentance, re-evaluation, refocussing. Comfortable for selves, not for God! We reap what we sow. Hear the words! Please don’t just accept my thoughts are from God! Think carefully about them. 2. Discern the source. All prophecy must be tested by Scripture and the Holy Spirit of God. Prophecy can be easily trivialised by some today – too predictable, too easy to speak out. God doesn’t usually need a prompt – to be given permission by the meeting chairperson to speak. “Hear from God the easy way!”. What effect does the ‘instant generation’ in which we live have on apparent prophecy versus diligent studying of God’s word? 2 Timothy 3:7. Our New Testament warns that in the end times people will “be always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.” 2 Timothy 4:3, 4 “will not put up with sound doctrine … follow their own desires … with itching ears (not from mosquito bites but so-called prophecy bites!) (I guess ‘unsound bytes’?) falling away from the truth … turning aside to myths.” Discernment is given to those who are fearing the Lord (1:12); following the Lord (1:12); and being a friend of the Lord (1:12). All help to know the source of the words. The Lord God Almighty is not prejudiced. Always speaking the party line. Not self-contradictory. Not “sometimes” wrong. Not manipulative. Nor deceiving. (God removed prophecy for a time, Zechariah 13:2, 4 when He had said all there was to say). He spoke on after disobedience, exile etc. Then stopped for 400 years, silence. Illustration: What does it mean when you are deliberately not speaking to someone? Illustration: My previous church, Redruth Baptist church in Cornwall, UK, was considering a service time change. In a meeting to discuss and decide on it 1/3 of the people wanted 6.30pm (no change), 1/3 wanted 7.30pm, and 1/3 wanted 5.30pm. When the result was known a word came from the leader of the ‘no change’ group, saying he thought we should try 7.30pm as we had had the other, 6.30pm, for a long time. I believe it was the prophetic voice of God. Everyone immediately knew this was right! 3. Fear the Lord. 1:12. Verse 13 “I am with you”. God calls for hard things but He intends to stand Himself alongside those who accept to do them. God’s work is ultimately done by God’s Spirit. “My Spirit remains among you. Do not fear” anyone except God! 1:14 “So the Lord stirred up the Spirit” of the governor, of the religious leadership, and of the people as a whole – the God-fearing community spirit. They were to be “be strong” in the stirred up Holy Spirit 2:4. 2:6-7 a prophecy of Christ. “In a little while” “a shake-up” “and the Desired of all Nations will come and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord Almighty.” Simeon recognised the fulfilment of this prophecy you remember when the infant Jesus was presented at the temple, Luke 2:25ff. In the baby boy he saw God’s means of salvation – revelation to the Gentiles and glory to Israel. Christians don’t earn salvation by fasting, praying, pilgrimage etc. We are given a Saviour: Jesus! God is so great!! 400 quiet years later. But God did it! Those who walk step by step with God will never be out of His will. They may become out of step with society, or even the church majority. But they will always be marching in time with Almighty God. 4. Do what God says. Read 2:8-9. “‘The silver and gold is mine’”, declares the Lord”. Release your grip on your resources – they’re not actually yours, but God’s. Today’s temple is the people of God. Put resources into people more than plant. Far too much money goes into plant in Sudan today. The Christian Church existed for the first 300 years, with no buildings, no colleges, no ordained ministers! No printed Bibles – yet arguably closer to Jesus than us! 2:10-14 Bad influence travels quicker than good! If a holy priest touches a holy offering is it consecration or contamination? If we try to offer to God something contaminated with sinful thoughts, motives, etc. He will not accept it. “When our ministry is needed by us missionaries more than by the Sudanese people” – something is seriously wrong! 2:15-19 “Now give careful thought to this” (x3). Meagre returns are because I am wanting you to do it My way, not yours! 2:20-23 “Tell Zerubbabel I will …” with God’s Spirit on Zerubbabel, don’t fear enemy nations. With God’s Spirit as your authoritative signet ring, do everything I am asking you to do. And We will do it together! I, God, will always win. I am Almighty. I am first. God’s Spirit gives authenticity to any work. If there is no evidence of God’s Spirit in church, in services, etc. if He has departed: Why are you still there? Verse 23 God says “I will … for I have.” If He has chosen you for a job, do it well for the glory of Christ. Haggai confronts those who accept the status quo. The difference between faith and fatalism is God Almighty. Zerubbabel appears in our New Testament, Matthew 1:12, 13, in the line from King David to Jesus Christ. Haggai doesn’t appear. But God used him to help Zerubbabel help the people become what God wanted where He wanted. Are you ready to be used? God Rules, O.K.? Khartoum International Church 24th November 2002.

Issues facing Christians in Sudan and South Sudan today... Mission section. by Reinhold Straehler “As the Father has sent me, so am I sending you!” Bible reading – John 20:21. No one knows how old Sheikh Ibrahim really is, it must be quite some years. But the man with his broad smile is still strong and walks the few kilometers every Sunday to the little church building between the mountains. About 55 years back he was baptised as the first person from his people group. He was in his teenage years with a sharp mind. He was eager to understand the world around him. At that time strange people came, with a different skin colour, speaking a different language, from a different country, and bringing a different message. It was a message of a God who loves all human people, no matter what language, skin colour or culture they have. A message that touched the heart of young Ibrahim deeply and that created a longing within him, to get himself into a personal relationship with this God. So he took the daring step and became the first follower of Jesus Christ among his people somewhere in the Sudan. Because other followers of Jesus Christ from a far away country had been sent by their home churches, sent to this particular area in the Sudan, because they struggled to overcome geographical barriers, learning a new language and culture, because they adapted to life in a completely new environment, a new church was planted. And as Ibrahim took the first step, others followed him. More and more, until today there is a strong church among this people group. This real event in history was made possible due to a wider movement among Christians commonly called “mission.” We will examine exactly what this mission movement is about and what it has to do with us today? 1. Mission: God’s Desire First of all we need to clarify something important: Mission is not a Western enterprise and it does not originate from a human source. Rather, it is rooted in the nature of God, God Who sends and God Who saves. This can be seen in the whole of the Bible. After the fall of the first humans into sin, God came searching for Adam and Eve, calling: "Where are you?", Genesis 3:9. This question God asked shows His character throughout all generations. God searches for people! He is concerned about people! We have a wonderful illustration of this desire of God in the deliverance of the people of Israel from Egypt. In Exodus 3:7-10 we read how God called Moses for his new ministry: “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” Just imagine this vivid description: God looks from heaven. He shades and squints His eyes to see clearly. He sees the misery of His people. He begins His plan to save them by sending Moses to the Egyptian leaders! God cares for people in need. He is very much determined to help them! What a wonderful God we have! In 1 Timothy 2:3-4 we have the strong statement that God “wants all men and women to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” This is not the will of a hard ruler, but the deepest desire of a loving God. This is where mission has its origin. The heart of God is mission. We want to be motivated by this same desire. We want to develop a burning passion in our hearts for people who do not yet know this loving God. We want to be involved in this mission of God. There are several aspects involved in this mission: a) God originates the mission. Mission is His plan. b) Jesus Christ enacts the mission, through His death and resurrection people are reconciled with God. c) The Holy Spirit gives power to the mission. d) The church carries out the mission. e) The world receives the mission. Every person gets a chance to hear the Christian message of reconciliation. This summary shows us that even though mission is God’s desire, we as the church have an important part to play. Our Christian faith is by nature missionary. In the following thoughts we want to explore a bit more what our task as a church is. 2. The different directions of church activities Sheikh Ibrahim’s church somewhere in the Sudan is a lively church, like so many others in the country. Yes, people have gone through difficult times. War, famine, displacement and many other challenges they have faced. But through these times the church has always been involved in a number of activities that have been very precious to the church members. Activities that are mentioned in detail in the Word of God. Actually there are four such main activities Sheikh Ibrahim’s church is engaged in. These activities can be understood as different “directions”. 2.1 Worship – an upward direction When the people in Sheikh Ibrahim’s church are together, they love to worship God. You should hear their singing! In typical Sudanese fashion, with music composed by their own musicians and poets, and with instruments that are so highly regarded in their culture, they praise God! Worship concentrates upon the Lord. It is the praise and exaltation of God, please read Psalm 95:6; John 4:24; Ephesians 5:19-20. It is appropriate that the church, which belongs to God, praises and glorifies Him. In this activity the church does not concentrate upon itself, but upon Who and what God is. The aim of this activity is upwards. 2.2 Edification (building up to make stronger) – an inward direction Fortunately, Sheikh Ibrahim’s church has enough Elders who can share the meaning and application of the Word of God. Once in a while the Evangelist or the Pastor from the neighbouring church is preaching. People listen eagerly to understand the Word of God. It is a joy to see how the Holy Spirit gives gifts to build up the body of Christ, Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Corinthians 14:12. After church services the people often talk with each other for a long time, enquiring about how the others are. During the week many visit other houses in order to encourage believers. Edification happens through the preaching and teaching that is going on in the church and also this fellowship among the believers. The aim of this activity is inside the church. It is like building a wall of defence around church members. 2.3 Evangelism – an outward direction One of the characteristics of the members of Sheikh Ibrahim’s church is that they do not just stay within their church walls, but that they go out and visit others in their community – even the non-believers. Farmers on their fields, the ladies who sell their vegetables at the market, men working in government offices in the nearby city, all church members share the wonderful love of God with the people they meet day by day. According to the final words of Jesus to His disciples in the Great Commission, He regarded evangelism as one of the reasons for their being alive, please read Matthew 28:18-20; John 20:21; Acts 1:8. The call to evangelise is a command. But it springs out of the Father-heart of God, out of His deep love for all lost people. Evangelism is done in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the presence of Jesus. Jesus is unseen, but with us as we talk about Him. The aim of this activity is outwards, beyond the boundaries of the church. 2.4 Social Concern – a parallel outward direction Despite the peace that has come to the area, there are still so many needs in the community where Sheikh Ibrahim’s church is located. Wherever possible, the believers from the church help as best as they can. Sometimes it is no more than cooking a meal for the elderly neighbours where the wife is so sick. Recently the church helped with drilling a well so that all the people of the area – Christians and non-Christians – would have clean water. The church does not exist for itself. It is not only concerned with the eternal well-being of people. The church has a responsibility to perform acts of Christian love and compassion for both Christians and non-Christians, Matthew 5:13-16; 22:35-40. The model for Sheikh Ibrahim’s church in this is Jesus Christ Who cared about the problems of the needy and the suffering. He healed the sick and even raised the dead on occasion. If the church wants to be relevant in the wider community, it will be engaged in some form of ministry to the needy and suffering. The aim of this activity is also going outwards, beyond the boundaries of the church. We have seen that four important activities of a good local church are: worship, edification, evangelism and social concern. Like a strong table needs four legs of equal length, so these four activities balance the ministry of any local church. As one gets to know the church of Sheikh Ibrahim a bit better, one realises that this church has a good balance of these four activities. They know that if they want to grow spiritually as a church, they need to be careful not to neglect any one of these areas of church life. Whereas most churches are involved in worship and edification, often the areas of evangelism and social concern are not fully developed. We therefore need to take a closer look at these two ministries. Both have to do with stepping outside the boundaries of our church. Perhaps they are uncomfortable for us, but they still need to be done. 3. Stepping outside the boundaries of the church In Acts 1:8 Jesus gave His disciples a description and a promise regarding the task He wanted them to achieve. “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth.” These different steps in the Great Commission for bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world refer to different kinds of evangelism. The difference between them lies in the cultural distance between the Christian who is witnessing and the people to whom he or she is trying to bring the gospel. Evangelism “in Jerusalem” and “in Judea”: This happens in the immediate environment of the church, among people with the same culture and the same language. Evangelism in “Samaria”: This takes place when Christians share the Gospel with their neighbours, e.g. people from the neighbour tribe who have a similar language and culture. Often there is not much sympathy between the two groups, but those barriers are overcome. Evangelism “to the ends of the earth” refers to sharing the gospel with people from a very different culture and language. In order to do this, Christians have to learn a new language and a new culture in order to be effective witnesses. The following illustration shows these steps in evangelism: Jerusalem …> Judea …> Samaria … …> to the ends of the earth. In order to reach all of these groups, it is necessary for Christians to step outside the boundaries of their church. The members of the church of Sheikh Ibrahim are very happy when they are together as a congregation. But they also look outside their own community and care for people who do not yet know the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not wait until these people come to the church. They meet them wherever they are, in the neighbourhood, at the market or at their working place. We praise God for everything that God has been doing in the Sudan. How the churches have grown in recent years. Hundreds of thousands of people have accepted Christ. We acknowledge that this has often happened in the midst of much suffering, of war and persecution. But despite these obstacles the church has grown. This is a reason for being thankful and for praising God. Yet at the same time we need to realise that this tremendous church-growth has been restricted to certain areas and to certain cultures or ethnic groups. Many other areas and communities have not been affected at all. There are many ethnic groups that do not have a church in their midst. There are groups and places with no Christians, or only a handful at best. The church of Sheikh Ibrahim is aware of this fact. It makes them sad. Their denomination (group of similar churches) has thought a lot and prayed over what they can do about it. They realise that as a church they need to step out from their own boundaries of culture and language. They need to leave “Jerusalem” and “Judea” and move to “Samaria” and towards “the ends of the earth”! So as a whole denomination they started to make specific plans to work among some of these ethnic groups where there is no church yet. They trained several couples and then sent them out to different areas, supporting them to do so where necessary. These couples are living now as witnesses for Christ in areas where there is no other Christian witness. They share the wonderful Gospel of Jesus Christ with people there who have not had a chance to hear before. More Christians need to take efforts to cross the lines of language and culture in order to reach out to more of these people. Stepping outside the borders of our church is also necessary so that we can care for people in their physical and emotional needs. The church needs to shoulder some responsibility for society around us, with all of its challenges. That is why the church of Sheikh Ibrahim has initiated the drilling of a well and why individual members are helping in their neighbourhood wherever there is a need. This stepping outside the borders of the church has a lot to do with the movement of “mission” which affected Sheikh Ibrahim when he was a youth and set his life on a completely new track. We come back now to the question we asked earlier: what does this mission movement have to do with us today? 4. Sending out like Jesus was sent The word “mission” comes from the Latin word missio and simply means “sending”. Throughout the Bible we see how our God is a sending God: He sent His prophets, His Son and His Spirit. The sending of the Son of God was the climax of God’s mission. But this mission goes on! The Son, Jesus Christ, sends His disciples, His church to continue His mission. “As the Father has sent Me, so am I sending you!”, John 20:21. The church is sent into this world to be its salt and light, Matthew 5:13-16. In order to fulfil this calling the local church itself needs to send out people for specific tasks. The church needs to serve and witness among the immediate society she is living in, but she also needs to send out teams and individuals to start a ministry of serving, witnessing and establishing a church in cultures and areas where there is no Christian witness yet. Once the awareness of missions is growing in a church, the church will realise its responsibility to send out people for starting new ministries. Much of the growth of the church in the Sudan over the last 20 years has happened unplanned and we praise God for what was achieved. Now, in order to establish the church in the areas and cultures where there is no church yet, careful planning and the sending out of special teams is needed. This is needed now. It is what Sheikh Ibrahim’s church realised and where they started to send out couples to other areas. But they realise that even this is only the beginning. Much more can be done and should be done. Other churches also begin to ask what their share in the mission movement today can be. Most churches in the Sudan trace their roots back to some missionaries from other countries. Centuries ago people came to our areas in order to begin to share the Gospel. Even though these foreign Christians have not always been sensitive enough to the culture of the people they were serving among, still it was the beginning of today’s Church in the Sudan. Now Sudanese churches all over the country need to take up the same responsibility and send out missionaries from among their own congregations. They need to send missionaries to those areas where there is no Christian witness yet. 5. What can we do? We as the Church and as individual Christians in the Sudan need to be mobilised ourselves by the Holy Spirit. We need a new burning desire to extend God’s Kingdom in this nation and to bring the Gospel to those who have not heard yet. Any missionary activity begins with prayer. As a local church we can pray for those in our own community who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ yet. We can pray for those people groups in our country, and beyond, where there is no church and no Christian witness yet. Local churches or denominations can “adopt” a people group or geographical area for which they pray specifically and for which they prepare people who can minister. Local churches or denominations can send out a team of believers to a specific area. They may be working in a secular job for support, but they are moving there with the clear desire to plant a church. As people from other cultures and tribes become Christians, we all need to be open to accept their expressions of Christianity which may be different from our own cultural forms. They are our brothers and sisters even if they are a little bit different from us. All over Africa the Church is taking up its responsibility in regard to the worldwide task of mission: making God’s love know all over the earth, helping people in their needs, transforming communities, and witnessing about the great salvation that is in Jesus Christ. Sheikh Ibrahim’s church may be small, their financial resources may be limited, but they are determined to play the part that God has assigned for them. “As the Father has sent me, so am I sending you” said Jesus to his disciples 2000 years ago. Jesus’ words still speak to us today. Discussion guide Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted: 1. Think of all the different people who live within 30 kilometres of you. How many do not yet acknowledge Jesus Christ? What can you do to share Jesus with them all, one by one? What are the major hindrances you face? 2. Describe how you know from history, both biblical and more recent, that “God is a missionary God”. 3. Share the different ways you and your church engage in “outward direction” ministries – evangelism and social concern. What gaps can you see in these ministries, where more and different people may be reached? 4. Think of a group of people in Sudan or South Sudan who are unreached with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Imagine ways people sent from and supported by your church could reach them. Count the cost realistically. Plan a target timescale. 5. What does John 20:21 tell us about God the Father? about God the Son (Jesus)? about God’s people (us)?

Leadership, Integrity and Nation building. – by Kot Bol Kot, translated by Majid Girgis[1] The church in our country needs to change its thinking pattern and the way it lives the Christian life. It must prepare itself to be able to accept people from non-Christian backgrounds, ask God to open the doors for them, and be ready to welcome and receive them in all patience until they change and accept the Lord Jesus as Saviour and Master of their lives. This cannot happen until the church itself is healed from the bitter wounds of the past that its members have (wounds from historic persecution that the church has gone through), and starts looking at others as people, individuals who need the salvation that is found in Christ. Some obstacles for Church growth in the country: Church persecution wounds through history The written history of our Sudanese church speaks about ages where the church flourished and about hard times the church lived through. This happens in most countries of the world, but things were ‘extra mixed up’ in our country. Now the church here is associated with certain ethnicities and tribes, to the degree that when you look at a person, you can easily guess if he is a Christian or not. Moreover, if somebody who “looks like a non-Christian” becomes a Christian, people are surprised, including Christians! I remember a friend of mine, who is from one of the “Christian” tribes, telling me that he got dressed as a typical person from one of “the Muslim tribes”, and went to church on Sunday to worship with a local people. The elders there confronted my friend and tried to kick him out of the building. The pastor, who knew him personally, intervened; otherwise, he might have ended up beaten by the church elders for trying to worship in the church! From this incident we understand one of the reasons for the lack of growth in the church among the “Muslim” tribes. They are unwelcomed. In addition, most of the evangelism offices in the Sudanese churches do not have a clear vision for encouraging their members to evangelise others. There is no readiness to receive into the church those who believe from amongst other groups. Their church is only open to people who come from certain tribes that are known to be “Christian”. On the other hand, there are tribes that are known to be “Muslim” and they naturally reject Christianity. Racism and tribalism among church members One of the abnormal things in the church in Sudan is that the ethnic and tribal belonging between church members is much stronger than their commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. So, instead of seeing ourselves as one Body in the Lord and this everlasting bond as a unity that needs to be stronger than anything else, including tribalism itself, we strengthen our relationships with each other on an ethnic basis. This happens even in churches that seem to include different tribes and peoples in their congregations. I was told about an elder who refused to open church membership for Christians of other races[2] and his argument was, “how do I allow my daughter to sit next to in the church the son of ‘so and so’ (a person from another tribe)?” I belong to a church that includes multiple Sudanese tribes. Our church held a mixed Christian convention in an attempt to address racism, in addition to the main topics. When it was time to assign rooms we failed to make people from different tribes stay in the same rooms, except for a few. In the following year’s convention things became worse, because the racism became public and we nearly lost all hope of fixing this problem. Nevertheless, we decided to keep trying because unity and respect for one another as the Body of Christ will help the church, and the country as a whole, to grow and prosper. All disagreement inside the church, whether it be administrational or spiritual, ends up as racial. Sadly, all efforts for reconciliation fail. For over five years now we have seen divisions in the church and they will last longer because we hate each other’s tribes. The civil war lasted more than 21 years and reaped the lives of about two and a half million people, according to official statistics. The war destroyed those parts of the country that could have become very productive, benefiting the whole population. For so many years the national budget was sucked into the war instead of being used for production. It increased our external debt, causing us to fall behind all other nations. Some of the factors that enabled the war to last all this time were racism, tribalism and the lack of respect for one another. We even have a Sudanese parable that states, “Skin that is not yours, drag thorns through it”. There is major tribal division, politics that use division, more localised civil wars between the rebels (mainly “Christian” African tribes), people of other African religions, some Muslims, and the government (controlled by people belonging to tribes leaning more towards Arabs and Islam), which have all resulted in a lack of the desire to live together as brothers. All the above led to the splitting of the country and a continual dragging each other into more wars. Even our disagreements within the church we took into the world’s courts instead of judging such cases ourselves. Such actions go against the clear teaching of scripture. 1 Corinthians 6:1-8. The outside community’s opinions of the church and Christianity, as being shame and infidelity In the traditions of the majority of Sudanese society, Christianity is shameful. This leads many Christians to shy away from boasting in their faith when it is discussed. This is especially true in places where Christians are a very small minority. Present Christianity is not attractive to non-Christians, which is why the Christian faith is limited to the few who highly esteem the reproach of Christ, as Moses did, Hebrews 11:24-27. In Sudan, the public has a saying used to express their complete rejection of a certain matter. It states, “not this … nor the faith of the cross”, making clear to the other party that this is absolutely non-negotiable. Moreover, no day passes without negative words about Jews and Christians being heard broadcast from mosque loudspeakers. The apostasy laws Apostasy here means leaving Islam, because a Muslim person who changes his faith could be executed if he refuses to relent and go back into Islam. Even the family itself, in most cases, shuns their son who changes his religion. So, apostasy is not only a personal decision. It has implications at both family and government levels. ‘Religion?’ A box on official documents, and the implications Religion is taken into consideration on family laws. For example, the non-Muslim does not inherit from a Muslim. In other words, if a person accepts Christ as his Lord and Saviour, he will not be able to inherit from his father, even if he was the only child. Another continuing Muslim relative will end up inheriting from the deceased. If there is no Muslim relative, the state takes everything, and so it goes on. For the church to deal with all these issues, it must acknowledge its own shortcomings as great sins and as acting against its great commission that the Lord has given her, clearly stated in Matthew 28:18-20. People have died, and are dying, without Christ every day. One of the reasons is the disobedience of the church to the greatest commission the Lord mandated. The church should be ready not only to bear the consequences of evangelism that the Lord promised, but also the promised joy with the repentance of sinners joining their numbers, Acts 2:40-47. The Arabic language is the language used in everyday life all over the country, with a few exceptions. People who do not speak it are a minority. Therefore, it is possible to unite the church members of different tribes by worshiping in Arabic, which creates an environment more capable of receiving all other outsiders who have not heard the gospel until now. It also makes it easier for those people to join, merge and experience oneness with everyone else in the Lord Jesus. This whole matter is of such importance that not only our church needs to observe this but also the whole of our society, so that government can give proper attention and resources to development and prosperity instead of to war and strife. Believers were not able to get rid of the effects of war, even after they became Christians. They kept their Christianity for themselves and did not make the effort of sharing it with the other tribes we mentioned above. Therefore, every tribe has finished up with its own type of Christianity. Even within the same denomination people are looking mainly for those who belong to their own tribe in order to keep the church stable. Only a minority were able to become inclusive. They were successful to a certain degree. But as soon as they face problems of any sort, tribalism surfaces. This is the general condition of the church in our country, which makes growth limited to within the tribal entities. People who are excluded feel excluded, and with good reason. However, there is very limited fellowship between small groups of believers in some churches that are multi-tribal. Therefore, for the national church to grow, it needs to go back to biblical principles and be built by our Lord Jesus in the way the Lord Jesus wants. The national and the state governments must also learn and practise tribal integration. Their goal must be to encourage by example: Every individual citizen is Sudanese first and whatever their tribe second. Of course, we Christians are Christians first, living in the Kingdom of God and Sudanese second - good, upright, moral citizens, living out our duties, Matthew 5:13-16; 5:17-20, and whatever our tribe only third. The church must forgive the ones who cause it harm, fully and with all their heart, as Christ teaches us in the New Testament, Matthew 6:14-15; 18:21-35. The church should seek God on behalf of those nations and people-groups by prayer and fasting, Matthew 5:43-48; 6:16-18. Ask that the Lord would set those people free from many bonds (religious, social, the authority of this world, family traditions and spiritual warfare). We must tackle head on in prayer these things that prevent people from accepting Christ as Lord and Saviour of their lives. A genuinely spiritual church has a primarily spiritual mission, although the practical results of this spiritual Christianity will be evident to all, Ephesians 6:10-20. The church has to be ready to accept all people as members in the local expression of the Body of the Lord, without discrimination. We must open the doors of the churches and hug with our arms and our hearts all who are clearly full of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. For there are many who are seeking salvation but they did not find the Way because the church was not ready to receive new souls, just because they were from the “wrong” tribe. We need churches that form a good environment for the growth in Christ of all people, from all tribes and any backgrounds. We need to receive people with dress codes like Jalabia, Burka and Toub, without suspicion or doubt. We need to personally and collectively carry the responsibility of their salvation, because they risk everything to come to Christ – their inheritance, children, life partner, and relatives. The church, always in patience and much wisdom, should bear with these dear people all the burdens God wants us to help them carry. If we are not prepared in our Christian churches, how can we criticise any other authorities for their own lack of preparedness in our local communities or in our nation? Discussion guide Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted 1. Why do you think the “elders … tried to kick out of the building” someone who looked as if he was from another faith and tribe? What makes this kind of thing happen? Is it right or wrong? 2. Comment on the application to this of Galatians 3:23-29, Romans 12:14-21 and Romans 14:1-15:2. Why are “ethnic and tribal belonging …stronger than a commitment to the Lord Jesus”? Be careful of your time. Divide into three groups with one Scripture each if necessary. 3. Are there any practical difficulties in living: Christian in God’s kingdom first; Sudanese second; and my tribe third? What are they? How can these obstacles be overcome? Think about 1 Peter 1:6-7; 2:12-17 and 4:12-19. 4. Share practical ways Christians, fellowships and local churches may be “accepting … without discrimination”. [1] For the Arabic original visit www.colinsalter.net and click on “Arabic language resources”. [2] Race – a group of people who are similar because they have the same skin colour or other physical features, or because they have the same language or have the same history or customs (Macmillan School Dictionary: Oxford, England) 2004.

Christian theology in a Sudanese context. God's word written down and published. The very earliest Christians in Cush had formed “a church in every village by the 5th century A.D.” The Ethiopian eunuch, probably the finance minister from the royal court at Meroe, had a copy of Isaiah’s prophecy in Greek. He was educated enough to read it while he travelled. As a result of his reading, together with Philip’s explanations, the man became a believing, baptised Christian (Acts 8:26-40). Paintings or engravings available to be seen in Khartoum’s Sudan National Museum today, show pictures of Daniel’s three friends in a fire, shepherds coming to Joseph and Mary at a baby’s birth, Jesus’ dead body being taken from the cross - a soldier on a ladder removing the nails, and the cross of Jesus opening up the glory of heaven. In this way Bible stories and theological truths were passed on by those few who knew them, to uneducated and illiterate people.This affected at least the three states of Nobatia, Makouria, and Alodia with its capital at Soba. Greek and Coptic authors record the conversion of Nubian kings to Christianity by the sixth century. It is of interest to note in the museum how changing theology is reflected by Joseph getting smaller while Mary gets bigger in nativity scenes made about 300 years apart. These were saved from Faras church and cathedral, now under Lake Nasser, between Wadi Halfa and Aswan. I wonder if a greater availability and more practical application of Bible truth in life would have changed history, and kept ‘Christian Sudan’ from the influence of later religions? Roman Catholic missionary Father Ueberbacher translated long extracts from the Gospels and Epistles into Bari, soon after A.D. 1854. These were resources for clergy more than for lay people, as the church put restrictions on their use. In 1854 the Smith Van Dyck, American Presbyterian missionaries, ‘Classical Arabic Bible’ was printed outside of Sudan, but distributed here from Egypt. In 1867 a Bible Society depot was opened in Khartoum, the result of British, American and Swiss missionaries working together. A variety of New Testament books were published in local languages as soon as practically possible: ‘Luke’ in Cic Dinka 1905; ‘John’ in Shilluk 1911; ‘Mark’ in Sudanese Arabic 1927; ‘Mark’ in Moru 1928; ‘Mark’ in Heiban 1931; ‘Mark’ in Krongo 1934; ‘Mark’ in Koalib njirere 1937; ‘Mark’ in Mabaan 1947; ‘Mark’ in Lotuko 1954; ‘Luke’ in Sudanese Arabic 1955. Anglican (Episcopal) missionaries translated the New Testament book by book into Dinka Bor during the 1920’s and 1930’s; and into Zande by 1938; Moru by 1951; and Bari by 1954. It is interesting to see how our Sovereign God used the many troubles, including the expulsion of missionaries from Sudan, to enable this work to continue. Exiled people in neighbouring countries continued their own education and then worked in translation or publication. It has been said to me that the most recent years of displacement for Sudanese people, have been used by God to speed up Bible translation. The process has been shortened by several years as some tribes people are more easily accessible to linguists and translators, in Khartoum, Nairobi and elsewhere. God is using His power to encourage local language Bibles. The cost of producing translations was mainly funded through overseas missionaries. Usually a language group was first provided with a Gospel and then with the rest of the New Testament. Audio cassette recordings were used as they became available. More recently, the ‘Jesus’ film has been widely seen using suitable up to date technologies. In the last 25 years a greater emphasis has been made on enabling Sudanese to take responsibility for the whole process of Bible translation in their own languages (2 Timothy 2:2). Of around 117 languages of Sudan, less than one quarter have significant parts of the Bible available. Thinking it through. (a). Is there a Bible in your mother-tongue? If not, what can you do to help one be translated? (b). What attributes of God are seen by the recent speeding up of Bible translation in Sudan, thanks to the war and displacement of people? (c). What specific responsibilities do Sudanese people have for enabling the production of the Bible in all Sudanese languages?

“Do not resist an evil person”, the Lord Jesus. Thoughts from my journey with JESUS. Bible reading Matthew 5:38-48. This instruction, vs39, seems an impossible, or even foolish, command – until we notice that it was our Lord Jesus who spoke it. He directed it to His followers in what is called His Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapters 5-7. In the Bible it is placed just before Jesus’ command to “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”, Matthew 5:44. He says this is an outstanding, visible quality in His genuine people, those who truly do have God as their Father. In other words, it shows up. People around us can see it in us. The ‘different from the rest’ reaction our Lord Jesus expects a Christian to have to any provocation, is emphasised in the Bible text: “You have heard that it was said, “Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth”. But I tell you, “Do not resist an evil person””, Matthew 5:38-39a, Exodus 21:23-25 (italics mine). When Jesus says “But I” He does not contradict the Old Testament law. Rather, He concentrates our understanding on fulfilling the spirit of the law, at a much higher level. It is a harder thing to do than any mere traditional or legal observance. Try to see the purpose of the law. If you can get to that purpose in a specifically Christian way, a loving and serving way, then do so. Compare these Old and New Testament Scriptures: “One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offence they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse someone of a crime, the two people involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the Lord before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against a fellow Israelite, then do to the false witness as that witness intended to do to the other party. You must purge the evil from among you. The rest of the people will hear of this and be afraid, and never again will such an evil thing be done among you. Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot”, Deuteronomy 19:15-21. “But I (Jesus) tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you”, Matthew 5:39-42. Do not take the law into your own hands. Let God’s law be the law. And obey it in the Spirit of the law. I’m sure it will help at this point to think about our Lord and Saviour Jesus. His enemies mocked Him with a thorned- crown; they spat at Him, hit Him, then crucified Him. But He did not resist – either Himself, nor did He allow others to resist for Him, on His behalf, see Matthew 26:51-54,67-68; 27:20,26-31,35. For a correct understanding of “Do not resist an evil person”, and therefore a right application of this Bible verse into our daily lives, we must realise that Jesus is talking about our individual responses to life’s circumstances. Paul was to write very similarly later on, using three negatives, and one positive: 1. “Do not repay anyone evil for evil … 2. do not take revenge … 3. do not be overcome by evil, 4. but (positively) overcome evil with good”, Romans 12:17-21, (italics mine). Our State or Country governing authorities do have the rights under God to confront evil by just and legal punishments, see comments below on Romans 13:1-7. But remember, we as individuals – or as non-governing groups, even though we are Christians – do not have such a God-given responsibility. If we take it onto ourselves, we are on our own, bringing on to our own heads whatever happens, and we cannot truthfully claim God’s backing. This is what often leads to one tribe fighting another – no respect for God-given mutual and neutral government at whatever level. Always remember that the duties of the State and those of individuals or non-governmental groupings are quite different. Our responsibility is to keep praying for our governing authorities regularly. Giving instructions for corporate worship Paul tells Timothy: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, Who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth”, 1 Timothy 2:1-4. This was written when Rome set the authorities in place throughout the Empire. And remember, they were generally rather anti-Christian. Are we praying what we should be? Further on in his Roman letter Paul wrote: “the authorities that exist have been established by God … the one in authority is God’s servant for your good … but if you do wrong … they are God’s servants to bring punishment on the wrongdoer”, excerpts from Romans 13:1-7. God expects us to “respect” and “submit to” our appointed governing authorities. Remember, at that time the Romans were a foreign power occupying Israel’s land and they ruled in a very oppressive, non-Christian (even anti-Christian at times) way. Does this parallel situations in Sudan and South Sudan today? What is God saying to us about this? “Respect” and “submit” to them? ……. YES!!! Why? Because God says so. Following the command “Do not resist an evil person” Matthew 5:39 Jesus gives us four examples where “we are to allow the ‘evil’ person to double the injury” to us, see verses 39,40,41,42. We must embrace more suffering while we inwardly trust in the Sovereign Shepherding of our God. Heaven is our real home and must mean more to the Christian than anywhere on earth. As we choose to obey our Lord we “entrust ourselves to God who judges justly”, 1 Peter 2:21-25. Because a true Christian is ‘self-less’ he or she will not try to satisfy himself or herself with revenge. He/she will instead try to seek the best for the people who hurt him/her. This is not easy. It will probably mean standing against our ‘own fellows in the crowd’ who may well be baying for ‘revenge blood’. Yet it is a Christian discipleship test for us – will we pass or fail? (That is: In God’s sight?). While we were still His enemies God came after us, in 100% love for us and, sacrificing Himself bought our salvation from sin with reconciliation to God, Romans 5:8-11. When our Lord Jesus could not put His hands together because of the nails, He nevertheless prayed for His accusers, His torturers and His executioners, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”, Luke 23:34. “Do not resist an evil person”. A very hard challenge placed by God before us all. To ‘resist’ has three meanings in the Macmillan School Dictionary I often use: 1. To stop yourself from doing something that you would like to do; for example: she couldn’t resist asking him where he had been. 2. To oppose someone or something, or to fight against them or it; for example: antibodies in injections may help us resist infections. 3. To not be affected or harmed by something; for example: these shelters are designed to resist bombs and fire. Whenever our Lord Jesus tells us to do something that is difficult we must remember He will always help us do it. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” Matthew 7:24. Jesus’ word is our ever solid and strong foundation.[1],[2] Discussion guide 1. What do you say is the purpose of this law: “ But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise”, Exodus 21:23-25? 2. Can this be done Christianly? Explain how. Ask yourself, ‘How would Jesus respond?” faced with this? 3. In God’s sight what are the differences between responses made by individuals and responses made by the legitimate authorities? See Romans 13:1-7. 4. ‘God makes proper authorities’ to limit evil influences in our world. True or false? Why? Compare with 2 Thessalonians 2:7. How can Christians best help? 5. List constructive ways of ‘resisting’ in Matthew 5:39. [1] Prepared using ideas from John Stott Christian counter-culture (IVP: Leicester) 1978 pages 103-124. Note: ‘Resist’ – Greek: anthistemi – ‘to withstand, to oppose’. Compare with Ephesians 6:13; 1 Peter 5:8-9. [2] Adapted from BiMonthly Encouragement No. 44, 1st October 2016.

the Old Testament prophet Zechariah 4:6, and King Darius. God Rules, O.K.? Zechariah 4:6 is probably one of the most familiar verses in the Minor Prophets, but how many of us understand its context? “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (a) Zechariah’s name means ‘one whom the Lord remembers’. The application can be seen in the names of his father and grandfather, 1:1. “Berekiah” means Jehovah blesses. “Iddo” means ‘in His own time’. We know Zechariah returned from the Jewish exile in Babylon from Nehemiah 12:4, 16. He was “head of a priestly family”, verse 12. He had been born a captive, an exile. Now he had come back to his peoples’ homeland and capital (though he personally had never been there before). A displaced person, a refugee, and a third culture kid, all rolled into one! We know Zechariah was contemporary to Haggai, the dates 1:1 of each being just two months apart. He would have been known to Ezra and Nehemiah. We also know Zechariah was a young man, 2:4. Application: Spoken to, used by God as “a young man”. God has people born to live at the time He plans to use them. I am 53 years old. You know your age. Young people are important to God. Illustration: By the time I was 21 years old I had been in charge of a small London church Sunday School for two years, I had given testimony throughout South East England with a gospel music group, preached in England, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Philippines, and was just about to be married and travel with Brenda to begin (what turned out to be) 27 years’ of service with AFC in Britain. Hear this: Mission leaders. God used me as a young man. Do you know why? Because people gave me the opportunity. Too much of God’s work is stifled by unwise blocking of young men and women. Zechariah was a returnee, a traditional priest, a cutting edge prophet, part of a team, a young man used by God. Experience is only gained by people given experience! (b) The prophecies are a challenge to understand. The familiarity of our text Zechariah 4:6 “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit”, is matched by the mystery of the rest of the book – the longest of the Minor Prophets! Application: Just because things are difficult to understand doesn’t mean they’re not worth studying!! Men love challenges (women too!). 12 months ago Fawcett and Branson ballooned around the world; two decades ago Mother Theresa worked with abandoned children; 40 years ago Richard Wurmbrand witnessed for Christ in communist conditions in Romania; 50 years ago Jim Elliott, went to the Auca Indians who’d never heard of Jesus; etc. We know their names. Do you know why? Because they did not know ‘impossible’ was a word for today – and they made possible God’s work by being available to Him. Apocalyptic prophecy is like the literature of underground people revealing their suffering under a foreign power. There is a clash where the physical world and the spiritual world collide. The images uncover truth. Illustration: The symbols have meaning like the icons on a computer. Once you know them they are easy to work with. At least six prophecies of Jesus – will be seen in last (next) message of this series. (See Men who speak of Jesus – Micah 2:2-5). The focus is always what God is doing. The name “The Lord Almighty” NIV, “The Lord of Hosts” AV, RSV, “All-Sovereign God” LXX, appears 37-48-52 times! Zechariah’s aim is to encourage those who are rebuilding God’s ruined temple in their work. 1:1-6 reminds us that historically God challenged the wayward Israelites “Return to Me” and then “I will return to you”. Hear this Church Workers, the ruins and defeats and disasters, God says, are because you or those before you, have left My ways. You are living and working for yourselves, not for Me. God’s judgement fell on disobedient Israel. They had life – but life first in exile, and now life among the ruins of what ought to be the Temple that declared the presence of the great and glorious sovereign God. Not life as God intended it to be. Application: Do you ever wonder why things are not what you think they ought to be? Zechariah has a message for you! “Zechariah’s heart was captivated by hope that lifts folk above immediate difficulties and into the coming glory.” In 9:9-17 are predictions that the coming King (Jesus we know fulfilled these things) is on the horizon to save and deliver. Scholars/churchmanship may differ on the finer points of eschatology, but there is a unity that Jesus is the Saviour! e.g. contrast Ramadan – work for self-salvation, Christmas – wait for your Saviour, Jesus. Zechariah 9:12 uses the phrase “Prisoners of hope”. It is like being a victim of marriage! Yes, I’m locked in to being with Brenda for the rest of our lives – but that’s not a punishment. It’s a delight. And as a Christian I am a prisoner to the hope that God is outworking His purpose to bring King Jesus to rule over all things and everybody past, present and future. After the call to return, Zechariah shares visions he had. He writes of what he saw, what he was shown – usually by an angel of the Lord. Chapters 1:7-6:8. We’re going to conclude with a look at the central vision 4:1-14, but notice where it fits in. The other visions show God measuring, then cleansing Jerusalem; they show God destroying Babylon and sending all wickedness to join in being destroyed; they show ultimately all nations at rest with God. This 5th vision shows God at the centre of everything. Zechariah and the people can do everything God is calling them to do! He provides. God is the fulcrum of the balance of power. God is the central sun around which all events orbit in their assigned places. Zerubbabel governed. Joshua was the priest. Zechariah prophesied. Nehemiah organised. Others built. Ezra read and exhorted. Zerubbabel, not mighty like David, nor powerful like Saul, but God was with him. He spoke encouragement. Zechariah 4: 2, 3. 1. The vision is of a golden menorah, a Hebrew word for the 7 branched candelabrum used in the Temple. This is even today the emblem of Judaism and the badge of the state of Israel. It represents God is at the centre. The seven lights are fed by oil from a bowl at the top, via seven channels – pipelines. On either side of the bowl – the source of the fuel for the light – are two olive trees. (a) Vs2, vs10b – “seven lights and seven channels” are “the eyes of the Lord”. God surveying God’s world giving Him complete knowledge of everything. (b) Vs3, vs12-14 “the two olive trees … pipes pouring golden oil”, “anointed to serve the Lord of all the earth” are God’s servants who take His word and His Spirit to wherever He sends them. “The Lord of the whole earth” endlessly supplies His servants with all the resources needed for His work to be done. God supplying. Keep in mind: God sees God’s servants and God supplies. Illustration: Story of General Gordon defending Khartoum. Asking for reinforcements. British Government delayed. Kitchener was despatched. Too late? Or was it? For Gordon yes, may be. For Khartoum, no. The servant is expendable in the service of the Master! While that may be a poor British error – God’s work is more important than God’s servants! 2. The mountain. “O mighty mountain”, vs7. Zechariah was urging Zerubbabel to build the Temple, but the problems were mountainous. Haggai speaks of people who said “the time has not yet come”. They ignored the shame and disgrace of God’s worship being in ruins. Ezra 5:3-5 speaks of Tattenai, and a group of official associates who question Zerubbabel’s authority. They wanted the names of all involved in what they wrongly saw as a revolt against King Darius. These mighty mountains – “it’s not right now”, “you haven’t got authority”, “let’s know your accomplices to threaten them” – according to Zechariah 4:17 would not be insurmountable obstacles to Zerubbabel. They would fade away as Zerubbabel persevered. God would give enough grace for the work to continue. 3. The finish. What Zerubbabel has started he will finish. Illustration: near our home. 3-storey neighbours. Hospital? Foundations are to be built on! “The plumbline in the hand of Zerubbabel” refers to the measuring of the completed job. The small beginning will lead to a significant work! ‘How can you be so sure?’ you may say. I work for national peace. I work for social development. I work to build the church. Whatever. How can you be so sure it will work out when the mountainous obstacles seem never ending? Answer: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, say the Lord Almighty.” Application: Think about the 'mountain' you face. Your most intransigent problem at work. Now say with me – out loud. “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” Say it again! Application: Think about the mountains in your family, the unsaved loved ones, the misunderstanding parents. Now say with me – out loud. “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” Say it once more! Application: Think about the goal you have of being used by God every day of however many years He gives you. Dream big dreams for God. Now say with me – out loud! “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” Key words in Zechariah are Repent, Return, Rebuild. And over Zechariah 4:6 I would add Rely. A solidly staid trust in our great God. Now say it for the penultimate time tonight! “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” Zechariah 14:9, in a prophetic view of the future – the Hope of which I am a prisoner to – “On that day … the Lord will be King over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and His name the only name.” Now say for the final time tonight – with your heart full of dedicated, enthusiastic hope: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” Let’s go, and live to make it happen! God Rules, O.K.? Khartoum International church 1st December 2002.

Issues facing Christians in Sudan and South Sudan today. Mission section. by Matta Mubarak The fact there is an issue of disunity among the Sudanese churches is surprising when we consider the environment in which the Christian church lives in Sudan. The Christian church is not generally welcomed and her mission is often seen as something foreign to Sudan. The Christian church has survived moves against it over centuries. I pray it will survive its own disunity today! Most of today’s Sudanese Christian community is composed of those tribes which were first reached during the missionaries time. They and the first Sudanese Christians of that generation made the most of religious freedom such as they had. I know of very few tribes which came to Christ through the efforts of indigenous Sudanese leaders. Many tribes remain today unreached with the good news of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. With such a big evangelistic task facing us, it is disastrous that the Sudanese Christian church today seems much more willing to divide than unite. We will only make progress when we join together in the common task of mission. Despite knowing these facts about the historical Christian situation in Sudan there remains still the spirit of disunity among Christian churches. This disunity is not caused by disagreements based around biblical issues. We can disagree on some issue yet still remain united. Most of the complaints I hear are related to tribal thinking among all Christians. Most of the groups that split away from other Christians claim they were not treated well by a certain tribe in “that” particular church. They seek equality and justice for themselves and for their own tribe. It appears that both the first church, and the group that split away from them, follow their own tribal desires. I ask, “Where is the vision for the millions of unsaved in Sudan?” Vision for our unsaved fellow citizens is not the main agenda for many Christians or for their congregations. And it should be! Too often we show selfish concerns about what is best for “US”. We do not ask selfless questions about what is best for “THEM” – the unsaved. Our focus is always “WE”, not “THEY”. This comes down to our tribal focus dominating our Christian focus. It should not be so. Before his accusers Paul gave this testimony of what Jesus said when He commissioned him: “I will rescue you from your own people (the Jews) and from the Gentiles. I (Jesus) am sending you (Paul) to them (both Jews and Gentiles) to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they (both Jews and Gentiles) may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me”, Acts 26:17-18 (brackets and italics mine). Jesus took Paul’s focus away from Paul’s own people and set it on every type of person who made up Paul’s world. He wants to do the same for us all today. One Reason for Today’s Disunity in our Churches It seems that many church leaders prefer to minister and serve Christ only within their tribes. They do not want to be in a church composed of different tribes. We all need to clearly answer this question: Was it a big mistake by God to place different tribes in Sudan? Should He have only put one tribe in Sudan? Did God get it wrong? When a man plants a field to enjoy he may plant many different colours of flowers. A multi-coloured view is much more attractive than any single colour. God wants us to have churches, each one composed of different tribes. God wants to enjoy looking at His people altogether – and Jesus’ people are from every tribe that exists. Heaven’s focus is on Jesus where people are singing: “You were slain and with Your blood You purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation”, Revelation 5:10 (italics mine). Running away from other tribes is running away from holding the cross of Christ, see Matthew 16:24-27. Denying ourselves is an essential part of taking up our cross. Tribalism is part of our old self. It must never be allowed to take priority over our Christian commitment. I am committed to Jesus first and to His people. After that, I place my family and tribal background. This does not belittle my tribe, but it keeps the truly Christian focus every follower of Jesus must develop. Seeking to form a church composed of one tribe is seeking to live a very simple Christian life, but a life which may be empty of Christ’s cross. Such faith is the faith that does not pay a price for the sake of others. Avoiding other tribes to avoid the attendant difficulties of all tribes mixing together is a poor testimony to the uniting power of Christ! Many leaders do not believe that God can correct their mistakes through others. They are not prepared for God to reveal their own weakness through words spoken or examples lived by leaders of other tribes. Such proud leaders are not willing to obey God if He wants to talk to them through people of other tribes. There can never be Christian unity in the life of Christians together who put their tribe above other tribes. Some Christians feel that other tribes – even Christians from other tribes – are oppressing them. They feel their voices are not heard by others. Therefore, in any issues related to serving in high positions in the church, they vote tribally in elections. And because they are not able to compete with others in this way they prefer to split away. In isolation they form their own group, a group which will be loyal to their own tribal thinking. Christian brothers and sisters in Sudan, we must realise that tribal ambition and tribal boasting are the mother and father of disunity among Christians. We must get to the place where Jesus Christ is served and honoured as the one undisputed Lord of all. At this place our enemies are not brothers and sisters from other tribes! Satan alone is our enemy. Our Christian struggle is a united Christian struggle against one common spiritual enemy. Christian Unity is a Gift from God we must Accept, not Reject Since unity in the promised Holy Spirit is the gift of God to His church in Sudan, South Sudan (and everywhere else), and since this unity was made possible by the cross of Christ, then when we cause disunity among the churches we are misusing God’s gift. See Ephesians 1:1-14. Because we did not create this unity, and it was not our gift to other people nor their gift to us, we are responsible to God. We must keep and guard Christian unity in the face of any attempts from within the church or without the church to tear it apart. Every one of us is responsible to keep unity in the church, Ephesians 4:1-7. This is not the job of a particular group. The Bible urges us to turn this loyalty for our tribes (with which we are born) into loyalty for the church of God (to which we are born again). We are to be eager to preserve the unity God gives us. We are to make every effort to keep it. This zeal to see the church of God living in God-given unity is a mark of our Christian discipleship. Our local church pastors and Christian teachers must take the lead in explaining and applying Bible passages like, Ephesians 4:11-32. Our Disunity Shows a Distorted Body of Christ Sudanese Christians need to be as eager and zealous to maintain the unity of the whole Christian church as they have been eager and zealous to defend their tribes in previous days. If we cannot bear with others within the church, what poor Christian commitment we have! Ephesians 4:1-2. How can we claim that we will follow Christ, even if it will cost us our lives, if we get upset with a brother or a sister just because he comes from another tribe? I agree with Francis Foulkes when he writes in his commentary: “It is folly not to strive now to keep a unity in peace and love”. Being the people of one Lord Jesus Christ should bind us together more than anything else in Sudan. The Christian family bond is more than colour, tribe or dialect. The privilege of belonging to the South part of Sudan, or Northern Sudan or Western Sudan, is for the benefit of all of Sudan. Geographical location, tribal distinction, or any other merely human difference is not to be the grounds for disunity. Our Christianity should make us better citizens of Sudan, not worse, Ephesians 6:6-9. The church that is composed of one clan or tribe living together in unity does not necessarily mean they are united by God’s Spirit. They may be united on merely human distinctiveness. But the church made with people from different tribes, people with different social and racial backgrounds, people from a different history, when they work together in the unity of Jesus Christ, they show that Jesus has made them one. This is the real unity of Christ – unity in Christ, Ephesians 2:13-14; 2:19-22. This visible unity is attractively evangelistic, Acts 19:8-10; 19:17-20; 20:27. Because Jesus is the only Lord who can conquer any tribe’s bad behaviour, only He can tame us to be in submission to Him. That submission includes putting our tribalism second, with our Christianity deliberately and definitely put first. As we do this we are in a position to obey Jesus. He commissions us as disciples to go and reach every tribe in the world, Matthew 28:18-20. People will see and hear our gospel. It was God’s wisdom to create us different from each other so that we can serve one another. If we were equal in everything and everyone was perfect, how can we show our ability to bear with one another in Christian love? “Accept one another”, Romans 15:7; “Honour one another above yourselves”, Romans 12:10-11; “serve one another in love”, Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 4:10; “Bear with each other and forgive…”, Colossians 3:13. In Biblical teaching, Christ is to be put first and other people put next, Philippians 2:1-11. Our attitudes must keep ourselves at the bottom of the list, verse 5. Otherwise we will cause no unity, instead of promoting Christian unity. We are requested not to keep our privileges to ourselves. Like Jesus we must use who we now are (in Christ) for others. We must live for the blessing of others, not for the advancement of ourselves. What makes Satan succeed? Satan appears to succeed in his programme against God’s children. He promotes disunity and division in whatever ways he can. The disgraceful things Christians do happen because Satan never asks his forces to do little things. He always asks them to do something very great, even something that will cost them to do. Satan makes big demands of the people under his leadership and he expects sacrifice from his evil forces. They never disobey him. They willingly serve him. This is why many Christians simply fall as victims under his power. ”Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”, 1 Peter 5:8.5 Satan loves to destroy Christians. Is it costing us anything to be Christians in Sudan? Do we follow the crowd or dare we stand out from it? Do we resist the evil thoughts put into our minds by Satan and his forces, or do we crucify our old nature along with the crucified Christ? See also “In your anger … do not give the devil a foothold”, Ephesians 4:26-27; “take your stand against the devil’s schemes”, Ephesians 6:10-11. Disunity aims to satisfy our old human nature which always wants to identify more with tribal thinking instead of with spiritual thinking. Only our transformed nature, with its Christian thinking, really helps us to grow spiritually for the glory of God. We will never grow by following our old nature. We are aware that Satan may use his power to influence tribal groups for evil purposes, “for we are not ignorant of his designs”, 2 Corinthians 2:11 (English Standard Version). “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature”, Colossians 3:1-11, “for we know what his plans are”, Good News Bible. But as Sudanese Christians we choose to stand out against this influence. We have more important things to do, like the evangelisation of the lost in our country! Satan uses disunity to hinder the visionary leaders of our churches and to disable them from reaching tribes as yet unreached with the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Caught up in trying to resolve inter-tribal disputes they cannot focus the congregation on to evangelism. So disunity becomes an enemy for evangelism. It serves only the interest of human nature and it leads to a concentration on tribal interests. It does not help in outreach to the lost people of every tribe and nation. It can be easily seen that disunity comes from the kingdom of darkness, 2 Corinthians 2:5-11, especially verse 11. The unity of God’s people is not found by the privilege of getting high positions for ourselves or tribal colleagues, nor is it found by gathering people around us who we can lead, people who come from just one clan or a single tribe. These things do not show the Holy Spirit’s unity. Probably they are a merely human, tribal loyalty. Despite of all the other differences we Christians may have due to our backgrounds, we are now first of all brothers and sisters in Christ. We are created by one God. All of us belong to Him. So nothing should break our God-given unity. The Bible correctly understood and applied will unite us with a real Christian unity. Our different interpretations about disputable matters, held correctly with respect to others, will not break this unity, Romans 14:1-15:7. God has accepted all people in His church, with all of our different weakness, so that we can have the privilege of patiently and lovingly serving them all. In our many and varied expressions of His one Church we must reach out to every person we possibly can. The Christian gospel and the principles of Christian discipleship are the same for everyone. Turning the church into a place of bad news The Bible teaches that the church is to take the good news out to other people and seek to bring them to Christ, Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus entrusts the church with good news. The church should be the source of good news for the lost. But our carnal thinking says, “No”. We have turned the church into a place of bad news! For many people the church has become a place of bad news because of our behaviour and the way we treat each other. What a tragedy when church becomes a place to spread news against another tribe or clan! The Bible says we should be united as one body in Christ Jesus despite our different backgrounds, Ephesians 2:14-22, Colossians 3:11. The flesh says, “No, my church should be composed of my tribe only”. To whom must we listen? The problem gets worse as some people then think they have the right to eat better and more than others, and to possess the best things and to live in a place that stands out among others. They see other people through the eyes of their culture, not through Christian eyes opened by the word of God. Serious Christians must stand against what is clearly wrong. Conclusion Each one of us needs to examine our motives. Why are we in this ministry? What motivates us to seek a place in the church? We have to be very careful. The enemy will help us think that unless we get what we seek in the church it is of no use being together in unity. This is the same lie he used for our mother, “Did God really say, …” Genesis 3:1-5.8 Immediately Eve’s eyes were taken away from worshipping God and put on to pleasing herself. When things that cause disunity are allowed to be the focus of our churches, valuable time for reaching out to the lost quickly disappears. Our Lord Jesus questioned the faith of those who accepted the praise of other people but who made no effort at all to live “to obtain the praise that comes from the only God”, John 5:44. He suggested their faith was not genuine. Since we know how we should live as Christians, we will only ever be happily fulfilled when we do it. That is also when God’s purpose to reach the lost will be enabled. Discussion guide Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted: 1. Give examples of a tribal focus getting in the way of local outreach to the lost. 2. List “every type of person who makes up your world”. Include those you know well and those you barely know at all. What does Revelation 5:9-10 tell us about God’s view of tribalism? 3. What are the weaknesses of a single tribe congregation? What are the strengths? What are the weaknesses of a church made up of a whole variety of tribes? What are the strengths? 4. Read Galatians 2:11-14. What was Peter’s main mistake (from these verses)? How did it affect others, because he was a leader of the church? From the surrounding chapter see what Paul did to challenge this error. 5. How can Christians “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit”, Ephesians 4:3? What should happen when a tribal demand for loyalty clashes with this? Explain how to “be strong in the Lord”, Ephesians 6:10. 6. Why is a multi-tribal multi-racial church such a great witness to Jesus Christ? Comment on the church – seen by outsiders – as a living, a loving and a loyal community. 7. Give examples of where you think “spiritual thinking” should supersede “tribal thinking”. How is evangelism hindered by tribalism? What can be done about this?

Leadership, Integrity and Nation building. - by Colin Salter The word ‘political’ means concerned with the power of governmental affairs, the science or art of government, relating to the policies of public office. The Bible’s book of Judges records a lesson that both today’s leaders and followers (people who govern and people who are governed) must learn: “The people served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had seen all the great things the Lord had done for Israel”, Judges 2:7. “After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the Lord nor what He had done for Israel. Then the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord and served the Baals. They forsook the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed and worshipped various gods of the peoples around them. They aroused the Lord’s anger because they forsook Him and served Baal and the Ashtoreths” Judges 2:10-13. The word ‘evil’ means anyone or anything that opposes the plan of God; morally bad or wrong; wicked (in the old sense of that word). Under Joshua and the elders the people were doing ‘right’ in the eyes of the Lord, where ‘right’ means in accordance with what is good, proper and just; upright – Hebrew Yashar, which has the root meaning of being straight and level. Older Bible translations have ‘good’ instead of ‘right’. From history, recorded in 1 and 2 Kings and more, we learn that the heart-driven actions of leaders impact unavoidably on the people governed. For example: Abijah led in a sinful way because “his heart was not fully devoted to the Lord his God”, 1 Kings 15:1-3. Asa “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done”, 1 Kings 15:11; “Although he did not remove the high places, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life”, verse 14. For a comment on his ancestor King David read I Kings 15:5. “David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life – except in the case of Uriah the Hittite”. It is interesting to notice that even those amongst the best leaders were not perfect! But God is a forgiving God, able to use those who worshipfully acknowledge Him and His will for their own lives and for the people they lead. To read examples: Judges 3:7; 3:12; 4:1; 6:1; 8:28; 8:33-4; 10:6-7; 13:1. Here is the cycle: The people did evil God became angry with them the people cried to God in repentance God raised up a leading Judge for them to follow and so rescued their situation. More examples: Bad political leaders - 1 Kings 15:26; 15:34; 16:19; 16:25-26; 16:30; 22:51-53; 2 Kings 8:16-19; 8:27. Good political leaders – 1 Kings 22:41-43; 2 Kings 12:1-3; 14:3; 15:3-4; 15:34-35. I notice two recurring phrases to learn from. One leader “caused the people to sin”. Another leader “did right all the years” he listened to the right advisors. This begs the question today, how does Almighty God view our lives and our political or church leadership? Only when we honestly confront ourselves and agree with God’s diagnosis, and make the necessary changes, can we apply the same question to our national political leaders. Today’s leaders and politicians ‘do right’ by: listening to God learning from the wisdom of other godly people leading in agreement with as many others as possible gently resisting only those wanting to leave God-revealed foundations. Today’s leaders and politicians ‘cause others to sin’ by: inciting reactions of anger and violence – perhaps reopening old wounds rather than building on forgiveness and reconciliation stirring up old hatreds and divisions – perhaps tribalism or nepotism neglecting basic practical needs: food, clean water, hygiene, healthcare, housing, schooling and transport, so forcing people to take matters into their own hands and work against, or in spite of, the government not being the good example of a humble, God-fearing, servant lifestyle. At the start of the nation of Israel, through Moses God gave life-controlling commandments, with a promise of a good life in a good land as long as the leaders and people obeyed. Read Deuteronomy 4:5-9; 6:4-8, 18-19. When the same nation were to rebuild their destroyed land and capital city they looked back and confessed their (corporate) failure. In a history review they reminded themselves of God’s total faithfulness to His covenant promise even though the leaders and people swung between the extremes of godly living and the worst of evil practices. Read Nehemiah 9:1-2, 13-21, 26-31, 32-33. ‘Doing right’ is basically living by the Ten Commandments, keeping well clear of anything outside of God’s plan. For politicians and church leaders ‘living in the sight of the Lord’ means that you will chose to give God more influence on you in your role and your decisions than any influence you will give to your electorate, your voters, your lobbyists, your extended family, your tribe, your financiers, your professors, your trainers, even your wife or husband! Your life is governed by your own choices. The choices you make influence others too. God is looking at you every moment of every day and every night. To finish, please read carefully all of Psalm 139:1-24, printed below. Listen to God’s voice as you do. For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. 1 You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. 5 You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, ‘Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,’ 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand – when I awake, I am still with you. 19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! 20 They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. 21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? 22 I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. 23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. When we let God so lead us, we will definitely be in the best position to lead others. Discussion guide Using this chapter and Scriptures quoted 1. Put in your own words the main lesson we must learn from Judges 2:7 and 2:10-15. Whose responsibility is it to keep godly leadership alive? What is the best way to do it? 2. Why is it good to remember that even the best leaders were not 100% perfect? 1 Kings 15:5. How does this thought change your view of any leader today, for better or for worse? 3. What exactly does “in the eyes of the Lord” mean? Judges 3:7; 3:12; 4:1 etc. Ultimately every individual leader and follower is accountable to God. How can we keep this is mind when we do not physically see Him day by day? Why is it easier to think it about others than for ourselves? 4. Consider Psalm 33:12-22. What ‘other side’ does this put for the meaning of “the eyes of the Lord”? How may this be an encouragement to anyone?

Christian theology in a Sudanese context. God's word written down and published. Some of us may take for granted the Bible we have to use. It has taken a lot of work by many people to produce God’s word in the language we can best understand. To begin with, a lot of research is carried out. A language is identified as a suitable target by examining factors like: ‘will the language survive or die out’? and ‘do the speakers speak other languages, or only this one’? Contact is made with appropriate leaders in the language group, and a suitable base established to house the work. The next step in preparation is identifying language helpers, learning the language, studying of the sound systems used by the language speakers, analysing the way the language holds together and the grammar rules it follows. A suitable way of writing the sounds is developed. A group is formed with representatives from first language speakers, translators and linguistic advisors. Later on, a first draft - idea for the eventual text - is produced after looking carefully at both the source text (usually in Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek), and the target language. Translation involves carefully discussing cultural understandings, word meanings in and out of their context, ideas clearly understood in one language but not at all in another (for example: “white as snow”). The exact biblical understanding has to be maintained throughout. The first draft is passed around to advisors as well as all group members, for checking and suggestion. It is tested by asking a different first language speaker to read it, one who is not involved in the process in any other way. It is also tested by translating it back into a national main language (for example: French or English), to see how well the meanings are kept true. Translation consultants are asked for their opinions before a second, revised, draft is produced. The second will include all of the accepted changes from the first one. Next, proofreading is done to detect and mark errors for correction. More first language speakers who have not seen it before, are shown the document. A few trial copies are produced at this point, for chosen Christians to use as their ‘Bible’. Their comments and feedback is valued, especially over readability. With all these suggestions gathered together, a third draft text is made. Now the final moment is getting closer! Checks are made to ensure there is consistency in use of key terms and accuracy of revisions against the source document. The spellings, the writing system, punctuation, paragraphs, chapter and verse numberings etc., are all checked too. Then, when final approval is given by consultants and group leaders, typesetting, cover design, printing and shipping can be arranged. At last the ‘dedication day’ will happen! God’s word is then put into the hands and hearts of people in their own languages. God speaks to people and they can understand! I was asked to preach at the dedication service of ‘Genesis’, in the Maban language. It was during June 2000. About thirty people gathered at Banat. The joy on the faces of those who could read ‘Genesis’ for the first time in their own mother tongue, was exciting to see. The challenge of so many people still needing the Bible in their own languages must be taken seriously by those God has gifted and called to be involved. (The Mabaan Bible arrived in 2018 - below) The ‘Preface’ or ‘Introduction’ to your English Bible should tell you what type of translation it is. There are basically six types: 1. A common language translation uses language that can be understood by almost all speakers of that language as their mother (or first) tongue. This may involve using a deliberately limited number of words to keep it as simple as possible. 2. A literary language translation has a higher language level and requires more academic understanding from the reader. 3. A dynamic equivalence translation aims to reproduce the meaning of the original text, even if this involves changing words and grammar. 4. A formal correspondence translation follows the words and grammar of the original as closely as possible, while trying to convey the meaning. 5. Paraphrases do not translate as such, but they freely convey the meaning of the original languages, in modern English. 6. Revisions are new editions of previously translated works, which use more up to date understandings of all the languages involved. Bibles with study notes usually try to present a particular theological position. It should always be remembered that those ‘added notes’ are not part of the ‘God-breathed’ (Greek - theopneustos) inspired text. In this book I have always quoted from the New International Version. I have used it since the beginning of its publication in 1973, two years after I entered the preaching ministry in England. The NIV aims to translate into modern English. (I must remember that ‘modern English’ is now over 30 years old!) It has an emphasis on the form of words and their structure in the original texts. It is a formal correspondence translation. I have used just the one translation for almost all of my ministry. This has helped me to memorise passages of the Bible, which I feel is very important. Of course, I do consult different translations to bring out the meaning more clearly in my sermon or teaching preparation. But ninety-nine per cent of the time I read just the one Bible version. I begin with a prayer and I ask God to speak to me through it; and He does! Thinking it through. (a). Look in the front of your Bible: does it tell you what type of translation it is? (Read the Preface or Introduction). Compare this to the six types listed in chapter twenty-six. (b). As well as being true to the old texts and original Bible languages, why is it important that translators keep up to date with modern language usage? (c). How do we know that God Himself wants to speak to us through the Bible?