church party

Sometme back we had a party for the church at our new property



This is where we plan to build the amphitheater, Lord willing.

Tropical storm

The Tooro consider rain to be a blessing. Well, God is sure blessing us today!
I wish you could see the storm outside the window. The rain is pounding on our metal roof and splashing on the ground below.
The thunder is roaring but the rain is so thick the lightnig can't be seen. The trees are bending and waving. The banana leaves are moving in rythm. Silas put on ear protectors so he wouln't be afraid of the noise.
Visibility is down to 100 meters. The water just keeps coming. The water is pouring over the edge of the gutters as though they are not even there.
Wow! I love a tropical rainstorm!
The thunderstorms have backed up against the Rwenzori Mountains and are dumping everything they have.
(Rwenzori means rain maker. That's apropriate.)
Wow.
Thank you for the blessing, Lord.

Torn Asunder

This week I read the book Torn Asunder by church of Christ minister Ben Brewster. If you are a member of a church of Christ, Christian Church or Disciple's of Christ you may find this book interesting. The restoration movement dreamed of uniting Christians from all denominations and sects. They wanted to be "just Christians", practicing primitive Christianity.
One of my favorite restoration sayings is..."we are Christians only not the only Christians."
It was not their intention to start another church but to restore the church that is seen in pages of the New Testament. They practiced unity.
At least for the first generation.

Several years ago I was asked by a friend who grew up in the Christian Church why I thought the church of Christ and Christian church split.
I gave him a quick answer about instrumental worship and mission societies. Those were just symptoms of a deeper problem.
He asked me what had taken place in American history prior to 1906?

Well 40 years earlier was the civil war.

He went on to explain to me how the idea of slavery and ambolition, patriotism to the confederacy or patriotism to the union, whether a Christian can or should fight in war or not all were major factors in that drove men apart.
It was as though a giant iceburg had cracked and by 1906 had floated apart.

The mission societies and instruments were vehicles used to justify the sectarianism. With the second and third generation of Church leaders came differences of opinion and interpretation. These were used to fan the flame and melt the unity.

The idea that came from Thomas Campbell's Declaration and Address where they were dissolving their former ties for unity sake were turned around and used to divide.
"Speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent" was adapted from this document. They were dissolving their presbytary into the church at large. This slogan was grabbed onto by some and used to identify a specific group.
(That was the very opposite of its original intention)

As we are raising this first generation of leaders here in Uganda it makes me wonder what will the future hold for these men and women?
How will the teachings I pass on be understood and lived out in the second and third generations?
How do I avoid passing on the sectarianism that I inherited?
These are real questions that I struggle with.
There is an entire movement that has begun here in Uganda. There are now hundreds of churches.
May they learn to love one another. May they learn from our mistakes.

"A new commandment I give you...Love one another" (Jesus)

Spiritual disciplines

Why is there guilt associated with Spiritual Disciplines? We have good intentions like.. memorizing chunks of scripture, getting up at 5:00 AM to have quiet time, meditating and so on.
Maybe its becasue we know these kind of things are good for us. (But you can never do enough!) They get treated like a new diet, new years resolution or that work out regiment that we should have done.
Many times the expectations are... to be "Spiritual" we have to be someone else.
Here's what I think...
Spiritual development happens on your normal schedule in your everyday life.

As we all are on the same path here are a few things that have helped me. (Maybe you can add what's helped you.)

1. I love connecting with God I don't want to go a day without it.
2. I try to Keep learning. At 38 I went back to school. It has been wonderful! I also practice the ancient art of reading books that can help me grow in the Lord.
3. Whenever I see a car accident I pray for everyone involved. (Simple) Then I ask myself what can I do to help? Many times this means my plans might have to be put on hold for the next few hours as I jump in and help.
4. I look for ways to put in a good word for Christ.
5. I treat waitresses with respect and tip. I know this may not sound like a spiritual discipline but this has opened the door for number 4.
6.Every once in a while I will pick a verse and try to see how can I really apply this today?
7. I do not do ministry alone. I always take someone with me and use the time wisely as we drive to share.
8. I am consciously trying to listen more.
9. We see the money we make as God's. Tithing is easy when we think that way. We give to God first.
10. Everyday I try to remember my mission field starts at home.

This is not an exhaustive list. Christianity should be real, practical and down to earth.
What helps you?

The wedding

I performed the wedding ceremony for David and Resty last Saturday. It was challenging for me because I was sick with a high fever. They have five children and have been together longer than Cheryl and I have.
Years ago they started living together and had a child. Then David went to her family for "introductions" and followed the many different traditions leading up to the agreement of the Dowery.
Over time he paid all that her family required. (Usually they take into consideration all of the school fees the family has ever paid for the daughter. The payment can be cows, goats, beer, and or cash.)
They had gone through all of that and were considered married culturally but Resty's Catholic family wanted her to have a wedding in a church.
Well the school our church meets in was not what they wanted. I offered to rent some nice wedding tents and perform the wedding at our new property. They didn't go for that.
They chose to use the Presbyterian church building in town.
Here you can't pay for all of the wedding ceremony yourself. A committee of friends are chosen and they set a huge budget.
Then meetings are held all over the place trying to raise money from everyone.
It was said that if someone plans a wedding and doesn't ask you to help pay for it they will not attend.
David held three months of meetings with his friends from his work. They Rented cars, a marching band, a choir, church building, bubble machine, five white wedding tents, 350 chairs. There is of course the invitation and pledge cards, over a dozen wedding cakes, fresh flowers, rings, red carpets, hundred meters of white lace, candles, music, dresses, videographer, photograper, renting the gardens for photos, renting the tooro resort grounds generator, lights,pa, sparklers, crazy string,video projector, Transportation for all of the brides family to and from another tribe, housing for all the guests,Sodas and water plus food for 350!

I atended the last meeting and saw that the committee was so far in debt that they were going to dump it all on David the day before the wedding. So I helped more.
So much for a simple church wedding.
At the reception David's father proudly told everyone that he would not allow David to have his marriage ceremony until he had finished building his house! "You can't get married while living in a rented house!"

it was an interesting experience.