Just when I thought...

Just when I thought my life couldn't possibly get any better ...

I had it all - godly parents and friends, a loving church home, my education, the satisfaction of doing what I knew God had made me to do in His Kingdom.

Then I met this guy.

And that's about what he looked like when we met, because I was holding my friend's baby, and he decided it was his turn to love on the kid.

Next thing you know, we had been talking for two hours about biblical interpretation, gospel presentation (including elements of last week's post), prayer routines ... During the course of that, I mentioned my ministry's need for laptops (If you're new to my blog, see 2000 Laptops.) and he offered me his late mother's computer. And when I went to pick it up, he also took me out to lunch, and we again talked for hours about missions, politics, the economy, and faith. Then he asked me to pray with him in the park, and that's when things got interesting.

We both impressed each other. We'd found a match when it came to being serious about walking with the Lord, loving to study the Scriptures, and being intelligent and applied enough to follow each other. He asked me out.

And I turned him down. Nope, nope, this wasn't going to work. We were too different, I had too many interested men in my life, and besides, I was going to Africa.

It took quite a series of flirts, misunderstandings, apologies, and "not-calling-it-a-date"s before my resistance broke down and I was ready to admit that he might be, after Jesus, the best thing that's ever happened to me, and just maybe this could work out.

After about five months of "not dating," it still took about fifteen months of officially dating and wrestling with the challenges posed by the potential pairing of an Eastern Orthodox convert and an Evangelical missionary. We had crazy long talks about our points of disagreement. We wrote each other hundreds of pages worth of research papers. We began praying together every day. And, fortunately, we did have a lot of fun on the way, too:

Having fun with Kenneth's nephew Clayton at the Science Spectrum

And finally, I had to acknowledge that, without him, I could no longer say, "I have it all." I wouldn't have a proper historical perspective on things I teach without his vast repository of trivia. I wouldn't have as strong a prayer life without joining in his prayer disciplines. I wouldn't have as good an interpretation of the Bible as I need without his training. And I couldn't become the person God wants me to be without Kenneth's love. We've both gained the confidence that God will see us through all our difficulties as we begin a life together in September.

How thankful I am for God's incredible goodness in giving me better than I had ever hoped or dreamed in a husband and partner who will be with me, to challenge, protect, and nurture me in Africa, and all the places the Lord may take us. And how thankful I am too for you, dear readers, for your prayers and encouragement to us.

I love you, Kenneth.

The Beautiful Gospel

I'm taking a break from my normal posts about the happenings of my ministry with Africa to post what has been burning in my heart, the very reason I do all this ministry: the Good News of Christ.
I have a growing concern for the evangelical church. To put my concern to the test, I asked, both in person and online, a number of faithful churchgoing evangelicals who would proudly label themselves conservative, to critique the following gospel presentation:

God created the world good. But mankind fell by disobeying Him, so now we are all sinners going to hell. The only way out is if the price is paid for our sin, so God sent His Son Jesus to earth as a man. He lived the perfect sinless life we couldn't, and died on the cross so that those who believe in Him can have a relationship with God which enables them to live better now and go to heaven when we die.

"What's wrong with it?" I asked. Answers included that it uses terms an unchurched person wouldn't understand, it doesn't describe the need for repentance and obedience, "a better life" is not guaranteed by believing in Christ, it emphasizes what we get rather than the point of bringing glory to God, and in general it doesn't explain enough "why."

Only one person caught that it doesn't mention the resurrection, and that was someone who had heard me talk about this before.

I thought up this test out of my own experience as a teenager reading the Left Behind series. There was a scene in which someone witnessed to a friend, and told a gospel similar to what I just gave. "Okay, is there anything else I need to do?" asked the listener. No, that covers it, I thought. Then I read on: "You have to believe that Jesus rose from the dead," the witnessing character added. D'oh! I thought. Though that was about thirteen years ago, studies and circumstances lately brought that memory to mind, making me wonder, How is it that the resurrection has become an afterthought?

The resurrection is the central point of the gospel! Of the eight gospel sermons we have in Acts, not one of them talks about going to heaven when we die – actually, that is scarcely mentioned in Scripture. Not one says that Jesus paid the price for our sins.^[1] Every single one of them focuses on Christ's resurrection. The disturbing realization that I could have heard a gospel presentation that ejected the main point and not notice forces me to ask the question, Do we know the gospel at all?

Are we actually preaching what the apostles preached and died for? One thoughtful respondent of my test mentioned that my little presentation did not explain why Jesus' death is really necessary for our forgiveness, what heaven and hell really mean, and the problem questions that can come with the view of justice that come with a superficial concept of these. I think a lot of those questions would be put to rest if we centered on the resurrection:
We are not saved because Christ died …

We are saved because He conquered death.

We are not saved because Christ took our guilt away …

We are saved because He took our sin away.

Sacrifice was not for vengeance …

It was to give life.^[2]

Christ does not cover our sins, as if they remained underneath …

He covers our nakedness.

The pinnacle of salvation is not being dead in heaven …

It is being raised physically and incorruptibly.

Christ does not save our souls …

He saves the whole person.

Christ did not redeem just mankind …

He redeemed all creation.

What was it the apostles preached?

But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams;
even on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.
And I will show wonders in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;
the sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.
And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. For David says concerning him,

“‘I saw the Lord always before me,
for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;
my flesh also will dwell in hope.
For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,
or let your Holy One see corruption.
You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’

“Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord,
Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.’

Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”

--Acts 2:14-39, ESV

Notice the points of his message:

1. What the prophets foretold was happening before their eyes. Quotes should not be used to make a point out of their context, and the apostles are not exempt from this; when they quoted a verse, they were referring to the whole passage, knowing their audience would be familiar with it. Most of the Jews' education at the time centered on learning the Scriptures, and they prayed the Psalms regularly. So they would have in mind the whole message of Joel, pointing to a locust plague, a coming army invasion, and other disasters like wildfire and drought to show the people the devastating effects of sin, how it destroys us, our land, even our animals, and our ability to worship. In chapter 2 God calls the people even now to repent that He may give a blessing, and then describes God having compassion on His people, driving back their destroyers, restoring their land and in that time, pouring out His Spirit on all flesh. All this redemption, blessing, the driving out of the sin and its author that was destroying them, was accomplished by Christ, so that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

2. Jesus was attested by God with mighty works. What were his mighty works attesting? He drove out blindness and gave men sight, saying "I am the Light of the World." He cast out demons saying, "The Kingdom of God is among you." He freed those bound by Satan in disability. He raised Lazarus from the dead proclaiming, "I am the resurrection and the life." He fed the people, as Joel prophesied that they would have plenty to eat, saying "I am the bread of life." All his miracles attested that He is the deliverer promised from old, salvation from Satan, sin, and death.

Peter's next point?

3. You killed him. You were so bound in sin, so loyal to Satan, that you delivered up your Savior to him. But God knew that we would. It was all part of the plan. Because death could not hold him. David's hope of being saved from death was fulfilled in this Holy One who would not see corruption, and would rescue the souls of men from Hades.

4. He has poured out the Holy Spirit. Again, the promise of life Joel spoke of fulfilled.

5. He reigns. Psalm 110 is entirely messianic, proclaiming that Christ is Lord, the Son of God, who rules amid His enemies, becomes priest, shatters His enemies, and brings peace. Christ has broken the power of His enemies, become priest, and begun to reign. So repent, and be baptized in his name.

Again in Acts 3, the message:

And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. And his name—by faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is through Jesus has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

“And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people.’ And all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

The gospel points here are mostly the same, but in a different order:

1. God glorified Jesus.

2. You delivered Him over to death.

3. God raised Him up.

4. He gives health.

5. God foretold this to the prophets and patriarchs.

6. Repent that you may receive forgiveness and refreshing on the land.

Now, if you've taken my considerations seriously, one more challenge:
The other gospel sermons in Acts are in 4:8-12, 5:30-32, 10:34-43, 13:16-41, 17:22-31, and 26:1-23. Read them and make outlines of their main points. Be sure to look up the context of all OT passages quoted; the footnotes in your Bible should point you to them. Notice what they emphasize, and what they don't. And relish the beauty of the gospel, that though we were blind and hopeless slaves to the enemies of God – Satan, sin, and death – Christ came to where we are, subjected to them that He might conquer them all and free us. He now offers Himself: Life, Light, Righteousness.
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^[1] I make a distinction, which I see upheld in the Bible, between paying for sins and forgiving them. What is paid for is kept. What is forgiven is dismissed. Look carefully at the language everywhere the Scripture discusses salvation for this distinction.

^[2] Leviticus 17:11. I could give references for all these, but I think my audience will recognize most already. I gave this one because it's a bit more obscure.

Is your curriculum really all that different?

I've mentioned some of the things we want to accomplish with the Scratch curriculum. But you may still be wondering if it will really be all that different from all the curriculum that's been written before. Here's a little more info with the why and how I'm designing this curriculum differently to accomplish transformational education:

• Integration: Something everybody in education talks about but nobody does. All of life is integrated, such that everything somehow depends on everything else (the butterfly effect is coming to mind), so why do we try to teach in comparmentalized subjects and refuse to give them up? Education is only as effective as students can use it, so why don't we have students building on the basics of learning across all "fields"? Besides having the students build projects that present facts they're learning in other subjects, our curriculum outline has them practicing their composition and math skills in their "computer" class. 
• Relationships: Did you know that the grade system was designed by John Dewey as part of his effort to destroy Christianity? In early American education, all the kids in town were in the same schoolroom learning together. The older kids would help the younger kids learn. Dewey knew that the more he could separate children from their elders, and even from older children, the quicker he could change the thinking of coming generations. We're working to reverse that by building in projects in which older kids present to younger kids and teach them. We also encourage the schools to schedule a day for the parents to come see what their kids have accomplished. God teaches us through our relationships, and so this curriculum is designed with that in mind. 
• Worship: We can talk about a Christian education all day long, but it doesn't amount to anything if the kids aren't learning to do everything they learn to the glory of God. I've included artistic programming projects designed to give kids practice using the computer to compose worship pieces.

Please continue to pray for me as I correspond with ECWA and develop this curriculum, for continued wisdom and enabling.

Choppy waters

I like to think I'm pretty fearless, at least when it comes to things I should be able to get my mind around. I am quite friendly with spiders. I've enjoyed shooting and martial arts classes. When I'm getting stuck with a needle, I watch with interest. I can speak to a crowd. I can go to a not-so-safe part of Africa with no anxiety greater than "did I get all my paperwork right?" I've subbed classes of sixth graders.

But I don't care for thrill rides. I'm not afraid of them; I'll get on them for the sake of socializing. I just don't like the feeling of g forces and adrenaline. Maybe it's from being prone to motion sickness.

That's sort of the feeling I get when life gets uncertain. I know God has a plan, and that He will work it out for the best if we trust and follow Him. But there's still that tightness in the stomach, the sense of strain.

Oswald Chambers (I believe; can't find the reference) said, "Huge waves that would frighten the ordinary swimmer produce a tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them." Sometimes I get that. I can be excited about things that dismay a lot of people. But other times, I'm gritting my teeth.

TEN3 is looking at some rapid changes in the coming months. We will probably be losing some important personnel. I certainly can't say I feel good about it; I greatly value my colleagues and will miss working with them. And it also makes me wonder, we've been such a small and in some ways weak organization already, struggling to get things going … how will we continue?

Lord, teach me to so trust You that I can embrace every wave, knowing that though things may be lost, You will see us exactly where You want us. Teach me to recognize and trust Your hand in all the ways You work. Teach me to rejoice always, and pray without ceasing.

Combining computers with discipleship for kids with Scratch

It's a silly gimmick, I thought when I first heard of Scratch. Teaching elementary school kids to program. Why would they need programming at that age?

In fact, when the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA) requested computer curriculum for primary school kids, my first thought was again that kids that age don't have practical use for a computer, at least not that justifies the effort and expense in Africa. But as I prayerfully considered it, I realized this was a golden opportunity. The fact is, more and more, computers are saturating kids' lives, and Africa is not exempt. So if we are to teach them to use the computer in a godly way and not be blindly formed by whatever it tells them, we have to start early. "You know, programming would be just the thing for that," I realized. It would demystify the machine for them, showing them that computers really are only as good as the instructions given to them. They would understand early on how to use it to its full advantage, and get plenty of clear examples of its limitations. Furthermore, Scratch offers ways to integrate with other subjects and even bring older and younger children together. Fourth graders can write an interactive storybook which the second graders can read. Fifth graders can make motion-involved games to illustrate physics to the fourth graders. And all along the way, we can teach them how we too are programmed, and so we had better pick our programmer wisely!

So now not only are we working on a system called Puppy, now we're working with the Scratch cat! This cute little guy was designed to teach kids how to program. See those puzzle-piece blocks to the right? Those are commands they can string together. Way to go MIT!

You can play with Scratch for free, too at scratch.mit.edu!

Strategic Chaos

I sometimes wonder if I dizzy you with all the things I talk about that I do. Computer Training Outreach, Biblical Health & Life Management, Programming & Databases, primary school curriculum. ICCM seminars, Mothers & Media seminar, Families & Media Bible study. Going to Nigeria, going to Zambia, talking to Kenya and Uganda, praying about Tanzania and Sierre Leone. Writer training, editor training, teacher training. The needs are SO GREAT throughout Africa, and the opportunities so potent, that we get excited easily about possibilities to serve.

Some of these possibilities fizzle, some of them stay open but the going is oh-so-slow, some of them lead to unexpected twists, and some of them take off beyond what we could ask or imagine. Tons of prayer and strategy goes into how we choose where to go, and then more often than not we get re-directed through circumstances – but in that we see the Lord's guidance. Computer training was our starting point, which TEN3 wanted to move beyond, but it became a priority as our "launch base." On the other hand, primary education went from a "hopefully someday" idea to golden opportunity to connect that computer training launch base to all the venues we've dreamed of reaching.

I don't know if I could possibly summarize these years of development into something anyone would actually read, but I can tell you this much: our goal remains the same. African churches overcoming the severe challenges they currently face and emerging as world leaders in education and the spread of the gospel. Our methods remain the same: train educators in discipleship and sound educational principles, give them materials to enable them to implement those principles, consult them how to run them sustainably. The possibilities for partners and venues open and close, but they always eventually bring us right where we need to be.

Lord, forgive me. Lord, change me.

"As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom."--Daniel 7:21-22

Kenneth and I studied this chapter today, and he pointed out just how dire things will become for the people of God before the end. We will be oppressed on all sides. There will come a time when our apologetics for Christianity and even our arguments for morals will be defeated, when the gospel is corrupted almost everywhere and eventually disbelieved, when lawlessness increases and love grows cold, when for the "good of the world" those who still cling to Christ will be killed by the droves.

"Oh find me faithful. Find me faithful," I prayed. For that devastation won't come all of a sudden--the areas of sinking sand Christians have set themselves upon will spread until they give way. Even if it doesn't happen in my lifetime, what is done in my lifetime will set the stage. I may well be accountable one day for some place where the Church stands or falls. And that is a frightening thought as I consider all the places where I've been susceptible to distortions, listening to those who proudly speak in Christ's name but have no understanding of Him.

After I finished that rather distraught meditation, I saw an e-mail from a supporter with a Lenten devotional from LakeRidge UMC. It was on the efficacy of prayer when we do it for its true reason--to abide in Him. For when we abide in Him, our hearts are reshaped to have the mind and love of the God who is able to do more than we ask or think.

It's time for repentance, for humbly seeking His face and not His blessing on what I think deserves it. Once again I must seek to abide in Him, knowing that apart from Him I can do nothing. Only then can I hope for the second part of my prayer -- that somehow my service to the people of God will preserve faith for the Son of Man to find when He returns (Luke 18:8).