GlocalNet

If you read my books, you know how passionate I am about domains, and how we start with the society and not the church. The church emerges as we live out the life of Jesus. There is a reason, I’m convinced, why church planting movements in “virgin” countries go so fast. Think about it.  If you have no religious infrastructure, and you go only through the existing domains of society, it spreads fast. It’s relational and there is nothing to slow or impede it--it is viral. When the religious infrastructure comes, the idea is it should speed things up to jet speed. But, instead of acting like jet fuel, it’s like a water faucet that constricts the flow going only as fast as is possible for the religious infrastructure to control. The more we can keep faith flowing in the natural domains of society the more faith will grow. BUT, alas, to do this we have to make disciples . . . .

Ah, the wonderful world of talk. Let’s get everyone in the room and just sit down and talk about it, and we’ll fix it! No, we won’t. Jonathan Sacks just wrote a book that deals with this, The Home We Build Together. He writes about having 60 years of talking that’s led to little. He says we should keep talking BUT a better way, instead of face-to-face, person-to-person, is side-by-side sweating. It’s what I’ve been saying for at least the past ten years. Once we’ve sweated together, then we’re ready to talk. Talk without sweat is fruitless. How do we change the world? How do we turn it upside down in a positive way? What are the biggest headaches we face in the world that we can’t solve alone? We should partner with people of different race, faith, culture who are also affected by that same problem and tackle it. It opens lines of communications. It solves problems. This is the problem with diplomacy--it’s too much talk! Sacks says the reason Judaism survived is because they didn’t have a utopian view of the world, but a realist view. It forced Jews to integrate wherever they went, yet, still keep their culture. I like Jonathan Sacks.  If you’re reading my blog, you da’ man. OK, Jonathan, what do you want to do together--AND, let’s do it with some Muslims,---Christian, Jew, Muslim, and we could even sprinkle in some Buddhists and Hindus.  I have several friends in that camp. An atheist or two might be good to totally confuse? What say ye?

Msafara is Over

Time will judge just how effective the Msafara was in impacting Kenya’s destiny. And of-course reports will be written and audits done. However, off the top of my head and from my limited perspective several results of the Msafara seem evident …

300 Kenyans had a chance to visit and interact with the situation on the ground firsthand. They were able to see the extent of the country’s devastation for themselves. They learnt to care for the displaced. They were forced to deal with their own prejudices and to relate closely to people of other tribes. Each of these belong to a faith community and will return to it with a message of unity and hope. Especially powerful because many who came are the church leaders.

There was heartfelt reconciliation and a resulting unity among church leaders in the various towns we visited. Many leaders confessed that by taking sides in the political events, they had reduced their ability to care for all the communities they were responsible for. By repenting of this short-sightedness and committing to work with leaders of other tribes, they now model the way for the churches they lead to maintain peace in their areas and to care for those affected by the violence. And for church leaders to conduct themselves differently come the next election. There is great power for good when the church is united. An example - we were informed after Msafara left Naivasha, of an initiative by church pastors to ensure that the communities evicted from their town could return safely.

Many churches are caring for displaced people who are housed by their members. Because these people don’t live in the camps, they are ‘under the radar’ so to speak, and little support is going to the needy families caring for them. By delivering 65 tons of food and 5 lorries of humanitarian supplies to the pastor’s fellowships in the various towns, Msafara opened up new distribution channels that take care of, and support many of the most needy. The Red Cross has done a great job, but they can only do so much. We hope these channels will continue to be used by different agencies that are looking for alternative relief distribution channels

The hardest to quantify may …

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Today my mom is 72 - and what a class act she is.  You hear people sometimes say they have the best mom in the world - I really do.  She’s rare and exceptional and when she stands before God, will have some massive awards.  Her life hasn’t necessarily been a piece of cake - but she always stayed positive.  She encourages everyone - I’m not sure who encourages and builds her up.  Her kids love her - all four of us.  Anything good in our life is because of her, anything bad - it’s on us. 

My mom taught me to love the poor and suffering.  I remember as a little boy her feeding hobos.  I remember her teaching my Sunday School class.  I remember her singing solos in church, especially “I’ll Tell the World that I’m a Christian.” I remember her teaching us to sing - I never did learn!  She taught me to worship, taught me to love the poor, encouraged me to explore and think, never pulled me back from questioning, listened when I spoke, spoke when I needed it.  She gave me much as a child, but has given me just as much as a man in affirmation and encouragement.  Something about my mom little kids and adults alike flock to.  She is the most educated and exceptional of all of us - and we know it. 

So - what do I take from my mom - what is it that makes her stand out? 

1.  Her kindness and grace in dealing with everyone. 
2.  Her quick smile.
3.  Her attitude that never complains.
4.  Her love of books, music, and life.
5.  Her interest in all of us and what we are doing.

I am what I am because of her - how many of you - your mom made you?

I’m alive.  There is much going on and difficult to blog the past week or so.  I’ve posted several things happening from some of my friends around the world.  BUT, my mind has been working fast and my journal filling up as I’ve been reflecting over the past few months.  I’m convinced that, more than ever before, most of us struggle from an isolationist view of life.  This is especially true in the US.  Here we are on this big continent--a big country with two oceans on both sides.  It isn’t our fault.  And, though, in many ways we are diverse. In other ways we really aren’t.  One of the things that hits me in the face when I’m overseas and then home is how we are so “closed” religiously.  For all the talk of how fast Islam is growing, it’s not nearly as much if you understood how small it is.  Larger percentages come from small groups.  For the most part, this postmodern, post-western place still has traces of Christianity lining it everywhere.  This is why we debate theology so much in the US.  If there were more Muslims, Bhuddist, Atheist, Hindus, etc. we would focus more on who Jesus is and the life He taught.  But because most “religious” books are by “Christians” here in the US, we basically talk to one another with similar threads.  Furthermore, we reserve our hottest anger, not for those that are opposite us, but those most similar. That’s what the Bosnian Grand Mufti said a couple of weeks ago at a meeting I attended--and I believe he’s right.  I think we need more Muslims, Bhuddist, Atheist, Hindus, etc. so that we can focus in on the message of who Jesus is.  Oh, oh, oh, could that be the secret of the church’s explosion in other parts of the world--its Christianity being forced to bump up against other religions instead of being an isolated religion?  HUGE, HUGE, HUGE implications . . . . . .

Today was day six of the Msafara, and day one of Eldoret. Eldoret was at the heart of the fighting & killing, and we expected to find deep divisions and anger. It was in Eldoret that the church with people inside was burnt down; people beheaded, bodies left strewn on the streets where innocent people had been killed. We came into Eldoret under armed escort, expecting an even more difficult time of spiritual warfare than Nakuru had been.

But the 5 hr service this morning was awesome! We began in worship and passionate spiritual warfare prayer. Bishop Njiri preached a convicting word from Rom 14:17, pointing out the errors pastors fell into during the elections, and how we are called to be agents of righteousness and peace, even in the midst of the pain many are nursing. I shared briefly on the 3 sins that the bible says defile a nation, and then we began praying again . . . and boy did we pray! People wept, people wailed, people bound the floodgates, and we knelt, lay prostrate, raised our hands, humbled ourselves and pleaded for God’s mercy and forgiveness for our sins and for the sins of Eldoret.

The service leader of then called for a Kalenjin to come and confess the sins of his people. A young pastor came forward and wept and cried because of what his people had done. By the time he was done, everyone was literally in tears. An older Luo pastor followed him and wept for the sins of his community, and then a Kikuyu pastor prayed.

Bishop Tuimising, a Kalenjin Pastor with high credibility, followed and named the sins of his people. The Kalenjin had certain rules that governed how they shed blood. It was taboo to Kill children and women. It was taboo to kill someone if they took shelter in a house, climbed a tree or lay down clinging onto the grass (sigh of total submission), but in these skirmishes they killed indiscriminately — innocent women and children, and torched houses with people still inside. He said that even under their own laws they stood cursed, and in need of repentance.

And so he proceeded to call for water and a towel, and washed the feet of a Luo, Gisii and Kikuyu pastor as …

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We have just gone through about the most amazing prayer day ever. The air was sizzling as over 200 pastors prayed together and confessed the sins of the city of Mombasa. I stood briefly in a corner, watching, and could feel the hair on the back of my neck rise with excitement! The passion, the excitement, the tears, the cries of prayer. It was overwhelming.

The busses left Nairobi for Mombasa yesterday evening, to arrive in Mombasa around 9 am in the morning. We had 130 pastors registered for the Msafara, and 165 volunteers and intercessors. When the busses arrived in Mombasa the pastors gathered with about 100 pastors from Mombasa, and after some light refreshment, got down to the business of worship & prayer. One of the key points in the prayer was confessing the sins of Mombasa after the example of Daniel 9. If Mombasa stands judged before God it would be for the 3 sins of idolatry, witchcraft and promiscuity. Mombasa is known in Kenya for being the most active center of witchcraft in the country. It is also known for it’s sex trade, now mainly sex tourism.

As we prayed together the story of the coming of the gospel to Kenya was told. The first missionaries to Kenya were a small team of Catholics who set up a chapel in Malindi in the 1500’s. Though they tried they were however unable to penetrate the interior. Finally they gave up and left. The next attempt was 350 yrs later in late 1800’s. This time it was an Anglican mission. They landed in the Miji-Kenda land (Miji-Kenda (9 homes) are a tribe made up of 9 clans, who have a different dialects, but common traditions. They occupy much of the coastal strip). As the story goes (and this is folklore — happened 150 yrs ago), the Anglican missionaries met the elders of the tribe and requested permission to build a church. The Elders then met together and discussed the matter, recognizing the missionaries were about to introduce a new god to them. This they did not want.

But they also recognized they could not say no. So they slaughtered a goat as a sacrifice to their gods, and made a spiritual covenant that the territory of the new god would be limited to the size of …

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Those of you who know Bob know he is obsessed with the Sermon on the Mount and its implications for discipleship.  In light of NorthWood’s Upside Down series on the Sermon, we offer these accountability questions that coincide with the Beatitudes....

the-beatitudes-life-focus-questions.pdf

I wanted to share Oscar Muriu’s email with you (below).  I know many of you are really passionate about prayer and engagement and believe you might be able to help this cause.  We have set up an account at NorthWood and all funds received for this cause will be transferred directly to Oscar.  We are sincerely trying to help Oscar in the Kingdom church and hope you will share the same desire to help. Bob

Greetings Bob,
You had asked me to give you a specific budget for the Msafara. We now have it ready . . . it comes to 220,000$. We have been able to raise 140,000$ so far, and have a short fall of the 80,000$ balance.

We are just getting ready to begin the Msafara this Friday. We have done all that we can . . . and the time has come. To prepare for the Spiritual warfare, we have engaged a strategy of 4 levels of prayer
1.  A team of 5 National Intercessors who will go ahead of us and pray over our ministry, the places we shall be in, and the strongholds in each of these towns.  This team intercedes on behalf of this nation full-time. They will spend several days of prayer in each place.
2.  A larger team of 100 Church intercessors — mainly lay people trained in the ministry of intercession. They will be involved in city prayer walks, going to specific points where the city blood was shed. Going to temples or witchcraft centers, etc. They will spend one day prayer on this — before the cleansing ceremony.
3.  The Pastors and National Leaders (about 300) praying at the cleansing ceremonies. Because these will also spend time reconciling and seeking healing for their division — they will only ‘cleanse’ at the service itself. But their work together will be an important united ‘stand’ by the leaders.
4.  Churches around the country who will not be on the Msafara with us, but will be praying ‘back home’ full-time. For example many at the chapel have covenanted to cover me (their pastor) in prayer.

To date we have…

Some Assemblies of God churches are registered — One of the leaders will accompany us the whole way. They personally …

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...And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.  This is the title of Vince Antonucci‘s new book.  We here at NorthWood strive to live the abundant life Christ speaks of and value those who search out and lead others to live that life.  Tired of sitting in a pew on Sunday and thinking, “There has to be more to it than this”?  Read this book!

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