Our second Pastor’s
Conference of the year has just come to an end. It was a time of worship and
growth for the pastors that were able to attend and also those of us from
Sufficiency of Scripture Ministries. The Lord was faithful and gave us great opportunities to love
and challenge the pastors to love their churches with the deep love of Christ.
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| We were so blessed and thankful to have Dr. Mark Tatlock from Grace Community Church as our speaker for the week. |
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| The President of the Baptist Union of Africa sharing with our pastors about how the Church is God's chosen family. |
The focus of the
conferences this year is on the Invaluable Church: Seeing the Church from God’s
Perspective. A challenge here in Uganda, as well as many other parts of the world, is the issue
of ministers being consumed with title and respect and not humbly serving their
church without any recognition or benefits. This is not just a temptation for
leaders in the church; it’s a temptation in the life of every Christian. So many
times we are focusing on serving our own kingdom and not humbly and sacrificially
serving the Kingdom of God. It was so encouraging and challenging to see the
pastors respond to the teaching, and also have my heart and motivations for ministry
challenged and strengthened.
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| It took some time to get this little guy to smile, but when he did it was totally worth it. |
Conferences are
always fun because they give a chance to interact with people from different
parts of the country and live a little differently for a week. I am pushed out
of my comfort zone when I work conferences. I’m not used to bathing in a basin
or using a pit latrine to go to the bathroom, eating rice, beans, and posho (almost like grits) for each meal.
It’s always a little unnerving to share a room with a rat the size of your
forearm, or have a cow walk in on you while you are trying to bathe, or to even find a
green mamba to be resting outside the latrine when you finish going to the
bathroom. But all of these things remind me that loving God and loving people
can get you through many things and even bring joy into those little moments
when you feel so far from what is familiar.
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| Edgar, Christine, and Ojulu are just a few members of our fabulous SOS team that worked so hard at this conference. |
Sometimes it’s hard
to serve people when you are tired, smelly, and hot. I become quickly annoyed
when I am uncomfortable and people are coming to me with needs and concerns. At
the conferences, I am the one in charge of registration and medical, so when
people have issues with small things like water, pens, books, questions, toilet
paper, I am the one that they are sent to. And when the pastors who haven’t
played soccer in 15+ years come from sports time and their bodies are aching, I
am the one who is supposed to work a miracle to bring their youth back. Satan
uses these times to tempt me to be unloving and quickly disturbed by their needs, but the Holy
Spirit convicts my spirit and reminds me that I am to deny myself and my time
and my comforts and serve others before I serve myself. It is an experience
that always brings me back to the purpose of ministry and Christianity in general.
Paul tells us in Romans 13 that all the commandments of the Law are summed up
in this one saying: love your neighbor as yourself. This saying is bold and
essential. How many times I fail and love myself and serve my kingdom more than
the Kingdom of God.
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| Everyone plays football. No exceptions. |
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| The love for the game never grows too old. |
My prayer is that
the pastors from the North East and Eastern regions can repent for loving
themselves more than the people that God has entrusted to them and that we as
believers can repent for not humbly serving others in order to advance the
Kingdom of God. I love Africa, I love Uganda, and I love having the opportunity
to serve these people however I can, even when that means that I am pushed far
out of my comfort zone. It’s in those moments that I am forced to remember why
I came here, what is truly important in life and ministry, and how much I need
strength and satisfaction from God alone.
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| The little guys always find ways to have fun at the conferences. |
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| All you need is a big rock and a jerrycan and you have your entertainment for a few hours. |
