Day 10 (above GV & Melvin, myself & Alfred).
The Pan-Africa Brethren finished last night with a Breaking of Bread service – a little taster of heaven with all 5 continents represented. The African ‘assemblies’ are wrestling with the familiar ‘traditional’ v’s ‘progressive’ tensions – complicated even more by the issue of separating Western (colonial) culture from African culture. If we think it’s legalistic to insist that men wear a shirt & tie to church – how much more so in African villages!
This morning a group of us had tea at the home of a local Missionary – which was a chance to meet George Verwer (GV) and chat. He asked me why he hadn’t been invited to speak at Greenview – so John Mowat get on the job! Describing his passion for Mission, GV said that the big gospel issues of a real heaven & hell, the uniqueness of Christ, the call to radical & costly discipleship were so huge and pressing that he really wasn’t interested in speaking to people about Communion Cups and their favourite Bible translations (not that anyone had brought these subjects up incidently) – I think it was a word for the ‘assemblies’!
I also chatted to Alferd (see pic) who has been working as a Missionary in the Kalahri desert in northern SA. Big challenges there, apart from the harshness of the conditions, include corrupted Christianity – pastors in some churches who double as Witch Doctors out of hours. It is a classic NT scenario – people embracing Christianity but wanting to hold onto their old pagan ways.
The Pro-Christo conf starts today, it will be a much more grass-roots affair – e.g. more basic food, lots of people squashed into the accommodation, & fewer foreign missionaries.
The Pan-Africa Brethren finished last night with a Breaking of Bread service – a little taster of heaven with all 5 continents represented. The African ‘assemblies’ are wrestling with the familiar ‘traditional’ v’s ‘progressive’ tensions – complicated even more by the issue of separating Western (colonial) culture from African culture. If we think it’s legalistic to insist that men wear a shirt & tie to church – how much more so in African villages!
This morning a group of us had tea at the home of a local Missionary – which was a chance to meet George Verwer (GV) and chat. He asked me why he hadn’t been invited to speak at Greenview – so John Mowat get on the job! Describing his passion for Mission, GV said that the big gospel issues of a real heaven & hell, the uniqueness of Christ, the call to radical & costly discipleship were so huge and pressing that he really wasn’t interested in speaking to people about Communion Cups and their favourite Bible translations (not that anyone had brought these subjects up incidently) – I think it was a word for the ‘assemblies’!
I also chatted to Alferd (see pic) who has been working as a Missionary in the Kalahri desert in northern SA. Big challenges there, apart from the harshness of the conditions, include corrupted Christianity – pastors in some churches who double as Witch Doctors out of hours. It is a classic NT scenario – people embracing Christianity but wanting to hold onto their old pagan ways.
The Pro-Christo conf starts today, it will be a much more grass-roots affair – e.g. more basic food, lots of people squashed into the accommodation, & fewer foreign missionaries.
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Did you manage to get hold of George Verwer's email address...?!
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