Created, Fallen, Being Redeemed

On Friday and Saturday Matt was in Nairobi for work with MIDI. Matt took his computer along, so that he could do his work. Logical enough. However, this presents a problem for me back in Najile. Matt's computer is the only computer that works with the cell modem. When Matt's computer is gone, that means no internet for me. By myself in Najile, I would have enjoyed having internet access to waste time on facebook, read up on various parenting and baby articles, write emails, etc. Instead, God gave me that time to reflect on our work here and re-read a good book I didn't fully understand the first time around. It's a very thorough development book that Matt read for his masters. He liked it, so I also read it during his masters. But, when you're someone not going through all the development classes, and learning the jargon and debating the issues everyday, you miss a lot. Having now lived development for a couple years, it's making a lot more sense.

The book is called Walking with the Poor. As defined by the author himself, its principles and practices of transformational development- looking at holistic understanding of poverty and development and how it fits with our faith. If you haven't read it, I definitely recommend it.

As I've been re-reading, there have been some passages that have struck me. One such passage is from his narrative theology of the Bible (Chapter 2). The author discusses how we, the world, are all created, fallen and being redeemed- but that all 3 are ongoing and inseparable. I enjoy this way of viewing it. That we are always created by God, we are always falling and struggling with sin and we are always being redeemed by our loving God and Creator. The parts are not distinct from one another, they are continuous and inter-related.

I also like the application of this. Again in 3 parts, again connected and ongoing. I'll just post the whole quote:

p. 45 "God at one and the same time upholds a given political or economic system, since some such system is required to support human life; condemns that system insofar as it is destructive to full human actualization; and presses for transformation into a more human order. Conservatives stress the first, revolutionaries the second, reformers the third. The Christian is expected to hold together all three."

God upholds, condemns and presses for transformation. Most of us are probably inclined toward one or the other, yet, we are called to bring together them all. They are not mutually exclusive, but incomplete when taken alone.

Teacher turned preacher?

Today was an unusual day at Najile POMC church. Normally attendance averages about 150 people, with about 60-70 kids. Due to a variety of events taking place at other churches, attendance was much smaller, about 60 or 70 total. However, the unusual part was the ratio of adults to children. For every 1 adult, there were 6 children.

So... we had children's church for church. The entire service lasted about an hour. I was the preacher, with the help of Matt and Mama Faith (the other Sunday School teacher & translator when I need it). I used the lesson I had planned for children's church, which was from Luke 9 and Mark 10, on "who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" when Jesus invites the children over and says the least of these is the greatest. I had planned to focus on Jesus' love for children and how He, as an important person, didn't ignore the children, but instead welcomed them. Instead it became more of a talk about what makes a child an example of what we should be as Christians. Following Jesus' example in those passages, I ended with a blessing on the children. Short. Simple. Quality preaching? Not really. But I have now done my first sermon.