Taking on the Giants

There is something about the David and Goliath story that captures the imagination (1 Samuel 17).  Whether it happens on a court during March Madness or on the ancient battlefield, something in us roots for an irrationally confident youngster going up against an obviously superior foe.

I love watching the way our Mozambican friends get wrapped up in the telling of that story.  They empathize with a hopelessly overmatched David.  They marvel that even though Goliath was much stronger and better equipped than David - he still lost.  And all of us are challenged by the way David put his total confidence in a God that was bigger than any giant.

This story has led naturally into many conversations about the different giants that we face here in Mozambique.  Out of these exchanges names have surfaced for five giants that tyrannize the Makua-Metto people the most.   These giants are alive and well, stomping around the province of Cabo Delgado, wreaking havoc on families and villages. 

One of these giants is 'Unfaithfulness.'  Being true to one's word is uncommon and this trait stains and strains marriages, friendships and business relationships.  People lack confidence in each other and unfortunately this is often for good reason.  This giant keeps communities as a whole from moving forward because individuals don't trust each other.

The second giant is the 'System of Witchcraft/Demon possession/Divination.'  This one has been the hardest for me as a Westerner to understand.  The occult practices form a dangerous three-headed giant that keeps people pinned down by fear.  This giant turns people against their own neighbors and families. Many, many people look to this giant in a vain wish for a blessing or in trying to figure out a way to minimize their suffering.

A third giant is 'Alcoholism.'  Drunkenness is a huge challenge here.  In villages all around us people distill their own drink from sugar cane.  High levels of unemployment and cheap alcohol are a dangerous combination that pull people down.  One of the brands of mass manufactured gin is named Rhino, and I often remind our friends here that if someone saw this animal out in the woods they would keep their distance, but when they see Rhino on a bottle they forget that it is a dangerous animal best left alone.  This giant staggers around destroying the people and livelihoods in its path.

The fourth giant is 'Ungodly Leadership.'  In a previous post I mentioned that a common saying here is "the goat eats where it is tethered."  This saying is used to express resignation that leaders will use whatever authority they have been given for their own advantage.  Few follow Jesus' model of servant leadership.

And lastly we come to the giant of 'Poverty.'  This giant teams up with his colleagues to keep people down - often people waste their hard earned money on magical amulets or booze.  Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world (ranking 172^nd out of 177 countries on the 2007/2008 Human Development Index).  In 2003, Mozambique ranked as the 10^th worst country in the world according to percentage of population suffering from undernourishment (45%).  And the province we live in, Cabo Delgado, is Mozambique’s worst.  According to the World Bank’s numbers from just a few years ago, the province of Cabo Delgado ranks dead last in comparison with the rest of this countries’ provinces in terms of chronic malnutrition among children 0-5 years (56%) and in percentage of children underweight (34.2%). When you worry about what your next meal will be it is hard to think about much else.

These Giants work together to stomp out hope and life where they find it.  Like old Goliath, their voices rumble through the valley striking fear in the hearts of the people. 

Wow - that's depressing.

So, how can we stand in response to that?

We've formed a modest plan with some Mozambican church leaders for engaging the Giants.  Just as David went down to the river and picked out some smooth stones, we've selected a few ways to respond to these giants.  

1. Speak openly about the Giants.  Satan is the prince of darkness and he doesn't like it when we shine a light on what he is up to.  These giants have more power when we don't speak their name.  So, we are committing to speak openly about them and call them out when we see them slinking into our houses and churches.

2. Live the abundant life of the Kingdom of God - Following the giants' ways of living would give them power over us.  Our lives are the some of the most powerful testimonies/weapons in the battle against the giants.  By living a Christ-infused-life we reveal the giants as cheap shadows of the way things were intended to be.

3. Fast and pray for victory against the Giants. Once upon a time, Jesus' disciples ran out of power -  they tried to cast an evil spirit out of a child, but were unable.  Jesus healed the child and told his apprentices that certain evil spirits only come out by prayer and fasting (Matthew 17:19-21). Our team and a number of other Mozambican church leaders are going to fast and pray for God to bring down these giants.  In my mind, I have an image of hundreds and hundreds of Davids launching their stones as these five giants cower in fear. 

Another time Jesus guaranteed that if we have faith and don't doubt, we can say to a mountain, 'Jump!' and it will hop into the sea (Matthew 21:21).  We're not asking to move mountains - we are just asking Him to take down some giants.  We're trusting that He's done it before... and He can do it again.

We'll be praying and fasting from March 17 to March 30.  March 31st is Easter Sunday.  It seems appropriate to end the fast by remembering the power of the Resurrected Lord. 

So, let me invite you to join us in prayer and fasting against the giants in this part of Mozambique.  There is a saying here - "União faz a força."  which means In "Unity there is strength."

Please join us in prayer about the Giants.  And, if you feel called, give up some meals as part of your petition to defeat these enemies.  We'd be happy to have some more Davids taking up their slings and joining us with God against the Giants.      

Grace and Peace,

Alan

(Special thanks to Abby and Ellie for the David and Goliath drawings!)

rehearsing truth

I was Charlie Brown.  I used to have the yellow shirt with the jagged black stripe to prove it.

My other acting experiences in High School were minor characters (putting it generously) - I played the Barrister of Munchkin land (which I felt like was just one step up from playing a banister in munchkin land!), a singing tree, and an unnamed character whose costume reminded us of the Jack of Hearts.   So, when my fellow classmates found out that I would be playing the role of Charlie Brown in a student directed play, the most common comment I heard was - "That part is perfect for you."  (I still am not sure if that was a compliment!)  It was a fun experience but more work than I expected, having to rehearse those lines every day to keep them fresh on my mind.

I'll contrast that experience with the time our choir put on a dinner theater and I sang 'C'est Moi' from the musical Camelot.  I happened to be singing just in front of my parents' table and my Dad, realizing that I was having serious trouble with the lines, put down the video camera, stood up, joined me in the song and we finished it together.  Most of the people in the audience thought it must have been planned, and we got a rousing round of applause.  In that case, I had not rehearsed my lines well, and I quickly lost my way.   Since then, I have really appreciated the irony of needing my Father to come to my rescue in order to finish singing a prideful song of self-sufficiency!

I shared these two stories with my friend Mario a couple weeks ago.  Mario is one of my closest friends.  I have probably spent more time with him than any other Mozambican.  He and I have been all over northern Mozambique together.  He is my parents' age and jokes about being my "Mozambican Dad." He likes pushing the limits of my knowledge of the Makua language, coming up with increasingly obscure terms to expand my vocabulary.  We have literally been stuck in the mud many times together. We have planted churches together.  And I was there the day he buried his mother.

But, Mario is a recovering alcoholic.  He will go through stretches of time where it is not a problem.  But, then he gets pulled back into drinking.  A few months ago, after an incident, we had a delicate conversation about it at his house and I told him I would not be able to take him with me to the villages north of town - we agreed that he would be on a sort of probation.

A few months later, I walked to his house and found him completely wasted.  The next time we met, he laughed it off, but I insisted that we needed to take it seriously.  And that is what finally led us to the open and raw conversation that day about how alcohol keeps capturing him.  We talked through everything that happened recently.  He shared how some days it is easy to walk past the group of his old drinking buddies. He talked about how when he declines, they mock him... calling him 'Amwara Yesu' - 'wife of Jesus.'  He shared how some times the pull from alcohol is too strong and he gets sucked back in again.

 

And finally, he asked me: "How can I break free?"

My response: "I don't know."

I have never dealt with alcoholism, so I encouraged him to talk with my teammate Jeremy who used to work at a drug and alcohol recovery center.

But, then I borrowed a tactic from Jesus' playbook and told him a couple stories.

In ways that fit his context, I told him about having to rehearse my lines in order to play Charlie Brown well.  I also told him about being seriously under-prepared to sing at that dinner concert and needing my Dad to step in and save the day.

We talked about the importance of 'rehearsing truth'.

It is a powerful phrase (that I have blatantly stolen from Rachel) that has been helpful for me in re-framing the importance of spending time each day in prayer and Bible study.  There are times (many, many times) as I stumble out of bed, get the coffee started, and try to jump start my brain that I wonder if having a quiet time is worth it. But this concept of 'rehearsing truth' has helped me re-imagine what 'quiet times' are really about.

Quiet time is about rehearsing my lines for this day's improv. play.  It is about reminding myself of the truth I need to say that day.  It is about rehearsing lines so that I remember the character I have been called to be in God's story.

So, I encouraged Mario to take a few minutes each morning to 'rehearse truth' - spending some time in the Word and in prayer, making sure he has his lines down pat.  I told him that I had no allusions that this would be the 'magic bullet' to deal with his alcoholism.  But it certainly could provide him with ample ammunition, and be a layer of bricks in the wall between him and the life he wants to leave behind.

My hope is that by 'rehearsing truth,' Mario and I can both be well equipped to play our roles in God's drama here in Mozambique.  

Grace and Peace,

Alan 

Why pairs are more fruitful

Back in 2004, a book called The Wisdom of Crowds attracted a lot of attention.  In it the author explored  how groups of people can often pool their collective wisdom and make better decisions than individuals.  He used case studies and anecdotes from various fields ranging from economics to psychology.

Jesus seemed to think, though, that the wisest or most effective number of people was... two.  His theory might be called - 'the wisdom of pairs.'  When he sent out his disciples to a new village, he liked to send them out in groups of two (Mark 6:7, Luke 10:1).  One might have imagined Jesus, in the name of efficiency, splitting everyone up in order to cover as much ground as possible.  But, instead he covers half as much territory by sending them out two-by-two. 

Jesus thought that pairs were more fruitful.

One example of the way our team has seen the value in working in pairs is the experience that Jeremy Smith and I have had in the Chiure district. It has been a very rewarding experience... and the decision to work as a pair came partially by accident.  It takes over two hours to drive to Chiure, but the churches there were ready for teaching and mentoring - so the decision was made for both of us to go in large part in order to share the burden of fuel costs and wear-and-tear on our cars.  We also knew that these churches were primed for growth and working with them alone would have been more than we were ready for.

Over the past few years Jeremy and I have spent dozens of Saturdays making the trek down to Chiure, co-teaching a class for a group of church leaders, and then evaluating that experience on the long ride back home.  We don't always work this way - but I often wish we did!

So, what benefits have we experienced by working in pairs?

1. Co-teaching is just plain more effective.  Back in college I got to co-teach a class at the Downtown Church with one of my professors, Monte Cox.  We spent time preparing the lessons with a small group and then taught the class together. That experience was extremely formative for me.  When Jeremy and I co-teach now it is on a peer basis and we have given each other the freedom to jump in and add comments, chase meaningful rabbits, or clarify when it seems that members of the group may not be understanding.  It is extremely helpful to have another set of eyes, ears, and hands to help mold the learning experience.

2. Pairs have more authority. My hunch is that Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs because of the common refrain in the Old testament of the need of having two witnesses (ex. Deut. 19:15).  Jesus knew that for his message to be received with open arms, it needed to have two testimonies.  Working in pairs adds more weight or authority.  When one of us is pushing the discussion, challenging the group in a certain way, it is very helpful to have a colleague step in and publicly agree that what the other is saying is true.

3. Two heads are better than one in problem solving.  While this would certainly be the case even in one's own hometown, it is even more true when you are attempting to listen through the static of different languages, cultures and communication styles.  I don't know how many times we have been presented with a problem or scenario and one of us had to respond because the other couldn't discern the heart of the question.

4. Working as a pair models a plurality in leadership.  If the ultimate goal for the churches leaders we work with is to see them become a healthy team of elders shepherding the flock, then there seems to be great value in modeling that kind of teamwork for them even at this stage.

5. Working together is more fun than going it alone. This should be a no brainer.  Our time trapped in the car, or in a dark hut eating xima and beans was made infinitely more bearable by having a companion.

So, for the above reasons (and more) I would heartily recommend working in pairs - they are more fruitful - for everyone involved. 

Grace and Peace,

Alan

a shift in focus

Last year, we bought a nice camera.  We had used the point-and-shoot type of digital cameras for the past ten years or so and they had worked fine, but the price had come down so much lately on the nicer ones that we enlisted my sister-in-law, Erin Elizabeth, in helping us find a new camera.  Wow - what a difference!  Admittedly, I don't do a great job remembering to take pictures - I'm the guy who pulled out our video camera a few years back and one daughter said, "Nice camera, daddy, did you borrow it from Jeremy?"  Oops.   So, I am certainly still a novice, but it has been fun to play around with the lens, experimenting by focusing on different aspects of a particular shot.   

I've been thinking about the importance of focus a lot more lately, especially in regards to the atonement.   Often when we talk about the atonement - what Jesus accomplished on the cross - we can tend to focus on the way he took care of our sins.  This is certainly a key part of Jesus' work, but it is not the complete picture.

Let's use a specific passage as an example.  Often when people try to summarize what Jesus did at the cross they reference 1 John 3:5 NIV "But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins."  If we just focus solely on this verse then it seems like Jesus' reason for coming to earth was to merely deal with our 'sin problem.'  But if we shift our focus just a little bit, moving it down a couple verses we read..."the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work" (3:8 NIV).  Shifting our focus down even further we see that Christ's love and example has facilitated our passing "from death to life" (3:14-16).

So, by shifting our focus just a little, we can see with more clarity different parts of the scene.  We may shift the focus from a flower in the foreground to a flower in the background.  And taking the pictures together, a much broader image comes into view.

In this more expansive scene, or mosaic, we see Jesus dealing not only with sin, but also defeating Satan and death itself.  So, at the cross, Jesus overcomes our three main adversaries: Sin, Death and Satan.

Our team meets weekly to worship in English and one song we've sung more often lately is the song "He Paid a Debt."  It's a good song, but unfortunately it only focuses on one part of the atonement - how Jesus deals with sin.  So, I tried to come up with some additional verses to shift the focus to the other two enemies that Christ defeated: Satan and death.  Sometimes we need to focus on the individual pieces one at a time in order to bring the whole picture into clearer focus.

He Paid a Debt

(American folk hymn and melody; verses 2 and 3 by Alan Howell)

He paid a debt he did not owe, I owed a debt I could not pay.

I needed someone to wash my sins away.

And now I sing a brand new song, amazing grace all day long.

My Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.

And on that day at Calvary, he defeated Satan and set me free.

I needed someone to beat the enemy.

And now I tell of what he's done, amazing freedom is what he's won.

My Jesus conquered evil and won the victory.

Death did not have the final word, not for this resurrected Lord.

I needed someone to rise up from the grave.

And now I tell a brand new story, amazing life in all its glory.

My Jesus conquered death and lives eternally.

My hope is that we can do a better job as a church of incorporating all of the various pictures of the atonement (how Christ defeats sin, death and Satan) into a mosaic that fully displays the beauty and power of Christ's death and resurrection.

Grace and Peace,

Alan

Our experiences in Mozambique have certainly shaped our thinking about the atonement.  If you are interested in reading more about how we're trying to talk about the atonement among the Makua-Metto people, you can read more here.