A Joyful Brotherhood

by | Dec 8, 2024 | Zambia Mission Trip

Took a few days break from giving Zambia reports to write a sermon and to recover from illness (developing world parasites are no joke). There are still a lot of stories to tell and the next one is about ACTION Pastor’s College (APC).

To catch you up with where we are on the trip: 

The subject that I had chosen to teach was Worldview and Biblical Counseling. The main idea that I wanted to get across to these pastors is that the way that they lead people is going to come from their understanding of the Bible. Building out from a Biblical Theology, I applied the story of God to a number of specific struggles and life complications to show how to identify the issues that needed to be healed. I then spent some time talking about how to lead people from where they are to who God calls them to be. Jeff taught on the issue of apologetics, with a focus on how God has given us a story to tell in our own testimony.

It had been a bit of a whirlwind tour thus far. On Monday, we fell into a bit of a rhythm, because for the next five days, we would be teaching at APC. Those who spoke with me before I left know that I was a bit concerned with making sure the class content landed (both being in a different context and not having a grasp of the general education level of the participants were concerns). I knew that everyone in the class was already in ministry and had a good enough grasp of English that we didn’t have to teach with an interpreter. I certainly had some guidance from Kelly and a friend who had taught there before, but it felt a bit like walking into the unknown. Jeff, my traveling partner, did not have a ton of teaching experience, so I think he was nervous about teaching in general.

Any fears we may have come in with were quickly ease by the graciousness by which we were received. From the moment that we got there, we were welcomed with open hearts and minds. It was a mixed bag of students. There were some that were a bit older and had been doing ministry for a while and others who were much younger. There were some who were fluent in English and others who were obviously struggling at times. There were Baptists and there were Pentecostals (in the case of Boniface — a Baptist pastor’s kid who became Pentecostal and then came back to lead a Baptist church). While these differences may have affected their understanding of the class, it didn’t really matter to how they treated us or interacted with one another.

One of the aspects of APC that I really loved was that it brought together this group based on their shared desire to be better pastors. Leading in the compounds, many of these pastors did not have numerous education options. It was this, or nothing. They valued every bit of teaching that was given, because it was all they had.

Once we got going, it was more about responding to what they brought into the class than it was about what we had prepared. The last day I taught, I was just answering questions that they had. Each answer brought up another question, which brought up another. I could have taught for the whole day without any difficulty. Their joy for us being there and their desire to learn about God made teaching easy.

My favorite parts of the day were the morning break and lunch, when we got to sit with the pastors and join in their debates; they were always arguing about something. Not in any angry way, but as iron sharpening iron. They would have these conversations in the tribal language and after a few back and forths, one of them would turn to me and fill me in on the topic. Sometimes they would ask my opinion; other times I was just a spectator. As they worked through all of these issues, laughing along the way, there was such a deep brotherhood that sometimes gets lost in cultures that are not as community oriented (like ours).

The honor shown to us was reflected best on the last day we went to the school. It was days after we had finished teaching, just before we left Zambia. The pastors expressed their appreciation to us with a gift, a card, and a song. As is traditional to their culture, the pastors sang to us. I have often said that one of my favorite sounds is when pastors sing together to God. In those voices are the joys and sufferings of ministry. All of that said, it is on another level coming from a group of African pastors.

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