A Reformed Baptist in Namibia

A CALL TO PRAYER !

2012-01-27T07:45:00.000-08:00

“What the Church needs to-day is not more machineryor better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom theHoly Ghost can use -- men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost doesnot flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, buton men. He does not anoint plans, but men -- men of prayer.

Those are thewords of E.M. Bounds (1835-1913). He was a pastor aroundthe time of the American Civil War , and his writings on prayer remain a great challenge to me . His words remain relevant in an age where relatively few people can see their way clear to spend more time inprayer , let alone be a part of a corporate prayer meeting of the Church . God has commanded prayer to be one of the chiefdisciplines of the Christian church . Ittherefore ought not only to be the habitual practice of every Christian , but there should be evidence that the churchengages in corporate prayer . Absence ofprayer means an absence of confidencein God , since the simplest definition of prayer is “speaking to God “. How can we not speak to our heavenly Father?

The apostolicmethod used to sustain the life , health and progress of the church was by prayer and the ministry of theword (Acts 6:1-7) , and we have no reason to change these priorities in our day.

I write this asour church is about to embark upon a prayer week which we commonly have at the beginningof each year. Prayer reminds us that “our help is in the name of the Lord who hasmade heaven and earth.” (Psalm12:8)

Our church had also decided a few years ago that weshould have also have a week of prayer in themiddle of the year, when our spirits seem to be sagging.

We are convinced from the Scripture that the church is among other things a house of prayer. Our worship servicesought to be punctuated with allkinds of prayer , whether they be prayers of praise , confession, thanksgiving or intercession.To pray is to worship.

In our eveningservices we pray for different countries of the world. “Operation World” helps us to pray for the progress ofthe gospel in every country of the world. A useful internet link to help you to do this is: http://www.operationworld.org . Another helpful resource for worldprayer is found at http://www.gracechurchdirectory.com/world/index.htm

In many churches prayer sadly no longer constitutes an act of worship.Surely, if there'd be a solid argument for what elements should constitute regulative principlesof worship , then prayer must be a part of that, and regular prayer meetings of the whole church should be a given fact and not an antiquated and curious habit of history !

In Memory of Martin Holdt -who went into the Lord's presence on New Years Eve 31st December 2011.

2012-01-13T03:15:00.000-08:00

The news of the death of MartinHoldt came unexpectedly. A week earlier (on Christmas day 2011, to be precise) he had sent me ane-mail wishing me for my birthday on the 27^th December. The words were written in German – his mother tongue.

He was due tobe our speaker at our annual prayer week of our church at the end of January 2012. This washowever not to be. The Lord tookhim in the midst of his labours.

I first met Martin Holdt in my first year as a student at the BaptistTheological Seminary in Cape Town (1986). He was then known in Baptist circles as a “Reformed Baptist pastor“. His theological position was held by very few South African Baptist ministers in thosedays. We can only marvel to think howmuch this has changed. At a recentSpurgeon fraternal, Peter Sammons of the Germiston Baptist Church indicated that there were now more than80 pastors on the list who would identify with the "Reformed Baptist position".

Martin's influence was mostly feltin his brand of preaching and in the Reformed books which he freely distributed.

He was keenly interested in young men who were interested in Reformed Theology. I know ! I was one of them.

Martin Holdt with Andre Bay ( missionary) in Germany

In 1990 I was called to be thepastor of my home church, the Eastside BaptistChurch in Windhoek, Namibia, and Martin immediately took aninterest in me, knowing that I had developed a keen interest in thetheology of the Reformers. He asked me to write an article about my conversionand call to the ministry in a magazine called “Reformation Africa South “ which was published under the auspices of the Reformed Baptist Association in South Africa. This article was read byErroll Hulse of the UK who iswell known for encouraging Reformed Baptist work, world wide.Erroll Hulse came to visit me inNamibia to encourage me in the ministry. Both, Martin and Erroll had simple advice for young pastors like me who were eager to get their ministries ‘reformed’: Preachthe Word! Preach it expositorially ! Preach with passion ! Prepare prayerfully !

Martin exhorted me in thewords of Baptist pastor W.A Criswell “to keep your mornings for God.”

He continuously exhorted young men to read. He believed that the ministry depended on spending time in the counsel of the wise, particularly the ministry of a bygone era.With this in mind, he exhorted us toread the writings of the Reformers andthe Puritans.

Martin started a number of ministries to encouragepastors. Two stand out in my own mind.The annual Grace Minister’s conference and the Spurgeon fraternal. Both have been tremendous means of blessing to many, andparticularly to me.

Allow me to tell you how theSpurgeon fraternal was started.

1997 was a particularly challenging year for me in the ministry. I had experienced many trials accompanied by a loneliness in the ministry for a sustained period and I waslonging to have something more than a conference. I needed a forum where Iand ministerial colleagues could share our burdens and where we could encourage each other andpray for one another. I shared this burden with Martin. There may have been others who had the same burden,but it was Martin Holdt who got the Spurgeon fraternal going. The fraternal isgoing strong today and it is ever increasingin numbers and influence. One could argue that SOLA 5 ( An Association of God centered Evangelicals in Southern Africa) was stated as a result of this fraternal.

Martin visited us at EastsideBaptist Church on a number of occasions between 1990 and 2011. I well remember the time when he spoke at an Easter Conference after his first wife, Beryl, had died.

He spoke at various “Prayerweeks” which we usually have at the beginning of a new year . He was actually due to come to our prayer week in January 2012, and hewas looking very much forward to it. Heloved Namibia for he had some happychildhood memories of this place. Hisparents had lived here forsometime.

But it was not to be ! TheLord deemed his work to be done! I am happy for him for I know that he is with Christ,enjoying his well deserved eternalSabbath rest.

I do however have a sense of great loss at his departure from us. Roland Eskinazi commented that Martin Holdt in a sense brought to an end an era of great Baptist pastors, preachers and spiritual leaders in South Africa.

I leave it to you to judgewhether this is so.

Abortion : How perverted and how much more twisted can we get ?

2011-11-24T05:03:00.001-08:00

This article was found on today’s BBC news - 24^thNovember 2011 .

This horrified me , and this should horrify all thinking Christians !

We, in Namibia struggle with similar issues , and that is why I wish to comment on this matter .

Those of my readers who would like to hear some truly miraculous stories of God's intervention in the lives of "sick babies" in the womb may feel free to write to me , or read my other blog post on "abortion" ( look under 'labels' )

Australiaprobe after wrong twin foetus terminated

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15870161

A probe is under way at an Australianhospital after staff treating a woman carrying twin boys accidentallyterminated the wrong foetus.

Doctors had told the woman that one of herbabies had a congenital heart defect that would require numerous operations, ifhe survived.

The woman chose to abort the 32-week foetusbut staff injected the wrong twin.

The hospital in Melbourne described it as a"terrible tragedy".

"The Royal Women's Hospital canconfirm a distressing clinical accident occurred on Tuesday," it said in astatement.

"We are conducting a fullinvestigation and continue to offer the family and affected staff everysupport."

The woman went on to have an emergencycaesarean to end the life of the sick foetus.

'Thorough investigation'

Victorian Health Minister David Davis saidthe hospital investigation would be overseen by an independent expert.

"I am very much determined to get tothe bottom of what went wrong," he said.

State Premier Ted Baillieu echoed hissentiments, saying: "I don't think it's appropriate for anybody to drawany conclusions other than this is a horrible tragedy."

"We'll make sure that theinvestigation is as thorough as it can be."

In a brief statement, the family asked forprivacy "at what has been a very difficult time for us".

MY COMMENT :

The twin with the congenital heart defect was sentenced to death by abortion on account of the fact that it would need numerous operations ! So , money talks louder than life after all !

And then the hospital staff does it ! They accidentally inject the healthy twin with the lethal dose , and now it is said that this was a "terrible tragedy" ... " a distressing clinical accident" .

What makes the death of the 'healthy' twin more terrible than the planned death of the sibling ?

And then, to add injury to insult, "the woman went on to have an emergencycaesarean to end the life of the sick foetus" . So then , there was a foetus that was healthy and desirable , and a foetus that was unhealthy and therefore disposable . What a warped logic ! It is all because we see the foetus as a thing and not a little living human being in the womb.

And now the family is asking for privacy because they are having a very difficult time ! My pastor's heart longs to be with them now !

What shall we say to this ?

Well, I so wished that this couple could have had somebody with a loving heart and a biblical worldview to talk this through beforehand . Children have been born with congenital heart defects ( I know some !) . This can be dealt with .

Yes , it may cost something , but that cost is insignificant when compared to the terrible cost of living with the life long guilt and pain that women go through after they have had an abortion .

Ask me ! I am a pastor.

I meet women who have had abortions , and I have never yet met a woman that hasn't struggled with severe guilt after an abortion .

Only the matchless grace of our Lord Jesus Christ can be sufficient to heal such a broken woman from her sinful choice. I have seen God's grace and forgiveness in such a situation, and it is wonderful .

What awful hypocrisy and nobody seems to be blushing !

This case has created a wide public awareness . The state premier of Victoria, Australia, Ted Baillieu has commented on this .

What on earth are people thinking for heaven's sake ?

Lord , in your wrath , remember mercy ! ( Habakkuk 3:2)

Pastoring a Church with a High People Turnover

2011-11-15T01:58:00.001-08:00

Our church hasalways had a high “people turnover“ in its 26 years of existence . The church is situated in a more affluent suburb of the city Windhoek. The face of the church changes substantially roughly every 5 years. There is a stable core group of people in the church for which we are very thankful , but theyearly losses always gnaw away at the yearly gains that are made . Thankfully , we are ‘edging forward’,but we are not a fast growing church. Thereis one other church in Namibia with the same tendency - the Swakopmund Baptist Church , where FrancoisKoch has been the pastor for the last 4 years .

Why this highpeople turnover? As I have recently reflected on this phenomenon , I wanted toshare this with you the causes and the positive and negative experiences one has in pastoring such a church .

Causes

Firstly , in the early 90’s we had suffered heavy membership losses as mainly ‘white ‘ SouthAfrican citizens were being repatriated back to South Africa after Namibia became an independentnation in 1990 . Iremember that in the first two years of my ministry we may have lost as many as 50 percent of our membership .

The second reason for membership attrition wasinitially a lack of doctrinal clarity among ourselves , and then ironically, it was doctrinal clarity ! Therewere those who were not happy when we became a Confessional Baptist Church in2001 . We chose the historic 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith for this purpose . The reason was simple . It is good to standupon sound historical precepts , and we did not want to reinvent the wheel .

This is something that Charles Haddon Spurgeon also did in 1855 after he had been theminister of New Park Street Chapel ,London for a few months. He wasdetermined to strengthen the doctrinal foundations of the church, and he was instrumental in getting “ the 1689” re-published for this purpose.

I am sorrythat we took so long to see this. Don’tget me wrong. Having aconfessional basis in the church willnot usher in the Kingdom of God on earth! But the Confession does provide a stable doctrinal platform and a common basis of theological understanding from which we may operate. The Confession ofFaith together with our membership classes serve to provide as a solid foundation upon which new members enter into the churchfellowship. Christ the Saviour is proclaimed throughout; theauthority of the Scriptures is upheld in our preaching; Grace alone is the basis upon which we enter the Kingdomof God, by Faith alone. TheConfession and the membershipclasses exist to bring glory to God.

Since we had instituted this rule we have seen very little doctrinal disagreement among ourselves. Those who do not agree will not join the church.

The third reason for membership attrition is church discipline .We have not had many instances ofthis over the years , but there were cases where people were removed on the basis of Matthew 18 : 15-20 . We believe in church discipline , for that iswhat the Bible teaches . The church receives and if necessary dis-fellowships members who sin defiantly . In some cases members have chosen to leavebefore church discipline could be applied .

The fourth reason for membership attrition constitutes by by far the major factor in our community. People leave the church because their work contracts end. Anumber of our members come from other countries and therefore they inevitably will move back to their homecountries. Namibia has very stringent immigration rules and it is virtually impossible for anyone from the outside to receive permanent residence , let alone obtain citizenship in Namibia.

Over the years we have learned not to holdon to people. We are glad if we couldhave encouraged them on their pilgrimage to our heavenly city. We are encouraged if they have grown in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ whilst sojourning with us for alittle while . So , in the course of the years our standardquestion to those coming and going has been: “Are youleaving in a better shape than when you have arrived ?“

Reflections

Our present elders and deacons have enjoyed a stable tenure

Positively then it has been a good experience to meet so many interesting people over the years. Our church has always had an international flavour and I personally have learned so muchfrom this “confluence of the cultures”.

I believe that the ideal of Pentecost (the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2) is often being seen in our congregation when many nations are present, and living together in harmony and unity. This is a true privilege to behold and is indeed a little foretaste of heaven.

New people also sometimes bring a certain ‘freshness’ with them. It is very hard forour church to become stale. At times itis a challenge to help newcomers not to be too enthusiastic in terms of wanting to bring their previouschurch experience into our situation .

Negatively , we have found it difficult to saygoodbye to so many people over the years. It is difficult to make close friends when you have to part yet again. I generally struggle to get close to people that I know will leave again in ashort while. It takes a lot of energyto invest in friendships.

Continuous turnover also means that you have to constantly re-teach foundationalprinciples , sometimes to the annoyance of the older members.

Moreover , people who come on short term assignments, tend to be reluctant to get involved. Happily, they begin to think otherwise when the logic of Scripture is pressed uponthem. Many ‘short termers’ have thus had a good and fruitful ministry amongus.

We have also found it difficult to build a leadership in a constantly changingenvironment. When people come and go in such a rapid fashion you are barely able to train leaders beforethey must leave again. The same is true for gifted people in various areas ofthe church. They normally leave a big gap in the ministry.

Lastly …

Having said all this we are grateful that the Lord continually adds people to the church. Inthe last few years I have been pleased to observe that we have had a good number of conversions fromamong our local people. We are currently praying for the suburb in which we have beenplanted as a church, and are eagerlylooking out for those who are willing tohear the gospel message.

In the meantime Eastside Baptist Churchshall continue to reach the nations onour doorstep whilst also praying that many of our nation will cometo the knowledge of our glorious LordJesus Christ.

China is reversing the decline and fall of Christianity

2011-10-01T03:43:00.000-07:00

I quoted this article written by Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks , in the Times of London , at our recent SOLA 5 (2011)Conference in Livingstone , ZAMBIA, in my paper presented at the conference . A number of people have asked me since then to send it to them . Well here it is for wider consumption !

Jonathan Sacks
http://www.chiefrabbi.org/ReadArtical.aspx?id=1764

The Christian foundation of cultural life in Europe made possible the emergence first of capitalism, then of democratic politics
Towards the end of his recent book, Civilization, the historian Niall Ferguson drops into his analysis an explosive depth charge. He quotes a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, part of a team tasked with the challenge of discovering why it was that Europe, having lagged behind China until the 17th century, overtook it, rising to prominence and dominance.
At first, he said, we thought it was your guns. You had better weapons than we did. Then we delved deeper and thought it was your political system. Then we searched deeper still, and concluded that it was your economic system. But for the past 20 years we have realised that it was in fact your religion, Christianity. It was the Christian foundation of social and cultural life in Europe that made possible the emergence first of capitalism, then of democratic politics.
Equally arrestingly, Ferguson repeats the point made by the editor and Washington correspondent of The Economist, John Micklethwait, and Adrian Wooldridge two years ago in their book God is Back. While Christianity is in decline in Britain and most of Europe, it is growing and thriving in China, where the number of people in church on Sunday is greater than the total membership of the Communist Party — and this in the land that in 1958 Chairman Mao had declared “religion-free”.
The churchgoers are not, as Karl Marx would have predicted, the poor and oppressed searching for the opium of the people. They are the young, hard-working, upwardly mobile entrepreneurs for whom Christianity offers an ethical framework, a structured view of life and its disciplines, in a society experiencing rapid transition.
As a non-Christian, I find this fascinating. Europe is losing the very thing that once made it great, while China, the world’s fastest-growing economy, is discovering it. China: the home of Confucianism, Taoism and its own brand of communism. That is something no one could have foreseen.
What has China realised that the West is rapidly forgetting? That a civilisation is as strong as its faith. As a culture grows old and tired, as people borrow more and save less, as they value present pleasures over future growth, so they begin to lose the beliefs and practices that made their society successful in the first place.
It begins to resemble the Roman Empire at the start of its decline. The Roman historian Livy wrote, with great poignancy, about how “with the gradual relaxation of discipline, morals first subsided, as it were, then sank lower and lower, and finally began the downward plunge which has brought us to our present time, when we can endure neither our vices nor their cure”.
A half-century ago, Will Durant in The Story of Civilization argued that the decline of a civilisation was the culmination of strife between religion and secular intellectualism, which ended by weakening the institutions of convention and morality. “In the end a society and its religion tend to fall together, like body and soul, in a harmonious death.”
The decline and fall of civilisations has been charted by the wise for many centuries. They include the sages of Ancient Egypt, the prophets of Ancient Israel, the great 14th-century Islamic thinker Ibn Khaldun, and the far-seeing 18th-century Italian philosopher and historian Giambattista Vico.
They all offer essentially the same analysis. Civilisations begin by valuing austerity, courage and self-sacrifice. These set them on a path to growth. As they become successful, they grow more self-indulgent and self-centred. People are no longer willing to make sacrifices for the group. Trust declines. Social capital wanes. There are no heroes any more. Renown gives way to fame and then to mere celebrity. That, Ferguson implies, is the precipice that we are approaching in the West.
Societies start growing old when they lose faith in the transcendent. They then lose faith in an objective moral order and end by losing faith in themselves. But there is an alternative. The West can rediscover what Jeremiah called “the devotion of your youth”.
Judaism and Christianity share an astonishing capacity for self-renewal. That is what happened in Judaism after every tragedy from the Babylonian exile to the Holocaust. That is what is happening now to Christianity in many parts of the world, and it can happen here too.
We are as strong as our faith. That truth, once the West’s unique selling proposition, now comes with a label saying, “Made in China”. But it’s still worth buying.
Lord Sacks is Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth

SOLA 5 CONFERENCE 2011 - Livingstone , Zambia

2011-09-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

The ' Vic Falls' seen from the Zambian side

This annual conference of God centered Evangelicals in Southern Africa was held at the Livingstone Institute of Business and Engineering Studies . It was well organized in terms of everything. Zambian hospitality , as always was excellent . This conference was held under the auspices of the Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in Livingstone .

Hein Strauss & Christo Beetge chairing a session

After the steering committee under the leadership of Christo Beetge ( Brackenhurst Baptist Church) and our ever efficient administrator , Hein Strauss ( Antipas Baptist Church – Pretoria) had met on Thursday afternoon , 1st September to ensure that everything was in place to commence with the conference , the conference began with an evening fellowship supper followed by the first address .

The theme for this year’s conference was , “ Living God’s Way in God’s World : Christians impacting culture” .

Six topics were assigned for the conference , all centering around the cultural mandate given to us in Genesis 1:28 . I shall make mention of the topics and the speakers only. (The messages may be downloaded, I believe, from the SOLA 5 Website in MP3 or DVD format )

1 . Bruce Button ( Sovereign Grace Theological Seminary) : The biblical basis for the cultural mandate

2. Jeff Gage (Free Grace Baptist Church – Boksburg) : The theological basis for the cultural mandate

3. Joachim Rieck ( Eastside Baptist Church ) : The historical outworking of the cultural mandate in western civilization

4. Conrad Mbewe ( Kabwata Baptist Church) : The place of Christian education in the fulfillment of the cultural mandate

5. Ronald Kalifungwa( Lusaka Baptist Church) : The place of a biblical work ethic in the fulfillment of the cultural mandate

6. Choolwe Mwetwa : ( Chingola Baptist Church) : The application of the cultural mandate in Africa . This message was preached in the context of a worship service held at Trinity Reformed Baptist Church .

Three of our speakers (l-r) Conrad Mbewe , Ronald Kalifungwa , Choolwe Mwetwa

The messages were all thought provoking and challenging. The subject at hand is one that needs to be mulled over and discussed in our churches . The nature of this conference was intensely practical since it dealt with the application of the gospel which frees us to do good works ( Eph 2:10) in every sphere of our existence .

The preaching sessions were interspersed with mission reports and reports on new church planting initiatives ( e.g. Richard Raven in Bloemfontein) from all the regions . It is wonderful to see how missionary minded our movement is !

On Saturday afternoon there was an elective on youth ministry offered by Nick and Sheila Court of Stepwise Youth ministry .

On Friday afternoon , 2^nd September we held our Annual Business Session . Since SOLA 5 is not a denomination , but an association of churches , this session was uncomplicated and quickly accomplished . A new steering committee was elected. Peter Sammons ( Germiston Baptist Church/ RSA) was elected as the chairman . The Steering Committee consist of Hein Strauss ( Administrator) , Ronald Kalifungwa (alt. Isaac Makashinyi) Conrad Mbewe ( alt. Grave Singogo) , Christo Beetge , Pieter Slabber ( Eastside / Namibia) , Jeff Gage , Roland Eskinazi; OB Macwele ( Swaziland) , Kobus van der Walt .

New churches were received into membership : Kafue Reformed Baptist Church (Zambia ); Midrand Chapel (RSA) and Birchleigh Baptist Church ( RSA) .

Pastor Kennedy Sunkutu and wife from Kafue Reformed Baptist Church

An encouraging report was given by Dr Ken Turnbull on the development of the African Christian University in Zambia and Bruce Button of the Sovereign Grace Theological Seminary ( Zambia ) . SGTS will hopefully become the theological faculty of this new Christian University.

On Saturday afternoon, 3^rd of September we had a bit of free time and visited the majestic Victoria falls . The ever efficient Col. Phiri had organized a Zambian Airforce bus for us and had negotiated a reduced entrance fare for us. Instead of paying U$ 20.00 we only had to pay U$ 10.00 .

This is now the 7^th SOLA 5 Conference , since this Association of God Centered Evangelicals in Southern Africa was formed in 2004 .

Looking Ahead

Next year’s conference ( 2012) will be hosted by the Manzini Fellowship Church in Swaziland , before the conference hopes to return once more to Namibia in 2013 .

Today in History : 24th August 2011 - The Birth of William Wilberforce

2011-08-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce was born in 1759 and served in Parliament from 1780 to 1825. A turning point in his religious life was a tour of Europe. In the luggage of a travelling companion he saw a copy of William Law's book, A Serious Call To a Devout and Holy Life. He asked his friend, "What is this?" and received the answer, "One of the best books ever written." The two of them agreed to read it together on the journey, and Wilberforce embarked on a lifelong program of setting aside Sundays and an interval each morning on arising for prayer and religious reading. He considered his options, including the clergy, and was persuaded by Christian friends that his calling was to serve God through politics. He was a major supporter of programs for popular education, overseas missions, parliamentary reform, and religious liberty. He is best known, however, for his untiring commitment to the abolition of slavery and the slave trade. He introduced his first anti-slavery motion in the House of Commons in 1788, in a three-and-a-half hour oration that concluded: "Sir, when we think of eternity and the future consequence of all human conduct, what is there in this life that shall make any man contradict the dictates of his conscience, the principles of justice and the law of God!"

The motion was defeated.

Wilberforce brought it up again every year for eighteen years, until the slave trade was finally abolished on 25 March 1806.

He continued the campaign against slavery itself, and the bill for the abolition of all slavery in British territories passed its crucial vote just four days before his death on 29 July 1833.

A year later, on 31 July 1834, 800,000 slaves, chiefly in the British West Indies, were set free.

Lessons for Namibian Christians from his life:

1. William Wilberforce was a politician deeply influenced by the Scriptures. May God give us Namibian Christian politicians .

2. He fought not for his own agenda or glory ; he fought for those who were oppressed under unjust systems - in this case , slavery . May God deliver Namibia from self centered , self serving politicians and give us true servants of the state who will honour God and serve our people .

3. He persevered in this matter for 18 years ! May God help us to persevere in the things that really matter . May God help us to persevere in the true work of the Gospel in Namibia . Progress does not come overnight , but with persistence and faith in God . That persistence is fuelled by the knowledge that God's truth will prevail .

4. He had a right view of man : Without going the way of the secular humanists , Wilberforce believed that all men were created in the image of God , and therefore had the right to be treated with dignity and respect! May God help us to see mankind through His eyes - fallen image bearers , in need of divine intervention , redeemed in Jesus Christ alone !

Famous Namibians : Hendrik Witbooi (Part 2)

2011-08-03T08:51:00.000-07:00

Last photo of Hendrik Witbooi taken in 1904

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CAPTAIN HENDRIK WITBOOI (Part 2)

By 1889 he had firmly established himself in a mountain stronghold called Hoornkrantz , west of Rehoboth . It was a fully fortified and strategically placed village with a well organized community, with its own church and central administration. From here he continued his ‘mission’ as the ‘king of Great Namaland’ . He was known to his followers by the Nama name of Khaob INanseb/Gabemab (the little captain who disappears in the grass), a reference to his ability as a guerrilla fighter.

As his following grew , Witbooi conducted an unrelenting campaign against the Herero between 1890 and 1892 , during which time he drove off thousands of head of their cattle. Many people on both sides died in these raids and skirmishes .

As the German empire expanded its influence in the territory , Maherero signed a peace treaty with the Germans , but Witbooi consistently refused to place himself under German protection or authority . This began to incur the wrath of the Germans upon him .

Witbooi now began to change his mind concerning his wars with the Herero , whom he had come to see as traitors and ‘ sell-outs’ . By the end of 1892 he had successfully negotiated peace with the Herero. He had come to see their conflict as secondary to the threat posed by German imperialism, which he passionately and with penetrating insight analysed in letter after letter to fellow leaders at the time . Here is an extract from a letter he wrote to chief Maherero on the 30^th May 1890[1] :

“I am writing to you today as supreme chief of Hereroland because I received a letter from Dr Göring… I learn from the letter that you have given yourself into German Protection and that Dr Göring has thus gained the power to tell you what to do…. I am amazed at you , and take it very ill of you who call yourself the leader of Hereroland. That you are indeed.

This dry land is known by two names only, Hereroland and Namaland. Hereroland belongs to the Herero nation , and it is an autonomous realm. And Namaland belongs to all the Red nations, and those too are autonomous realms- just as it is said of the White man’s countries… these countries across the sea are autonomous realms….

No other captain or leader has any right to force his will ; for every leader on this earth is merely a steward for our common great God , and is answerable to this great God alone , the King of kings, the Lord of lords, to Whom all who live under heaven must render obeisance, and from Whom alone all may seek help , counsel and consolation, power and protection in all the afflictions of this life, for He gives freely to all who seek Him in prayer…”

He then goes on to chastise Maherero for this thoughtless action and says :

“you will eternally regret that you have given your land and your rule into the hands of white men, for this war between us is not nearly as heavy a burden as you seem to have thought when you did this momentous thing.

He also lets Maherero know “… you know that this war… arose from your sovereign deeds… from the murderous hearts of your people… which cannot be changed by constant preaching of the gospel , so that you cannot spare a single ( of our) persons you find in the veld , but must plot to murder him without guilt or provocation. To kill in war is legitimate work , but even in this respect you go too far. Inhumanly your people hack others to death , slit the throats of living people…. You regard no person a human nature of God for whose sake God gave us this commandment : thou shalt not kill!”

He seems to disregard all this history between them when he pleads Maherero to forsake his alliance with the Germans .

He continues to write:

“ I am aware that you and Dr Göring are of different nationalities…. and that you have formed this friendship solely in order to crush me. So did Herod and Pilate , in order to get rid of the Lord Jesus…”

To another Nama Chief , Joseph Frederiks [2] he writes [3] :

“The white men’s laws are quite unbearable and intolerable to us red people…. This is why I take it hard of you, Chiefs of Great Namaqualand…. I see the Germans quite differently. They claim that they want to protect you against other mighty nations , but it seems that they themselves are the mighty nation seeking to occupy our country by force… I must tell you my dear Captain , that the Germans want me too to sign their Protection treaty. But I cannot accept that .

As the Germans were expanding their presence in central Namibia, Witbooi met with German representative Major Kurt von Francois to discuss the latter’s offer of German “protection”. Witbooi told him he did not understand how one could be both autonomous and protected at the same time.

He then referred to the ability of the “Red chiefs” (the Nama) to band together when danger threatened, and concluded:

“Come brothers, let us together oppose this danger which threatens to invade our Africa, for we are one in colour and custom and this Africa is ours. The fact that we possess a variety of chieftainships and, diverse territories does not imply any secondary division of Africa and does not sever our solidarity. The emperor of Germany has no business in Africa whatsoever.”[4]

That view was held by Hendrik Witbooi. He saw himself as a sovereign King under no ones jurisdiction but God’s !

Would we disagree with such a desire today ? I think that most Christians would agree with that . We would all resent heavy handed interference by other nations,; we would resent a heavy handed interference of our churches even by our governments . We as Baptists have been particularly strong in this area in history . Baptists in history have generally stood firm on the policy of non interference by the state of the church, and vice versa , particularly when it came to freedom of worship .

But, let us press on with Witbooi’s story …

The German government through Captain Curt von Francois tried for several years to convince Witbooi to accept an offer of protection from its emperor Kaiser Wilhelm – a so called ‘Schutzvertrag ’ (Protection treaty ) , but as we saw , Hendrik Witbooi did not agree to forfeit his people’s freedom by signing the proposed treaty. In all this he shows a clear and remarkable understanding of international politics and colonial rhetoric.

Curt Von Francois eventually looses his patience and unexpectedly attacks Witbooi’s stronghold Hoornkrantz on April 12, 1893 . In this battle 88 people, mainly women and children were killed and their homes were destroyed.

This event led Witbooi into a protracted guerrilla struggle with the Germans .

Captain von Francois fell out of favour with his superiors and was replaced in 1894 by Major Theodor Leutwein . Leutwein convinces Witbooi to sign a ‘Schutzvertrag’ (Protection treaty) on September 15, 1894 , after he had surrendered at the Naukluft .

Witbooi returns to Gibeon, which has become by now their ancestral land, and for about ten years peace is maintained with the Germans. Not only was peace maintained, but Witbooi collaborated with the German military by supplying troops for numerous campaigns against local warlords!

The peace however did not last, as the continued German occupation began to annoy many of the local people.

Hendrik Witbooi and some of his horsemen . Note the white feather on their hats

Witbooi wrote to the British governor of the Cape Colony warning that “a great war” would soon erupt if the Germans continued to occupy their lands and settlements without permission . He wrote :

“We cannot tolerate that. We did not give our land away, and what has not been given by the owner, cannot be taken by another person,”

Again , Witbooi tries to argue that God was responsible for the breaking of the ten year truce that existed with the German colonial authorities. Months later Witbooi led the Namas in war against the Germans, but on October 28,1905, at the age of 75, he suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the thigh in a skirmish with German forces at Vaalgras near Tses (near Keetmanshoop) . He died and was buried in an unmarked grave.

It is recorded that Witbooi’s last words were : “It is enough. The children should now have rest.” Witbooi, the father of seven sons and five daughters, felt that the wars had taken their toll on his people and it was time for them to live in peace. Some of his descendants remained in Namibia, others crossed the border into South Africa and settled in various parts of the Northern Cape.

EVALUATING HENDRIK WITBOOI AS A POLITICIAN AND A CHRISTIAN

1. As a politician :

Hendrik Witbooi was born into a decisive time in African history . It is the time which is described in a book by Thomas Pakenham with the suggestive title, ”The scramble for Africa “ [5] . The year was approximately 1885 . It was a time when some European nations, greedy for resources , were aggressively colonizing Africa and ultimately carving this continent into various portions without much thought concerning the will and the aspirations of the people of Africa, and without much regard concerning the demographics of any region . In Namibia the Kwanyama’s ( An Ovambo tribe) were for instance divided by a border drawn through their heartland . Roughly half of this tribe now lives in Southern Angola , whilst the other half lives in Northern Namibia . The Lozi people had suffered an even worst fate . The Lozi kingdom was divided among 5 countries – Namibia , Botswana, Angola , Zambia and Zimbabwe

The land which the Witboois occupied was at this time known as “ Greater Namaqualand “ , today’s Southern Namibia . This too would be a part of the German colonialisation attempts of what became known as “German South West Africa” , a matter to which Witbooi never agreed . In minutes of meetings kept of a discussion between Curt von Francois and Witbooi on 9^th June 1892 , Witbooi declared :

“ This part of Africa is the realm of the red chiefs…”[6]

Hendrik Witbooi was without doubt one of the most interesting and fascinating chiefs in Namibian history. The Introduction to the Hendrik Witbooi papers [7] has this to say : [8]

“ Hendrik Witbooi was one of the most powerful African leaders at the time when European imperialism began to carve up Africa into colonies. His realization that the conflicts between Africans were secondary to a threat of entirely new , immense proportions namely conquest and colonization by Germany which could only be staved off by African unity , makes him one of the wisest pre colonial rulers in Africa. The fact that he himself committed these thoughts and convictions to paper in the form of a journal containing diary entries , minutes of meetings and copies of correspondence… makes his record quite unique for the whole of Africa….”

In his opinion, the Europeans had to be kept out of Africa by all means. For him it was one thing for Africans to fight one another. He regarded it almost as their natural right to do so , but it was a totally different story to hand African sovereignty over to a non-African power in order to gain an advantage over an African rival. The Germans, he thought would under the cover of the so called protection treaties in the end subjugate all Africans. His deep insight into the nature of colonialism, unrivalled at the time, made him see clearly the deep changes that the arrival of the Germans were to bring about.

In his letters to the German authorities, he always insisted on being on equal footing with the German emperor and with whom he was eventually forced to sign a protection treaty. By doing so he always emphasized the minor status of the governor who after all was only a representative, not of highest rank himself .

It was especially his role as leader against the German Empire during the Namibian War of 1904-1907 that made him a hero. He was frequently referred to as a role model during the Namibian liberation struggle against South Africa in the 1960 – 80’s .

For this reason his picture is found on Namibian dollar notes.

2. As a Christian:

a. Hendrik Witbooi was strongly moved by Christian convictions. The “Witbooi Papers” are filled with abundant references to God and His work and ways in the World. Interestingly the name of the Lord Jesus is mentioned only once in the Hendrik Witbooi Papers . At times his letter are almost sermonic ( e.g. the letter to Hermanus van Wyk – 9^th June 1889 , pp 34& 35 [9]) .

b. He understood the doctrine of the Sovereignty of God very well !

· In conversation with Curt von Francois he says : [10]“ God gave you (German) people the skill and knowledge to make firearms as part of his great design. He has appointed war to punish the sins and injustices of nations. The sin and injustice of a nation cannot be driven out with a whip; the Lord chastises one nation with another , and firearms are His rod.”

· During the peace negotiation with Captain Hermanus van Wyk of the Rehoboth Basters he says on the 6^th August 1892 : “We humans cannot make peace ; we can only pray earnestly that God who is the very foundation of peace may in His own time let it come to pass that one of the two combatants shall ask for peace from his own heart .”

c. He deeply respected his enemies. He wrote respectfully to them , even though his whole being might have militated against what they were doing . Here are some examples :

· In writing to Captain Manasseh !Noreseb , who had apparently at one time conducted a raid on Witbooi’s people , killing some women and abducting children , he introduces his letter in the following manner : “ To my dear enemy , Captain Manaseh !Noreseb !” On the same day he also writes to Maherero and addresses him : “ Dear Captain Maherero , my enemy !”

· A letter on 20^th May 1890 addressed to the Hereros as “ my dear Herero children” .

d. His care for his community is evident :

· His care for the community is seen in a letter to the ‘ chief of provisions’ , Mr Klaas Lebe ( 1 September 1890) [11] . In this letter he entreats him : “ To you dear r deputy, I entrust the place and its people, to act as their supervisor and their guard. Walk about the place; enter all the houses so that you may note all their circumstances, difficulties and needs. Have a real concern with all illnesses… Make it your business to give advice in all cases of illness , not forgetting sound medicines …bury the dead decently and in a spirit of unitedness. And you , our women and children! I commend you and your ills and needs to the mercy of our Lord , as your shepherd and refuge. Yield yourselves into the hands of the Lord, and bring your troubles to Him…pray for yourselves , pray for us , pray for the work we are doing. Do not expect to see us soon. There is hard work to be done . Let old Meritse treat the lepers as best he can .”

e. He repeatedly stated that it was God Himself who gave him his orders . We have seen that he frequently had claimed to be driven by divine revelations and imperatives . In his letters to the governor and to the missionaries, he explains his own mission in life in biblical terms. He was very strongly influenced by the Scriptures . It seems however , that in this regard he was not in a constant and accountable spiritual relationship with anyone . This may partially be explained by the fact that he moved around so much, so that he was not constantly counseled by wise and sound spiritual advisers . A number of missionaries for this very reason had strongly counseled him to settle down at Gibeon .

f. He was undoubtedly a very complex person, full of contradictions. On the one hand he was probably one of the African leaders most deeply influenced by Christianity, even serving as a church elder , yet on the other hand, he carried out constant wars and cattle raids against the Herero. He warned Maharero, as already mentioned before , concerning the dangers of siding with the Germans, yet after his defeat by the German army in 1894, he supported the Germans with the use of his skilled warriors against the Hereros until the decisive battle at the Waterberg, where the Herero were finally defeated.

Under his leadership much blood was shed . He, like king David had blood on his hands . This has its own spiritual implications .

g. It was the Old Testament, not the New Testament whereby he could mostly relate to his own position. Witbooi and his followers perceived themselves to be on an exodus like Israel of old. For some missionaries his ideal of an exodus to the north in search of a land of their own ( and which was motivated by a presumed divine calling ) amounted to a form of ‘Schwarmgeisterei’ - a fanatic illusion (letter by missionary Hegner dated May 12, 1884).

And yet for others, Hendrik Witbooi assumed the role of a messianic prophet and leader (letter by Pastor Rust dated May 17, 1884).

In Witbooi’s mind Gibeon was but a temporary stop, when the sun stood still on their journey to a promised land , somewhere to the north of the land of the Herero.

The extent to which the ‘exodus terminology’ was used to legitimate aggression towards the Herero and to eventually resist the colonial presence is there for all to see.

Notwithstanding all the criticisms which might be leveled against him , there was a strange kind of integrity about him . A poignant tribute was formulated by Theodor Leutwein upon hearing of his death [12] :

‘The name of the little Captain will, however, remain engraved upon the history of South West Africa forever. His stubborn resistance against the mighty German empire at the head of a small warlike band, ragged and poor… I still see him before me… Modest yet self-possessed, loyal yet not without political cunning, never deviating from what he considered his duty or his right…’

Like every true leader we observe that his great strengths were also combined with great weaknesses . That is the price that leadership brings with itself . A leader’s life always finds itself scrutinized , criticized and magnified . This we undoubtedly see in the life of Captain Hendrik Witbooi .

It is a great pity that he was not able to be laid to his eternal rest in a more peaceful way , but that a bullet should eventually kill him . I trust that he died in the Lord .

BIBLIOGRAPHY :

· Standard Encyclopedia of Southern Africa

· The Hendrik Witbooi Papers

· Internet articles by Klaus Dierks

· History of the Church in Namibia GL Buys and SVV Nambala

· Internet article : Hendrik Bosman (University of Stellenbosch) : Contextual readings of Exodus in Africa: Negotiating identity amidst contending narratives of origin and migration in Africa

[1] The Hendrik Witbooi Papers : Heywood & Maasdorp , p.50

[2] Joseph II Frederiks was the Captain of the !Aman from 1880 until 1893. His Nama name !Khoreb-||Naixab. He was the stepson and nephew of David Christian Frederiks who was killed in the Battle of Otjikango in 1880. He was the fourth in the recorded genealogy of the !Aman captains. Frederiks was connected to the selling of large tracts of land to the German merchant Adolf Lüderitz and his agent Heinrich Vogelsang (Angra Pequeña and surroundings: the "sale" was characterised by some fraudulent manoeuvres on the German side which exploited the seller's ignorance in terms of the English mile versus the German geographical mile). He also concluded a protection treaty with the Germans in October 1884 (with Gustav Nachtigal). Frederiks died on 20.10.1893 at Bethany. He was succeeded by Paul Frederiks (1893-1906). ( Source : Klaus Dierks)

[3]The Hendrik Witbooi Papers : Heywood and Maasdorp : p.90

[4] Klaus Dierks : Internet article

[5] The book's central theme is the contrast between the humanitarian motives of David Livingstone, and the profit-taking of King Léopold, and how the different players dealt with the conflict. The book addresses underlying motives and economics, without losing sight of the individuals whose personalities and actions drove much of the Scramble. It has been reprinted a number of times since its first appearance in 1990.

[6] The Hendrik Witbooi Papers : p. 86

[7] Written by Brigitte Lau : The Hendrik Witbooi Papers

[8] The Hendrik Witbooi Papers : Heywood & Maasdorp , p. i

[9] The Hendrik Witbooi Papers

[10] The Hendrik Witbooi Papers: p86

[11] Hendrik Witbooi Papers p. 61

[12] Witbooi Papers: p. 224

Famous Namibians : Hendrik Witbooi (Part 1)

2011-07-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

Captain Hendrik Witbooi

The Life and Times of Hendrik Witbooi with a Special Focus on His Spiritual Thoughtlife

The Origins of the Witboois

The Witbooi story begins in what is known today as “Cape Town” . At this stage they were known as the Khoi Khoi – which translated means ‘ men of men ‘, or ‘ real people ‘ . Before the Dutch settlers landed at the Cape under Jan van Riebeek in 1652 , they lived in little villages throughout the area now known as Cape Town .

Under the pressure of the colonial settlers and a later outbreak of smallpox in 1713 in which entire communities were wiped out , this caused a remnant to seek refuge amongst the Nama and other groups that were forming in the Northern Cape territory. They also merged with Free-Black trekkers, run away slaves and Baster-Khoi , descendents of Dutch and Khoi who later became known as the Griquas .

One of these groups which left the Cape came to be known as the Khowesin (beggars) . The first leader among them was Kido Witbooi , (1783- 1875 ) to whom the Witboois trace their ancestry . He became their leader in 1805, when they lived around Pella in the Northern Cape , close to what was then known as Great Namaqualand , and what is now known as Southern Namibia .

Kido Witbooi was succeeded by his son Moses Witbooi (1808-1888) after Kido had died in 1875 . Moses became thus the second in the recorded genealogy of the Khowesin or the Witbooi . Rhenish Missionary Olpp once described him as "the only son" of Kido and an untraced mother. Moses Witbooi seems to have had several wives . The "first wife" !Nanses (or Kaatje) apparently died in the 1864 smallpox epidemic .

Moses Witbooi became the father of the famous Hendrik Witbooi , the third in the recorded genealogy of the Khowesin . He is the subject of this paper .

We will have to pass over a lot of history to get to the story of Hendrik Witbooi . The Witboois settled at Gibeon in 1863 with a Rhenish missionary named Jacob Knauer . In 1873 missionary Olpp calculated the Witbooi to number approximately 3000 people living in 3o villages.

The political / social history of southern and central Namibia for the years 1870 – 1890 has hardly been touched upon by historians , so it is hard to understand all the details . What we do know is that the Witboois waged a war against the Orlam Afrikaners under Jonker Afrikaner ( who resided at Windhoek) , their power being broken in 1870.

This was followed by the Nama – Herero wars of 1880 in a very complex pattern of shifting , cross ethnic alliances involving the Rehoboth Basters , the Nama Swartbooi , the Herero under Maherero and Jan Jonker Afrikaner. By late 1882 there was a constant raiding by the Witboois of Herero and Baster cattle .

This was the general state of affairs at the time of Hendrik Witbooi’s ascendancy in 1884 .

Hendrik Witbooi

Hendrik Witbooi was born in about 1830 at Pella , South Africa , close to the Orange River and what was then known as Great Namaqualand , today’s Southern Namibia . Hendrik was the third son of his parents and by 1884 the eldest surviving.

Witbooi was married to !Nanses ( Katharina) who over 20 years bore him at least 12 children. She died in 1897.

While he was still settled at Gibeon , he and wife and his eldest son made the church their prime occupation. Witbooi was educated as a Christian by German Lutheran missionaries and spoke many languages, including several European languages. His meticulous diaries have been subsequently published.

They were baptized in 1868 by the Rhenish missionary J. Olpp ( 1837- 1920 ) who lived and worked in Gibeon from 1868-1879, and who left thereafter for health reasons . Olpp remained a friend to Hendrik Witbooi throughout very turbulent times and defended him in correspondence with other missionaries as well as to the German public.

Witbooi became a church elder in 1875. He also had learned carpentry from missionary Olpp, and used this skill for instance, by making his grandfather Kido’s coffin the night he died.

Hendrik Witbooi was without a doubt a confessing Christian . This fact is borne out in almost all his letters .

He learned to write a neat hand. His diaries , written in ‘High Dutch’ and containing numerous letters dating from 1884 to 1894, were published by the Van Riebeeck Society in 1929. He was a prolific letter writer as the ‘Hendrik Witbooi papers‘ testify .

The family name Witbooi (literally, white boys ) referred to the white scarves they wore around their hats to distinguish themselves from the rest of the 11 Nama speaking sub-tribes.

According to his own record, preserved in his papers, his public actions were guided by divine revelation from 1880 onwards . He had a strong sense of destiny , and felt that this was the hand of God on him . In a letter to Rev. Olpp , dated 3rd January 1890 he makes reference to an experience which he had on the 23rd August 1880 (i.e. 10 years earlier) .

Here is a quote from that letter :

“… dear Pastor, on that day I experienced the power of our Almighty God, in expressible and wonderful, as He delivered me and my three men. When the Herero rose and surrounded us in order to kill us , they suddenly did something quite unexplainable even to themselves. Instead of killing me, they released me. They gave me a horse and told me to be off . So I set off for home. And when I came to the pass of the great Khanigukha Mountains, I received three amazing words through a voice which spoke to me. This was on 23 August 1880:

1. The time is fulfilled

2. The way is opened

3. I lay a heavy task on you

In 1884 Hendrik Witbooi prepared to leave the home of his father Moses Witbooi in Gibeon with a substantial amount of the citizens of Gibeon to move across Maherero’s territory with the aim of finding a land for themselves north beyond Maherero’s territory . This was quite in keeping with the Witbooi’s mindset , always viewing their present places of abode as temporary , and always in search of a promised land .

Witbooi told the Rhenish missionaries and his father Moses that this exodus, this move north was the will of God . He said :

“ I knew that I would continue the trek which the old Captain could not complete. I would do it when the time was fulfilled , and the time has now come.”

There developed an almost biblical parallelism with the story of the Israelites who were persecuted, who had been enslaved, and who broke free and fled to a wandering life and in search of a promised land they could call their own.

It might be worth our while to pause here and reflect on this restlessness of the Witboois . We need to remember where they came from . As the Khoi Khoi people of the Cape they had already experienced colonialism, slavery and dispossession of their territory in their earlier history in the Cape . This history had sensitized them, as time and again they had faced attempts at suppressing their freedoms , whether it was their fellow Nama people (the Orlams) or the Herero , or later in particular the Germans. In this desire for a land of their own I cannot see that they were any different to the American colonists who had left their homes and countries , predominantly in Europe, to find a land in the Americas , where they could be free from persecution .

This pattern may indeed be observed in the whole history of mankind , and it is ironic that such people who had been oppressed in their own countries then become the very people who would dispossess the lands of the people they were colonizing .

People are always in search of a place of rest . They are always seeking to escape from each other , and little do they realize that our only true rest will be when Christ the Creator comes to restore all things . The Jews in the days of Christ upon the earth longed for the Messiah to restore their land which was currently under the cruel oppression by the Romans . It was for this reason that the disciples asked Jesus this question before His ascension : “Lord , will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel ? ” ( Acts 1:6)

In this quest for land , Hendrik Witbooi had a meeting with Herero chief Maherero in June 1884 . He asked Maherero that he and his people might pass through their land in search for this new land and it seems as if this meeting was initially successful. He was assured by Maherero that he could pass through his territory unmolested.

A year later he moved with about 600 Gibeon Witbooi, ‘by all evidence the best educated , wealthiest , most highly considered, leading members of the Gibeon congregation’ . He met again with Maherero to reaffirm the verbal agreement . They sat together to smoke a pipe , when the Witbooi camp was surrounded by an overwhelming number of Herero warriors . An attack was launched in which the Witboois lost many of their horses and wagons , with 24 dead , among them two of Witbooi’s sons. This was a bitter experience for Hendrik Witbooi, and he mentions this act of treason many times in his letters . The great trek north therefore came therefore to a halt and he settled initially at a place called Gurumanas, whilst his following was quietly growing .

At this time he started consolidating the Nama tribes and subdued those who were not willing to go along . He killed his two principal opponents among the Namas: Paul Visser (1888), who had murdered his father Moses Witbooi and Jan Jonker (1889) of Windhoek .

By 1891 most of the Nama chiefs had more or less lined up behind Henrdrik Witbooi. He had thereby achieved an unprecedented degree of political cohesion among the Namas . This was also what Hendrik Witbooi believed that he had seen a vision. He was convinced him that he was called by God to unite the Namas ( or Red Nation) to lead them in a war against the Hereros. Up to this time they had only been a very loose grouping of tribes . ( To be continued)

NAMIBIA GRACE MINISTER’S CONFERENCE - 2011

2011-07-02T04:02:00.000-07:00

Pastor Callie Rossouw leads a session

The Namibia Grace Minister’s Conference is currently in its 11th year of existence . It was founded in 2001.
The purpose of the Namibia Grace Conference is to encourage pastors and elders in their work . This year about 25 people met together for this three day conference .
Although we prefer a Reformed Baptist ecclesiology , we are not sectarian and welcome other churches to participate in, and profit from this conference .
This year our theme was “ Preaching – our principal work “.
Pastor Ronald Kalifungwa was our principal speaker and Pastors Callie Rossouw (Walvis Bay Baptist Church) and Francois Koch (Swakopmund Baptist Church) each led one session .

Topics covered were :
• Spirit empowered Preaching
• Preaching Christ – the heart of the Gospel Ministry
• Preaching Christ from the Old Testament
• The Elements of Expository Preaching
• Pastoral Preaching – preaching that establishes the church
• Evangelistic Preaching – the importance of preaching for a verdict

Happy fellowship between sessions

Evening sessions which were open to the public, dealt with the ministry of the runaway preacher - prophet Jonah , which was handled by Ronald Kalifungwa , whilst Joachim Rieck on another evening presented a biographical paper on a colourful Namibian personality “Hendrik Witbooi (1830 – 1905) – with a special emphasis on his spiritual thinking” . This paper will be published on this blog in due course.

The conference was well received , and we believe that our goal was reached . Our men were sent home satisfied and encouraged . Once again we thank God for the ladies of Eastside Baptist Church who so graciously and willingly served us in providing us with hospitality and good food.

Some of the Ladies of Eastside Baptist Church @ work

It was resolved at this conference that next year (i.e. 2012 D.V.) we should endeavour to bring our wives with us. This might mean that we would focus on the life of the pastoral family in that conference. Thank you for praying with us. We believe that our prayers for this conference were answered.

PRAY FOR NAMIBIA : Pray for the Swakopmund Baptist Church

2011-05-25T11:35:00.000-07:00

The Landmark Lighthouse of Swakopmund

The town of Swakopmund is a quaint seaside resort and popular holiday destination . It certainly is our family's favourite place to be when on leave , particularly in summer when the temperatures in Windhoek soar. The cold Benguella current ensures that this desert town has a pleasant , moderate climate all year round .
It pleased the Lord to establish a Baptist congregation here in 1978 under the ministry of Bob Blevins , a Southern Baptist Church planter . I remember one of the first pastors thereafter whose name was Joe Heyes, a retired business man from Zimbabwe . He was a loving pastor , zealous for the Lord . His flock really loved him . Unfortunately he did not have a long ministry , for died very soon of a heart attack. Pastor Paul Witter in correspondence with me reminded me that the church had 7 pastors prior to his coming .

The Witter family - a few years ago

The church ministry only really began to consolidate under the 13 year pastorate of Paul Witter . Pastor Paul Witter led the church in their building program, and a lovely, functional church building was erected under his ministry . He subsequently accepted a call to a Baptist Church in South Africa .

The home of the Swakopmund Baptist Church

The Swakopmund Baptist Church subsequently called Francois Koch who had originally been trained by the Brackenhurst Baptist Church in South Africa , and who had been sent out from that church to do church planting in Ethiopia and later in Somaliland . Circumstances in Somaliland were of such a nature that the Koch family needed to leave and return to South Africa . It was during this time that they received the call to another dry part of Africa . Francois and Shelly and their three young sons Jonathan , Benjamin and Micah arrived in April 2008.

Francois and Shelly Koch

The strength of Pastor Koch's ministry lies in his strong discipleship oriented ministry which is coupled to a strong commitment to sound doctrine and expository preaching . He is currently in the process of training men for elder and deacon ministry . The church also sponsors an annual Missions conference . The church is multicultural and every visitor is assured of a warm welcome.
Swakopmund is not an easy place to minister in .
The church experiences a high turnover of people due to work related issues . Swakopmund has become the center of a booming Uranium mining industry, and the mining industry is generally known to have a high turnover in staff . The other challenge is rooted in the relative affluence and the 'holiday' atmosphere of the town . Christians easily become lulled into spiritual apathy through materialism and the tendency to spend much time away in the "great outdoors " of the Namibian countryside .
Please pray for this great work ! Please pray for this church and their pastor to persevere amidst many spiritual challenges . Encourage him if you can .
I, for my part am so thankful that we have another church of like minded convictions and passion for the gospel and the world in Namibia .

PRAY FOR NAMIBIA : Pray for the Walvis Bay Baptist Church

2011-03-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

The Walvis Bay Baptist Church was constituted in 1975 under the leadership of Pastor Herbert Syré. A modest Sunday School work had already begun by a Baptist couple in their garage in 1959 .

My own relationship with this church has been very special . After I was converted in Cape Town in 1978 I eventually had to return to Namibia and to my home town , Walvis Bay . I had asked my Pastor in Cape Town where I might find a place of worship since there was no CESA church [1] in Walvis Bay . He told me that I could always go to a Baptist church . He assured me then that Baptist Churches were usually faithfully committed to the preaching of the Word . ( Note : That was true 30 years ago !)

And so it was . Arriving back in Walvis Bay in 1980 , I found the local Baptist Church and was warmly welcomed by their members and the pastoral couple, Don and Sue Watson. My heart found a real home there. It was there that I was baptized and first became a member of the church .

The love of Christ was genuinely expressed through this small church . The people, who were like a big family gathered faithfully around the Word on Sundays and during the midweek .

The home of the Walvis Bay Baptist Church

I was given soon opportunities to lead youth Bible study groups , and I grew spiritually . Soon thereafter , Pastor Watson received a call to another church . Our church then called Pastor Peter and Lynda Radmanovich from Claremont , Cape Town to be our new pastoral couple . Peter Radmanovich was a godly and very zealous pastor . He led the church to acquire a property that would eventually house the congregation . He taught us how to live the life of faith through prayerful dependence upon God . The Sovereign Lord did miracles in those years in terms of providing a relatively poor, small congregation with all the means we needed to build that place for the glory of His Name . Our heavenly Father directed the resources as we prayed . As a result of the church’s testimony a number of people had begun to ask ultimate questions and were subsequently converted .

So, it is no wonder that I have a ‘soft spot’ for this church . It is the first church to which I belonged .

Pastor Callie Rossouw (l) and Marinus de Bruijne (r)

The church has had two other pastors since then and as we now speak , Pastor Callie Rossouw has been the pastor of the church for the past 11 years . He is a faithful pastor who loves to preach the Word . He loves the doctrines of Grace and seeks to see them applied in the lives of the congregation . He is married to Carol and they have three precious adopted children, Hazel , Rachel and Charlie. Under Pastor Rossouw’s ministry the church has matured . Being a port city the church has developed an international flavour .

A former teacher in the congregation , Marinus de Bruijne had sensed the call to the pastoral ministry some years ago , and is currently being trained up in the context of the local church and with the help of the Bible Institute in Kalk Bay, in Cape Town, South Africa .

Marinus is married to Ilze and their children are Janke and Jorik. Besides ‘learning on the job’ he has proven to be a great asset in the ministry of the church . Marinus has also been instrumental to bring young people together from our Reformed Baptist Churches at an annual youth camp . This is always a demanding task in a country like ours , which is so big and where our towns are so far apart and where we have relatively few people. Namibia is the second least populated country in the world !

So why should we pray for the Walvis Bay Baptist Church ?

Walvis Bay , like the rest of Namibia does not suffer a lack of churches . But , like the rest of Namibia the church is generally very man centered . Liberalism , and much of the Pentecostal/ charismatic phenomenon and the ‘new evangelicalism’ which focuses on entertainment and relevance have undermined and supplanted the old gospel message . Very few people in Walvis Bay actually live like converted men and women . The city is caught up in all the vices of a port city ; many families are dysfunctional ; materialism is rife .

But it is a city like this that needs the Lord Jesus !

I believe that the Walvis Bay Baptist Church occupies a unique place in that town , since the focus of that ministry is intentionally Christ centered . The heart of the worship service is not to entertain , but to make known the glorious riches of God’s Word . There is an uncompromising call to discipleship ,even though many refuse to follow that call .

Pray for this church brothers and sisters , because it is a faithful church . The church has been often mocked and scorned for its uncompromising stance . Pray then for them what is also true of the church in Philadelphia ( Rev 3:7-13) : ‘ hold fast to what you have , so that no one may seize your crown ‘ ( Rev 3:11)

[1] Church of England in South Africa

PRAY FOR AFRICA

2011-03-22T04:05:00.000-07:00

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PRAYING FOR THE SPREAD OF THE CHURCH IN AFRICA IN THE MIDST OF LIBYA’S TURMOIL

The work of extending the kingdom of God on earth is primarily entrusted to the church . The Sovereign God has chosen to invest His authority for this work in the church . All the commandments , commissions and promises in Scripture are directed and given to the church . The Lord Jesus Christ died for His church , which is a “great multitude that no one can count , from every nation, tribe , people and language…” (Rev 7:9) .

Let that sink in for a moment .

The church for which Christ shed His blood is made up of all kinds of people of this world - past , present and future. And every true church in every generation has the duty to make the gospel known to its own generation in all the countries of the world . For this task the Holy Spirit has come to empower the church . Jesus said that upon the coming of the Holy Spirit to empower the church ,…“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem , and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth…”

The church alone is the one body that has this mandate to make the gospel known to the ends of the world . It is a very tough and demanding mandate . Many Christians have died in the execution of this mandate (Rev 6:9-11) , but their work is never in vain .

The famous observation of the North African Theologian , Tertullian of Carthage[1] (160AD - 220 AD) that, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church,” encourages us to know that the words of the Lord Jesus are true : “ I will build my church and the gates of hell will not overcome it.” (Matt 16:18) The church alone has the power and authority under Christ to resist the destructive work of Satan. The true church alone is the light for the nations , and the hope for despairing mankind .

Apply this to Libya

Libya will not ultimately be freed from the fourty-one year tyrannical rule of Muammar Gaddafi by a United Nations resolution # 1973 . Granted, there may be a short term solution to that by enforcing a ‘ no fly zone’ and by bombing the armoured columns loyal to Gaddafi Libya so that there may be ‘ a level playing field’ for the Libyan rebels . All the signs however point towards a protracted civil war . Iraq and Afghanistan point the way .

And what then ? The winner will become the oppressor of the former oppressor ! Surely Christians of all people must always remember that man is a fallen, sinful creature , incapable of worshipping God in faithfulness and incapable to serve his fellow man in the spirit of Scripture . We must also not forget the conventional wisdom that underwrites the biblical truth when we remember the words of the British parliamentarian , Lord Acton : “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely…”

Pray that the gospel will triumph in Libya

Libyans will be freed ultimately only by the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ! Satan knows that and the enemies of the gospel know that , and that is why we must never see the conflicts upon the face of the earth as ‘mere violent disagreements among men’ . Behind the present battle for Libya lies a far greater , and far more vicious reality . The forces of darkness which are presently ruling in this world ( Eph 6:12) are persistently at work to create chaos so that the gospel will not be freely proclaimed . Satan knows that this is not merely about a change of regime . If he can manage to substitute one evil dictator for another , he is happy .

The church is therefore called to pray in such times that evil rulers may not prevail. At this time we must pray that one anti-Christian despot in Libya will not be replaced by another anti- Christian despot. Don’t simply pray for the demise of Gaddafi . Pray BOLDLY that the kingdom of God will come in North Africa ! Pray that the gospel which once shone so brightly in North Africa under African leaders like Augustine of Hippo and Tertullian and Cyprian of Carthage and Athanasius of Alexandria will be restored to North Africa . Pray now that many in Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco , all areas where formerly the Name of Christ was well known , would be restored to a living faith and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ .
And our God shall have all the glory !

[1] Located in modern Tunisia

REFLECTIONS ON THE OCCASION OF MY 21st ANNIVERSARY OF ORDINATION (January 28th 1990 - 2011)

2011-01-31T07:51:00.000-08:00

I grew up in a good home , with good parents , but we did not love and serve Christ . My parents had me ‘baptized' when I was a baby and dutifully I was taken off to the confirmation classes of our Evangelical Lutheran church when the time had come around the age of 13. After I had been confirmed I never darkened the door of the church again after that.

Conversion

I enrolled for studies for a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Cape Town in 1978 .

I was converted on a Thursday evening the 22^nd June 1978 when Frank Retief , Pastor of St James Church , Kenilworth , Cape Town preached the Word of God to students of the University of Cape Town at the Leo Marquard Hall men’s residence. The Banner that hung outside the residence announced the subject : “Christ , the Controversialist!”

I had not planned to go to this event, but I had been invited by some Christian Students. I went out of a sense of obligation . That night the word of God changed my life. The sermon from Revelation 3:15 spoke to my heart that day : “ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other. So, because you are lukewarm – neither cold nor hot – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

What struck me was this particular distinction: “you are neither cold nor hot … you are lukewarm!” In an instant I comprehended that I was that lukewarm man – whom the Lord was about to spit you out of His mouth”.

My life changed drastically. I loved Christ and I loved the church. From the very moment I was converted, I was an enthusiastic worshipper. I attended worship at church every Sunday morning and evening and became involved in the Student YMCA – so much , that I forgot about my studies! After my second year I gave up my University studies and did my mandatory two year military service.

After this I joined EDGARS , a clothing retailer, and became a Trainee Manager. After a few years I was appointed Store manager. I was never very persuaded that this was to be my lifelong profession. My busy life as a store manager did not interrupt my commitment to my local church.

The home of Eastside Baptist Church - Windhoek

Call to the Ministry

In November 1984 I was asked to do a funeral of a farmer a friend of my father’s near the town of Karibib. I had no preaching or pastoral experience – but since I was asked to do this by the family , I did it ! I believe that this was the beginning of the ‘unsettling process’ at Edgars and the start of the new direction from God although it would take me another 7 months to understand what God was leading me to.

In June 1985 I received the call to the ministry . The text which spoke strongly to me was Titus Chapter 2. It was also in June 1985 that I was privileged to become a founder member of Eastside Baptist Church, then under the leadership of Pastor Charles Whitson a Southern Baptist Missionary pastor. EBC was constituted on the 16^th June 1985 with 21 charter members.

Eastside Baptist Church was 25 years old in June 2010

At the beginning of 1986 I applied to the Baptist Theological seminary in Cape Town and spent the next 4 years completing my Licentiate in Theology and graduated Cum Laude.

The highlight of that period was when I met my wife Marcelle in 1986. We were married the next year on the 10^th January 1987 at Mowbray Baptist Church in Cape Town.

In 1988/89 I was called to be the Youth pastor of the Bellville Baptist church , a church which we loved and where we were loved – a happy two years!

In August 1989 I was called by the Eastside Baptist Church to become their pastor. This call came at the same time as a possible call to serve in the YMCA student chaplaincy at UCT. I chose the local church.

I started in January 1990 and was ordained by our church on the 28th January of the same month. Peter Holness , then the principal of the Baptist Theological Seminary, Cape Town led the ordination service .

Dr Eric Tordiffe ( elder) & Prof Roderick Zimba ( deacon)

REVIEW OF 21 YEARS OF MINISTRY

I will review the years of ministry at Eastside Baptist Church in 4 sections:

1. 1990 – 1995 : Turbulent beginnings

Old pastor versus new pastor : Our older, very experienced pastor almost withdrew immediately, much to my regret. I wished I could have hidden behind him a little longer. At that time we had no elders – no biblical leadership to help me . Some people struggled to adapt to their new pastor and sadly left.

Time of political change in Namibia : Namibian independence from South African control was granted on the 21^st March 1990. At this stage many more members left , being repatriated to South Africa .

Satanic attacks : During the first three years of our ministry we found sacrificed cats on our door steps and many encounters with demonically possessed people. I participated in one demonic deliverance on the 3^rd of January 1993. A cult, the Moonies, had also at that stage secretly crept into the church, undermining the faith of some of our members .

Theological struggles : Eastside Baptist Church was very loosely constituted. The only thing that we knew is that we were “Baptist”, and that our meetings were congregationally governed. Most people who had come from all sorts of different church backgrounds essentially had no idea why we were a Baptist Church . Most Protestant churches for this reason have a confessional basis (including some Baptists) , but there was a group of Baptists in our church who were ‘anti-creedal’. The absence of clear theological definitions had caused confusion. The charismatic movement in particular had emerged as a strong force and many charismatically minded people in our church were wondering which way this young pastor was going. We needed a confession of faith!

Added to this was a deeper issue. Those of you who know your church history know that there was a great theological shift that had taken place in Baptist circles in the USA . The shift happened at the end of the 19^th century / beginning 20^th century in which the Southern Baptist Church (the largest American Baptist denomination) had moved from a largely Reformed (or Calvinistic) theological position to an essentially Arminian position.

I had become a convinced Reformed Baptist whilst studying at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Cape Town. Reformed Doctrine is wedded to the Sola Scriptura principle (Scripture alone) , and does not like pragmatic solutions for directing church life. Scripture alone is our final authority. This led me to re-think many issues with respect to church practice and doctrine.
Some of the areas that we needed to rethink were :

1. How to preach the doctrine of salvation

2.The doctrine of the church and in particular the matter of elder led congregationalism

3.The matter of worship ( God centered versus man centered worship)

4. The primacy of expository preaching versus topical preaching

5. A God centered view of evangelism and missions.

We struggled through these issues, and I to the point of exhaustion! Our church finally adopted the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith in June 2001. This had led to a time of great peace, since we were now ‘on the same page’ and people now knew what to expect when they wanted to join the church.

Good fellowship in our courtyard after every service

2. 1996 – 2000 : Difficult years :

In 1995 the Lord gave us a welcome break when we were privileged to have Erroll Hulse from Leeds Reformed Baptist Church in our pulpit , and our young family had a wonderful break in the UK. After our return from the UK our church was becoming increasingly inwardly divided. This was another attack of Satan who flourishes best where there is no strong spiritual leadership and where there is a lack of doctrinal steadfastness . This time proved to be worse than those aggressive satanic attacks of '90 – '93 .

Things went wrong on may fronts. Not only were we doctrinally a very mixed bunch but we had wrong ideas of church government and qualifications for public ministry. A group of ladies (most of them unhappily married and theologically confused) began to form a support group which began to undermine our leadership in the church. To many of them I actually had been very close.

This caused our youth pastor at that time to have to leave and I myself barely survived. In 1996 I suffered an emotional collapse. I was severely fatigued through all the conflict and told the deacons that I could not preach. I remember that Sunday morning in April very well. We had organized another preacher and I dragged myself to church, and when at the end Pieter Slabber (now an elder) asked me to conclude in prayer, I wept like a little child. I went away for a month of recovery, and after my return I went through the toughest period in my life. Some have called such an experience “the dark night of the soul”. This horrible experience lasted for three years and probably longer still. That period is still dark and hazy in my mind, but God sustained me, my family and our church through this time.

I struggled to preach, but I clung to God. There was very little understanding or sympathy in the congregation in terms of what was happening to me.

In 1997 Pastor Martin Holdt and I had begun to speak about the need to have a pastor’s fraternal to help pastors like myself to cope in their difficult circumstances. In 1997 Martin Holdt organized the first Spurgeon fraternal in South Africa. The Spurgeon fraternal was my life line and since then many pastors have been helped through this wonderful support group!

Namibia Grace Pastors Conference

In this difficult period Pastor Laban Mwashekele and I severed our ties with the Southern Baptist Mission. We were simply tired of doctrinal conflict and constant disagreement. Much of the church planting efforts of the Southern Baptists had come to nothing in Namibia. All we wanted to do was to focus positively on gospel ministry.

3. 2001 - 2006 : New Beginnings - Growth and Consolidation

Eastside Baptist Church was finally reconstituted as a Reformed Baptist Church in June 2001 .
In 2001 we started the Namibia Grace Ministers Conference , to encourage pastors in the work of reformation. Dr Wayne Mack was our first speaker .

In this period Eastside Baptist Church had helped Pastor Laban Mwashekele to get Monte Christo Baptist Church going. Our church provided quite a bit of financial support for the initial building phase and has been always involved in supporting Pastor Mwashekele since then.

2002 saw the start of our eldership process - a marvelous story which needs to be told separately.

In 2004 we helped to get the Faith Reformed Baptist Church going – and contributed initially to the upkeep of the pastor. We had also helped Havana Baptist fellowship in an informal settlement area. In 2006 we helped to get Grace Reformed Baptist Church going. We are still in the process of overseeing that process.

Eastside Baptist Church has steadily sought fellowship with like-minded churches and has been involved in the formation of SOLA 5 in 2004 (SOLA 5 is an Association of God centered Evangelicals in Southern Africa), hosting also the second SOLA 5 conference in 2006.

Eastside has also been instrumental in the formation of a Namibian Minister’s fraternal, a forum for our Reformed Baptist Churches in Namibia. As a matter of interest, almost all of our Baptist churches in Namibia are now of a Reformed Baptist persuasion.

This is all very good, but we do have a problem. We are too thinly stretched! As a result we have lost some evangelistic momentum.

SOLA 5 Conference in Windhoek 2006

4. 2006 – 2011 : Renewed Challenges

Eastside Baptist Church became 25 years old in June 2010. This occasion was celebrated with a dinner and many activities. We were able to reflect upon the amazing grace of God. I have been privileged to have been part of this, and 21 of these years as pastor.

Eastside Baptist Church has been a marvelous tool in God’s hands, despite the fact that we have had to contend with so much coming and going and a fair bit of internal disagreement and satanic resistance.

The greatest gain made in this period is was doctrinal firmness and unity in doctrine. We now have a foundation to build on. We have successfully addressed a number of key theological issues and have seen corresponding growth of our members.

We have seen more true conversions in this period than in any period before!

We have been expanding our pastoral ministry through adding an additional elder to our pastoral team. We are praying now for a suitable student pastor to assist us.

Challenges :

1. Eastside Baptist Church is still very vulnerable. We have a relatively small membership from which to draw our resources, and to continue our ambitious kingdom vision.

2. EBC is a multi-cultural church. It is a privilege to belong to such a unique configuration of people although it does have its challenging moments. We are often forced to think “Christianly “ about issues of culture and language. Culture easily threatens to overshadow our Christian convictions.

3. We need to focus more now on becoming a community church. We have done a lot of work “out there” – but not nearly enough “in here”. We pray that God will give us wisdom how to penetrate the barriers of our community.

4.We need a biblical diaconate to help our elders. We are currently revising the way in which our diaconate operates.

5.We need every member to help us to function better as a church. A strategic meeting in October 2007 had brought about some wonderful initiatives , but still lack a lot of implementation.

6.We need to continue the missions vision under the leadership of stable doctrinally firm and sound , committed people and leaders.

SOLI DEO GLORIA !

Pray for Revival !

2011-01-17T03:37:00.000-08:00

Nicholaus von Zinsendorf preaching to many nations

The Moravian Revival which was born in a Prayer Meeting

(I have shared the story of this remarkable revival which began in the 14th century , in what is known today as the Czech republic with our congregation as a part of our preparation for prayer week )

The movement that was to become the Moravian Church was started by Jan Hus (John Hus) a Czech Reformer in the late 14th century (i.e. the 1300’s) . Hus objected to some of the practices of the Roman Catholic Church and wanted to return the church in the provinces of Bohemia and Moravia its original Eastern Orthodox influences . He wanted the liturgy read in the language of the people (i.e. in Czech); he wanted the common man to receive the communion elements of the bread and wine ; he wanted to see married priests in the ministry; he wanted to see the practise of the sale of indulgences and the idea of purgatory eliminated .

In that sense we can see that Jan Hus preceded the Reformation in Germany (which began in October 1517) by more than a 100 years !

Sadly Jan Hus was tried by the Council of Constance , where he was declared an heretic, by the Roman Catholic church and thus he was burned at the stake on 6 July 1415 ( Today the day is a national holiday in the Czech Republic ) .

Within 50 years of the death of Jan Hus , some of his followers had become independently organised as the "Bohemian Brethren" in Bohemia, in 1457.

By the middle of 16th century as many as 90% of the inhabitants and the nobility of thesesCzech provinces had become Protestants . In the mean time in 1573 the Jesuits worked hard to counter the reformatiuon by what became commonly known as the Counter Reformation . The Bohemian brethren feared that they were losing their religious freedom , and therefore started the Bohemian revolt . They were defeated in 1621 in the Battle of White mountain . As a consequence the local protestant noblemen were either executed or expelled from the country.

The Habsburg dynasty put Catholic (and mostly German speaking) nobility into their place. and thus the brutal Counter reformation and the bubonic plague reduced the population from over 3 million to some 800.000 people.

The Herrnhuter Brüdergemeinde

In 1722, a small group of Bohemian Brethren who had been living as an underground remnant in the Catholic Habsburg Empire in eastern Moravia for nearly 100 years arrived at the Berthelsdorf estate of count Nikolaus von Zinsendorf ( born May 26, 1700, in Dresden, Germany) . Out of a personal commitment to helping the poor and needy, he allowed them to settle on his lands in present-day Saxony , ( Eastern Germany) He had been brought up in the Pietistic stream of the Protestant Reformation . He later trained at Halle University under the Pietist movement leader August Francke. When he was 20 years old he had visited an art gallery and saw a painting of the crucified Christ . Below the painting there was an inscription which said : "I have done this for you; what have you done for me?"

Zinzendorf responded that day saying , "I have loved him for a long time, but I have never actually done anything for him. From now on I will do whatever he leads me to do."

At that moment he had no idea that within two years he would have his estate swarming with homeless people from Moravia. He could never have imagined the role that would be his in bringing the message of Christ to the whole world.

The refugees established a new village called " Herrnhut" ( The Lord's Watch) , about 3 km from Berthelsdorf. The town grew as more and more Moravian refugees joined , but major religious disagreements emerged and by 1727 the community was divided.

Count Zinzendorf worked to bring about unity in the town and the "Brotherly Agreement" was adopted by the community on 12 May 1727. This is considered the beginning of the renewal.

Then, on 13^th August 1727 the community experienced a dramatic transformation when the inhabitants of Herrnhut "learned to love one another," . Arnold Dallimore writes : “ They experienced a great enduement of spiritual power , as a result of which their past differences were obliterated and an abounding new joy filled their souls . “ [2]

It all actually began on the 5^th of August. Von Zinzendorf and fourteen men had spent the entire night in conversation and prayer. On August 10^th one of the men , Pastor Rothe was so overcome by God's nearness during an afternoon service at Herrnhut, that he threw himself on the ground during prayer and called to God with words of repentance as he had never done before. They were all moved to tears and continued until midnight, praising God and singing.

The next morning, Pastor Rothe invited the Herrnhut community to a joint communion with his nearby congregation at Berthelsdorf on Wednesday evening, August 13. At this service they all came under the conviction of their own sinfulness, need, and helplessness. Count Zinzendorf made a penitential confession in the name of the congregation. The community was thus united in fellowship. Count Von Zinzendorf looked upon that August 13th as "a day of the outpourings of the Holy Spirit upon the congregation; it was its Pentecost."

This event radically transformed the community and as such it became the center of a major movement for Christian renewal and mission during the 18th century.

What happened as a result of this Revival

They instituted a system called “ The hourly Intercession” , in which there was always one of their members at prayer , an hour at a time , day and night. This lasted without a break for over a 100 years !
Many international settlements based on the Herrnhut model were established , all emphasizing prayer and worship, and a form of communal living in which simplicity of lifestyle and generosity were considered to be important spiritual attributes. As a result, although personal property was held, divisions between social groups and extremes of wealth and poverty were largely eliminated.
Establishing many mission stations: The Moravian missionaries were the first large-scale Protestant missionary movement . They sent out the first missionaries when there were only 300 inhabitants in Herrnhut. Within 30 years, the church sent hundreds of missionaries to ll continents of the world . They were the first Protestant denomination to minister to slaves, and the first Protestant presence in many countries. Their first mission station in Southern Africa was founded by Georg Schmidt, who settled on 23 April 1738 in the Baviaans Kloof in the Riviersonderend Valley, evangelizing the Khoi people. It was called Genadendal ( Gnadenthal) and it may be visited today as an Open Air Museum .
Further remarkable stories include that of a man called Anthony, a former slave, who came to speak at Herrnhut outlining the deplorable conditions of the slaves in the West Indies. The night he spoke, two of their young Moravians could not sleep as they struggled with a sense that God was moving their hearts to offer themselves to go and minister to those slaves. When they were told that perhaps the only way they could do this was to become slaves themselves, they said they were willing to become slaves if that is what it would take. And so their first two missionaries, Leonard Dober and David Nitschmann, left Herrnhut on August 25, 1732 to sail for St. Thomas in the West Indies .

Thereafter, other lands were identified and more missionaries were sent. They went to the toughest places under the most severe conditions. Many of them died soon upon arrival. Of the 18 who went to St. Thomas as reinforcements for the work begun by Dober and Nitschmann, half died within the first nine months. But, the more died, the more that volunteered to go to replace them. Within 25 years more than 200 had gone out as missionaries from this small community to every continent of the world.

Their influence spread far beyond their own efforts. Consider two notable examples. The Moravians played a leading role in the conversion of John Wesley through one of their missionaries , Peter Böhler . Peter Böhler had been a lecturer at the University of Jena , but left there at the prompting of von Zinsendorf to establish a Moravian settlement in Georgia (USA) . In order to learn the English language , he stopped off in London . Despite his poor English he was a capable teacher and a remarkable work of grace was wrought in many souls. Wesley wrote of Böhler, "Oh what a work hath God begun since his coming to England! Such a one as shall never come to an end, till heaven and earth pass away!" Wesley went on to lead the Methodist movement.

The other person influenced was the Baptist William Carey , who is commonly named the "Father of Modern Protestant Missions." We must however remember that William Carey sailed 60 years after the first Moravian missionaries had gone to the West Indies. Carey would probably have insisted that the real father of modern missions was von Zinzendorf and the Moravians.

The Moravian influence also extended to North America. The Moravians founded two communities in Eastern Pennsylvania -- Bethlehem and Nazareth. Zinzendorf personally came to visit the colonies. While in America, Zinzendorf legally renounced his titles because he found them an impediment among the colonists. Benjamin Franklin was present at the ceremony, which was conducted in Latin in front of the Governor of Pennsylvania. Zinzendorf was said to be the only European nobleman who went among the Indians, visiting their leaders as equals. Although Zinzendorf did not promote the abolition of slavery, inside the Moravian Church slaves were truly equal. In Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) at the Single Sisters' House for instance , you could find a German noblewoman, a Delaware Indian, and an African slave sleeping side by side in the same dormitory room!

Thus we note that this was a most remarkable time of Revival in the more recent history of the church . This was nothing but the finger of God.

The poverty stricken church of our day must surely long for days like these , that we may be refreshed once again .

Let us organize and encourage our churches to pray to that end !

[1] The Jesuits were chiefly responsible for the Counter Reformation

[2] Arnold Dallimore : George Whitfield , Vol 1 , p 171

What if Christ had never been born ?

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“ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour , who is Christ the Lord…” ( Luke 2: 11)

Today we give our heartfelt thanks to God our Father for the fact that He had caused His Son to be born as a human being by a supernatural conception as the Holy Spirit overshadows a Jewish virgin called Mary, who in due course gives birth to the Son of God , who is at the very same time is also the Son of man !

I take it that you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ !

There are of course those who have denied the historicity of our Lord Jesus altogether ; others have denied aspects of it (His sinless life , crucifixion , death , and resurrection), but no serious scholar will attempt to do that, since the evidence of Christ’s physical life is overwhelming. In the Bible He is the central figure and hope of mankind . Christ’s life has also been attested to in non Christian literature , which has been preserved throughout the centuries .

Christ was as real as Plato , Socrates , Aristotle , Julius Caesar or Nero or any other ancient historical figure you may choose . Christ is even more real than any of these men mentioned . There is no one that has made such an impact in this world as Jesus Christ . The Lord Jesus Christ is so real today. Even 2000 years after His ascension He continues to change people , making them into better men and women . Apart from this great fact He has changed virtually every aspect of human life . Unfortunately many people just cannot see this, because His influence in the world has just become to ordinary .

It is a very great tragedy that the world through satanic deception has learned to commercialize and , even worse , trivialize this great event . Many speak now of the ‘ spirit of Christmas’ without any reference to the Lord Jesus Christ .

But now the question : “What if Christ had never been born?”

1. The most obvious conclusion would be this : We would not have celebrated Christmas ! If there were no miraculous birth and no announcement of a Saviour born who would save sinners , then there would have been no reason for celebrating Christmas today !

2. If Christ had never been born there would have been no restraint from sin , and humanity would have wiped itself out by its own sinful greed and selfishness . Many people grossly underestimate the person and work of Christ in this regard . A few years ago I read a classic , “ the Mutiny on the Bounty” , which illustrates this fact so very well. It is the story of Christian Fletcher a lieutenant on the HMS Bounty which was sent to the island of Tahiti in the Pacific . He led a mutiny against their captain William Bligh on the 28^th of April 1789 . Some of the mutineers and some Tahitians eventually settled on Pitcairn island – one of the remotest islands in the world . The tragedy was that there, after having had an opportunity to start their lives all over in seclusion , they actually wiped each other out in anger . One man , John Adams and 9 women survived until they were picked up by the British navy in 1814 . The point is this : give people a confined space to get on with , and they kill each other .

We see this amply illustrated in the Scriptures . The first great sin after the fall was when Cain killed his brother Abel . (Gen 4) The next great crisis came in Genesis 6 when God saw “ that the wickedness of man was great in the earth , and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” ( Gen 6:5) . We learn from this that man is simply not able to live for any span of time without becoming corrupt . In that instance , God had found it necessary to wipe all of mankind ( except Noah and his family ) from the face of the earth. And yet , once Noah was settled after the flood, the tragedy of man’s sinful nature continued .You know the story !

And so we observe that the history of the world is the history of the continual rise and fall of nations. No nation is able to create its own utopia . Sin and selfishness always gets the better of us .

But thankfully , Christ was born to save sinners . Those who become Christians can testify that He has made a better woman or man out of you . The world unfortunately does not recognize that true Christians make better citizens, better workers , more honest people , better husbands , better children – you name it ! The truth is however that where societies have been affected by the Christian faith in a large measure ( such as the 16^th century Protestant Reformation) those countries had been visibly blessed with prosperity ! Unfortunately , as Cotton Mather a Puritan Pastor observed , “ Religion begat prosperity , but the daughter has consumed the mother”. The point remains - If Christ had not been born we would have remained in our sins !

3. If Christ had never been born , civilization as we now know would not have existed. It is true that there have been great men and women in history who have changed this world for better . We thank God for those who discovered penicillin and X-rays and all sorts of cures for the physical body . But none have ever achieved what Jesus did in His brief 33 years on earth . None of these had discovered an effective cure for the sin nature of man .

Jesus alone could do it , because of who He is : The Son of God – the Son of man . It is Jesus who says in Rev 21:5 “ Behold , I make all things new” . He came to transform this world comprehensively .

He transformed time when He was born into this world . His birth date altered the way in which we measure time . Everything is measured from the perspective of BC (before Christ) or AD ( Anno Domini – “ the year of our Lord“) . Even atheists must acknowledge Christ when they date a letter . Christ is at the center of history!

It is even more amazing to think that most of Christ’s influence came after His ascension to heaven . For most rulers their influence (for good or evil) seizes when they die . Countries are visibly relieved when an evil ruler dies . The deaths of Lenin , Stalin , Hitler , Mao Tse tung , Idi Amin came as a great relief. Those rulers left nothing but the smell of death and ruins . But Christ came to build and to reform a people for Himself out of the ashes of humanity . His greatest work ( apart from His death on the cross) lies in the church , which He began with 12 humble men . Despite its humble origins the true church has made more changes for good on earth than any other movement in history . Remember that the church would have not existed of Christ had never been born ! The church has made the single most significant impact upon the world !

Here are a few examples . ( I speak of biblical Christianity) :

· The true church of Jesus Christ has always been pro life . Many would –be- aborted children have been saved by Christians from the early Roman times until now .

· Christians have always been at the forefront of establishing mercy ministries . Christians have consistently cared for the poor and the hungry ; the good Samaritan ethic is deeply embedded in a Christian life. Christians have fought for the emancipation of slaves.

· Christians have always encouraged literacy and education for the masses. The translation of the Bible in to many languages has greatly helped many civilizations. Consider the beginnings of Namibia ‘s heritage. Who was it that started schools and hospitals in the country ? The church !

· The church of Christ has laboured for the dignity of men and women (because of the doctrine of the image of God in man – Gen 1:27) . The church has helped us to understand the respective role of men and women in society. Sadly much of the gender confusion today arises from the forgotten fact that the wise Creator has assigned respective roles for men and women, and that societies are always better off when we do things God’s way .

· Christians have fought social evils such as alcohol and drug abuse.

· Christians have fought for higher standards of justice .

· Christians have stood against moral evils such as adultery , homosexuality and other sexual perversions. This has greatly helped to preserve the human race .

· But most significantly , the church has helped countless broken people to find Christ as Lord and Saviour , thus enabling them to return to a God honoring pattern for living and betterment for themselves . Christians understand that a man’s chief purpose is to worship His Creator . This fact has caused the Christian faith to be a missionary faith. Christians understand than men and women who do not worship their Creator will be consigned to a godless eternity . Christians understand that the birth of Christ into this sad world was indeed God’s only remedy for mankind . Christ made salvation possible by His birth ( Advent) and death ( giving His life as an atoning offering for sin) for men and women who are in a broken fellowship with God and with one another . And so the church labours day and night to make the person and work of Christ known to the world. This is the primary goal of Christianity .

That is why the angel said : “ Fear not , for behold , I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour , who is Christ the Lord !”

Now imagine again that Christ had been never born !

I rest my case . Amen !

Christians confronting their Culture: Violence in the city

2010-11-22T03:39:00.000-08:00

2 O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? 3 Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. 4 So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted. (Habbakuk 1:2-4) .

These words of perplexity and anguish come from the soul of the prophet Habakkuk , as he surveys the contemporary scene in Israel.

Historically, the nation is being invaded by the Babylonians . The time is somewhere between 609 – 598 BC - the verge of the fall of Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom .

Habakkuk is disturbed by the fact that his nation is godless. God seems to be doing nothing in Israel , and that fact is seen primarily in the absence of law and order … “the law is paralyzed and justice never goes forth …”

Pastor Nsenduluka Kapambwe - Pastor of the Grace Reformed Baptist Church

Last week my colleague and fellow pastor , Nsenduluka Kapambwe , pastor of the Grace Reformed Baptist Church was brutally assaulted by thieves in his home at night . In that same week my neighbors in Windhoek West had the same experience ! I know far too many people from all areas of Windhoek who have had the same experience .

The words of the prophet Habakkuk are haunting us : “The wicked hem in the righteous , so that justice is perverted’ .

By now it is clear that the police and the law courts are not coping with criminals. The prisons are overcrowded .

The problem is not necessarily the police . I know that many police officers are professional and committed people . It is not necessarily the law system that has gone wrong , although the law struggles to mete out effective punishments that would deter criminals from pursuing their vices .

The problem is that the average citizen in Namibia is becoming more and more godless !

HOW LONG O LORD ?

God’s response to the prophet Habakkuk is very sobering . He tells Habakkuk that He will send the Babylonians as His instrument of punishment upon the godless nation of Israel .

You read it right! You might struggle to believe it . Habakkuk certainly struggled to believe it , but that is what God said , and this is what God did ! In 587 BC the Babylonians finally took the city of Jerusalem and carried its prominent citizens into exile .

The heart of our problem here in Windhoek is that the average citizen has become apathetic to truth . When commitment to biblical truth dies , evil easily flourishes . And it did in Jerusalem ! And it does in Windhoek .

What might we expect ?

I don’t know , but I and our congregation – the Eastside Baptist Church do pray with Habakkuk in Chapter 3:2 “ Lord … in your wrath remember mercy !”

Christians confronting their Culture: On the attempt to legalise prostitution in Namibia

2010-11-10T12:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Mr Phil ya Nangoloh ,

I am Pastor Joachim Rieck of the Eastside Baptist Church in Windhoek , a fellow struggler in the battle to make this great country Namibia a place where all can be truly free under God !

A brief response to your article in the Windhoek Observer .

I have posted this writing on my blog “ A Reformed Baptist in Namibia “. I thought that it would only be fair that I should inform you of this .

Yours very sincerely ,

Joachim

Legalization of Prostitution in Namibia

Recently there has been a debate in parliament concerning the legalization of prostitution. One of our ministers, Kazenambo had proposed that prostitution should be legalized . This has set off a series of protagonistic and antagonistic writings in the press and other media like Facebook .

Kazenambo told fellow lawmakers earlier this month that legalising the world’s oldest profession would help “boost job creation” in the country.

Now fathom this …

Our local Human rights watchdog NAMRIGHTS (formerly National Society for Human Rights—Namibia) had this to say :

“ For several obvious Constitutional and legal reasons, NAMRIGHTS’ answer to the above question is a firm YES. Does this necessarily mean that NAMRIGHTS encourages and or promotes prostitution per se? The answer to this question is a sold NO. The human rights organization neither encourages nor discourages voluntary adult prostitution. However, what NAMRIGHTS does is to advocate the respect, protection and fullfilment of all human rights for all, without discrimination of any kind as to race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. One of the fundamental reasons why NAMRIGHTS is in favor of the legalization of voluntary adult prostitution in Namibia is the fact that, according to Article 1(1) of the Namibian Constitution, the country is not a theocracy (i.e. a State governed in accordance with the Bible or Quran), but a secular state, founded upon three principles: (1) democracy, (2) the rule of law, and (3) justice for all, including prostitutes.”

It is all very good and well for an organisation to speak up for human rights , and in many areas they may do a lot of good . I am all for holding politicians and other public figures accountable … including moral accountability !

I can’t help perceiving that NAMRIGHTS in its quest to secure justice for all so very easily and casually ignores matters of morality for the naked pursuit of human rights. The “Human rights” movement is ultimately based on a particular philosophy whose premises can be ( and should be) challenged . In its pursuit of fairness for all , the moral compass is easily lost. The Human rights movement appears to speak reasonably , but I believe that reason without a strong sense of morality is as effective as a cloud that produces no rain . We see this so very clearly in Namibia .

In this case the basic premise adopted is that adult prostitution is a fundamental right of those that choose to engage in it .

Christians must challenge that premise.

Enthroned above our human rights there is a Creator who has made mankind with great care and wisdom . This includes the fact that sex is meant for the married context alone ! You may of course choose to reject my premise , but I say that the Word of God is true . Societies that are solidly built on biblical values and principles have proven time and again that such societies are much more solid and cohesive than those where loose sexual values are tolerated. Do your homework . Study history and the rise and fall of civilisations , and you will come to some remarkable conclusions about the authority and reliability of the Bible.

Christians confronting their Culture - Speaking the Truth in Love

2010-11-01T06:11:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed how the information era is helping us to increasingly draw clear lines between Christian and atheistic values ?

In our church community there are an increasing number of people who use Facebook and other public media to engage our society on a number of spiritual and moral issues . I believe that this is a healthy development , although I would want to plead with Christians to not become unnecessarily ‘in your face’ when responding to our antagonists .

The biblical pattern of response must at all times be for us to speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15) . Christians may find that they may win the skirmish (in terms of silencing their opponents through superior reasoning) , but then they may end up loosing the battle because of bad attitudes or because of a bad tone of voice .

The advice of the apostle Paul is very helpful in this regard : “ Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion , that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Eph 4:29)

This is not to say that our taking on of public issues in the spirit of Christ will leave us unscathed by atheists . On the contrary if Christ , the meekest and humblest of all men was crucified for His words , then you may expect to suffer the same .

Let this rule then guide us : Give no extra offense to the enemies of Christ and His Word which so powerfully speaks to the issues of our day. Let the offense of the Word of God be sufficient!

When a Minister of the Gospel takes his own life

2010-10-07T04:20:00.000-07:00

What kind of personal pain would cause a pastor to abandon his family, his calling and even life itself? Members of a Reformed Church (Hervormde Kerk) here in Windhoek, Namibia must be asking that question after their pastor committed suicide by shooting himself on Wednesday the 6th October 2010. A member of his church, in response to SMS which the pastor sent saying that he was “on His way to meet his Maker”, came just too late. This pastor apparently suffered from deep bouts of depression, and had purportedly previously tried to take his life … (Republikein, Thursday 7th October 2010 )

As I read this , my heart was so very sore , and I remembered the words of 1 Kings 13:30 where an old prophet laid to rest a younger prophet who had been killed by a lion with these words : He just said , “ Oh my brother…”

What shall we say to this ?

I believe that this suicide is a wake up call to the fact that pastors are not immune to suicidal tendencies . The problem with pastors may be that they do not like to talk about suicidal feelings because it violates their understanding of faith. They think that they are not supposed to have those kinds of thoughts. What troubles me in the case of my colleague is that he did talk to some about his suicidal thoughts ! All this drives me to further reflection upon the Word of God and prayer for my brother pastors .

What can we say about the unique difficulties that pastors face in the present climate and culture in which we must minister ? In John Piper's excellent biography of C.H . Spurgeon entitled, "Preaching through Adversity" , presented at the Bethlehem Pastor's Conference in 1995 , he writes :

Everyone faces adversity und everyone must find ways to persevere through the oppressing moments of life. Everyone must cope with going to work , paying the bills, discipline the children and keep on going when the heart is breaking . But it is different with pastors – not totally different , but different. The heart is the instrument of our vocation . The work of the pastor is more than mental work – it is ‘ heart work’ . It is the labour of our inmost soul. So when the pastor’s heart is breaking he must labour with a broken instrument.

The question is this: How does a pastor do ‘ heart work’ when the heart is under siege and ready to fall ?

Let's face it . Preaching the great and glorious truth of the gospel in an atmosphere that is not great and glorious presents an immense difficulty to many pastors . Many of our people in the pews , while they call themselves ‘practising Christians’ are actually ‘practical atheists’ . The faithlessness and the hypocrisy of many in our present generation may drive a preacher to an introspection in which suicide may become an option . I am not saying that I agree with this option . I don ‘t ! But I want you to see the issues behind it .

Many modern pastors are under relentless pressure to accommodate themselves to the whims and wants of their society in order to keep their churches relevant and going . Many churches must battle for financial survival, and the pastor is increasingly seen as the CEO who must ensure that the church survives. In that process they are no longer allowed to be true, biblical prophets who must hold the infallible , unerring, trustworthy standard of God’s Word before their people .

In our Namibian society ( under the horrible influence of American Tele-evangelism) our pastors are allowing themselves to be pressurised into becoming something else - something other than the calling that they may have once received . And suddenly the horrible feeling begins to break over them that they do not know any longer who they are , and so we find that for them the center is no longer holding . And when God is no longer at the center , we are capable of doing anything !

I write this with a sense of great sadness. My heart goes out to his bereaved family . Although I do not know you , I love you in the love of Christ our Saviour .

Although I did not know Ds. Drikus Engelbrecht well at all ( we met only on a few occasions) , I call upon my brother pastors to develop and preach an understanding of a biblical theology of suffering that will take us through the many valleys of the shadow of death , until Jesus comes , or calls us home.

Report on the SOLA 5 Conference held in Harare – Zimbabwe, 2nd- 5th September 2010

2010-09-08T03:09:00.000-07:00

(From l-r) Pastor Joseph Soko of the Harare Reformed Baptist Church , Theo Soko and Mrs Plaxedes Soko , wife of Pastor Soko

Sola 5 is an association of God centered churches in Southern Africa. The association exists for the mutual encouragement of likeminded churches (Baptist and Reformed) , for the promotion of missions (through church planting) and theological education .

The highlight of our association is our annual conference . Each year the conference aims to take place in a different country and province .

This year we have met in Harare , Zimbabwe, under the auspices of the Harare Reformed Baptist Church and its pastor Joseph Soko , greatly assisted by Jeff Gage and the Free Grace Baptist Church in Boksburg, South Africa. Zimbabwe has been ( and still is) going through trying political times. Many of our people there are unemployed and struggle make ends meet. And yet we thank God, that despite all their difficulties, this church had invited us all to meet with them. I for one was glad to have been there.

Christo Beetge - Sola 5 Chairman 2010

Eighteen of our twenty –one member churches were present, whilst 5 new churches sent delegates. We trust that in time these churches would join our association . We estimate that about 200 people attended the conference at times.

We met over 4 days to hear the Bible preached, to hear mission reports, to attend to a few ‘business’ matters and to spend time in close fellowship .

This year our theme was “God’s Grace Today” – an exposition of the doctrines of Grace. For the benefit of our readers, I will give a brief outline of the themes and speakers. Those who are interested to read a more detailed description of the various sessions are encouraged to visit Conrad Mbewe’s excellent blog, “A letter from Kabwata “.

Session 1 : The Sovereign Nature of God – Conrad Mbewe (Zambia)

Session 2: The sinful nature of man - Theo Soko (Zimbabwe)

Session 3: The specific nature of salvation - Kobus van der Walt (South Africa)

Session 4: The successful nature of Christ’s work - Laban Mwashekele (Namibia)

Session 5: The supernatural nature of God’s Grace - Jeff Gage (South Africa)

Session 6: The steadfast nature of the Christian’s enablement – Victor Kanyense (Zambia)

Pastor Laban Mwashekele from Windhoek , Namibia, preaching at one of the sessions

The association is directed by a steering committee , whose members serve for a term of two years. The steering committee meets three times a year . Christo Beetge was re-elected as chairman for the current year, with Hein Strauss continuing as our secretary.

A typical session

The other steering committee members at present are Bheki Macwele (Swaziland), Kobus van der Walt (S.A) , Roland Eskinazi (S.A) , Peter Sammons (S.A), Grave Singogo (Zambia), Conrad Mbewe (Zambia) and Joachim Rieck (Namibia).

Our next SOLA 5 conference (2011) will be held in Livingstone (Zambia ) in close proximity to the great Victoria Waterfalls! This location should prove to be a great attraction for many. We urge you to make plans now to be there.

Future conferences are planned for Swaziland (2012) and Namibia (2013).

Reformation in Germany # 3 Martin Luther and Fritz Erbe's Wartburg

2010-07-01T14:03:00.000-07:00

THE WARTBURG

The Wartburg is a castle situated on a 410 metre precipice overlooking the town of Eisenach in the province of Thuringen, Germany . In 1999 UNESCO proclaimed it a World Heritage Site as (please note !) an "Outstanding Monument of the Feudal Period in Central Europe". The greatest significance of this place, at least to my biased Reformed mind , is what this place had contributed to the 16th Century Reformation.

According to historical records this castle was founded in AD 1067 by the count of Schauenburg , Ludwig der Springer. According to tradition, the castle (Burg) got its name when its founder first laid eyes on the hill upon which the Wartburg is built . Enchanted by the site, he is supposed to have exclaimed, "Warte, Berg -- du sollst mir eine Burg werden!" ("Wait, mountain - you shall become a castle for me!")

One of its most famous residents would be Martin Luther . He lived there only for a brief time , - from May 1521 until March 1522, after he had been taken there for his safety at the request of the elector of Saxony , Frederik the Wise following his excommunication by Pope Leo X , after his refusal to recant at the Diet of Worms . It was at this time that Luther translated the New Testament into German , which was the first translation into a modern language in over a 1000 years ! This literally (if you will excuse a pun!) caused a storm in the spiritual history of Europe as the Word of God was made available in the Native tongue (German).

The room where it all happened !

Taking a guided tour through the castle was interesting , but it was sad to hear so little of the events that shook the world . More focus was given to St Elizabeth of Hungary , who at the age of four was sent by her mother to the Wartburg to be raised there to become the consort of Ludwig IV of Thuringen . From 1211 to 1228, she lived there and became renowned for her charitable work. She died at the age of 24 and was canonized as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church.

FRITZ ERBE ( died 1548)

The most interesting discovery of my visit to the Wartburg however was a plague on the South tower pictured below . It was placed there in memory of one Fritz Erbe , an Anabaptist of Thuringen who suffered martyrdom in this tower .

The story goes that he had owned a large farm in Herda, a village in the Eisenach district. Early in October 1531 he was arrested because he had been baptized on the profession his faith. He was taken to Eisenach and imprisoned there . At the end of January 1532 he was released by Philip of Hessen. A little later he refused to have his child baptized and he was arrested again in January 1533. John Frederik the elector of Saxony at this time insisted that he be put to death, basing his verdict on an opinion of the Wittenberg theologians and jurists recommending death by the sword for "rebaptized" persons. But Philip of Hessen did not give his consent. He hesitated to execute a man for his faith, since faith is a gift of God. He could not see how a man , even with an " erring faith" could be executed , for he thought it was done out of ignorance, not malice. He favored expulsion from the country. A long correspondence between the two rulers followed, as well as lengthy negotiations with courts and officials.

Meanwhile Fritz Erbe was kept in this dungeon for many years. His long imprisonment ruined his health, but his spirit remained firm. After an imprisonment of 16 years, he died in 1548 and was buried below the walls of the Wartburg .

A SAD THOUGHT...
What a sad thought then that two godly men had been occupants of this magnificent place ( although they were not there at the same time ) . Martin Luther was kept imprisoned for his own safety there for a while , and Fritz Erbe was kept imprisoned there for the sake of his Christian conscience , which told him that only converted people were to be the subjects of baptism . We know that Martin Luther was generally intolerant of the Anabaptists , but one wonders what might have happened if Fritz and Martin had met without prejudice and had talked about the gospel - the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes .

REFORMATION IN GERMANY #2 LUTHER'S WITTENBERG

2010-06-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

The Stadtkirche (above) with market place and the Schlosskirche in Wittenberg ( below) . Luther preached in both of these .

WITTENBERG

On our way back to Biskirchen from Berlin ( by common consent of our family- the most fascinating city in Germany) we decided to take a detour to Wittenberg - the town where Luther ( an Augustinian monk) had lectured at the University , and more significantly , where he had nailed his famous "95 Theses" , to the door of the Schlosskirche .

This event began the Protestant Reformation.

I find it always awesome to stand in a place where so much history is made . Although much of what one sees is not 'original' , since a number of wars since then have caused much damage to these structures , it is nevertheless a humbling thing to walk where the great men have walked.

The door of the Castle Church - the 95 theses are inscribed on the door ( not the original ones!)

LUTHER'S 95 THESES

Luther's Ninety-Five Theses , essentially center on the nature of true repentance . Luther took to task the Roman Catholic practise of the sale of indulgences . Indulgences were guarantees of the forgiveness of sins in exchange for money . These guarantees were provided by the Pope . Confession and forgiveness therefore became a financial transaction rather than genuine contrition. Luther's theses argued that the sale of indulgences was a gross violation of the original intention of confession and penance, and that Christians were being falsely told that they could find absolution through the purchase of indulgences.

The Castle Church in Wittenberg also held one of Europe's largest collections of holy relics that had been collected by Frederik III of Saxony . At that time the veneration or viewing of relics was purported to allow the viewer to receive relief from temporal punishment for sins in purgatory . By 1509 Frederick had apparently over 5,000 relics, purportedly "including vials of the milk of the Virgin Mary, straw from the manger [of Jesus], and the body of one of the babies massacred by King Herod .

As part of a fund-raising campaign commissioned by Pope Leo X to finance the renovation of St Peter's Basilica in Rome , Johann Tetzel , a Dominican priest started to sell indulgences in the German territory. Even though Luther's prince, Frederick III, and the prince of the neighboring territory, George , Duke of Saxony forbade the sale in their lands, Luther's parishioners traveled to purchase them anyway . When these people came to confession they presented their indulgences which they had paid for , claiming they no longer had to repent of their sins, since the document promised to forgive all their sins.

Luther became very angry that they had paid money for what was theirs by right as a free gift from God. He felt compelled to expose the fraud that was being sold to these uneducated and superstitious people. The Ninety-five Theses outlined the items to be discussed and issued the challenge to any and all comers.

WITTENBERG TODAY

Wittenberg today is a town of about 50 000 inhabitants , and even though Wittenberg has an enormous spiritual history , and even though tens of thousands of vistors visit Wittenberg every year (Wittenberg and Wartburg are recognised World Heritage Sites) one doesn't get the impression that this town is abuzz with spiritual vitality .

I got the impression that the town really reflected the ethos of the buyers and sellers in the temple precincts in Jerusalem . Way back then in the days when the Lord Jesus walked upon the face of this earth , the temple had ceased to be the great spiritual renewal center for which it was designed by God . The big buzz in the temple then was commerce - not prayer or worship . It appears that Wittenberg is trading on its past , making money out of history and selling Luther relics without embracing the red hot faith of Luther .

Oh Lord , in your wrath remember mercy ! (Habakkuk 3:2)

The pulpit of the Castle Church in Wittenberg

"O land, land , land hear the Word of the Lord." - Jeremiah 22:29

Reformation in Germany #1

2010-06-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

The bulk of my 2 month sabbatical was spent in Germany , the land of my fathers . My father was born in Hamburg and my mother was born in Ansbach. They emigrated to Namibia ( Walvis Bay) in the 50's , after WW II .
Although I had been in Germany twice before , I had never actually lived there - I never had developed a feeling for the place .
This time it felt actually as if I had lived there.

Gemeinde Freier Evangelischer Christen - Biskirchen . The congregation meets in a shopping centre (pictured here)

I was very warmly received by the " Gemeinde Freier Evangelischer Christen" in a little village called Biskirchen . Biskirchen is situated on the B49 between Wetzlar and Limburg along the river Lahn - indeed a beautiful part of Germany .
The church in Biskirchen is doctrinally a 'Reformed Baptist Church' . It is a lively and loving little congregation led by two capable elders , Henrik Riesen and Tobias Glaum . These two men are both teachers at local schools , fathers of a young family , good preachers and highly committed to their local church .
This church has only been existence for about 5 years , but it already bears the marks of a sound church .
Through this church's hospitality and goodwill I was able to explore the spiritual scene in Germany somewhat.

It is clear that the land of the Reformation has fallen prey to the common pitfalls so well described in the Bible . Spiritual prosperity is frequently followed by material prosperity , and this in turn , if not carefully checked , leads so easily to spiritual apostasy and various forms of idolatry .
The spiritual gains made during and after the 16th Century Reformation are still clearly visible . Germany is a land sown through with church buildings - many impressive church buildings , may I add .

Berliner Dom - A Lutheran Church
The evidence of churches and cathedrals , all built in a bygone era, testifies that this is indeed a bygone era . Such buildings are no longer built in our day . The cathedral of the modern man is the shopping centre and the sports stadium !
The Germans are generally very proud of their church buildings, even though few will actually attend services there on a Lord's day . Much money is poured into the maintenance and upkeep of these splendid edifices . Some of this money comes from the German tax payer and other money comes from entrance fees and music concerts that are being regularly held in these churches . An average German congregation that meets in these buildings would hardly be able to maintain such buildings with their own means .

The lack of spiritual vitality and life is evident . A visit to the church in Wittenberg , where Luther penned his 95 theses on the door of the castle church , and a visit to the Wartburg in Eisenach where he translated the Scriptures , confirms that . At the Wartburg for instance, far less prominence was given to Luther than to a woman called 'Elizabeth ' canonized by the Catholic church as a saint . I will write more about this experience in my next blog .

The land of the Reformation is evidently sorely in need of another Reformation . Thank God then that there is a very small movement of Reformed Baptists at work . We do not despise the day of small things . We must encourage these churches to persevere . Pray for them ! Biskirchen is perhaps a drop in the bucket - but they are already doing much to reach out to find like minded churches who will perhaps one day band themselves together for greater unity and prayer for Germany ! I for one am praying and am looking forward to such possibilities.

Reformation in Holland

2010-05-26T13:46:00.001-07:00

At the Beginning of May I had the privilege of visiting Holland where previous members of our church , Aad and Janny van Onselen are now living in the village of Ameide . On that occasion I was able to link up with Kees van Kralingen whom I had met 15 years ago at the Carey Family Conference in the UK . At that stage there was no Reformed Baptist Church in Holland . Kees is clearly a man who loves the Lord Jesus Christ . He loves the Scriptures and longs to see a renewal of God centered theology and preaching in Holland . It was so good to have fellowship with him and to hear of the existence of a Reformed Baptist group called "SOLA 5 BAPTISTEN". Apparently the name of the " SOLA 5" Association of God centered Churches in Southern Africa ,of which our church is a member , has provided this new association in Holland with a suitable Name .

Below is a report from Kees van Kralingen ( pictured above) concerning this new association .

Please join them in praying for gospel success !

Sola 5 Baptists Conference in The Netherlands

Under the name ‘Sola 5 Baptisten’ a Dutch group of Baptist pastors and leaders is setting up a conference and a website to call Baptist churches back to their theological roots in the Reformation. They believe the Dutch churches more than ever need the doctrines of grace, as taught and applied by Reformed Baptists worldwide, to counter current man-centred approaches. About 75 people from The Netherlands and Belgium gathered in Doorn for the first conference on 26+27^th March with Erroll Hulse as one of the speakers. The aim of this conference was to show the value of a biblical confession of faith such as the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689.

Michael Gorsira emphasised the importance of a confession to help us to maintain a biblical form of church and worship with God at the centre instead of man/centred approaches.

We are very grateful to Erroll Hulse who came over from the UK to encourage and instruct us from his long time experience. He presented the teaching of the confession on sanctification and gave practical guidelines on how to preach this doctrine making use of the confession. His second address gave us practical advice on how to use the confession in the local church.

Kees van Kralingen discussed some key characteristics of the 1689 confession which are of particular relevance today: chapter 1 of the 1689 confession on the authority of Scripture, the particular position of the confession on the liberty of the conscience together with the role of the civil magistrate (chapters 21 and 24), and the doctrine of the church (chapter 26).

The conference also included lively Q&A and Prayer & Share sessions. Oscar Lohuis preached the conference sermon from Acts 7: through the death of the first martyr Stephan, the Lord achieved his purposes for the church. We all left most encouraged by the Word we received and the experience of true Christian fellowship and unity.

For details about this work, visit the website: www.sola5baptisten.nl

A Reformed Namibian Baptist in Switzerland

2010-04-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

Switzerland

Sossusvlei - Namibia . These are the highest dunes in the world

What doNamibia and Switzerland have in common ? Well, both are foundupon the face of the earth , and both countries are created by God - butwhat breathtaking diversity there is between the two !

Young and old had a good time at this Family Confere

Mypurpose for coming to this beautiful part of God's world wasnot initially to do sight seeing, but to attend a Reformed BaptistFamily Conference which was held in Sedrun , in the Canton ofGraubuenden . About 160 adults and children gathered here overEaster Weekend to enjoy choice fellowship and to hear God's Wordproclaimed.

Stephen Rees from the UK was the speaker who led us through some thought provoking meditations upon some of thosePsalms that reveal the emotional life of thePsalmist from deep sorrows to great joy .I was mostencouraged by this conference that seeks to draw together likemindedbelievers from Germany, France , Switzerland and Austria . The fellowship was excellent and the hunger for the Word of God evident. There is true earnestness and love for Christ among thesebelievers .

Stephen Rees (UK) with Robert Kunstmann translating

The Reformed Baptist movement in Europe is in its "infant shoes". This seems ironic when we consider that the Reformation came initially from Germany. This simply reminds us that every generation needs to be re-evangelised and re-discipled according to the dictates of God's Word . I truly trust and pray that God would be pleased to multiply this generation of believers .

One of the areas of concern would be an ' over zealousness' that would sometimes creep into such young movements . There have been divisions in the past, and we must pray that conferences such as these will bring the necessary perspectives and impetus for unity .

We are blessed in SOLA 5 ( An Association of God centered Evangelicals in Southern Africa) to experience such wonderful unity among our churches . I pray that this young work in the heart of Europe will indeed blossom and flourish under the good hand of our God.

Andre & Masha Bay - a missionary couple from South Africa doing church planting in Wetzlar , Germany

A BRIEF REPORT ON THE NAMIBIA GRACE MINISTER'S CONFERENCE

2010-03-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

NAMIBIA GRACE MINISTER'S CONFERENCE - 2010

THEME : Biblical Discipleship

DATES : 23rd - 25th March 2010

SPEAKERS : Phil Hunt - Central Africa Baptist College ( Kitwe /Zambia )

Doug van Meter - Brackenhurst Baptist Church ( Alberton / S.A )

CONFERENCE VENUE : Eastside Baptist Church - Windhoek . This church has been sponsoring and hosting this annual conference for mainly Reformed Baptist Pastors since 2001.

The annual NAMIBIA GRACE MINISTER'S CONFERENCE is a small conference of mainly Reformed Baptist pastors , elders and students , although we do encourage other likeminded men from other denominations to attend . The purpose of this conference has been explained in my previous blog .

This year's theme was focussed on "Biblical discipleship ". Our speakers Doug van Meter and Phil Hunt are men who are verry committed to the practise of this imperative given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ in the Great Commission. They expounded the Scriptures with plenty of practical application .

Doug van Meter set the tone on Tuesday evening when he spoke about " The Great Commission and the Imperative of Discipleship " in the context of an open session , which was attended by a number of church members .

The day sessions for the conference attendees addressed the issues of "discipling leaders ; discipling the home ; discipling men and discipling new converts ".

On Wednesday evening Phil Hunt spoke at an 'open session' on the subject : "Challenging the current world views that challenge the call to discipleship " .

On Wednesday afternoon we had a public discussion on the subject " Discipling a nation through public forums : Radio , Schools , Prisons , Universities " . Currently , these institutions present open doors for ministry in Namibia , and we encouraged one another to make full use of these present opportunities , knowing full well that such opportunities may not be there for ever in a day .

We believe that our men went away challenged and encouraged . May the impact of this conference be seen in the years to come .

Joachim Rieck

Pastor Spencer Tjijenda ( Westside Baptist Church - with wife and daughter )

Conference venue : Eastside Baptist Church

Namibia Grace Conference : Evening Session

NAMIBIA GRACE MINISTER'S CONFERENCES

2010-02-17T01:46:00.000-08:00

The annual Namibia Grace Minister's Conference will be held once again , starting on Tuesday evening 23rd March 2010 and ending on Thursday 25th March with lunch. The Conference is being sponsored and hosted by the EASTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH in Windhoek .
The conference is geared towards pastors/ elders & theological students , but those that are interested in the Christian ministry are more than welcome to join.
This year's conference will be focused on the theme : “Biblical Discipleship “ and the subjects will be handled by Phil Hunt - principal of the Central Africa Baptist College on the Copper belt in Zambia, and Pastor Doug van Meter of the Brackenhurst Baptist Church in Alberton , South Africa . Both men have a proven track record and commitment to the biblical discipline of discipleship . So , expect to hear sound teaching rooted in practical experience !
If you read this and are interested , contact Joachim Rieck at " jrieck@iafrica.com.na "

Doug van Meter

Phil Hunt

Explaining the purpose and Vision of the Namibia Grace Minister’s Conference

The History of the Conference

The first Namibia Grace Ministers Conference was held in 2001 when the Eastside Baptist Church invited Dr Wayne Mack , a noted Biblical Counselor from the USA to address pastors and the public on matters of biblical counseling . Since then the conference has met every year, except in 2008 .

The Purpose of the Conference
To provide a platform for teaching and fellowship appropriate to the needs of pastor/elders / student interns , encouraging these men to remain faithful to their principal calling i.e. pastoring their churches through faithful preaching and integrity of life . It is hoped that this conference will continue to grow in scope and influence , until the whole Namibian nation becomes obedient to Christ .

The Ethos of the Conference
The conference is rooted in historical and Reformed Christianity . The conference aims to be rooted in the authority of the Word ( SOLA SCRIPTURA) , Christ centeredness ( SOLUS CHRISTUS), doing what we do for the glory of God alone ( SOLI DEO GLORIA) . The primary tools for accomplishing this is to teach the doctrines of Grace ( SOLA GRATIA) and to commend the life of Faith ( SOLA FIDE) as the operative principle for Christian happiness .

The Conference is sponsored by a Reformed Baptist Church , and therefore prefers a Baptist Ecclesiology , without allowing this fact to hinder our fellowship with other churches with whom we share substantial agreement in doctrine .

We believe that the context for working out our mission is from the biblical platform created by God – the local church !

The goal of the Conference
• Revived pastors are important catalysts to stir up evangelical concern for the lost through fervent prayer and gospel preaching so that the Kingdom of God will advance .
• Revived pastors will show renewed love and compassion for their churches and thus provide for a happy church .

Thank God for a country where the wisdom of the Bible may be proclaimed !

2010-01-13T05:50:00.000-08:00

Today, I have had the privilege of opening the academic year of the Academia High School here in Windhoek, Namibia with Scripture reading , preaching and prayer . I thank God for a country and a school in which we may share the wisdom of the Bible freely , and where this is truly appreciated. I thank God for Mr H. Rust , a committed Christian principal and his staff . Two of the staff members are also members of our congregation at Eastside Baptist Church.
Below, I have included a transcript of the message

Dear Learners and Teaching Staff ,

You young people are here to get wisdom - to develop your academic intelligence and hopefully also your life skills – your emotional intelligence.
I am a pastor whose primary mission it is to be a spokesman for God , and I have been asked to say a few things to you at the beginning of this academic year .
I hold in my hands the primary written tool of revelation from God – the Bible, God’s authoritative book of wisdom for life .
In the Bible there is a priceless book , called “Proverbs “. The chief purpose of this book of proverbs is to teach God centered wisdom or skill which comes through discipline :

Proverbs 1:1-7
1 The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
2 for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight;
3 for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair;
4 for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—
5 let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.
7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Now let me help you to see the relevance of this Word from God . For the sake of clarity and easier memorization , my six points will all begin with a “D “.

1. DISCIPLINE ( 1:2a) : The word “ discipline “ teaches us that wisdom is achieved through hard work . Modern sportsmen and women have realized that success in the various sporting disciplines is a matter of physical as well as mental discipline. Angola recently lost a winning opportunity in the Africa Cup of nations . They were 4- 0 ahead - well into the 2nd half , when Mali came back forcefully and in a very short time scored 4 goals to equalize the game! My impression is that the Angolans had lacked the mental will or discipline to finish well !
There are no overnight successes in life. Hard work and discipline do it! Susan Boyle from the UK came as a most unpromising candidate to the “ England has got talent” show. She went on to surprise everyone with her beautiful voice , and now nobody is laughing at her anymore . But don’t think that Susan Boyle got that great voice overnight. Whilst pursuing a very humble profession, she must have practiced her singing in private. She worked hard at her singing . She exercised discipline. Discipline is a biblical thing . The Word of God encourages discipline.

2. DISCERNMENT ( 1:2b) “ for understanding words of insight “ – that takes discernment. Discernment is the ability to see things for what they really are . That means that you have to study truth . You have to know the truth . I am told that when bank tellers are trained to recognize counterfeit money , they are given only real money to work with. The idea is that when you know the truth you will immediately recognize the false . So it is with discernment. You get it when you live in the truth. The Bible encourages you to have discernment.

3. DOING what is “right , just and fair “ ( 1:3) . True wisdom is practical ; it involves common sense. It does what is right and just and fair . It considers the implications which our actions have upon others . It is God’s will for your life.

4. DIRECTION – ( 1:4) “…giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young” — Young people need direction . You need prudence. This is a word that means “being wise in practice “ . Prudence is needed for the “simple“ – those who are immature and untaught . You young people are by nature still immature and untaught . You need knowledge ( not just head knowledge , but practical understanding and application of that knowledge ) . The source of knowledge begins with God and His revelation . You also need discretion – the ability to judge situations wisely and to make plans with wisdom . Incidentally, all this is not only applicable to the students of this school.
Let me have a brief word with the teachers . 1:5 says : “…let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—…” You teachers are qualified to do the job of teaching these children. But remember that the Scripture teaches that you need to continue to add to your learning and wisdom , and to continue to learn from others who know more than you.

5. DEPTH - (1:6) “ for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise.” There is a depth to Scripture that forces us to think . Proverbs and parables aren’t easy to understand . They need to be pondered , and thought through . You must think. The school is not here to “spoon-feed” you . You need to learn the truth for yourself . Jesus taught in parables , and those who heard Him often did not understand them . The word “parable” is an interesting one . It means, literally translated from the Greek "to throw beside” . Jesus threw the truth next to ( or beside) his hearers and then He left them to figure out what He had said and meant . It required thinking. It is an interesting and effective teaching technique . We need thinking skills. The problem is that our thoughts are generally shallow. We need to be helped to learn to go deeper. We must learn to think things through . We must not avoid asking the hard questions such as : “Who is God ?” What am I here for – what is the purpose of life ?” What happens after I die ?” etc. God wants you to have a thinking and inquisitive mind !

6. DESIGN – ( 1:7) “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” . This is the ultimate design - the beginning point from which all true knowledge proceeds is God . Most people lack plain , ‘real intelligence’ because there is no fear of God in them .
The first step on a journey is most important . If you go wrong here , you may never reach your destination . If you plan to drive to Namibia’s north – to Oshakati you do not take the B1 south to Keetmanshoop . The direction you take is important .
So , start correctly on the road to wisdom with the Word of God as your compass and with the fear of the Lord before you. And the Grace of the Lord be with you as you do so. AMEN !