Pray Intelligently for Namibia !

At Eastside  Baptist Church (in  Klein Windhoek )  we have been in the habit  now for many years  of praying  for  our political leaders  on a regular basis , both in our  weekly prayer meetings , and  also  in our Pastoral ( or Pulpit) prayer  during our Sunday morning Worship  service . 

The Biblical basis  for such prayer  is found  in  1 Timothy 2:1-4 

"First of all , then , I urge that  supplications, prayers , intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all people , for kings and all who are in high positions , that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life , godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Saviour , who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth ."

 A few observations   on this text : 

1.  All kinds of prayer  for country and leaders  is urged upon us . The power of the church  lies  in her  faithful prayer ministry for people   and country . This is illustrated  in the  reign  of   " Bloody Mary" , Queen of England who was said to fear the prayers of John Knox the Scottish Reformer more than  an army .

2. The  reason given is that we may lead  peaceful , quiet, godly and dignified  lives .  Political chaos and instability  are generally hindrances to the progress  of the gospel  in a nation .

3. God is pleased with such faithful , believing prayers , and we shall discover one day  that  such prayers  were the first  seeds sown  which would  have led to a  spiritual harvest in the nation . 

We urge every Christian congregation  to fulfill this biblical mandate . This is the church's duty  to the nation. 

The church  needs to know  that  it is ultimately our prayer (which is an expression of our dependence upon God  , and which pleases God)  which   leads the people  and leaders  of our country!  

PRAY FOR NAMIBIA - 2012 

  Namibian Coat of Arms

List of Members of the Namibian National Assembly

SPEAKER

Dr. Theo-Ben Gurirab (Mr.)

DEPUTY SPEAKER AND CHAIRPERSON OF THE WHOLE HOUSE COMMITTEE

Prof. Loide Kasingo (Ms)

THE CABINET 

MINISTERS

(21 March 2010 – Elected in terms of Article 133 of the Constitution)

Mr. Nahas Angula – (Prime Minister)

Mr. Marco Hausiku – (Deputy Prime Minister)

Dr. Hage Geingob (Mr.) – (Trade and Industry)

Ms. Pendukeni Iivula-Ithana – (Justice)

Mr. Nangolo Mbumba – (Safety and Security)

Dr. Albert Kawana (Mr.) – (Presidential Affairs and Interim Attorney General)

Ms. Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila – (Finance)

Mr. Jerry Ekandjo – (Regional and Local Government, Housing and Rural Development)

Mr. Utoni Nujoma– (Foreign Affairs)

Mr. Erkki Nghimtina – (Works and Transport)

Dr. Abraham Iyambo (Mr.) – (Education)

Ms. Doreen Sioka – (Gender Equality and Child Welfare)

Mr. John Mutorwa – (Agriculture, Water and Forestry)

Mr. Joel Kaapanda – (Information and Communication Technology)

Ms. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah – (Environment and Tourism)

Dr. Nickey Iyambo (Mr.) – (Veterans Affairs)

Mr. Immanuel Ngatjizeko – (Labour and Social Welfare)

Mr. Alpheus !Naruseb – (Lands and Resettlement)

Dr. Richard Kamwi (Mr.) – (Health and Social Services)

Ms. Rosalia Nghidinwa – (Home Affairs and Immigration)

Mr. Charles Namoloh – (Defence)

Mr. Bernhard Esau – (Fisheries and Marine Resources)

Mr. Isak Katali – (Mines and Energy)

Mr. Kazenambo Kazenambo – (Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture)

DEPUTY MINISTERS IN THE NATIONAL COUNCIL

Mr. Kilus Nguvauva – (Fisheries and Marine Resources)

Mr. Theo Diergaardt – (Lands and Resettlement) – (With effect from 20 January 2011)

Ms. Hilma Nicanor – (Veterans Affairs) – (With effect from 20 January

Why I am a “Congregational“ Reformed Baptist

Baptists have  historically been known as  ‘congregationalists’. By this  we mean that   the  highest court of appeal on earth is  the  “ekklesia of God”  - the congregation or church of God,led by her  elders,  and they  together, under the headship of her ascended  Lord.  

Muddying the waters …

I wish I could  present you with a clear apologia  for  being a congregational  Baptist. I can’t, because congregationalism itself  is subject to weaknesses, since congregations  are after all constituted by redeemed sinners. 

To make matters even worse, congregational Baptist churches   have sometimes been invaded by non- regenerate  members since the  door into church membership had  not been guarded. This has been the case in  churches  where members were  received  through  an emotional, ‘decisionistic’   form of evangelism,  together with  a  shallow  theology of repentance  and a  lack of insistence upon a thorough discipleship. So when goats begin to rule the church, congregationalism becomes a curse and a nightmare!  

Notwithstanding the  fact  that  congregationalism  as a form of church government  has its own  set of critical challenges,  I  believe  in congregationalism, and I am committed  to this form of church government.   

Clarifying  Congregationalism…

I know that some Reformed Baptists  have  sometimes  struggled with congregationalism because,

(i)  They have had an experience of ungodly congregationalism. I personally   have experienced the worst kind of congregationalism in the early years of my ministry, and there are still shades  of it from time to time, when the congregation makes bad, prayer-less  and   naïve decisions, overruling their  elders.  Nevertheless,  I believe in, and encourage  congregationalism! 

(ii)   They  are very often influenced by  their evangelical Presbyterian brothers, whose theology they admire, and whose  style of church government  they  find   appealing, because it  eliminates  the  pains  of slow and clumsy congregationalism. In fact, one might argue that  some Baptists are  are  “Baptist Presbyterians“, and they would be Presbyterians, if it were not for their  sound views  on believer’s baptism! I also know that some godly  Presbyterian  church elderships  are far more congregational in practice  than they  would care to admit!

Rule by the elders  in terms of  the ‘buck-stops –here‘ - decision- making process in the church   admittedly  appears to be preferable  to the  often clumsy congregational  meeting. 
It appears  to  simplify  the decision making process simply because less people are involved, but I would  argue  that this  does ultimately not help the church to mature, nor does it help to exhibit the level  of congregational life that our Lord truly desires!  Pastor – teachers  and the elders  of the church exist  to  equip  the congregation to become mature. To this end the apostle Paul writes  that God gave  gifts  to  “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…”  (Eph. 4:12,13). 

Children only mature as they are given responsibility, and I would argue that this is the strength of true congregationalism. I would argue that congregationalism  fosters spiritual  responsibility,  which is  the goal of mature membership!

In Defense of  Congregational   Church Government

1. The congregation  under Christ  is  led  by a servant leadership/ eldership  rather than ruling eldership. Jesus frequently addressed  this subject, particularly  when His disciples wanted to set themselves as  little popes in the kingdom of God (e.g.Mark 10:35-45; Luke 22:26; John 13:2-17). Servant Leadership   is  focused on helping the congregation, and leading the congregation into responsible decision making. I would argue that this even  includes allowing the congregation to make mistakes (obviously - of a non heretical  nature), after which the elders  through patient instruction should lead the congregation  to repentance  and a more biblical  view of things. I have had such experiences in our church,  where I believed  that the church had been wrong in a congregational decision. But since the elders and I had been outvoted, we needed to teach the church patiently (cf. 2 Tim. 2:24), only to see the church  conform  to the elders wisdom  after a while. 

2.  The Congregation  is the final court of appeal on earth (Matt. 18:18ff): The context of this statement made by our Lord Jesus Christ is the church.  “Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be  bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven“. 

Whilst elders do undoubtedly have a vital role to play  in guiding the church in responsible decision making and teaching, they must  in the end defer to the church. This means that the church meeting  (the congregation) may override the authority  of the elders. The elders are not invested  with infallibility, nor are they endued with absolute authority. They are always accountable to the church. 

3.  Congregationalism  takes seriously the nature of the church.  Each member, born again and baptized    is not only important in the church, but is also able  to engage in responsible churchmanship, since the Holy Spirit dwells  in  each true believer. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit has gifted each believer in order to make a vital and necessary  contribution to the  ministry and well-being of the whole church. This does not only mean that members can meaningfully contribute to the ministry of the church in terms of their gifts, but also in terms of their corporate wisdom, prayer  and counsel.  Let me repeat something that I have said earlier: Congregational  church government  presupposes  that  our members are converted! Historic Baptist ecclesiology is founded  upon   the principle of  a  regenerate membership.  

The question is this: Will we trust our members  to participate in responsible decision making?   Obviously, if  Baptist churches   have a large group of  passive, ‘non –resident’, unfruitful, even  non-regenerate members,   congregationalism becomes chaotic and risky.   But if the gates to church membership are guarded through making sure  (as much as is humanly possible) that  our members have entered by the narrow gate,  and if our members have been   discipled  into the obedience of the faith, then we have no reason to fear congregationalism. Someone may ask then, "What about  young believers who are not mature, and  who still have many worldly ideas floating in their minds?"  I  believe that the mature leadership of the elders who lead the church in responsible decision- making plus the maturity of the older members will have a wholesome influence  over the younger members. 

4.   Congregationalism  most honours  the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ is committed to His whole church, and if every member does their part and is involved in the ministry of the church according to their spiritual gifts, and if each member participates in the congregation (including in the  decision making processes  involved in a General Meeting of the church),  it also follows that Christ is most glorified in such a church.

5.  Church discipline is congregational. In many  churches church discipline is actually exclusively exercised  by elders, when in fact  both the Lord Jesus, and  the apostle  Paul taught  that the church  was the final court of appeal in the matter of church discipline  (Matt.18: 15-18 ; 1 Cor. 5: 1-13). I find that  this fact affirms  our view of congregational church government. In our church we practice church (congregational) discipline, after  all attempts at restoring a person  by the means prescribed in Matt 18:15ff have failed.

Conclusion 

I am not saying that congregationalism is a perfect system. Neither am I saying that it is easy. It isn’t ! Ask me … I have been ‘at it’  for 29 years at the time of writing. But I would still argue that congregational church  government would be   the  logical outcome for a  a maturing congregation.

With tongue in cheek I would therefore  suggest that when a church is planted, it might  initially be governed episcopally. Let the bishop rule over his young flock while they are babies. 
Then as time passes, add other elders, and widen  the  decision-making process to a body of ruling elders, and call yourself  ‘Presbyterian Baptists’, if you like! 
But since  we  are aiming for maturity (our achievable goal according to Ephesians 4:1-16),  we should  strive for congregational church government with a serving eldership.

FEEDBACK ON PRAYER WEEK 2012

PRAYER WEEK 2012

The Foundation stone of our church reads :
" My house shall be a house of Prayer."

Following on from the last blog , I wanted to  tell  you  a little more about our  Prayer Week which  has  now  run its course once more  at Eastside Baptist Church .

For many years now,  we have  been setting aside a week for prayer at the beginning of  a year.  We have seen this as so important and beneficial,   that we  have instituted another prayer week   in June  - half way through the year .

Prayer week  is not meant to substitute   ordinary , private  prayer   or the prayer meetings of the church.  Prayer week is meant   to  stimulate  and teach us afresh  concerning  the importance of  prayer in the life  of the church and of  the individual.  Prayer week is a reminder that  we are  utterly dependent upon the help and the grace of God  in everything that we do as a church .

We  usually   begin with  preaching and  teaching  concerning prayer   so as to ‘ fire the congregation up‘  concerning the work of prayer .  The late  Martin Holdt  was actually invited to be our guest preacher in preparation for Prayer week 2012  , but  it was not to be , since the Lord took Him  on  Old  Years eve (31^st December 2011 ). 

This year I focused    upon   the theme of   “Prayer and the Holy Spirit “ .

In a preparatory sermon   I  preached from Romans 8 :26, 27 , demonstrating that  effective prayer is always enabled  by the Holy Spirit. In ourselves we  are unwilling and unable  to pray ( if I understand the  preceding text in Romans 7 correctly!) . However, the Holy Spirit helps us  in prayer !

Another preparatory  sermon focused on  Luke 11 : 13:  “  If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Here the Lord Jesus  promises  us  the good gift of the Holy Spirit in response to our asking. This ‘gift of the Holy Spirit’  does not refer to a charismatic experience of  a ‘baptism in the Spirit‘. It refers  to the work of the Holy Spirit  who in response to asking  shows us who Christ is  - which leads to our justification , and  it can refer  also  to  the Holy Spirit  leading us in  a growing  awareness  and need  of Christ in our lives,  in terms of  our sanctification.

Christians  are people  who are born again by the agency of the Holy Spirit  and  they  continue in Christ as they keep in step with the Spirit.  Prayer  is fundamental  in all this . Pray  that the Holy Spirit   may bring about  conversions  and  an increased desire for holiness.

Yet another preparatory sermon focused  on  Acts 4 :23 -31  where  we considered  a historical example  of the Holy Spirit’s working in response to  earnest, believing  God centered prayer . The result of this prayer meeting in Acts  4  was  that the  disciples,  who  had been intimidated by the religious Jews , received new power and boldness to speak the Word of God .  Thus the Word of the Lord spread and the Kingdom of God was expanded  in keeping with the Great Commission . How we need to continually pray  for such spiritual boldness  in our  day!

Prayer Week Outline:

The next six days  we spent  an hour  in  congregational prayer every  evening  from  19h00 – 20h00 .   We usually take the various elements of prayer  and  use them  on different   evenings of the week :

• Monday : Praise . This includes much  singing  and reading  Psalms of praise  interspersed with  prayers of praise . 

• Tuesday : Confession . 
• Wednesday : Petition . Petitionary prayer focuses upon ourselves , whereas intercessory prayer focuses on others  and the world . On this evening   our people were free to share their  physical , emotional and spiritual needs . In response the elders  laid their hands upon some those with  great need .  
• Thursday : Thanksgiving .
•  Friday : Intercession
•  Saturday  : Intercession  for our church  

A word about  seating !

Atmosphere is important !

Since our  building does not have pews,   we are free to move the chairs  into  a circle. Circles provide for intimacy. We are looking at one another, and together we are looking to our  God. The circle must not be too big, otherwise it is difficult  to hear the prayers of  the people. We have a few  rows ,  circling out from the inner circle .

About half of the time will be spent praying in small groups consisting  of 5-6 people per group.  People   assemble in different parts of the church for this purpose. We always find that this makes prayer participation easier, as it gives everyone an opportunity to pray. It also creates a lovely ‘hum’ in the church as people are heard  praying everywhere.

Since our prayer meetings are structured,    everybody generally prays around the same themes, but with the freedom to express their concerns in their own words . This preserves both,  unity in prayer  and freedom in prayer. 

At the end of the prayer meeting which generally lasts an hour ( and is never enough time!)  the prayer leader  leads in closing prayer and dismisses the people  with a benediction .

POSTSCRIPT

Our  prayer week  2012  was blessed with a  good  and consistent attendance of members.  Prayer was spontaneous  and earnest, and  people  testified that they had been in the presence of  God.

My friend Erroll Hulse  writes in  Reformation Today (224 : p.7)   : “Prayer is the forerunner of mercy . When God  means to bless His people He first stirs them to pray  for the  very blessing that he has foreordained.”

I trust that this Prayer  week   will have  contributed to  an awakened desire  of our people  to seek the Lord corporately , and that our merciful God in turn  would be please to grant an abundant  answer to our prayers  for  His glory  to cover our land as the waters cover the sea. 

A CALL TO PRAYER !

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

Those are the words  of E.M. Bounds  (1835-1913). He was a pastor   around the 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 in prayer , let alone be a part of a corporate  prayer meeting of the Church .  God has commanded  prayer   to be  one of the chief disciplines  of the Christian church . It therefore ought not only to be the  habitual practice of every Christian , but  there should be evidence that the church engages in corporate prayer .  Absence of prayer  means an absence of confidence in  God , since  the simplest definition  of  prayer is  “speaking to God “. How can we not speak to our heavenly Father?

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

I write this as our church is  about to  embark  upon   a prayer week which we commonly have at the beginning of  each  year.   Prayer reminds us that  “our help is in the name of the Lord who has made  heaven and earth.” (Psalm 12:8)

Our church   had also  decided  a few years ago  that    we should  have  also   have a week of prayer  in the middle 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 services ought to be punctuated with  all kinds  of  prayer , whether they be prayers of praise , confession, thanksgiving  or intercession.To pray is to worship.

In our evening services we pray for different countries of the world.  “Operation World”   helps  us to pray  for the progress of the 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 world prayer  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 principles of  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.

Martin at Eastside with Caroline Slabber 

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

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

 

I first met Martin Holdt  in my first  year as a student at the Baptist Theological 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 those days. We can only marvel  to think how much this  has changed. At a recent Spurgeon fraternal,  Peter Sammons of the Germiston Baptist Church  indicated  that there were  now more than 80 pastors on the list  who would   identify  with  the  "Reformed  Baptist position".

Martin's influence was mostly felt in  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 counselling after a service at  at Eastside 

In  1990  I was called to be the pastor of my home church,   the Eastside Baptist Church in Windhoek, Namibia, and Martin immediately took an interest in me, knowing that I had developed a keen  interest in the theology of the Reformers. He asked me to write an article about my conversion and 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 by Erroll Hulse  of the UK who  is well known for  encouraging   Reformed Baptist work, world wide. Erroll  Hulse came to visit me in Namibia  to encourage  me in the ministry. 

Martin preaching in Biskirchen, Germany

Both, Martin and Erroll  had simple advice for young pastors  like me who were eager to get their ministries reformed: "Preach the Word! Preach expositorially! Preach with passion! Prepare  prayerfully! "

Martin exhorted me in the words of Baptist pastor W.A.  Criswell  “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 to read  the writings of the Reformers and the Puritans.

            

Martin  started a number of ministries to encourage pastors. 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, and particularly  to me.

Martin Holdt with Andre Bay (missionary) in Germany

Allow me to tell you how the Spurgeon 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 was longing to have something more than a conference. 
I needed a forum, a fellowship  where I and ministerial  colleagues could share our  burdens  and where   we could  encourage each other and pray 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 is going strong  today and it  is ever increasing in  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 Eastside Baptist 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 Prayer Weeks 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 he was looking very much forward  to it. He loved Namibia  for he had some happy childhood memories of this  place. His parents had  lived  here for sometime.   But it was not to be. The Lord  deemed  his work to be done.  I am happy for him  for I know that he is with Christ, enjoying  his well deserved eternal Sabbath rest.

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

I leave it to you to judge whether this is so.