Last month, I joined five others to teach pastors, missionaries, and other leaders at Dale Kietzman University in Douala, Cameroon. Twenty-three students, many of whom had little or no formal theological training before this endeavor, were taught on subjects that are foundational to their lives and ministries. The mission of Training Leaders International (TLI) is to equip leaders to rightly handle the word of truth, so that they in turn, will be able to equip others. Through courses like Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology, Evangelism and Discipleship, First Corinthians, and New Testament, we taught these leaders the themes of Scripture and the basic rules of interpretation, walking with them through texts using methods like tracing. There were two members of our team who are business executives and taught rudimentary business principles to a few, as many are bi-vocational and the need for good work ethic and investment principles is immense. Through all the stresses and adversities, many lessons were learned through this trip of which I am grateful and will aid me in future ministry.
I was assigned a
number of tasks to complete throughout these two weeks. First, my calling was
to teach New Testament (Matthew-Revelation).
On the first day of class, I learned that one of my New Testament
classes was canceled and so my lectures were limited to Romans through
Revelation. I taught these twenty-two
books in eight, three hour lectures through a French interpreter. I also led team devotions every morning
before we went our separate ways for the day.
This time consisted in prayer with one another and a ten to fifteen
minute meditation on a passage of Scripture.
On one Sunday in Douala, I preached at Faith Baptist Church near the
airport, also with French translation.
This was a
stressful, dangerous, and chaotic trip; and it was incredibly rewarding. I expected that the trip was going to be
rewarding, but certainly not through the events that transpired. To begin, it
was stressful even getting into the country since most of us did not receive
our visas until a day or two before our flight.
Our team leader arrived a day late for the same reason. In addition, the forty or fifty pastors and
missionaries that emigrated from Central African Republic for training felt as
though the university did not follow through on some of the promises that were
supposedly made and left with police and immigration officials getting
involved. As I mentioned, one of my
classes was canceled. This made for a
crazy first few days that forced us to be flexible and rely on God day in and
day out. The trip was dangerous as well
with a thirty minute unsafe, seatbelt-less car ride to the university from our
rest house on the coast. One night I
also was assaulted while we walked to a restaurant after classes. Although it did not involve any weapons and
could have been much worse, the person who grabbed me and attempted to pull me
towards him made it plain that we were being watched closely by those that
presumably wanted to rob us.
But the rewarding
aspect was teaching and preaching. Just
preparing for this trip was so beneficial for my soul. I grew in my love for Christ. I came to treasure His Word more. I saw more of my inadequacies and His
competencies. And all of this was before
the trip. My need to be completely
reliant upon Him was seen even more as these events were occurring around the
team. I was dubbed “the pastor” of the
team before the trip began and I saw how much I needed God to guide me in what
to say to the team to encourage them and my need to be a genuine lover of
Christ and other people.
The teaching
itself was a great learning experience and went beyond my expectations. It was challenging from the first to the last
class to go through so much of the New Testament in such a short period of
time, and to have the time cut short through constant translation. But the students saw my love for Christ and
learned much about Jesus and His promises.
To see their progress from day one to day nine was a great encouragement
to me as I departed. It seems as though
they have the skills and tools necessary, by the grace of God, to interpret the
Scriptures well, to be confident when coming to difficult passages, and to
apply the text appropriately to their situations. Also, I did not expect such a strong stance
for the true gospel in the church at which I preached. But the leadership and many in the
congregation are vehemently opposed to the prosperity gospel, which is a
comforting thing in a country and a continent which is inundated with this
heretical teaching.
I hope and pray
also that the lessons that I learned in Cameroon will remain with me as I
proceed on to full-time vocational ministry (Lord willing). First, reliance upon God is not about a two
hour task just before and during a sermon.
Dependency upon God should be a daily, hourly, constant stream of
thought and emotion. I really am not
sufficient in myself to affect any kind of spiritual fruitfulness through my
teaching and preaching. The lectures where
I felt weakest God seemed to do the most amount of work in the short term. This is just like God: to show His strength
in our weakness. Also, I learned to rest
in and believe the promises of Scripture.
Ultimately, I have no confidence that I will live another day or another
hour. My days are numbered by God, and because
my life exists for proclamation for the gospel, may I be sensitive to
opportunities, even ones that I do not expect, knowing that God is with me and
for me and will help me for His name’s sake.
Also, supremely loving God and doing so through purity, spiritual
disciplines, diligence and a good work ethic, shows love not just to God, but
to others. I saw through my victories,
through my countless hours of work in preparation, fruit was born. They may have not seen the sweat of my labor,
but they did see the fruit of it, and this was out of my love for the
Lord. So my prayer for future ministry
is that I will see things connected more such that my self-control and my grasp
of the Scriptures is not seen for my own sake, but instead points to the value
of Christ. In so doing, ministry will
not be seen as a public affair, but as a public and private affair which is
affected by every aspect of my life.
Some asked me
after I returned whether or not I would like to go back. The answer is mixed, but nothing is quite
like having a cross-cultural trip overseas, even to Cameroon. I love those brothers and sisters and would
love to continue to train them. Regardless,
the gospel was preached, the Word was spoken, and I leave the results up to
Him. Whether for two weeks or two years
or two decades, it is foolish for me to rely on myself for strength or for
fruit. For, “from him and through him
and to him are all things. To him be
glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36). And it is for that reason that I look back at
the trip with a heart of thankfulness for what He did and look forward in
anticipation to what He will do for His glory.
