News of Our Work from Around the Globe

The Literature program works with some 29 publishers to distribute English and French publications to the Majority World at minimal expense. Previously, books were not centrally located, and equipment was not available to quickly distribute much needed literature. Orders placed with partnering publishers could be slow – sometimes taking 30 days or more to be filled – and sometimes lost because shipments could not be tracked.

Now the Literature program can offer a more efficient service and can include titles from Majority World authors which were previously too costly or otherwise impossible to ship. Best of all, the warehouse has plenty of space – room for growth without too much adjustment for the next four years.

Participants included pastors, student workers, theological educators, missionaries among the poor, as well as the director of a wholistic hospital ministry. We were graciously hosted by four Langham Scholars: Paul Swarup (chairman), Finny Philip, AK Lama, and Paulson Pulikottil. People came from Rajasthan in the West to Assam in the East. Much of the conversation focused on Uttar Pradesh which, if it were a country, would be the seventh most populous country in the world.

India presents different challenges from the other countries in which the Preaching Program is involved. There are multiple grassroots training ministries already in existence. JSM-Langham Preaching becomes the catalyst who convenes the table around which these people gather, enabling them to network with each other and share resources.

Various fresh initiatives emerged from this consultation:

a. the intention to launch the Level 1-4 preaching seminars in Assam for the churches of the Northeast with AK Lama as the key reference point;
b. the commitment to an ongoing “‘training of the trainers” through an expanded and strengthened consultation programme in which issues are probed (for example, the challenge of training preachers within the mainline/urban/educated church vs. the emerging/rural/semi-literate church) and we audit the training which is occurring with an eye on the ‘gaps and overlaps’ – and looking to address both these situations;
c. the convening of a consultation in South India.

It is with great encouragement that Langham Partnership International helps to establish quality training for the future of the church in India, and at the same time foster Langham Scholars in their committment to effective grassroots ministry.

It was a mature group. Ten years of preaching experience was a requirement for participation. They tended to be senior pastors and leaders with responsibilities well beyond their own local churches. A number had graduate degrees in theology. It was a representative group. They came from right across the country with pastors (some travelling 48 hours by train) from the majority of provinces being present. So it is quite conceivable that thousands upon thousands of believers in China will be impacted by the training that is offered.

Two highlights will linger in my memory. One was that moment during training when small groups write their sermon outlines from designated passage on the whiteboard.

Nine groups crammed their Chinese characters onto the board, and then each one submitted themselves to the evaluation of their peers and the trainers. They were so honest with each other and they had such fun doing it. Raucous laughter often would fill the room. With this lightness of spirit so evident, I had to remind myself that some of these people had paid a great price for preaching the Gospel! The second highlight was when the group was split into seven regional groups to discuss how they might start local ‘preaching fellowships’ in their areas. Watching them enjoy meeting each other, share email addresses, appoint a coordinator and agree on a date to meet… We had to add another session because they just would not stop talking! It may have only been half a drop in a bucket, but there was this overwhelming sense for me that the quality of biblical preaching in China was being impacted before my very eyes.

A recurring piece of feedback from the participants was a new seriousness in their commitment to ‘a systematic and balanced preaching of the whole Bible.’

We plan to meet for Level 2 in 2010, and there are plans to run another Level 2 concurrently with a new group of people. Please pray that under God’s good hand these plans will materialise and that participants will be able to travel safely and easily to the venue.

Nowhere has this been more true than in the Solomon Islands. From Pentecostals, Nazarene, Catholics, Worldwide Church of God, to Scripture Union, Campus Crusade, and Bible Society to the largest groups present – the South Sea Evangelical Church (SSEC), the Anglican Church of Melanesia, and the United Church of Solomon Islands – there were 67 people who gathered near Honiara for the Langham Preaching training on 16-19 June 2009. On the final evening, tears were shed as participants prayed for the church in the Solomons. As one pastor expressed, “This is just what the Solomons needs. We have for too long kept to our own little boxes.” And so this was a week which nurtured both biblical preaching and the unity of the church.

Training was in the hands of Chris Mulherin (Australia), Langham Partnership International Director Chris Wright, and Langham Preaching Associate Director Paul Windsor, and focused on the basic skills of understanding the text and building clear, faithful and relevant biblical sermons. One highlight of the week was the opportunity to have lunch with the Archbishop of Melanesia, David Vunagi. Langham Preaching thrives on the endorsement of leaders like Archbishop David.

We have agreed that Level 2 training will be held from 19 - 23 July 2010 with a condensed Level 1 event immediately prior to this week so that an even larger group of pastors can stay on and journey on to Level 2 and 3.

Largely due to the commitment of Langham Partnership Australia (LPA) and Director Wendy Toulmin’s vision and energy, Langham Preaching is off to an excellent start in the Pacific. Godwilling, in 2010 Vanuatu will hold a Level 3 and both the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea will hold a Level 2 seminar. With Langham Scholar, Ma’afu Palu, recently appointed to the Sia’atoutai College in Tonga, there is also local expertise on which we can draw.

But all is not well …. The teaching in churches in Central America is often weak. National leaders report that it can be superficial with very limited Biblical content. There is evidence of confused and divisive teaching, the pervasive influence of prosperity theology, and even some heretical extremes. The need for pastors to learn to study deeply and preach faithfully is imperative, and addressing this is an urgent priority.

Langham Preaching Latin America is calling together key trainers from 11 countries in Central America*, to embark on a three-stage training programme over the next two years. Starting in October 12-16 2009, 35 leaders will meet together for training in biblical preaching. They will benefit from:

• weeklong training seminars with practical lectures, Bible expositions, and group study
• help in the framing of training programmes for their own countries
• books to support Bible study and exposition
• fellowship across 11 countries, establishing a wide network of preachers and trainers

And this is not just for their own benefit, but so that they can then develop national training initiatives in their home countries, equipping small teams of pastors and lay preachers throughout the region. Langham Preaching is already working in partnership with national churches in many South American countries. The Central American project is the next big step in the steady work of equipping a new generation of Bible teachers.

What they are saying:

‘The Central American project is the biggest and most strategic effort of Langham Preaching Latin America this year. We look forward to its impact throughout the region in the years to come.’
Igor Amestegui

‘I want to express my gratitude to the Lord for what we have experienced in the Langham Preaching programme. The Lord has greatly touched my life, encouraging me to work more effectively with the tools I have received.’
Daniel Mardones, pastor and homiletics teacher, Chile

‘If the need for Langham Preaching is great in South America, it is even more needed in Central America.’
Jorge Atiencia, Bible teacher and trainer, Colombia

‘As thankful as we are for church growth, the ministry of Bible teaching is vital in these critical times for the church in Central America.’
John Stam, LAM missionary, Costa Rica

‘I could not agree more when our Langham trainer said that he is more than convinced that this is a good and strategic way to equip leaders in the world.’
Chris Jonah, Sierre Leone

‘I have worked with the Church for more than 18 years, but I have never seen such direct Bible-centred preaching methods and contents. I wish I could have known this many years before. I am now well equipped to handle the Bible properly.’
Samuel Makocebe, Tanzania

* Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela

Local facilitators

The growing demand for local, grassroots training cannot be met without more local facilitators. This year seven preaching seminar ‘graduates’ accepted the invitation to be trained to teach level 1 material. Two of them conducted the basic lessons of ‘text-to-sermon’ for the level 1 delegates and received feedback from their trainer colleagues afterwards. These seven have committed themselves not only to conducting local Level 1 training (often taking unpaid leave and travelling at their own expenses), but also to meeting together twice more in the year to sharpen their skills.

Inter-country co-operation and networking

Frank Luvanda (Tanzania) and Barbara Tumwine (Uganda) joined the Kenya seminar facilitators team. It was great to have their help leading small groups and demonstrating good Bible handling skills. There are lessons about sustainability and regionalised training that we can learn from the Tanzanian and Ugandan experiences, and we hope this is reciprocal: that their experience in Kenya will feed into the growth of the preaching movements in both those countries. This growing sense of fellowship in the East Africa region brings a very helpful exchange of ideas, experience and personnel. This wider team could provide the future training, not just for level 1 locally, but also for levels 2 and 3 nationally. We thank God for such committed, humble, gifted workers willing to give their time to train others!

Jenny Brown is a Langham Preaching facilitator, and is on the staff of All Souls, Langham Place in London.

I arrived on 9th August 2009 and I was amazed to find that they are conducting pre-conferences session for the “training of local facilitators” (TLF). This is one amongst the positive things that I have learned from the Kenyan preaching movement. I also want to let you know that Kenya is doing fine in terms of national coordination, as Mercy Ireri (local country coordinator for Langham Preaching) is traveling all over the country for the purpose of monitoring the development of preachers’ clubs. I believe that by following Kenya’s example of having TLF training before the actual preaching programme would help in strengthening our team in Tanzania.

As I look forward, and as I have learnt from Kenya, I believe that the future of these preaching movements in East Africa is in the hands of the local facilitators in a given country. I also learned that Kenyan brothers and sisters contribute more to the preaching movement than in Tanzania. They pay their own travel expenses and they also pay for a conference fee. This is another strength that we have already adopted. It is better if we remain with a few committed people than have a big number of people who cannot take up the vision of Langham Preaching and bring it into local ownership.

It was good to learn from the Ugandan experience. Uganda has given us all great lessons on how to handle these preaching movements in our countries. And it was lovely to learn from wonderful facilitators: Jenny Brown, Doug Johnson, and Wanyeki Mahiaini at the Limure seminar.

With this email I wish to thank Mercy and her team for the great work they are doing in Kenya. May the living God in Jesus Christ protect and provide for all what is needed for Langham programmes around the world.

Since the launch of the JSM-Langham program several years ago, many small preachers’ groups have been founded in towns and cities – now part of a preaching movement called Sociedad de Expositores Biblicaos Peru.  There are some 20 “societies” of preachers now meeting regularly, some with a membership as large as 30, but each group meeting to support the cause of expository preaching – working together on Bible passages, preparing preaching programs for their churches, praying together and – of course - enjoying meals together!

To mark their graduation after the level 3 training program, everyone received a certificate, a specially prepared plaque, and a gift of books. But there were signs of protest! No one wanted the training to end!  As a result, three significant objectives were agreed.  First, a training of trainers program will take place next year, equipping many of the leaders to train pastors and lay preachers elsewhere in Peru.  Second, a new level 1 program will begin, specially designed for younger pastors and preachers. Third, the idea of an annual event for all members of the Sociedad will be considered, to supplement the growing work of the small preachers groups across the country.

As the societies reported on their plans for the future, many of them indicated that their aim was to gather more people to their groups, to extend the work in nearby towns and villages, to share resources across the preaching movement, to publish the best of their expositions and sermon outlines for a wider audience, and to explore new ways of developing training in the churches and seminaries across the country.

Igor Amestegui, Langham Preaching facilitator for Latin America, led the seminar, and will sustain contact with this lively preaching movement! The small team of leaders in Peru, led by Jorge and Nelsa Zolezzi, has done a remarkable job in extending the vision for expository preaching and resourcing pastors with good books.  A regular monthly newsletter keeps the societies connected and provides fresh ideas for their work. And Jaime Mendoza and Francisco Calderon travel regularly to the 20 societies to encourage them forward. The rapidly expanding work owes much to the leadership and energy of this strong Peruvian team!

In April 2009, 74 pastors and lay preachers attended the first Langham Preaching programme in Colombia. The participants came from a good variety of church backgrounds: Presbyterian, Anglican, Christian and Missionary Alliance, Community of Faith, Assemblies of God and various independent churches. In comparison to other Latin American countries, our Latin American facilitator, Igor Amestegui, said that this was ‘a very select group, with a good level of preaching ability, perhaps the best amongst all the seminars which have been run across the continent’. Much of their ability and enthusiasm for Bible exposition has come from their involvement with the ministry of Jorge Atiencia, who has spent many years building teams of preachers and the establishment of ‘escuelitas’. These ‘little schools’ for preachers fully support the ministry of Langham in Colombia, and the group leaders see that the Langham programme will be a great means of supporting the training of new expositors in the country.

The president of the committee, Dionisio Orjuela, and his wife did an excellent job before and during the event, and Igor Amestegui, Jorge Atiencia and Diego Cardona acted as the facilitators. They gave expositions based on Jesus the preacher, and on the prophet Haggai, and they taught participants foundational skills such as moving from the Bible text to a sermon and how to apply the text. The facilitators were very ably assisted by a team of workshop group leaders who had been well prepared, with a training meeting six months in advance as well as at the beginning of the seminar week itself.

Participants came to the seminar with high expectations: one pastor said at the start of the seminar that he was looking forward to learning how to preach a book of the Bible from beginning to end, and another expressed his desire to be faithful to the teaching of Scripture. Participants greatly appreciated all they had been taught and all that they had been able to practise. At the end of the week, they were encouraged to persevere in their preaching ministries. Everyone received two Spanish books: ‘Jesus model preacher’ by Jorge Atiencia and ‘God’s Big Picture’ by Vaughan Roberts. They left with a determination to carry on working in their groups which they have decided to call ‘schools for preachers’, to differentiate them from the small schools already set up for lay people. There is great enthusiasm to continue with the three-year training programme, and the date for the next level of training is provisionally planned for April 2010.

Elisha Telena, a Neo-Pentecostal pastor in Jos, told me another story about witchcraft. He said he had discovered witches in his congregation. One member had come to him because her husband lay ill. According to Telena, she and her son pretended to be concerned about the man’s illness and wanted him “delivered.” But Telena told his congregation that while he was trying to deliver the sick man, God revealed to him that the woman and her son were the culprits. They had used witchcraft to bind him in the spirit world.

The fear of evil spiritual forces hovers like a cloud over African Christianity. Dealing with (and in) witchcraft isn’t foreign to the church. In fact, the Yoruba people of southwest Nigeria say, “Olorun ko ko aafo,” i.e., “God is not opposed to native remedies.” In times of crisis, even Christians may consult medicine men.

But when Pope Benedict brought it up during his African pilgrimage, he was addressing not just syncretistic practices, but also the belief in them. “Who can go to to proclaim that Christ has triumphed over death and all those occult powers?” he asked.

Fear of sorcery

The problem is old, and it has gotten worse.

Western missionary Christianity had thought that with time Christianity would uproot the witchcraft and sorcery which have long been part of traditional Africa.

Opoky Onyinah, a Pentecostal pastor, says that before the 20th century, people went to priests of African gods, sorcerers, or medicine men and women for spiritual protection. At the turn of the century, people began to look to the church for victory in the spirit world. Classical Pentecostalism and other forms of orthodox Christianity had played down deliverance ministry. But, in response to church members’ pressure, a rebranded Pentecostalism began to put a premium on “deliverance services.”

In the 1970s, theologian Byang Kato warned about syncretism undermining the pure gospel in Africa. At that time, many dismissed his concerns. Today, his predictions seem to have come true. Witchcraft’s resurgence in modern Africa is connected with the poor healthcare system and with diseases like HIV and AIDS. Life expectancy in Nigeria has dropped to 47 years. When something tragic happens, many Africans ask, “Who caused this?” rather than, “What caused this?” They often see disease, suffering, pain, and death as supernatural evils—and witches as the culprits. Therefore, public-health disasters, plus the problem of evil, create a sense of powerlessness and paralyzing fear.

But, beyond inadequate public health measures, there is another reason the church hasn’t stamped out fear of sorcery. Church growth is directly linked to that fear. People seek protection from witches and thus help fuel the unprecedented growth of Christianity in Africa. Many, from top government officials to the lowest in society, join neo-Pentecostal churches because of their emphasis on deliverance and protection. The proliferation of this ministry has caused even classical Pentecostals and others in Africa to reconsider their orthodox beliefs and practices.

African scholar Aylward Shorter writes that belief in witchcraft is so pervasive that “at the popular level the African believer is often more engrossed in the identification of human sources of evil, and in counteracting them, than in the acknowledgement and worship of superior forces of good.” As a result, witch finding is an important part of social life.

Deliverance

Testimonies and preaching about the works of demons and how God’s power can free people dominate a mass deliverance service. Before the main session, some clients see the exorcist in their homes. Onyinah writes that clients often have to fill out an exhaustive background questionnaire, and then answer questions that are supposed to determine the supernatural cause of the problem.

During the service, both those who had seen the exorcist and others form queues. The leader prays. Some leaders use this time to sell special canes that can slay demons. They repeat the prayers, this time with gestures for “break,” “bind,” “bomb,” “cast out demons,” “cane,” and “trample on demons.” The leader calls on the “blood of Jesus and the name of Jesus.” As the prayer continues “people begin to sob, groan, shout, roar, fall down, and struggle on the ground.” The leader and his team pay special attention to those who show these signs, saying they indicate deliverance from demon possession.

Fear of witchcraft will be difficult to stamp out in Africa. As Onyinah points out, witchcraft offers its adherents the opportunity to oscillate between traditional religion and Christianity.

Onyinah also observes that accusations of witchcraft allow people to relinquish responsibility for wrongdoing, sins and inadequacies, and puts it on others—often poor persons who become the enemies of the community.

Although many of the symptoms taken as signs of witchcraft can easily be explained by science, congregations that hear teaching on witchcraft and demons, coupled with testimonies from “exorcised witches,” can become disproportionately anxious. Fear robs them of their communal order, harmonious living, peaceful coexistence, joy, and tranquility.

A solution for syncretism

Because witchcraft in the church is complex, its solution will be multidimensional.

We can start within the church. National church leaders should work together to develop strategies against witchcraft and syncretism. Such cooperation could happen through groups like the Christian Association of Nigeria, but so far, it hasn’t. We must teach local pastors to interpret Scripture as God’s covenant of love, mercy, and justice instead of a list of strict dos and don’ts leading to quantifiable results (Micah 6:8). They, in turn, must teach members theological discernment. Church members need careful discipleship training that gives them a thicker understanding of Christ’s ethics.

We should also address the source of our fears by working with governments and NGOs to address poverty and the failing healthcare system. All of this while speaking out on behalf of the vulnerable who are often accused of sorcery.

Rose Galadima and her husband, Bulus, tell of a Christian university student who lived in fear of witchcraft. The young man related two incidents he suspected were responsible for his nightmares: once he took a motorbike taxi and because he didn’t have change, the motorcyclist left him, saying, “You will see.” Another time he bought some defective batteries. The Muslim store owner accepted the return, but told him, “You will see.” The young man worried that these people would use witchcraft to attack him. Although he was a student of modern science, he lived under a threatening cloud of evil forces.

Many like this young man feel vulnerable to witchcraft. Their concerns seem legitimate to them because of widespread stories about what witches have done. But we have a message that can stop the cycle of fear and accusation in the church.