“When we worship under the trees, we fast for months. When we worship in the beginnings of a building, we fast for days. When we worship under a finished roof, we fast for hours. So please do not pray for church buildings for us. Pray instead for the building up of the church.” Pastor Silvest is an amazing Ugandan pastor who has planted nine churches (and counting) in his country. Humble. Soft-spoken. He speaks of God with a deep voice and an even deeper faith. He has been beaten several times. He has had his home robbed. His family threatened. Early in his ministry, his only means of transportation (a bicycle) was stolen so he walked from church to church to preach on Sundays. He is brilliant. Initiating children’s evangelism programs through education. He routinely gathers groups of 50 men in each of his churches to pool what little financial resources they have to offer micro-loans to other men in the congregation so they can start their own businesses. The loan is paid back over time and then the process is repeated. The average life expectancy in his area of Uganda is 48/49 years. The older generation has largely been wiped out by the AIDS epidemic. Most of the families are being led by children in their teens. It’s an incredibly challenging environment to do ministry in and yet the Kingdom of God is growing by leaps and bounds.
As Silvest and I spoke, I shared with him the challenge of living on the opposite end of the spectrum. The incredible abundance and wealth, safety and privilege I live with in my own ministry context. While he laments when his people only fast for hours…I lament that my people rarely fast at all. While he laments that his people often don't stay for the full four or five hour worship service each Sunday…I lament that my people average about once a month on Sunday mornings. While he laments that his people combine magic, ancestor worship, and other traditional tribal beliefs with their Christianity…I lament that my people combine consumerism, materialism, and individualism with their Christianity. To be clear, neither of us were complaining. We were simply sharing the challenges we face as colleagues in ministry, albeit in radically different contexts. And we were able to encourage each other to keep preaching, keep praying, keep pouring out our lives for the sake of the gospel.
As much as cross-cultural partnerships expose our assumptions and weaknesses. They also remind us that some things are always the same. Human nature is no different in the US than it is in Uganda. There is a universality to our condition that fights back against Christ. That's why Paul’s words are so important in Galatians 2:20. “I’ve been crucified with Christ…”. Following Christ requires my death. Requires me to die to the world with all its desires. Requires me to die to myself with all my needs. As the week went on, Silvest and I both were able to share those areas of our lives where we still needed to die. Still needed to offer God the greater sacrifice. As men called by God to be pastors and leaders for His people, we know we must set the example. We must raise the standard. And thankfully, by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, we can continue to boast only in the cross of Christ.