Dear Friends and Prayer Partners,
I’m thrilled that it’s my turn to check in with an update.
There is much I would like to share, but I will try to just hit a couple
highlights with some specific prayer requests along the way…
I felt as if our last session yesterday (which was our 10th
hour of training) was one in which we could see the lights coming on for many
of the pastors we have the privilege of training. It was actually a Q/A
session, and the pastors were coming out of their seats to ask questions, GOOD
questions, about how to practically orient their lives and ministries around
making disciples with all the other pastoral demands on them. I could see that
they were “getting” it. One pastor shared honestly that his wife just last week
had declared to him that she wished he would respond to her needs the way he
does to every church member that calls. He confessed he was so exhausted
ministering to the masses that he couldn’t even minister to his bride. You
could tell that these guys were “seeing” for the very first time the model of
ministry set forth by Christ in the New Testament, that of making disciples who
make disciples, etc. The Holy Spirit was clearly at work, and after 10 days,
they were convinced it was true but their minds were exploding trying to figure
out how to make it a reality in their daily lives and in the culture of their
churches. It was a beautiful mess, which is so often where I think the Holy
Spirit finds us and teaches us…they had taken off the masks. They were humble
and hungry, renewed in their vigor to follow closely after Jesus, and needing
help for the journey.
Let me stop there and ask that we pray for these pastors.
(There’s about 30 men who are actually pastors of churches in this area at the
conference. The churches range in size from new plants of a couple dozen people
to churches over 1000 people). Let’s pray God blesses their desire to have
ministries that extend beyond the pulpit and into the lives of young men
longing to know and grow in the Lord. Let’s pray they do not forsake their
primary context of discipleship: their homes. Let’s pray they set an example to
their people of loving their wives well, even when it means saying “no” to
other needs in the Body. Let’s pray God gives them wisdom in how to identify
other men who they can share the pastoral responsibilities with for their
health, the health of their families, AND the health of their church. It is
never good for a church to be built around the ministry or personality or
gifting or capacity of one man, unless we’re talking about Jesus. The rest of
us are at best “under-shepherds” and must not confuse our responsibility and
His.
Today’s training had a whole different feel…one of
anticipation and excitement after the great ending to yesterday’s training. I
could see the pastors were on the edge of their seats. They were hustling to
jot down as many notes as possible as Kem Wilson, Matt Wukasch, Tyler Springer,
and myself taught the pastors. (Joyce and Jessica taught the ladies, and though
I wasn’t in there, I heard their time was rich as well!)
Kem and I taught through the principles of disciple-making
seen in the life of Christ (following the outline of the Master Plan of
Evangelism, written by one of my professors Dr. Robert Coleman). The men and
women were soaking up these truths…wheels were turning. Then Matt taught the
Qualifications of a Disciple-maker. In one of his points, he was talking about
how we must teach sound doctrine. He used a negative example of the heretical
teaching of the prosperity Gospel as something that must be avoided. I noticed
when he did that many of the pastors really perked up and glances around at one
another. I knew something was going on there, and was curious what. Well, I
soon found out…
When we got to the Q/A session (how we end each day’s training),
a pastor of 27 years said that he had actually read the Master Plan 25 years
ago, starting off in ministry, but had been lured to the church growth movement
of trying to build a mega-church as fast as possible, and recently had become
influenced by the teachings of the prosperity Gospel. He said the missionaries
that had recently been coming to teach them were teaching primarily about these
2 things: Church Growth and Prosperity Gospel. As he talked, I felt a sickness
inside. He said that most of the pastors there watch American and European TV
to learn Scriptural truth and to know how to preach, and what they see is
nothing but mega-churches and prosperity Gospel. I nearly wept as I thought of
the unbiblical example our nation is setting so publicly. I hurt for them. Such
humble men. So desirous to know how to lead their people well…and being
deceived by so-called missionaries and prosperity teaching false prophets. As I
looked into their eyes, I saw deep sadness, and yet a new hope, as if they were
discovering something for the very first time.
They asked me to speak into these issues, to give them
counsel on fighting these false teachings and false perceptions of church
health with a culture that has now bought in. Let me admit the obvious: there
are men far more qualified than I to speak into these issues with grace and
wisdom. Even as this fact ran through my mind, I also realized the humbling
truth that God had me there, and our team there, and they were seeking our
counsel. As a young man and young pastor, I feel SO blessed to have learned
under such good and Godly men who have strived for faithfulness in building
people and not their ego’s. Their faces rushed through my mind, and their words
came like a flood. I felt conviction of the Lord stirring deep in my belly as I
began to share. It felt like the Holy Spirit was really at work rooting up the
deception that these men have been fed, and watering their souls with truth, by
His grace. At one point, I could see a handful of them with tears running down
their faces. I knew their tears were tears of regret and also tears of passion
and hope. I could tell that for many if not all of these men, a new day had
dawned. They would not spend any more of their precious time trying merely to
draw a crowd so as to be perceived as a successful pastor, and I could see
their disdain growing for the lie of the “prosperity now” gospel. I could sense
they were ready to get back to their roots, to their first love, to throwing
all else aside and following their Lord in the midst of pain, persecution,
rejection, and suffering, if need be, to bring the Gospel to the people God has
given them to shepherd. And I felt in those moments that a burden was lifted
from them…they didn’t have to impress anybody. They didn’t have to preach like
the men on TV. They could simply be faithful. They could simply disciple. They
could preach the Truth, set the example, and disciple a few men in each season
along the way, and their God would be glorified.
Before we left, the sage pastor of the group admitted that
when we arrived, he was disappointed b/c of our youth. He thought that the
teaching would not be good. He wanted us to know that he had been foolish to
think such, and that the Holy Spirit had used these 2 days to change their way
of thinking about ministry and pastoring. He said a new day is coming in Bahir
Dhar. Somehow as I listened to this man I don’t know and in a language I don’t
understand, I felt a deep sense of gratitude b/c I knew the Spirit was alive in
that place, and was moving in the hearts of these men. I could sense the very
real providential purposes of God in our trip, and I felt very privileged to be
a small part of a great team serving an even greater God whose purposes are
being our wildest imagination.
All that to say, let’s keep praying that Jesus be made much
of in this place!!!
Tomorrow is our last day of training, and I think after 4-5
hours of training, we will try and allot 2 hours to Q/A because of how
explosive and Spirit led those sessions have been. Specifically, let’s pray God
gives us wisdom to answer their questions with truth and grace. Let’s pray God
gives these men discernment to know truth from what is false, and to have the
courage to follow the example of Christ, who gave Himself that others be rich
in Him, and not that of certain TV personalities who manipulate the truth to
make themselves rich. Let’s pray they are deeply satisfied in Christ, and their
deepest joy is not found in the size of their church, but in their faithfulness
to their calling to pastor well, and to make disciples as they go.
It’s such a joy to share these few experiences with you. We
are so grateful for your prayers! God is faithful!!!
- Kennon Vaughan
(Kennon answering questions of the pastors during the Q/A at the conference in Bahir Dar)
