Under the Guise of Christianity
This past week our team of five went in three different directions. Pastor Todd O. made his way over to Nairobi to fly back to the good ol’ U.S. of A. Russ and Stephen headed down to Kisii while Nathanael and I went to meet up with a few contacts he had been corresponding with over the past year and a half.
The first one we met up with in Bungoma, Kenya, on our way over to Uganda. He explained why he was disenchanted with some of the missions that had taken place in his area. He had grown weary of the big crusades with high profile keynote speakers that would roll into an area with a great deal of fanfare drawing crowds numbering in the tens of thousands. They would captivate listeners and many would dedicate their lives to the Lord. What was lacking after the crusade ended was the needed ongoing spiritual care. No one remained to give depth to those who had been moved by the Spirit to love their Lord. Over the years the result has been that there are many Christian churches who have not gotten the chance of being built up in the faith.
Eph 4:11-16 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, (12) to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, (13) 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, (14) so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. (15) Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, (16) from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
This pastor we met with, along with many others have echoed this very same sentiment. The people are in need of the Word and to be grounded on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. They have seen heart breaking things going on under the guise of Christianity. It may or may not be surprising that some incorporate witchcraft into their practices, some leaders use intimidation and threaten with the judgment of God for their personal gain, and the list goes on. Most statistics you find will have Kenya listed as a predominantly Christian country with about 80% of the population falling under that category. Statistics can be misleading, I suppose.
But we do not lose heart. For every discouraging account that is told there are others that are encouraging. There are people who are genuinely striving after Christ and are seeking the best for those in their congregations that our Savior has won and has placed under their care. Some of them we have had the joy of meeting and there are many more that we will probably never meet. So we press on with the confidence that God is faithful and displays His power in his message carried around in broken vessels.