1 Corinthians 1:10
The Voice (VOICE)
10 My
brothers and sisters, I urge you by the name of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed,
to come together in agreement. Do not allow anything or anyone to create division among you. Instead, be
restored, completely fastened together with one mind and shared judgment.
Yesterday
we went with a group of seniors in our church to tour the Getty Center Museum.
It was built by the estate of the late oil magnate J. Paul Getty. It houses a
magnificent collection of paintings, statues, and furniture from the houses of European
nobility representing the last 700 years. Its most recent acquisition is an
Edouard Manet painting that cost 65 million dollars.
We had the privilege of riding there and back with a retired
pastor. On the way he told me of how the conference has sent him from one church
to another over the recent years. When he arrived at each church, he invariably
found that the congregation was seriously divided. Usually within two years he
would have sorted out the divisions and brought the congregation back into
unity.
I asked him how he was able to bring about the
reconciliations. He told me that when he arrived at the church, the first thing
he would do was to call a meeting of the church elders. Then he would work with
them to urge each of them to yield to the Holy Spirit to direct their
individual lives. Then as the elders would submit to the leading of the Spirit,
they would put away their differences. Once this happened the rest of the
church would follow and put away their differences. In his experience, a
division in a church always results from the elders’ problems.
In one instance the head elder was having an affair with his
secretary. In this case, after much counseling, the elder was led to see how
his infidelity was causing major problems in his church. He voluntarily resigned
his position. Over the next year the pastor continued working with the former
elder about his fidelity problem. Eventually, the man made a public confession
to the church and asked the church for forgiveness. This included his
apologizing to his ex-wife and his secretary. He and his former wife were
actually reconciled and reunited. As the church saw the transformation in their
former elder, they, too, united as a cohesive church again.
Holy Father, may Your
Spirit help us fulfill Christ’s prayer, “As I return to be with You, holy Father, remain with them through Your
name, the name You have given Me. May they be one even as We are one.”
I recently posted and requested you to read www.remnant church - a folk religion/ Adventism in Tanzania. The site is nothing but a published PhD thesis by one Germ. guy Stefan Hoschele who studied the church history since 1903 to date. Many interesting things featured in. For instance, I now know the names of those graves at Ikizu campus of which I had wondered.
ReplyDeleteStefen elucidated over divisive issues that have all along confronted the church In Tanzania. I in particular got interested to find out his impression on the Kurya people, my Tribe. Initially, he impresses, that evangelism to Kuryas was an uphill task because of the traditional conservatism on issues such as Polygamy and the Circumcision of women. For instance, my warrior tribe believe that, frigid women are the ones that bring forth courageous boys and girls; and that horney and sexy women bear fearful ones with homosexual tendencies an attitude that is highly spurned. It is a fundamental belief even as I write and so difficult to extinguish. The same contradictions are still rife even today. Stefan only failed to come into grips with the fact that Kuryas have now embraced the SDA faith than before. The Kurya land, a combination of the former Central and East Lake Fields, became the first to form an autonomous 'Conference' within Tanzania Union called MARA. This is normally, determined on the basis of membership and revenue collections. Stefan finds out that the Seventh day Adventism practiced in Tanzania completely differs from that one in German. Notwithstanding, he finds the situation befitting in a cultural diversity and he brands it, 'folklore religion'.
Of late, a more serious division is brewing up. 'The women ministry saga". A resolution was 'fraudulently' passed at some past General Conference to allow ordination of Women. It seems the practice is highly liked in America and Europe but disliked in Africa and Asia, but much so in Tanzania. Pastors are divided and hence the churches. Just like Polygamy and women circumcision I hope and pray that the church will learn to live with the difference because it is a question of richines in diversity. Division on religious matters are always there. I wish there weren't.
Thanks Matiko for posting this comment. I knew that the Kurya are fierce warriors and have had to fight the Maasai frequently to reclaim the cattle that were stolen from them. I had not known about their beliefs that the nature of the mother influences the personalities of their children.
ReplyDeleteThe question of women in the ministry is still a hotly debated issue in the U.S. The Pacific Union and the Columbia Union Conferences have gone ahead of the General Conference. These two union conferences officially recognize the ordination of women, although the General Conference does not recognize ordination of women at present. Things may change at the next meeting of the General Conference later this year.
In your last paragraph I was not sure of your analysis of the attitude of the Tanzania Union to women's ordination. I think you are saying that this issue of women's ordination is much disliked in Tanzania. Am I understanding you correctly?
This issue has the potential of dividing the whole church! Pray for wisdom for the delegates to the General Conference that they can do something that will not divide the world church. Another issue that is becoming quite hot is how to relate to homosexuality. I do not think that the General Conference will be voting on this issue this year but it also has the potential of dividing the church.
You made an interesting comment about Hoschele's branding of Tanzanian Adventism as folklore religion. I studied at the German Adventist school, Seminar Marienhoehe when I was in college in 1962. I found that Tanzanian Adventism is very close to American Adventism and that German Adventism was somewhat different. The major difference I found in Germany was their not recognizing of the prophetic gift for Ellen White. This came from the early work of the early German leader L. R. Conradi. He later left the Adventist church but not before doing a lot of harm.