Israel yaishtumu Iran kwa kujaribu kombora lake

Israel imeishtumu Iran kwa kukiuka maamuzi ya baraza la usalama la Umoja wa Mataifa kwa kufanyia majaribio kombora lake la masafa ya kadri

Waziri mkuu nchini humo Benjamin Netanyahu amesema kuwa jaribio hilo la kombora la masafa ya kadri ni ukiukaji wa sheria za Umoja wa Mataifa.
Amesema kuwa atapigania Iran kuwekewa vikwazo vipya vya kimataifa wakati wa ziara yake mjini Washington mwezi ujao.
Maafisa wa Marekani wamethibitisha kufanyika kwa jaribio hilo la kombora lakini wakasema kuwa haijabainika iwapo lilikiuka sheria za Umoja wa Mataifa iliopitishwa 2015 kufuatia mpango wa kimataifa kuuwekea vikwazo mpango wa Nuklia wa Iran.
Hakujakuwa na tamko lolote kutoka Iran.
Kabla ya kuchukua mamlaka ,rais Trump alitaja mpango huo wa Iran kuwa hatari kubwa na kusema kuwa atasitisha majaribio yake ya makombora.

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Mpango wa Marekani kupeleka watu Mars

Sayari ya Mars imekuwa ikiwashangaza, kuwasisimua na kuwavutia binadamu kwa miaka mingi.

Maelfu ya miaka iliyopita, binadamu walikuwa wakishangaa na kujiuliza nini kinapatikana katika sayari hiyo inayopatikana umbali wa kilomita milioni 54.6 kutoka kwa dunia (maili milioni 34).
Sana, kutokana na muonekano wake wa rangi nyekundu sawa na ya chuma iliyoshika kutu, binadamu waliihusisha na moto au damu.
Jina Mars linatokana na mungu wa vita wa Warumi.
Kutokana na ufanisi wa kisayansi, binadamu kwa sasa amefanikiwa kufahamu mengi kuhusu sayari hii.

• Mpango wa kupeleka watu wakaishi Mars

• Mpango wa Marekani kupeleka watu Mars

Sayari hii ina mandhari ya kushangaza: utayapata maeneo sawa na ya nyika duniani, maeneo ya jangwa kutokana na upepo mkali, mashimo makubwa yanayotokana na volkano, milima ya volkano na maeneo ya ukubwa sawa na taifa la Luxembourg yaliyojaa milima (machungu) ya mchanga.
Haya yote yamefunikwa na vumbi ya rangi moja.

Ni eneo ambalo huwa hakuna mvua kamwe. Hakuwezekani kuwa na mvua kwani maji, iwapo yangekuwepo, hufusha na kuwa mvuke mara moja.
Katika sayari ya Mars, wakati sawa na wa kutua kwa jua duniani, anga hujaa rangi ya buluu. Dunia huonekana tu kama nukta tu miongoni mwa nyota angani.
Ni mandhari ya kupendeza sana hasa kwa wanaopenda utalii - ikizingatiwa kwamba binadamu hajatalii sana sayari hiyo, kuna uhakika kwamba iwapo utafanikiwa kufika huko, kila utatapoenda utakuwa binadamu wa kwanza kufika huko.

• Sayari inayofanana na Dunia yagunduliwa

Utakuwa kama Wazungu waliokuwa wanatalii Afrika karne ya 19, ambapo walikuwa Wazungu wa kwanza kutazama milima, mito, nyika na misitu ya kupendeza barani. Lakini kumbuka kwamba hakuna oksijeni.

Utafikaje huko

Kwa karne nyingi, imekuwa ndoto tu lakini inakaribia kutimia. Iwapo mambo yote yatakwenda sawa, mjasiriamali mmiliki wa Space X Elon Musk anapanga kutuma kundi la kwanza la watalii kwenye sayari hiyo kufikia 2022.
Lakini gharama yake itakushangaza pengine. Tiketi ni $10bn! Lakini iwapo huwezi kupata pesa nyingi kiasi hiki, usife moyo. Kuna njia nyingine ya kiteknolojia ambayo taasisi ya safari za anga za juu ya Marekani Nasa inatafakari - kutumia miwani ya kisasa na roboti. Roboti ndiyo itakuwa Mars, wewe uwe papa hapa duniani lakini itakuwa ikikupeperushia picha za uhalisia kutoka sayari hiyo.

Vivutio sayari ya Mars

Kivuti kikuu ni mlima wa Olympus Mons. Mlima huu una urefu wa maili 14 (kilomita 22), na ndio mlima wa volcano mrefu zaidi katika Mfumo wa Jua. Kwa kulinganisha tu, urefu wa mlima huu ni mara tatu urefu wa mlima mrefu zaidi duniani, Mlima Everest.
Sawa na ilivyo kwa milima mirefu ya volkano duniani, mlima huu kilele chake kimefunikwa na mawingu - lakini si ya maji, bali ni ya vumbi.
Haijabainika iwapo mlima huu bado hulipuka, lakini inakadiriwa kwamba wakati mmoja ulilipuka na kurusha matope na mawe makubwa ya moto angani.
Ukisafiri kusini magharibi kutoka kwa mlima huu, utapata Valles Marineris.

• Mataifa ya Ulaya kutuma chombo sayari ya Mars

Hili ni bonde kubwa kwenye ikweta ya sayari ya Mars. Bonde hili linakadiriwa kuwa na umbali wa kilomita 4,000 ambao ni karibu na upana wa taifa la Marekani kutoka mashariki hadi magharibi.
Katika baadhi ya maeneo, bonde hili lina kina cha karibu kilomita saba (futi 23,000) - karibu mara nne kina cha bonde maarufu la Marekani ambalo kwa Kiingereza hufahamika kama Grand Canyon.
 
Kufikia sasa, haijabainika bonde kubwa kiasi hiki liliundwa.
Bonde hili la Valles Marineris lina mchanga wenye marangi mbalimbali ya kupendeza ambao umejipanga kwa safu mbalimbali. Inadhaniwa kwamba huenda mchanga huu ulitokana na mashapo au machenga ambayo yalijikusanya chini ya ziwa au mto wa barafu, au kutokana na kujikusanya kwa majivu ya volcano.
Kinyume na bonde la Grand Canyon Marekani, ambalo liliundwa na mmomonyoko uliochota mchanga na kuyachonga mawe, kuna uwezekano kwamba bonde hili la Mars lilitokana na kutengana kwa maeneo mawili makubwa ya 'ardhi' ya Mars. Kila upande wa bonde hilo unaweza kuingia kwa ule mwingine, kana kwamba mtu anajaza mchezo wa fumbo.

Rangi ya anga

 

Ukafanikiwa kujipata kwenye bonde hili, na uwe unataka kuangalia kutua kwa jua, utashangaa kugundua kwamba anga lake halitakuwa ya rangi nyekundu - bali ya samawati. Hii inatokana na wepesi wa anga la sayari ya Mars, ambalo ni asilimia moja tu ya uzito wa anga la Dunia.
Anga la Dunia huwa rangi ya samawati mchana kutokana na miali ya jua kutawanywa na molekuli za hewa. Hili huwa halitendeki sana sayari ya Mars, hivyo mchana anga huwa la rangi ya manjano iliyokaribia hudhurungi. Lakini jua linapotua, ambapo miali yake huwa haina nguvu sana ndipo anga la Mars hugeuka na kuwa rangi ya buluu.
Sayari ya Mars pia ina jambo jingine la kushangaza. Katika maeneo mengi, chini ya vumbi lake jekundu, kuna mawe ya rangi ya samawati na kijani kutokana na madini kama vile chuma. Vumbi hilo linapobebwa na upepo au kutokana na kupita kwa sayari ndogo, huwa kunafichuliwa mandhari ya kupendeza ya mikolezo tofauti ya rangi ya samawati.

Hali ya hewa

Kiwango cha joto cha kadiri katika sayari ya Mars ni nyuzi joto takriban -56C (-69F). Hii ni sawa na hali ya baridi maeneo ya ndani kabisa ya Antarctica, anasema mtaalamu wa biolojia na anga za juu katika Chuo Kikuu cha Washington, David Catling.
Ndipo uweze kufurahia, itakubidi kukaa karibu na ikweta ya Mars, ambapo huko kiwango cha joto kinaweza kufikia takriban 35C (95F), na hakuna upepo sana. Kutokana na wepesi wa anga lake, upepo mkali huko utahisi kana kwamba ni upepo tu Ingawa huwa kuna unyevu na ukungu usiku katika sayari hiyo, mchana hali ni kavu sana.

• Sababu ya chombo cha Ulaya kutoweka Mars

• Maji ya kale zaidi yagunduliwa Canada

Kutokana na hali kwamba sayari hiyo inapatikana karibu mara moja unusu mbali na jua ukilinganisha na Dunia, hakuna haja ya kuvalia miwani ya kukinga dhidi ya mwanga wa jua.
Huko, kuwasha moto pia ni ngoma kwani hakuna mimea na anga lake asilimia 96 ni kaboni daoksaidi - kemikali inayotumiwa kwenye mitambo mingi ya kuzima moto.
Tofauti na Dunia, ambapo mawingu na anga hufanya kazi kama blanketi na kuzuia joto kuondoka usiku, sayari ya Mars hakuna mawingu na anga lake ni jepesi sana. Matokeo yake ni kwamba, sawa na inavyofanyika jangwani, usiku huwa kuna baridi kali sana. Baridi hii inaweza kufikia nyuzi -73C (-99F) usiku karibu na ikweta kwenye sayari hiyo.

Kuna viumbe walio hai?

 

Viumbe wote walio hai duniani huwa wana maji ndani yake. Hivyo, wataalam wamekuwa wakiamini kwamba iwapo kuna viumbe Mars, lazima wawe kwenye maeneo yaliyo na maji.
Kwa miongo mingi, wanasayansi walitafuta ishara za kuwepo maji Mars bila mafanikio.
Lakini mwaka 2011, walifanya ugunduzi huo. Waligundua michirizi ya maji yaliyokuwa yakitiririka kutoka kwa milima na mabonde ya Mars. Inadhaniwa kwamba huenda mito, yenye maji yenye chumvi labda huchipuza kutoka chini ya 'ardhi' kwenye hazina kubwa ya maji.

Binadamu hubadilika?

Kutokana na kiwango cha chini ya nguvu mvuto, uzani wa vitu huwa tofauti sayari ya Mars. Binadamu wa kilo 100 hivi, uzani wake Mars unaweza kuwa karibu na kilo 38 hivi.
Ukafanikiwa kutua kwenye Mars, utakuwa ukiitazama Dunia na kuiona kama tone au kituo angani. Dunia utaiona ikiwa sawa na tunavyoiona sayari ya Zuhura mapema asubuhi, au jioni angani, anasema Catling.

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Morocco yarudi katika Umoja wa Afrika AU

Viongozi wa umoja wa Afrika wameamua kuirudisha Morocco katika shirika la Umoja wa Afrika AU zaidi ya miongo mitatu baada ya taifa hilo la ufalme wa Afrika Kaskazini kujiondoa katika AU kufuatia mgogoro wa eneo la Sahara magharibi.

Shirika hilo linatambui Sahara ya Magharibi kuwa jimbo huru, lakini Morrocco inasema kuwa eneo hilo ni mkoa wake wa kusini.

• Morocco yataka kujiunga upya na AU
• Mfalme wa Morocco kukutana na Magufuli
• AU kumchagua mwenyekiti mpya wa tume

Morocco imepigania mpango wake wa kutaka kujiunga tena na Umoja wa Afrika mwaka uliopita.
Eneo la Sahara ya Magharibi linaendelea kuwa eneo tata ,lakini viongozi wengi wa Afrika walipiga kura kuikubali Morrocco kurudi katika Umoja wa Afrika.

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Mualiko wa Trump wamueka malkia katika hali ngumu

Uamuzi wa waziri mkuu wa Uingereza Bi Theressa May wa kumualika rais Donald Trump wa Marekani umemuweka malkia katika hali ngumu, kulingana kiongozi wa zamani wa afisi ya maswala ya kigeni nchini humo.

Katika barua alioandika kwa gazeti la The Times, Lord Rickets amesema kuwa ombi hilo lilifanywa mapema mno.
Ombi la kutaka ziara hiyo ya Donald Trump nchini Uingereza kufutiliwa mbali limefaulu kupata zaidi ya saini milini 1.5.
Siku ya Jumatatu, maelefu ya watu nchini Uingereza waliunga maandamano dhidi ya agizo la usafiri la Donald Trump kuhusu mataifa saba ya kiislamu.
Mkakati huo wa uhamiaji wenye utata ulizua mjadala bungeni.
Lord Rickets ambaye alikuwa katibu wa maswala ya kigeni kutoka mwaka 2006-10 alisema kuwa sio jambo la kawaida kwa rais wa Marekani kualikwa kwa ziara ya kitaifa katika mwaka wa kwanza wa utawala wake.
Alihoji iwapo bw Trump alistahili heshima hiyo .
''Ingekuwa vyema kusubiri na kuona ni kiongozi wa aina gani kabla ya kumshauri Malkia kumualika.Sasa Malkia amewekwa katika hali ngumu sana'',aliongezea kiongozi huyo.

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Tofauti kati ya ukuta wa Trump na kuta zingine maarufu zilizojengwa

Rais wa Marekani Donald Trump ameapa kuendelea na mipango yake ya kujenga ukuta wa urefu wa kilomita 3000 kwenye mpaka kati ya Marekani na Mexico.

Ukuta huo utakuwa na urefu wa kati ya mita 9 na 16 na utajengwa kwa kutumia changarawe.
Warepublican na wafuasi wao wanasema kuwa ukuta huo utawazui raia wa Mexico wanaoingia Marekani kinyume na sheria.
Tayari kuna ua kwenye mpaka kati ya Mexico na Marekani.


Kuna kuta nyingi katika historia ambazo zilijengwa na kutenganisha mataifa. Lakini zinafananishwa vipi na mpango wa ukuta kati ya Marekani na Mexico.

Ni miaka 27 iliyopita tangu ukuta wa Berlin kubomolewa.

Tutaanza na ukuta wa Berlin:
Kwa hili tutaangazia nyuma miaka ya 1950 wakati Ujerumani iligawanyika pande mbili, Mashariki na Magharibi
 
Wakaazi wa upande uliodhibitiwa na Ufaransa, Uingereza na Marekani wa Magharibi, waliamka siku moja mwezi Agosti mwaka 1961, na kupata ukuta kati yao na eneo lililokuwa likidhibitiwa na muungano wa kisovieti.
Mwanzo ulikuwa ni ua tu lakini baadaye ulijazwa na changarawe yenye urefi wa mita 3.6 sehemu zingine.
Ulikuwa na umbali wa kilomita 100 na ua wa kilomita 66.
 

Ukuta wa Trump utakuwa na umbali mkubwa lakini si katika historia.

Mpaka kati ya Mareknia na Mexico una umbali wa kilomita 3000
Kwa hivyo ikiwa Trump atauzungusha sehemu kama za milima, atakuwa na changamoto za kuufana mrefu zaid kuliko ukuta wa China.
 
Umbali kamili wa ukuta wa China haujulikani lakini inaaminiwa kuwa wakati mmoja ulikuwa na umbali wa kilomita 20,000.
Una urefu wa hadi mita saba sehemu zingine
 

Lakini ukuta wa Trump unaweza kushinda kuta zingine kwa urefu.

Trump hawezi kuamua ukuta huo unaweza kuwa na urefu wa kiasi gani, lakini ameshatamka urefu wa mita 16. Huo utakuwa urefu wa zaidi ya basi tatu.
 
Ukuta wa Hadrian ambao ulijengwa kwa amri ya Emperor Hadrian mwaka wa 122AD, ulikuwa na urefu wa basi.
Ulikuwa na umbali wa kilomita 117 na ulikuwa ukitenganisha England na Scotland.

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Donald Trump amfuta kazi mwanasheria mkuu

Rais wa Marekani Donald Trump amemfuta kazi kaimu mwanasheria mkuu Sally Yates saa chache tu baada ya kuwaagiza mawakili wa idara ya haki nchini humo kutotetea uamuzi wa kuwawekea vikwazo raia wanaotoka katika baadhi ya mataifa ya kiislamu.

Taarifa ya Ikulu ya Whitehouse imemshtumu kwa usaliti.
Sally Yates ambaye aliteuliwa na Obama alisema kuwa hafikirii kwamba marufuku hiyo ya muda kwa raia wa mataifa saba ya Kiislamu ni halali.
Wadhfa wake umechukuliwa na kiongozi wa mashtaka katika mahakama ya kijimbo huko Virginia Dana Boente.
Agizo hilo la rais lililotiwa saini Ijumaa iliopita limesababisha maandamano nchini Marekani na ughaibuni.
Awali kundi moja la wanadiplomasia liliandika barua likikosoa agizo hilo wakisema litazidi kuhatarisha usalama wa taifa hilo.

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Makamando wa Marekani wavamia ngome ya al-Qaeda Yemen

Ripoti kutoka Yemen, zinaeleza kuwa
shambulio, lililofanywa na makamando wa
Marekani, limeuwa watu kama 30,
wanaoshukiwa kuwa wapiganaji wa al-Qaeda
na raia.
Hata hivyo jeshi la Marekani linasema kuwa
kamando wake mmoja, aliuwawa, na wengine
watatu walijeruhiwa, katika shambulio dhidi
ya makao makuu ya al-Qaeda nchini Yemen.
Marekani kumsaka mtoto wa Osama
Ndege ya jeshi la Marekani iliyotumika katika
shambulio hilo, ilielezewa kuwa ilitua kwa
kishindo, na kujeruhi wanajeshi zaidi.
Jeshi linasema wapiganaji 14 waliuwawa,
katika shambulio hilo lilofanywa alfajiri,
katika jimbo la al-Baida.
Lakini watu wa huko, wanasema idadi ya
waliouwawa ilikuwa kubwa zaidi, na
wanasema raia kadha pia waliuwawa.
Mwana wa Osama bin Laden asakwa na
Marekani
Wadadisi wanasema, shambulio hilo la
kwanza la aina yake, tangu Rais Donald
Trump kuapishwa, litaonekana kama ishara
ya lengo lake la kutumia nguvu zaidi dhidi ya
makundi ya wapiganaji wa Kiislamu.

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Watu 45 wafariki kwenye ajali Madagascar

Pametokea vifo vya watu wengi katika ajali
nchini Madagascar baada ya lori lililokuwa
limebeba watu waliotoka kwenye harusi
kupata ajali na kuzama kwenye maji.
Mamlaka nchini humo zinasema kuwa
takriban watu 45 wakiwemo watoto tisa na
wanandoa wa harusi hiyo wamefariki.
Zaidi ya wengine 20 kwenye gari hilo
wamenusurika.
Meya wa eneo hilo amesema kuwa chanzo
halisi cha ajali hiyo bado hakijafahamika.

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Wachimbaji mgodi 15 waliokwama ardhini waokolewa Tanzania

Wachimbaji madini 15 wameokolewa wakiwa
hai baada ya mgodi wao kupolomoka siku
tatu zilizopita
Ajili hiyo iliyokea usiku wa kuamkia Alhamisi
iliyopita, tarehe 26 Januari, katika mgodi
uitwao RZ Gold Mine, unaomilikiwa na raia
wa China katika machimbo ya dhahabu
yaliyopo Geita Kaskazini Magharibi mwa
Tanzania
Wachimba mgodi 14 wakwama ndani ya
ardhi Tanzania
Je,kuwa karibu na mgodi ni neema au
la?
Manusura hao ni raia 14 wa Tanzania na
mmoja wa China.
Mwandishi wa BBC Halima Nyanza
aliyeshuhudia zoezi la uokoaji anasema eneo
hilo lilijawa na shangwe na vilio vya furaha
wakati ndugu, jamaa na wachimbaji wengine
walipokuwa wakishuhudia uokoaji wa
manusura hao.
Manusura hao walionokena wadhaifu kiafya,
lakini walipatiwa huduma ya kwanza mara
moja na kisha kupelekwa katika kituo cha
afya kilichopo jirani
Uchunguzi wa nini hasa kilisababisha ajali
hiyo unaendelea, lakini hii si mara ya kwanza
kwa tukio kama hili kutokea
Mwaka jana mwezi Novemba, Tanzania
ilisherehekea ukoaji wa 'kimiujiza' baada ya
wachimbaji watano kuokelewa wakiwa hai
baada ya kukwama chini ya ardhi kwa siku
41.
Eneo la Magharibi mwa Tanzania lina migodi
mingi na wachimbaji wengi hutoka vijiji vya
jirani.
Hata hivyo migodi mingi haikaguliwi mara
kwa mara na hali ya usalama ya migodi hii
haitimizi viwango rasmi.
Naibu waziri wa nishati Dkt Medard
Kalemani, amesema serikali itahakikisha
wachimbaji wana kuwa salama.
Mgodi huo utakuwa chini ya uangalizi kwa
siku tano kabla wachimbaji kuruhusiwa
kufanya kazi.
Naibu waziri pia amewaagiza makamishina
wa madini kufanyia tathmini migodi
mwingine ya wachimbaji wadogo kwa siku
tano, kuanzia kesho

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PICHA: NDOA YA BEI RAHISI KUFANYIKA DUNIAN

Vijana wawili wapenzi ambao stori yao
kuhusu ndoa ya bei rahisi waliyofunga
ilizua hisia za watu wengi kwenye
mitandao ya kijamii, sasa wameahidiwa
kulipiwa gharama zote za mapumziko
baanda ya ndoa (honeymoon).
Wilson Mutara (26) na Ann Wambui (24)
kutoka nchini Kenya inaripotiwa kuwa
walifunga ndoa kwa gharama ya Ksh 100
ambayo ni sawa na TZS 2,147 ambapo
gharama hizo zilikuwa kwa ajili ya
kununua pete tu.
Ndoa hiyo iliyotajwa kuwa ya bei rahisi
kuwahi kutokea nchini humo haikua na
sherehe baada ya wawili hao kutoka
kanisani na walivalia fulana walipokwenda
kufunga ndoa.
“Tulikwenda nyumbani tukapika ugali na
sukuma wiki, tukala na tukalala. Hakuna kitu
cha kipekee tulichokifanya katika mapumziko
(honeymoon) yetu” alisema Mutura.
Padri aliyefungisha ndoa hiyo alichapisha
habari hiyo na ndipo mwakilishi wa
Kampuni ya Utalii ya Bonfire Adventure
alipokutana na wanandoa hao.
Kampuni hiyo ndiyo ilijitolea kudhamini
mapumziko ya wawili hao baada ya
kufunga ndoa.

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Challenges facing the women ministry

In 1988 the World Council of Churches launched the Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women as a ten-year programme offered to the churches. It was to provide a time for the churches to look at their structures, their teachings and practices with a commitment to the full participation of women. It was an opportunity for the churches to reflect on the lives of women in society and to stand in courageous solidarity with all women. Ecumenical Team Visits or "Living Letters" were sent to the churches around the world at the mid-Decade point to affirm the achievements made and to challenge the churches to move forward in their commitments to women. The story the "living letters" brought back described with great enthusiasm the solidarity among women and the love and commitment of women to the churches. But it also pointed to the unfinished agenda - the many unresolved questions and concerns of women. This document records some of those challenges and calls on the churches for their continued solidarity beyond 1998.

...and in that dry land, endless as a desert, we rediscovered a source, pouring out fresh water. Gathered around the water we danced with joy; no more forgotten, invisible, suffocated, but blossoming and creating. Opening gates, raising our voices. Moving walls, building on ruins. And many more came from within the shadows. We celebrated our survival. We welcomed each other into visibility. But the water does not meet us only in the depth of the source; water is running down our cheeks. Tears caused by a violent hand. Silent tears. Tears caused by unjust systems and practices. Memories and experiences - all that has happened and all that still goes on... breaks out into anger. All this can no longer be! There has to be change! Therefore we speak again...

The Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women is grounded in the biblical truth of the common blessing of women and men in creation (Gen.1:27) and the common responsibility they share for nurturing and serving the church and the world. Our theologies are shaped by biblical words, historical traditions of the Church, our sacramental experiences and through the power of the Holy Spirit. In all of these, we affirm that equality between women and men is at the core. Throughout the scriptures, in spite of the very patriarchal times, women’s witness was strong, and through acts of faith and daring assertions, women broadened the mission and ministry of Jesus! The Bible records inspiring examples of women’s spirituality - and God blessed them! The first baptismal liturgies faithfully kept this vision when they affirmed that "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male or female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28).

Christian history has marginalised or has, on occasion, even ignored this central teaching. So the affirmation of "the discipleship of equals" is regretfully still largely unrealised. In fact the Bible has been used to legitimise the marginalisation and exclusion of women from many spheres. The Decade has offered us a fresh opportunity to become a community of women and men. We long for a church where women are empowered to minister and serve as well as to live violence-free lives, unrestricted by traditional, often culturally imposed, gender role expectations and assumptions.

Today, we are called to recognise and welcome women and men as full partners on the journey towards a just world order where no one will be excluded. The Decade has provided an opportunity for women and men of faith - the Churches - to be in solidarity with all women in church and society, to overcome the years of oppression that millions of the women in our world daily experience. The church is called to conversion so as to stand in active solidarity with all women. This calls for a sometimes radical reordering of aspects of the life of the church, rooted in a reinterpretation and reconstruction of those practices and teachings that discriminate against women.

As we move beyond the Ecumenical Decade and into the 21st century, we bring to the churches the following challenges, which have been identified by women, for action:

 Recognising the context of growing globalisation of economies and the concurrent liberalisation of markets, individualisation and cuts in social services/welfare, and the fact that women (and children too) are the most directly affected by these trends, we call on the churches and the ecumenical movement to:
speak out clearly about these trends which exclude whole nations and peoples;
demand a cancellation of internal and external debts of the poorest nations, as part of the Jubilee challenge, and to take steps to ensure that the resources so saved are used to improve the quality of life of the poor, especially women and children;
work for changes in laws that exclude women from property and other rights;
promote demilitarisation and challenge the links between militarisation, the arms trade and global economic institutions; establish specific programmes/desks in all churches for economic issues; include intentionally gender perspectives in analysis and study;
in order to prepare women for leadership, establish more scholarships for them;
ensure equal salaries for women and men in church institutions and structures;
break the link between the exploitation of the earth and economic growth, and share the responsibility for the care of the earth and all of creation.

 Participation of all its members is an ethical imperative for the church. To this end we call on the churches to:
provide more theological training opportunities for women;
include in theological education/courses the theological voices and contributions of women and other socially excluded groups;
look again at the liturgical life and ministry of the church in order to incorporate the experiences and spiritual gifts of women;
develop gender policies for all churches and organisations;
provide gender sensitivity training for all male and female clergy and leaders of the churches and church-run institutions, at all levels of administration of the churches and ecumenical organisations;
encourage women to take on leadership roles and support them so that they can offer new understandings of power and ways of using it;
provide support structures for women clergy and other women working in the churches;
strengthen young women’s networks and organisations and develop instruments to incorporate the contributions of young women;
ensure equal participation of women and other excluded groups in all levels of the life of the church with specially set quotas, where necessary;
reinstate the ancient tradition of ordination of women to the diaconate.

 Recognising that new forms of racism and ethnic tensions are emerging in all parts of the world, and that racism and xenophobia have links with economic exploitation, cultural justifications and exclusion of millions in our world, we call on the churches and the ecumenical movement to:
strengthen where present, and initiate where non-existent, programmes that tackle racism and xenophobia, including within them a strong educational component;
develop a new inclusive vocabulary and a new analysis of racism and xenophobia, taking into account that it exists even within the life of the churches, and that sometimes the language of liturgy and theology and the images and symbols we use in the churches reinforce racial prejudices;
develop new ways of celebrating the diversity and differences among us as God’s gift to the world and develop educational instruments to strengthen this vision;
provide a strong voice of solidarity with Indigenous peoples all over the world and support the women of Indigenous communities in their struggles for dignity, sovereignity and land rights;
strengthen and support the SISTERS (Sisters in Struggle to Eliminate Racism and Sexism) network at the regional and national level and involve all church women’s networks in doing this.

 Recognising the increasing violence in our societies and particularly the violence against women, we call on the churches to denounce the various forms of violence, culturally sanctioned or not, against women inside and outside the church. We call on the church to declare that violence against women is a sin. We urge them to take the side of the victim instead of protecting the agressor, and to offer pastoral counselling that targets a concrete improvement in the survivor’s life situation instead of simply preaching patience, silence and submission. To this end we call on the churches to:
deconstruct the often used theological explanations and justifications of violence;
reconstruct a new theological response to be strongly affirmed by church leaders and preachers;
provide a caring and safe atmosphere for women to be able to speak out fearlessly about the violence they experience;
provide the space and atmosphere for open discussions on human sexuality and affirm the right of women to make responsible sexual choices;
find ways to expose cases of clergy sexual abuse and abuse by other congregational members, and use appropriate administrative decision making processes which include the active presence of women, to deal with the perpetrators and survivors of violence;
develop pastoral care for victims and congregations where clergy sexual abuse takes place;
develop disciplinary as well as pastoral responses to abusers;
focus education in congregations on male violence and male sexuality and encourage the formation of men’s groups to discuss these issues;
recognise violence against women as human rights violations and affirm the new definitions of human rights that women bring, based on their experiences of violence in their own contexts;
denounce the rape of women and girls in any circumstances including the use of rape as a weapon of war and to challenge governments to ensure the safety of women and children in times of war and conflict (as per the Geneva Conventions).

We call on the churches and the ecumenical movement, particularly the World Council of Churches, to set in place implementing and monitoring instruments and programmes to ensure that the above concerns and recommendations are fulfilled.

... and the source is still there, refreshing water, confirming our being, recognising and welcoming. The water, it keeps flowing, opening new paths, cleansing, healing, connecting, nourishing the roots of our dreams ...it never runs dry.

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Challenges Facing South African Baptist Youth Ministry

Challenges Facing South African Baptist Youth Ministry in the 21st Century

A Crash Course in Post Modernism

It’s all around us. But most of us can’t concisely describe it. It’s the philosophy of the age which follows modernism. Modernism is basically the world view which drew the line between science and religion, faith and superstition, truth and veracity. It demanded technical, scientific answers to questions of faith and science. Non-ending proofs and evidence. Modernism required that everything be rational, observable and repeatable. It was in one sense a return to the scholasticism of the thirteenth century but without a supreme deity as its anchor. “God does not exist until proven otherwise” could be a foundational principle for its atheists, although Christianity too flourished in the modernist milieu. For modernists, the truth exists objectively; things must be explainable, we must be able to demonstrate and understand it. Modernism takes it as axiomatic that there is only one true answer to every problem, from which it follows that if we can correctly formulate those answers, the world could be controlled and rationally ordered. That’s why we grew up on Creation – Evolution debates, Disco (very tangible beat and structured dance form), long theological debates, proving the existence of God and cerebral reasoning. Modernism has ruled supreme in Western thought for the last 500 years. But since its beginning, a new approach has been gathering momentum, and as this century ends, it claims dominant position, not only in the intellectual corridors of power, but is pervasive throughout society in all corners of the globe.

Postmodernism is a reaction to modernism 1. It is a direct descendant of the existentialism of the late nineteenth century – where the affective took precedence over the cognitive. It has gained a firm foothold since the late 1960s. Although it is very difficult to find a simple, concise definition, it is characterised by freedom of choice, rejection of creeds, and a complete agnosticism with regards to truth. In fact at the heart of postmodernism is an aversion to precise definitions and formulae. Instead our life experience (including faith) must “make me feel good” and must “connect with my life experience”. My “story” must matter. How I respond is just as important as the tenet of faith itself. My faith must stand questioning, but not having answers is OK. “It must work”. That’s why drugging, New Age, experience, smart drugs, raving, identity in music, experiential learning are currently in vogue, at the close of the twentieth century.

THE CHALLENGES

So why a crash course in postmodernism? Because it is the world view that is defining next century’s generation of young people (to whom we will refer as Generation 21) – young people who are going to be…

1. Post Christian

For the past 500 years, Judeao-Christian morality has been the basis of “common decency” which everyone has taken for granted. Although Christianity’s truth claims have been questioned, most people have at least had some grounding in Christianity before asking such questions. Most people who have rejected Christianity have at least known what they were rejecting. But it is not so today. “We have grandparents who had a Christian belief, parents who have a memory of that belief, and now kids who have nothing”2. This comment was made of present-day American culture. The situation is thankfully not yet this bad in South Africa, but current research into South African youth culture by Bill Price and Associates is showing that it is most certainly going to be true fairly soon3. Although 86% of young people in South Africa would align themselves with Christianity, and 83% of young people consider spirituality to be “important” in their lives, only 52% were able to indicate the basis of their beliefs, and just less than half of those young people claiming to be Christians attended church youth groups more than once a month.

Recent research by Jurgens Hendriks4 indicates that in 1980, 77% of South Africa’s population associated themselves with a Christian Church. It has declined since then. The 1991 figure is 74.5%. Unfortunately, more recent figures are not yet readily available. The drop off is due to a considerable decline in church attendance by the white and coloured population groups. The percentage whites who associated with Christian churches dropped from 92% to 78%, and coloureds from 87% to 64%. In the black population group there was a steady growth from 27% in 1910 to 75% in 1980 and 77% in 1991. Denominationally, the trend is even more disturbing. Traditional denominations are losing members, on average 19% between 1980 and 1991. This decline is in spite of the tremendous growth of so called mega-churches in most of these denominations. The only growing group is that of the Independent Churches, which doubled their membership5.

Hendriks states that “we must realise that before 1994 the state was responsible for upholding Christian values. There were laws forbidding abortion, gambling, pornography, certain activities on a Sunday, etc. Local authorities endorsed these laws. Furthermore, Christian principles and biblical lessons were taught in schools. In the new dispensation the responsibility for upholding Christian values has been transferred from the state and secular authorities to believers and congregations”.

2. Post Charismatic

Cain and Kendall6 speak of a post Charismatic generation, rather than merely a meeting in the middle of the evangelical and Pentecostal/charismatic traditions – a new tradition that has both Word and Spirit, power and truth, spontaneity and orthodoxy. It is a prophetic word for the next generation. Most young people today already have experienced the life of the Spirit as a normal every day part of their Christianity – no longer is speaking in tongues an issue, or accepting a word of knowledge or laying on of hands to heal the sick. Ten years ago all these issues where buried in controversy. Not so on the eve of the third millennium – how much more so for Generation 21? This renewed interest in the move of the Spirit relates to a similar move amongst unchurched young people in a revived interest in the spiritual and the supernatural. For example, a quick flip through your TV guide will show the following in 1999: Buffy the Vampire slayer, X-files, Outer Limits, Touched by an Angel, Teen Angel (comedy), Nothing Sacred, First Wave, Sabrina the Teenage Witch (comedy), Father Ted (comedy), Mortal Kombat, Strange World, and Brimstone. This is not even to mention the spiritual themes in music, and of course, Hollywood movies.

3. Biblically Illiterate

A friend, ministering at a small church in KwaZulu-Natal, recently spoke to one of his congregation, letting her know that his sermon topic for the coming Sunday was on Samson and Delilah. A shocked look crossed her face, as she exclaimed: “That’s not in the Bible”. It turns out she thought is was part of Greek mythology. She is not alone. Pastors, youth workers, parents, teachers all complain of the same malaise – young people are functionally biblically illiterate. “They don’t memorise scripture like we did in the old days.”. “They don’t know the difference between a tenet from the Bible and a sonnet from Shakespeare”. Well the truth of the matter is – it is absolutely true. And it is what we have to contend with. Why, one may ask? Modernism lent itself to memorisation, rote learning, recall, focus, hard and long hours of learning, long school hours (including Sunday School) and great discipline (getting up early – spending hours in God’s word).

But the world has changed. Time has changed – the pace at which we live life has accelerated terrifically. We now have Outcomes Based Education, continuous assessment, interactive teaching and learning, more stimulation than ever before, more things to do, to read, to watch, to experience. These days young people are more often found quoting a pick up line from an Austin Powers movie than a poem or a bible verse. It is not going to change. Imagine Charles Spurgeon as a twelve year old. What did he do if not his Sunday School homework and school work? The world is different – twelve year olds today earn cash in their spare time, hang out with friends, play computer games, go to the movies, the mall, Imax, Ratanga Junction and play Sony Playstation games. On the other hand, why should one spend time memorising, when hand held computers contain easy-reference word-search Bible concordances in a multitude of versions. Why memorise when its on-line?

Instead of mourning the past lets capture the present and use it for the education in Christian values of young people according to the tenor of the times. Computer technology, narrative theology, non-didactic teaching methods and popular media like The Prince of Egypt should all be harnessed creatively. What is really needed is not memorisation of proof-texts, but rather a more expansive overview of God’s plan as shown in the Scriptures, providing a much needed moral and theological framework for today’s information-overloaded young people.

4. Info – crats

Young people in the twenty-first century will know more and have access to vastly greater quantities of information than ever before. They will have lots more information at their finger tips than those teaching them. Which means they will be less likely to accept authoritative and definitive answers. No longer will “Because I say so” suffice – specially when the “I” is an older person who can’t search Encyclopaedia Britannica online; isn’t a member of three email forums, doesn’t read nine daily newspapers from around the globe and doesn’t subscribe to six of the latest scientific and theological journals from universities as far afield as Boston and Bangkok. Let’s face it, how many of us can do that already? Generation 21 have had a jump start – while anyone currently over thirty is still playing catch up when it comes to Information Technology. Just think who is most capable of programming the household VCR if you don’t believe that today it is the young people who are more geared up for the next century than their parents ever will be.

One of the downsides of this information overload is that these new generation info-crats appear to have an ever decreasing attention span. This is not entirely true, as they are able to concentrate for much longer than many adults – but they cannot focus on one topic for very long. They flit from one TV channel to the next, watching three or more shows simultaneously. They are capable of doing their homework with both TV and radio blaring in the background. They accept information in “sound bites”, and their music and media is equally fast paced in its visual presentation. Communication is multi-threaded to them, and interactive multi-media is king. They don’t know what a flannel graph or a chalkboard is; and they have only ever known CDs and now DVD. Computer presentations are the norm.

Long one way sermons will no longer communicate. Instead methods need to be innovative, short and interactive. Methods like Groome’s7shared Christian praxis and Cooperative Learning8 are the way of the future.

5. Unrecognisable Worshippers

Both personal and corporate worship are going to change. For Generation 21 outward appearance is not going to be a measure of spirituality. Postmodernism is characterised by paradox, especially in its expression. This will be most fully seen in worship, which to truly touch postmodern Christians will need to be eclectic. Individuality in the midst of community will be paramount in worship. We need to be prepared to facilitate this. The Soul Survivor9movement in the UK is a good example of this. The fact that many Black churches, whose white counterparts would be very conservative, are mostly Pentecostal and Charismatic in practice although perhaps not in theology, is another. Ultimately there is nothing sacrosanct about our worship services. Culture is after all only culture – we must recognise this fact if we are to incarnate Christ. Personal preference must make way for accommodation; form for worship in both Spirit and Truth.

6. A Culture Apart

In the nineteenth century there was a golden age of mission as new frontiers were opened, difficult languages learnt and Scriptures translated. We crossed cultural boundaries to take the gospel to unreached people groups. In the twenty-first century, as these unreached people groups are systematically targeted and reached, we will nevertheless continue to have unreached peoples living in our own neighbourhoods. These are people who have not heard the Gospel message even once – they are going to be young people who live in a plethora of virgin cultures, for the most part un-accessed or inaccessible to adult missionaries. To judge the vast gulf between you and them, consider the following:

They have only known one Germany. Man has always walked on the moon. Their lifetime has always included AIDS. The expression “you sound like a broken record” means nothing to them. They have never owned a record player. They have likely never played Pac Man and Star Wars looks very fake. They have always had an answering machine. They have always been able to fax. Cell-phones are normal. There have always been VCR’s, but they have no idea what Beta is. Roller-skating has always meant inline for them. They never took a swim and thought about Jaws. Petrol has always been sold 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They don’t remember who Botha is – neither Naas or PW. They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is. The Cosby Show, Miami Vice, WKRP in Cincinnati and Dynasty are shows they have likely never seen. Jet airlines? – are there any other types of planes? Those ten years old and younger cannot remember institutionalised apartheid. Michael Jackson has always been white.10

Every culture needs to be impacted and penetrated by the gospel. The multitude of youth cultures is no exception. And then once that culture has been penetrated and youth come to know Christ, lets not demand that young people lose their culture. Lets not make native Americans and Africans dress like Europeans in order to be acceptable worshippers. Lets at least, having learnt past painful lessons, allow room for Christ himself to transcend these cultures. Culture can and must be retained in a Christian lifestyle. But “How can a Christian person want to remain in a culture that appears sinful?” is a frequently asked question.

The answer is twofold. Often to the uninitiated, different is equated with sinful, but culture has both sinful and amoral elements to it. Many young people who become Christians who are part of the “Alternative”11 youth culture still continue to wear black clothes, look anorexic and have more body piercings than we are comfortable with. But what is sinful about any of these elements? It is difficult to distinguish Christian “Alternatives” from their non-Christian counterparts – but only when it comes to appearance. Christian alternative kids tend to clean up their act in terms of drugs, music, partying, anarchy, degradation, escapism, alcohol-abuse, occult involvement, rebellion, anti-social behaviours, anti-authoritarianism, hatred, defiance, misery, self-pity, terror, selfishness, suicidal tendencies, depression, destruction and condemnation. In the nineteenth century bar room tunes were retained and excellent hymns written to the same tunes. No-one continued to sing the hymns while getting drunk. Wrong and sinful elements of culture become transformed and replaced with a vertical relationship with God and a horizontal relationship with people: “Love God, bear fruit in keeping with repentance, love your neighbour, forget the rest!” should be the exhortation to young people converted out of a specific sub-culture. Long hair doesn’t have to become short and kempt; T-shirts don’t have to transform into ties; studded ripped jeans surely don’t have to metamorphose into smart Woolworths cotton trousers.

7. Hugely Concerned with Social Ethics

One of the greatest challenges facing Christendom in the twenty-first century will be our response as a community of faith to the multitude of ethical dilemmas already emerging in general society. Abortion, homosexuality, poverty, capitalism, gender, sexuality, genetical engineering, affirmative action, revolution, ethnic cleansing are all old issues which will assume greater significance as the new century dawns. Postmodernism demands less rigid and definitely less judgmental answers. Christians everywhere must be prepared to give an answer for their faith in a gracious and humble manner. The iron rod orthodoxy of the past is over. It no longer even gets a hearing. If we want to be salt and light – we must be prepared to reopen debates and find answers that truly resonate with a world in need. I am sure that we have heard the end of long scholastic debates about predestination, charismatic gifts and dispensationalism. Social ethics is now the new issue at hand – and one on which the Christian church and its relevance to youth will stand or fall.

The Bible is not directive and/or silent on may of the social and ethical issues with which we are confronted today. There is room for debate and argument. Lets not hang onto rationalism and modernism as if they are the world views that came with the Bible. Lets agree to stop debating the unimportant – how many angels can fit onto the head of a pin12 and predestination fall into the same category in postmodernism.

8. Aliens to Traditional Family Structures

The church of the twenty-first century needs to be a warm, welcoming and loving family. A place of nurture and not of judgment or of insistence of outward conformity. Most young people would not have experienced the typical early twentieth century nuclear family. It is currently estimated that 3 in every 4 American teenagers will experience family breakdown by the time they turn 21. Bill Price and Associates3, doing similar research in South Africa, have found the statistics to be slightly better in South Africa, with only 1 in 3 young people currently experiencing family breakdown, yet the trend is downwards. Dysfunction will be the norm. The usual metaphors used in understanding the character of God may no longer be accessible to Generation 21. In particular, the role of fathers is disturbing. The high incidence of abuse is well documented in South Africa. Research has also shown that only 25% of fathers spend more than 2 hours per week interacting with their children3. Family needs to be redefined and modelled in the church – and people helped to learn Godly principles of family life both inside the church and in their own homes and partnerships.

9. Economically Vulnerable

The HSRC recently released findings that only 1 in 30 school leavers are likely to find employment in South Africa in 199913. Throughout the world, the gap between rich and poor is growing steadily. The “rules” have changed – big business and government are no longer the employers of last resort. The key to solving this problem, according to well-known South African forecaster, Clem Sunter14, is to develop small businesses and encourage entrepreneurs. But legislative bureaucracy and nervous banks have created a climate that is not suitable for this kind of development in South Africa. Today’s young people are nervous about the future, as they see themselves following their American counterparts in becoming the first generation in modern history to earn less on average than their parents15. Soaring educational costs, often financed with student loans that create massive debt traps, soaring house prices in recent years which exclude first time home owners, and the increase in government benefits to older generations add to the financial fears of Generation 21. And when we talk of “averages”, it should be noticed that the cyber-elite are all young and making lots of money on the Internet and in new IT-related growth industries. This means that the gap between those beating the average and those sliding beneath it is also widening. The rich are getting richer, and the poor poorer.

10. AIDS Infected

The AIDS epidemic has not begun to take its toll. Of all the fears South African young people have for the present, AIDS ranks by far the highest3. There is no agreed data, but estimates of AIDS infection range from 30% of young people to as high as 75% of young people in certain areas (in particular, young girls in rural KwaZulu Natal). Generation 21 is going to live through the deaths of their friends over and over again in the next century.

11. Violence Saturated

South Africa is a violent country, but until recently violence was not seen as a direct youth issue. However, more and more young people are being drawn into the web of violent crime, as both perpetrators and victims. This is once again following a trend first seen in America, as evidenced by the spate of recent school shootings. Bill Clinton has made it a personal goal to clamp down on violence in the movies and on TV before the end of his presidency. What will happen to a generation that has become violence saturated? Some scenarios are too frightening to contemplate.

12. Spiritually Hungry

Generation 21 is spiritually hungry. This does not mean that they are seeking after the God of the Bible – rather they realise that there is a higher reality, that there is something beyond the purely natural world we live in. Postmodern young people don’t need to be convinced of the fact that there is a higher power nor of the existence of the supernatural. What they do want to know is why they should choose Christianity rather than any other of the multitude of spiritual options available. As far as many of them are concerned, Christianity was a modernist experiment that has proved to fall short of answering some of the critical questions of postmodernity. This is largely due to over-reaction of many traditional Christians to new expressions of faith and culture.

The church as we know it cannot survive much longer. It must find its roots again in a truly Biblical approach to ministry. We therefore offer some answers to the issues we have raised.

SOME ANSWERS

As a church we can easily and must resolutely rise to the challenge. We say easily not because it will be without difficulty – but rather because the solutions are pretty basic and will take little more than intentional effort, conscious understanding and a willingness to adapt. An exception may be in the financial resources required – yet even in this solution, it may mean a redistribution of resources rather than finding huge amounts of new resources. Here are some basic ways to meet the challenges outlined above.

1. Relational Ministry

One of the chief characteristics of modernism was the elevation of the individual. Ministry in a postmodern context requires us to once again find the Biblically mandated community/relational approach to ministry. George Barna16 notes that “Boomers (the parents of Generation 21) value a network of relationships and find the transient, utilitarian nature of their associations as completely acceptable.” Barna goes further to say: “[Generation 21] have outright rejected the impersonal, short-term, fluid relational character of their parents. They have veered more toward traditional, longer-term relationships. However, given their cynicism and pessimism, they have lowered their expectations vis-a-vis relationships: their potential duration, the number of significant bonds, and their fervor to create a wide pool of contacts. Boomers sought relational breadth; [Generation 21] seek relational depth…What emerges are two generations bonded by blood, but separated by emotion and expectation.”

“I love young people! It’s so easy to get through to them. The surface might be rough and tough, but its only a two mm thick (or thin!) veneer. Peel it back and there’s just marshmallows!” So says a Scripture Union Youth Worker. And it’s pretty close to the truth. South African teenagers, when asked to list the things that motivated them, rated “love” as the highest motivating factor3.

What one consistently notices is that while it takes different strategies to reach different kids (unchurched, churched, urban , rural, leaders, followers etc), most of them can be reached if one person whom they trust builds tight community (close relationships) with them. It happens time after time – on camp, through contact at a school, in a youth group or on the street. Adults forging friendships with young people, entering their world and earning the right to model the life of Christ to them is what youth ministry is all about. This is relational evangelism. Programme centred evangelism will focus on the production of quality programmes with the intention of drawing large crowds of young people. This strategy can work in drawing numbers, but remains faceless, and in itself is unlikely to result in a lasting impact in the life of a young person. Message centred evangelism emphasizes the proclamation of truth, in the hope that the repetition of the biblical message in creative ways will result in Christian living. While truth may be transmitted from one mind (the speaker’s) to others (young people in the audience), experience shows us that this method, in itself, is infertile and powerless in the long term.

Relationship-centred evangelism recognizes the need of young people to interact with both the message and the messenger. For the message to be accepted, the messenger has to be part of the package. When this happens, powerful youth ministry can take place. It’s not enough to give good talks, or organize elaborate programmes. Youth workers need to give themselves as well, and in so doing earn the right to share the gospel with young people.

2. Peer Ministry17

“Teens reaching other teens create an atmosphere of trust and affirmation that enables young people who might not otherwise hear a gospel message to hear, and relate, and find release”18. In a 1997 questionnaire sent to Dutch Reformed mega-churches4, positive signs of vitality were overwhelmingly related to two issues: the involvement of laity in ministries and the existence of intentional processes of transformation taking place in their congregations. In postmodern ministry, the “primary role of the pastor will look more like the one under the Apostolic paradigm. Pastors will be teachers and disciplers, preparing the congregation for the work of the ministry. The congregants will be the ministers. The pastor of the twenty-first century must reflect many of the attributes of an entrepreneur struggling to open a niche in the marketplace of religious ideas”23. 2 Timothy 2:2 and Ephesians 4:12-16 are probably the two most clear and direct Biblical mandates for this re-formational ministry.

3. An Accepting and Nurturing Environment

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in the twenty-first century? What does it mean to be radically different? These are pretty basic questions, but really important. What it doesn’t mean – is outward conformity to a previously agreed upon set of standards (action and conduct) for Christian behaviour. When we set a series of outward behaviours and actions as the standard, we introduce cultural perspectives and biases (or traditional expectations). An example – going to movies and wearing make-up in the early part of the century were thought to be sinful, unchristian behaviour. It was a church norm. Today make-up is acceptable and Christians, rather than not going to movies at all, are expected to be selective in what movies they choose to view.

So what does it mean? Simply and biblically, being a disciple means starting a vertical relationship with God, a transaction between two people alone: God and his child. The next question to be asked is: Do we say to new converts simply “Love God and forget all else?” No, because that’s not the complete picture of Christian discipleship, but it is a great place to start. Over time (and with teaching) we challenge our new convert to growth and development. We say “Love God, bear fruit in keeping with your new relationship with God (Christian character development and personal growth), forget all else.”

Now as a third step, we look to the vertical dimension – love your neighbour. The order then becomes “Love God, bear fruit, love your neighbour”. And them this “neighbour” takes two forms: the rest of the Christian family and others generally. So you modify your behaviour, temper, hurtful behaviour, then only do you go on to do things which “avoid every appearance of evil”, “come out and be separate” (inwardly at first, not necessarily outwardly as well) and avoiding things “which does not cause a brother to stumble”. At this stage the new convert isn’t even sure of what his new family is like.

When listed like this, it is quickly apparent that being a disciple of Christ when you have had no previous Christian grounding or experience, is really a tall order, and a daunting prospect. But not impossible. It just takes more insight, patience and often forbearance. Being radically different means having a heart for God – it doesn’t mean being good enough or spiritual enough, according to anyone else’s standards!

Finally, the sense of self, so easily destroyed in Generation 21 must be restored. We need to be preaching salvation as adoption into God’s family, and becoming heirs of the king of the universe (see Ephesians 1). “In the past the church, in particular the Reformed school, has rejected the concept of self, and especially self-actualisation, and self-realisation. These concepts have been adopted by the New Age Movement, and in conjunction with secular humanism have taken on a specific form and meaning. It is this meaning and function that the church is rejecting, but unfortunately they have rejected the whole concept with their rejection of the way non-Christians use it. They have, in a sense, ‘thrown the baby out with the bath-water’. God has created each one of us as unique and special individuals, with a unique and special purpose, this is what makes up our ‘self’, and it is this that we seek to discover in Christian self-actualisation and self-realisation. We seek to find the self that God created and that secularisation, and modern philosophy has destroyed. People are showing all the symptoms mentioned above, because they do not know who they are, they have been made into orderly, predictable, individualistic, anonymous, nihilistic, driven things that simply exist with no meaning and purpose. Somehow we, as Christians, have to restore in them a sense of self-worth. This is only truly found in relationship with God, and this is where it becomes a tricky balancing act”19.

So more than merely relational evangelism the nature of our nurture and the warmth and acceptance of the nurturing environment is of paramount importance to both evangelism and discipleship of Generation 21. Thus, the greatest commandment is reborn in our churches. The twentieth century church has a way to go to achieve this.

4. Professionalising Youth Ministry

With an estimated 17 million South Africans below the age of 18, any serious attempt to launch youth ministry programmes must address itself to the vast numerical challenges: “How many youth workers do we need in South Africa?” rather than the more parochial “Where can we find a youth worker for our church?” SAQA (the South African Qualifications Authority) has already begun setting up guidelines for minimum qualifications for various industries, including youth work. Churches should be involved in this process, to ensure that minimum levels of care are set up to include spiritual input as well. We must also focus our attention on providing the kind of training environment that will ensure that Christian youth workers are the best qualified youth workers in the country.

If we set out sights on a target of 1 youth worker per 10 000 school going young people, we would need 1600 professional youth workers. More ideally, a ratio of 1 youth worker for every 1 000 young people would require 16 000 youth workers. This compares unfavourably with an estimated 1 000 full time youth workers around South Africa. And not only are the quantities of youth workers significant but their levels of expertise and training is sorely lacking. Amongst other things a youth worker is a missionary, a pastor and a social worker20. That’s a big job – which needs great skill.

The church in South Africa needs to envision a youth ministry culture in which qualified men and women in significant numbers make a career out of youth ministry, either in the context of the local church or through para-church agencies (specialist service agencies). Such a culture requires a considerable infra-structure; and more importantly, such an infra-structure needs to be informed and influenced by thinkers whose ideas and writings maintain a sharp edge. Youth work must be recognised as a profession (a vocation!) rather than a bus stop while waiting to move on to more “mature” pursuits.

5. Finding the Resources

The 1996 South African census21shows that 34% of South African are under the age of 15. A total of 54% of the population (some 21,929,512 young people) is under the age of 25 years. Research done by youth students at the Baptist Theological College, Randburg, indicates that as many as 75% of people who become Christians do so before the age of 18. It is also clear that young people are more open to the Gospel than adults. If the church’s role is to spread the Gospel, using limited resources, then it makes the most sense to maximize those resources by using them where they are most likely to be effective: that is, in youth ministry, or on things that affect young people.

Churches routinely dole out their scraps to youth ministry, although there are some notable exceptions. Specialist service agencies, existing solely for the purpose of pursuing youth evangelism objectives, are notoriously underfunded. A whole new mind set needs to be adopted if the necessary youth ministry programmes are to be adequately funded.

Giving to churches and mission agencies totalled R900 million during the 1996/97 financial year, of which R65 million, or just 7%, was allocated to youth ministry22. Set this against the required R1 000 million necessary to fund 16 000 professional youth workers, and one is quick to reach the conclusion that something radical needs to happen.

Churches simply have to work towards allocating 50% of their income to youth ministry, including youth ministry programmes outside of their local church, possibly through specialist service agencies – who may have greater skills in penetrating unchurched youth in various sub cultures. Individual church members with business influence should seek ways to channel funds into community youth ministry programmes. Joint appointments between churches, or between churches and youth agencies are strategic. Ultimately, funding for mission work comes primarily through God’s people, and sacrificial giving remains the predominant Biblical pattern. There is a cost to be born to meet the challenge of ushering Generation 21 into the kingdom.

6. A Social Conscience for the Church

A church which has no input into the social life and welfare of the community is a church that is out of touch, and perceived to be out of touch, with the very people it claims to serve. Church was never meant to be a showcase for saints – rather it is a hospital for hopeless sinners. As such, it reaches out to people at the point of their need, allowing the material and physical response to bear testimony to a spiritual solution. Churches need to take up the Biblical mandate to be stewards of the environment, to be healers of the sick, defenders of those who have no rights, and helpers to the widows and orphans. It is time for middle class congregations to consider their privileged position seriously in the light of the story of the rich young ruler. God has not called anyone to be wealthy – at best he has called some to be big earners, so that they can be sacrificial big givers. But we are not simply talking of money – the church’s responsibility extends to issues such as environmental concern, community crisis response, disaster alleviation, justice, community law enforcement and a host of other issues that will require time and sacrifice.

7. Changing Methodology

Postmodernism is not right or wrong – it just is! It is the context in which we will work to a greater extent as the years roll on. Young people who come to faith need help recognising the current world view for what it is – not wrong, not always helpful, but definitely there. They need to be taught “faith development skills” which takes nurture, resources, relationships and professionals. Faith development skills are about making faith work, answering questions, helping young people understand why God’s word says what it says, and how to apply the obvious and work out the implied. It means taking seriously the experiential and the cognitive – not merely answering “It’s in the Bible and so its true” – but rather “It’s in the Bible because its true (and best and it works)”. For example we must help youth see that immoral behaviour hurts people… it hurts their individual development and it hurts their relationships with others. They need to be taught honesty and integrity when for the last sixteen years they’ve survived the streets through shrewdness and movie ethics. It is extremely unhelpful to say – “Do this because God says so”.

For faith development skills to take root our methodology must change. Lets not fall victim to the oldest disease on the planet, the eight words that always seem to announce the demise of effective work – WNDITWB – “We never did it this way before!”.

REFERENCES

1. There are a number of excellent introductions to postmodernism from a Christian perspective. The writers recommend: J.R. Middleton & B.J. Walsh. The Truth is Stranger Than It Used To be: Biblical Truth in a Post Modern Age. Downers Grove: IVP, 1995. S.J. Grenz. A Primer on Postmodernism. Grand Rapids: Wm B. Eeerdmans, 1996.

2. Dr Jay Kesler, quoted in Dean Borgman. The Battle for a Generation: Capturing the Hearts of Our Youth. Chicago: Moody Press, 1996.

3. In 1998, Bill Price and Associates completed a “Profile of South African Youth and Family”, using a statistical base of over 3,000 South African young people between the ages of 13 and 27. The profile covers 28 key attitudinal areas, including areas referred to in this article such as spirituality, home & family, leadership, money and education. More details available at: http://www.youth.co.za/census.

4. Dr. H. Jurgens Hendriks. “Ministry In A New Dispensation”. Practical Theology & Missiology Department, University of Stellenbosch, available on-line: http://home.pix.za/gc/gc12/papers/p1008.htm.

5. Dr Jurgens Hendriks is chairman of the DRC mega-church research group, investigating the reasons that some 80 DRC churches have been able to successfully expand in size when the denomination itself declined significantly between 1985 and 1996. This statistic was extracted from a paper entitled, “Megachurch trends: 1997”.

6. P. Cain & R.T. Kendall. The Word and the Spirit. Eastbourne: Kingsway Publications, 1996.

7. T.H. Groome Christian Religious Education: Sharing Our Story and Our Vision. Chicago: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1999.

8. D. Johncon, R. Johnson & E. Holubec. Cooperative Learning in the Classroom. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 1994.

9. Soul Survivor is a church community of largely young people in Watford. Matt Redman is the worship leader and Gerald Coates is a sponsor of the movement.

10. Extract adapted from a presentation by Graeme Codrington, “Mind the Gap“.

11. Alternative youth culture is a counter-culture, which rejects mainstream trends, and is characterised by (amongst others) a music style that is neither rock nor metal but has a mixture of both elements with a melancholic and dark dress style.

12. A serious debate of thirteenth century Scholasticism.

13. Quoted in the Natal Mercury, front page story, 5 August 1999.

14. Clem Sunter. Never Mind the Millennium. What about the next 24 hours?. Cape Town: Human & Rousseau, 1999.

15. Neil Howe and William Strauss. 13th Gen: Abort, Retry, Ignore, Cancel?. New York: Vintage, 1993.

16. George Barna. The Disillusioned Generation. Chicago: Northfield Publishing, 1994. Quoted by A. Allan Martin in “The ABCs of Ministry to Generations X, Y, & Z”, available on-line: http://www.tagnet.org/dvm/ABCs.html.

17. The call to return the ministry to the people is one that is consistently gaining volume at the end of this century. One of the clearest books on the issue is Greg Ogden’s The New Reformation: Returning the Ministry to the People of God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990. In this book, he argues that the last Reformation (which helped usher modernism into the church) was a re-formation of theology. He is calling for a new re-formation of praxis.

18. Wendy Murray Zoba. “The Class of ’00” In Christianity Today. February 3, 1997 Vol. 41, No. 2, Page 18. http://www.christianity.net/ct/7T2/7T218a.html.

19. Steven Lottering. “An Investigation into a Current Trend in Youth Culture with a Biblical Apologetic”, available on-line: http://home.pix.za/gc/gc12/papers/p2003.htm.

20. D. Borgman. When Khumbaya is not Enough : A Practical Theology for Youth Ministry. Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1998.

21. The census results are available on-line at: http://www.statssa.gov.za/census96/HTML/default.htm.

22. This is an estimate only. One of the problems of youth work in general and South African youth work in particular is that statistics of these sort are not available.

23. Mike Regele. Death of the Church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995. Pg. 221.

 
Great article and good to use for Youth and church leaders.

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Ten Great Challenges Facing the Church

While many are thinking about
what resolutions they wish to make
for the New Year, Christians find
themselves facing many difficult
challenges as they face the upcoming
year. Many challenges exist for the
Christian church. However, one will
find that the following challenges
rank among the most important as the
church enters its 1,984 year of
existence. The following is a top-10
list of challenges that this writer sees
as the most pressing issues facing the
church in 2014. The reader may find
other issues to add to this list. Feel
free to add any additional challenges
and how the church can meet those
challenges in the comment box.
10. Apathy
The tenth challenge according to this
writer that the church faces in 2014 is
the challenge of apathy. Apathy is
defined as, “lack of interest or
concern” (Merriam-Webster
Dictionary). When it comes to issues
of God, there are a growing number
of individuals that have become
apathetic. There is even a term for
this called “apatheism.” Apatheists
are just disinterested in issues
pertaining to God. How does one
reach such individuals? William Lane
Craig suggests that the Christian
defender shows the apatheist the
importance of such issues. As Craig
states, “…’IF Christianity were true,
what consequences would it have
for your life? What difference
would it make?’ I think that if
Christianity is true, then it is
hugely relevant to our lives” (Craig
2013, 56). Craig also suggests, “I
strongly suspect that the self-styled
apatheist is usually just a lazy
atheist” (Craig 2013, 58). I would
agree.
However, more troubling is the
apparent apathy that exists among
many Christians today. It appears that
many church-goers have become
apathetic when it comes to doctrinal
truth. Others had rather “go with the
flow” or simply do not care to know
the truths of Scripture. This really
came alive to this writer with issues
concerning the theology of popular
televised teachers. This is especially
troubling when considering that cults
have risen out of popular teachers
who are opaque and require blind
faith. This is something that must be
confronted by biblical teachers and
preachers.
9. New Age Infiltration
A growing influence upon the church
is that of New Age doctrine. Dan
Story defines the New Age movement
as,
Actually, the New Age movement
is not new. It is simply the
resurgence of ancient occultic
practices mixed with Eastern
pantheism (in particular,
Hinduism) in a recipe tailored
specifically to feed the spiritual
hunger of Western secularized
man. The New Age movement is
secular humanism with a cosmic
ingredient. It maintains the
humanist motto that “man is the
measure of all things” and the
humanist goals of global peace,
prosperity, and unity, but, to make
humanism more spiritually
palatable, it sugars it with ‘God’
(Story 1997, 189).
One does not need to look far to find
New Age infiltration. Powerful
entertainment icons such as Oprah
Winfrey and elevated teachers such
as Deepak Chopra promote New Age
ideology. A case could be made that
such an effort seeks to promote a
one-world religion.
To combat this infiltration, it is not
necessary for one to become obsessed
in ultra-legalism and conspiracy
theories, which in this writer’s
opinion can become dangerous as it
could lead to unnecessary paranoia.
Simply getting back to the basics of
truth and doctrine will help one stay
within the boundaries of biblical
teaching. But this requires work.
Quite frankly, many a modern
Christian has become lazy and
disinterested in biblical truth (as
addressed in the section speaking on
“apathy”).
8. Changing Ministerial
Demands
I read somewhere that even newly
established churches begin to adhere
to church traditions after about 20
years. The problem is that ministerial
demands change with the times. The
message of the gospel never changes,
but the methodologies used to reach
individuals for Christ must change. At
a recent Baptist associational
meeting, it was projected that half
the churches in the particular
association was not expected to be
operating in 20 to 50 years. Why? It
was due to the fact that churches are
not equipping themselves to meet the
needs of current and future
generations. Certain statistics show
that an average of 75 churches closes
their doors each week. Thom Rainer
said at the beginning of the year, “I
wouldn’t be surprised, however, if
the numbers reach the 8,000 to
10,000 level” (Rainer, “13 Issues for
Churches in 2013”). There are many
issues involved in this problem. One,
the society has become so fast-paced
that one set time on Sundays and
Wednesdays does not always meet
everyone’s needs. It could be that
alternative services need to be held.
Also, online communities are
imperative in this technical day and
age. Two, many churches tend to
zealously hold to unnecessary
traditions. Bluegrass gospel is a
beautiful form of music. However, it
may not be the best thing to employ
if you are trying to reach urban
youths. Three, there are issues with
the lack of apologetic training in
leaders. This, however, will be dealt
with in more detail later.
7. Youth Exodus
Recent studies have shown that 75%
of young adults leave the church
when they leave for college. A
substantial number of these young
adults do not return. This has been
labeled by some as the Youth Exodus.
Could it be that these young adults
are unprepared for the onslaught of
anti-Christian attacks from secular
humanism? Or could it be that the
young adults are caught up in the
fast-paced nature of society? It could
be that they are simply “sowing their
wild oats” as some call it. Whatever
the case, the church must seek to
minister to these young adults by
providing them with the ability to ask
questions and search the deep truths
of the faith. Churches near
educational institutions have
especially a good chance to minister
to collegiate adults.
6. Anti-Intellectualism
Anti-intellectualism is a rejection of
higher learning and/or a rejection of
learning deeper truths concerning the
Bible. Fields that are rejected
sometimes include the learning of
biblical languages, systematic
theology, apologetics, philosophy,
biblical historical studies, and
scientific fields. According to the anti-
intellectual logic, one must only read
the Bible, particularly a certain
translation, to understand the Bible.
The problem is that in order to
properly conduct biblical exegesis,
one needs to understand the history
and languages of the text. This
movement probably came about
because of the liberal movement that
influenced many seminaries and
universities in the early 1900s. One
older church member explained years
ago, “I have seen good men leave to
go to college or seminary, and then
come back teaching garbage.” The
liberal movement in some colleges
and seminaries created distrust
among many in rural areas. In Baptist
life, there arose two systems of
tradition: the Charlestonian tradition
(highly educated clergy and more
liturgical) and the Sandy Creek
tradition (less educated clergy and
more emotionally driven). This, along
with the Revised Standard Version’s
break with tradition in translating
the Hebrew word “almah” as “young
woman” instead of “virgin” in Isaiah
7:14, probably helped stir the King
James Only controversy that still
affects some rural areas today.
More serious is the lack of ability for
the anti-intellectual to answer the
challenges of the skeptic. Worse yet,
some educational institutions educate
their students to become non-
intellectuals…particularly in
unaccredited church colleges.
Educating to be uneducated…that
would seem to be a self-defeating
principle. This is even more serious
when one understands this writer’s
predicament. I left the ministry for
seven years due to doubt. When I
asked church leaders, some who
were anti-intellectual, on how to
answer the challenges of the Jesus
Seminar (a seminar that charged that
the words of Jesus in the New
Testament were inauthentic), I
received the following answer, “The
Bible is the Word of God because it
says so.” That answer not only did
not help me resolve the issues that
were being faced; it propelled me to a
level of doubt that led me out of the
ministry. It was by the Spirit of God
leading me to the works of Josh
McDowell, Lee Strobel, William Lane
Craig, Gary Habermas, and a host of
others that my faith was
strengthened, and my love for
theology and apologetics blossomed.
The church must meet the intellectual
needs of its congregants.
5. Syncretism
Syncretism is the blending of multiple
religious thoughts together. This
stands opposed to tolerance.
Tolerance is defined as, “the
allowable deviation from a standard
especially : the range of variation
permitted in maintaining a specified
dimension in machining a
piece” (Merriam-Webster). By
definition, tolerance allows for
differences in opinion. To be tolerant
does NOT indicate that one agrees
with the conclusions of another. It
does indicate that one can (to use
cliché) “agree to disagree.” Tolerance
is promoted by this writer and this
website. However, it is something
entirely different when individuals
seek to combine differing opinions to
create a non-exclusive thought
pattern. It is not feasible. In the end,
these attempts are performed by
individuals who show no real passion
for truth and a passion to keep from
offending. We should not seek to
offend anyone. Don’t miss the point.
However, every person has the
responsibility to seek the truth and
discover it for him or herself. As
David said,
“And you, my son Solomon,
acknowledge the God of your
father, and serve him with
wholehearted devotion and with a
willing mind, for the Lord searches
every heart and understands every
desire and every thought. If you
seek him, he will be found by you;
but if you forsake him, he will
reject you forever” (1 Chronicles
28:9, NIV).
God reveals His truth and the person
responds likewise. However, when
we find the truth, it is irresponsible
to think that the truth is not the
truth. If the truth is not the truth,
then it was never true. We should
respect individuals of different
perspectives. Actually, it shows a lack
of trained understanding of one’s
own perspective when conversations
denigrate into shouting or violent
spells. The church must stand
steadfast to its convictions while
loving others of different
perspectives. It is imperative that the
church gets this right.
4. Lack of Trained,
Empowered, Apologetic Leaders
Recently a friend of mine on social
media asked for prayer. He said that
a local pastor had been bombarded
with a verbal assault by an atheist.
The pastor did not have anything to
offer except, “You have to believe in
the Bible and in the Lord Jesus
Christ.” He was unable to offer why
one must believe in the Bible and in
the Lord Jesus Christ. The atheist said
that he was coming back with some
friends. The pastor said, “Okay, I’ll
have a trained apologist here with me
(my friend) when you come back.”
The atheist did not return. This
showed me something that I have
already been convicted of in past
days. We must have more trained
leaders IN THE CHURCH!!! Perhaps it
is due to the anti-intellectual
movement among some in the
church, but there seems to be a
disconnect between apologetics and
church ministry. THIS MUST
CHANGE!!! Apologetics is the new
form of evangelism and church
leaders must be trained to handle the
problems brought forth by earnest
seekers. Remember, Peter said,
“But even if you should suffer for
the sake of righteousness, you are
blessed. And do not fear their
intimidation, and do not be
troubled, but sanctify Christ as
Lord in your hearts, always being
ready to make a defense to
everyone who asks you to give an
account for the hope that is in you,
yet with gentleness and reverence;
and keep a good conscience so that
in the thing in which you are
slandered, those who revile your
good behavior in Christ will be put
to shame (1 Peter 3:14-16, NASB).
For the church to minister to a
growingly secular community, the
leaders must be able to provide such
a defense for their faith as Peter
states. Gone are the days where one
could simply say, “You know you
need to be in church” or “You know
you need to come to God.” There may
be a desire to know God within the
person, but whose God are they
seeking? Why should they be in
church? Why should they trust the
Bible? These are issues that pastors,
youth leaders, and the like must
address.
3. Issues of Marriage
The issue of marriage has become a
“hot-button” topic in recent days.
Marriage is being re-defined by
organizations like the LGBT and
GLAAD organizations. However, the
issue of homosexual marriage is not
the only issue where marriage is
being redefined. If same-sex
marriages are allowed, the next issue
on the books will most likely be that
of polygamy and polyamory.
Polygamy is where one person has
multiple wives or husbands.
Polyamory is defined as multiple
lovers within or without a marriage
connection. My question is this:
where does it end? The church must
define the biblical roots of marriage
and where it stands on these issues.
The church must ask such questions
as: What is marriage? Why is there a
marriage covenant? What is this
church going to recognize as
marriage? Regardless of whether you
like it or not, your church is going to
deal with this issue sooner or later.
Ministers must also decide what
constitutes a biblical marriage. Some
ministers have even noted that their
days of marrying anyone may come
to an end (this writer included,
although I have not settled my
intentions completely). In a land
where bakers are being sued for not
obliging certain forms of marriage,
ministers must ask themselves what
they will do if they are approached
by a couple desiring to marry and the
couple is in a relationship that the
minister cannot approve. One thing
can be agreed upon by everyone in
ministry; it is far more complicated to
be a minister in our modern times.
However, on the flip side, Christians
need to watch how they address
these issues. The worst thing that can
happen is for the Christian to make a
homosexual person an enemy. Too
many times, Christians have
hammered on the issue of marriage
so much that gay and lesbian
individuals have committed suicide
and have felt like outcasts. Let us not
forget that we are called to love each
other, especially those whom we
have differences. Remember the
words of Jesus, “You have heard that
it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and
hate your enemy.’ But I tell you,
love your enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, that you
may be children of your Father in
heaven” (Matthew 5:43-45a, NIV).
This is not to say that homosexuals
are Christian enemies. This is to say
that the Christian must not make an
individual his or her enemy. We
stand against principles and
principalities…not people.
(Note: an example of an organization
that supports polygamy and
polyamory can be seen in the
Unitarian Universalists for Polyamory
Awareness. According to their
website, Harlan White delivered the
first sermon advocating polyamory on
Sunday, July 10, 1994 at the First
Unitarian Church of Honolulu. For
more information, see their website
at: http://uupa.org/index.)
2. Religious Freedom
In the United States and across the
world, the church has dealt with
increasing restrictions placed upon its
religious freedom. The United States
of America was built upon the
principle of religious freedom.
However, those freedoms are being
impeded by secular organizations like
the Freedom from Religion
Foundation and the American Civil
Liberties Union. Christian
businessmen and women like Elaine
Huguenin of Elane Photography in
New Mexico and Jake Philips, a baker
from Colorado, have been sued and,
in Philips’ case, could face jail time
for exercising their freedom of
religious expression. (For more
information concerning the Philips’
case, see http://
christiannews.net/2013/07/12/
attorney-for-colorado-christian-
baker-jail-time-possible-for-denying-
wedding-cake-to-homosexuals/, and
http://www.christian.org.uk/news/
us-baker-faces-jail-over-gay-
wedding-cake-refusal/. The church
has survived times of religious
restriction. Consider that Christianity
was not an officially recognized
religion of Rome until the 300s. The
church began with the ministry,
death, and resurrection of Jesus circa
30AD. Someone once said, “We’d
better proclaim the gospel message
while it’s still legal.” But, my question
is, will the true Christian keep
proclaiming the message even when
it’s not?
1. Religious Persecution
Lastly, the global church must deal
with persecution. The second problem
leads into the first. The lack of
religious freedom almost always leads
towards religious persecution. In
Kenya, 59 Christians were
slaughtered in a shopping mall. In
Egypt, Coptic Christians have suffered
some of the worst times of
persecution since the 1300s. In Syria,
Christians have been killed in
numbers, many by being beheaded.
One cannot forget Saeed Abidini an
American Arab pastor who is
imprisoned for his faith in Iran. In
Iraq, churches have been bombed.
These are not distant individuals.
They are our brothers and sisters in
the faith. Yet, many American
churches remain silent as these
atrocities occur. We should…and in
fact must…lift up one another in
prayer. As Kirsten Powers writes,
“Lela Gilbert is the author
of Saturday People, Sunday
People, which details the
expulsion of 850,000 Jews who
fled or were forced to leave
Muslim countries in the mid-20th
century. The title of her
book comes from an Islamist
slogan, “First the Saturday People,
then the Sunday People,” which
means “first we kill the Jews, then
we kill the Christians.”
Gilbert wrote recently that her
Jewish friends and neighbors in
Israel “are shocked but not
entirely surprised” by the attacks
on Christians in the Middle East.
“They are rather puzzled, however,
by what appears to be a lack of
anxiety, action, or advocacy on the
part of Western Christians.”
As they should be. It is
inexplicable. American Christians
are quite able to organize around
issues that concern them. Yet
religious persecution appears not
to have grabbed their attention,
despite worldwide media coverage
of the atrocities against Christians
and other religious minorities in
the Middle East” (Powers 2013).
Again, may I remind Christians
worldwide…we are ALL brothers and
sisters in Christ Jesus. We will all go
to the same heaven. We must pray
for our afflicted siblings in Christ. It
may one day be us. As this website
has reached the world, I want to
remind our brothers and sisters that
you are not forgotten. May I remind
American Christians that we need to
wise up. Christian persecution is a
serious thing. All the disciples, save
the apostle John, died as martyrs. If it
affects a Christian brother or sister, it
affects all of us regardless of his or
her location.
Conclusion
The church faces some daunting
challenges in the year ahead.
However, God will see us through.
For as the apostle Paul writes, “I can
do all this through him who gives
me strength” (Philippians 4:13, NIV).
Let us prayerfully join together and
meet these challenges for the cause
of Christ.
Praying God’s blessings upon you in
the upcoming year,

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