NETS on TV!

The Namibia Broadcasting Company (NBC) recently ran this clip from the graduation ceremony at Evaristus Shikongo Correctional Facility. There were 6 graduates who had completed our distance program during their incarceration. They each received a Certificate in Christian Leadership, which is our foundational correspondence course.

Rundu Pastor's Conference

Driving north to Rundu, once you pass through the veterinary road block you realize you've entered a different world. Living in Windhoek it's easy to get wrapped up in the urban lifestyle of the concrete jungle and forget that rural areas even exists. Driving in the north it's inescapable. The roads are lined with village huts and you must be on the look out for goats or cows or donkeys crossing the road. Easy-going villagers are gathering under a central tree for shade and conversation, while others are carrying their large water jugs to the nearest tap. It's training youth workers in this foreign culture where my next challenge would lie.

This past weekend was the Pastor's Conference for the Evangelical Bible Church (EBC) denomination based in Rundu. On one of the days the youth leaders were also invited to have a separate session with me. I started as I usually do, with lots of questions. I had much to learn about youth ministry in this environment before I had anything to share. In their context, "youth" begins as a teenager and lasts as long as you're single, even up to 40 years old. Their weekly meetings are little more than choir practice as they prepare songs for Sunday morning and the annual choir competition. There's an immense generational gap between these youth who are fluent with technology and the internet and the elder generations who are the church leaders. So as you can imagine, youth ministry in this culture has its own unique challenges.

I split them into small groups to discuss the question, "What is your goal for a youth in your church?" Many of them said qualities like leadership skills, knowledge of the Bible, committed, etc. I then asked, "How many of those things could be true of your youth without them even being a Christian?" I find that everyone has great aspirations for their young people, but often we overlook the foundational ingredient: we want them to have a relationship with Jesus! Christian youth ministry is primarily about discipling young people. Other organizations can offer leadership training or entrepreneurial skills or public speaking courses. But we offer one thing that no one else offers: Jesus. And He's the most important thing we can give them!

The youth leaders seemed very encouraged by our conversation and determined to invite me back again. I love working with the youth because they have a great energy and potential, and I hope to help unleash that so it doesn't get stifled.

Main session at the EBC Pastor's Conference in Rundu

Youth leaders discussing in small groups

Making lunch of pap and fish

Breaded fish for lunch

Kavango River, border between Namibia (left) and Angola (right)

Back in the Habit

Today we are officially one quarter of the way through the first semester of the 2017 academic year at Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary (NETS). Students are excitedly learning and I often see them in the library busy about their assignments. This is the point in the semester where students are still optimistic about keeping on top of their school work and not feeling too overwhelmed. Though as the weeks wear on, I know that will inevitably catch up with them. :)

My preaching class has been fun so far. They are a very interactive group of 17 second and third year students. So far we've been focusing on having only one big idea and how to find the big idea of a passage of Scripture. In the coming weeks we'll work through that process together using specific passages they'll be preaching on.

Yesterday was class picture day, so let me introduce you to our sharply-dressed student body:

NETS 1st year class

NETS 2nd year class

NETS 3rd year class

NETS 4th year class

The whole NETS community, students and staff

Sunday School Training

Part of my role working at Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary involves going out into the community to serve the local churches. This past weekend I was invited to train a group of Sunday School teachers from the Uniting Reformed Church. There were a few experienced ladies who had taught Sunday School for years, but most of them were young people very new to the job.

After a short encouragement about why we do children's ministry, we spent most of our time considering the differences between behavior modification and heart transformation. Then we went through a number of typical children's Bible stories and discussed how we could teach this story for heart transformation and not just behavior modification. It was quite a stimulating conversation which many of the teachers said they enjoyed and benefited from. I pray that the training will have positive and fruitful outcomes in their Sunday School students this year!

Photo of the Day

I found this Black-faced Weaver building his new home

and took way too many pics, but I think I like this one the best.

Welcome Back!

When I arrived back in Namibia I hit the ground running attending Staff Training at NETS the very next day. Fighting through the jet lag, I learned more about how to write a good syllabus, how to use creativity in my courses, and was reminded to keep my courses gospel-centered.

Learning about Syllabi at NETS Staff Training Week.

NETS staff enjoying some lunch together during
Staff Training Week.

The following week students arrived back on campus for the 2017 academic year. We kicked off with two days of Student Orientation. This is designed to help new students get acquainted with the campus and how we do things around NETS. It also helps returning students to ease back into the school routine and helps everyone to feel welcomed and part of the family.

Students making a music video for a group activity
during Student Orientation.

New first year students doing group work in class.

Then classes started back up and we're off and running. This semester I'll be teaching a Preaching course to the 2nd and 3rd year students. We'll focus on organizing a sermon around one big idea, developing a clear outline, and applying that idea to the congregation's specific context. I'm looking forward to a great semester!

The Long Awaited Journey

After a 6-month long home assignment and more visits and speaking engagements than I can count, it was time to go back to Namibia. I crammed two suitcases full of all my possessions, new purchases, and some donated items I’d been given along the way. I had an afternoon flight so it gave me all morning to finish packing and weighing my bags and wrapping up all the last minute details.

My first flight was just a little jump up to NYC, then next was the long leg of the itinerary: 12 hours from New York to Doha, Qatar. I managed to catch a few hours of sleep on that flight, along with a few new movies. We landed in Doha around 6pm, but my next flight wouldn’t leave again until 3am. So because I had a 9 hour layover, Qatar Airways put me up in a hotel for free. As we were waiting in the long line to get a hotel voucher, I struck up a conversation with a young, Pakistani guy who was headed back to the States for his second semester at George Washington University. We both feared we would spend our entire layover waiting in that line, but we were eventually helped, so I wished him well and went on to find my hotel.

Doha skyline at night

My hotel in Doha

I was booked at a fancy, upscale place in the city which meant catching a shuttle for the 20-minute drive from the airport to the hotel. Now well after dark, the gorgeously lit skyline grew progressively bigger in the window as we approached. I was given a room on the ninth floor which offered a nice view of some of the high-rises, but the bay beyond looked black in the night. By the time I got there, I only had about 2 and a half hours, but it was still enough time to catch a shower and a nap before I would need to head back to the airport. As I’m sure you can imagine, that bed was far more comfortable than an airplane seat!

My hotel room in Doha

9th floor view from my hotel room in Doha

I got the wake-up call at 11:30pm to catch the midnight shuttle back to the airport. The 3am flight to Windhoek was only half-full so I moved up to where there were three empty seats and had the whole row to myself. It was nice to put up the armrests and lay down to sleep. Not as comfortable as the hotel bed, but better than sleeping sitting up.

Finally back in Windhoek, they managed to lose one of my bags (no surprise there!), but fortunately it showed up within 3 days. Now comes the process of reacclimating back into this once familiar culture. It’s like when you wake up from a super intense dream and it takes you a few moments to remember what is real life. Experiences here are like long forgotten memories being drawn back to the surface. But I’m sure it won’t last long, and once again it will just feel . . . normal.