REFORMED LIVING ROOM

Decent, Informed and Ethical Politics

2010-01-06T11:57:00.006+02:00

On 19th November 2009, Mr. Watson K. Lumba (photo below) was convincingly elected as new Solwezi member of parliament. He contested the same seat in the 2006 elections, and was beaten by the late Benny Tetamashimba by more than 4000 votes. This time around, it was a different story, as the UPND/PF pact demonstrated that it will not be a pushover in the 2011 elections.

Lumba is a dear brother in Christ, and gave a stirring maiden speech in parliament, which I share with you my readers. Let us pray that our brother will live up to the ideals and values that he so eloquently outlined in his speech. To you brother, I wish you success as you serve your constituency and the people of Zambia.

WATSON K. LUMBA,
MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT- SOLWEZI CENTRAL
MAIDEN SPEECH TO PARLIAMENT

Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to make my maiden speech in this august House.
Mr. Speaker, Firstly, I want to begin by thanking you most sincerely for giving me this opportunity to deliver my maiden speech to this august house.
Secondly I want to salute and say thank you to the people of Solwezi Central Constituency. It is my honour and previlege to represent and serve them all as their Member of Parliament. I express my appreciation to them and my commitment to work conscientiously towards the achievement of our shared objectives.

I thank the many supporters, of various political thinking, who supported our candidature, the United Party for National Development (UPND), the Patriotic Front, MMD Party members who were not able to come out in the open, and particularly the longstanding and dedicated electorate committee workers who have stood with us and worked so tirelessly. This result is a credit to their efforts. I see it as a portent for 2011. To the other candidates, I thank them for providing me and my party a tough contest. They fought and marshalled a tough campaign and I was declared the victor because of them. To the many hard working people of Solwezi that worked tirelessly for the other candidates, I wish to thank them for their earnestness. I want to say to them that I will be their Member of Parliament too, and will represent their interests as vigorously as I can. I look forward to working with them all.

Mr. Speaker, I also thank the President of my Party, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, his colleague Mr. Michael Sata, of the Patriotic Front, my Campaign Manager Honourable Katuka and the entire leadership of the UPND/PF Pact, for their confidence in my candidature and for tirelessly directing an informed, issue based and spirited campaign. The unity shown by the UPND/PF members from the top leadership right down to the grassroots portends well for the future of this country.

Mr. Speaker sir, Allow me to thank my wife, Patricia and daughter, Racheal, my family, and my close friends—people whose love and support I have depended on. Finally, above and under all this is God’s love and enabling grace. I am grateful to the Almighty for this privilege to serve his people in this way.

Mr. Speaker, as Member of Parliament for Solwezi central, I follow a string of illustrious predecessors whose political history and contribution to this country is immense. There was Mr. Humphery Mulemba, Dr. Ludwig Sondashi, inter alia, who served Solwezi Central Constituency with distinction. Allow me now to pay particular homage to the memory of my immediate predecessor, Honorable Benny Tetamashimba, who passed into eternity in September 2009. Mr. Tetamashimba will be remembered as one of Solwezi Central Constituency’s great Members of Parliament. I honor his memory (MHSRIP).

Mr. Speaker, deciding to enter politics didn’t come natural to me. Some of my family members and close friends argued against it. “What are you thinking?” they asked. “You’ve got a family, a successful career, why jettison all that for a life in politics?” Their view reflects the same frustration any attentive listener hears across Zambia, that our politics is not listening or responsive to people; that out politics is “dirty”. My decision ultimately came down to believing that I can make a real and positive difference—something that has motivated my life; and something that I have done elsewhere.

Mr. Speaker, I wish to pick, for my extended discussion the state of politics in our country. Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals, the society in which they live and the economy in which they work. Most critically, our responsibility in this Parliament at Manda Hill is how that power is used: whether it is used for the benefit of the few who have access to power or to the many who give those few the power. In this my first speech I want to speak on the fundamental principles that I believe should govern the exercise of political power and the reasons, therefore, that I am a member of the United Party for National Development (UPND) and why I have sought election to this parliament. I want to speak on how these beliefs shape my approach to some of the great policy challenges now facing our young nation. I also want to speak on some of the practical problems facing the local community that Iam now privileged to represent in this august house. I believe that ideas are important, Mr. Speaker. Ideas shape behaviour—the behaviour of governments, of bureaucracies, of business, of unions, of the media and of individuals. As is it written in the old Book of Life, the Bible: “Whatever a man thinks, so is he”.

And as a noted Economist John Maynard Keynes wrote in his General Theory:
“The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slave of some defunct economist.”

Keynes notes here that we are all influenced by some ideas. The crux of the matter is whether those ideas are founded on sound ideas or based on some false notions.

Debate, therefore,is about fundamental ideas, particularly ideas about the how political power must be used in developing our young nation and the proper role of the state in the economy and society, is critical to an informed discussion on policy in this House. Unfortunately, this is lacking. For as long as I can remember, it has become fashionable in our young country to accept that politics do not deliver sustainably and lack imagination; the notion that hard work doesn’t pay; the death of principled positions; the triumph of neoclassical economics which are less understood even by their proponents; and the politics of non-issues which are devoid of any discernable ideological position. We continue to waste time and resources on non-issues. Put crudely, it is the degrading view gaining ground in our nation that says “forget the ethics and morals, everything goes, the end justifies the means”; and also that “everything is up for sale at the right price”. In Solwezi, however, the concept of the highest bidder secures clearly failed. Politics on this argument becomes little more than theatre—a poorly staged public performance necessary to convince the electorate that the country is moving, or needs a new management.
Mr. Speaker, I disagree, and I disagree fundamentally. I believe that there remains a fundamental need for us as a people of Zambia to clearly define and articulate our national interests that transcend party affiliations. Under girding such national interests should be ethical and moral issues that include setting for ourselves to honor virtues of hard work, honest, trustworthiness and decency.

I believe that there remains a fundamental need for us as a people of Zambia to clearly define and articulate our national interests that transcend party affiliations. Under girding such national interests should be ethical and moral issues that include setting for ourselves to honor virtues of hard work, honest, trustworthiness and decency.

Mr. Speaker, at this stage in our national development, it is unavoidable that politics plays a very important role in determining the direction of our young country. And this is precisely where the use of the political power becomes very important. Our people want to move from underdevelopment to development. Individually, this is a lifetime journey. But for politics to lead, it must of necessity contain some basic fundamental moral values and correct knowledge. How can we hope to develop when our politics are used not to serve the larger public good but the people in politics? How can we move this young country forward if we do not possess the basic understanding of the sound tenets of governance such as democracy, liberty and economics? Mr. Speaker, the rest of the world is marching on forward through globalization, with or without us. If Zambia will not stand up to be part of this march, it will be sucked in nonetheless.

How have we done in the past few years on this account of making progress? Admittedly, Zambia has made progress, but it is the progress that we should be ashamed of because we could have done much more. Progress in some areas, like in growth in the trade and non-traditional agriculture sectors, has been negated by backslides in the quality of education and health systems amongst others. I wish to suggest Mr. Speaker that this is due to our failure to articulate clearly our national interests and putting these in priority. Our fate as a nation is bound together and no section of our society can prosper sustainably while leaving behind the vast majority of people in ignorance and abject poverty. This is where ethical politics come in. Our government has a role of ensuring that we begin to put in place an organized Zambia. Why is it that as a country, we are more disorganized now than pre-1991? My view is that we have wrong politics.

Mr. Speaker, allow me to digress and give some aspect of my life story that inspired me to seek to serve the people. I come from a family of 14. My father, who is 79 years old and he has spent the last 40 years as a pastor in the Christian church. Growing up in that family, we were taught, as many in this house I am sure were, values and virtues rooted in scripture that called on us to love God first and then our fellow man. I therefore believe that without a sense of wanting to serve fellow man, man used generically to include woman, politics becomes devoid of its soul. But how can one serve man without love for him/her? And how can one love man without the love of God, the giver of true love? Mr. Speaker, I strongly believe that service to our fellow Zambians and our country should be informed by principles of virtue that will once again make our people proud of themselves. It is only when we believe that we can and should take care of our neighbours that we will have a fearless energy to drive this country forward. With this, we must reject an infamous proclamation of one of the leading western leaders of the last two decades when she said that “ there is no such thing as society.”

Mr. Speaker, Zambia has natural vast resources that we need to harness. But I fear that the Government is taking too much of a minimalist interest in the management of the exploitation of these resources, and the income therefrom. We had better take charge and control of proceeds from these resources or else we are doomed. I am sure it is clear to us all Mr. Speaker, that the often heralded foreign investors will leave Zambia one day once these resources are finished. And we will be left with large holes in the ground and serious environmental issues. My call is that politics and leadership should be used to get our fair share of these resources.
Mr. Speaker, as people, we are all the product of our own experiences and the ideas with which we have been confronted. These are the simple experiences and unremarkable beliefs which cause me to sit proudly here rather than on the benches of those opposite. I believe unapologetically in an active role for government in leading the development of this country. I believe that this activist role should have, as its foremost guiding principle, a commitment to equality of opportunity that is real rather than rhetorical. It is a principle that should permeate all that we do in education and health, water supply and sanitation and mining, to mention but a few sectors. I also believe that the government must actively look after those who, through no fault of their own, cannot look after themselves. Our economy is small and weak, and therefore I believe that the government while fostering its growth must regulate it.

I also believe that any government in power should not just turn in on itself, but instead have a fundamental responsibility to pursue the public good, first locally, then internationally, in the promotion of national and regional security, democracy and economic development and the protection of the planet. These are the fundamental beliefs that continue to drive our Party. Ours is a dynamic, and not a static, movement. Our beliefs are clear but their applications to the policy challenges facing the nation require creativity and experimentation. Our Party is a combination of experience and youth. Through this it possesses the intellectual horsepower and the policy craft necessary to carve out an alternative vision for the nation as well as a program of action for the realisation of that vision.

Mr. Speaker, We are not afraid of a vision in the UPND, nor are we afraid of doing the hard policy work necessary to turn that vision into reality. Parties devoid of any ideological stand (and by ideology we mean a well thought-out political and economic system) will tend to react to issues; are caught unawares by the obvious and offer no solutions to the complex challenges of the 21st century. If Zambia must survive in this century, we need new thinking.

We are a decade in this new century, the nation is confronted with an array of opportunities and challenges of bewildering complexity in the economy, in education, in the environment, in the collapse of our local communities, in the structure of the local government and, perhaps most importantly, in the deepening contempt with which the institution of political infrastructure, is held. We are at present in a period of unprecedented global economic developments which at the same time are uncertain, driven by fundamentally unstable international financial markets. To meet these challenges, we need new politics and new thinking people in government who are dedicated and imbued with moral-ethical political and intellectual energies.

The first fundamental challenge for this country is to learn to feed ourselves. Feeding ourselves is fundamental to anything else that we may wish to do. It is not only a matter of national pride and confidence but of national security as well.
The second fundamental challenge facing our nation lies in our nation's education system. Education is both a tool of social justice as well as a fundamental driver of economic development. I believe that the nation needs a revolution in its education system. We have state curricula of highly variable quality and a decline of critical subject areas such as science. Some schools teach science without laboratories. We have a demoralized teaching profession whose energies are now dissipated in school administration and fee-driven tuitions rather than in syllabus delivery. We can call for and receive all the foreign direct investment in the world, but with an ill-educated population, we will reap the whirlwind.

I believe that if we are serious in our national rhetoric about having the next generation of Zambians attaining and driving a middle income country by 2030, then we must, through the school system, equip them to do that. I understand that my remarks will be met by the inevitable chorus of, `There is no money,' but I ask the question: `As a nation, can we afford not to?' I believe that equity and economic development demand it. In a global economy, a first-class education is one of the few forms of real security that the state can provide to its citizens. An educated citizenry may be the main key that we need to make progress as a people.

Mr. Speaker, Zambia once had an enviable position regionally and internationally. Lusaka used to be a must-stop destination to influential world leaders. Our first and second republic leaders stood shoulder-to- shoulder with their peers. Not only did we pride ourselves on our achievements, but we were also respected as an effective international citizen. This is no longer the case and we ask ourselves: “what happened?” The answer may again be related to our current politics. We have allowed ourselves to assume mental dwarfism that refuses to think critically and beyond our narrow self interests. We are content to visit political Tuntembas translated as tea cants or prefabricated sheet corner stores when we can get more from political malls with their polished knowledge. To get back to that place requires leadership—leadership that the current government appears demonstrably incapable of providing. Our future challenge is to build across this nation a robust domestic constituency in support of Zambia's future international engagement, one that will not be neglected by inferiority complex.

Mr. Speaker, I am in this place, first and foremost, as a representative of my local community, Solwezi Central Constituency, which has done me the great honour of electing me as their representative. My time here will be dedicated representing the interests of, the humble and hardworking people of inter alia in Kiafukuma, Kimasala, Kamiteto, Kyawama Mushitala, Zambia Compound Sandangombe and Kapijimpanga.
In these communities, there are three main challenges that I wish to bring here. The first of these is health. The existing health infrastructure is poor and inadequately equipped. The health centres are also sparsely distributed resulting in people walking long distances to access them. The second issue is poor road infrastructure. We all know the poor condition of the Chingola – Solwezi Road. This road should pay for itself given the economic activities of the two towns that it links. The other roads are equally in poor condition and need urgent attention to facilitate the rapid economic activities taking place. The third issue is the low access to clean water supply and sanitation. Many people depend on hand-dug wells which maybe unsafe and of a poor water quality. Poor sanitation too is of major concern and is responsible for preventable diarrhoea diseases especially in infants.
As for education, the story is no different. Infrastructure is in a dilapidated state, no desks, few teachers and a very de-motivating learning environment. Community schools have sprung up in many areas but unfortunately these are not regulated and therefore unlikely to be offering education of an acceptable quality.

Mr. Speaker, one of the major employers in my electorate is Kansanshi Copper Mine, which is responsible for hundreds of jobs. The story of the interaction between the mines and the community is a sad one, and I am not seeking to blame anyone but have no choice but to place the blame on someone - the government of the day. What we are seeing is that the benefits in terms of jobs and other benefits are not being shared equally. I would wish to call on government to look seriously in the matter of how to create a win-win situation between the people of Zambia and the foreign companies exploiting the mineral wealth.

Mr. Speaker, I do not know whether I will be in this place for a short or a long time. That is for others to decide. But what I do know is that I have no intention of being here for the sake of just being here. Together with my colleagues in the UPND/PF it is my intention to make a difference; starting with decent politics; informed politics, and ethical politics.
God bless the Republic of Zambia.

Thank you Mr. Speaker.

Christmas Then, and Now

2009-12-24T21:25:00.007+02:00

“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11)

I have lived in many towns in Zambia, but no town holds a special place in my heart the way Luanshya does. Luanshya, that once beautiful garden town, and home to the first large scale copper mine in Zambia still remains my favourite, although the town is now a pale shadow of its former glory.

What has prompted this train of thought down memory lane is not the significance of Luanshya in the history of copper mining, nor the declining fortune of the once gem of the Copperbelt. My mind, however, has been forced to race back to the 1980s for an entirely different reason – Christmas. Yes, Christmas.

I was privileged to be born and raised in a Christian home. My father was an elder in my local evangelical church in the suburb of Roan. From a young age, I understood what Christmas meant because my parents told me. Although no one knows the actual date on which Jesus was born, it is a fact of history that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law.” (Galatians 4:4). And the supposed day that celebrates the birth of our Saviour was one that was heralded in our home with the spiritual significance it deserved.

Weeks and months before Christmas, the sounds of Christmas would already be buzzing in the air, on our black and white television, and on the radio. We could not afford a Christmas tree, neither was our house filled with the smell of fresh cranberries and gingerbread cookies. But something that never missed every Christmas was fried chicken, biscuits (our American friends call them cookies), cake, juice (the famous Mazoe), fruits and soft drinks. These are not things we had every week, and so having them all the time was like celebrating Christmas everyday!

A night before Christmas, my parents would gather the family together. We sang Christmas carols, read the Scriptures, prayed and drunk hot tea. And somehow, I remember that it always rained on the eve of Christmas. We never touched any of the special goodies until the actual Christmas day. The temptation for me to wake up in the middle of the night and tiptoe to the kitchen to feast upon some of this food was always high, but the punishment such misconduct attracted was a strong deterrent from attempting such nocturnal escapades.

The next day, we all looked forward to going to church. The scriptures were read, and more Christmas carols sung to remind us of the meaning of the blessed birth of the Baby Jesus. And then we watched a play of the nativity story performed by some of the church members. This would be very exciting and the humour from the actors in re-enacting of the birth narrative made it come arrive in a contemporary way. Though I must confess that looking back, there was a lot that was added to the play which had no biblical warrant. But, that was Christmas the Luanshya way! After the service, we made our way back home for the special treat. My parents would invite one or two families to join us. We ate and feasted, and had fun.

Then came the time that was the best expression of Christmas for me - getting the Christmas presents. We would receive clothes or a new pair of shoes, a new set of bed sheets or a blanket. Oh the happiness and joy that our parents brought to our hearts. We had heard stories about Father Christmas (I didn’t know him as Santa Claus until many years later). We heard stories about him coming down the chimney and leaving presents for children. Well, we didn’t have a chimney in our house down which Santa would come, so the Santa thing was just what it is, a childish myth. Thank God for my parents who taught us never to believe such myths. They showed us love and affection, and through them I was able to see, though in an imperfect way, the love of God for sinful humanity. We enjoyed the moments together as a family, but greater joy, my father would reminded us, was to be found in the fact that the eternal God stepped into time and became Emmanuel, “God with us.”

How different my Christmas was to the one many people celebrate today. It is very sad to see how Christmas has become commercialised. The world seems to want to shut out the real meaning and joy of Christmas. Today, Christmas is celebrated more as a sales frenzy than as the most important birth in history. Did you read about a London law firm, which is offering Christmas gift vouchers for divorce advice? The firm’s founder said she had been amazed at the response to the vouchers. “They seem to appeal to an enormously widespread spectrum of people looking for that ‘must have’ gift for Christmas,” she said. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6833434/Law-firm-offers-divorce-gift-vouchers.html

As outrageous and ridiculous this may sound, it is just a true reflection of the commercialism that has hijacked the real meaning of Christmas. What an inappropriate or worse still, insulting gift one can receive during such a season.

As you celebrate Christmas this year, it is my prayer that this astounding truth that lies at the heart of historic Christianity might grip your heart and point you heavenward to the architect of our Salvation. It was in order to save us that the Son became man. He assumed a genuine human nature in order to: perfectly obey God’s law, suffer and die on the cross as a vicarious atonement and rise again victorious over Satan, sin and death.

Youth Conference at the Tent of Meeting

2009-08-25T11:11:00.009+02:00

Stand up, stand up for Jesus,
ye soldiers of the cross;
lift high his royal banner,
it must not suffer loss.
From victory unto victory
his army shall he lead,
till every foe is vanquished,
and Christ is Lord indeed.
(George Duffield)

As the political and economic climate in Zambia continues to inspire less hope to many Zambians, there is much to disturb and grieve us, but when the well over 200 youths from the Reformed Baptist churches across the city of Lusaka met on Saturday, August 22nd at the Lusaka Baptist Tent of Meeting, there was not a gloomy or despondent face at this one-day conference. It was a great sight to behold! (See picture below)

The theme for the conference was "The Fruit of Knowing God," and was derived from Daniel 11:32 - "And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits."

The speakers were Pastor Victor Kanyense of Mount Makulu Reformed Baptist Church and myself. (See the speakers pictured below).

In the first session in the morning, Pastor Kanyense set the tone by placing the text within its immediate and general context. He then gave a lucid exposition of what it means to know God. In a country where more than 70% of the population boast of being Christians, this is an imperative message to deliver. This country needs the biblical teaching concerning the true knowledge of the living God which results in a vital, intimate and living relationship with God through His Son.

And knowing that the true knowledge of God is eminently practical in nature, the afternoon session was dedicated to the practical application of the truths taught in the morning session. I handled this second session. George Whitefield (1714-1770) once said: "A true faith in Jesus Christ will not suffer us to be idle. No, it is an active, lively, restless principle; it fills the heart, so that it cannot be easy till it is doing something for Jesus Christ." In the context of the the last three chapters, a messenger from God speaks to Daniel about a time of great spiritual conflict. And about halfway into the eleventh chapter, the prophetic camera zooms upon a wicked ruler, interpreted by scholars as Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-163 BC). He was a cunning, powerful, cruel, greedy and godless leader. He corrupted the sacred things and polluted the sanctuary of God. Pagan worship and pagan agendas ruled the day. He carried out a systematic campaign to blot out every trace of Jewish religion, and introduced the thought and culture of the Greeks. He persuaded the apostate Jews to become his allies.

And in the midst of this wicked political and moral climate and chaos under this ruler, the messenger assures Daniel of this great promise: “They that know their God shall be strong and do exploits.” From among the Jews, there were those who refused to buy into the flattery and corrupt influence of the wicked ruler. They displayed great determination to resist every form of compromise.

And from these faithful remnant's intimate knowledge of God proceeded remarkable effects or fruits that the youths were exhorted to emulate, namely an untiring spiritual energy - "they shall be strong" and expanded spiritual accomplishments - "and do exploits." The young people were challenged to manifest the fruits of such an intimate knowledge of God from Daniel 11 and from the rest of the book.

We live at a time when there is so much in our culture that is anti-God. The trends and systems of thought opposed to biblical truth are increasingly becoming popular, and fewer and fewer Christians, especially the youths, are holding their own against this godless culture. The media, society and friends daily bombard young people's and exert relentless pressure upon them to conform to the worldly system. There is the pressure to lie, to steal, to read dirty books, to watch filthy movies, to lose their virginity, get into marriage through cohabitation, to dress immodestly, etc.

It was so heartwarming to see the young people enthusiastically hung on to every word that was preached. If there is any hope of pushing back the torrential waves of popular culture from our doorsteps, it lies in our young people that are full of God and the Spirit, and are determined, with God's help to fight every foe within, still lodged in our redeemed humanity, mortifying sin everyday. They must also stand on firm ground, and dig their heels in as they fight back the foes without, from victory unto victory, being mindful that this is not kids' playground. There is a high price to pay.

As I drove back home that Saturday, it was with a satisfied heart that out of the huge number of youths that attended this conference, there are not a few who are prepared to take a stand for Jesus and be the valiant soldiers of the cross. It is my prayer and hope that this event will soon turn into an annual event similar to the Copperbelt Annual Reformed Baptist Youth Rally.

Promoting Family Religion

2009-06-30T23:24:00.004+02:00

The following is an edited excerpt from an article A Call to Family Worship written by Dr. Ligon Duncan and Dr. Terry Johnson and published in Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship, ed. Philip Graham Ryken, Derek W. H. Thomas, and J. Ligon Duncan (Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R, 2003) 317-338. Dr. Duncan is Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church Jackson, Mississippi and Dr. Jonhson is Senior Pastor, Independent Presbyterian Church Savannah, Georgia. I was privileged to take some courses with Dr. Duncan at the Reformed Theological Seminary where he is an Adjunct Professor of Theology.

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When all is said and done though, some of the profoundest things we can repeatedly do to promote a heart for God in our children are also the simplest things.

First, sit together at church. Go to church every week (even on vacation), fifty-two weeks a year, year after year, and sit together. That is it. I guarantee it will have a profoundly beneficial spiritual impact. The family ought to be in corporate worship faithfully and in it together. Children can get with their friends after the services, but in church, the family ought to be prime. Do not underestimate the power of the ordinary means of grace in the life of the family.

Second, work to have a Lord’s Day. Live as if Sunday is the Lords, not yours. View it as the “market day of the soul.” Don’t let the day become cluttered up. Avoid unnecessary labor and travel. Anticipate it with enthusiasm rather than bemoaning it. Make going to church the high point of the week. Let yourchildren know you love it. Do special things with them on that day that you do no other (e.g., Dad: cook them breakfast, wake them in a special way, spend relational time with them in the afternoon, read them spiritual books and stories, make ice cream sundaes for them after the evening service and the like).

Third, attend evening worship. If we believe the whole day is the Lords day, then it ought to be framed with worship. Morning and evening worship in the Reformed tradition is the single most powerful and effective total congregational discipleship program in the history of Christianity. I have never known a family that was faithful in Sunday evening attendance in an evangelical church, that, when the great crises of life came, did not weather the storm and walk in faith, and persevere.

Fourth, memorize the catechisms. It is a proven method. It is simple. It is content rich. It teaches our children the language of Zion, as well as the precious doctrines of the Bible. It increases memory ability and capacity for thinking.

Fifth, worship together as a family at home. Praise, pray, and read the Bible together as a family at home. Why should we do family worship? (1) Because we are stewards to God of our children, whom he has graciously given to us. Ps 127:3 tells us how we are to view them “Behold, children are a gift of the LORD.” How will we account to him of the soul-care that we are to give these precious trusts? (2) Because God has commanded us to train our children up in the Lord in the home. As we have already seen in Deut 6:7, God says, “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” (3) Because the home is the seedbed of piety and religion for the church (1 Tim 3:4–5, 12).

Politics, Power and the Pocket

2009-06-16T17:16:00.006+02:00

I recently read an article entitled “Political Leaders in Africa: Presidents, Patrons or Profiteers?” It was written by Jo-Ansie van Wyk, a lecturer in International Politics at the University of South Africa (Unisa), Pretoria. This excellent article is hosted on the website of the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) www.accord.org.za/downloads/op/op_2007_1.pdf. Our own Mr. Lee Habasonda is the executive director of the southern African chapter of ACCORD.

For those interested in African politics and leadership, this article is a must-read. This is the article that has prompted the line of thought you are about to read in my recent blog post. Reflecting on the current political leadership being exhibited by our present government, one does not need to eternally scratch his head, looking for an answer to Jo-Ansie van Wyk’s question in the title of his article. The last six months of Zambian’s political landscape have burgeoned into a colossus of unbridled corruption and irresponsible public expenditure.

Reading in the media about the sittings of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC), chaired by the competent Hon. Charles Milupi, you feel like wanting to jump out of your skin over the numerous incidences of abuse of public funds that are addressed by this committee. Year after year, the office of the Auditor General highlights serious financial irregularities in the management of public funds. Take the example of the K6.9 billion revenue from the Ministry of Home Affairs collected in 2007, and was only banked in February 2009! Where was the money all this time? Who had custody over it? What did they use it for? No doubt someone must have used it as capital for his business, or put it in a personal account, earning interest over money that should have been used on needy areas of our national economy.

But the one saga that has flared people’s tempers is the K10 billion stolen from the Ministry of Health. And the figure, we are told by the Auditor General is actually close to K30 billion, or even more. For a country that is on life support economically, to lose such a colossal amount into individuals’ pockets is nothing short of economic banditry of the highest order.

But how has corruption become so deeply entrenched into the fabric of our society? Are we not able to rid ourselves of its putrefying stain? Of course as Christians we know that from a depraved mind emanates all kinds of sins, and corruption is just one such manifestation of human depravity. If people’s only motive to enter the public service is to feed their penchant for luxurious lifestyles, they will rape our resources to the last Kwacha given the opportunity. And if you do not have a responsible government made up of men and women with principles crafted on the anvil of selfless service in the interest of the people, the corrupt will roost and reproduce themselves in such an enabling environment.

If people’s only motive to enter the public service is to feed their penchant for luxurious lifestyles, they will rape our resources to the last Kwacha given the opportunity.

That is what happens when men and women with a serious poverty of moral and ethical restraint fuse themselves with politicians destitute of political will to fight corruption; you get the illegitimate children of systemic and chronic plunder and political and judicial indifference. What we have in Zambia is a political power debacle that can be traced to the marriage between depraved charlatans and political profiteers, resulting into a gargantuan charade of elitism which is not serving the country at all, but has brought about an internal economic haemorrhage that is gradually taking our country’s life away. And maybe that’s why our government has bought the hundred hearses from China, not only to escort the poor Zambians to their graves in “dignity,” but symbolically to announce the death of our beloved country. The Nyanja words (not very legible though) on the back of this minibus sum up the dire situation we are in: “BANE VITHU VAVUTA.” (friends, life is hard).

What must we do to get ourselves out of this mess? We need a mass revolutionary change of mindset. The kind of change that will serve as a catalyst to bring about decency on the political and economic front. I believe that Zambia is not a lost cause. We have the available human resources that can resurrect this country from the endemic scourge of corrupt governance. Let us allow intellectual rationality, reason and honesty to provoke every informed Zambian towards the ascendancy to the mountaintop of hope, progress, and long anticipated new chapter in our history.

As we approach 2011, the year of elections, let us face this issue with austere truth. Which political party must we bring to power? Is it capable to deliver on the promises and inspire hope? Is built on a strong foundation of transparency and zero tolerance to corruption? Is it humane, reasonable and accommodating to divergent views? Let us do away with leaders suffering from chronic ideological emptiness. Myopic, uncultured, visionless and directionless politicians must not be given any place in our political dispensation. All they care for is power and their pockets. Let them slither into the archive of failure. God save Zambia.

"Till He Bids I Cannot Die"

2009-05-28T14:19:00.020+02:00

"My times are in your hand..." (Psalm 31:15, ESV).

Plagues and deaths around me fly;
Till he bids I cannot die;
Not a single shaft can hit,
Till the God of love sees fit.
(John Ryland, 1753-1825)

Every now and then, stunning events occur in our lives that leave a deep impression on us concerning God’s work in providence. Such opportunities do not only leave us stunned, but we marvel at our Creator’s care and sustaining grace. Such is the dramatic experience that Mr. John Mthetwa and his wife Vivian (pictured below) went through recently.

Thursday, May 7th, 2009 started off like any other day for Mr. and Mrs. Mthetwa. They left home early in the morning for work in their Toyota Lucida (Estima). If there was anything significant in that week, it was Mrs. Mthetwa’s birthday two days previously. So as the Mthetwas left home that morning, little did they suspect that something was going to happen an hour later which was to remain indelibly imprinted upon their minds.

Before proceeding to their office on Nangwenya Road, they made a stop at Saint Mary’s Secondary School to pay school fees for their daughter. That done, they joined Leopards Hill Road, driving northwest towards the Kabulonga roundabout. As they approached the junction of Leopards Hill Road with Mwatusanga Road, they noticed a Jeep Cherokee which had stopped at the stop sign on Mwatusanga Road. In a flash, the stationary Jeep made a right turn into Leopards Hill Road, heading into the opposite direction. That’s when the inevitable happened! (see picture below of the Leopards Hill and Mwatusanga Road intersection)

At about 8:40 hours that morning, the Jeep rammed into the left passenger side of their Estima, causing it to overturn three times, before it finally landed on its side. Everything happened so fast. They are sure the vehicle overturned three times because they remember seeing the trees and the road in an upside down position three times. Their vehicle was a total wreck, but to think that they came out of this terrible accident with no single injury, internal or external is an eloquent testimony of the preserving hand of the Lord. “As the vehicle was overturning,” Mr. Mthetwa recalls, “the immediate thought running through my mind was, ‘Lord, is this our last day, is this the way people die?’”

Trapped in the vehicle for a few seconds, and still strapped in their seat belts, Mr. Mthetwa, in a feeble voice, asked his wife, “Dear, are you ok?” “I am fine, what about you?” was her response. “I am also fine,” he answered. Then he kicked out the shattered front windscreen, and that opening became their exit.

The entire events surrounding the accident are so amazing and could only have been crafted in the secret counsel of the God who “moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.” The God who, with unfailing skill, “treasures up His bright designs, and works His sovereign will.”

Obviously, it might sound out of place to talk of the “perfect timing” of this accident, but believing in the providence of God, as the Mthetwas do, they see the hand of God that orchestrated everything for His own glory and for the sake of His children. First, the Jeep hit the side of their vehicle just a few centimetres short of where Mrs. Mthetwa was seated. Looking at the extent of the damage on that point of impact, it is chilling to imagine what could have happened had the Jeep rammed right on her door (see picture of Mr. Mthetwa pointing to the spot where the Jeep hit them).

Second, the first people to arrive on the accident scene were a group of Zambia Army soldiers. The most senior officer, a major, asked if he could rush them to the hospital, and in the meantime, he commandeered his men to surround the vehicle, and remove and secure from it all their valuables. There were two laptops, cell phones and a few other things. Not a single item went missing. (By the way, both laptops and cell phones survived the impact and are working perfectly).

Third, when they thought of phoning some brethren from Lusaka Baptist Church, the very first person Mr. Mthetwa called was Mr. Sylvester Hibajene, an elder, while Mrs. Mthetwa called Mrs. Annie Phiri, the Church Administrator. And the interesting thing is that Mr. Hibajene happened to be in the vicinity of the accident spot, and in no time, he drove to the scene. Blind unbelief would conclude that this was mere coincidence, but we know better, the “sovereign Ruler of the skies, ever gracious, ever wise” had all the events at His command.

Mr. Hibajene drove them to the hospital where they were examined, and everything was found to be fine. Later that day, when the vehicle was tolled back home, their maid saw it come through the gate before she saw the Mthetwas (she had not yet heard about the accident), and she started wailing. The extent of the damage on the vehicle was enough to make her fear for the worst. Not until she saw her employers, did she leap for joy, and the tears of grief turned into tears of joy.

A number of brethren visited their home that day, and everyone was thankful to the Lord that their lives were spared. Indeed the Lord has spared us from sorrow upon sorrow by preserving the life of this dear couple. Our hearts soar in gratitude to God for Mr. And Mrs. Mthetwa who have faithfully served the Lord all these years, and have been a blessing to many of us. Who doesn’t know of the selfless and humble sacrifice in their ministry to the saints? Only a few days after the accident, as I went to see them and discuss whether I could post their experience on my blog, Mr. Mthetwa got news that one of the members of their house group had lost a sister, and this member was hosting the funeral at her house. With their muscles still aching from the impact of the accident, they still got busy making arrangements about how they and their Home Fellowship Group could minister to the bereaved family. Such is a couple the Lord has seen fit to still keep among us. Always thinking and concerned about others.

As they escorted their last visitor on that day, Mr. And Mrs. Mthetwa went into their bedroom, with their hands clasped together, thanked God for His mercies in sparing them from death, and prayed: “Lord, that we have survived this accident is your reminder to us that we still have work to do for you here below. Help us to be faithful to that call.”
Through this episode, the line of the above quoted hymn continues to echo in their minds. More than ever before, the words of this hymn ring with the truth that shall live with them throughout this earthly life:

Plagues and deaths around me fly;
Till he bids I cannot die;
Not a single shaft can hit,
Till the God of love sees fit.

All our times are in God’s hand. There will never be as much as a millionth of a second of our lives that escapes the notice of the infinitely wise, holy and omnipotent God. Praise be to God for the comfort this thought affords.

[Thank you to Ms. Jennipher Sakala who took the pictures at the accident scene just a few minutes after it happened]

"...HE BEING DEAD YET SPEAKETH" (Hebrews 11:4)

2009-05-26T23:56:00.009+02:00

May 27th marks the 445th year since the death of the Genevan Reformer, John Calvin. Calvin died on 27th May, 1564, at the age of 54. Almost four and half centuries since his death, calvin still speaks to us today. He has had a tremendous influence upon the world that has shaped the church and society in general.

A few weeks from now, on July 10th to be precise, Christians throughout the world, especially those of the Reformed persuasion will be commemorating the 500th anniversary of Calvin’s birthday. Calvin is arguably one of the most profound religious thinkers and theologians in history. In the words of Stephen J. Lawson in his book, The Expository Genius of John Calvin, he writes: Calvin was "a world-class theologian, revered exegete, renowned teacher, an ecclesiastical statesman, an influential reformer - he was all of these and more."

Reformation Zambia, a Zambian Reformed Baptist Periodical is dedicating its second issue in this year to the legacy of John Calvin. Though it's been hundreds of years since his death, Calvin speaks to us today through his numerous writings.

Theodore Beza, who succeeded Calvin in Geneva writes the following tribute to Calvin in his book, The Life of John Calvin:

"Having been a spectator of his conduct for sixteen years, I have given a faithful account both of his life and of his death, and I can now declare, that in him all men may see a most beautiful example of Christian character, an example which it is easy to slander as it is difficult to imitate."

Calvin always closed his sermons with a prayer. I leave you with one such prayer which demonstrates his profound sense of reverence for the Word of God:

Grant, Almighty God, that as thou shinest on us by thy word, we may not be blind at midnight, nor willfully seek darkness, and thus lull our minds asleep: but may we be roused daily by thy words, and may we stir up ourselves more and more to fear thy name and thus present ourselves and all our pursuits, as a sacrifice to thee, that thou mayest peaceably rule, and perpetually dwell in us, until thou gatherest us to thy celestial habitation, where there is reserved for us eternal rest and glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Studying Abroad

2009-03-19T16:32:00.014+02:00

“The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” Proverbs 15:3

The number of Zambians going for studies abroad has increased phenomenally over the last few years. Several years ago, there were very few people who went overseas for their tertiary education. These would either be the privileged few who were awarded scholarships by the bursaries committee; or were sponsored by the ruling and only political party in the country then, the United National Independence Party (UNIP), thanks to the eastern bloc socialist countries which were our close allies. Several others were sponsored by the copper mining conglomerate, the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) after they had completed their A-level studies at Mpelembe Secondary School.

But of late, we have seen a very sharp rise in the number of young Zambians enrolling in colleges and Universities outside the country. Most of these students are being sponsored by their own parents and guardians. A random search on Graduates.com, reveals that there are thousands of Grade 12 school leavers from across the country who are currently studying abroad. A good number of foreign universities have recognised this development and have been placing their adverts in our newspapers and on Television stations to woo potential Zambian students. Other universities have even opened branches in Zambia which provide bridging courses before the students end up in these foreign universities. The preferred destinations for most students have been Australia, England, the United States of America, South Africa and Namibia.

When I was studying in the USA, I knew of no less than a dozen young Zambians who were also studying in the same state where I was, and all but one were sponsored by their parents or guardians. What has brought about this sudden rise in the number of Zambians studying abroad? Well, several factors. First, some parents can afford to send their children to these foreign universities, so the question of cost is no longer an inhibiting factor. Second, depending on the country you go to, and the laws which apply to employment, students can take a part-time job and partly finance their own training. This may not be easily workable in Zambia.
Third, the constant closures of our two major government owned universities forces some who have the means to look elsewhere where they are guaranteed that they would go through training without interruptions. These closures in Zambia are almost predictable every academic year! Others prefer foreign universities because their preferred programme of study may not be available locally, or they think the standards of tertiary education in Zambia have been going down.

I have decided to write on this subject to share some thoughts with my fellow Zambians who intend to cross borders and seas for studies, and those who are already there. It’s also intended to give parents something to latch onto as they consider sending their children hundreds and thousands of kilometres away from home. Writing as a Christian and a pastor, these thoughts are mainly intended for those who are Christians. I will talk about the advantages of studying abroad, then look at some disadvantages, and conclude with some useful advice.

I. Advantages of Studying Abroad
There are several advantages in studying abroad. The following is by no means an exhaustive list.

1. If you end up in a country where they speak a language other than the one(s) you know, this can provide you with an opportunity to learn a new language. You're surrounded by people who speak that language on a daily basis and are seeing and hearing it in the proper cultural context. Language learning happens most quickly under these circumstances. Those who studied or are studying in say the Netherlands or Sweden will attest to this.

2. It provides you with great opportunities to witness for Christ. You might find yourself to be the only Christian in your class, and this puts a great challenge upon you to be “light and salt” before the lost sinners. It also puts your Christianity under considerable test, and you will be able to discover certain weaknesses in yourself that would have remained hidden while cloistered among friends, parents and church elders back home.

3. It provides you with immense opportunities for travel. Weekends and academic breaks allow you to venture out and explore your surroundings - both your immediate and more distant surroundings. You are much closer to places you might otherwise not have had the opportunity to visit.

4. It allows you the chance to get to know another culture first-hand. Cultural differences are more than just differences in language, food, appearances, and personal habits. A person's culture reflects very deep perceptions, beliefs, and values that influence his or her way of life and the way that he or she views the world. If you experience cultural differences personally away from home, you begin to truly understand and appreciate where other cultures are coming from.

5. It helps you to develop skills and give you experiences a classroom setting alone will never provide. Being immersed in an entirely new cultural setting is scary at first, but it can also be exciting and challenging. You will have the opportunity to discover new strengths and abilities, conquer new challenges, and solve new problems as they arise. You will encounter situations that are wholly unfamiliar to you and you have to make quick and immediate decisions far away from home. In this way, you learn to adapt and respond in ways that are God glorifying and personally enriching.

6. You are also afforded the opportunity to make friends from around the world. You will meet not only the natives of the culture in which you are studying, but also other international students who are as far from home as yourself.

7. It helps you to learn about yourself. Students who study abroad return home with new ideas and perspectives about themselves and their own culture. The experience abroad often challenges them to reconsider their own values and systems. The experience may perhaps strengthen those values or it may cause students to alter or abandon them and embrace new concepts and perceptions. The encounter with other cultures enables students to see their own culture through new eyes. One thing I appreciated about Americans is their servant spirit and readiness to say thank you. This is not just Christians doing so, but even non-Christians. A manager in an institution does not just spend time in the office oblivious of what is happening outside. Once in a while they deliberately venture outside and are willing to lend a hand to a customer, even if that task is beneath their status. I would love to see that in Zambian bosses. Can a Zambian bank manager wipe the wet floor when a client’s toddler spills juice or ice-cream? I saw that in the USA on many occasions. That is a humble servant spirit.

8. Studying abroad also expands your worldview and makes you have a balanced (and I should say Biblical) instead of a prejudiced perspective toward other cultures and peoples.

9. Universities in the developed countries have better facilities and their libraries are well stocked with latest volumes of academic textbooks. Your knowledge of current trends in your profession will be broader and deeper.

10. It enhances employment opportunities if you feel called to work in another country. Apart from the current economic crunch and its attendant effects on levels of employment, the opportunities for skilled labour in other countries are far higher than in Zambia.

11. At a human level, it enhances the value of your degree. Not that our own local qualifications are less in value, but ask any academician, he will tell you that there are gradations in learning intuitions. The Oxford University or Harvard is not in the same league as the University of Sesheke! Do you catch the irony? Anyway, as Christians, our worth is not derived from these external marks of prestige.

Disadvantages
In spite of all the advantages we have looked at, we must not assume that there is no downside to studying abroad. Here are some for you to mull over:

1. It takes some time to adjust to the new surroundings and culture while living in a foreign country. And this can have a significant toll on your emotions, and even physical wellbeing.

2. You will say goodbye to everything so dear to you at home – your family, friends and the style of life you have led for so many years. You may probably feel sad about this and it may take a while for you to come to terms with the fact.

3. Depending on the number of foreign/international students in your university, being in the minority you are going to be watched and pointed out constantly. Your accent will betray you much of the time, and if you are a sensitive type person, this can prove unnerving.

4. If you are in a country much more developed than your own, the locals may taunt you or ask you questions about your country which may be very irritating and frustrating. Others may assume you are less knowledgeable because you are coming from the “third world.” As a Christian, you just have to marshal your spiritual energy and control your emotions. Sometimes, these questions may be sincere because of ignorance or because of the media’s distorted image about Africa in general.

5. Falling sick can be a very emotionally draining and depressing thing, not to mention that it can cost you an arm and a leg if you are in the USA. The usual social networks that are a source of encouragement and support back home may not be readily available. If you are so sick that you can’t even attend class, don’t be surprised if hardly anyone notices your absence from class.

6. Feelings of loneliness are not uncommon. You also feel sad that you cannot be there to physically share in the joys and sorrows of significant events in the family and among your friends, e.g. birthdays, weddings, illnesses, bereavements.

7. You are exposed to greater temptations, and the absence of parents, strong accountable friendships and a home church deprives you of the usual normal restraints back home. Many Christians have made a shipwreck of their faith while abroad and not a few marriages have been irreparably damaged. I always point young people to the testimony of the three Jewish young men forcibly taken from Jerusalem and enrolled in the University of Babylon. They had before them all the trappings of success, but were also under constant pressure to forget their God. They refused to compromise and maintained their integrity at great personal cost (Read Daniel 1).

Some Useful Advice
Let me end by leaving you some piece of advice. Let me warn you not to underestimate the emotional power of cultural shock. You may experience mood swings alternating between emotion of exhilaration or elation and mild depression. In the early weeks, you will probably feel excited about your new experiences and environment. Soon, you may find the excitement of new surroundings and sensations increasingly replaced by frustration with how different things are from home. This is called Culture Shock. This is considered a natural (and perhaps even essential) part of adjusting to a foreign culture. Symptoms can include depression, sleeping difficulties, homesickness, trouble concentrating, an urge to isolate yourself, and irritation with your host culture.

As you begin to settle down, a number of things might be helpful to miminise the culture shock:
• Learn as much as you can from local residents about their culture.
• Keep in touch with other Zambian students. It can sometimes be helpful to meet with them and share experiences.
• When you feel low, keep yourself busy doing legitimate and God honouring things you enjoy.
• Keep in touch with your family and friends back home. Letters, phone calls, Text Messages, or e-mails will make you feel less isolated. There are several cheap ways of communicating, like Skype, VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol), to mention a few.
• Don’t forget to take pictures and contact information of the people dear to you.
• Try to keep your long-range goals in mind. Experiencing a new culture will inevitably involve some frustration and feelings of loneliness as you leave the familiar and incorporate the new, but they don't last forever.
• Since there is almost no way to avoid culture shock completely, you should try to accept it as something everyone goes through. Keep in mind that students returning from study abroad often describe working their way through culture shock as a necessary maturing experience; something that provided insight into their own cultural assumptions. You can ease your transition by recognizing the factors that cause culture shock and taking steps to minimize them.
On the spiritual front, I would encourage you to find a sound biblical church where your soul will be constantly nourished. Using the Internet, you can actually begin to search for a good church near your university long before you leave. Consult your pastor in case there are some churches he may recommend.

Once you find a local church, get involved in its life. Inform your elders back home of the church you are attending, and put them in touch with the elders of your new church. Build strong accountable relationships with Christian friends both at school and at church. Do not allow the common excuse of academic pressure to starve your soul of spiritual food, without which you can easily backslide. Maintain contact with your elders in your home church. Unless you choose to resign from membership, you are still accountable to your home church. Don’t keep your parents in the dark about any significant developments in your life.

REMEMBER, you are never a breath away from the vigilant and ever watchful eye of our omniscient and omnipresent God. “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.” This great truth of God’s omnipresence is of great use to enforce the precepts of morality.

In Search of Peace in the Sudan

2009-03-06T00:15:00.024+02:00

“He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.” (Psalm 46:9, ESV)

Just before midnight on Friday, February 27th, 2009, I drove to the Zambia Air Force (ZAF) Base, near the Lusaka International Airport. What took me there at such an awkward hour? It was the opportunity to see off my younger brother, and only surviving sibling, Staff Sergeant Mwitwa Makashinyi. (Pictured earlier at the Farewell Parade).
In a matter of minutes, he was to fly to Sudan as part of a contingent of Zambian military personnel sent to this vast northeastern African country on the United Nations/African Union Peacekeeping Mission.

After over three months of specialised training at a military camp south of Lusaka, the more than 150 soldiers were transported from the camp to the ZAF base in three big buses late Friday night. A week before their departure, they were given only a day to go and say bye to their families! I missed that opportunity to meet my younger brother, and so I elected to have my chance at the airport, though it was going to be late in the night. I was in touch with my brother on phone, so I knew exactly what time to leave home and join the convoy just a few kilometres before the ZAF Base. I think I was the only civilian who drove into the base that night, and my brother the only one to have a relative to see him off.

Just a little background about the United Nations Peace Keeping Missions. This is a unique and dynamic instrument developed by the Organization as a way to help countries torn by conflict create the conditions for lasting peace. According to the UN website (http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko/), the field operations of these peacekeeping missions have expanded from “traditional” missions involving strictly military tasks, to complex “multidimensional” enterprises designed to ensure the implementation of comprehensive peace agreements and assist in laying the foundations for sustainable peace. Today’s peacekeepers undertake a wide variety of complex tasks, from helping to build sustainable institutions of governance, to human rights monitoring, to security sector reform, to the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants. (Picture of UN forces escorting a convoy of humanitarian aid into Darfur)

The first UN peacekeeping mission was established in 1948, when the Security Council authorised the deployment of UN military observers to the Middle East to monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours. Since then, there have been a total of 63 UN peacekeeping operations around the world, and Zambian troops have participated in some of these operations.

Sudan is the largest and one of the most diverse countries in Africa. The population stands at 40 million. Since attaining independence from British rule in 1956, military regimes favouring Islamic-oriented governments have dominated national politics. Sudan was embroiled in two prolonged civil wars, mainly between the Moslem North and the Christian South, during most of the remainder of the 20th century. The first civil war ended in 1972 but broke out again in 1983. The second war and famine-related effects resulted in more than four million people displaced and close to two million deaths over a period of two decades.

Perhaps the most famous, if not infamous word in international news concerning Sudan is Darfur. This is a desert region in western Sudan roughly the size of France, and has about seven significant rebel factions, who took up arms claiming the region had been neglected and marginalised, but are divided in their loyalties. The conflict in Darfur which broke out in 2003 has displaced nearly two million people and caused an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths. Although a North/South Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed in January 2005, peace and political stability remain elusive.

On March the 4th, 2009, the judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant of arrest for Sudanese President, General Omar Hasan al-Bashir for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur. This indictment has not gone down well with the Sudanese government which has already issued veiled threats against the UN and AU missions in Sudan, the international humanitarian agencies operating there and Sudanese who support the ICC prosecution. This will pose a real threat to the already fragile peace situation in Sudan.

This is the country to which my younger brother and other Zambian military personnel have been deployed as UN peace keepers. Two weeks before their departure to Sudan, I was privileged to attend a Farewell Parade for the soldiers at Arakan Barracks, here in Lusaka. This was a colourful event, though solemn for us whose relatives were going to be away to a war torn country for such a long time. The soldiers were addressed by the guest of honour, the Zambian Minister of Defence Mr. George Mpombo and the army commander General Isaac Chisuzi. (See pictures below)

I thank God that my brother is a Christian, and serves as deacon in his church. He is married with three sons, and his wife Judith is also a staff sergeant in the military (Zambia National Service). Please, do remember to pray for my brother and his colleagues that God will keep them safe. Pray that my brother will bear testimony to the transforming power of the gospel of God’s grace to his friends. Pray for his family back home, that the Lord will watch over his wife and children, and keep them in good health. (see picture of his family)

Pray that the Sudanese government may exercise restraint in its response to the decision to President Al-Bashir’s indictment and ensure that its actions do not undermine the opportunity to achieve peace in Sudan. Pray that Christ’s church in Sudan might thrive in the midst of conflict and be a banner of hope as it witnesses to the power of the gospel to change lives and foster peace.

Lasting peace will only come through the One who “makes wars cease to the end of the earth…”

Peace efforts through human institutions such as the UN are important and must be encouraged, but as subservient means, they can only go so far. They are only a temporal answer to the volatility in our world. Lasting peace will only come through the One who “makes wars cease to the end of the earth…” (Ps. 46:9). God alone is the One who can put an end to the wars of the nations and crown them with peace. War and peace depend on His word and will. And before He establishes a peaceful universal kingdom at the end of the age, when the instruments of wholesale murder shall be consigned to ignominious destruction, He is presently working in the hearts of people, breaking down the walls of hostility through the accomplished work of the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we hugged with my brother in the cool breeze of that Friday night, I felt a wetness on my face as tears welled in my eyes and flowed down my cheek. I said a quick prayer to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, I entrust into your hands the life of my dear brother, my only brother and sibling, watch over him, and may it please you to bring him and his colleagues safely back home at the end of their mission.”

As I drove back home that night, I reflected on how truly privileged Zambia has been. God has blessed our nation with peace and stability since independence. For this, we are to be deeply grateful. Let us not relent in praying that this shall continue for many years to come, so "that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:2-4).

Extending Your Pulpit Beyond Your Church

2009-02-25T14:23:00.015+02:00

"For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." (Habakkuk 2:14, NIV)

Over the last one hundred years, we have seen the growth of various new forms of technology that have transformed the world into a fast paced one big global village. Inventions such as the radio, television, the computer and the internet have revolutionarised the world. But these inventions which have so much potential for good have also been used as tools to merchandise all kinds of evil and desensitise people from the fear of the transcendent God.

However, technology’s potential to harm society should not force us to shun it as essentially evil and retreat to the ancient caves in order to avoid its corrupting influence. Technology, like any other gift from God can be harnessed for our spiritual good and to the glory of God. As our world becomes more and more saturated with technology, the potential to reach great numbers of people with the Gospel also increases. We should not leave the ungodly to set the pace and dictate to us the value of technology, albeit only its functional and utilitarian value. As Reformed Christians living in a culture that is increasingly revolving around technology, we need to explore ways of using technology so as to bring glory to God. We need to consider it as a blessing and part of what it means to fulfil the dominion mandate. We must be thinking of ways in which technology can point us heaven-ward and recapture the sense of wonder at God’s ways and His world.

The internet is one form of new technology that has broadened our capacity to bring the Gospel to a lost and dying world. Imagine a pastor standing before his congregation of barely a hundred people, in a nondescript part of the world, faithfully exegeting and applying Scripture in his sermons, through what Paul calls the “foolishness of preaching.” And imagine these same sermons being able to influence countless others throughout the world via the internet! Now, this is precisely what is happening through the ministry of SermonAudio.com. That is using the internet to the glory of God!

According to the description on the SermonAudio website, theirs is currently the largest and most convenient library of audio sermons on the web with over 232,000+ free audio sermons in the highly popular MP3 format.

The mission and purpose of SermonAudio.com is “the preservation and propagation of great Bible teaching and preaching in its audio form for this generation and the next. It’s also a great personal evangelism tool as people may be more open to listen to sermons in their homes even if they never walk through a church door.” The motto for the website is taken from Romans 10:17 where it reads, “faith cometh by hearing.”

The sermons on the website can be streamed online for immediate listening or optionally downloaded to your computer or portable MP3 player for listening at a later time. It hosts sermons that are easily searchable by broadcaster, Bible reference, topic, speaker, date preached, and keyword. I have seen the number of broadcasters and sermons hosted on the site grow phenomenally over the years. There is a large, active, listening audience on SermonAudio.com demonstrated by the over one million sermon downloads each month!

It is this easy potential and opportunity to tap into this large worldwide audience that compelled us to sign up as members of SermonAudio.com and broadcast numerous sermons to the world, something which would be impossible for us to do since we presently do not have a church website to host our sermons. We thank God for this gospel opportunity to serve the world through the faithful preaching of the unchanging truth of the Bible. We join the only two other broadcasters from Africa, Kabwata Baptist Church, and Grace Unlimited from South Africa. We hope to upload two sermons every week from our morning and evening services. Those of you with access to the internet, can visit our homepage on http://www.sermonaudio.com/source_detail.asp?sourceid=ebcl

Our prayer is that the Lord will use this worldwide media ministry of our church through SermonAudio.com in a powerful way to save those who are lost, provide spiritual answers to those who are seeking Christ, and encourage and edify the people of God around the world. We also hope that this will also further the awareness and ministry of Emmasdale Baptist Church.

One cannot not help, but think of the prophecy of Habakkuk quoted at the head of this blog post. To Know God is to know His glory. Seen in the light of the New Testament, this points us to the full revelation of the glory that God has given “in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6), and reflect that the worldwide spread of the gospel is His chosen means of giving effect to the promises of Habakkuk. Indeed, this extends your pulpit beyond the four walls of your church.

Pastor Choolwe Mwetwa - 20 Years of Selfless, Faithful Ministry

2009-02-05T00:36:00.032+02:00

"The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green..." (Psalm 92:12-14)

As newlyweds, my wife and I started our marital life in the mining town of Chingola (see map above), about 425km north of Lusaka. I had just graduated from my ministerial training at the Theological College of Central Africa (TCCA), and my wife had just started work with the giant copper mining conglomerate, the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM). We both immediately joined the membership of Central Baptist Church (CBC), pastored by a dear brother and colleague, Choolwe Mwetwa. That was 12 years ago (1997 to be precise).

Pastor Mwetwa took up the pastorate of Central Baptist Church in November 1988 (Pictured here with his vivacious and charming wife Marilyn). In November, 2008, Pastor Mwetwa clocked 20 years of faithful ministry at CBC. His close friend and peer, Pastor Conrad Mbewe wrote an excellent tribute marking the 20th anniversary of his ministry (see Pastor Mbewe's blog posting at http://www.conradmbewe.com/2008/11/my-great-friend-pastor-choolwe-mwetwa.html

On Saturday, 31st January, 2009, Central Baptist Church hosted the 20th anniversary celebration service at Jesus Worship Centre. My family had the privilege of being part of this milestone in the life of our dear brother and the church. Several brethren from sister churches on the Copperbelt and Lusaka, as well as other Christians from the town of Chingola attended this colourful and joyous event (see picture of Pastor Mwetwa with the Reformed Baptist pastors who attended - from left to right: Isaac Makashinyi, Kabwe Kabwe, Ronald Kalifungwa, Choolwe Mwetwa, Ndonji Kayombo)

The celebration and service of thanksgiving was marked by testimonies from some of the members of Central Baptist Church; a visual photo-story of Pastor Mwetwa's ministry; singing by Janet Chisupa (Kabwata Baptist Church, Lusaka) and Mrs. Lumpuma C. Kayombo (Trinity Baptist Church, Kitwe); presentation of gifts, a cake and memorabilia to the Mwetwas. (see picture of Pastor and Mrs. Mwetwa receiving a gift from Mr. Ray Munsaka, elder of Central Baptist Church. And below, the Mwetwas cutting the cake).

God's Word was ably and faithfully preached by Pastor Ronald Kalifungwa of Lusaka Baptist Church. His text was John 3:30, "He must increase, but I must decrease." Pastor Kalifungwa described Pastor Mwetwa as an exceptionally gifted man, much sought after by many pulpits within and beyond the borders of Zambia. He said that his greatness did not lie in any qualities inherent in him, but in the gifts that the One who had called him into ministry, has been pleased to bestow upon him.

If there is one word which best describes Pastor Mwetwa, it is the word "faithful."

For 20 years, Pastor Mwetwa has faithfully laboured in God's vineyard in the town of Chingola with selfless dedication and humility. I was privileged to serve as an elder alongside him and Dr. Duncan Mugala at Central Baptist Church for over three years (see picture taken on the day of my ordination in 1998).

I vividly recall his penetrating and depth of insight on any subject in our elders' meetings. It is his clarity of thought and theological acumen that made Pastor Mbewe write that "If God ever gave a John Owen to Zambia, he did so in the person of Choolwe." I cannot agree more with this observation. My time in Chingola was of tremendous benefit to me as I received practical experience on various intricate matters of church life and ministry. Besides serving together in the eldership, our houses were just a stone's throw away from each other. This meant that I was a regular visitor to the manse, spending long hours with him - drinking deeply from the well of his vast and wealth of knowledge and experience. It was a great honour to serve with him at CBC. The first church I pastored, Trinity Baptist Church in Kitwe was planted by CBC, and nurtured from its infancy by the fatherly oversight of Pastor Mwetwa and Dr. Mugala.

Someone has said that "great heroes seldom write their own stories." Pastor Mwetwa is one man who would never call attention to his great accomplishments in the 20 years of ministry at CBC, the reformed baptist movement in Zambia and the nation at large. His life has truly flourished among us, casting a bright glow on our ecclesiastical landscape. The words of the psalmist quoted at the beginning of this post aptly describe Pastor Mwetwa. "He has flourished like a palm tree...like a cedar of Lebanon."

The palm tree is one of the noblest and most beautiful of trees. It is remarkable for its straight and upright growth. It is known to rise to the height of more than 30 metres, and its leaves when it arrives at maturity are often 1.8 to 2.4m in length and broad in proportion. At the age of 30 years, the palm tree obtains its greatest vigour and continues in full strength and beauty approximately for another 70 years, living to be 100 years, 70 of them of abundant fruitfulness, producing every year about 140 to 185 kilograms of grapes. It has a very firm and deep root system.

On the other hand, the cedar of Lebanon grows to a very great size, rising to an enormous height and spreading its branches to a great extent. It continues to flourish for more than a thousand years. The point I am making here is that such has been the fruitfulness and vigour we have observed in Pastor Mwetwa. His life exudes the beauty of the Lord He serves. We are profoundly grateful to the Lord for giving us a man of such exceptional and outstanding qualities, which include his desire for excellence in all things and his quiet and gentle way of doing things. Pastor Mwetwa has faced many significant challenges with unusual grace and has been an example of confident trust in the Lord.

May the Lord bless the ministry of His choice servant, bless his family, and the family of God's people at Central Baptist Church, Chingola.

Regular Blogging

2008-11-05T13:11:00.001+02:00

Hi dear friends, I am sure you are wondering as to what has become of my blog. Well, hold your patience. We are back in Zambia, and Internet access and connection speeds here is not something one can envy. Things will only improve when we have high speed internet installed at home. This should be sometime soon. I hope the service provider will stick to his word, and do the installation soon.

I will let you know once this is done, and then the postings will be coming regularly. Those pictures you have been asking for will be yours for the viewing. Thank you for your prayers for our presidential by election. This went peacefully well, and Zambia now has its fourth republican president since independence in 1964.