Just a few days ago, a boda boda (motorbike) guy who also dubs as a “Pastor” rode me to the venue of the recently concluded Gospel Renewal conference at Nsambya Sharing Hall.
Along the way, we noticed another rider with some “Mutundwe” Pastor’s poster decorated on his number plate.
I saw it as a conversation starter and asked him whether he believed the decorated famous pastor’s teachings were consistent with scripture.
His voice got more shaky and intense amidst the wind. “But he teaches holiness,” he exclaimed.
“Yeah,” I leaned forward, “good, but what about his emphasis on naming demons and Christians being possessed by evil spirits? “I replied. Trust me, it was shining, but our seats were now getting hotter.
Ironically, the conversation seemed to fit in the trend noticeable in many Ugandan churches. We all often pick and choose what to teach from the Bible, often emphasizing what the Bible does not, in its totality.
Photo: Us goofing a bit, probably towards one of those “near-lunchtime” sessions. (Also, glad cracked phone screens don’t show when you take a picture)
We barely pay any attention to the things scripture says about scripture, things the Bible teaches as central, namely, the nature of God and man, and the blood-bought sacrifice needed to restore “weak rebels” like us to a holy and just God.
The Gospel Renewal conference, the first of its kind in Kampala, sought to mobilize churches nationwide around what we often call “the gospel,” but neglect in favor of other peripheral teachings that ignore,
1) the character of God.
2) the image of God in man
3) The sinfulness of man
4) the atonement and supremacy of Christ
4) the work of the Spirit in producing obedience
Plus, the life of consequent obedience that flows out of local church membership.
True, I have often heard some of these teachings above in Ugandan churches, but often in isolation. So to hear them as part of the whole biblical gospel was refreshing.
Many churches, for example, will confuse the character of God by thinking we are little gods too, because we are “made in his image”; other churches will emphasize our dominion mandate in Gen 1&2 and forget our sinfulness in Genesis 3.
Others will mention Christ and his finished work, but continue to teach that a Christian can be possessed by demons. How? concurrently?
Others among us will exult in Christ as Savior, but only on Sunday mornings, failing to see him as the supreme one of Colossians 2.
Then some of us will truly exult Christ only mentally and often academically, but refuse to consider the life of radical obedience he calls us to as an overflow of the eternal life he’s already deposited in us, according to John 5.
And finally, many of us will “like” the gospel, but fail to pay attention to the local church/assembly it’s designed to produce, never being known as a member of the local church, paralyzed by “church trauma” and forgetting to unconditionally commit to Christ’s bride”. We may even say things like, “We left church, but never left God.”
We will prefer online church more than physical accountability. We may even be regular at church but only as spiritual consumers, as if church is a spiritual supermarket. And so, rather than producing, we never commit to serve anywhere, yet keep coming anyway to be “be served.”
At the Gospel Renewal conference, we saw all these gospel features counter-exposited from texts like Isaiah 40, Genesis 3, Romans 5, Colossians 2, among others.
Panel discussions and breakout sessions further explored the importance of missions, church membership, music in worship, and discipleship, and Pastor as preacher.
My prayer too for the Ugandan Church remains that we will maintain the whole gospel like this, beyond motivational talks and demons investigation, rather than the work of the Spirit in a true believer’s life. Beyond exalting man in our messages, even piling spiritual information that doesn’t change our work, play, and priorities.
For many Christian conferences I have attended, the focus has always been on fixing me (not a bad thing—trust me I could use a quick fix anytime), but the Christian life is not about me; it’s about Christ, knowing him, beholding Christ, delighting in him, and obeying him. This conference reminded me.
May we be the church that feasts on who God is and what he has done in light of who we are, so that we may understand ourselves well in order to depend on Christ’s atonement and supremacy. Not only in words, but in the local-church-centered gospel living – ever flowing into real life.
So help us God!
(For those who missed, conference media can be tracked here as soon as you hit the notification button.)
