Saturday morning in Africa. You have your seat on your
veranda, your coffee in hand and some reading material in your lap. These are
the things that bliss is made of.
Today’s location is Njewa, Malawi and my soundtrack is Malawian
hip hop blasting from a sound system set up to entertain the students of
Children of the Nations’ boarding school, the International Christian Academy, as
they go about their morning chores. Moments of solitude and real soul rest have
been in short supply as I have travelled from west to east Africa over these
last few months both because of squeezed schedules and my desire to do as much
and meet as many as possible.
Today is to be different…
My reading material is an old Relevant magazine and I am
turning the pages and see a familiar face – Justin Zoradi, founder of the
non-profit, These Numbers Have Faces and fellow alumni of DV’s volunteer/intern
programme and Capetownship. As I have been living out my thirtieth year of
fallen-ness one of the things that I have noticed myself doing is comparing my
position in life with that of others. Whether it is the friend with the wife,
the house, the career and the kids or the one with some other perceived significance
or recognition, I am tempted to stand with them back-to-back and see who is
taller – a test I have never done well in. It’s a pretty human thing to do
given the perpetual dissatisfaction of a creation made to look upon the divine
when they choose instead to look upon the earthen. NGO/ministry types are
always at it – quietly comparing each other’s “impact” and judging who is the
most innovative, sustainable, indigenous or whatever is the most current
measure of success. So I first have to shake that off before seeing what JZ has
to say…
What I have always appreciated about Justin is that he saw
what scores of us who went on Capetownship had seen before but was not
satisfied with allowing it to be a mission trip that he came home from.*
Instead he was broken down, re-formed and inspired to make his home amongst the
challenges that he had seen. He writes that he was tempted to give up on the
vision he had had and I am sure that this was the problem of so many that had
gone before – sparks of inspiration got dampened. I might send a brief but accusing
glance at our culture’s tendency to politely discourage the audacious,
enthusiastic, optimistic attitude of an individual who has the arrogance to
suggest that they might be a solution. In Northern Ireland it seems like everyone
must start off with the baggage of a prophet in their own town. Thankfully
Justin ignored those thoughts that would cry down his vision and These Numbers
was born and grew.
What then is the point Justin is making in Relevant which
has inspired me to type? Simply that the answers we can personally provide to
life’s problems will never be complete. We are but part of the redemptive plan
that God has for the world. There is no perfect life, no perfect ministry.
“There
is liberation in understanding that you are meant to do incomplete work… You
are the worker, not the master builder… Being the worker means your fumbling
progress is a step along the way, leaving open the opportunity for God’s grace
to show up and do the rest.”
Chris Clark, co-founder and President of Children
of Nations, tells the story of how his mother once said that God was not in
need of great men but rather men who would point to his greatness. As I seek to
play my part in raising children who transform nations, this is an important
reminder of my own limitations and the idea that although I should constantly
strive to do the absolute most with what God has given me, there will be a
limit and in that limit I can find peace not dissatisfaction. The Bible’s way
of putting it is that God’s strength is made perfect in my weakness.
Justin ends with the story of Cardinel Danneels of Brussels
and so shall I. He said:
When I get home after a long day, I go to the chapel and
pray. I say to the Lord, “There it is for today, things are finished. Now let’s
be serious, is this diocese mine or yours?”
The Lord says, “What do you think?”
I answer, “I think it’s yours.”
“That is true,” the Lord says, “it is mine.”
And so I say, “Listen Lord, it is your turn to take responsibility for and direct the diocese. I’m going to sleep.”
The Lord says, “What do you think?”
I answer, “I think it’s yours.”
“That is true,” the Lord says, “it is mine.”
And so I say, “Listen Lord, it is your turn to take responsibility for and direct the diocese. I’m going to sleep.”
In Liberia they say that God never sleeps. That’s good. Because
I'm always doing it…
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*Notable exception to this would be Stocki whose vision of
how to partner for change was Capetownship itself – a now somewhat forgotten
ministry except to those whose lives it utterly changed forever! I also
acknowledge that there were a number of Capetownshipers there from the
beginning, sharing and supporting in the vision of TNHFs.
