There is a time for transition. In fact there is a lot of transition in life and in Christian life and ministry in particular. However, it is not completely true to say that ‘all of life is transition’. We function best as humans when we have times when we are settled in one place or at least clear of our direction and what our work is rather than just in constant flux…
Read MoreA call to spiritual reformation
When we’re thinking about reformation we can easily focus exclusively on the ministry of the Word and forget the desperate need for prayer – or rather the desperate need for God expressed through prayer. In one of the best books available on the subject of prayer, Don Carson shows us how Word and Prayer go inseparably together. iServe Africa apprentice Ann Mwari reviews this must-read book. A Call to Spiritual…
Read MoreBuilding a RAFT: transitioning well
I don’t know if it’s a good idea to write this post when I’m going through transition myself… Or maybe it’s the perfect time to remind myself of these things… Anyway, here goes… When Duncan Olumbe led an excellent session for us at the September ministry training course on transition, there was one thing that he mentioned but didn’t have time to go into detail on: building a RAFT.…
Read MoreThe prayer of a man heading into pastoral ministry
We always praise God when iServe Africa apprentices head into the corporate market place as servant leaders or into school teaching committed to discipling or into medicine as a mission field or into godly marriages that picture Christ and his Church. One of the rediscoveries of the Reformers 500 years ago was that all these can be places of ‘full time Christian ministry’. But be also praise God when some…
Read MoreJinsi ya: Public prayer
Leading a congregation of God’s people in prayer is a privilege but not an easy thing. Here are a few resources and then a few more tips. Kingdom-centred prayer 4 reasons every church needs a time of confession and How to keep it fresh How to lead a prayer meeting 10 tips for leading corporate prayer from the front: Written – it’s not a biblical law that you have to write…
Read MoreFollow Christ
Rosemary Wambui, who has just returned from serving for a year alongside a health centre in Uganda shares her experience: I was born in Nakuru Kenya, where I was raised and went to school. I am a nurse by profession. Jesus Christ is the Lord and Saviour of my soul. In 2016 I completed my University education and was so excited to be in the nursing field and make money as it was also…
Read MoreMore training Wednesdays
Here are some resources from the last few weeks: From the Bible Overview: The Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis) Journeying to and Entering the Land (Numbers to Ruth) From the Hebrews series: The warning passages in Hebrews (Lee Gatiss) Session on Hebrews 8-10 From the servant leadership and ministry skills series: Servant leadership lessons from 2 Corinthians 1-5 How to get things done: time, energy & mission (Tim Challies) Daily workflow (Matt…
Read MoreInjecting eternal comfort into hard realities
The following powerful testimony from Barnabas Omenda, former iServe Africa apprentice, featured recently in the GLA magazine The Link: What do you say to someone who feels they have lost it all, is over the edge with no one there to break their fall? What do you say to someone who feels so unloved, giving themselves away just to be good enough? What do you say to a hopeless soul who can’t remember their…
Read MoreThe heat-seeking missile
One of the things we do with the TransformD team is help them to think about their own hearts in terms of idolatry. Idolatry can mean a false view of God which is then represented physically. In fact that’s usually what it means in Scripture. But it can also mean a whole life of worshiping created things rather than the creator (Romans 1:25; Ephesians 5:5). We are heart-driven beings, constantly…
Read MoreSelf-care: Know your capacity and do all you can
There is a fantastic book by J C Ryle called Christian Leaders which I’d put in my top five must reads. The meat of the book is a series of eleven biographical sketches of the key preachers of the eighteenth century revival in the UK – the days of George Whitefield and John Wesley. One of the lesser known figures who Ryle sketches is James Hervey. The whole chapter is…
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