Did The Great Commission Envision Poverty and Illiteracy?

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19, 20)

What was the scope of Christ’s last order in Matthew 28: 19? What did He actually mean when He ordered His followers to disciple (teach) the nations? Who was included when He said all nations? Did that exclude anybody?

What were the qualifications of those needing discipleship? Was there any small print in that command that we can use to excuse ourselves from the extremities?

What qualifications did He look for to issue that command?

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

He also called them from professions that did not need much letter education.

It is instructive to note that even the Bible we read was written in the common (market place) languages instead of the elitist and classical ones for scholars and experts.

What example did He give for that discipleship?

And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach (Mark 3:14)

He did not send them to universities. He simply called them to Himself. It was as they saw Him in ministry that they were being discipled into His likeness. The discipleship was therefore a learning of the life of Christ at close quarters. They could not second guess anything He needed them to do as they had had enough time to see how He handled it.

We will argue that we do not have as much time as he had due to our overwhelming schedules. I do not want to get into arguments about it.

But we need to realize that relationship needs and challenges are as pressing now as then, probably more now. Man has not changed from how he was since creation. That we are social beings is indisputable. That we need close relationships to grow properly is beyond question. That Jesus was able to accomplish the level of effectiveness because of those relationships is very clear even to those opposed to Him. No wonder no religion disparages Christ or His methods. The only thing they choose to argue about is His assignment and divinity. That is why they treat Him as a great prophet and teacher because they realize His divinity has clear implications and expectations on their living.

Assuming that we do not have the time to do it like Christ did, what are we then supposed to do to accomplish that kind of discipleship? Is there a way we can disciple to an extent as to produce people who are as close to Christ’s model as possible?

Over the years many church fathers (I am not talking about Roman Catholics) discovered that they could do it by offering close instruction to those who joined their churches. (I know that as I come from a Methodist background.) Those materials have such a deep spiritual content as would spur one to great spiritual growth.

But as the denomination grew and generations became more removed from the preparers of the materials, the classes become meaningless as they are just a means of attaining this or the other qualification (baptism, confirmation, full membership etc.) Lessons are then memorized to pass requisite examinations to qualify. You will find many who have no relationship at all with the living Christ passing those tests which were meant to deepen their salvation experience.

Let me here state that I have discovered that even in evangelical congregations where salvation precedes baptism and are the basis of church membership have also become the same. Recently I heard people discussing church membership. Some were saying that they are members of a church that requires believer’s baptism before accepting membership yet they became members by attending classes though they were not even saved. Why did they do it? They just wanted to have their wedding done in church. We have gone full circle.

Not very long ago some people discovered an even better method to grow. It is the interactive method where a group studies the Bible together instead of listening to a teacher and responding to his study. Materials are made to stretch our thinking and deepen our spirituality as we interact with the Bible and one another in small groups.

This time it is not only our fellowship that grows but also our appreciation and appropriation of the Bible. We are able to help one another through our collective revelation. The level of growth is not only wholesome as it is tempered by relationship but it is deep as lessons are not only learnt but are practiced due to that context.

But there was one problem though. Each member of the group will need the material individually to adequately participate in the study. This means that very many books will need to be printed. Incidentally only someone who has benefitted from that kind of discipleship appreciates it enough to want to spend money purchasing those books. Another thing I need to mention is that preparing that kind of material requires so much input that quantifying it in monetary terms is impossible. It therefore means that even subsidizing the books might still make them quite expensive. Now imagine selling that book to someone who has no experience or appreciation of discipleship!

That is why I propose we go the pearl of great price way.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. (Matthew 13:45, 46)

Does the world need to be discipled? Is the commission binding on our generation? Am I expected to be part of Christ’s team to disciple the nations? Am I willing to spend and be spent to make that discipleship possible (2Corinthians 12: 14, 15)?

But I want to take us even farther. Do you know that most of these discipleship materials are in English? Do other languages need them? Is that really a question I should ask with Matthew 28: 19 in mind?

Did Christ include indigenous languages in the command to make disciples of all nations? Can we make disciples of them without giving them what is helping our discipleship in a language they can understand? What does Revelation 7: 9 mean? Are we willing to be used of God to make that a possibility in our generation?

You see not everybody understands English.

I know Christians who have never gone to school who for their love of God and His word learnt to read the Bible in their indigenous languages. I ministered in my youth with people who got saved in the East Africa revival of 1949, many of who fit that description. My father in law briefly went to school in Ethiopia where they used Amharic which is similar to Hebrew. He came to Kenya and can read Borana very fluently due to his love for the Bible. He has been an evangelist for very long, still is. I saw a man who could barely write his name after seven years of primary school start reading the Kimeru Bible quite well when he got saved.

Do these people need to be discipled? Can we enrich their intake of God’s Word? Does God expect us to do so? Will we do it?

We MUST have discipleship materials for them too. Each language on planet earth must have such materials in the language closest to their hearts.

But there is something foundational we must tackle. It is important to realize that this will not make business sense. We are investing in a venture for the obedience in it. Like I have said only someone who has been discipled will understand the need to spend on discipleship materials. But there is another reason. We might find communities that are not in a position to fund the purchase, leave alone preparation of those materials. Again let us look at Christ.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (Luke 4:18)

We are investing in this for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God. We are investing in heaven (Matthew 6: 19 – 21). We are placing our money where our heart is. We are funding the translation and printing of the discipleship materials to GIVE to those people who need it as opposed to looking to get our money back.

Why did I have to prepare a new material though there are very good materials on the market? I am sure someone is asking. Over two years ago we went for a month long mission to Mozambique where we covered most of the country. We were teaching discipleship for the most part. Their cry for discipleship and materials was heart rending. Wherever we went we met one cry that were it not for the distances we covered we could have thought they were reciting. They told us that less than 5% of pastors have any training at all, and that is not even theological. Very many are illiterate. They pleaded with us to look for materials for them and we promised to do so.

But we did not find any materials in Portuguese even on the internet. And we felt the urgency deeply.

We therefore took a basic discipleship book and God provided an interpreter. We then went to the publisher for permission if they were not ready to print the translation. We were only given verbal permission. To date we do not have official permission.

As an aside when the translation was done, I sent the work to the partners who had invited us to proofread and give us their assessment of the same. I waited and waited and got no response though I severally asked for it (months). It was after we printed it that they told us what had happened. When they got the soft copy, they were so excited that they just made copies and started using it. They could not ‘waste’ time doing anything else like proofreading.

In Kenya the material is used to disciple new believers but there it was used on pastors and bishops. That is the kind of privilege we enjoy. But I believe it is more than that. It is a stewardship we have been entrusted with, a stewardship we will one day give an account of.

It is for the challenge of permissions that I decided to prepare this material (Fruit That Lasts). This was so that anyone who will need this material has my permission in advance to translate it into any language without fearing any legal reprisals provided they do not alter it. The target was missions. But then God challenged me to the nations in the land of Kenya who need to be discipled in their languages.

What will we need to do this? We will need a translator for each language. Then we will need the resources to print the translated work.

Now suppose a church adopts a language group in this line of thinking. It will require 50 churches to have all the languages in Kenya fully covered. Some churches even have structures to facilitate that discipleship.

Such material can be used for the follow up after missions. My experience with church missions is that there is a big challenge to organize and fund follow up initiatives after successful missions. But I believe there would be more impact if the books were just given to the churches and they are trained on its use though it is self explanatory.

Please contact me if you are interested in being part of this initiative. I have translators for some languages and am looking for others. Contact me if you can translate so that we can avoid duplication should more than one person be available for a language.

I trust God to raise a team for this whole project that should come from sponsoring churches, ministries and individuals to ensure that the materials we provide are utilized in a way that will maximize their impact. It will also oversee training that may be required to set the process up.

Support this initiative as God prompts you.

Of course I will have it translated into Portuguese as this is where the challenge originated from. Plus of course French and other languages that need such materials especially in Africa and Asia.

Another challenge I want to pose to churches is the need to develop a strategy to evangelize the Chinese who are flooding Kenya and especially Nairobi. I do not want us to fail like we did when God sent us the Somalis as their country broke apart. We took advantage of their need instead of offering them the Gospel which I am convinced was the reason God allowed for the disintegration of that nation.

Again I really would like to see a united and focused effort directed at the Chinese because as we know Christianity is resisted in China.

It is a pressing burden in my heart that I am sharing out trusting that it will find fertile and responsive ground for such a strategy to materialize. My prayer is that churches will unite for this purpose and raise a team. Then China can be reached from Kenya.

We wasted the opportunity God gave us to evangelize the Somalis when they were vulnerable and searching for God. I believe we can correct the situation by making our churches focus on reaching out to the Somalis with the Gospel. Then we will not need to spend so much on security as we will be bringing Al-Shabaab to our churches as believers in Christ and of course our brothers. Otherwise explain

… I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16: 18)

But my burden for this time is the flood of the Chinese though in my blog you will find my arguments that the insecurity we are experiencing is blamable on the church for refusing to take the Gospel to the Somalis as I am convinced that one reason God allowed for the disintegration of Somalia was for the purposes of them hearing the Gospel since we had refused to take it to their country, the same as with the Chinese. They are hitting back at the Christians because they came to the well and found it dry Gospel wise.

May we not be found wanting in our generation.

God bless you.

Gituma M’Ikiara

                                                                                 

E-mail: gitumastudent@yahoo.com                                                         

Blog: biqil.blogspot.com                                                                                         

Tel: 0722 220 147