Christian Education Emphasis at Lusaka Baptist Church
Dr. Kenneth Turnbull, Executive Director, ACU
 It was a joy to be a part of the program at Lusaka Baptist Church (Lusaka, Zambia) on Sunday, July 3, 2011. It was a day dedicated to exalt Jesus Christ for the opportunities we have been granted in Him to pursue knowledge of the Creator, His creation and the relationship we have with Him. The morning began with the privilege I had to explore the Biblical worldview: what it is, how it is formulated, how it is applied, and how it formulates our education endeavors. As these issues were briefly expanded from God's Word, I was encouraged by the supportive response amongst the body of believers. The session ended with a brief overview of the integration of the Biblical worldview with the purpose and approach to education at ACU.
 One brother shared with me the following evening that a chord was struck amongst the wives over a concept touched on regarding the obligation to include the pursuit of mechanical knowledge in our endeavors so that we can effectively and responsibly exercise our dominion. An application suggested that husbands take care of maintenance issues around the house. To his wife's satisfaction, she found him cleaning up a leaky faucet flood the following morning.
We then heard the Gospel strongly proclaimed through Pastor Clement Kaunda as he preached from Isaiah 55:6-7. What a marvelous reminder that our Creator clearly desires to abundantly pardon us in His great compassion. Call upon Him, He is near.
After a break for shared food and warm fellowship, we gathered again to hear Bruce Button share about Sovereign Grace Theological Seminary (SGTS). It was a blessing to put real names and faces to our brothers serving as pastors in 5 different sub-Saharan African nations who are benefiting from this noble approach to advanced distance education, strengthening their equipping to rightly handle the Word of God. Bruce shared how SGTS and ACU are working towards uniting independent strengths to offer an education built upon a sound theological foundation from which discerning knowledge can flourish.
Elder Dennis Chiwele then introduced me to the fellowship through an interview starting with my origins and recreation in Christ and winding up at our recent arrival in Lusaka to assist the ReBCAZ (Reformed Baptist Church Association of Zambia) with the development of African Christian University. We then had a Question/Answer session where the enthusiasm for ACU was palpable. It was immediately clear that much thought had been germinating in anticipation of the grand project. Now that the sprout was surfacing, the passion to nurture the project to full maturity was flowing. Questions were asked about what ACU could do to help teachers at the pedagogical level with a Biblical worldview, how ACU could influence politics with godly righteousness, and how scientific research could be published that would demonstrate a Biblical worldview. The session closed with a brother who stood up and encouraged the body that this was a truly unique opportunity for the church's involvement, that God has been blessing them and here is the opportunity to impact Zambia and all of Africa with the Gospel.
The day's worship came to a close with Bruce Button expositing from 1 Thessalonians challenging us to see the pastoral ministry for everyone. Through Paul's example, Bruce stressed that we all pastor others in our lives, be it others in the fellowship, coworkers, or our children. Every person needs to be established in their faith through seeing Christ so that they can stand firm in this world.
It was a day of reminding: reminding us that God will accomplish His kingdom purpose, exalting Christ and His redemption, filling us with knowledge, strengthening our faith, so that we might stand firm in Him.
|
