Hospitality and Relationships

Food, Fellowship, and New Friends

This just-completed trip to Ghana was very fruitful for both the MINTS classes and the conferences taught.  We thank God for the privilege to teach His truth to those who are eager to learn! 

Our second week of ministry was unusual both in the teaching opportunities and in the broad audience in attendance.  While Keith Greer and Mike Harper covered the MINTS courses, Ray Warwick and I conducted a conference on Christian Education.  This conference was jointly sponsored by the Central Region of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana and by the Ghana Evangelism Committee so the audience of 100+ was made up of leaders from many different denominations and traditions.  Since Father Andrew is also the regional chairman of the Ghana Evangelism Committee, his lunch invitation was simply part of typical Ghanaian hospitality.  So Ray and I ate a very congenial and tasty meal at the local Catholic Secretariat.  BTW, the Father seemed quite pleased with the conference.

The CE conference was my main responsibility during the week, but since it was only two days, I was also able to be involved in one of the MINTS classes. 

On Monday, I went with Mike Harper as he taught Doctrine of Man.  As is usual in Ghanaian culture, I greeted the students and afterwards introduced Mike.  This was necessary since they didn’t have a relationship with him yet, so he was accepted under the “covering” of their long-standing relationship with me.  But they warmed to Mike quickly and even were able to understand his deep Southern accent.

Tuesday and Wednesday were taken up with the CE conference, and it was a great blessing.  We began with a presentation of the gospel of God’s grace and then worked through the basic elements of a Christian worldview.  The remainder of the conference involved working out the educational implications of that Christ-centered, Biblical worldview.  These are not easy concepts, but the attendees listened closely and their questions and comments indicated that they understood.

Aside from a few good friends from the Agape Evangelical Church, this was an entirely new audience – one that presents great potential for future ministry.  The Presbyterian Church alone has nearly 400 churches and hundreds of schools in the Brong-Ahafo region.  The manager of their schools was present at the conference and was very interested in scheduling another Christian Education conference especially for his teachers.  The attendees also expressed great interest in future conferences on the topics of Biblical Interpretation and Biblical Marriage.  The Presbyterian Chairman invited us for lunch on Wednesday and, after an immense meal, we talked for a long time about future cooperation between the Presbyterians and ELI for conferences and leadership training.  So, as you pray, ask the Lord to use these contacts to open future opportunities for ministry.

Due to our travel schedule, Thursday was our last day of teaching for the second week.  Mike gave me most of the time in his Doctrine of Man class to teach on Total Depravity and Pelagianism.  The mixture of theology and church history (with a dash of philosophy) made the teaching an absolute delight for me.

On Friday we began the process of returning to Accra, each of us boarding flights for home on Saturday.  I arrived home in Chattanooga with John S and Mike H on Sunday afternoon, September 17th.

Looking back on this trip, I’m thankful for a good time of ministry and also thankful for the men who accompanied me.  The mutual fellowship and encouragement was wonderful, as our extended discussions ranged from deep theological questions to movie recommendations.  Praise God for men who are willing to give of their time and talents to share God’s truth with our Ghanaian brethren!

It’s good to be home, but I’m home only briefly.  After the memorial service for Susan’s father this weekend, I will be leaving for Cochabamba, Bolivia next Tuesday.  While there, I will be preaching five sermons as part of a Reformation conference and then teaching Early Church History to the seminary students there.  God willing, I return home on 10 October.  I ask for your prayers as I go, that I will be able to preach and teach clearly and with good energy, and that the Lord will be honored and glorified through it all.

For Christ’s Kingdom,
Dan

ELI - West Africa