Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
TRINITY
AN ANNUAL JOURNAL FOR THEOLOGY &
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
. Volume 1. Issue 1.
December 2023.
Volume 1. Issue 1. December,2023.
Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
Published by:
Dewey Educational Consultants Limited Publications
P.O.BOX 14097
Kampala (Uganda); East Africa.
Email: deweyecl@gmail.com
+256(0)782096897
Editor: Marx R. Mbabaali
Associate Editors: Mary N. Sebowa
Norah Chebet
Design and Production: Legendary Graphics
Subscription &Marketing Manager: John S. Ssali
Trinity Journal of Theology & Christian Education
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.34357.65760
Copyright ©2023 by Dewey Educational Consultants Ltd.
The Trinity Journal of Theology &Christian Education is a property of Trinity
Biblical Institute.
No portion or part of this journal may be reproduced without the written permission
of the publisher and or Trinity Biblical Institute.
For more information contact
PO Box 126, Kapchorwa, 0393-208719 or +256-782-690529/+256-773-710597
trinitybi2014@gmail.com or mmarxraymond@gmail.com
Volume 1. Issue 1. December,2023.
Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
Table of Contents
Editor’s Message by Pr. Marx R. Mbabaali ....................................................................................4
Elder John S. Ssali ........................................................................................................................5
Shepherding The Flock By Elder James Kabugo..............................................................................6
The Unfinished Task by Pr. Pete W. Anderson .................................................................................7
The Necessity of Church Leadership Development In Africa by Elder Fred Kabenge ...................... 16
The Library & The Internet: The Invisible Force &Partner In The Great Commission. .......... 21
“No Other Gospel” by Pr. Doug McNutt ....................................................................................... 24
A Discipleship Model for Developing Leaders for The Church Ministry by Pr. Pr. Milton Lipa ........... 27
Continuation.............................................................................................................................. 33
Predestined for Adoption Pr. Rich Young ...................................................................................... 33
Christian Response to The Divergent Views on Homosexuality by Pr. Milton Lipa........................... 35
The Centrality of Theological Education In Africa and The World Over by Elder Charlie King ........... 45
The Key to True Prayer by Pr. Andy Webb ...................................................................................... 50
Volume 1. Issue 1. December,2023.
Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
Pr. Marx Mbabaali: MLIS-ucu, DBS-TBI, BLIS-ucu, FOCA-ALA, U. NY, RDM-Nigeria, PGC-UP, South Africa)
Trinity Biblical Institute, Librarian
Chief Editor – Trinity – Journal of Theology & Christian Education
mmarxraymond@gmail.com librarian@trinitybi.ac.ug
Mob: +256-773-710597 / WhatsApp: +256703874124 / Office: 0393-208719
Editor’s Message by Pr. Marx R. Mbabaali
The Trinity Journal of Theology & Christian Education will strive to improve & maintain its
standard as an informative & academic journal dedicated to theology & Christian education, as
well as its goal to publish and advance knowledge in the dedicated fields. The Journal was started
by the school of theology, missions, and education, which is a constituent of Trinity Biblical
Institute (TBI) which is a constituent of Trinity Centre for World Mission, USA. The initiative will
strengthen the Institute’s scholarly mission, for it joins other theological and educational
institutions to publish works that critically explore research, theoretical issues & insights, as well
as innovations. The Trinity Journal of Theology & Christian Education will continue its
contributions that will have a bearing in all spheres of theology & Christian education practice and
policy.
In its inaugural publication (Vol.1 No.1), it is crucial to understand that Trinity Journal of Theology
& Christian Education will aim and is also destined for international accreditations and standards,
envisioning a combination of on-line and print formats, as a means of rendering its publication
more interactive and beneficial to a much wider range of critical readers and competitive
contributors. It is thus heartwarming to note that the present issue is published by Dewey
Educational Consultants, Ug Ltd, but will also intend to be published by the ever-growing African
largest collection of scholarly journals, African Journal Online (AJOL) which hosts hundreds of
Journals, so that it is available to readers not only in print, but also online format.
The support the journal has so far received from Trinity Biblical Institute, Trinity Center for World
Mission, the editorial team, and the article contributors has strengthened the determination to
maintain the high standards of publication. The editorial team thus expresses its gratitude to all
well-wishers and contributors, and will continue to welcome, not only original and decent quality
manuscripts, but also constructive comments, suggestions, and criticisms from readers, which will
stimulate further debates and research on Theological & Christian Education issues and proposed
reforms. The TTCE Journal particularly encourages submissions of unpublished manuscripts on
pertinent theological, moral or ethical & educational issues that will stimulate and/or augment
discussion forums on improving quality in all aspects of theology & Christian education including
teaching and learning, policy, planning, governance, management and others. It welcomes
contributions of all interested scholars and practitioners in theology & Christian education, to
submit their manuscripts to the Chief Editor’s offices as indicated by the Journal Guidelines at the
end of the present issue.
Volume 1. Issue 1. December,2023.
Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
Elder John S. Ssali
T.B.I Deputy Principal (Academics & Administration)
Pioneer member for Trinity Theology & Christian Education Journal
babumbex@gmail.com Mob No. +256782690529.
Trinity Center for World Mission (TCWM) is the mother body for Trinity Biblical Institute that
operates in East and Central African Countries; Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, and the
ministry operations are still growing and spreading to other Countries. Our vision is “To Disciple
Nations for Christ in East & Central Africa”- Premised on Matthew 28:19-20. Our Mission is
“to train & equip servant leaders of the Triune God for Ministry in Global Christian
Movement” & our Motto is “Expect Great things from God; Attempt Great things for God.”
By God’s Grace, Trinity Biblical Institute has faithfully trained pastors and church leaders in form
of theological Conferences and formal training under accredited Theological & Biblical Studies
Programmes. TBI attained its official mandate to teach accredited Theological & Biblical Studies
Programmes on February 25th, 2020, the Uganda National Council for Higher Education accredited
the institution to operate as a private tertiary institution, a status that gave us the mandate to teach
and award internationally recognized certificates and Diplomas in Theological, Biblical &
Christian Education study fields. By God’s grace the TBI pioneer cohort was commissioned to go
and fulfill the Great Commission during the first graduation ceremony that was held on Friday 9th
December 2022 at Kapchorwa.
The unfished work of Missions is championed by TBI chancellor & Founder Trinity Center for
World Mission - PR. DR. Missionary Pete W. Anderson and this is one of the major missions that
he wishes our current trainees, graduates, staff, churches, & entire human race to carry out.
As we commission these graduates to go and make disciples of all Nations, in the same spirit, we
also appreciate God for the many accomplishments that he has enabled us to achieve including
T.B.I’ attainment of the Other Degree Awarding Institution (ODAI) status following Uganda
National Council’ approval at her 72nd sitting of Monday 21st August 2023. The ODAI status gives
T.B.I the mandate to train students, pastors, and other church leaders from Certificate level to
postgraduate levels TBI promoters, Governors and administrators may approve.
Today we are launching the first publication of the Trinity Theological and Christian education
journal as one of the activities &achievements to celebrate our progress since 2015 and to inform,
educate & inspire readers, TBI Trinity Network members, Consortium of TBI graduates in East &
Central Africa, partners, and the entire Christian Movement. We are so grateful for your prayers,
support, active involvement and donations towards the expansion, growth & development of TBI/
TCWM ministries as we train nations and church leaders who will create churches that will create
disciples.
Volume 1. Issue 1. December,2023.
Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
Shepherding The Flock By
Elder Kabugo James: Chairperson TBI Board of Trustees TCWM (U) LTD Board
secretary.
John 10:11 -18
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So, when he sees the wolf coming, he
abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—
15 just as the father knows me and I know the father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to
my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
17 The reason my father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again.
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have the authority to lay it down
and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my father.
When I was growing up, I used to see my Pastor caring for his people. Caring to find out if they
had got what to eat or not. Unfortunately, today with many churches that have come it’s the sheep
to take care of the shepherd. It's the sheep that know where shepherds sleep, but the shepherd has
no time to find out.
I charge everyone reading this journal to adhere to biblical doctrine, teaching, and way.
of life!
Congratulations.
I am extremely honored and profoundly honored to endorse this first issue and edition of the Trinity
Journal of Theology & Christian Education and recommend to you the readers graduates, alumnae,
ministry partners to read it. The series of Theological and Christian Education articles included in
this journal will surely edify your personal life and improve your ministry.
Thank you!
. Volume.1. Number 1. December 2023
Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
The Unfinished Task
By
Pr. Dr. Missionary Pete W Anderson (Trinity Biblical Institute Chancellor & founder Trinity
Center for World Missions).
All over Africa, there are unfinished
buildings. These buildings are testimonies of
lost dreams, plans that never materialized.
This is sad. But there is a much greater
problem. Christ has given us one major task,
to disciple the nations, but that task after
more than two thousand years is unfinished.
We should weep and repent of our failure to
obey the great commission. Most of you have
some tasks that are incomplete; you started
something, but it is unfinished. I like to build
things, and it frustrates me when I start
something and do not finish it. What about
you? Do you have unfinished business; a
bunch of unfinished tasks, projects, books
that you have started, repairs that are half
complete, letters you plan to write? These are
all minor/small in contrast to the task given to
us by the Lord Jesus. Jesus has given his
church, including you and me, a task. It is the
most important task on earth. That task is
commanded in the great commission. We are
to go to the nations and make disciples.
. Volume.1. Number 1. December 2023
Today we will examine how we are doing
regarding obedience to the great commission.
We will first consider the task. Then we will
look at five encouraging advances in
missions today. Then we will consider areas
where we need great improvement. And
finally, I will challenge you to obey Christ
and help complete the task given by our Lord
Jesus. You are part of this great, global task.
This is largely what you were made for. You
were made by God for God and His glory. I
want you to have the joy of obeying this
command to reach the nations of the world so
that they might bring great glory to God.
So let us be reminded of the task:
This task is so important that it is mentioned
in the first five books of the New Testament.
First, after the resurrection Jesus had his
disciples go to a mountain…outside of
Jerusalem. After clearly establishing His
authority over heaven and earth, the next
words out of Jesus’ mouth were, “Go,
therefore”. Here is the full command:
Matthew 28:19-20 “19 Go therefore and make
Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all
that I have commanded you. And behold, I am
with you always, to the end of the age.”
Now this is not a comfortable call inviting
most Christians to send out a few
missionaries. No, this is a command for every
Christian disciple to be involved in missions.
Our God is a missionary God and He sent his
missionary Son into the world and that Son is
now sending you. For many of these early
disciples, this meant sweat, hardship, travel,
separation, sacrifice, persecution, and
martyrdom. This is a command to go into the
world and make disciples. This is a command
to expand the kingdom by going, making
disciples, baptizing, and teaching. This one
command is the major reason that Trinity
Biblical Institute and Trinity Center for
World Mission exist.
The major task commanded here by Jesus is
discipleship. Notice that Jesus did not say go
and make converts…have a one-time crusade
and then move on. He is saying, “I have
discipled you, taught you. I have been with
you and modeled for you how to live and
what to believe. You now understand the
Gospel. You were witnesses to my life, my
miracles, my death, and my resurrection. I
taught you through words and my example
for three years. Now, you are my disciples.
Now go out, follow in my footsteps, make
more disciples. And what is a disciple? A
disciple is a student, a learner. A disciple is
not simply a convert to Christianity. A
disciple is a Christ follower. A disciple lives
a life of faith and obedience to Christ.
Discipleship requires training, mentoring,
coaching, and instruction. Without training,
Christians generally do not grow; they remain
as infants, weak, and immature. The first task
in discipleship is evangelism—you must
learn to share your faith. But evangelism is
only a small part of the process. You would
not neglect a newborn baby. You would
spend vast amounts of time with the child.
We should constantly look for opportunities
to share the Gospel and make disciples. We
are to begin in our own family and networks
of friends, but we also have a part in
discipling the nations. And what do new
disciples need to know? Specifically, you are
to teach them to obey all that Christ has
commanded. You become involved in their
spiritual growth. You focus on the person and
work of Jesus Christ. You help them to
become like Christ, to put off sin and put on
righteousness. You love them, you are kind
to them, you help them grow and mature, you
want them to exhibit the fruit of the Spirit
then you want your disciple to become a
disciple maker.
You see, you are meant to be part of the
mission, you are part of the story, you are the
light of the world, you are messengers,
ambassadors of the King. Every disciple must
be a disciple maker. To be a disciple is to
make disciples. The New Testament knows
nothing of disciples not making disciples.
This task begins in your home as you disciple
your children. It continues in the church
through worship, Sunday School, Bibles
studies, and much more. And it will be ended
when people from every nation, tongue, and
tribe hear the Gospel and are discipled.
And to whom are we to go according to
Christ’s command?
We are to go to the nations or people groups
of the world. You begin in your home, your
community, your church, and your workplace
and when you can, you go to the world, or
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you help someone else go. Today there are
more than 17,000 people groups spread
throughout the world. When Jesus speaks of
going and discipling the nations, He has these
groups in mind. This is an extremely specific
command. It is a command that keeps you
from just focusing on those around you. This
is a specific command to make disciples
among every people group in the world. At
this point, it is the year 2023. But there are
still more than 7000 people groups who have
still not been reached with the gospel.
Therefore, obedience to the Great
Commission
necessarily
involves
intentionally going to them, living with them,
evangelizing them, and making disciples.
Yes, there are hungry people, sick people,
and people with many needs, but we must
never forget that spiritually dead people are
in greater need than any other group. Without
Christ, they are eternally lost; they are
without hope. Do you have a burden for those
who have never heard the Gospel of Jesus
Christ?
While we are alive, we are charged with
reaching the world with the gospel. Have you
understood the Lord’s commission? Are you
convinced about the priority of discipleship?
Now I want us to go beyond the great
commission passage in Matthew and show
you this is Christ’s teaching in all the Gospels
and this priority for the church is seen in the
Book of Acts and all the writings of the
Apostle Paul.
2. Now consider the restatement of the
Great Commission in Mark 13:10
There Jesus declares: 9 “But be on your
guard. For they will deliver you over to
councils, and you will be beaten in
synagogues, and you will stand before
governors and kings for my sake, to bear
witness before them. 10 And the gospel must
first be proclaimed to all nations.
What is this? This is not just a prediction that
the gospel will be proclaimed in the entire
world, Jesus says that this must be done.
“Must” is a word that requires necessity and
action. The Gospel must be proclaimed in the
entire world.
3. Then let’s consider a third restatement
of the Great Commission. In Luke 24,
we come to the last chapter of the Gospel
of Luke. Jesus has recently risen from the
dead and appears to the disciples.
Luke 24:44-49 “44 Then he said to them,
“These are my words that I spoke to you
while I was still with you, that everything
written about me in the Law of Moses and the
Prophets and the
Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened
their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46
and said to them, beginning from Jerusalem.
48
You are witnesses to these things. 49 And
behold, I am sending the promise of my
Father upon you. But stay in the city until you
are clothed with power from on high.”
What is happening here? Jesus opens their
minds. Jesus is exercising his authority, and
He is sending the disciples out as witnesses to
the nations, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
4. Then there is the fourth restatement of
the great commission in the Gospel of
John:
Jesus says in John 20: 21 21 …., “Peace be
with you. As the father has sent me, even so I
am sending you.”
Jesus came to earth on a mission from the
Father. Now the Son is continuing to do what
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He did on earth through us! What a privilege!
We must not drop the ball. We must not
delay. We must never give up sharing the
Gospel. We must go and train our disciples so
that they continue to grow. This is what God
wants. This is the main mission. The mission
of King Jesus must be carried out by and
through His followers. You do not stop a
soccer game at halftime. You do not stop a
race halfway around the track. And you do
not receive a command from Jesus, the
sovereign King of the Universe, and not
complete the task.
television. God is moving and doing great
things. He is especially working in Africa!!
Now I want to call your attention to five great
advances in the kingdom and then focus on
five areas that need great attention. I want you
to be encouraged and see the progress. God
is on the move.
First,
Scriptures are now available in more
languages than ever before. “Faith comes
by hearing the word of God,” so translating
the Scriptures continues to be a top priority.
So how are we doing? How are we
responding to our mission clearly given by
Christ? Christ has been extremely specific,
and He has repeated the command often. He
gave the command, and we have the record of
the disciples’ obedience. Just like the
disciples, we have the Holy Spirit to enable
us to be disciple makers. This great command
is a global, supernatural task empowered by
the Holy Spirit.
We praise God for groups like the Wycliffe
Bible Translators, many Bible societies, and
individuals who have spent in some cases a
lifetime translating the Scriptures. Where
would we be without them? Making disciples
is impossible without a biblical foundation.
During the past several years, leaders of the
biggest translation and Scripture distribution
organizations have met together regularly.
They developed a comprehensive plan and a
common framework for translation. Working
together, they believe they can begin
Scripture translation in every language that
needs it in less than 10 years. Between 2010
and 2020, about 250 new translations of the
entire Bible were completed. All over the
world, the Bible is being translated. It is so
encouraging to realize that the people who
will begin the translation of the last language
are probably alive right now.
So, what is happening in missions today?
The second area of progress:
There has been great progress. In some cases,
complete communities and tribes are being
reached with the Gospel. There are great
revivals in China, India, Africa, and even in
Muslim nations. The gospel is going to
unfamiliar places through radio and
In the last ten years, there has been a major
effort to reach those who historically have not
been reached with the gospel. Thirty-three
percent (33%) of the world population claim
to be some type of Christian. In recent years,
thousands of workers have been sent to
Unengaged, Unreached People Groups. In
5. Then there is a fifth restatement of the
great commission in the Book of Acts,
right before His ascension. Jesus
taught:
Acts 1:8 “8 But you will receive power when
the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you
will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the
earth.”
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the past 10 years, 3,057 unreached people
groups have been reached. 29,500
missionaries have responded to the call and
87,171 bi-vocational missionaries have gone
to work with them and live with them. The
result in the past ten years is 139,671 new
churches have been planted and over 3
million people in unreached groups have
professed their faith in Christ. But this is an
area where we need to focus increasingly.
Most missionaries go to places and people
groups that have already been reached. If you
study the life of the Apostle Paul, he was
particularly interested in frontier or pioneer
missions. He did not want to build on the
foundation of others. TCWM IS
CONCERNED ABOUT THIS. We choose
our areas of ministry very carefully, and
when our task is finished there, we sometimes
must move on. We want to help reach the
unreached people groups of Africa. Already
we are reaching tribes and people groups in
five countries in East and Central Africa,
including, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda,
Burundi, and Tanzania. In our teaching
centers, we have students that speak some 19
different languages. Our students have
relatives from many of the tribes of Africa.
This is why we have two majors in TBI that
focus on training pastors and missionaries.
This brings us to the third area of great
progress:
3. There has been a tremendous increase
in the Evangelism of Muslims, Hindus, and
Buddhists.
The proclamation of the gospel continues to
increase as new methodologies are put into
practice. Here are a few examples of
organizations that have seen dramatic
numeric increases in people hearing the
gospel during the last decade:
The JESUS Film Project now has 1,808
different language translations available, and
the film touches more than 150 million
people each year, Global Media Outreach
focuses on using the internet to reach
Muslims and others. They report that 1.8
billion people have read the gospel on one of
its 102 websites. In just one month in 2019,
4.3 million people from Muslim countries
read God’s Word and 732,000 indicated a
decision to follow Christ. The You Version
Bible app helps with follow-up. This app has
now been downloaded by 400 million people,
Every Home for Christ has reached over 100
million homes each year since 2015, Radio
and TV and Technology. Solar-powered
Radios are being distributed with only one
frequency
that
broadcasts
Christian
programming; TCWM this past year helped
set up two FM radio stations in Muslim
countries. Third Millenium Ministries has all
its seminary materials online and offers many
nations an entire seminary curriculum on two
flash drives.
4. Planting Churches Everywhere
The Global Alliance for Church Planting
reports that 2.5 million churches were planted
in just the last eight years. Churches start
every day with people who simply want to
pray together. In India, a man planted 22,000
churches among Muslim background
believers. He explained how he started so
many. He said, “We just look for a man who
will inform all his family that he is a believer
in Jesus, and who also has a good reputation
in the community. Then we go and hold
church in his house.” When asked what they
did in their church service, he said, “We read
the Bible, we ask the Holy Spirit to tell us
what it means, and then we do what it says.”
One of our students at TBI, John, a chief in
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the Pokot tribe has helped start more than 20
churches. Charles, our team leader in Kenya,
has planted a dozen churches. Our church
plants in Northern Uganda are helping to
plant two new churches this year. In Eastern
Uganda, TCWM has helped start 14 churches
on Mount Elgon.
5. An army of pastors and missionaries is
being trained to go to all the nations, and
people groups of the world.
For the kingdom to expand, pastors and
missionaries and evangelists must be trained.
Seminaries and Bible Colleges are being
planted across the globe. No one group can
do it all. I am encouraged by the ministries of
Third Mil, Equipping Leaders International,
and new seminaries like ARTS and TBI. This
year TBI expanded to Burundi and Tanzania,
and we are building new campuses in
Rwanda and Tanzania.
So those are the encouraging parts of
kingdom growth. But there are great
concerns. There are areas where the
Christian church has failed. In many cases,
Christians
have
underestimated
the
immensity of the job and others have gotten
distracted from the main mission of the
church. At this point, most churches need a
reset, and renewed commitment. We need to
admit where we have failed.
The first area that needs our concern:
We in the evangelical church are losing our
children at an alarming rate. Evangelicals are
having fewer children. In America, the board
of the National Association of Evangelicals,
an umbrella group representing 60
denominations and dozens of ministries,
passed a resolution deploring “the epidemic
of young people leaving the evangelical
church.” Christian children in high school
are often lonely and are tempted to fit into a
culture that values risqué music, the internet,
drugs, alcohol, videos, and internet porn.
Europe and the United States must be reevangelized. America is now considered a
post-Christian country. Historic values are
being rejected. In Europe, in several
countries, more than half the population
claim to be atheists. We need to pray
regularly for revival—for another great
awakening that is Holy Spirit empowered.
The theological famine across Africa.
Africa has such potential. Forty percent
(40%) of the world’s Christians will live in
Africa by 2060. This is where we work. But
a disaster is brewing. The number of
Christians in Africa at the beginning of the
twentieth century was about 9 million; by the
end of the twentieth century, it was about 380
million. Hundreds of thousands of pastors
are needed!!! Most pastors in Sub-Saharan
Africa know truly little about the Bible.
Many have never taken one course in a
seminary. What will happen to all those who
have professed Christ, but do not really
understand who He is? Who will disciple
them?
The Persecution of the Church
This is an area where the temptation is to look
away. In Gulu, Northern Uganda, where we
have started a presbytery, some 25,000
children were kidnapped. Recently rebels
came to a school in Rwanda and killed many
children. North of this work, in Sudan and
South Sudan thousands of Christians have
been killed and many have had their churches
burned, and some have had their lips cut off
so that they cannot speak the Gospel. Today
millions of Christians are suffering for their
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faith. Millions of believers live in places
where they are oppressed, imprisoned,
discriminated against, and even violently
attacked—all because they believe in Jesus.
Every week, 182 churches or Christian
buildings are attacked.
Where is the greatest persecution today?
North Korea, Afghanistan, Somalia, Libya,
Pakistan, Eritrea, Sudan, Yemen, Iran, and
India. In these places, the penalty for sharing
the gospel or even being a believer ranges
from intimidation to imprisonment to death.
While Christians in America are not enduring
that severity of mistreatment, the tide seems
to be rising. It may not be long before Biblebelieving Christians will be widely
considered to be dangerous and radical. It
will not stop with throwing Christians off
social media. I heard one politician recently
speaking of the need for Christians and their
children to be reprogrammed. This is serious.
Many in America consider the Gospel to be
hate speech. People are offended at the
mention of the cross, sin, the blood of Christ,
and the final judgment…. but they boldly
promote homosexuality, transgenderism,
abortion, and a host of other sins. On some
college campuses, if you are a professor and
you proclaim your commitment to Jesus
Christ and his values -- you can be canceled
or fired. More than 70 million Christians have
been martyred in the course of history. More
than half were martyred in the 20th century
under communist and fascist governments.
The apostle Paul knew exactly what
persecution felt like. He had suffered the type
of persecution that leaves scars. In the final
two verses of his letter to the Galatians, he
writes,
“17 Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for
I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your
spirit, brothers. Amen.”
Paul’s “marks of Jesus” are not the
mysterious appearance of wounds on his
hands and feet as some have speculated. They
are the scars of having been stoned or beaten
on numerous occasions as a Christian
missionary. In 2 Corinthians 11:24-27, he
describes his experiences,
“24 Five times I received at the hands of the
Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times
I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned.
Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a
day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent
journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from
robbers, danger from my own people, danger
from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in
the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from
false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship,
through many a sleepless night, in hunger
and thirst, often without food, in cold and
exposure.”
We have been unwilling to change our
strategies.
We must see that we have entered an urban
century. This has changed missions
drastically. Millions of people around the
world have moved to the big cities of the
world. To reach the cities, strategies must
change. Stereotypes must be thrown away.
Missionaries for the most part will not live in
a village in a grass hut. The great cities of
the world are large harvest fields. If you are
considering missions, you may end up in
London, Tokyo, Rio, Mexico City, Moscow,
or Kampala. We must make a determined
effort to go to where the people are. Tokyo,
one city in Japan, has 38 million residents.
Kampala has 3.8 million and continues to
grow.
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I am glad we are planning to plant a branch
of TBI in Mombasa, Kenya. The current
metro area population of Mombasa in 2023 is
1,440,000, a 3.67% increase from 2022. The
cities of the world are crucial places for
Christian mission. We can see this from the
very beginnings of the church: In Acts, Paul
goes to Athens, the intellectual center of the
Greco-Roman world; Corinth, one of the
commercial centers of the empire; Ephesus,
perhaps the Roman world’s religious center
as the hub of many pagan cults and
particularly of the imperial cult; and to Rome,
the empire’s power capital, the military and
political center of that world. John Stott
concludes: “It seems to have been Paul’s
deliberate policy to move purposefully from
one strategic city center to the next." By
reaching the city, Paul reached the whole
society.
Because of the diversity and
intensity of the cities, urbanites are much
more open to new ideas—such as the gospel!
Because they are surrounded by so many
people like and unlike themselves, and are so
much more mobile, urbanites are far more
open to change/conversion than any other
kind of resident (Piper, 2010).
Here are ten cities in the world with 20
million or more residents.
Tokyo (Population: 37,435,191), Delhi
(Population:
29,399,141),
Shanghai
(Population: 26,317,104) China, Sao Paulo
(Population: 21,846,507) Brazil, Mexico City
(Population: 21,671,908) Mexico, Cairo
(Population: 20,484,965) Dhaka (Population:
20,283,552)
Bangladesh,
Mumbai
(Population: 20,185,064) India, Beijing
(Population:
20,035,455),
Osaka
(Population: 19,222,665).
So how are we doing? We can do better. Let
me sum it up:
Christianity (all kinds) is growing at 1.18%
per year, but Islam is growing at 1.92% and
thus faster than general Christianity.
Evangelical / Charismatic Christianity is
growing at about the same rate as Islam.
(Status of Global Christianity-2021) Only
10% of cross-cultural missionaries work
among unreached people groups, 81% of all
non-Christians do not know a Christfollower. (World Christian Encyclopedia),
Out of every dollar of Christian giving to all
causes less than one penny goes toward
pioneer church planting among unreached
peoples, an estimated 95% of pastors
worldwide have had no formal training. We
have work to do.
What can you do? This week think about
your part in finishing the task. Take stock of
what you have been given. What can you
accomplish by the grace of God? We are
blessed to be a blessing. We are called to be
global Christians. It is time to put the work of
world evangelism and discipleship first.
Perhaps it has been a long time since you
thought seriously about the cost of
discipleship. We are commanded to suffer
hardship for the sake of Jesus. Discipleship
requires carrying your cross, dying to
yourself, and recognizing the Lord’s
ownership of everything you think you have.
It requires sacrificial, wartime living and
giving. I ask you to remember the wounds of
Christ. Remember that He is the Lord. He is
the King, and to become a Christian is to
surrender to His Lordship. Paul finished his
task and could write to young Timothy in his
last letter; 2 Timothy 4:7-8 “7 I have fought
the good fight, I have finished the race, I have
kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for
me the crown of righteousness, which the
Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me
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on that day, and not only to me but also to all
who have loved his appearing.”
Why is it that 2000 years after Jesus with all
our technology and resources and wealth so
many are unreached and without hope? It is
because of one major problem—partial
surrender. Christianity never was meant to be
a comfortable religion. You are God’s plan to
reach the nations, and there is no Plan B. The
Father has sent the son and now the son is
sending you. You are the light of the world.
You are meant to be world changers. You
must not be on the sidelines. You are not
observers. 1 Peter 2:9-10 “9 But you are a
chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation, a people for his own possession, that
you may proclaim the excellencies of him
who called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a
people, but now you are God's people; once
you had not received mercy, but now you
have received mercy.”
The task before us is great. Here is a summary
of what is happening in Africa. Population of
Africa 1,335,420,000, Number of Countries
in Africa 58, Number of People Groups
3,703, People Groups Unreached 988
(26.7%), Population in Unreached People
Groups
378,941,000,
population
in
Unreached People Groups; 28.
Will you commit to helping finish the
work?
References.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Joshua project.net
Operation World.com
persecution.com
Piper, J. (2010). Let the Nations be
Glad : the supremacy of God in
missions (3rd ed.). Baker Academic.
5. unfinishdtask.org
6. VoiceoftheMartyrsmissionfrontiers.org
Let me suggest four responses:
1. Prayer for the nations. Pray that you
can have joy in being a part of finishing
the task. Perhaps begin by praying for one
country.
2. Support the mission program of TBI.
Send your best students to be trained
there.
3. Support John Ssali as he gathers
students to train and go to unreached
people groups in Africa. Ask your church
to send qualified men and women to the
unreached.
4. Set aside your resources to reach the
unreached. Challenge your church
leaders to sacrifice and set aside church
funds for the unreached.
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
The Necessity of Church Leadership Development In
Africa
By Elder Fred Kabenge: Principal of Trinity Biblical Institute, Kapchorwa,
Uganda
Email: trinitybi2014@gmail.com, Website: www.trinitybi.ac.ug
Tel: +256 (0) 782 869 342 / +256 (0) 709 924 808 / +256(0) 704 866 572 / +256 (0) 782 690 529
Introduction
The church in our era exists under such
times scriptures refer to as the last days. This
is a period between Christ’s first and second
coming that richly reveals God’s present
grace and the anticipated glory which is to
come. It’s an age when the powers of Satan
have been significantly curtailed and the
gospel message is making headways through
the divine power of the Holy Spirit among
many nations, most especially in the Global
South, which certainly include the African
continent.
Considerable
echoes
of
conversions and numerical church growth
declarations across the continent have been
heard from time to time. Predictions are
being put forward by researchers regarding
the future quantitative growth of the church
on the continent. It is estimated, for example,
by the Pew Research Center that by the year
2060, more than four (4) out of ten Christians
will call the sub-Saharan Africa their home,
McClendon (April 2017). What, however,
seems not to be underscored in some of these
projections is the context within which such
forecast is being anticipated.
It is indisputably a definite fact that the
African church is swelling. Nonetheless, this
enlargement seems not to be so much in terms
of quality but quantity. This reality could be
well attested to by the conditions that seem to
prevail in many church assemblies
characterized by strange tones of lifestyles
and ethical values not in conformity with
biblical principles. Much of this would
certainly be attributed to lack of authentic
discipleship, premised upon scanty or no
good church leadership development that can
only be cultivated by way of exposure to
good and sound theological education.
____________________________________
Christ’s Approach to Church
Leadership Development
Before commissioning his twelve (12)
apostles to go and reach the nations with the
gospel of grace, the master teacher Jesus
Christ spent slightly over three (3) years
preparing them for this vital task. Paul, the
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apostle, shortly after his conversion on the
road to Damascus, spent three (3) years in the
Arabian desert undergoing the Lord's direct
preparation for the work of ministry for
which he had destined him (Gal1:15-24).
Everywhere across the Roman world where
Paul preached the gospel of grace, he was
keen on making disciples for Christ and
building up teams of Church leaders to
further the work of ministry (Acts14:21-23).
In Corinth, for example, he spent one and half
years working with the church, and teaching
and guiding in the word of God, (Acts18:711). Luke tells us that he was in Ephesus for
about two to three years training in the lecture
hall of Tyrannus where he taught and
impressed God’s word upon a body of
Christian believers, (Acts19:8-10, 20:17-31).
Timothy too was encouraged by the Apostle
to entrust the things he had heard from him
among many witnesses to faithful men who
would be qualified to teach others also,
(2Tim 2:1-2). Deuel (2015, Para.29), citing
Plummer A. (1943, p.467), considers the
passage in 1Timothy 2: 1-2 to be the earliest
trace for the formation of theological schools
intended for the preparation of Church
ministers. It would, therefore, be very
regrettable and a great damage to the Lord’s
kingdom if in our day and era the importance
and centrality of preparation for the work of
ministry through formal theological
education should be downplayed. For this
reason, it doesn’t seem be asking too much if
those aspiring to serve as church leaders are
required to spend a minimum of two to three
years pursing theological preparation before
assuming the role of shepherds over God’s
flock.
____________________________________
The Vision of Trinity Biblical
Institute
Trinity Biblical Institute (TBI) was
established by Trinity Center for World
Mission (TCWM) as a response to the
perceived urgent need of effective Church
leadership development for East and Central
Africa, and by extension to the rest of Africa.
This initiative is just a small part of the
answer to the regional and continental needs
of Africa in as far as well-prepared and
structured Church leadership development
framework
for
effective
Christian
discipleship on the continent is concerned.
There is certainly more that still needs to be
done by the larger body of Christ. The
opportunity to engage in Church leadership
development through solid theological
education is abundantly being offered by
Trinity Biblical Institute not only to Church
leaders currently involved in the work of
ministry, with little or no prior preparation at
all, but also to lay Christian believers who
deeply feel called by God to get involvement
in Church leadership ministries.
When we look back to the ideal model for
church leadership development as set forth
by the Lord Jesus Christ, his faithful servants
who followed him thereafter, and the entire
historical record of the church since the days
of the Reformation era, we can undeniably
conclude that theological preparation for
Church leaders must be passionately
embraced and pursued by all would-be
leaders of Christ’s church. It is as aspiring
defenders of the gospel give heart to such
commitment that there would be real
optimism of having a strong church
movement in Africa with well-equipped
ministers capable of rightly dividing God's
word of truth, and leading healthy churches
with transformational believers who can
impact Africa and the entire world for the
glory of God. Without well trained and godly
church leaders capable of effectively carrying
Christian discipleship, much of the problems
and threats the African church faces today
will persist and continue to wreck the
continent. With incompetent and unqualified
shepherds being in charge, the flock of God
will always remain defenseless and
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vulnerable to all forms of compromise, false
teachings, syncretism, secularism, liberal
ideologies, etc., and shall have no significant
impact on the world scene in promoting
sound doctrine, and good ethical values
which are fundamental key ingredients in
resisting heresies and all other forms of
falsehood.
Oasis International (n.d), affirms that
discipleship is critical to developing a deeper
relationship with Christ, and equipping
believers to stand firm in the face of issues
like false teachings, suffering, political
upheavals, civil wars, western secularism,
syncretism, and persecution which are all
major concerns for the Church in Africa,
(p.3). This assessment fits well with the
biblical imperative put forward by the apostle
Paul in 2Timothy 2:15 of seeking to be
approved workers who cannot be ashamed,
but rightly divide the word of truth. Without
quality training in the word of God,
discipling Christian believers for a deeper
relationship with Christ will certainly remain
a daunting task for leaders in the body of
Christ. It is also, unequivocally vital to
mention at this point that there is real danger
for someone to presume to be a minister of
the gospel while not measuring up to the
required biblical qualifications as laid down
in scripture for such an office, most
especially one's ability to teach, (1Tim3:1-7,
Titus1:5-9, 1Tim3:2, and Titus1:9). The
biblical admonition in this respect is so clear,
humbling, and sobering. According to James
3:1, scripture cautions that not many of us
should become teachers as those who teach
will be judged with greater strictness. Trying
to preach and teach without good and proper
ministry preparation is extremely dangerous,
and those who venture into this path must do
so with great care as each person will have to
give
an
account
for
individual
accomplishments, (Heb13:17).
____________________________________
Brain Drainage
African Continent
from
the
The move taken by Trinity Biblical
Institute to engage in training Church leaders
and other members of the Christian
community in East and Central Africa, and
Africa at large within their contexts is
something that is highly commended and
appreciated. This is so because in the past and
even today a considerable number of
potential Church leaders who get
opportunities to engage in good theological
training and move out of the continent to
secure this wonderful education in the
western world never consider returning home
to serve their local church assemblies.
Consequently, the church in Africa has
suffered very significant brain drainage that
continues to affect the human resource
development effort, which is very crucial in
nurturing Christ's body, not only in
theological dimensions, but also in many
other professional fields of study that are
essential for church growth.
On the flip side, there has been instances
where church leaders have had all the good
theological training one could possibly think
of yet without any significant benefit to them,
and the entire body of Christ because of their
failure to translate what they have
academically gathered into practical day to
day life for believers to see and emulate.
Richard Baxter (2001), a Puritan of the
seventeenth century (1615-1691) says, "Such
leaders unsay with their lives what they say
with their tongues, and so become hinderers
of the success of their own labors," (p.63).
These men are experts at the expounding
God’s word and try to theoretically impress it
on the minds of their hearers when they
themselves are strangers to the very truth they
try to impart to others. In this way, they do
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not only disappointed those who listen to
them, but also cause the Lord's work to
remain naggingly stunted.
African Church, especially in East and
Central Africa.
Scripture, therefore, calls upon all ministers
of the gospel to always be exemplary servant
leaders in their efforts of guiding God’s
precious flock which has been entrusted to
their care, (Phil4:8-9; 1Pet5:1-4; Act20:28).
By God’s grace, church leaders must always
strive to embody and faithfully live out the
gospel truth in their respective individual
lives. It is fundamentally through this
approach that the African Church will
become more dynamic and influential in
reaching and impacting the unreached people
groups, not only here in Africa, but also
around the world, including the former
strongholds of Christianity, which are now
shockingly fresh mission fields in dire need
of fresh evangelism and authentic gospel
outreach initiatives.
With such an opportunity that God has
providentially extended to his Church in
Africa, an appeal is hereby being extended to
all those currently involved in Church
leadership roles with little or no preparation
as well as all aspirants to future church
leadership roles to consider pursuing
theological education with Trinity Biblical
Institute. As you choose to positively respond
to this call, we wish to reiterate to you that
this course of action is in full conformity with
the Lord’s philosophy of ministry which has
been equally adopted by many of his faithful
servants throughout the past generations,
right from the first century apostolic age to
the reformation era.
__________________________________
Conclusion
The growth and continued expansion of
the church in Africa can hardly be
underestimated. Nevertheless, it is extremely
important as we are moved to celebrate this
apparent rich harvest to also equally
understand the context in which such
progress is being understood. Much as there
seems to be impressive statistical numbers of
numerical Church growth, a closer look at the
quality of the supposed growth of the church
in Africa portrays significant gaps, chief
among which is lack of proper and welltrained Church leadership structures, a very
crucial factor for the healthy development of
Christ’s Church. It was against this
background, therefore, that Trinity Biblical
Institute was established by Trinity Center
for World Mission to serve as part of the
solution to the prevailing predicament of the
A rediscovery of the importance of
embracing a good, solid, and quality church
leadership development model provides great
optimism for the massive impact the African
Church would begin to make on the society,
not only here in Africa, but also across the
entire world where God is commissioning
African Christian believers to take carry this
wonderful gospel of salvation. It is salvation
which comes exclusively by grace alone,
through faith alone, in Christ alone, as
revealed in scripture alone, all to the glory
and honor of God alone. For from Him and
through Him and to Him are all things. To
Him be glory forever. Amen, Romans11:36.
References
1) Baxter Richard (2001). The Reformed
Pastor. Reprint. Edited by Brown
William. Carlisle: Banner of Truth Trust.
2) Deuel Dave. (2015). Ministry Training:
A delicate and Difficult Service.
Accessed on Nov/ 11th, 2020 from
https://trainingleadersinternational.org/jg
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c/9/ministry-training-a-delicate-anddifficult-service.
3) McClendon David. (2017). Sub-Saharan
Africa will be home to growing shares of
4) the world’s Christians and Muslims.
Accessed on Nov/ 08th/2023 from
https://www.pewresearch.org/shortreads/2017/04/19/sub-saharan-africawill-be-home-to-growing-shares-of-theworlds-christians-and-muslims/
5) Oasis International. (n.d). Five Reasons
Why Discipleship in Africa is Critical to
the Global Church. Accessed on
Aug/05th/2020 from
https://oasisinternational.com/content/up
loads/2019/10/5-ReasonsWhy_TitleUpdate.pdf
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The Library & The Internet: the invisible force &partner in the great
commission.
by
Pr. Marx Mbabaali: Librarian, Trinity Biblical Institute, Kapchorwa Uganda &
Chief Editor, Trinity Journal of Theology and Christian Education
Introduction.
Libraries are not aliens both to the great
commission and the work of ministry both as
tools, means and or mediums through which
the gospel was, can and will be propagated.
As early as the mosaic era, the fundamental
materials or resources of the library were
commendable instruments of communication
from God to man. The library is a replica of
the bible, a library has lots of different books,
written by different people at different times
and in different place. As the third law of
library science states; every book its reader,
every bible reader has got favorite scriptures
or a bible book, chapter or verse that impacts
his or her life in a peculiar way.
The fundamental role of the library is to
safely keep information and knowledge
created in its original or digitized format
created for future use or purposes. Through
this cardinal role, we witness that books were
opened (both books of chronicles and books
of remembrance) to have records referred to,
ascertained, or verified. As Exodus 17:14
recollects “And the LORD said unto Moses,
write this for a memorial in a book, and
rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will
utterly put out the remembrance.”, KJV,
Malachi 3:16 “Then those who feared the
LORD spoke with one another. The LORD
paid attention and heard them, and a book of
remembrance was written before him of those
who feared the LORD and esteemed his
name. ESV” Esther 6:1-14. “On that night
could not the king sleep, and he commanded
to bring the book of records of the chronicles;
and they were read before the king. KJV” and
Revelation 20:12 greatly emphasizes the
cardinal role of Books (records) and the place
where they are kept and insinuates that even
the heavens have libraries (spaces where
different books are kept).
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____________________________________
Libraries and the Gospel today
The fifth law of library science – “A library
is a growing organism” can best describe the
state and functions of libraries today and their
role in the great commission is not
exceptional. The library has metamorphosed
both in purpose and function today, it is no
longer a bookstore but it’s now a space and
medium of communication though which the
great commission message and materials that
carry that message can be accessed from
anywhere and everywhere(Gorman, 1998).
This has been made possible by the Internet
infrastructure with the aid of information
technology infrastructure. Today the gospel
can be written, recorded, shared, and
propagated through different media and
shared at real time or later provided one is
endowed with the required information
communication technologies and facilitated
with internet connection. During the COVID19 pandemic prevalence, many churches
switched to online services, online bible
study, online counselling, and online
operations in general and all these activities
can be accessed via virtual, digital, and online
libraries for recollection, emphasis, and
teaching.
The future of the messengers of the gospel,
if I may say is intricately woven in the
invisible force, infrastructure and capacity of
libraries and the internet. As I write this
article, many projects like the mobile library
have been developed where literature (both
educational and Christian) is distributed to
areas that are hardly accessible, without
library services and without the internet
backbone or infrastructure. This is a wake-up
call for all who carry the burden of the great
commission to pick up their pens, notepads,
phones, iPads, laptops, cameras, etc. and
record down their messages in whichever
medium they can use to propagate the gospel
and safely keep it for the future generations.
As it is written in John 4:21 “Woman,” Jesus
replied, “believe me, a time is coming when
you will worship the Father neither on this
mountain nor in Jerusalem.” But only those
who are & will be prepared for and with John
4:23 “But an hour is coming, and now is,
when the true worshipers will worship the
Father in spirit and truth; for such people the
Father seeks to be His worshipers.” Will
stand the test of time since the church will as
it did transform at calvary from physical
structures to the believer’s spirit.
The internet evangelism director (do you
have this position at your church, ministry, or
organization?) of the BGEA (Billy Graham
Evangelism Association) once confessed that
“We should never, ever, ever underestimate
what God is doing,” he said. “God’s amazing.
… He’s reaching people where they’re at.”
BGEA launched its Internet Evangelism
ministry in April 2011. Since then, the Gospel
has been presented more than 20 million
times across the globe. Of the 4 million
people indicating decisions for Christ, nearly
half a million showed interest in receiving
follow-up and discipleship materials. Search
for Jesus is also working to connect new
brothers and sisters in Christ to the local
church, taking them from the online world to
the offline world.
____________________________________
Conclusion
The time to set up, support and advocate for
public Christian libraries is now!! This will
help to provide places where anyone
(believers, seekers, and observers) can come,
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and access information related to Christianity
and the Bible and are designed to acquaint
users with a Christian worldview.(Barnes et
al., 2003) This is a collective responsibility
for governments, churches, charities,
schools, individual donors and other
Christian organizations, if such synergies
could join hands for the common goal, the
sky would only be the limit !
References.
1. Barnes, J., Barnes, L., & Barnes, L.
(2003). A PUBLIC CHRISTIAN
LIBRARY : A UNIQUE MODEL
FOR EVANGELISM. 46(3).
2. Gorman, M. (1998). Our Singular
Strength.
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“No Other Gospel” By Doug McNutt
Trinity Center for World Mission President & Trinity Biblical Institute Member, Board of
Trustees.
The Apostle Paul says in Galatians 1:6-8 “I
am astonished that you are so quickly
deserting him who called you in the grace of
Christ and are turning to a different gospelnot that there is another one, but there are
some who trouble you and want to distort the
gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel
from heaven should preach to you a gospel
contrary to the one, we preached to you, let
him be accursed.”
I want to warn you of three false gospels that
are out there in our world today and then
finally I want to remind you of the only
glorious true gospel today. The first false
gospel is called the “Grace Plus Works
Gospel”. It was the day before the wedding.
But that morning the bride and groom got into
a big fight; they were so angry with one
another that they called off the wedding. But
that night the groom said to his best man /
best friend: I want you to go to where the
bride is staying and tell her that I want to be
reconciled and be together with her again. So,
the best man goes to the bride and says to the
bride: “The groom wants to be reconciled.
But there are conditions. Every night when he
comes home, you must give him a foot
massage, you must cook an amazing dinner
every night, and you can never complain
when he goes out with his friends.” Was the
best man being a good friend to the groom or
not? Of course not! Why? Because he
changed the offer of unconditional
reconciliation into an offer that included
conditions!
This is called the “Grace + Works Gospel”.
This is not the real gospel. I could name
several groups right now who are preaching
this gospel. They say Christ is good, salvation
by grace is good, but salvation is not assured,
and it is not enough until you perform some
other works as well! This is a false gospel
brothers and sisters. Paul says in Galatians
2:16 “yet we know that a person is not
justified by works of the law but through faith
in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in
Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith
in Christ and not by works of the law, because
by works of the law no one will be justified.”
24 | P a g e V o l u m e 1 . I s s u e 1 . D e c e m b e r , 2 0 2 3
Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
____________________________________
____________________________________
The second false gospel is called
the “prosperity gospel.”
Social Gospel
The third false gospel is called the “Social
Gospel” or nowadays “Social Justice
Gospel” This gospel is like a virus that infects
the minds of progressive, liberal, forward
thinking university graduates. “Woke”
thinking, post-colonial, and critical theories
are related to this gospel in their mindset. The Social Gospel seemed to start with
good intentions. The Rev. Mark Matthews in
the early 20th century in Seattle
Washington’s First Presbyterian Church
(which had 10,000 members) denounced
corrupt politicians from the pulpit, he opened
night schools for the poor to be educated, had
an unemployment office, and an antituberculosis clinic at the church. This sounds
compassionate right? So, what’s the
problem? Walter Rauschenbusch was the
highest theologian of the social gospel
movement. “Rauschenbusch didn’t believe in
the inerrancy of Scripture, and he didn’t
believe Jesus’s sacrifice paid for our personal
sins. Instead, he believed Jesus died to set an
example, elevating love instead of selfishness
as the basis for society. Rauschenbusch and
others believed the message of the Kingdom
was “social salvation” for the world—a
change in society itself, more so than the
salvation
of
individuals.”
(https://www.christianity.com/wiki/christian
-terms/what-social-gospel-movement.html)
In a devotional on Joseph Prince’s official
website blog, he says: “On the cross, Jesus
bore not just our sins, but also our sicknesses,
diseases, and infirmities, and “by His stripes
we are healed” …That’s not all, my friend.
On the cross, Jesus bore the curse of
poverty!” (Joseph Prince, “100 Days of
Favor”). The prosperity gospel states that we
have healing of the body and material riches
through the Salvation of Christ. And you
know what? They are 100% correct that Jesus
did indeed promise healing and even physical
riches. The problem in the health and wealth
message is two-fold. The first problem is a
problem of timing. These prosperity teachers
say that these riches and health can come now
in this life if you have enough faith. We know
that although God blessed his children in
many ways, it is a heresy to say that if you are
not rich and healthy then you are living in sin
and do not have enough faith. By this logic
all the 12 apostles were not good examples to
us because they were poor, afflicted and
always in bad health, and dying martyrs’
deaths. Of course, that is nonsense. The truth
of the matter is that the timing is up to God
and by default this eternal health and riches
will come to us in the new creation, not in this
life. When the Christian martyrs of the early
church were being burned at the stake and
eaten by lions in the arena, did they cry out
and say: “Jesus, Paul, why did you lie to us?”
Non-sense. They were told by both Jesus and
Paul to expect suffering in the Christian life
and to look for the life of the world to come,
while doing as much good in this life as they
could as a light for God’s truth! The second
error is that they practically turned from
pursuing God to pursuing money. But Jesus
said you cannot serve God and Money.
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
So, it turns out that the social gospel
doesn’t believe in the gospel of spiritual
salvation in Christ at all, or in some cases
mixes and confuses this message of salvation
with social concerns as equally important.
Now, by now, are you ready for the real good
news? The gospel is the glorious message
that Jesus Christ is king and savior of all the
earth! And because of his life, death on a
cross, and resurrection, all who repent of their
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sins and trust in him will receive the free gifts
of a new heart, a new righteousness, and a
new life of holiness in the Holy Spirit!
(Ezekiel 36:25-27).
Preach it in the pulpit and preach it in the
fields.
Preach it to your next-door neighbors and to
all nations.
Man’s main problem is not poverty, or
oppression by capitalists, or sickness. And
there is nothing that you can do to earn or
deserve this salvation, because then you
could have taken some of the credit for it. But
as it is, all the glory must go to God! Do not
be deceived by the half-truths of false gospels
which take the true gospel of Jesus Christ and
twist it. At Trinity Biblical Institute, what is
schooled is the true gospel. Finally, brethren
teach, school, and preach the true gospel!!!
Preach it to the rich and to the poor.
Preach it in halls of parliament and in the
slums.
Never stop preaching the only true gospel:
Jesus Saves!
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
References.
1. (https://www.christianity.com/wiki/c
hristian-terms/what-social-gospelmovement.html)
2. 100 days of favor, by Joseph Prince.
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A Discipleship Model for Developing Leaders for The
Church Ministry
By Rev. Lipa Milton, Chairperson, Trinity Biblical Institute Governing Council
3. That discipleship is a narrow ministry of
the local Church for those who do scripture
memory and who are heading for fulltime
ministry. But you will realize that James 4:17
says that: “So whoever knows the right thing
to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”
so. How could this problem be solved in your
life and ministry? Bill Hull in his book the
Disciple making pastor, says that “The
challenge for pastors is to be a disciple first,
seeking God daily and practicing spiritual
disciplines he advocates. The key to our souls
is contemplation, the acquired habit of being
alone with God to hear His voice. He further
advises pastors to simply rearrange their lives
to the practices of Jesus. He challenges them
to look at His (Jesus’) life filled with the
pressure of the world, the hatred of religious
leaders, and the dullness of His disciples.
How did he handle it, he asks? He answers
that Jesus prayed, prayed alone, and prayed at
special times of pressure and decision. He
lived a life focused on others, a life that was
focused on humility and sacrifice powered by
love. When we live with a simple
commitment to know God’s will and do it,
then many of those unused and
malfunctioning plans begin to work. “When
pastors are active disciples, they make
disciples” (Hull, 2007, 14-15). That is why
Ephesians 4:11-12 … says that your main
responsibility as a Christian minister is to
equip the saints for the work of ministry.
This scripture challenges us pastors and
church leaders, who know that we are
commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ to
disciple our members, but we are not doing
The conviction for this article, arose out of
knowing that Jesus’ command to make
disciples is God’s powerful story of using the
Church for world transformation with the
Introduction
The contemporary Church is facing a crisis
that it often pays lip service to make
disciples, but seldom puts much effort into
doing it. The hearts of the pastors and other
leaders are not into disciple-making.
Churches that do not participate in disciplemaking give the following excuses among
others:
1. That Discipleship is one of the programs
that fit into a department of the Church and
should be made available to those who are
interested, but not what drives the main
engine of the Church.
2. That discipleship is an important
contributor to the overall Church health, but
someone else and not the pastor should be
hired to do this ministry.
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
gospel of grace. As a leader, I am convinced
that this story is true, and it matters to God.
Just as Mohler said in his book “the
conviction to lead” that: “Leadership that
matters grows out of the leader’s own belief
that the story is true, that it matters, and that
it must both expand and continue. The story
must be believed with conviction, told with
conviction, and stewarded with conviction”
(Mohler, 2012, 39). Therefore, by God’s
grace, I challenge you to implement the Great
commission with conviction. This, in the end,
will enable the spiritually mature local
Church members to use their God-given
talents and gifts meeting the Church,
community, national, and world needs. Thus,
a Biblical model of discipleship that will
equip local Church pastors, elders, and Bible
teachers, and small group leaders is needed to
train pastors as trainers of disciples who are
themselves disciple-makers. For effective
and fruitful discipleship to take place in your
Church, and other Churches, you must
develop a conviction for discipleship. This is
because, “At the center of the true leaders’
heart and mind you will find convictions that
drive and determine everything else”
(Mohler, 24).
lifestyle. A disciple-making process is
sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with
others, training new believers in the basics of
Christian faith, and equipping the new
believers to reproduce themselves in the lives
of others and become competent leaders in
their Church… Discipleship thus includes the
entire disciple-making process, from
conversion to being a trained disciple-maker
who reproduces other disciples (Babcock, 10,
15).
True discipleship creates health Christians
who reproduce and multiply to evangelize the
world. “When we obey Christ’s Commission,
two good things happen: we create health
Christians; health Christians reproduce and
the body grows, then multiplies and the world
becomes evangelized” (Hull, 2007, 21). The
ultimate goal of discipleship is that as we
have grown in maturity through the Spirit’s
work in our lives, and our growth in the
community of believers, we intentionally
begin to engage in a ministry of equipping of
other for the ministry, of sharing our
experience and investing in the lives of other
systematically and strategically, intending to
help others to maturity in the faith, and
training others in turn, thus ensuring that the
baton of faith is passed on faithfully. Jesus
‘sent them out on their own, allowing them to
have a ministry without him’ (Baxen, 2011,
85, as quoted from Watson: 1999, 83).
As a disciple-making pastor you have four
commitments: 1. Placing disciple-making at
the heart of the Church. 2. Identifying and
communicating the roles of the pastor, the
people, and the training process. 3.
Commitment to the priesthood of all
believers, and. 4. Commitment to
multiplication. Since many true pastors want
to disciple their members, the solution is to
develop a Biblical model of discipleship,
where pastors are equipped to disciple their
elders and leaders to disciple their members
who in turn become disciple-makers. The key
question is who then is a disciple and why
disciple? A disciple is a person-in-process
who is eager to learn and apply the truths that
Jesus Christ teaches, which will result in an
ever-deepening commitment to a Christ-like
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
Discipleship leads to developing future
Church leaders. “Paul knew that the Holy
Spirit gave spiritual gifts to believers for the
welfare and ministry of the Church (1Cor.
12-14). Therefore, Paul prepared the local
people to teach, preach, and minister to the
poor, deal with problems, and govern the
affairs of the Church according to the
spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit distributed
among the believers. The method of
equipping the local leaders and trusting the
Holy Spirit to instruct, empower, and guide
them, continues to be a vital key to the
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
successful mission” … Discipleship, which
begins with evangelism, leads to Church
planting “Church planters must give special
training to those who show that they have
spiritual gifts to become leaders. … pray with
them often, collaborate alongside with them,
patiently explain the goals of ministry, and
show them how to serve. They must delegate
more responsibility without delay to the
people whom they have trained. … Biblical
leaders develop other leaders who still in turn
produce even more leaders, with the result
that Churches grow and multiply (Greenway,
1999, 64; 110-111).
grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you
have heard from me in the presence of many
witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be
able to teach others also (2Tim. 1-2 ESV).
“… Paul … a principal leader multiplies
himself, developing proven leaders from
potential leaders, who then attract possible
leaders” (Reeder, 142).
____________________________________
Your pastoral task is the same as that of coaching. As
a pastor you tell the people what and why then you
must assist the people to put the teaching into
practice. Elton Trueblood gives a wise counsel here
when he says that: “The glory of the coach is that of
being the discoverer, the developer, and the trainer of
the powers of the other men. But this is exactly what
we mean when we use the Biblical terminology about
the equipping ministry. As a pastor/teacher you are
well advised to imitate Christ as a teacher (Hull, 243)
This is why the late Harry Reeder in his
book leadership dynamic entitles chapter 12
of his book and calls the church a leadership
factory and distribution center. One of the
illustrations in this chapter concerns the
training and multiplication effect in the life of
Barnabas “… Barnabas-defended Paul and
trained him. After a few years, when God had
blessed Barnabas with a ministry beyond his
(Barnabas’s) capacity in Antioch, he sent for
Saul, whom he helped develop as a leader,
preacher, and teacher. Directed by the Holy
Spirit, the Church at Antioch dispatched
Barnabas and Saul on a missionary trip,
which became known as “the first missionary
journey.” Reeder further says that “The
apostles who had been trained by Christ as
leaders, had multiplied themselves, and
Barnabas, one of the new leaders had
multiplied himself by developing Paul as a
leader. He was so effective and successful
that eventually, Paul became his leader. … he
developed leaders so successfully that they
even went beyond him in ministry
effectiveness.” (Reeder & Cragg, 2008, 140141). Jesus the greatest disciple-maker,
developed a discipleship model that involves
the principal leader, who disciples the
potential leaders to become proven leaders
who then disciple leaders. This is well
illustrated in the life of Paul when he says:
“You then, my child, be strengthened by the
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
…
___________________________________
There are several ways to express Jesus’
teaching method. The one chosen for this
article is summarized in five steps, under the
acronym TEAMS, the letter T stands for
Truth (or directing), telling the disciples what
and why of ministry. The E stands for
Equipping (Coaching), showing the disciples
how to do ministry and doing it with them.
The
A
stands
for
Accountability
(Supporting), where you as the disciplemaker gets the disciples started on ministry
and keeps them going. The M stands for
Mission (Delegating), where you as the
disciple-maker let the fully trained disciples
do the ministry by themselves. The S stands
for Supplication (Kingdom focused prayer),
where you as the pastor or disciple-maker
prays for the apprentice (disciples), and the
new ministry started by his disciple, praying
for him and with him. This prayer does not
begin with the new ministry, but it begins as
you seek God to help you identify willing
disciples, and it continues through the
process. This same model of discipleship was
used by Jesus Christ and his apostles.
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
command is to evangelize the world
and make disciples because the
disciples will be obedient followers of
Jesus Christ. The Church was
commanded to produce the kind of
person who would obey Christ,
evangelizing His world, and set off a
chain reaction called multiplication.
… When the converts become
practicing disciples, winning, and
teaching
others,
then
the
multiplication effect is set in motion.
… Obedience to the Commission is
the determined dedication to disciplemaking. When Jesus told them what,
He taught them the importance of
multiplication.
“Telling them why.” Why disciplemaking?
Why
multiplication?
Because people need forgiveness, a
new life, to be rescued from the
penalty of sin and eternal separation
from their Creator. Telling them
what: is the multiplication of disciples
for world evangelization. Telling
them why: the salvation of humanity
and the establishment of Christ’s
kingdom (Hull, 244-249).
______________________________
______________________________
1. Teaching
Teaching the Truth of God requires
you as the disciple-maker to invite a
small group of potential disciples to
learn God’s truth through a Bible
study. This involves telling them
what they need to know and do, as
disciples of Christ. They also need to
be told why they are taught what they
are taught.
“Telling them what.” Telling the new
disciples what, of ministry, involves
inviting them. This is called a see
(John 1:35-51). It is necessary to
mention the task before them, the
harvest being plentiful and the
laborers being few (John 4:35, Mat.
9:36-38). After this, the disciples
need to know that they are being
inaugurated for discipleship when
they are called to come and follow the
disciple-maker so that they can begin
the discipleship process (Mark 1:1617).
2. Equipping.
______________________________
______________________________
Equipping them for the work of
ministry. This phase is called
“Showing them how and doing it
with them.” The disciple-making
pastor (Discipler) as a coach now
steps out from behind the pulpit and
shows the people how to apply this
teaching. Taking an example of
evangelism, after the pastor has
taught them the principles of
evangelism, demonstrated several
times how it must be done, he must
show them how it is done and do it
This is a gradual and progressive
process as they are taught what to do
and what must be done. Teaching
them what is summarized in the Great
Commission in Mat. 28:18-20. The
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
with them in the field. They may start
by giving their testimonies and build
toward a full gospel presentation. The
pastor demonstrates his commitment
to multiplication teaching others how
to witness. The most effective
teaching tool is a model. The pastor
must demonstrate his commitment by
giving ministry practice opportunities
to trained men. They must know how
to teach God’s word because their
trainer demonstrated how to do it.
______________________________
away from where they are (2Tim.
2:2). This is the model flourishes well
in small group discipleship for our
local Churches.
______________________________
4. Mission.
Deploying them, letting them do it.
The disciple-making pastor or
disciple-maker makes sure that those
chosen for deployment have mastered
the necessary skills. This select group
composes about 10% of the
congregation. This is because about
50% of the Church members do not
want to leave the comfort zone. Those
chosen for multiplied leadership
responsibility must have the proper
gifts and must possess leadership
ability.
_______________________________
3. Accountability.
This phase involves getting them
started and keeping them going. This
is the bridge that makes the trip from
knowing what they believe and why
they are doing it and getting it done
through others. When the training is
not done, multiplication will not take
place. Jesus showed them how by
calling them to follow Him and to be
with Him. Gradually, over time, He
turned increased responsibility to
them. Usually, multiplication falls
apart here because people are given
too much too soon. There must be
final testing, fine-tuning, and solid
instruction to ensure the integrity of
what is multiplied. Great care is
required, and Jesus showed us how.
Those to be left on their own should
first be sent out on their own with
specific instructions, they should
report their ministry activities for a
debriefing, for evaluation and
affirmation. The notable difference
between a disciple and a disciplemaker
is
the
ministry
of
multiplication. The disciple-maker
not only reproduces, but he also leads
those who are disciple-makers
themselves, people who make
disciples two and three generations
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
5. Supplication.
The former trainee is now “on his
own.” … training is now complete.
Trainee practices self-evaluation
using the standard of God’s word
taught by the mentor. He now needs
prayer support from the mentor. The
mentor will pray with and for the new
disciple-maker.
____________________________________
Conclusion:
Since the main problem why discipleship
is not practiced in Churches is that many
pastors do not know how to disciple, even
when they want to do it. Most end at the level
of evangelism. Some terminate discipleship
by not training others even when they have
been trained. Still, others give in to the
pressures
of
the
community
by
accommodating to the cultures and
minimizing God’s word. “The Church is a
place where the lost are found by God
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
Master’s Thesis (Magister Artium).
The University of Pretoria.
through the clear proclamation and
demonstration of the gospel. The Church
does not just make converts; it makes
disciples by teaching them to do all that Jesus
has commanded (Patrick, 2010, 185). This
article has been written as a wakeup call to
pastors who are struggling with discipleship,
to adopt this model for a discipleship
program in your ministry. It will however
require further research to develop an
effective discipleship program. Please seek to
acquire the resources in bibliography and
other good ones to equip you for discipleship.
3. Green, Rogers, S. 1999. Make
disciples: An introduction to
Christian missions. P&R.
4. Hull, Bill, 2006. The complete book of
Discipleship: On being and making
followers of Christ. The NavPress.
5. Hull, Bill, 2007. The disciple-making
pastor: leading others on the journey
of faith. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Baker Books.
6. Hull, Bill 2010. The Disciple-Making
Church: Leading a body of believers
on the journey of Faith. Baker Books.
7. Mohler, Albert, 2012. The conviction
to lead: 25 Principles for Leadership
that Matters, Bethany House.
8. Reeder, Harry, L. H, and Rod Cragg,
2008. The leadership Dynamic: A
Biblical Model for Raising Leaders.
Crossway.
References
1. Babcock,
Eldon,
2002.
The
Implementation of a Disciple-Making
Process in the Local Church. A
Dissertation Submitted to The
Faculty of George Fox Evangelical
Seminary in Candidacy for The
Degree of Doctor of Ministry.
2. Baxen, Ellsworth, Mark, 2011.
Effective
Discipleship
through
Spiritual Leadership Mentoring.
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
Predestined for Adoption
By Pr. Rich Young, Secretary & Chaplain to the Board of Trustees, Trinity Center for World
Mission, USA & Adjunct Lecturer, Trinity Biblical Institute, Kapchorwa, Uganda.
heavenly places, 4even as he chose us in him
before the foundation of the world, that we
should be holy and blameless before him. In
love 5he predestined us for adoption to
himself as sons through Jesus Christ,
according to the purpose of his will . . .”
(emphasis mine)
A telephone call at 1:00 a.m. rarely brings
good news for a U.S. Army Chaplain.
Usually, it meant there had been a death, an
accident, or another type of tragedy and my
presence was requested. This call, however,
was different. It was from my friend Jim. He
and his wife Terri had been anticipating the
news for months. They had been on a waiting
list to adopt a baby and the time finally came;
they could come and meet the little girl who
would soon be theirs. When I think of Jim and
Terri’s joy, I think of the joy Christians
should experience as those who have been
adopted into the family of God. Our adoption
by God was not an arbitrary, spur-of-themoment thought in His mind, but a reality He
planned before the foundation of the world
and to which we have been predestined.
Adopting us into His family is one of God’s
purposes in redeeming us – that we might
become His children and He might care for
us as our heavenly Father.
The Westminster Shorter Catechism
(Q 34) defines this adoption as “Adoption is
the act of God’s free grace by which we
become His sons with all the rights and
privileges of being His.” What a glorious
truth – those who God elected and called to
Himself were predestined for adoption. In
other words, our adoption into the family of
God was a certainty, an undeniable fact,
accomplished in the mind of God even before
He said the words “Let there be light.” What
a comforting and encouraging truth!
____________________________________
With our adoption comes the
gracious privilege to call God our
“Abba Father.” But what does this
really mean?
Consider Paul’s words in Ephesians
1:3-5: “Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in
Christ with every spiritual blessing in the
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
____________________________________
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
A website, cited below, that I
frequently use for my study describes it like
this: "In Scripture there are many different
names used to describe God. While all the
names of God are important in many ways,
the name ‘Abba Father’ is one of the most
significant names of God in understanding
how He relates to people. The word Abba is
an Aramaic word that means ‘Father.’ It was
a common term that expressed affection,
confidence, and trust. Abba signifies the
close, intimate relationship of a father and his
child, as well as the childlike trust that a
young child puts in his ‘daddy.’ Together, the
terms Abba and Father doubly emphasize the
fatherhood of God. In two different
languages, we are assured of God’s care for
His children.” The phrase “Abba Father” is
used three times in Scripture. The first record
of it is in Mark 14:36 when Jesus prayed in
the Garden of Gethsemane “Abba, Father, all
things are possible for you. Remove this cup
from me. Yet not what I will, but what you
will.” The second time is when Paul writes to
the Christians in Rome that they “did not
receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into
fear, but you have received the Spirit of
adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba!
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
Father!’” Ro 8:15. To the Galatians Paul
penned these words, “And because you are
sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into
our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Gal
4:6).
When God adopted us, He obligated
Himself to care for us. This care for His
children, even if I could grasp it all, far
surpasses what I can address in this short
article. Suffice it to say we can have a close,
personal, intimate relationship with Him. We
have access to Him. As our Father, we know
He loves us and wants what is best for us.
Because He is wise, He knows what is best
for us. And because He is all-powerful, He
can bring about what is best for us.
We are adopted into the Family of
God! Hallelujah!
References.
1. https://www.gotquestions.org/search.
php?zoom_sort=0&zoom_query=wh
at+does+it+mean+that+God+is+o
ur+father.
2. English Standard Version of the Bible
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
Christian Response to The Divergent Views on
Homosexuality
By Rev. Lipa Milton: Chairperson, Trinity Biblical Institute, Governing Council
that homosexuality is not sin. The article
interprets the above and other related
scripture from a biblical perspective and
seeks to refute the arguments against the
traditional
marriage.
It
explains
homosexuality and the integrated nature of
marriage, in relation to the current four
contemporary broader views held on
homosexuality. It further discusses the
African traditional and current attitudes to
homosexuality and Christian response to
homosexuals.
____________________________________
____________________________________
Introduction
Is homosexuality a universal right, as some
claim? if yes when did it become a universal
right? Who decided that it is a universal
right? Or is homosexuality a sin as the Bible
claims? Can the twenty first century
generation believe all what the Bible says? Is
the Bible an authority for what Christians
believe and practice? If yes, why are a
growing number in the current generation
against the biblical teaching on the topic of
homosexuality? If the bible is not the rule and
authority of what Christians believe, what
should we believe as our authority for our
faith and practice?
We are living in a generation that denies the
authority of the bible as the only Christian
rule of faith and practice. This brief article
seeks to prepare Christians to respond and
minister to those caught or attracted to the sin
of homosexuality. It will provide a brief
history that explains the progression of
homosexuality over the centuries. It will then
use Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 and other
related biblical texts to argue that
homosexuality is sin, as opposed to the
liberal and secular interpretations which say
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
Brief history of the progression
of homosexuality
____________________________________
____________________________________
The history of homosexuality is complex and
has evolved over time. Here is a brief
chronology of the key milestones:
1. Before
homosexuality
was
documented in the world, it is clearly
mentioned in Genesis chapters 18 and
19, and throughout the Bible.
Homosexuality was documented in
ancient civilizations like Greece and
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Rome, where it was accepted or even
celebrated.
In the Middle Ages with the rise of
Christianity
in
Europe,
homosexuality became increasingly
stigmatized and condemned.
In the 19th century, the term
“homosexuality” was coined and, and
attitudes towards same sex varied
widely. Some Countries began to
criminalize homosexual acts.
In the 20th century, many Western
nations continued to criminalize
homosexuality. The mid-20th century
saw the beginning of LGBTQ+
activism and fight for rights
movements.
In 1969, the Stone wall riot in New
York city marked a pivotal movement
in LGBTQ+ activism and the fight for
rights.
The late 20th century saw increase in
decriminalization and progress in
LGBTQ+ rights in many Countries,
including
the
removal
of
homosexuality from the Diagnostic
and Statistics Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM) in 1973.
Now in the 21st century, many
Countries have legalized same sex
marriage, and there has been
significant advancement in LGBTQ+
rights and social acceptance.
generations to prevent evil from being taken
as the norm. Any serious Christian, will seek
to study God’s word, do what it tells him or
her to do, and teach it to both believers and
unbelievers.
____________________________________
____________________________________
Study of Leviticus 18:22 and
20:13
____________________________________
____________________________________
Let us now see what the Bible, God’s word
says about homosexuality:
Leviticus 18:22 says “You shall not lie with
a male as with a woman; it is an
abomination” and Leviticus 20:13 says “If a
man lies with a male as with a woman, both
of them have committed an abomination; they
shall surely be put to death; their blood is
upon them.” These laws constitute a
significant portion of the Biblical witness
against homosexuality, for they both
explicitly address homosexual relations in
clear manner and prescribe death penalty for
homosexual offenders (which God had
previously enacted at Sodom and Gomorrah).
These two verses would need to be radically
reinterpreted for one to make a claim that the
Bible does not prohibit the practice of
homosexuality. Gagnon shares the same view
when he says that “Both Leviticus 18:22 and
20:13 occur in the context of a larger block of
laws (Leviticus 17-26) that many scholars
refer to as the Holiness Code, a law code
which urged all Israelites (not just priests) to
keep the land (not just the sanctuary)
unpolluted through the holy obedience of the
commands. He goes further to explain that
six features of the above commandments are
important
for
establishing
their
hermeneutical or Biblical interpretation
relevance:
1. Leviticus 18:22 occurs in a larger
context of forbidden sexual relations
that primarily outlaw incest (18:6-18)
It is important to note that this is a
simplified overview, and the history of
homosexuality is deeply nuanced and varies
by region and culture (CHATGPT, under the
prompt what is the brief chronology of
homosexuality?). This brief background on
homosexuality reveals that when Christianity
prevails, homosexuality is shunned, and
when Christianity weakens, homosexuality
prevails. This is the reason or context under
which the church should zealously teach and
defend the true Biblical teaching in their
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
and prohibit adultery (18:20), child
sacrifice (18:21), and bestiality
(18:23). Every Bible believing
Christian must agree with him when
says that: These prohibitions continue
to have universal validity in the
contemporary society.
2. The degree of disgust associated with
the homosexual act is suggested by
the specific attachment of the Hebrew
word to ebah, translated in English as
“abomination,” “an abhorrent thing,”
or something detestable, loathsome,
utterly repugnant, disgusting …
3. The penalty for homosexuality from
God is extreme, that is, death (20:13).
4. The laws neither penalize only
oppressive forms of homosexuality
nor excuse either party to the act.
5. … the entire context of the Holiness
Code stresses the distinctive holiness
of the people of God.
6. The position adopted by Paul in the
New Testament is not a deviation but
is consistent with the heritage present
in his scriptures. These two
covenants, that is, the New and Old
testaments agree on homosexuality
(Gagnon, 2001, 111-117).
Homosexuality is a deviation from God’s
created order. In God’s original design,
human sexual conduct was to occur within
the context of marriage between one man and
one woman (Gen. 2:18, 25). Then God
applied the above scripture to all human race
when He said, “Therefore a man shall leave
his father and his mother and hold fast to his
wife, they shall become one flesh” (Gen.
2:24). “…the logic of sexual intercourse
requires a sexual complement, and thus same
sex bond is a self-devaluing of one’s own
gender in as much as one sees the need to
complement structurally one’s own sex with
someone of the same sex” (ESV Study Bible
2017, 2548).
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
The Bible is noticeably clear about
homosexuality, every single reference to
homosexual behavior in the Bible is a
negative reference. The only sexual behavior
ever endorsed by scripture is the kind that
happens between one man and one woman in
the context of marriage. There is no exception
to this Biblical ethic. Ethics should be done
hand in hand with ministry, where true
mature believers stand with struggling
Christians to help them rely on God’s word
under the power of the Holy Spirit to
overcome any sinful tendencies in their lives
(Burk and Lambert 2015, 67).
True Christians should note that: “If God
dealt with the gentile nations to whom He had
never given this law, how much more will he
hold accountable those who claim to know
Him and possess His word? There are dire
consequences to sexual sins, and the
judgment is greatest where the light has been
brightest. Alas, the nation of Israel disobeyed
God, defiled their land, and were vomited out
into captivity as the Lord had promised (Lev.
18:24-30). Today there are both secular and
religious organizations that openly espouse
the immoral lifestyle contrary to God’s word;
in God’s eyes they are making the society
sick (The Transformation Study Bible 2007,
200). These people in God’s own time will be
vomited out of their nations. The church
needs to make this clear to the nations.
____________________________________
____________________________________
Biblical
perspectives
Homosexuality
on
____________________________________
____________________________________
The first human inhabitants of the world that
God created were a man and a woman (Gen.
1:27). This first couple set the paradigm for
marriage and sexuality, … “For this reason,
a man will leave his father and mother and be
united to his wife, and they will become one
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
flesh” (Gen. 2:24). Jesus in Mat endorse this
position. 19:4-5. The relationship between
Adam and Eve was purely sexual, for the
very next verse states that, “the man and his
wife were both naked and they felt no shame”
(Gen. 2:25). This sexual relationship between
a man and a woman is again endorsed in Gen.
4:1, which states that “Adam lay with his wife
Eve, and she became pregnant and gave
birth,” where the word lay clearly refers to
sexual intercourse. One can confidently say
that scripture teach that heterosexuality is the
norm. Homosexuality must thus be a
deviation from this norm.
▪
____________________________________
____________________________________
Is homosexuality inborn or
situational?
____________________________________
____________________________________
▪
In its presentation of homosexuality,
scripture does not discuss whether this
condition is inborn or situational. What it
does do is focus on legislation regarding
homosexual acts and incidences of
homosexual behavior. The following are
some of the key Biblical passages.
▪ Genesis 19:1-11. The men of
Sodom who wanted to rape Lot’s
visitors were homosexuals. Lot
told them that such behavior was
wicked, but they refused to listen
to him. Their behavior and their
lack of repentance brought divine
judgment on their city.
▪ Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. These
two verses which are our theme or
key verses, form what is known as
the Holiness code in Leviticus.
They strongly condemn lying with
“a man as one lies with a woman.”
They describe such behavior as
“detestable” and prescribe the
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
▪
38
death
penalty
for
male
homosexuals.
Judges 19 tells us the story of a
Levite who ended up in an
indistinguishable situation to Lot’s
visitors. He was on a journey and
had to spend the night in the town
of Gibeah. He was offered
hospitality by an old man, but that
night some of the wicked men of
the city surrounded the house.
Pounding on the door, they
shouted to the old man who owned
the house, ‘bring out the man who
came to your house so we may
have sex with him.” They were
clearly homosexuals bent on
raping the male guest, even though
the old man described their acts as
“vile” and “disrespectful.”
In Romans 1:26-27. Paul describes
male and female homosexuals as
idolatrous and wicked, and as
acting in a way that is contrary to
nature: “even their women
exchanged the natural relations
for unnatural ones. In the same
way, the men also abandoned
natural relationship with women
and were inflamed with lust for
one another. Men committed
indecent acts with other men and
received in themselves the due
penalty for their pervasion.” He
has no doubt that homosexuality is
unnatural and a pervasion of
heterosexuality
that
God
established at creation.
1Corinthians 6:9-11; 1Tim. 1:910. Paul groups homosexuality
with other sins such as murder,
adultery, and idolatry. He states
that all those who practices these
vices, including homosexuals,
“will not inherit the kingdom of
God.”
Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
subset of it). … it is highly likely that the sin
that brought God’s judgment on these people
was that of homosexuality for the following
reasons:
Clearly scripture has an extremely negative
view of homosexual intercourse. It makes it
clear that those who engage in such behavior
do not enjoy divine favor and will attract both
present and future condemnation and
judgment. Any attempt to justify
homosexuality and homosexual acts is
foreign to the scripture.
____________________________________
____________________________________
1. First, the reference to the sin of
Sodom and Gomorrah in Jude 6-7 (cf.
2Pet. 2:4-10) speaks of people who
indulged in sexual immorality …
2. Second, the sin in view in the Sodom
and Gomorrah incident is clearly
sexual (Gen. 19:5, 8).
3. Third, the sin of homosexuality
accounts for God’s terrible judgment
on Sodom and Gomorrah.
____________________________________
____________________________________
Argument against traditional
marriage
____________________________________
____________________________________
To revise the traditional understanding of the
sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, two major new
interpretations have been proposed:
Homosexuality
and
the
integrated nature of marriage
and the family
First, some scholars have suggested that the
sin that led to the ruin of those two cities was
not homosexuality but rather gang rape. … In
response, the element of truth in this view
should be plainly acknowledged in that the
sin of Sodom and Gomorrah did indeed
involve the intent to rape. These interpreters
err, however, in attempting to limit the
transgression of these two cities exclusively
to gang rape and in trying to redefine the
intended sin as a form of heterosexualoriented rape. This runs contrary to the
interpretations of Peter and Jude who clearly
state that the two cities indulged in sexual
immorality and pursued unnatural desires
(Jude 6-8; 2Pet. 2:4-10).
Second, even more influential, attempt at
revising the traditional understanding of the
sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, these
proponents, holds that it was not
homosexuality, but rather inhospitality
(Köstenberger and Jones, 2010, 202-203). …
Despite the attempts of many then, it seems
clear that the sin that led to the destruction of
Sodom and Gomorrah was not heterosexual
gang rape, inhospitality, or some other sin
unrelated to homosexuality (or an errant
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
____________________________________
____________________________________
When compared with the biblical pattern of
marriage, set forth in the opening chapters of
Genesis, homosexuality falls short on
numerous fronts:
1. It is at odd with God’s design for
marriage and the family at its most
fundamental level. …Gen. 2:24
conceives marriage as heterosexual
rather than homosexual.
2. Homosexuality
violates
the
complementary nature where the wife
is placed alongside the man as a
suitable companion. This is because
different gender roles are an essential
part of the creation design for
marriage (Gen. 2:18).
3. God’s design for marriage is the duty
of procreation, which homosexuality
does not fulfill (Köstenberger and
Jones, 2000).
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
____________________________________
____________________________________
nothing explicitly sinful about
homosexual orientation. However, a
clear look at scripture, shows that
homosexual desires (orientation)
which leads to sin can be mortified
(Rom. 8:12-13). Christians should not
give in to any compromise regarding
homosexuality.
4. Traditional, is the historic Christian
view, which sees both homosexual
behavior and desires as sinful. It also
believes that both homosexual
behavior and desires can be changed
by the power of God’s grace in Jesus
Christ (Burk and Lambert, 2015, 2126).
_________________________________
_________________________________
Four broader approaches to
same sex attraction
____________________________________
____________________________________
There are four approaches to same-sex
attraction and behavior which have emerged
in the broader Christian dialogue:
1. The Liberals, who profess to be
working within the Christian tradition
but disavows the Biblical teaching on
this matter. They claim scripture is
not the norma normans of the
Church’s life because scriptures can
be normed by our own experiences
and opinions. … However, no
Christian embracing the authority and
sufficiency of God’s word could ever
embrace a view so recklessly
dismissive of the sacred scripture.
2. Revisionist, who comprise of
Christian faithfulness even though it
so a bit differently. … they attempt to
accommodate the scripture to the
practice of homosexuality. They
reinterpret the classic texts of
scripture
that
teach
against
homosexuality and make it seem as
though they do not speak to the
experience of homosexuals in
contemporary culture. One of the
arguments claims that the Bible does
not address homosexuality as we
know it today, the Bible’s
prohibitions are irrelevant. This view
is unbiblical.
3. Neo-traditional, embraces the Bible
as authoritative and affirms the
historical understanding of scriptural
teaching about homosexual behavior;
but differs from the traditional view
about
same-sex
attraction
(orientation). They argue that there is
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
Traditional African attitudes
to homosexuality
_________________________________
_________________________________
In traditional Africa, homosexuality and
lesbianism, same sex intercourse and same
sex marriage were not mentioned in public …
Homosexual intercourse was considered
even more disgusting. President Museveni in
response to a CNN interviewer captured this
idea clearly: “They are disgusting. What
sort of people are they?” he said. “I never
knew what they were doing. I have been
told recently that what they do is terrible,
and disgusting. But I was ready to ignore
that if there was proof that that is how they
are born, that is, abnormal. But now the
proof is not there.” Museveni also told
CNN that the West should not force its
beliefs onto Ugandans. “Respect African
societies and their values,” he said. “If you
do not agree, just keep quiet. Let us
manage our society, then we will see. If we
are wrong, we shall find out by ourselves,
just the way we do not interfere with
yours.” (CNN 5 February 2014).
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
Three more African leaders have articulated
this strong feeling against same-gender
relationships very clearly. The late Daniel
Arap Moi, the former president of Kenya, is
reported to have said: “Kenya has no room or
time for homosexuals and lesbians.
Homosexuality is against African norms and
traditions and even in religions it is
considered a great sin. Homosexuality is a
scourge which runs counter to Christian
teachings and African traditions.” Similarly,
the former president of Zimbabwe, late
Robert Mugabe said, “I find it extremely
outrageous and repugnant to my human
conscience that such immoral and repulsive
organizations, like those of homosexuals who
offend both against the laws of nature and the
morals of religious belief espoused by our
society, should have any advocates in our
midst or even elsewhere in the world”
(Kunhiyop, 2008, 304).
___________________________
Current
attitudes
to
Homosexuality in Africa and
the world
Over the past decade, homosexuality has
moved from being a taboo topic to center
stage. One precipitating factor was the
election in 2003 of an openly gay bishops,
Gene Robinson, by the Episcopal Church in
the United States of America. This action
created a crisis, with many African Anglican
leaders threatening to break away from the
Anglican communion. At the meeting of the
Anglican leaders in Zanzibar in 2007, the
Rev. Peter Akinola and six other conservative
archbishops refused to take communion with
Kathrine Jefferts Schori, the leader of the
American Episcopalians …
Some other factors accounting for the sudden
changes in attitudes towards homosexuality
include:
1. Demands for freedom and human
rights.
2. Desire for morality to be based on
empirical and scientific data.
3. Erosion and abandonment of
traditional values and beliefs.
4. Rejection of Biblical revelation and
ecclesiastical faith and practice.
5. Advance in reproductive technology
(Kunhiyop, 305-306)
In the same tone while responding to the
former United States of America President
Obama in promoting gay equality, the former
president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, said
that “while Kenya and the US share some
values - democracy, value for families,
entrepreneurship - there were "some things
that we must admit we don't share. I
repeatedly say that for Kenyans today the
issue of gay rights is really a non-issue. We
want to focus on other areas…maybe once,
like you, we have overcome some of these
challenges, we can begin to look at these
ones, but as of now the fact remains that this
issue is not really an issue that is at the
foremost minds of Kenyans and that is a
fact." (Kiran Moodley 31 July 2015). Indeed,
the above leaders rightly nailed the
traditional African view on same-gender
relationships.
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
With all these challenges to the authority
scripture, “We are living at a time in
history, where we have been challenged
with the need to define the meaning of the
terms’ marriage and family. “What until
now has been considered a “normal”
family, made up of a father, a mother, and
several children, has in the recent years
increasingly began to be viewed as one
among, several options, which can no
longer claim to be the only or superior
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
form of ordering of human relationships”
(Köstenberger and Jones, 2010, 15).
The proponents behind this crisis have
replaced scriptural views with human
views. “This new revolution presents a
particular challenge to Christianity for a
commitment to the authority of scripture
and to revealed truths … we are facing
nothing less than a comprehensive
redefinition of life, love, liberty and the
very meaning of right and wrong …
Christians who are to remain true to the
faithfulness of the Bible as the Word of
God and to the gospel as the only message
of salvation must face this unavoidable
challenge (Mohler Jr., 2015, 1-2).
The disturbing examples of the results for
abandonment of the Biblical foundations
of marriage and family include but not
limited to: Increasing divorce rates,
polygamy, sex outside marriage (adultery
or fornication), teenage pregnancy,
abortion, and homosexuality. While these
things are pleasurable in the short run,
they take a heavy toll both
psychologically and spiritually to
contribute to the overall insecurity and
stress causing destabilization of our
cultural foundation. Homosexuality
deprives children in the household run by
same sex partners of primary role models
of both sexes and is unable to fulfill the
procreation purposes God intended for
marriage union. Gender role confusion
too, is an increasingly significant issue;
many adults have lost the concept of what
it means to be masculine and feminine.
Proponents of this revolution have lost
the complete identity of what it means to
be created male and female. They forget
that our sex is an integral part of being.
The solution to this moral confusion, is an
integrative, Biblical treatment of
marriage and family as God intended
them from the beginning (Köstenberger,
16-17).
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
One of the most serious distortions of
God’s plan for marriage and family … is
homosexuality. … homosexuality is an
increasing phenomenon in contemporary
culture. The move toward the official
acceptance in modern American society
started in 1973, when the American
Psychological Association removed
homosexuality from its list of
psychological diseases in the diagnostic
and statistical manual of disorder. In the
wake of this decision, homosexuality has
gradually gained ground in the secular
culture … Not only is secular culture
increasingly embracing homosexuality as
an alternative lifestyle, but even many in
the Church and in published academic
works on the subject written by Biblical
scholars are softening their stance. Some
pastors have revealed their homosexual
orientation, many of the mainline
denominations are vigorously discussing
the moral legitimacy of homosexuality,
and at least one denomination has elected
a practicing homosexual as its leader
(Köstenberger and Jones 2010, 199-200).
_________________________________
The Christian response to
homosexuals
Given what scripture has to say about
homosexuality, how should the Church
and individual Christians respond to
homosexuals and to the homosexual
agenda?
The first point is that Christians must not
abandon the Biblical position; scripture
are the final authority in matters of faith
and practice and provide guidelines and
qualifications for membership in Christ’s
Church… But while we should refuse to
condone same-gender relationships and
same sex marriage, we must be
compassionate in our dealings with
homosexuals.
Secondly, we must remember that
homosexuality is not the only heinous sin
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
in our world. In 1Cor. 6:9-10 the list of
sins includes sexual immorality, adultery,
greed, drunkenness, slander, and fraud.
These sins are equally wicked and evil.
Yet those who have committed these sins
have been accepted into our Churches if
they turn to Christ and turn away from
their evil practices... The Church must be
willing to extend warm acceptance to
those who have changed their ways
(Kunhiyop, 306-309).
to the uniform teaching of Scripture, and
that people engaged in homosexual
activity should be treated with love and
compassion by those in the church, but
not in a way that would signal approval
for their homosexual conduct (Grudem,
2018)
Conclusion:
The prohibitions of Leviticus 18:22 and
20:13 clearly and unqualifiedly forbid
homosexual intercourse between males. This
is how the Jews understood it. The Mosaic
Law was unparalleled in the ancient world in
that it
uniquely dealt
with
the
active/penetrative partner in same sex
intercourse and held both individuals in a
consensual
homosexual
act
equally
accountable, exacting the death penalty
against them. Homosexual conduct of all
kinds is consistently viewed as sin in the
Bible, and recent reinterpretation of the Bible
that have been raised as objections to that
view do not give a satisfactory explanation of
the word or context of the relevant verses.
Sexual intimacy is to be confined to
marriage, and marriage is to only be between
one man and one woman, following the
pattern established by God in creation. The
Church should always act with love and
compassion toward homosexuals, yet never
affirm homosexual conduct as morally right.
The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ offers the
“good news” of forgiveness of sins and real
hope for a transformed life to the
homosexuals as well as to all sinners (ESV
Study Bible, 2008, 2550).
Wayne Grudem, in his book, Christian
Ethics asks and answers the following
questions on homosexuality: Do the
biblical passages about homosexuality
still apply today? How should we analyze
recent arguments claiming that the Bible
can be interpreted to allow for faithful
same-gender
relationships?
Is
homosexual desire wrong? Can people be
“born gay”? How should we evaluate the
claims of certain people that they are
“transgender”? Can surgery transition,
change a man into a woman, or a woman
into a man? What does the Bible teach
about homosexuality? Does it even speak
to the modern concepts of committed
same-sex relationships and same-sex
marriage? It is appropriate to discuss
these questions … which treats various
aspects of human sexuality. To my
knowledge, no evangelical Christian
pastors or Bible scholars in previous
generations ever claimed that the Bible
gives moral approval to any kind of
homosexual conduct. The unanimous
consensus of centuries of Christian
teaching on such a major moral issue
cannot be dismissed lightly. Even today,
most of the widely used textbooks on
Christian ethics written by evangelicals
continue to hold the same position that
the church has held throughout its history,
namely, that homosexual conduct is
morally wrong in God’s sight, according
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
References.
7. Grudem, Wayne. 2018. Christian
Ethics: An introduction to Biblical
moral reasoning. Crossway.
1. Andreas J. Köstenberger with David
W. Jones, 2010. God, Marriage and
Family, Crossway, Wheaton Illinois.
8. Kunhiyop, Samuel, Waje, 2008.
African Christian Ethics. Hippo
Books.
2. Burk, Denny; Heath Lambert, 2015.
Transforming homosexuality: what
the Bible says about sexual
orientation and change. P&R.
3. CNN interview on homosexuality with
President Museveni: CNN
5
February 2014
9. Mohler Albert, R. Jr. 2015. We
cannot be silent: Speaking truth to a
culture redefining sex, marriage, and
the very meaning of right and wrong.
Nelson Books.
4. Duncan III, Ligon, J. Kindle edition
on the Book of Romans.
10. The Transformation Study Bible,
2007. David Cook.
5. ESV Study Bible, 2008. Crossway.
6. Gagnon, Robert, A. J. 2001. The Bible
and homosexual practice: Texts and
hermeneutics. Abingdon Press.
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
The Centrality of Theological Education in Africa and The
World Over
By Elder Charlie King (Chairperson, TCWM Board, USA) and Elder Fred Kabenge
The fragile spiritual landscape of the
church leadership in Africa therefore calls for
an urgent intervention if the African Church
is to be spared from the above-mentioned
threats and dangers. This is where
TCWM/TBI exactly fits into the overall
picture of Africa’s critical problem. With its
goal of training men and women in sound
biblical teaching, TCWM/TBI comes in as
part of the much-needed solution in
addressing this predicament of the African
Church. As more support is given to
TCWM/TBI in its vision of establishing
networks of Biblical, grace-filled, Christcentered, gospel-preaching, self-supporting,
and reproducing churches, through the use of
theological education, evangelistic training,
cross-cultural
study,
radio-based
proclamation of the Gospel of Grace, and
mercy ministries, the current trend of church
growth in Africa will be turned into a truly
meaningful one, become consolidated, and as
a result further the trend of Africa becoming
a hub and launching pad for reaching far
The Church in Africa is on the rise
as the gospel is actively going out to many
unreached people groups around the
continent. The desire and passion to reach the
population with the Christian message are
very much seen in many parts of the
continent. However, one of the biggest
concerns about this endeavor lies in the
quality of the message being carried across
the nations and the kind of end products that
are being realized. Many of the church
leaders involved in the proclamation of the
gospel message lack a good and solid Biblical
and theological foundation, and so either
intentionally
or
unintentionally
are
contributing significantly to the production of
a growing, but ill-prepared church
characterized by syncretism and nominal
Christianity, which can hardly withstand the
increasing
threats
of
Islamic
Fundamentalism, and the numerous liberal
trends that are beginning to hit the continent
like wildfires.
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may be, but we are not the center of the
world, and certainly not the center of
Christianity. Besides, how can we say that
life is tough for Christians in America? On
the bus to Kampala, the driver, after he came
aboard and before we started, stood up and
led everyone on the bus in a prayer for safe
travels. No one thought anything of it, other
than that it was a clever idea. It was entirely
normal. I have no idea what the prayer said,
as it was said in Kinyarwanda, but I saw in
that simple act recognition that life is not
limited to what we know and what we
control. There is more, much more, than just
the sufferings of this life. As Kabugo James
says, “Whether I live or die, Christ reigns.”
away regions which were once strongholds of
the Christian faith, but have since waned
from the gospel of grace.
____________________________________
Assessment of the situation on
the ground in East Africa and
Challenges:
“So shall my word be that goes from my
mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it
shall accomplish that which I purpose, and
shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in
peace; the mountains and the hills before you
shall break forth into singing, and all the
trees of the field shall clap their hands”
(Isaiah 55:11-12). The church in Africa is
strong. Certainly, there are profoundly
serious threats, most of which, quite frankly,
come from within rather than without the
church. Paul warned of “fierce wolves arising
from among you” (Acts 20:29). And yes, the
gospel is insulted by the charlatans of the
health and wealth crowd, syncretism
handicaps it, Muslim extremists try to kill it,
and Western secularism certainly does not
help it. And yes, the church here needs
discipleship, mercy missions, and fellowship
with like-minded believers. But Christ will
not be denied, and the center of His church is
settling in Africa.
Christianity is not a Western religion,
and it certainly is not a white man’s religion.
That is not what the Bible says. Today, the
center of Christianity is settling on Africa.
Within your children’s lifetime, they will see
the day when the average Christian on this
earth is Black and from Africa. What sort of
Christianity will they inherit from you? What
sort of Christianity will they lead? The day is
coming, brothers and sisters, when it will be
from Africa that the missionaries will come.
It will be your children that will conduct the
Great Commandment, going forth from
Africa to “make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Will they
be ready? Your training at TBI will equip you
to serve God in your community, and to raise
up your children in the fear of the Lord. It will
train you to answer the question: “What kind
of Christian is the African?” And in
answering that question, you will build
treasure for the Kingdom to come. The Bible
ends with the great vision of John of the New
Jerusalem. Read what he sees: “Then I saw a
We may be diminishing spiritually in the
West, but the light is not going out – it is just
changing hands. I read a few days ago a
lament by an American writer about the state
of Christianity in the US. He complained:
“The end of majority approval in society for
exclusive Christianity, absolute morality,
traditional moral standards, and in particular
sexual morality, may soon make life very
difficult for traditional Christians.” Well, that
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new heaven and a new earth, for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy
city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of
heaven from God, prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband . . . And I saw no
temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord
God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the
city has no need of sun or moon to shine on
it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its
lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations
walk, and the kings of the earth will bring
their glory into it, and its gates will never be
shut by day—and there will be no night there.
They will bring into it the glory and the honor
of the nations.” (Revelation 21:1-2 and 2226). With God’s grace and with the love of
Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit,
you will use this training at TBI so that your
nation will be ready to bring its glory into the
New Jerusalem.
unity as adopted children of the Kingdom and
we will be in the same World. We read of this
unity in difference in Acts 2: 11, when Peter
preached the gospel in his own language, but
the many different tribes and nations present
all heard the Word in their own language.
They reported hearing Peter “telling in our
own tongues the mighty works of God” (Acts
2:11). We will not lose the identities,
cultures, and languages we bore while on this
earth, even while we become united as Saints
before His throne. We know this because we
are told in Revelations 21:24 that in the end,
the nations will enter the New Jerusalem, and
“the kings of the earth will bring their glory
into it.” God speaks to us in the different
languages of man – how he will speak to us
in Heaven we do not know, but just as we
only have the faces he gave us, we only have
the languages he gave us as well. Peter spoke
in his own language but was understood by
all who heard him. Why should we not expect
this to be a sign of things to come?
Will There be Africans in
Heaven?
Let us not by like the Muslims, who believe
because their prophet spoke Arabic that God
must do so as well. Such idolatry is foolish. I
look forward to being glorified as a Western
Christian, with the face, culture, and
language given to me by God, worshiping
with you as an African Christian, in the face,
culture, and language you have been given.
Can we fully understand this, or explain it?
Perhaps not, but we can accept that as
believers we share an eternal identity in
Christ yet differ in this world. We live in
difference but die in unity. But living or
dying, we do so in Christ and for Christ. Paul
teaches us that our brotherhood of faith is
stronger than our blood and family ties,
Yes, there will be. Not only will there be
people from Africa in Heaven, but they will
also be there. As Africans. Brothers and
sisters, when we meet on the other side of
death, in the great assembly of the Saints, we
will know each other by our tribes and
nations. We know this because Christ has
called his people from every tribe and
nation—at the end of his time of walking on
this earth in a physical body he told his
disciples “Go therefor and make disciples of
all nations . . . “Matthew 28:19). We will be
assembled in a great multitude of colors,
tribes, and languages, but we will all be in
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but those ties do not disappear at death. We
shall see God face to face in the New
Jerusalem, but what faces shall we have? We
can only have the faces which He has given
us from the beginning of time. Job cries out
in his agony “For I know that my Redeemer
lives, and at the last he will stand upon the
earth. And after my skin has been thus
destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God”
(Job 19:25-26). We should not wonder at this
– it is enough that Scripture has told us we
will see Him face to face. On the mountain
top with Jesus, Peter, James, and John
witnessed not only Christ transfigured, but
Moses and Elijah as well, and the disciples
recognized them: “His face shone like the
sun, and His clothes became as white as the
light. And behold, Moses and Elijah
appeared to them, talking with Him”
(Matthew 17: 2-3). Regardless of our
ethnicity, tribes, or nations, as believers we
shall all be the children of Abraham, for we
“know that it is those of faith who are the sons
of Abraham” (Galatians 3:7). The sons of
Abraham are not limited to those of the blood
of Abraham, but to those of the covenant. It
was Abraham whom the Lord blessed, when
he told Abraham that “my covenant is with
you, and you shall be the father of a multitude
of nations” (Genesis 17:4). Note that
Abraham is called to be a father of many
nations – not just a single nation. We are
children of Abraham through faith, and thus
adopted children and heirs with Christ. We
are also just as truly children of our own
nations and tribes. Even though Christ “gives
to all mankind life and breath and
everything” Christ has also given us tribes
and nations. From the very beginning it was
so: “And he made from one man [Adam]
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every nation of mankind to live on all the face
of the earth . . . “(Acts 17:26) and God called
Adam’s wife Eve, because she was the mother
of all living” (Genesis 3:22).
So, let us be brothers and sisters in
spirit, working in unison for the redemption
of our tribes and nations. At Trinity Biblical
Institute you will learn that Christianity is an
African religion, and a Western religion, and
a Korean religion — it is a religion for all
peoples, tribes, and tongues. Today Christ is
building the center of his Kingdom here on
earth in Africa. You children will live to see
the day when the average Christian on earth
is Black and from Africa. The day is coming,
brothers and sisters, when it will be from
Africa that the missionaries will go to the rest
of the world. It will be your children that will
conduct the Great Commission, going forth
from Africa to “make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” What sort
of Christianity will they inherit from you?
What sort of Christianity will they lead? Will
they be ready? Your training at TBI will
equip you to serve God in your community,
and to raise up your children in the fear of the
Lord. It will train you to answer the question
“What kind of Christian is the African?” And
in answering that question, you will build
treasure for the Kingdom to come.
The Bible ends with John’s vision of the New
Jerusalem in Revelation. Read what he sees:
“1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had
passed away,
and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the
holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out
of heaven.
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Trinity: Journal of Theology and Christian Education
From God, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband . . . 22 And I saw no temple in
the city,
for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty
and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need
of sun or
moon to shine on it, for the glory of God
gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24
By its light will the nations walk, and the
kings of the earth will bring their glory into
it, twenty-five and its gates will never be shut
by day—and there will be no night there. 26
They will bring into it the glory and the honor
of the nations. (Revelation 21:1-2 and 22-26).
With God’s grace and with the love of Christ
and the presence of the Holy Spirit, you will
use this training at TBI so that your nation
will be ready to bring its glory into the New
Jerusalem.
Volume 1. Issue 1. December 2023
References.
1. exclusive Christianity
2. absolute morality
3. sexual morality
4. traditional moral standards
5. a lament
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The Key to True Prayer
By
Pr. Andy Webb: Senior Pastor at Providence Presbyterian Church (PCA)
Cumberland, North Carolina, United States & Adjunct lecturer at Trinity Biblical Institute,
Kapchorwa, Uganda
In Chapter 6 of Matthew, Jesus teaches His
Do you regularly pray? I hope you do. Jesus
assumes that his followers will pray, you’ll
notice that He started out talking about prayer
in the verses above by saying, “when you
pray” not, “if you pray” and then He goes on
to discuss the key to true prayer, which isn’t
to be found in the place that you pray, or the
way that you pray, or the length of your
prayers, but in the disposition of the heart of
the one praying. Throughout this section of
Sermon of the Mount, Jesus is speaking to
His disciples about the difference that grace
in the heart makes, how it is the key to a
deeper righteousness than the Pharisees ever
had, indeed than they could even understand.
You see they saw the doing of good works,
things like prayer and alms giving as the key
to righteousness, while Christ explains that
true religion is exactly the opposite way
round – righteousness is the key to good
works and that it is only through being united
to Christ by faith that we could have the true
righteousness that makes a man truly blessed.
disciples much about prayer, for instance in
Matthew 6:5-8 He says:
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____________________________________
5” And when you pray, you shall not be like the
hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the
synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that
they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you,
they have their reward.
6”But you, when you pray, go into your room, and
when you have shut your door, pray to your Father
who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees
in secret will reward you openly. 7 “And when you
pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.
For they think that they will be heard for their many
words.
8 “Therefore do not be like them. For your Father
knows the things you have need of before you ask
Him.
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Now what is prayer? There are lots of
answers to that question. Many people think
of prayer merely as a required duty, others
think of it as something that makes them feel
better, still others see it as a kind of magical
incantation designed to get us what we need,
but the way that Jesus explains true prayer to
us, it is none of these things. Prayer is a
familiar way of speaking to God, by someone
who is intimately acquainted with Him. One
could almost describe it as a conversation
with God, but that would be to make it too
informal. I like the way Westminster Shorter
Catechism answers the question:
So, in Christ’s time, if the hour of prayer
came and you were on the street, you would
stop what you were doing and pray. Now the
hypocrites somehow managed to always be
found someplace VERY public when it came
time to pray, and they made a great show of
their prayers because their desire was to
impress others with their holiness and piety.
A corollary of that, that still goes on today can
be seen in Muslim countries where five times
a day the Muezzin calls the faithful to pray,
and wherever they are, they are supposed to
prepare themselves and go through a ritual of
kneeling and bowing to Mecca and reciting
the same set prayers. A zealous Muslim really
bows and touches his head to the ground and
after a while they develop what is called a
Zabiba or “Prayer Bump”. I once read a book
called “Captive in Iran” about two Christian
women held in Evin Prison in Iran for their
faith. They went before a particularly
fanatical Muslim judge at one point, and they
made this observation:
____________________________________
____________________________________
Q. 98. What is prayer?
A. Prayer is an offering up of our desires
unto God, for things agreeable to his will,
in the name of Christ, with confession of
our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of
his mercies.
____________________________________
____________________________________
Jesus is eager that we would pray but He
doesn’t want his followers to pray in the
empty and fruitless way that so many do. The
first thing He emphasizes therefore is for us
to remember who true prayer is to be directed
towards. Why would He need to do that?
Because most people get it wrong. The
heathens pray in vain to the wrong God, but
even people who believe in the true God,
often aren’t speaking to Him when they pray.
The Pharisees, for instance, frequently
prayed to be seen and heard by people, not
God. You see observant Jews prayed three
times a day at set hours, Psalm 55:17
“Evening and morning and at noon I will
pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my
voice”. That was how, for instance, Daniel’s
enemies knew they could entrap him, they
knew He would always pray to Jehovah three
times a day no matter what.
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He had a red mark on his forehead that
devout Muslims get when they pray for
long periods with a prayer stone pressed
against their brow. However, I could tell
that, like others we knew, He had heated
the stone before using it. That made a red
mark right away, displaying his devout
status without all that time-consuming
prayer.
_____________________________
_____________________________
But we’re ok, right? I mean we Christians
don’t pray on the street corners or bow to
Mecca, do we? Ah, but our prayers can also
be offered for ears other than God’s. Have
you ever been “prayed at?” I know I have. I
remember one instance where one Christian
who disliked another Christian in the room
intensely essentially spent ten minutes
correcting his theological and personal faults
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in a prayer supposedly offered to God. Or we
can pray to impress and please other people
and there are no people who are as subject to
that problem as pastors. Even the great Welsh
pastor Martin Lloyd Jones confessed that for
some reason it was easier to pray in the pulpit
than in private. The danger is that you offer
up your pulpit prayer to please your listeners.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon remarked that He
had read the following in an American paper:
pours out her heart, all her concerns and
praises and desires and is totally oblivious in
that moment of other people. It’s just her
talking to her daddy, and the idea that He
wouldn’t answer never even occurs to her.
Having reminded His followers of WHO they
are to pray to, Jesus reminds them of HOW
they are to pray, and He says, don’t think that
you will be heard for your many words, your
vain repetitions. The Heathen prophets of
Baal who attempted to get Baal to answer
with fire on Mt. Carmel cried out from
morning till noon shouting, “OH BAAL
HEAR US!” To this day there are many who
think that the repetition of written prayers
repeatedly will be what forces God to hear
and answer. In the Roman Catholic School, I
went to as a child, we were taught to pray the
Hail Mary and the Lord’s Prayer over and
over. We even had a priest who would give a
quarter to the boy who could say them fastest.
I won several times, but what was that? It was
not prayer; it was just vain repetition.
“The Rev. Dr. So-and-so prayed the
finest prayer that was ever addressed
to a Boston audience.” And then
Spurgeon remarked, “I am afraid that
there are some prayers of that sort,
that are prayed to the congregation.
That is not the kind of prayer that God
loves.”
Many men pray for the benefit of those
watching and listening, and truly as Jesus
says, they have their reward, and have no
right to expect those prayers to be answered
by God, after all, they weren’t addressed to
Him in the first place, and He knew that. So
instead, Jesus says we are to go into our secret
place where we can be alone with the Father.
Does that mean we should stop praying in
public? Well, no, the prayer meeting and
congregational prayer are both very
necessary. The apostolic church was
constantly praying together and in worship.
What Christ means is summed up by this
remark of Spurgeon, “Forget that there is
anybody present, forget that a human ear is
listening to your accents; and let it be said of
your prayer, "Nevertheless we made our
prayer unto our God.”
____________________________________
What kind of intimate relationship between
two individuals could be based merely on one
person constantly saying the same stream of
words over and repeatedly? That is not the
way you addressed your earthly father, so
why would you think it is the proper way to
address your heavenly Father? Therefore,
Jesus again tells us that we are to come to him
in a spirit of trust, knowing that He knows
what we have need of. After all, loving
parents know the needs of their children, but
they still want them to come to them and ask
for what they need and tell them what they
have in their heart. As Christians we need to
remember that although our Heavenly Father
knows what we are going to ask for, that
prayer is how He has sovereignly ordained to
change things and that prayer is a means that
changes us, strengthens us, and grows us. As
we speak to others we know them better, and
It is not the secrecy that is all
important, but the sincerity.
Wherever we are, we should be like the little
child who climbs into her father’s lap and
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as we speak to God we come to know and
trust Him more completely.
There is no way to come to the Father except
by faith in His Son: 1 John 2:23 “Whoever
denies the Son does not have the Father
either; He who acknowledges the Son has
the Father also.”
In fact, the idea of a Christian who doesn’t
want to talk to His heavenly father is an
oxymoron. As JC Ryle simply put it, “this is
the rule, prayerless equals graceless.”
But here is the thing, prayer is also the
beginning of the Christian life. Prayer is the
first cry of the newborn Christian! We call
upon God to have mercy upon us by prayer,
and we close and covenant with Him by
prayer. If you have not done that yet, then it
is time for you to truly begin to pray!
And that brings me to the greatest and most
important of the “keys to prayer. “Prayer
depends upon relationship.
Let me try to explain what I mean using an
allegory. On Father’s Day I try to remember
to call my father. When I do so, I expect the
conversation will be a happy and normal one,
after all, he’s, my father. But if I called YOUR
father (assuming he’s still alive) to wish him
a happy Father’s Day, the call would be
incredibly awkward, wouldn’t it? Why is
that? Aren’t they both fathers? Well Yes, but
your father isn’t my father! I’m not his son
and how can I address him as “my father” if
he’s not actually my father?
-END_
It has been my experience that most people
who are in the church but don’t pray, and say
they have great difficulty doing so are usually
struggling with the same problem. They
cannot address God as their Father because
that relationship doesn’t yet exist, and that is
because they have not yet been adopted.
As Robert Hawker put it, “Strictly and
properly speaking, there can be no prayer,
where there is no acquaintance. And until the
Child of GOD is brought into an
acquaintance with GOD in CHRIST, however
He may offer a multitude of words, the heart
is not interested, and consequently there is no
prayer. But when we have received the spirit
of adoption, and the newborn child of GOD
is brought forth into the spiritual life,
instantly the cry of the soul is, Abba, Father!”
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