• Archive of "africa" Category

    More Kenya Pictures

    January 16, 2009 // No Comments »

    Be forewarned, there’s a whole lot!

    palace-in-senegal

    Jimmy’s are here.

    Matthew’s are here.

    Alan’s are here.

    John’s are here.

    Ben’s are here. (how many people do you know that take 45 pictures with a disposable camera, scan them into a computer, and upload them to the Internet, way to go film student!)

    Posted in africa, pictures

    Consuming Jesus

    January 15, 2009 // 2 Comments »

    I have been looking forward to reading Consuming Jesus: Beyond Race and Class Divisions in a Consumer Church by Paul Metzger for some time.  For the sake of an alternative context and experience, I was even more excited to read the bulk of it amidst my time in Africa and its deep seeded tribalism.

    In Metzger’s words, his aim is to…

    confront the ways evangelical-consumer or niche-church Christianity fosters racial and economic divisions, and I wish to offer an alternative theological paradigm to the one that is often embraced in the evangelical subculture. (11)

    In my words, this alternative theological paradigm comes only by way of rejecting the version of the gospel which has led to a consumer-oriented faith/church and embracing one that prophetically strikes at the very heart of that reality.

    In John Perkins’ words,

    The only purpose of the gospel is to reconcile people to God and to each other.  A gospel that doesn’t reconcile is not a Christian gospel at all.  But in America it seems as if we don’t believe that.  We don’t really beleive that the proof of our discipleship is that we love one another.” (9)

    I love that Perkins understands the gospel by what it does.  Like love, the gospel takes on its true nature only when it is enacted.

    In the beginning of the book.  Metzger insightfully traces the various streams, characters, and events which have so vitally contributed to the dominant expression of Christianity in America.  From here, he probes into the ways in which “the dominant structure of the evangelical church today favors, fosters, and shapes its structures around the key ingredient of individual choice…” (79)  Key to understanding this tendency is his discussion of the popularization of the Homogenous Unit Principle (HUP) by Donald McGavran as a method for church growth.  The remainder of the book features insightful biblical and cultural reflections, helpful examples and a sustained discussion on the vitality of Scripture and sacraments for the formation of communities of reconciliation across racial and class boundaries.

    Of Scripture, Metzger says…

    We must move people with God’s word on Sunday mornings to move beyond their addictions to race and class affinity groups.  Authentic witness to Jesus is at stake, and we must stake our lives on it. (117)

    – a quick aside here: just as the goodness of the gospel lies in what it does, so too the sermon is only good inasmuch as it results in changed lives.  Don’t ever tell a preacher his or her message was good unless you are prepared to also tell them how it resulted in your changed life

    And I love that he includes Marva Dawn’s words on the Lord’s Supper…

    How can we share the eschatological feast if we don’t participate in displaying God’s future, in which all will be equally fed and we will all join together in universal praise?  It seems to be that if we eat the body and blood of Christ in expensive churches without care for the hungry, the sacrament is no longer a foretaste of the feast to come, but a trivialized picnic to which not everyone is invited.

    The end of the book is the author’s attempt to move into a discussion of partnerships amongst churches across racial and socio-economic lines.  His desire is for the church to…

    re-envision its understanding of communal identity in view of its communal and co-missional God as involving solidarity with society at large…. This will entail a radical break from the dominant American individualistic mindset that keeps us separate from others.  It will require that we lay down our lives and die for our enemies rather than try to take back America from them. (149)

    I found this to be a fantastic book.  A bit narrow at places where I though the discussion (at least by way of footnotes) should have been expanded, but definitely a much needed message for the American church.  I suppose the big question I am let with is how to think about local congregations that are seeking to incarnate themselves in places that are intrinsically homogeneous.  If anyone wants to weigh in, please feel free, I’d enjoy the discussion.

    Posted in africa, books, christendom, church, community, consumerism, culture, evangelicalism, gospel, individualism, love, missional, preaching/teaching, review, sermon, spiritual formation, theology

    The Story of a Kiva Loan

    January 12, 2009 // No Comments »

    I think the world of Kiva, a group that enables people to loan small amounts of money to people in developing countries to start or grow a business.  Back in August I made a loan to a lady who sells fruits and vegetables in Benin.  The loan is already 38% repaid and I fully anticipate reinvesting in another loan when it’s paid back.  I wondered just how the whole process works and low and behold, one person took it upon themselves to put together a really cool video showing the process of making a Kiva loan from beginning to end.  Definitely worth 10 minutes, so go get a cup of coffee and enjoy.  Let me know if you make a loan – great thing to be a part of.


    A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.

    Posted in africa

    A Kenyan New Year

    January 7, 2009 // 2 Comments »

    I am recently back from a 10 day trip to Kenya in Africa.  Though the entire trip was incredible from beginning to end, the highlight just might have been ringing in the New Year by participating in African tribal dances around a huge bonfire (which featured the stylings of Ben K. who introduced our Kenya friends to the timeless art of “the robot”).

    I am really at a loss for how to summarize the trip.  It featured stops in Lagos, Nigeria, Nairobi, Kenya, and Dakar, Senegal.  We got to go on safari and see all sorts of beautiful African wildlife.  We attended a crusade, visited slums, drove through a market (which, by the way, was meant to be walked through), visited with local pastors, enjoyed local cuisine, helped to run a summer camp, and entered into relationship with an incredible bunch of orphans.

    I had been dreaming about visiting Africa for a number of years and I’m already anxious to return.  The landscape, both cultural and spiritual, is something I long to further understand.  The marks of Western colonialism are painfully obvious and though I was overjoyed to hear one pastor speak openly against it (he preached a message about faithfulness being the mark of true success – a message I implored him to share with his bothers and sisters in the US), the prosperity gospel is sadly entrenched amongst African Christians.

    I loved getting to travel and serve alongside the other guys on the team.  I could go on for a long time about the great stuff I saw out of them, not to mention stories of all the various Africans I got to know while we were there.  But I think I will leave anything further to these pictures (which I have tried my best to add helpful descriptions to) and any specific questions you might have.  I hope to share more pictures and links as others on the team post them.

    Here’s some more from John.

    Posted in africa, kids, living hope, travles

    Kenya

    December 25, 2008 // 4 Comments »

    UPDATE: Flight was delayed in Memphis so missed the connection in Atlanta. We are enjoying the local Ramada and we’ll take the same flight tomorrow that we missed today at 3PM.

    I am heading to Kenya in the morning with 5 friends.  We are going to be helping to put on a camp for a orphanage in Eldoret.  For those of you who pray, any that you would offer on our behalf would be most appreciated.  Please excuse the blogging hiatus.  We’ll see you in 2009!

     

    Posted in africa, blogging, prayer

    Hello Africa

    December 17, 2008 // 3 Comments »

    Remember the scene in Ace Ventura 2 where Jim Carey says, “Three darts is too much!”? That’s about how I feel today.

    Aside from my shoulders feeling like Mike Tyson punched them for about an hour, I woke up this morning stiff as a board and with a fever. All thanks to the 5 vaccinations I got yesterday – Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Typhoid, Yellow Fever, and Flu.

    No, I am not a hypochondriac, I am heading to Kenya in a little bit more than a week with a small team of others to help put on a camp for an orphanage that a couple from Living Hope helped to start. I have been looking forward to getting to Africa for years and I’m about get to live that dream. We’ll be gone Dec. 25 – Jan5, so be looking for pictures and stories shortly thereafter.

    Posted in africa, travles