So You Tell Me (Part 2)

In part one of this discussion on the family I pointed out that despite all the information put out on the family in the past few decades (books, seminars, radio, etc.) the family doesn't seem to be getting any better but, rather, it's getting worse. I asked you to tell me what the problem is and I got some thoughtful responses.

Unity was a common theme in the responses. Families need to have a united heart in following the Lord and they need to work hard at building a godly family. Families are falling apart because they are being pulled apart by our culture and everybody doing their own thing.

These are good thoughts and they definately highlighted some very important aspects of family living. However, I want to push you to think more about this. Let me tell you why.

I have known families that have worked really hard at being united. They did everything together. They homeschooled together, they worshipped together, they travelled together, they did activities together and they were always together. However, some of these families were not very godly; not in a biblical sense. And some children growing up in these families bolted as soon as they could.

Other families are as busy as can be. They are involved in many different things. There is work, and sports, and school , and youth group, and women's ministry, and travel and all kinds of other things going on. Yet, some of these families are the most closely knit, godly families I know.

So you tell me, what's the real issue? What are the real problems and what are the right solutions. So often we seem to major on the externals and we miss the point completely.

So you tell me. I know there are a lot of really sharp people who read this blog and I'd like to extend this discussion by having all of you weigh in on this.

So you tell me - what thinkest thou?

BTW - the picture at the top is a recent photo of my family taken at an engagement party for our son, Billy. Billy and Cory will be married on December 16. Praise the Lord!

Out of Africa

Roberta and I arrived home Friday from two weeks in South Africa. On the left you see me with a couple of friends I made while I was there. The reason we went was so that I could minister at three Shepherds' Conferences along with Wayne Mack, Bill Barrick, and Joel James. The first was in Johannesburg. 240 people attended and heard messages from Wayne, Bill, Joel, Tim Cantrell, Brian Beidebach, and myself. It was quite cold in Johannesburg (down to freezing tempatures at night) but the fellowship was warm and the teaching was hot. The response was encouraging and we had a great time.

Next we went to Polokwane in the Northern Province of South Africa. There were 130 folks at this conference including all 60 students of Christ Baptist Seminary. Most of the students are black and a number of pastors from some of the remote villages attended this conference. The weather was a little warmer and, again, the fellowship and teaching was encouraging. Here Wayne, Bill, Joel, and myself were joined in the teaching by Nicki Coertze and Johann Odendahl.

This is a picture of me with one of the seminary students, Anthony. Anthony is a graduate of The Master's College and is hoping to return to his home country of Uganda and pastor a church. It was great to spend time in Polokwane with men like Anthony. One of the highlights of this part of the trip was the singing. We sang several songs in Sutu and you knew you were in Africa. These men really love the Lord and they are enthusiastic about serving and worshipping Him.

From Polokwane we then headed to the southern tip of Africa and the city of Cape Town. 80 people attended this part of the conference which was an improvement on previous years. Again, the conference went very well and we enjoyed the fellowship very much. The nice thing about this trip was that we got to minister to three very different groups of people, all of whom love the Lord and are serious about serving Him.

Cape Town is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and fortunately we had some free time and some good weather so we were able to explore some of the beauty of this city. The highlight of Cape Town is Table Mountain.

We were able to go up to the top of the mountain and enjoy the spectacular views, like the one below.

The trip was great. I spoke 27 times in 12 days and it was a great privilege to minister the Word to the folks at the conference. In Cape Town we were joined in the ministry by Pastor Mark Christopher who went to seminary with me. It was encouraging to see the work that the Lord is doing in South Africa and these conferences are a big part of encouraging the ministry there.

There were many other highlights from the trip. One more that I will share with you is seen the last picture. Yes, that is Roberta, inside the cage, petting a Cheetah. It's just what you do when you are in Africa. As you can tell, we had a great time and maybe we'll have opportunity to tell some of you more about it.

Note: I'm thankful for the responses I received to my last blog about the family. I found it interesting that the comments were from three young couples with no children (yet), a young single man, and a "homeschooler." In my next blog I will come back to this issue. Perhaps some more people would like to enter into the discussion, maybe some who have been married longer and have some children.

God bless you and if you have an opportunity to go to South Africa, I would highly recommend it.