Gospel In A Changing World

An Address to Moravian Theological College in Mbeya, Tanzania
The Moravian - January/February 2005

A couple of years ago, The Rev. Dr. Andrew Kyomo was awarded an honorary doctorate from Moravian Theological Seminary. On that day, his wife acknowledged him in the traditional Tanzanian way by cheering and placing a flower necklace on him. What a treat it was to experience the graduation of 30 students from the Moravian Theological College in Mbeya, Tanzania, complete with cheers and leis. Brother Kyomo was there as a faculty member and it was announced that day that he would become the President of the newly organized, Bishop Kasanji University.

I was honored to have been invited to speak at the graduation ceremony of the Moravian Theological College on November 7, 2004. I was blessed by the financial support of The Board of World Mission, the Eastern Region Moravian Women, and Calvary Moravian Church. The graduating seniors asked me to address the topic, “The Gospel in a Changing World.” Sister Mary Kategile, a graduate of the Bachelor of Divinity program translated the address as I spoke. After my introductions and greetings, I began.

Now, dear graduates, we are finally together on this day to which we have been looking forward. I thank God for bringing me safely to you. I thank God for your invitation which came as a call from God across the world to offer you a word of encouragement and a word of challenge on this, your day of graduation. You have asked me to address the topic, “The Gospel in a Changing World.” The text I have chosen as a foundation for my message is 2 Corinthians 6:1-10.

We have a saying in the United States, “The more things change, the more they remain the same.” The Apostle Paul outlines for us that there will be much upheaval in the life of a servant of God. There will be assaults from within and from without. Not only will difficulties come from the culture, but they will also come while serving the church. Paul wrote these words to the church in Corinth almost 2000 years ago. How familiar they sound today. I would like to identify four different worlds in which you live. Then I will highlight some of the changes which will most certainly confront you as you serve God in the Church. I will then bring the gospel to bear on these points by using Philippians 2:5-11.

Each of you lives in the world of your own personal identity. Today you step out into a new phase of your ministry. When I stood where you stand, I thought I had all I needed to serve and even to change the church. I was full of knowledge and experience. Then changes began to happen in my personal world. These changes will come to you. Your teacher, Professor Mwenisengole, would say, “Even good changes cause stress.” But there will most certainly be other changes. Parents will die; there may be illness in your family; you will move from one congregation to another; maybe move to school for more study or to be a teacher; your children will leave to go to school; in a most unfortunate circumstance, you may experience death in your immediate family. At these times there may come doubt, discouragement, disillusionment. You are the pastor, where do you turn if the changes in your personal world cause hardships and sorrow?

I propose to you that the Gospel from Philippians is the word of truth from God. The Apostle Paul encourages the church to “have the mind of Christ.” Even though Christ was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself.

The human tendency, yes, even the temptation in the Garden of Eden, was to be like God. There is great fear in submitting to something. Our human tendency is to depend on ourselves when difficulty comes. After 21 years in the ministry, my younger daughter, Rachel, was seriously injured in a car accident. She remains wheelchair bound and only communicates through an electronic device. Those months following the accident, while she was still hospitalized, were filled with anguish. But one thing I learned was that it was my faith in God and the prayers of the Christian community which upheld me. Only as I was able to give over any thought that I could be strong enough to handle this on my own, was I able to receive the comfort, compassion, and mercy of God. This has been the most challenging change in my personal world. There has been a deep joy as I have had the mind of Christ, not trying to solve this situation by myself, but depending on the grace of God for each day.

If we view these worlds as concentric circles, the next would be the world of your life in the congregation. No congregation is the same. The sizes and locations are different. The faithfulness of the people, the liveliness of the activities, the Biblical understanding, the spiritual maturity; all make up the identity of the church in Tanzania. This is the body of Christ. And, as soon as you think you have settled into a pattern, things will change. You may see growth. You may have someone come to a new relationship with Jesus Christ and begin to positively influence others in the church. You may be called upon to be involved with a building project. There may be disagreement and division in your congregation. There may come a time when the financial stewardship is lacking. You may even face the possibility that the leaders in the congregation disagree with you.

Hear again from the truth of Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi. Have the mind of Christ who took the form of a servant, being born in human likeness and found in human likeness. It occurs to me that the way God chose to be revealed to human kind was to become human. The incarnation is the key to the gospel addressing change in the world of the church. As amazing as it seems, God wants to use imperfect, frail human beings to accomplish what God intends for the world. That is, until Jesus comes again.

There is a legend of a Catholic abbot who was the head of a monastery. There were fewer and fewer men who became monks and the few who were left became discouraged. They began to have minor disagreements among themselves and while they maintained the operation of the monastery and had their regular prayer times, the life of the community began to die.

As the story goes, the abbot sought the counsel of a wise, old rabbi in the area. As he brought his concern, the rabbi was thoughtful and finally said, “Tell them the Messiah walks among them.” The abbot pondered on this wisdom and in several days called the brothers together to tell them what the rabbi said. A surprising thing began to happen. Each brother, knowing that he himself was not the Messiah, began to wonder which other brother might be. As you might guess, their words and actions to each other took on a holy quality. Soon the life of the community was vibrant and people came to see this joyful group of brothers and soon more monks were accepted.

The world of your congregation is human. We ourselves are human. Thanks be to God for the Word made flesh. Remember, the Messiah walks among us in the world of the church. Change will happen. We are to be the servants of God.

Moving out in the next concentric circle, we find ourselves in the world of the nation. In the nations we are involved in politics, culture, economics, healthcare issues, and technology. In some of the more rural churches, some of these characteristics will not seem so prominent. Consider the change of a new president in one year and how this may affect the policies in the nation. Some who had power may no longer have power. This may affect members of your congregation. The culture of this nation is being changed by technology. Roads are being paved and widened so the flux of people will be greater. Communities where everyone knew each other will be changed by new neighbors. Television brings new desires and new perceived needs. When, once, there was no need or desire for “things,” “high tech” items entice people. The age-old morals and mores will be changed. This also has a financial impact on the nation, which filters down to the church. In the world of the nation, we are also aware of the crisis caused by HIV/AIDS. The loss of human life and potential is devastating. All of these are factors of change in Tanzania.

As you face these changes in small and significant ways, hear the Gospel message: “Have the mind of Christ who humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on the cross.” Humility involves the willingness to lose, to repent, to ask for forgiveness. These are qualities which are not compatible with the change in the nation today. Being obedient to the call of God is the gospel for these changes, even when some of these changes are enticing you, a Christian, a pastor.

Christ was obedient to the point of cruel, unjust death. I’m not sure any of you have the gift of martyrdom, but the challenge to be obedient to the point of death is the power which can repel the dramatic change in the world. The temptation is to use political, cultural, economic, and technological means for self promotion and power over others. As a nation prospers, some will be left out. As some become powerful, others will be made weak. A humble nation will unleash the power of God for true life.

The widest concentric circle is the global village. The world has become a global village. Through the internet, I was able to receive the invitation to be here today and reply in much less time that a letter by post would have taken to arrive at my home. In this global village, particularly through television, we are introduced to each other on a very superficial level. We see only the highlights, good and bad, and do not really know each other. Images I have had of Tanzania do not do justice to the real people, the real church, the real Motheco. Images you have of the USA do not do justice to reality of life there, in the reverse way.

Because of this, it is too easy to make generalizations, allowing differences to cause division and division to cause hatred. This hatred makes for isolation and isolation turns to the desire to be better than the other. This is the nature of competition and the most powerful competition is war. We know that war is fought on many levels. Even those nations who do not want to be involved in this global competition are caught up in spite of themselves. In this worldwide situation, conquering each other is the goal.

The Gospel message for these changes is very clear. It crystallizes our allegiance, it shapes our loyalties. Who has power? Who will conquer? The answer is, Jesus Christ. “Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” We serve a lamb who has conquered. The ultimate power in heaven and earth is God in Jesus Christ our Lord. We must go back then to our personal world to live in the promise, the confidence, and the freedom that Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

We know that change will happen. But, when change on any level comes, we can proclaim with boldness: KRISTO JANA, LEO, NA MILELE! (Christ, yesterday, today, forever.)

The Rt. Rev. M. Blair Couch is currently the pastor of Calvary Moravian Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania. She was elected a Bishop of the Unity at the 2002 Northern Provincial Synod. Photos by the Rev. Cynthia Geyer. Photo above: Bishop Blair Couch addresses graduates with interpreter and fellow graduate Mary Kategile.