When I first came to America I thought I was going to come get training and go back to Kenya and continue doing what I was doing before. "What were you doing?" you may wonder. Well, I was involved extensively in youth ministry (
in Kenya youth is anyone single no matter how old they are). I was discipled by navigators and served under their ministry in Mombasa and also with Word of Life youth camp in Ukunda. Both of these ministries are para-church organizations. So all this to say that I did not have an idea of how important the local church was since this was no very much emphasized in my discipleship training.
Well I finished my three year training in Denton Bible Church and was sent out by the church back to Kenya. The emphasize of my job description was leadership training! I had training and everything I needed to travel this unknown road but I was scared to death - a good place to be trust me. I prayed like never before, I talked to everyone in Kenya who was doing any type of leadership training to hear what they had to say. I prayed that God would put in me a desire and passion that is rooted in true understanding of the need around me - that I will not venture into this new ministry because it was the means by which food found its way on my table. I wanted it to be something that I breath and live for!
Well a few months later God opened my eyes to see the WHY of leadership ministry in Africa. Observation of whats going on in Africa suggested to me that Africans are loyal not to concepts and reason but to people, these peoples are called LEADERS!
I saw many missionaries coming to Kenya and preaching powerful messages and holding seminars with hundreds of believers from various denominations. They will work very hard to preach the true gospel through an interpreter whose excitement reached sky heights because he got to be the right hand man - literally - of the mzungu preacher. The meeting ends a few days later and the missionaries get on the plane loaded with pictures and stories of their 8 days revival experiences in Africa!
The following Sunday the African believers go back to their respective churches and seat in the pews listening to their pastor who was not invited to the conference or who was not invited to the meeting. The pastor opens the Bible reads a few verses closes the Bible and spends the next hour preaching his heart out and even though the content of his preaching is contrary to what the missionaries taught just a few days ago the church explodes with shouts of praise to the Pastor words!
I wish this was just speculation, it is not - through this one instance and many to follow that the Lord began to open my eyes to the powerful grip the leaders had on the hearts of their followers - they would die for him if they had to and you dare not say anything bad about him.
The Example of Kenya:
The recent chaos that we saw in Kenya was not between tribes as the media all around the world simply put it - it was a war between the loyal supporters of two people - Kibaki and Raila! It just happened that they come from the tribes of Kikuyu and Luo respectively! The leaders would come on TV screens and incite their followers to go to the streets and protest peacefully and even though there was danger of them losing their lives it did not matter because their leaders told them to do it! The number of deaths rose by the day and more and more people were displaced but the chaos did not stop!
As hours turned to days and days to weeks it got worse and finally the western world tired of the mess intervened and appointed Koffi Anan to mediate between the leaders. After a few weeks of him talking to the representatives of the two protagonists it was clear that he was not getting anywhere. He finally out frustration disbanded the negotiation team and called in Raila and Kibaki. They were locked in a 4 hour meeting with the rest of the world waiting for the outcome - will Koffi Anan break through to these two stone walls of leaders?
Well he did - 4 hours later they emerged out of the meeting shook hands, signed a "peace treaty" that would see them share power and run the country together. When these leaders said it was over the chaos ended.
Such is the power that leaders hold in Africa!
Well now it is clear to me why I did and still is involved in leadership training. Just like Anan got the country of Kenya to peace through two leaders so can we also bring the Gospel to many people in Kenya through their leaders. Who is do the Christians listen to? Their pastors! THATS WHY I am passionate about leadership training through the Local church. The pastors are the instruments of ministry in Gods hand to bring the Gospel of Jesus to the world through the Local church - which the gates of hades cannot prevail against.
