WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.940 Yeah, good to be here. I think this might be 00:00:03.940 --> 00:00:07.620 my probably third or fourth time I've been here. 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:11.060 So Oak Hill is becoming my second family home. 00:00:11.820 --> 00:00:16.079 And anytime I come here, we have healthy conversation 00:00:16.079 --> 00:00:21.359 with James and I can see Chris up there and seeing 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:26.420 what God is doing over here. And I think that 00:00:26.420 --> 00:00:31.910 looking at how London is and London is changing 00:00:31.910 --> 00:00:38.109 and UK and our world is changing being trained 00:00:38.109 --> 00:00:43.530 in a theological institution like this should 00:00:43.530 --> 00:00:47.630 be taken very seriously so that we can be well 00:00:47.630 --> 00:00:52.909 positioned to go in and resource the church and 00:00:52.909 --> 00:00:55.750 also be a blessing to our world and so when I 00:00:55.750 --> 00:00:59.240 was asked to come and share. I was thinking, 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:05.219 what should I talk about? But I think with some 00:01:05.219 --> 00:01:09.140 time of prayer, I felt it's very important to 00:01:09.140 --> 00:01:11.840 talk about being prepared for the global world 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:15.019 and church. I'm sure you are not new to this. 00:01:15.260 --> 00:01:17.299 You know, our world is changing. It's becoming 00:01:17.299 --> 00:01:20.760 more global. The church is more getting diverse. 00:01:21.340 --> 00:01:26.040 Even here, I mean, when I look at the band guys 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:32.579 on the stage, it shows diversity. So it reflects 00:01:32.579 --> 00:01:37.099 the world we live in. And so I just thought it 00:01:37.099 --> 00:01:39.299 would be good to share that. But before that, 00:01:39.500 --> 00:01:42.420 I go into what I'm going to talk about today. 00:01:43.700 --> 00:01:47.599 Last Sunday, I was in a church in Hurston, in 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:51.379 Hunslow, and I was having a chat with James, 00:01:51.459 --> 00:01:54.489 and I told him I had an experience. That more 00:01:54.489 --> 00:02:00.590 or less confirmed the calling on my life. I went 00:02:00.590 --> 00:02:03.310 to this church, which is predominantly, I would 00:02:03.310 --> 00:02:07.769 say, African. But it's got some Caribbeans and 00:02:07.769 --> 00:02:12.849 a couple of Irish guys there and then a few other 00:02:12.849 --> 00:02:19.250 cultures. But they are situated in a heavily 00:02:19.250 --> 00:02:26.610 Asian demographic. About 61 % were Asian. And 00:02:26.610 --> 00:02:30.330 so the service, when I went in there, they were 00:02:30.330 --> 00:02:33.289 having a worship and all that. I was part of 00:02:33.289 --> 00:02:37.729 the worship, but... They were using a kind of 00:02:37.729 --> 00:02:41.789 song and singing a song, and I would say the 00:02:41.789 --> 00:02:45.710 drumming and everything, which more akin to the 00:02:45.710 --> 00:02:50.389 African or Ghanaian type of music. But I saw 00:02:50.389 --> 00:02:53.349 they were jubilating, they were happy, praising 00:02:53.349 --> 00:02:55.469 God, and most of them were first -generation, 00:02:55.629 --> 00:03:00.629 I would say, Ghanaians. But I felt a sense of 00:03:00.629 --> 00:03:06.099 overwhelming emotion. that I started having tears 00:03:06.099 --> 00:03:09.479 down my face, and I was wondering what's going 00:03:09.479 --> 00:03:15.500 on. And so I had to just sit down and get a tissue 00:03:15.500 --> 00:03:19.840 to wipe the tears. But it became intense, very, 00:03:19.879 --> 00:03:22.460 very intense, the way she was going on. So the 00:03:22.460 --> 00:03:25.620 impression I had was that it's more or less the 00:03:25.620 --> 00:03:28.659 Lord confirming his call on my life and saying 00:03:28.659 --> 00:03:31.479 that this is what I've called you for. Meaning 00:03:31.479 --> 00:03:35.479 that I've called you to bridge the gap between 00:03:35.479 --> 00:03:38.539 Christianity expressed in the majority world, 00:03:38.840 --> 00:03:43.219 particularly Africa and that of the West. And 00:03:43.219 --> 00:03:47.919 so when you die and you are laid in state, you 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:51.479 should be known or seen as somebody who tried 00:03:51.479 --> 00:03:56.979 to bridge that gap, that theological tension. 00:03:58.129 --> 00:04:03.949 that diverse Christian expression. So when I 00:04:03.949 --> 00:04:08.810 was invited to go and preach, I was just going 00:04:08.810 --> 00:04:13.090 on with the message and this emotion came again. 00:04:13.370 --> 00:04:16.709 Very strong that I had to pause. I was making 00:04:16.709 --> 00:04:20.910 a very strong point and I had to pause. And I 00:04:20.910 --> 00:04:25.170 left the service last Sunday knowing that that 00:04:25.170 --> 00:04:29.930 is one of my main calling. is to help Christians, 00:04:30.230 --> 00:04:34.029 help believers, and even non -believers to understand 00:04:34.029 --> 00:04:38.949 that we are called as God's people, but we are 00:04:38.949 --> 00:04:43.889 one. We may have different theological positions. 00:04:44.069 --> 00:04:47.709 We may come from different cultures, but we live 00:04:47.709 --> 00:04:51.470 in a world that is totally different. And can 00:04:51.470 --> 00:04:53.970 I just give you the next slide? If we look at 00:04:53.970 --> 00:04:57.930 the world that we live in now, There's a global 00:04:57.930 --> 00:05:03.689 shift of Christianity from the west to the global 00:05:03.689 --> 00:05:07.430 south, what is known as the majority world. And 00:05:07.430 --> 00:05:09.829 then majority of Christians now live in Africa, 00:05:10.029 --> 00:05:15.269 Asia, and Latin America. The church is no longer 00:05:15.269 --> 00:05:18.889 western, it's a bit global, and more or less 00:05:18.889 --> 00:05:24.170 in the global south. In 1900, the population 00:05:24.170 --> 00:05:29.000 of Christians within the Western space was 80%. 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:35.360 Now it's about, it's around 30%. That means about 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:39.779 70 % of Christians, around 65 to 70 % of Christians 00:05:39.779 --> 00:05:45.339 now live in a global South. So the demographic 00:05:45.339 --> 00:05:50.300 is changing rapidly. Let me just give you a breakdown. 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:53.699 In Africa alone, we are about 30 % Christians. 00:05:54.680 --> 00:05:59.939 In Latin America, 25%. And then Asia, 17%. And 00:05:59.939 --> 00:06:03.120 Europe, about 22%. And then even North America, 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:09.360 10%. So Christianity has not declined. It has 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:15.100 relocated to other parts of the world. So there's 00:06:15.100 --> 00:06:20.639 Christianity in the UK, in England, in Europe, 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:24.839 in North America. But majority of Christians 00:06:24.839 --> 00:06:30.139 are in other parts of the world. And some of 00:06:30.139 --> 00:06:34.139 you here might be preparing yourself to do missions 00:06:34.139 --> 00:06:38.360 in that part of the world. But we also have to 00:06:38.360 --> 00:06:44.980 understand that the nations are now here. All 00:06:44.980 --> 00:06:48.560 right. So on this background or backdrop, I would 00:06:48.560 --> 00:06:52.779 like us to read again, I think. The mission of 00:06:52.779 --> 00:06:56.939 call of the church in Antioch. And if you look 00:06:56.939 --> 00:07:01.819 at the church in Antioch, it consisted of that 00:07:01.819 --> 00:07:08.279 diverse team. A team that wasn't from one ethnic 00:07:08.279 --> 00:07:14.839 background. And it was a worshiping community 00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:17.899 of a church where they prayed. The Bible says 00:07:17.899 --> 00:07:21.610 that they prayed, they fasted. And then the Spirit 00:07:21.610 --> 00:07:25.470 can send Paul and Barnabas or Saul and Barnabas 00:07:25.470 --> 00:07:28.810 to the mission field. So the Antioch church, 00:07:28.970 --> 00:07:32.910 next slide, please. The Antioch church was a 00:07:32.910 --> 00:07:37.589 multicultural leadership. Yeah, the next slide. 00:07:37.970 --> 00:07:44.709 It wasn't a monocultural leadership. It was a 00:07:44.709 --> 00:07:48.170 multicultural leadership. It was also a spiritual 00:07:48.170 --> 00:07:52.189 worshiping community. It was an ascending church, 00:07:52.310 --> 00:07:57.910 and it reflected a global church that we have 00:07:57.910 --> 00:08:04.230 today. And I think that this environment, or 00:08:04.230 --> 00:08:08.329 the Antioch Church environment, looks like even 00:08:08.329 --> 00:08:11.009 what we're trying to do here at Hokio, bringing 00:08:11.009 --> 00:08:14.110 people from different backgrounds, training them, 00:08:14.209 --> 00:08:17.730 shaping them. Having a time of fellowship and 00:08:17.730 --> 00:08:22.310 worshiping and then being sent out to other parts 00:08:22.310 --> 00:08:25.149 of the world. And this is very, very important 00:08:25.149 --> 00:08:29.529 in our world, particularly if we are trainers, 00:08:29.790 --> 00:08:35.070 as theologians and as pastors, that we understand 00:08:35.070 --> 00:08:40.889 that we are not living in a world that is monocultural. 00:08:41.190 --> 00:08:45.570 We live in a very diverse world. a diverse city, 00:08:45.769 --> 00:08:48.370 and we have to have that mindset, that preparation 00:08:48.370 --> 00:08:51.070 in order to do that. If you look at even the 00:08:51.070 --> 00:08:54.570 leadership of the Antioch Church, we have saw 00:08:54.570 --> 00:09:00.610 who is by heritage is Jewish, but by birth is 00:09:00.610 --> 00:09:06.090 a Roman. And so he came from a very diverse background, 00:09:06.289 --> 00:09:11.049 and God called him into the Gentiles to do the 00:09:11.049 --> 00:09:14.730 missionary work. If you look at a gentleman called 00:09:14.730 --> 00:09:18.210 Lucius of Cyrene, he was from what is known as 00:09:18.210 --> 00:09:23.950 Libya or North Africa. Manion was connected to 00:09:23.950 --> 00:09:26.309 the Herodian royal household, so he came from 00:09:26.309 --> 00:09:32.529 a more elite background. And you have Simeon 00:09:32.529 --> 00:09:35.710 of Niger. It is likely he came from African descent 00:09:35.710 --> 00:09:38.950 because the word Niger, the name Niger, from 00:09:38.950 --> 00:09:42.809 a Latin means black or dark. So there's a likelihood. 00:09:43.389 --> 00:09:48.590 So you see a very diverse team. And I think that 00:09:48.590 --> 00:09:53.370 if you are being prepared for ministry, if it's 00:09:53.370 --> 00:09:56.470 in London, which is very diverse, or any part 00:09:56.470 --> 00:10:00.370 of the UK, or any world, city, major city, you 00:10:00.370 --> 00:10:03.529 must be prepared that you are going to meet people 00:10:03.529 --> 00:10:07.360 who are different from you. You must have that 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:10.019 at the back of your mind. Because in the past, 00:10:10.240 --> 00:10:13.440 people have gone to study theology or been trained 00:10:13.440 --> 00:10:17.120 theologically and gone out there and did not 00:10:17.120 --> 00:10:22.559 know what to do with the cultures that God brought 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:25.740 to them. Or you may even be in the church at 00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:27.899 the moment that you are seeing people who are 00:10:27.899 --> 00:10:30.100 coming from different backgrounds into the church 00:10:30.100 --> 00:10:34.179 and have no idea what to do. What do we do with 00:10:34.179 --> 00:10:36.620 them? That's the expression. What do we do with 00:10:36.620 --> 00:10:40.399 them? They are our brothers and sisters. And 00:10:40.399 --> 00:10:42.899 we must find ways of engaging. So I want to talk 00:10:42.899 --> 00:10:48.940 about six critical pointers that we should consider. 00:10:49.059 --> 00:10:53.360 The first one is that UK or London or most major 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:57.620 cities of the world are mission field. So UK 00:10:57.620 --> 00:11:00.500 is now, or London is now a mission field. Why? 00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:05.549 Because the nations are here. The days where 00:11:05.549 --> 00:11:10.909 people have to study cultural mission and communication 00:11:10.909 --> 00:11:16.110 and learn other cultures, to travel far, they 00:11:16.110 --> 00:11:20.350 are still relevant, but the nations are here. 00:11:20.450 --> 00:11:23.649 God has brought them to our doorstep. So we might 00:11:23.649 --> 00:11:28.429 be ready to engage. And we must also be culturally 00:11:28.429 --> 00:11:31.309 intelligent. I'm going to talk about that and 00:11:31.309 --> 00:11:33.750 unpack that. We must also be religiously aware. 00:11:35.210 --> 00:11:38.470 What do I mean by that? We must know that people 00:11:38.470 --> 00:11:42.909 who have different faith around us. And then 00:11:42.909 --> 00:11:45.750 we must also have a level of understanding of 00:11:45.750 --> 00:11:48.610 diaspora communities. Those people are coming 00:11:48.610 --> 00:11:50.070 from other parts of the world. We need to know 00:11:50.070 --> 00:11:54.110 them. And then fifthly, we must be ecclesiastically 00:11:54.110 --> 00:11:58.049 aware. We may have come from different traditions. 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:00.940 We have to find a way of knowing other people 00:12:00.940 --> 00:12:06.179 who may not profess or hold the tradition that 00:12:06.179 --> 00:12:09.299 you hold. And then we must have an understanding 00:12:09.299 --> 00:12:12.580 of intergenerational formation engagement. Because 00:12:12.580 --> 00:12:16.580 we live in days where we have different people 00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:20.039 in our churches, and particularly young people. 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:22.279 And we have to find a way of engaging them. So 00:12:22.279 --> 00:12:27.259 first of all, let me look at the first one that 00:12:27.259 --> 00:12:32.740 UK, Well, London is a mission field. And Matthew 00:12:32.740 --> 00:12:37.539 9, 37, 38 says, Then he said to his disciples, 00:12:38.220 --> 00:12:40.779 The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are 00:12:40.779 --> 00:12:43.940 few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:46.940 to send out workers into his harvest field. UK 00:12:46.940 --> 00:12:49.919 used to send a lot of missionaries to other parts 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:52.279 of the world, particularly in Africa and other 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:57.019 global south countries. But now, UK is a mission 00:12:57.019 --> 00:13:05.110 field. And we must be prepared to reach out to 00:13:05.110 --> 00:13:08.450 those who the Lord has brought to us. There are 00:13:08.450 --> 00:13:09.789 people who come from other parts of the world 00:13:09.789 --> 00:13:13.009 who are not Christians at all. And we must be 00:13:13.009 --> 00:13:16.009 ready to share the faith with them. So UK is 00:13:16.009 --> 00:13:20.990 no longer a place where has a huge number of 00:13:20.990 --> 00:13:22.590 missionaries being sent to other parts of the 00:13:22.590 --> 00:13:25.610 world. It's rather the other non -Western countries 00:13:25.610 --> 00:13:27.970 who are doing so. So we must move from maintenance 00:13:27.970 --> 00:13:30.269 to mission. What do I mean by that? It shouldn't 00:13:30.269 --> 00:13:34.970 be church as usual. We shouldn't go to church 00:13:34.970 --> 00:13:38.009 and just warm the pews and just maintain the 00:13:38.009 --> 00:13:40.970 church and see the same old faces. We must trust 00:13:40.970 --> 00:13:44.110 God to reach out and be intentional about mission 00:13:44.110 --> 00:13:46.370 and go out there and talk to people who are not 00:13:46.370 --> 00:13:51.210 Christians. And we shouldn't see the decline. 00:13:51.929 --> 00:13:53.809 Normally, the research shows that, I'm going 00:13:53.809 --> 00:13:56.330 to talk about the choir revival research today, 00:13:56.509 --> 00:13:59.210 shows that, you know, it's been said that Christianity 00:13:59.210 --> 00:14:03.269 is in a decline in the West or in the UK. And 00:14:03.269 --> 00:14:06.210 let's see this idea of decline as opportunity, 00:14:06.429 --> 00:14:13.409 not as something that we will despair. When there's 00:14:13.409 --> 00:14:15.830 a decline, it means that we must go out there 00:14:15.830 --> 00:14:19.190 and reach out to people. And then we must be 00:14:19.190 --> 00:14:22.899 intentional about evangelism. There's a need 00:14:22.899 --> 00:14:25.360 for us to be very intentional about evangelism 00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:28.639 in terms of how we reach out to people. It's 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:33.720 not just talking to people and organizing events. 00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:37.740 Any event or anything we do in our churches must 00:14:37.740 --> 00:14:40.700 have the purpose to it in terms of trusting that 00:14:40.700 --> 00:14:42.799 the Lord will open opportunity for others to 00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:45.899 be saved. So we must do that. We must build relationships 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:49.419 with other people and also be praying for people 00:14:49.419 --> 00:14:53.580 to be saved. The church in Antioch was a praying 00:14:53.580 --> 00:14:57.519 church. You cannot do mission now without prayer. 00:14:57.779 --> 00:15:00.620 I'm not talking about prayer now. I'm from Africa, 00:15:00.720 --> 00:15:06.500 and so I understand what prayer is. But prayer 00:15:06.500 --> 00:15:09.600 must underget even our theological formation 00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:16.340 so that it's not about getting information and 00:15:16.340 --> 00:15:19.889 having a lot of knowledge. but it is bathed in 00:15:19.889 --> 00:15:24.529 prayer. And that sharpens your theological understanding. 00:15:24.950 --> 00:15:28.070 So we must understand that the UK is now a mission 00:15:28.070 --> 00:15:32.490 field and God is calling us to reach out to the 00:15:32.490 --> 00:15:37.509 lost. The second point I want us to look at is 00:15:37.509 --> 00:15:41.250 that we must be culturally aware or intelligent, 00:15:41.490 --> 00:15:45.659 what I call cultural intelligence. 1 Corinthians 00:15:45.659 --> 00:15:48.139 9 .22, Paul says that to the weak I became weak, 00:15:48.299 --> 00:15:53.039 to win the weak. And he said, I have become all 00:15:53.039 --> 00:15:55.019 things to all people so that by all possible 00:15:55.019 --> 00:15:58.460 means I might save them. Paul wasn't compromising 00:15:58.460 --> 00:16:02.600 the gospel, but he wanted to make sure that he 00:16:02.600 --> 00:16:06.879 understood people. The gospel word is unchanging, 00:16:07.039 --> 00:16:12.580 but the world we live in is changing. The unchanging 00:16:12.580 --> 00:16:18.610 word. God must be proclaiming a way that the 00:16:18.610 --> 00:16:22.470 changing world we live in, I do understand. And 00:16:22.470 --> 00:16:24.730 it means that we must understand cultures deeply. 00:16:26.570 --> 00:16:29.889 You can have a superficial understanding of a 00:16:29.889 --> 00:16:34.269 culture without going deeper to know why they 00:16:34.269 --> 00:16:37.889 do what they do. Some of you here are from different 00:16:37.889 --> 00:16:40.710 backgrounds. The question is how deep do you 00:16:40.710 --> 00:16:43.460 know one another? in terms of their cultures. 00:16:45.019 --> 00:16:48.559 Are you more interested in the food the person 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:54.179 eats? Are you interested in their background? 00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:56.240 You sit down with them to ask them questions. 00:16:56.600 --> 00:16:59.740 Why do you do what you do? Because sometimes 00:16:59.740 --> 00:17:03.200 we may have blind spots without knowing that. 00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:08.259 Some people may see cultures through their own 00:17:08.259 --> 00:17:11.390 cultural lens, what we call ethnocentrism. So 00:17:11.390 --> 00:17:13.970 everything must be fitted to their lens. If you 00:17:13.970 --> 00:17:16.509 don't do things the way Ghanaians do, then you 00:17:16.509 --> 00:17:20.230 are not doing right. If you don't do the way 00:17:20.230 --> 00:17:23.109 English do things, then you are not doing right. 00:17:25.490 --> 00:17:29.349 As I always say, culture is not sacrosanct. Culture 00:17:29.349 --> 00:17:33.990 is espoused by people and it's fallible. Women 00:17:33.990 --> 00:17:39.650 espouse culture. We form culture and we are fallible. 00:17:39.710 --> 00:17:43.039 We are fallen. Only God's word is infallible. 00:17:43.819 --> 00:17:46.799 So we must learn to know people and listen before 00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:52.599 speaking. We are quick to speak. I like to talk. 00:17:53.440 --> 00:17:58.619 And sometimes I'm at fault, not listening well. 00:17:59.380 --> 00:18:02.119 I quickly want to, once you finish a sentence, 00:18:02.220 --> 00:18:05.900 I come out with something else. Sometimes you 00:18:05.900 --> 00:18:08.559 just have to be quiet and listen to what the 00:18:08.559 --> 00:18:13.200 other is saying. to properly understand where 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:17.480 the person is coming from. And then we must adapt 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:19.940 without compromising the truth. As I said earlier 00:18:19.940 --> 00:18:23.980 on, I'm not talking about compromising the gospel. 00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:28.599 The gospel, God's word is unchanging, but we 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:31.539 live in a changing world. So we must learn to 00:18:31.539 --> 00:18:37.480 adapt and know other people by being faithful 00:18:37.480 --> 00:18:42.099 to the gospel. Being faithful to that is very, 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:45.839 very important so that we can be able to engage 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:49.559 meaningfully. I was talking to James and I said 00:18:49.559 --> 00:18:54.619 earlier, I was saying that you just, we must 00:18:54.619 --> 00:18:59.500 go beyond how you're doing and how are things 00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:02.420 and sit down with people and get to know them 00:19:02.420 --> 00:19:08.680 better. Invite them to come and eat. Don't say 00:19:08.680 --> 00:19:11.339 that the African or the Asian culture is communal. 00:19:11.900 --> 00:19:14.299 I think all cultures, if you want to be communal, 00:19:14.339 --> 00:19:18.380 you can be communal. Yes, build trust with people 00:19:18.380 --> 00:19:21.720 and invite them to come and eat at home and share 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:25.480 fellowship. When you do that, you get to know 00:19:25.480 --> 00:19:29.960 people more. It's not enough to say hi to people 00:19:29.960 --> 00:19:33.220 and that is it. If you really care about them, 00:19:33.400 --> 00:19:36.680 you want to know more. The next point I want 00:19:36.680 --> 00:19:39.799 us to consider is we might be religiously aware. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:44.599 Acts chapter 17, 22 to 23, when Paul was an Areopagus, 00:19:44.859 --> 00:19:49.059 he realized that the guys were very religious. 00:19:49.500 --> 00:19:53.140 I like the expression that all they did was to 00:19:53.140 --> 00:19:56.259 just sit around and try and talk about new ideas, 00:19:56.640 --> 00:20:03.579 new philosophies. But Paul used their religiosity. 00:20:04.299 --> 00:20:08.660 to engage them. And the UK is religiously diverse. 00:20:09.220 --> 00:20:13.160 We have Hinduism, we have Islam, Sikhism, and 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:15.640 secularism, and people who don't even want to 00:20:15.640 --> 00:20:19.720 belong to any faith in a way. So the UK is diverse. 00:20:22.339 --> 00:20:24.740 Your next door neighbor might not be Christian. 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:28.200 Your next door neighbor might be somebody from 00:20:28.200 --> 00:20:31.460 the Islamic faith. And so you must find a way 00:20:31.460 --> 00:20:35.940 of being aware of them and we must engage other 00:20:35.940 --> 00:20:41.119 faith wisely you know sometimes you can be very 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:44.559 you know antagonistic when it comes to engaging 00:20:44.559 --> 00:20:48.619 other faith you know the gospel Christ is the 00:20:48.619 --> 00:20:50.680 only way and that's it and sometimes people can 00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:54.940 be very you know too hard to the point that they 00:20:54.940 --> 00:20:57.200 don't want to even hear other people and listen 00:20:57.200 --> 00:20:59.819 to where they're coming from You don't compromise 00:20:59.819 --> 00:21:02.059 your Christian values and faith by listening 00:21:02.059 --> 00:21:04.200 to somebody who might not share your faith so 00:21:04.200 --> 00:21:06.460 that you can find a way of engaging the person. 00:21:07.500 --> 00:21:10.460 And the God Spirit might use that to get a person 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:14.920 saved. So let us not be dismissive of other people 00:21:14.920 --> 00:21:18.019 who may not share our faith, but find a way of 00:21:18.019 --> 00:21:22.180 engaging them. I'm not saying compromise your 00:21:22.180 --> 00:21:25.000 faith. I'm not saying just about dialogue and 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:26.779 nothing else. Oh, we are all the same, going 00:21:26.779 --> 00:21:30.029 on the same. place. That's not what I'm talking 00:21:30.029 --> 00:21:31.849 about. Sometimes when people talk about dialogue, 00:21:31.910 --> 00:21:34.190 it's like, oh, I just want to know a bit about 00:21:34.190 --> 00:21:36.289 your faith and you know mine, and that's all. 00:21:37.150 --> 00:21:39.549 That's not what I'm talking about. Yeah, know 00:21:39.549 --> 00:21:42.069 a bit about them, but trust that the Lord can 00:21:42.069 --> 00:21:45.569 use you to reach out to them. And then we must 00:21:45.569 --> 00:21:50.390 speak truth with humility. Sometimes we can come 00:21:50.390 --> 00:21:53.930 across as arrogant, even when you are sharing 00:21:53.930 --> 00:21:58.700 your faith. It takes humility for somebody to 00:21:58.700 --> 00:22:02.920 even listen to you. You can have the truth, but 00:22:02.920 --> 00:22:05.380 the way you communicate it can push somebody 00:22:05.380 --> 00:22:09.440 off. I'm not saying that the gospel is not offensive. 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:13.799 It is. But sometimes the way, the posture that 00:22:13.799 --> 00:22:17.880 we may carry can cause somebody to just be defensive 00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:22.799 and not ready to listen to you. So we must ask 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:25.319 the Lord to always help us to have some level 00:22:25.319 --> 00:22:29.420 of humility when we are speaking to people, particularly 00:22:29.420 --> 00:22:34.440 those of other faith. And then the very important 00:22:34.440 --> 00:22:37.599 point I want us to look at is diaspora engagement. 00:22:39.059 --> 00:22:43.640 The nations are here among us. As I said earlier 00:22:43.640 --> 00:22:48.299 on. You can still prepare and go to Ghana and 00:22:48.299 --> 00:22:50.700 do missions in Ghana, but Ghana is one of the 00:22:50.700 --> 00:22:56.599 growing Christian nations in the world. Most 00:22:56.599 --> 00:22:59.599 Ghanaians are now here with the gospel. So the 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:01.920 nations are here, and some come without their 00:23:01.920 --> 00:23:07.059 faith. They come without any Christian faith 00:23:07.059 --> 00:23:11.240 at all. So we must learn to also engage them. 00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:13.339 But some of them also come here with their faith. 00:23:13.539 --> 00:23:17.960 It has been said that the African is notoriously 00:23:17.960 --> 00:23:23.960 religious, or I would say persistently, or, I 00:23:23.960 --> 00:23:28.240 mean, ardently religious. It means that the African 00:23:28.240 --> 00:23:32.940 doesn't mean words with his or her faith. Everywhere 00:23:32.940 --> 00:23:35.839 they go, they carry their faith. And most Africans 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:38.410 are... come from the Christian background, or 00:23:38.410 --> 00:23:41.190 I would say Ghanaians. And they are here in this 00:23:41.190 --> 00:23:44.009 country. Some of our planted churches in London. 00:23:44.130 --> 00:23:46.289 When you go out to this place and maybe travel 00:23:46.289 --> 00:23:49.410 a few miles from here, you'll find a church that 00:23:49.410 --> 00:23:52.890 belongs to somebody from Africa or Ghana. And 00:23:52.890 --> 00:23:55.750 the planted church is here. So we must know that 00:23:55.750 --> 00:23:58.470 the nations are here. And we must welcome and 00:23:58.470 --> 00:24:03.970 also learn from them. Learn from them. The church 00:24:03.970 --> 00:24:07.279 I went to over the weekend, The way they praise 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:09.539 God, they praise God with some vibrancy energy. 00:24:11.660 --> 00:24:17.400 Maybe your tradition is not like that. It doesn't 00:24:17.400 --> 00:24:21.400 mean that. Just, okay, what can I learn from 00:24:21.400 --> 00:24:25.559 that energy of praising God? What can I learn 00:24:25.559 --> 00:24:31.740 from them? Add to what I know. What a beauty. 00:24:32.509 --> 00:24:36.269 to learn from other people and enrich your experience. 00:24:37.309 --> 00:24:40.910 I was still in the church over the weekend. I 00:24:40.910 --> 00:24:43.490 was preaching. I come from a background where 00:24:43.490 --> 00:24:47.009 when we're praying, when we say let's pray, people 00:24:47.009 --> 00:24:52.589 pray simultaneously and pray very loud. Okay? 00:24:53.210 --> 00:24:55.990 I don't know. Even when I was in Korea, it was 00:24:55.990 --> 00:24:58.390 the same. Koreans pray with a lot of energy and 00:24:58.390 --> 00:25:03.339 loudness. When I came to the UK, I realized it's 00:25:03.339 --> 00:25:05.279 nothing like that, particularly most churches. 00:25:06.779 --> 00:25:11.140 They pray in tents, all right? So the tradition 00:25:11.140 --> 00:25:14.119 is when you pray, I have to wait for you to finish 00:25:14.119 --> 00:25:18.980 your prayer, and then I will then join in. And 00:25:18.980 --> 00:25:22.700 sometimes people from our background think this 00:25:22.700 --> 00:25:26.779 is not powerful enough. They will tell you the 00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:29.480 fire of the Holy Spirit is not so strong there 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:31.660 because of the way they pray. They pray very 00:25:31.660 --> 00:25:36.380 quiet. But I said to them, you have to listen 00:25:36.380 --> 00:25:41.119 and also know that God hears that level of prayer. 00:25:42.599 --> 00:25:48.039 God is in the quiet and is in the loudness. God 00:25:48.039 --> 00:25:50.460 appreciates when sometimes you desperately cry 00:25:50.460 --> 00:25:53.599 to him. And you also appreciate when people are 00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:57.180 silent before him and meditating and reflecting. 00:25:58.579 --> 00:26:02.640 The God we serve is diverse. He's not nervous 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:05.279 when we do things in a diverse way. He's not. 00:26:05.460 --> 00:26:08.519 We human beings are quite nervous, but God is 00:26:08.519 --> 00:26:15.160 not. He understands diversity. And so let's learn. 00:26:15.180 --> 00:26:17.940 And then also learn to partner in God's mission. 00:26:18.380 --> 00:26:23.700 We can do... a lot with other people from other 00:26:23.700 --> 00:26:26.920 parts of the world we can reach our communities 00:26:26.920 --> 00:26:30.980 we can reach their own rich people when we partner 00:26:30.980 --> 00:26:35.420 with other people and and this is very important 00:26:35.420 --> 00:26:39.339 we might also be ecclesiastically aware or our 00:26:39.339 --> 00:26:44.240 ecclesial awareness the bible says in and ephesians 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:49.440 4 46 says there is one body one spirit Just as 00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:52.160 you were called to one hope when you were called, 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:56.680 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and 00:26:56.680 --> 00:26:58.700 the Father of all, who is over all and through 00:26:58.700 --> 00:27:01.200 all and in all. We must learn to work together 00:27:01.200 --> 00:27:04.619 with diverse bodies who express different traditions. 00:27:06.019 --> 00:27:08.460 We must understand the traditions. You may come 00:27:08.460 --> 00:27:11.579 from a Reformed background. You may come from 00:27:11.579 --> 00:27:14.119 a conservative evangelical background. You may 00:27:14.119 --> 00:27:17.440 come from a typical, maybe, Pentecostal background. 00:27:18.759 --> 00:27:22.900 but learn from one another so that we can. We 00:27:22.900 --> 00:27:25.740 may not fully agree on certain secondary things, 00:27:25.980 --> 00:27:28.960 but we're all God's children. As long as we stay 00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:31.380 faithful to the core tenets of the Christian 00:27:31.380 --> 00:27:35.599 faith, there are some things we may not be able 00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:39.960 to. Understand. You are different. I read this 00:27:39.960 --> 00:27:45.200 very important statement or observation by one 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:49.259 professor, Frank Macchia. He's a professor of 00:27:49.259 --> 00:27:52.299 Christian theology from Vanguard University in 00:27:52.299 --> 00:27:54.859 South California. And I just want to read this 00:27:54.859 --> 00:27:57.619 for your understanding or for your consideration. 00:27:58.380 --> 00:28:03.920 It reads, I desperately need this gets called 00:28:03.920 --> 00:28:08.200 the church. My tendency is to surround myself 00:28:08.200 --> 00:28:14.259 with people I enjoy being with, who I feel compliment 00:28:14.259 --> 00:28:18.680 me. It is fine to enjoy the company of such people. 00:28:19.839 --> 00:28:24.380 Friendship, that is often uplifting. But it goes 00:28:24.380 --> 00:28:31.519 on to say that, but to be like Christ, I need 00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:35.099 to have my soul expounded beyond this. Beyond 00:28:35.099 --> 00:28:38.099 this, becoming close to others who are different 00:28:38.099 --> 00:28:43.099 from me and especially who I may not particularly 00:28:43.099 --> 00:28:47.700 enjoy being with. People who are different from 00:28:47.700 --> 00:28:50.819 you that you may not particularly enjoy being 00:28:50.819 --> 00:28:59.619 with culturally, church traditionally. But sometimes 00:28:59.619 --> 00:29:03.240 you must learn to do so for the sake of the gospel. 00:29:03.819 --> 00:29:07.079 And we must collaborate across differences. We 00:29:07.079 --> 00:29:10.259 can do things with other people. Anglicans can 00:29:10.259 --> 00:29:15.339 work with Pentecostals. Baptists can work with 00:29:15.339 --> 00:29:20.960 Presbyterians for the sake of the kingdom. It 00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:24.500 doesn't mean cede your or let go of your tradition. 00:29:24.799 --> 00:29:27.440 You be loyal to your church tradition, but I 00:29:27.440 --> 00:29:31.099 can work with other people. So as I conclude, 00:29:32.839 --> 00:29:34.920 Let me look at this last one before I conclude. 00:29:35.259 --> 00:29:38.339 You must also be intergenerationally aware. That's 00:29:38.339 --> 00:29:41.160 intergenerational formation engagement. Psalm 00:29:41.160 --> 00:29:46.920 145 verse 4 says, if we fail to engage and disciple 00:29:46.920 --> 00:29:49.480 the younger generation, we are... No, that is 00:29:49.480 --> 00:29:51.480 not it. I'm just coaching the word. Let me just 00:29:51.480 --> 00:29:54.680 read Psalm 145 verse 4. One generation commends 00:29:54.680 --> 00:29:57.619 your works to another. It's very important that 00:29:57.619 --> 00:30:00.630 if we fail to... engage and disciple the younger 00:30:00.630 --> 00:30:02.910 generation, we are not just losing the future, 00:30:03.049 --> 00:30:05.710 we are failing to present the mission of the 00:30:05.710 --> 00:30:10.009 church. The choir revival shows that even though 00:30:10.009 --> 00:30:13.009 there's the idea that church is declining in 00:30:13.009 --> 00:30:16.009 the UK, among the young people, many people, 00:30:16.269 --> 00:30:18.990 particularly those with an ethnic minority background, 00:30:19.210 --> 00:30:22.109 are coming to the faith. Those within the 18 00:30:22.109 --> 00:30:26.549 to 24 year kind of demographic. And I can bear 00:30:26.549 --> 00:30:29.279 testimony of that. I know friends who are pastoring 00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:32.460 churches that are attracting very young people 00:30:32.460 --> 00:30:37.480 who are desperate for God. And so in our missional 00:30:37.480 --> 00:30:42.039 work in our churches, and as we prepare to engage 00:30:42.039 --> 00:30:45.920 the global church and the cities that we find 00:30:45.920 --> 00:30:48.680 ourselves, we might be aware of the intergenerational 00:30:48.680 --> 00:30:51.660 differences so that we can build strong churches 00:30:51.660 --> 00:30:54.460 that are intergenerational. As Paul said that 00:30:54.460 --> 00:31:00.259 Timothy had his faith. given to him or transferred 00:31:00.259 --> 00:31:03.980 to him by the grandmom through the grandmom to 00:31:03.980 --> 00:31:06.180 the mom to him. There was an intergenerational 00:31:06.180 --> 00:31:09.119 connection. We must learn to pass our faith to 00:31:09.119 --> 00:31:12.720 the younger generation. And that is the beauty 00:31:12.720 --> 00:31:16.480 of any church that represents what God has called 00:31:16.480 --> 00:31:20.920 that church to be. So as I conclude, the Antioch 00:31:20.920 --> 00:31:26.210 church or model was or is a diverse one. And 00:31:26.210 --> 00:31:28.869 it was spiritually formed, very, very active 00:31:28.869 --> 00:31:32.930 spiritual kind of church. But also after they 00:31:32.930 --> 00:31:37.109 gathered and were able to see God's face, it 00:31:37.109 --> 00:31:40.609 was a missional church. They sent people out. 00:31:40.750 --> 00:31:43.230 We cannot build churches and we cannot be part 00:31:43.230 --> 00:31:47.789 of churches that maintain people and not send 00:31:47.789 --> 00:31:51.440 them out to do God's work. At Oak Hill, and Oak 00:31:51.440 --> 00:31:54.119 Hill is a typical example. As people come here, 00:31:54.279 --> 00:31:58.960 they have been prepared to go out there and minister 00:31:58.960 --> 00:32:04.259 to a church or a world that is diverse. And I 00:32:04.259 --> 00:32:07.140 think that let us not take our experience at 00:32:07.140 --> 00:32:10.799 Oak Hill for granted. You might be here for three 00:32:10.799 --> 00:32:14.839 years, two years, but it is a very important 00:32:14.839 --> 00:32:17.480 part of your journey, your Christian journey 00:32:17.480 --> 00:32:23.039 or ministry formation. Very important. I remember 00:32:23.039 --> 00:32:26.480 back home in Ghana when I did my BA, I was within 00:32:26.480 --> 00:32:29.619 a campus like that, an environment like that, 00:32:29.660 --> 00:32:32.599 and that environment shaped me very well. And 00:32:32.599 --> 00:32:35.140 when I went to South Korea, the same thing. I 00:32:35.140 --> 00:32:36.960 was in an environment with people from China, 00:32:37.140 --> 00:32:41.220 people from Indonesia, Philippines, Nigeria, 00:32:41.640 --> 00:32:45.740 from all parts of the world in South Korea. And 00:32:45.740 --> 00:32:51.819 that enriched my... cross -cultural, multi -ethnic, 00:32:51.819 --> 00:32:56.720 intercultural perspective on mission. And I think 00:32:56.720 --> 00:33:00.039 what you are doing here is very important. I 00:33:00.039 --> 00:33:02.220 don't take it for granted. By the time you blink, 00:33:02.440 --> 00:33:05.759 your training here is over. You'll be sent out 00:33:05.759 --> 00:33:08.480 to the world. The question is that, were you 00:33:08.480 --> 00:33:11.960 prepared? Are we prepared for the global world 00:33:11.960 --> 00:33:16.400 and church? And any theological education now 00:33:16.400 --> 00:33:20.680 that is fit for purpose must train people for 00:33:20.680 --> 00:33:24.359 the global world and church. It must shape their 00:33:24.359 --> 00:33:28.819 thinking. So I want to end with this prayer that 00:33:28.819 --> 00:33:34.619 the Lord would prepare us so that we can serve 00:33:34.619 --> 00:33:38.779 across cultures to engage in a diverse world. 00:33:39.470 --> 00:33:42.049 And to be sent wherever the Lord calls us. Some 00:33:42.049 --> 00:33:45.890 of you may be sent to places that you may be 00:33:45.890 --> 00:33:49.230 contemplating. What next after my training here? 00:33:49.470 --> 00:33:52.369 Be ready to hear what the Lord is saying to you. 00:33:53.210 --> 00:33:56.849 He might send you somewhere among migrant communities 00:33:56.849 --> 00:34:00.170 that might be different from your comfort zone. 00:34:01.369 --> 00:34:04.509 You might be prepared. He might send you among 00:34:04.509 --> 00:34:08.159 Ghanians. And you are not raised from that culture. 00:34:08.320 --> 00:34:10.920 You must be prepared. They must send you overseas. 00:34:12.280 --> 00:34:16.760 You must be prepared. Modern Day Mission is both 00:34:16.760 --> 00:34:22.300 overseas and also next door. You can travel somewhere. 00:34:22.559 --> 00:34:25.619 That's great. But it's also next door. So I want 00:34:25.619 --> 00:34:28.219 us to just let me pray with you before I say, 00:34:28.260 --> 00:34:32.159 if you don't mind, let's pray. Let's pray. Father, 00:34:32.219 --> 00:34:37.269 we thank you. We give you praise for calling 00:34:37.269 --> 00:34:42.289 us into your mission. We come from diverse backgrounds 00:34:42.289 --> 00:34:47.849 and traditions, but you've called us to be one 00:34:47.849 --> 00:34:53.210 in you. In Christ, in you, we are one. Your spirit 00:34:53.210 --> 00:34:59.610 calls us to the nations for the purpose of making 00:34:59.610 --> 00:35:04.230 them known that Christ died for them. We live 00:35:04.230 --> 00:35:07.369 in a very challenging world at the moment. There 00:35:07.369 --> 00:35:09.949 are wars all over the world, all over the place. 00:35:10.550 --> 00:35:14.829 But Lord, prepare us from this place to be sent 00:35:14.829 --> 00:35:18.190 to the mission field where we are culturally 00:35:18.190 --> 00:35:24.230 aware. We are aware of our differences, but we 00:35:24.230 --> 00:35:28.449 seek to work together. May you prepare us and 00:35:28.449 --> 00:35:33.880 embody us where we are weak and anxious. and 00:35:33.880 --> 00:35:39.019 afraid, we surrender all of that to you. May 00:35:39.019 --> 00:35:43.579 you take absolute control of who we are so that 00:35:43.579 --> 00:35:49.019 we can be assured that you are with us to the 00:35:49.019 --> 00:35:53.340 end of the age. May you empower us by your spirit. 00:35:53.500 --> 00:35:56.579 May you give us the boldness and the confidence 00:35:56.579 --> 00:36:00.780 to do what you've called us to do. When we face 00:36:00.780 --> 00:36:05.329 challenges, Give us the grace to rest in you. 00:36:06.070 --> 00:36:09.530 Lord, we thank you for what you are doing in 00:36:09.530 --> 00:36:12.489 our lives. And we also pray for the leadership 00:36:12.489 --> 00:36:16.230 of Oak Hill, that you will continue to shape 00:36:16.230 --> 00:36:20.730 them and prepare the ordinance, the ministers, 00:36:20.949 --> 00:36:23.550 the pastors, those who come through these doors 00:36:23.550 --> 00:36:27.190 to be prepared for the global world and the church. 00:36:27.889 --> 00:36:30.050 Heavenly Father, we thank you. In Jesus' name 00:36:30.050 --> 00:36:31.130 I pray. Amen.