It seems to
be a rare question these days to
hear, “What is the most responsible
thing I can do?”
Maybe, it has to do with definitions. Here are some relevant ones of “responsible”:
“Liable to be required
to give account, as of one's actions or of the discharge of a duty or trust. Being a source or cause.
Able to make moral or rational decisions on one's own and therefore answerable for one's behavior.” (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/responsible.)
“Having the job or duty of dealing with or taking care of something or someone. Able
to be trusted to do what is right or to do the things that are expected or
required. Involving important duties,
decisions, etc., that you are trusted to do.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/responsible.)
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| Dave's parents, Lloyd and Lois Jenkins |
Our parents were
ones who lived and taught personal responsibility. It is only natural that we came into their
values. Rise early. Be prepared. Make the most of each opportunity. Get an education. Work hard.
As we entered Uganda in 1993
another side of responsibility gripped our attention. It was communal
responsibility. Not only did one
have personal responsibility, one had
corporate responsibility to one another.
(There are many “one another” commands in the New Testament though our
individualism before entering Africa did not see their full implications.) We
use the phrase, “We grew up in Uganda”
to describe those years. They were
formative. At times they felt like all the paradigms we
used to understand the world were stripped from us. However, Uganda graciously reconstructed
us. Finally, the light bulb went on. In our
American Christian world of the ‘70’s and ‘80’s the basic building block of
society was the nuclear family. In
Africa the most basic building block of society was the extended family.
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| Jana's parents, Gaston and Jan Tarbet in Rwanda |
One example of those formative
years was our local Resistance Committee / Leadership Committee (RC/LC1). As Uganda recovered from her “30 Years of
Bananas” (from Alex Mukulu’s play summarizing Uganda’s first 30 post-colonial
years) governance went to the
grassroots. Every “village” of
approximately 3,000 people elected 9 leaders who were responsible for
everything in their community that ranged from marital counseling to road
building to security.
We
went to most of the RC/LC1 meetings.
One discussion about security was a literal “light bulb” experience in community responsibility. Uganda’s past had created great poverty
with a number of accessible weapons.
It was a security nightmare.
Yet if addressed from the perspective of a community security could be
excellent. One of the difficulties was
poor infra-structure. There were no street lights in urban
areas. Our RC / LC1 came up with a
solution. Everyone who had electricity
in their home must have working light bulbs to illuminate the portion of their
property adjacent to local roads and foot paths. If one did not take that responsibility
they would be fined.
My individual responsibility
was a little offended. Shouldn’t this matter just be how I worked
out my budget? Shouldn’t I be free to choice where I would place security lights? Couldn’t I just keep my home lit? Why did I need to light the local road?
Yet, Uganda was right. I had not only individual
responsibility. I had communal responsibility.
For our community to be safe I needed to take responsibility to keep the
road near my home lit. If all did this
our community would be secure.
The
prophets of the Old Testament wrestled with this communal responsibility. Ezekiel’s
call was to be a watchman for Israel.
If he did not warn Israel he would be held accountable for Israel’s
failings (Ezekiel 3; 33.)
I
cannot remember my RC / LC1 Chairman referring back to Jesus’ words, but my Boss spoke a very similar message of communal
responsibility to bring light.
“And you, beloved, are the light of the world. A city
built on a hilltop cannot be hidden. Similarly
it would be silly to light a lamp and then hide it under a bowl. When someone lights a lamp, she puts it on
a table or a desk or a chair, and the light illumines the entire house. You are like that illuminating light. Let your light
shine everywhere you go, that you may illumine creation, so
men and women everywhere may see your good actions,
may see creation at its
fullest, may see your devotion to Me, and may turn and praise your Father
in heaven
because of it. (Matthew 5:14-16.
The Voice.)”
Eugene
Peterson translated my Boss’ words,
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| Christ's Church Rwanda on Gaculiro Hill |
“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the
God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public
with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you
don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a
light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine!
Keep open house; be generous with your
lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this
generous Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-6. The Message.)”
My Boss another time said,
“No one lights a lamp
and then covers it with a bowl or hides it under a bed. A lamp is
placed on a
stand, where its light can be seen by all who enter the house
. For all that is secret
will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will
be brought to light and made known to all.
“So pay attention to how you hear. To those who listen to my
teaching, more understanding will be given. But
for those who are not listening, even what they think they understand will be
taken away from them.” (Luke 8:16-18. New
Living Translation.)
This journey led us
to the question, “What is the most
responsible thing we can do at a time like this?”
Without a doubt the most responsible thing we can do is to
attempt to church plant again.
While we saw God grow
church planting movements in the season He gave us in Africa the movement of churches
that knew us in the United States declined in attendance numbers and financial
strength. Not only did this happen
among our supporters Christianity’s
influence in the USA declined significantly from 1993 to 2012 in many
denominations. This decline of influence
was accompanied by great turmoil which
left many individuals deeply wounded.
Yet while there was
communal turmoil God gave us the
spiritual gifts of church planters.
He gave us a deep network and
experience among Diaspora from Africa’s Great Lakes. He nurtured our gifts, and developed more skills as shepherds. North America’s racial and ethnic composition is rapidly shifting. One of the greatest niches for church
development in North America in the next 20 years is among second and third
generation immigrants. There are few
whom the Lord has given so much as us.
Our parent’s values tell us to always assume personal
responsibility. Our African
heritage
taught us to always assume communal responsibility. If we don’t assume responsibility we will
be held accountable by our heritage, community, and the Lord. When
we assume responsibility the task initially feels overwhelming. Yet God honors and blesses those who obey
when the future is full of mystery.
In this season in
North America we cannot put a light on every corner. Yet, we can develop local
lights near our home. Our Uganda LC /
RC 1 is right. Now is the time to
church plant again. It is the most
responsible thing we can do.
3. Just
when you figured out how to finish unpacking you become sick and are in bed for
a couple of days.
