Uganda Pastors Conference

The men who attended the pastors conference at Word of Life Uganda.

“Pastor Ray, do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“Not at all.”

“What should we do if a Muslim man with four wives converts to Christianity and wants to join our church? We know what the Bible says about marriage, but we want to minister to all his wives and his children too. How do we do that and still be true to the Bible?”

How’s that for a question they didn’t cover in seminary?

That question came up several times this week as these young Ugandan pastors wrestle with being faithful to Scripture amid the unique challenges of African culture. Here are some of the things we discussed:

How to combat the Prosperity Gospel.
The essential elements of a biblical sermon.
Leading with courage and humility.
How to a have a happy marriage.
How much should a wedding cost?
Should the husband or wife handle the finances?
How to choose godly deacons.
The advantages of being married in the ministry.
Why God allows good men to fall.
The Four Dragons of Success.
What is True Success in the Ministry?
How to survive the bigger church down the street.
Why pastors need some “2 AM” friends.
Cracking the Man Code.

All of the men who attended are either pastors or are studying for the ministry. Many of them hold down a second job in order to make ends meet. One man serves as a rugby referee and on the staff at Word of Life. 

Yesterday my friend David (the rugby ref) asked me how Uganda met up to my expectations. The truth is, I really didn’t know what to expect. Preaching here reminds me a bit of preaching in Canada in that the audience tends to be reserved yet they listen intently. When I told him that a woman in Canada said, “We may be quiet but we don’t miss a trick,” he laughed and said that was true of Ugandans also. He said in general East Africans tend to be a bit less demonstrative than West Africans. We found everyone we met in Uganda to be extremely friendly.

By the way, Uganda strikes me as one of the most beautiful places we have visited. Located right on the equator, the land is green and lush all year round. Of course that also means it’s hot and muggy every day. And there are bugs everywhere. As I write these words, Marlene is sleeping under a mosquito net. I’ve been bitten a few times but nothing too serious, thanks to the bug spray we take with us everywhere.

When you come to Word of Life Uganda, you enter a miracle in progress. Three years ago this property was being developed as a university. Today it houses a camp and a Christian school. Soon they will finish their new kitchen/dining hall/meeting area that will handle 500-1000 people. In two years they hope to open a Bible  Institute that will be a hub for all of Africa. Thomas Obunde (who directs this ministry) has big dreams and it’s exciting to see them becoming reality.

We also delivered, unpacked and inventoried 412 pounds of books for the Christian school. Linda Hale taught the children Scripture songs using a CD she brought with her from Tupelo. Jim and Colleen King shared with the pastors and wives what they had learned from 48 years of marriage. Some of us ran out of water because the night watchmen used the plug for the electric water pump to recharge their cell phones and forgot to plug the pump back in so the water tank went almost to empty. The women met with Faith Obunde to talk about women’s ministry. Marlene had several conversations with the women to encourage them. Plus we played Scrabble at night, survived two torrential rainstorms, saw the new mosque in Kampala (a gift from Muammar Qaddafi), ran out of gas just as we were leaving for Jinja, swatted away the centipedes, traveled the narrow, rutted dirt road that almost washes away when it rains, gave away hundreds of “Keep Believing” wristbands, gave all the pastors copies of “An Anchor for the Soul,” and ate better pizza here than I can get back home. We spent time with Ben Baxter, a young man from Tupelo who serves with the Global Outreach orphanage near Jinja, sampled Chinese food in Kampala, and marveled at the Ugandan women who prepared food for the pastors, the students and our team, all of it cooked over a charcoal fire. We took a ton of pictures, the team played with the children in the school, Mike Maynard kept us laughing, and we all fell in love with Vanessa, Matthew and Simon, the wonderful Obunde children. And we managed to survive a trip through downtown Kampala at rush hour. 

It’s hard to believe that our week in Uganda has come to an end. As you can tell, we’ve had a wonderful time. Tomorrow we fly on to Kenya for a week of ministry at Word of Life in Mombasa. Thanks for your prayers. We’ll keep you updated with pictures and reports over the next few days.