Meeting the Chief

 

The town of Akropong is home to about 10,000 people; and they do indeed have a Chief. This tradition extends back to the tribal practices of the Ghanaian culture. I could not quite get a clear picture of how exactly these tribal leaders interact with the government, but they are important and some of them are very rich. Once every 40 days, the Chief, and about 20 “sub-chiefs” gather together in a “Durba” ceremony to discuss important matters of the town. This Durba is different than many others in Ghana in that they are mostly accepting of Christianity. In fact, there are many of them that attend Christ Church, where we are working. This history extends back to 1835, when the first missionary settle in Akropong, and the Chief welcomed him. Rev. Nyarko, the pastor of Christ church, usually does the opening Christian prayer for the Durba (interestingly, since the tradition has their own spiritual practices).

At this particular Durba, the new moderator or president of the Presbyterian Church in Ghana was introduced to the chief. Since the moderator was going to be in town, the church leaders decided it would be a good thing introduce the moderator to the Chief of Akropong in order to continue to foster relationship between the Christians and the traditionalist community. My two colleagues and myself were able to come along for the ride as well. We waited outside the courtyard for a while, waiting as the chief members arrived. Some where dropped off by SUV’s, others drove themselves, and one in particular arrived with a whole entourage of people which carried his umbrella, pillow, and ushered in the important women that arrived also with him. As soon as all of the important figures were seated, the moderator and his entourage (including us) entered in single file in the pomp and circumstance of loud pounding drums that filled the courtyard. We came in and shook the hands of the 20 or so sub-chiefs. The head chief was elevated on a throne- literally. As I leaned forward and up to shake his hand, his associate told him who I was, and I smiled. It was such an honor to meet all of these important men and women of the village. The Queen Mother is traditionally the mother of the Chief, but in this case she was someone other, but still considered important. She did a closing prayer for us after the ceremony that was very moving, repeating “All the glory be to God.”

Rev. Nyarko said something very interesting to me as we were leaving; he said “Incorporating church into tradition is how it stays alive.” The Church here makes a conscious effort to stay in contact with the traditional leaders, there ceremonies, and their rituals. Some may see this as a form of syncretism, but the church leaders see it as an “evangelistic opportunity.” They see any opportunity to build relationship as worth while for the church. And they are seeing the fruit of their efforts in their openness to Christianity. Perhaps the church in America could learn from this as well.

I don’t suppose that there are many churches in American that can go downtown to be apart of the local “Durba” so perhaps the link isn’t so direct. But, incorporating the church into the local community is an important aspect. I once heard a provoking question that has stayed with me—it goes like this, “If your church was removed from the community, would the community even notice?” Ouch. The reason this question pains me is because I believe the answer for most churches is sadly, “No.” That cannot be said for the Church in Akropong though. They are involved with just about every aspect of community. They are helping to educate people in the schools, promoting physical health in association with the clinic, and providing centers of community and fellowship, and providing jobs. I believe this is the church at its best—helping people become their best. Some may say it is just not possible for the church to be as involved with the community in America like it is in Ghana, but perhaps we just need to be a little bit more creative. Needs are all around us and by God’s grace we have something to offer.

Visiting the Schools

Every morning at about 6:30 am many children walk past my window in their blue uniforms, chatting and headed to school to the sound of drum beats instead of school bells. The kids are my favorite part of Ghana so far. They are beautiful, and they are so precious to God. In general they have seemed quite timid to approach me, but when I have approached them they are the most welcoming group of people I have ever met. I went over to say hello to a group kids playing in the church lawn and immediately they incorporated me into their game and I found my self running around with them like we were the best of friends. If you ever have self esteem problems, just go hang out with a bunch of Ghanaian children! They will make you feel like the most important person in the world. They are very moldable and they LOVE Jesus.

In America you would not imagine for a second that someone would be able to come into a public school and preach gospel openly in an assembly. But here that is exactly what happens every Wednesday without a problem. All of the children in the 3 primary schools (ages 6-12) of Akropong assemble in the morning for chapel where they sing and dance and hear a message from the minister. Today I had the privilege of being the minister. The school I happened to speak at was actually the first school in Ghana. The only other schools present before this one were for missionary children that came to Ghana with their parents. These children are well behaved, filing into the 200+ person auditorium; but when the music starts they are on fire for God. The leap and dance and wave their hands in the air while singing at the top of their lungs in unreserved passion and adoration that will melt your heart. It is such exuberant worship, I know it must thrill the heart of God. It was so moving when the lead teacher shouted “Yesu Kristo” and all the kids gave a LOUD, long shout of praise jumping and waving their handkerchiefs in the air as if they had just won the World Cup. As their praise roared through the room I am sure heaven could hear the echo.

Currently the school is trying to raise enough money to build on an addition to the school for the Junior High School. As of now the children must walk quite a distance to get to the nearest Junior High School. With upwards 40+ children per class, I have a lot of respect for the teachers!  I asked where the funding comes from and my supervisor, Papa Nyarko, told me that it comes from both the church and government as a partnership. It is good to see the church actively supporting the education and development of the community. Akropong was the first town in Ghana to hear the gospel- it is such a privilege to be here and see the fruit of it. About 75-80% of the 10,000 people in the town attend some sort of church, but even in Ghana there are many people who are still in need of discipleship. I have heard the phrase “standing in a garage does not make you a car” and the same could be said for those who attend church in any nation. The church has a wonderful opportunity here to share the gospel with all of the children of the town, and by God’s grace it will take root in their lives and they will experience the love, joy, peace, and transformation power that comes through Christ.

I Hope You Brought Your Dancing Shoes

We stepped out of the church van after being picked up from the airport just in time to catch the very ending of the weeknight revival service taking place at Christ Church. This church has historical significance in that it was the first established Christian church (1835) in Ghana that still remains today. A series of night revival services took place that have lead up Pentecost Sunday. For this Pentecostal Presbyterian church, Pentecost really looks something close to Acts chapter 2! As we walked around to the back of the building and walked through the door, I suddenly found myself on stage in an elder chair (wearing 30 hour old travel clothing) staring at a "packed house" of worshipers. There is a balcony overshadowing the main floor and a large open space in the middle of the church for the altar, dancing and the offertory. "What have I gotten myself into?" was a phrase that passed through my mind as I stared wide eyed at the 1000+ worshipers in the building.

Imagine the loudest concert you've ever been too and add a few more decibels and you will probably reach the volume of the exuberant worship service. The music at the night revival is  loud, pushing the limits of the sound system, and the singing may not even necessarily be on pitch all of the time, but no one is worried about that stuff. This church knows how to make a joyful noise unto the Lord, especially in their native language of Twi (pronounced tr-ee). People are singing, shouting, clapping, and of course- dancing. As mentioned before, the open space is available for dancing worshipers to come on down to the front, and I indeed found myself on the dance floor after two women waved me onward. Doing the shuffle across the floor following a chain of people is not something I find myself doing that often, but it is truly apart of the worship here.

One of the most amazing aspects of the service is the offertory. Everybody gives, and there are expressions of joy as they do it. in the U.S. the call for the offering is usually acknowledged with a silent, inward moan. But here offertory is another call to the dance floor. Systematically through the whole sanctuary, everyone gets out of their seat and dances in a train up to the offering plates at the front. People are clapping and singing and waving their offering envelope and rejoicing as they give to the Lord. I have known for a while that "God loves a cheerful giver" but I hadn't quite seen it like this! The procession lasts for about 20 minutes to get through all of the people and it is a man even of the service. One of the most touching parts of the offertory was the prayer in which it was stated "thank you Lord for providing us something to give."  It is expected that everyone will give, and in this context the fact that you are able to place something into the offering bucket is an acknowledgment of the provision and goodness of god. When God is providing for your needs, the ability to place some money in the offering is a testimony to God's faithfulness. The envelope in the bucket in a way says, "look what the Lord has done!" It all belongs to God anyway; I will remember next time the offering bucket is passed around at my church that I have reason to cheerfully give.