Awesome God Tires?

 

Prior to coming to Ghana it was relayed to me that this country has been influenced heavily by Christianity. This influence has reached over into the spheres of education, health, government, and even business. Most stores titles on your way up to our town have something to do with God or Christianity in the name. As a seminarian I was really looking forward to seeing these shops, and I was not disappointed. Some of the names are quite entertaining, especially to the theologically inclined. Here is a list of some stores we passed by:

God is Love Plumbing

Give Thanks to Jehovah Chop Bar

Alpha and Omega

King David Motors

Are You Saved?

Grace Fast Food

Redeemer Beauty Salon

Christ Open Door Beauty Salon

Prince of Peace Communication Center

Abundant Grace Fried Rice

Fear Not Beauty Salon

Humble Yourself

Almighty Aluminum Works

By the Grace of God

In Jesus’ Name Electrical Works

Love God Refrigeration and Air

Emmanuel Motors

All Shall Pass Electrical

Emmanuel Carpentry Shop

Paul Electricals

Ebenezer Electrical Works

Mark Refrigeration

Jehova is Mighty Enterprise

Holy Fire Hardware Supply

In Him We Move

By His Grace Beauty Salon

Sow in Tears and Reap in Joy Welding

Jehovah Our God Reigns Enterprise

Back to Life Spot

Being Led By the Holy Spirit to Do Exploits

Heavenly Fire Kitchen

Disciple’s Guest House

Messiah Glorious Salon

Jesus Cares Communication and Business Center

Delilah Beauty Salon

God’s Time Furniture

My Redeemer Woodworks

In Him is Life Enterprise

Because He Lives…

Christ is King

God is King

Acts Enterprise

God’s Time is Best

Theo Mart

(:

Brevity of Life and Reality of Heaven

 

We have been constantly reminded of the brevity of life as a funeral service takes place at Christ Church every other week. It is rare that the service is only for one person. We have been to funerals for 3 and 5 people at a time and Rev. Nyarko has done a funeral for as many as 9 at a time. The reason for this is that tradition maintains that a person is buried in their hometown. Therefore, most of those being buried had moved away and were not current members of Christ Church before they died. After the funeral the church processes to the burial field in a manner that is far from glamorous. Up until this experience I had not attended many funerals, let alone had the opportunity to speak at one—which was afforded to me at Christ Church.

As a minister, you must be sure of what you believe about the afterlife before you stand before a crowd of mourning people to give them hope. As Christians, we have the hope of seeing God face to face and being in the presence of the Lord forever after our time on earth is finished. We are aliens in a foreign land, waiting in great anticipation for our complete inheritance as citizens of heaven. I find that your faith is put into action at a funeral service because it is at that point that you must decide if you believe in the truth of who Christ is and what he came to do.

It is not surprising why much of the evangelistic effort of churches is placed on the after life. We desire to have the security and hope of the unseen reality of heaven offered through Christ. Jesus is at times presented as the “ticket” to eternity and that’s why we should follow him. While eternity is a major part of the Christian life, (and I for one have been to the altar a few times just to be sure) it is not the only part. As Christians, as Christ followers, the reality of the kingdom of heaven is supposed to begin while we’re on earth. Even if I was convinced that all were already going to heaven I would still preach Christ crucified. Why? Because I believe in the transformation power of Christ in our world today. Jesus does not just offer eternal life after we die, but he offers a life of purpose and wholeness that seeks to bring God’s kingdom to earth here and now. God’s kingdom is a kingdom of peace, joy, love, healing, justice, and mercy, just to name a few. In what ways are we as Christians bringing the reality of heaven to earth right now? This can only happen when we allow the Spirit of God to transform us daily into the likeness of Christ. When we allow this process to happen, not only will we be changed, but our world will be better for it.

Visiting Jesus

 

Every first Sunday of the month Communion is served at Christ Church. During the several days leading up to Communion Sunday the church office is filled with people coming to register for Communion, it is a main event in the life of the church. Akropong is town in the mountains with a high elderly population. Most of the younger people move elsewhere to find work or go to school. Because of the amount of elderly people in the town, many of the church members are house bound and cannot make it to church. Therefore, Rev. Nyarko takes it upon himself with his staff members to visit the 200+ house bound parishioners each month to serve them communion. He does this work over the course of two days, which means they must average 100 homes per day. We attempted to help with these visitations for a couple of hours and made it to about 20 homes. Most of the traveling is done on foot. Rev. Nyarko says this town is easy compared to his first church placement as a minister where he had to walk 10 miles through treacherous jungle to serve communion. He is truly called to serve as a pastor because even though it is tiresome work, he says the ministry makes him feel refreshed.

Although it is not long, the parishioners love the visit from the pastor. Some look forward to it all day and do not eat that day until the pastor has arrived with communion. Rev. Nyarko says that these people are stuck at home all day and that it revives their spirits to have someone come and minister to them. To have the pastor come for just 5 minutes to sing or offer a loving pat on the back means the world to these people. Many of the homes we visited were worn down, one or two rooms with a bed and some chairs. Often times there is a fire or burner set up outside with basic cooking supplies. The homes used to be built side by side like compounds with a courtyard in the center. This way, the generations of families could continue to live together and share the same amenities. A lot of the people we visited lived in this type of compound home. At the homes Rev. Nyarko would lead a hymn, pray, and serve communion. Afterward, one of the elders would put some money into parishioner’s hand. Each person visited receives 2 Ghana Cedis which is about the equivalent of $1.50 in the U.S.. Rev. Nyarko says that it is not much but that even this little gesture helps them know that they are cared for. The church also makes it a point to send nursing staff to check on these house-bound members. The nurse takes their blood pressure and advises and answers questions about medication. One woman we visited did not even know she had extremely high blood pressure and she was advised to get medication immediately. When Jesus said, “I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” I am sure this was the type of situation he was talking about. Christ Presbyterian Church has made it a point to look after the people that are the most forgotten, taking to heart the words of Jesus, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine you did for me.”