Two Sides of the Same Journey (Part One)
On November 3, I, along with Dave Neuhausel - DCC’s Pastor of Outreach - and Kara Hamblen boarded a plane in Denver. As we sat waiting to board, all the talk around us and on television was seemingly about the elections that had happened the day before. The newspapers and news websites showed pictures of certain candidates with their hands raised in exalted fashion – victorious over their vanquished opponent.
Facebook and Twitter were no better. Every other update had something to say about the elections. Some posts griping, others expressing excitement, and others giving glib advice. Our country was passionately enthralled in the political scene and Christians were right in the middle of it all (and sometimes the loudest).
I have to be honest, it was nice to fly away and leave all the chatter far behind. Hours after take off we landed in Nairobi. We met, and spent time with Pastor Steve. A man, who had a position of privilege, and gave it all up to work 135 Kilometers outside of Nairobi in a small village called Eburru.
We sat with Pastor Steve and listened to him share his passion, and speak of how the Gospel was transforming the lives of so many in Eburru.
We met Mary, who is the Chief OR Nurse in Kijabe Hospital. On weekends she gives all her time working Camp Bretheren Clinic in Eburru – giving medical care to anyone who comes. No one is ever turned away – and most medical care is given for less than $2.00.
We met Chege, a 25-Year-Old visionary who lives in Eburru. Chege is in school and plans to finish in two years. He told me, “I have fifteen young men that I am mentoring, teaching them about God. We are going to work to solve many of the problems in Eburru so that this place will be better when I am gone.”
We met Wanjungua (she is to the right in the picture) who owns Neema Café. Neema, in Swahili, means grace. Mary renamed her café neema after she learned about the grace of Jesus.
We met 25 pastors from Eburru, Naivasha, and Kasaroni. Some of these men had been pastors for more than 30 years. Their deep understanding of God’s love and how they continuously gave that to their people was moving.
In Nairobi, we had lunch with Dr. Caleb Kim. He is from South Korea and is a brilliant theologian. As we ate lunch together I enjoyed sitting at his feet and learning from him – from his deep knowledge and wisdom. Then he said, “The more I learn about God, the bigger I understand him to be, which then teaches me how little I know.”
We met Gideon. He works with Center for Transforming Mission(CTM). CTM is working in 22 schools in Nairobi mentoring students and teaching them about life decisions. Through their work many are staying in school and receiving a proper education. The work they do is far too vast to even begin writing about it.
In all of our time spent with all of these wonderful people one theme has emerged over and over. The Kingdom of Heaven – expressed in love, grace, hope, mercy, joy, compassion, and justice. The Kingdom of Heaven – made tangible by our brothers and sisters who perform the Gospel every day in Kenya.
In all of this we have not spoken about government, elections, candidates, or politicians. It seems that these men and women know that the our hope is not rooted in our Empires, but in God’s Kingdom – and they live out this reality in this world. This has provided a striking contrast to me.
On one side of our journey were men and women bound by the political scene of America. On the other side of our journey we met men and women gripped by the Kingdom of Heaven who were making it a deeper reality here on earth.
This contrast has caused me to question where the allegiances of many lie in America. Allegiance is exclusive – there is no such thing as dual allegiance.
When I see the often misguided passion many who claim to follow Jesus give to the American political arena (often expressed through angry rhetoric, disparaging remarks about candidates, with a dose of fear-mongering and sarcasm) I wonder if we give the same passion to the Kingdom of Heaven.