Missionary Minds

Satan has always tried to wrest the role of education from parents and place it into the hands of the State. In a 1933 speech, Adolph Hitler said: “When an opponent declares, ‘I will not come over to your side,’ I calmly say, ‘Your child belongs to us already.’”When it comes to Africa’s educational problems, the solution is not more government intervention but less, and not less Christian influence but more.

We live in a time of self-appointed 'men of God'. Is it ever right for a pastor to appoint themselves? How should the ordination process go? Where should a church that wants to ordain a pastor begin? All this and more on this week's installation of Missions Monday.

Plagiarism is the practice of taking someone else’s ideas or work and passing them off as one’s own. For centuries this has been a worldwide problem and today’s Africa is no exception. One may be tempted to believe that ChatGPT is the source of plagiarism today, but in reality, man’s sinful heart is the cause. ChatGPT has only made plagiarism easier, akin to the way smartphones have made it less difficult to obtain pornography. How can institutions, educators, and students overcome the problem of plagiarism with the rapid growth of AI? Here are a few brief considerations.  

The determining factors in voting can easily be cast into three categories; liberation, services, and morality. Though not completely mutually exclusive, the recognition of these three categories helps us evaluate our expectations of  Government. Liberation, services, and morality—even in the plethora of political parties that undergird South African elections, it would appear that not even one party promises immediate hope in all three of those categories. How then shall we vote?

Every Christian man wants to wed a virtuous woman, but how can he know? Is it possible for a man to predict who will be a godly wife? When a young man pursues a godly wife, he must consider the following three items, moving from most to least important...

What should we do when God does not answer our prayers? Another conversation with Joel Wegner in which he tells of God's faithfulness through the trial of childlessness.

The issue of illegal immigration is a persistent problem affecting many nations around the world at the present moment. South Africa has long been impacted by an unknown number of illegal aliens from neighbouring countries. Most of these are understandably seeking a better life. The estimates on the number of illegal immigrants in South Africa range from 5 to 10 million people. The question before every blood-bought believer in Christ is how should Christians biblically view illegal immigration and immigrants.

The Easter trip to Zion City Moria is part of the spectacular pilgrimage that over a million ZCC members make each year. This Easter run is similar to the hajj Muslims take to Mecca, as ZCC leaders expect their people to take at least one journey to Moria in their lifetime. It is believed that Zion City Moria has special powers and thus hordes of pilgrims return there each year for healing and renewal. Engenas Lekganyane founded the ZCC in 1924. At the time of his death in 1948, there were over 50,000 members. Today there are well over 12 million members, making it the largest African-initiated church in southern Africa. Zion gets its name from the city of Jerusalem in the Old Testament, which is also adjacent to Mount Moriah where Solomon built his temple.  Is the Zion Christian Church Christian?

A conversation about some considerations that should be made about missions before sending a potential missionary out into the field.

Listen as Joel speaks about the blessings and challenges of multi-generation Christianity in his family.