For the sake of the LRLR, you are invited to Next Steps on Saturday 13th April to consider ‘The Weakness of God.’
The Theme
When was the last time you mediated on ‘the weakness of God’ (1 Cor 1:25)? Or the counterintuitive truth that our God’s power is ‘perfected in weakness’ (2 Cor 12:9)?
Our God so big—he became a baby. So strong and so mighty—he washed feet. There’s nothing our God cannot do—he conquered upon a cross.
After living through the horrors of the Great War, Edward Shillito wrote in his poem ‘Jesus of the Scars’: “The other gods were strong; but Thou wast weak; They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne; But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak, And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.”
And when it comes to us and the LRLR, it is easy to oscillate between powerlessness and pride. On the one hand, we feel weak and insignificant as if there’s nothing I can do. So we find ourselves in danger of doing nothing. On the other, we feel powerful and capable, self-sufficient and self-reliant. So we find ourselves in danger of relying on our power, our priorities, and promoting self rather than the God strong enough to be weak.
What does this mean and how does it change everything? Before I invite you to come and consider ‘The Weakness of God’ at Next Steps 2024, here’s my favorite mission story about the weakness of God.
Fanta
Serving alongside the fledgling church in post-war southern Ethiopia, my grandfather once gave the missionary challenge at an annual Bible conference. He explained the gospel to several thousands of Christians from the Wolaitta tribe, then ‘called for young men and women to leave their home area and go as national missionaries to take the Gospel to other tribes.’1 In response, Fanta and about 20 others stood amongst the thousands. And as he stood before the assembly, Fanta said that he wanted to take the gospel to the enemies of the Wolaitta tribe, the feared cattle herders along the Bilate River near Lake Abaya who had murdered the evangelist Omochi.
But he was told he could not be sent. Why? Because Fanta was a cripple. When he was six years old, Fanta had a stroke that left him completely paralyzed down the left side of his body. He was crooked in stature, an arm and a leg hung useless at his side. Obviously he could not stand and fight or even run away.
And so, because of his weakness, Fanta was told he could not be sent. But my grandfather remembers his response. Fanta pointed his chin to the hot lowlands and said “God has told me to go, so I must obey.” Then he slowly hopped away on his stick.
Alone, compelled by the love of Christ, Fanta embarked upon what would have been for the average traveler a two day journey. And after five painful days, he arrived amongst a tribe from which he could neither run nor stand and fight. But in the providence of God, there was something unusual about the tribe along the Bilate River. They honored cripples! While many tribes in Ethiopia at that time would leave handicapped or deformed children to starve, many of these herders were themselves crippled.
Fanta had found perhaps the only tribe where he could safely go and no one else could. He was accepted, welcomed, and respected. He was able to hop from one village to another, sharing the message of Christ. After only the first year he had planted five churches and around 250 had believed the gospel.
The next year my grandfather met Fanta again. It was the next annual gathering at Wolaitta. As the thousands gathered, Fanta came over the hill slowly, hopping along. And behind him, singing chants of praise to Jesus, hundreds of former enemies followed to join the assembly.
Here’s a picture of Fanta. The man who reminds me that God chooses and uses the weak. And even our weakness, even the weakness of God, is stronger than the strength of men. Are we willing to be weak that he might be proven strong amongst all nations?
The Conference
Next Steps really is unique. A one-day missions conference intended to help students and graduates consider how to serve those Less Reached and Less Resourced (LRLR).
Next Steps isn’t merely a conference about ministry, nor is it only for those considering going, it’s an opportunity for all of God’s people—strong and weak—to consider how to leverage every gift either as sacrificial senders and/or generous goers.
This year, we will:
- Hear from former missionary amongst the unreached, now lecturer at SMBC: Ed Grudier
- Select specialised electives about the LRLR in Sydney, Australia, and the World
- Learn about practical next steps to ‘Act Now’ with specialised streams for graduates and students.
- Discuss and pray with small groups of friends at similar stages.
We’d love to see you at Moore College on the 13th April. All graduates register here: https://www.trybooking.com/CPMHK
– Seth Fellows
- McLellan, Dick. Warriors of Ethiopia: Heroes of the Gospel in the Omo River Valley (Warriors and Messengers of Ethiopia Book 1) (p. 155). Kindle Edition. ↩︎