Bishop Boni, Cote d'Ivoire Annual Conference, is the care taker of the UMC in Senegal and Cameroon. The Senegal District Meeting began yesterday afternoon. Today each pastor in the district was brought before the Bishop, along with the District Superintendent of Senegal and the GBGM Senegal missionary. There performance was evaluated by the amount of church members they have and how many programs they are trying in their separate villages.
It was about half way through the day when it came time for Pastor Ndecky to tell us his news. He has been pastor of this parish for two years. And he sat in that room and told us that he had not even one church member and not one program initiative. Nothing. Bishop Boni then said, "Are we paying you? What are you doing to deserve pay?" The Bishop went on to say, "We do not have time for this! Christ is going to return, and he will look at you and ask what you have been doing! Do not make it your fault that these people do not know the love of Christ!"
Whoa. Ok, Bishop Boni, please calm down. 'What is he so panicked about?' I thought. I took a break from the consultations to think on what he said. The urgency in Bishop Boni's voice is not unlike the urgency found in Paul's letters in the New Testament. After a long time of thinking, I realized that it is that urgency that makes me love African Christianity. They aren't complacent like most American churches. They don't sit around worrying about offending people and petty problems waiting for a vote from the council. No, friends, Africa is in a hurry. The African Christians are making people so uncomfortable with their faith that they are converting to Christianity from Islam and tribal religions. Just as Bishop Boni said, "Christ is going to return, and he will look at you and ask what you have been doing." Don't waste your time, people. Be urgent. Remember that being comfortable is not a good thing, in regard to your faith. Don't be calm. Don't avoid the issues. Don't be comfortable.