Knowledge is knowing God. The fruit of knowing God is righteousness in living as God's image-bearers. Our relationship with God was broken in Adam by sin, and those in sin now bear Adam's image. Living as God's image-bearer requires a restored relationship with God. Reconciliation to God can only be accomplished through redemption in Christ by His death and resurrection, making all who are redeemed in Christ image-bearers of Him, eternally alive with Him. The Bible's grand narrative tells how God has made the way to knowing Him though Christ, His Son, by His grace. This sets the mind for the glory of learning; the joy of education.
|
 The Bible's Grand Narrative
by David Wegener
 | | David Wegener |
"Teach me the whole Bible," was his request. It was an honest request, a good request, but one that a young Dan Fuller did not expect.
Fuller was the son of Charles and Grace Fuller, the founders of Fuller Theological Seminary and radio evangelists who proclaimed the true and saving gospel. In his book, The Unity of the Bible, Dan writes of being an ensign in the navy to fulfill his military service, back when such was required of all young American men. He had been a Navigator in high school, and, as such, had memorized hundreds of Bible verses and learned how to share the gospel and to urge unbelievers "to make a definite decision" to receive Christ and the forgiveness of sins.
 | | Dr. Daniel Fuller |
And so, one evening in 1946, on a ship bringing soldiers back from their duties in the Pacific at the end of World War II, Dan began to talk to a senior officer on "the deck of the bridge of a troop transport," about his need to receive Christ as his Savior.
The man responded to the gospel and put his trust in the Lord. The next day, he showed up in Fuller's cabin and asked that question, "Teach me the whole Bible." After mentioning a few things, both of them quickly realized that Dan was out of his depth. Sadly, the man soon lost interest in meeting with Fuller (all of this is related in the preface to Fuller's book mentioned above).
The point of telling this story is not to make fun of anyone or any group. (Indeed, Dan Fuller dedicated the rest of his life as a seminary professor and dean to answering that officer's question and helping others to be able to answer it.) Ninety-five percent (or more) of the graduates of Christian colleges and seminaries would be in exactly the same situation as Fuller. My point is to show the need to rectify this situation and to tell how we hope to do so at African Christian University.
But I also need to bring in another important dimension at this point. Evangelism and discipleship have too often neglected the critical importance of a Christian worldview. The main reason we have established an overview of Scripture as the centerpiece of our college program is our desire to inculcate within our students a Biblical and Reformed worldview.
In the west, this would be important because of the decline in Bible-believing churches and the resulting increase in Biblical illiteracy in our young people. Evangelism and discipleship used to be easier because we could tap into a general knowledge of the Bible gained in Sunday Schools. No more. University evangelism in the west increasingly needs to give students an overview of the Bible as part of our presentation of the gospel. So much of western culture is antithetical to Scripture that we have to confront many hard topics right from the beginning.
 In sub-Saharan Africa, the situation is similar but different. With rare exceptions, young people emerge from secondary school with little knowledge of the Bible. From my ten years in Zambia, I have found that they have a great respect for the Bible (in contrast to their classmates in the west), yet they do not know much about it. In addition, African culture has not been shaped by a Christian worldview as western culture (even though we all know this shaping is being dismantled). And where there is no Christian worldview, cultural assumptions reign unchecked. Thus, when push comes to shove, Christian parents with a sick child, after visiting the doctor and their church elders, go to traditional doctors for healing. When a couple comes to a pastor for marriage counseling, and he begins to peel back layer after layer of their marriage, he finds that the basic assumptions have been shaped by culture and not by a Christian worldview. This helps to explain the truism, made by many Christian leaders, that the African church is a mile wide and an inch deep.  This furnishes the rationale for making an overview of the Bible, taught from a Reformed worldview, the main element of our Scholars Program, prior to students entering African Christian University. We want the Creation-Fall-Redemption-Consummation framework to be the lens through which they understand the Bible and the world. Specifically, we want all of our students to have this Christian framework, since it will impact ... - their own relationship with God.
- their marriages and families.
- their future leadership of churches.
- their prophetic critique of culture, and how they pursue their own discipline and vocation, be it teaching or medicine or law or computers or one of the arts.
We don't want our graduates to be the same as those of other universities, with the exception that they are believers in Christ. We want them to be culture-transformers and this means that they need to get a Christian worldview down deep in their souls. For example, how does a doctor with a Christian worldview approach his work? Does it go beyond charging a fair price for his consultations and being a gentle and warm man? Won't it impact how he deals with abortion and birth control and the counsel he gives to young people about sex? We at ACU realize that this is a daunting challenge and so we covet your prayers that we will do it well for the glory of Christ. |
| Chris and Keren Hays
by Peggy Warwick
Mentors for the one-year, ACU Scholars Program must be gifted in teaching, skilled in handling the Word of God and well-equipped in English, Christian thinking and rhetoric with a heart for discipleship. Chris and Keren Hays are just such servants of Christ who are seeking to come to Zambia to assist with the ACU work. They would greatly value your prayers for them.
 | | Chris and Keren Hays |
Chris and Keren's diverse backgrounds developed a heart for missions in both of them. Chris was raised in a Christian home where
his father was the pastor of his church, so he doesn't remember a time when he didn't know the gospel. He made a profession of faith early and was very active in the church. Despite this, he was not saved until he was in his early 20s when, as he says, "the Lord allowed me to fall into very serious sin that He used to reveal to me the true state of my heart." From his teenage years, he wanted to work in bible translation in a first-contact context. When he graduated high school and entered college, he worked toward a linguistics major and an anthropology minor, with the goal of joining Wycliffe. While the Lord had other plans for him, this core missions' desire has grown in Chris over the past 20 years as God put him in a church body with a strong missions emphasis.
By contrast, Keren was raised by her parents in a non-Christian home with five siblings. She was married at 16. At 19, during her second pregnancy, she was saved through the ministry of Billy Graham while watching one of his crusades on television. Always aware of her own sinfulness, Keren says, "it was through the message of forgiveness offered in Christ that God saved me." She experienced great joy and was led to a good church which nurtured her and helped her to grow in her faith. "I have always felt that God has been extraordinarily gracious to me in saving me," Keren says. "His abundant grace has given me a desire to reach others with the gospel and teach them the Scriptures. In addition, because of my negative upbringing, I have had a heart for people who are hurting and struggling."
With their passion for the global church mission, Chris has a vibrant church-based teaching ministry, while Keren has on-the-ground experience in foreign missions. She spent two years in training at the Center for Pioneer Church Planting to further prepare her for serving God overseas and had several short-term trips, including one to Uganda. Their desire to marry included the realization that they could better serve God as a married couple than as single individuals. Pray that Christ would remain uppermost in their affections in the midst of the busyness of preparing for their monumental life change in moving to Zambia, and pray that their marriage would be strengthened through it.
 | | Ray Warwick |
They learned about ACU through Chris's uncle, Ray Warwick, who is in Zambia serving as Academic Dean of ACU. The more they learned about it, the more it seemed that this was a perfect fit for how God fashioned them and the desires He has planted in their hearts. Chris anticipates serving as one of the teachers/mentors in the Scholars Program. In addition to a support role for her husband, Keren possesses good office and computer skills, which will be a great asset for the university and for her husband's work. Chris and Keren are looking forward to developing relationships with the African students and discipling them in the Christian faith to live out of a biblical worldview. Pray that God would equip them in wisdom and skill.
Leaving their church and family will be the greatest challenge for them. They attend a small and very close-knit church filled with people whom they greatly love and have been part of their lives for over 20 years. They have moved out of their house into a one-bedroom apartment while they make preparations to leave. Please seek God that He would make provision, financial and otherwise, for them to have everything done in order to be able to make the transition by the time the first ACU class begins.
 | | Chris and Keren Hays |
They continue to pray earnestly for the salvation of their children and grandchildren, intensifying the difficulty of leaving. The Lord has persuaded their hearts, though, that He is worth these light and momentary sacrifices. Please pray for God's abundant grace in selling most of their possessions and letting go of many of the creature comforts. Chris says, "While it doesn't feel now like this will be a problem, I have no doubt that I am far more materialistic than I am aware."
God uses every humble servant who walks in the fear of the Lord. We thank God for the willingness of Chris and Keren to come serve Christ with their talents through ACU.
|
|
 
The ACU Prayer Update Team
African Christian University-USA
|
|
|
| Matters for Prayer
Did you realize that there are at least 50 people serving (or soon to be serving) on the ACU team as missionaries, volunteers or paid workers? Would you join us in praying for each of them?
There are 2 Zambian pastors central to the success and promotion of ACU: Conrad Mbewe and Ronald Kalifungwa.
There are 7 missionary families who are moving toward or already serving with ACU: Ken & Lisa Turnbull, David & Terri Wegener, Ray & Peggy Warwick, Chris & Keren Hays, Carlos & Dianna Paul, Bert & Nancy Williams and Gilbert Nigh.
There are 2 Zambian managers, one volunteer and one who will be salaried: Watson Lumba and Billy Sichone.
There are 9 volunteers (8 Zambian and one South African) preparing for construction work and permit applications: Phillip Chibuta, Mishek Daka, Chibesa Mulenga, Mutinta Sichali, Charles Stephenson, Chilewa Kampeshi, Charity Mundia, Bumango Musando and Johan Pretorius.
There are 7 Zambian servant-leaders on the Board of Directors of ACU: John Chundu, Amos Banda, Ivor Chilufya, Patricia Kumwenda, Majumo Khunga, Isaac Makashinyi and Gen. Moses Phiri.
There are 4 servant-leaders supporting ACU from South Africa through ACU-RSA: Irving Steggles, Mike Stolk, Hein Strauss and Trevor Thompson.
There are 4 servant-leaders supporting ACU from the United States through ACU-USA: Ken Bennett, Dan Chittock, Dan Pentimone and Theodore Tripp.
There are 6 others serving ACU abroad, 5 in the USA and one in South Africa. Two help with ACU's website, three employees include a bookkeeper and two who help with this monthly Prayer Update: a graphic artist who formats it and a journalist who will help with Spotlight articles. There is also an editor for the Prayer Update in South Africa. These are: Tony Barmann, Grant Yost, Rebekah Martin, Rachel Shapiro, Heather Adams and Jean Davis.
There are 3 other volunteers assisting in the USA, one who will help with ACU support development, one media specialist who will produce ACU videos and one helping with ACU donors: Ron Thomas, Tim Connor and Linda Woodward.
|
 |
|
Matters of Praise
We know that God has called upon each of the 50 laborers already noted to serve Him through ACU. We thank Him for equipping them and faithfully providing for all of their needs. We also thank God for many who have served Him with ACU in the past, including these 8 servants: Wayne Kellogg, John Latour, Logan Nyasulu, Victor Nakah, Jonathan Frey, Ron Zuercher, Bruce Button and Jenny Fuller. How mightily God has provided! |
Print this Update
|
Seeking Help
Do you have experience that would equip you to oversee campus construction projects at ACU? Please contact us or forward this request to someone who you may know that might serve with us as a construction project manager.
If you have books of all types in any academic disciplines, but particularly those emphasizing a Christian worldview, please consider if you might be in a position to donate towards ACU's library. Email: [email protected]
|
|
Links
 | | A Letter From Kabwata |
 | |
African Donations
|
|
|
