10 Famous South Africans

1. Nelson Mandela
2. Charlize Theron
3. Christiaan Barnard
4. Elon Musk
5. Gary Player
6. Jody Sheckter
7. Desmond Tutu
8. J M Coetzee
9. Hugh Masekela
10. Miriam Makeba
(Prompted by my recent trip)

South Africa 2019

As you may know, I was in South Africa recently. I was there February 28 to March 12. The main reason for being there was to speak in African Pastors Conferences. I did something similar back in 2016.
The APCs were the idea of the late Erroll Hulse and Irving Steggles, pastor of Birchleigh Baptist Church, Kempton Park, Johannesburg. The idea is to gather African pastors together two day conferences where the main subjects are Reformed theology and pastoral practice. The conferences are aimed chiefly at black pastors with no Reformed background. Beginning in South Africa they have spread to several other African countries, including Swaziland, Lesotho, Kenya and Nigeria.

This time round I shared the ministry with Pastor Barnabas Olare from Mombasa, Kenya. There were four conferences altogether, two in Eastern Cape and two in Western Cape, over a three week period. As I couldn't be away three Sundays I missed the first in Mthatha, where Pastor Barnabas was joined by a Xhosa speaking Afrikaaner. The first conference turned out to be the best attended.

I flew first to Johannesburg, where I stayed with Irving. At lunch time I went with Irving and Peter and Gayle, members of his church who deal with the books and much else in connection with APCs. I led the usual midweek evening Bible study at his house the day I arrived, looking at James 1. I was sorry not to get to see fromer seminary students Thapelo Mpai and Sihle Xulu. The next day I flew down to coastal Port Elizabeth, about an hour away by plane.

There I joined the team, which consisted of Cabelo Makgabo, Sonwabile Gobololo and Pastor Barnabas. We drove back east to Grahamstown, Eastern Cape. Grahamstown changes its name to Makhanda soon. It is an early site of British immigration, sometimes known as Settlers Town. There are many donkeys there for some reason. It has the country's earliest Baptist Church (it was there long before us). This is where we held what was my first two day conference (Friday, Saturday, March 1, 2). I gave five papers and Barnabas four, They were all translated by a very capable pastor's wife. We also had a question and answer session with good questions on the Trinity, the Bible and Ephesians 4:11. It is the first time such a conference has been held there and the turn out was not overwhelming. The men were mostly from what are called Zionist Churches and they were keen to learn. We stayed in a nearby township home, which was okay except that there was a drought in the area so water was at a premium. The other problem with accommodation was that they did not know we planned to stay so long so we had to move out. We moved to another township home but there was something of a mix up so we had to hastily exit late at night and were thankful to find refuge in a local hotel. There was water there but no electricity at first.

On the Lord's Day we attended a township gathering in a marquee, where an archbishop was being ordained. I've attended a Zionist church before. They put a big African drum in the middle of the room with a group of youngsters with chairs around the outside for older folk and clergy types. There's a lot of singing and plenty of liturgical material. Most of the congregation wear a uniform (common in South Africa). The clergy like to dress in exotic clothing. I was given opportunity to preach a short message in translation (on Romans 6:23). It was a long service but we were taken to eat as it drew to a close. The beef was very tasty. I heard the animal was killed the day before.

In the evening we went to the Baptist Church. The congregation was a little mixed racially and contained mostly students from nearby Rhodes University. Three women led the worship which was rather drippy I thought. The church has two pastors but as they had been away with the students neither of felt up to preaching so they played a video instead - Steve Lawson on God's wisdom. The pastors (Dirk Coetzee and Brian Marx) seemed quite good sorts.

*

The next day we headed west for George. We were again accommodated in a township home, with a nice multi-generational family, which was fine. The conference (Tuesday, Wednesday, March 4, 5) was held in a wooden hut nearby where a Zionist church meets. Again this was a new venture and, sadly, numbers were very low. We dropped one talk and the question time. While in George we visited lovely Victoria Bay, which has a lovely sandy beach and is a haunt for surfers and fishermen.

*

Next day, Thursday March 6, we carried on west along the coast towards Cape Town. From just before George we were in tourist country and it was nice to see baboons on the road at one point and to realise there were several tourist attractions all along the way. We arrived at the township of Khayelitsha in the evening and were again looked after very well by a pastor and his multi-generational family. The trouble here was an excess of insect life but it was not too bad. As in other places, there was a large TV (everyone has a satellite dish) and it was always on. The two day conference was held at a very nice church called Goodwood Baptist Church in Cape Town itself. The pastor there is a South African called Martin Drysdale. He was very nice and definitely Reformed. Again only a small number came to the conference but these were all pastors with a good theological education and we were able to speak in English, which made things a whole lot easier. It was nice to meet an American professor from nearby Kalk Bay Bible Institute. We had a very good and lengthy question and answer time at the end.

On the Sunday we were again at a Zionist church in the morning. They met in a real tin shack but are trying to build a new building. Pastor Barnabas preached an excellent sermon in translation and we took communion. We were invited to the pastor's house following the meeting for lunch. Before that I was able to watch two programmes on the God Channel, one from the USA (Jerry Saville - probably more dangerous than Jimmy Saville) one from East London, RSA (youth pastor Brad Teberer spoke). The prosperity gospel is alive and well and being preached in South Africa. In the afternoon we did a little sightseeing in Cape Town, which was fun.

In the evening we were at Goodwood, where a good number gathered to hear deacon Jaco de Beer. A little band led the worship using Keith Getty type songs. Mr de Beer introduced Amos and it was a little Bible study like but he realised that and that counts for a lot. It was good to have fellowship after with the members and young people, including a Welshman and a man who lived in Cardiff for a year. Numbers in Cape Town were greater than in Grahamstown.

It then took us two days to drive back to Johannesburg, stopping en route in Colesberg. I was in good time to head back home late that evening.

*

Conclusions
1. RSA is very big, enormous

2. There is a lot of poverty

3. There is a measure of harmony and freedom there and great opportunity

4. There is a lot of evangelical religion but much of it misguided

5. The opportunities for good influence are vast

6. The APCs is one way this can be brought about

7. A feature of the conferences is the sale of good books at very low prices. This also has an impact.

Lord's Days March 3 and 10 2019

Before I write up on last Lord's Day I want to try and catch up with March 3 and 10 when I was away in South Africa (report to follow). Steve Mitchell (as mentioned) was here the first Sunday and two students from the seminary the second. As for me, the first Lord's Day I was in Grahamstown (sometimes known as Settler Town and soon to become Makhanda) Eastern Cape, and the second in Cape Town, Western Cape.

On March 3 in the morning we attended a gathering in a township somewhere near Grahamstown where the ordaining of a Zionist Archbishop was taking place. A marquee had been raised to accommodate the folk from several different congregations had gathered for this occasion. Zion involves a strange mix of high church dress and a formal liturgy combined with the singing of spiritual songs to the beat of a big African drum. Everything was in Xhosa but we had some idea of what was going on and I was invited to preach a short sermon (from Romans 6:23) towards the end. We were then invited for food, which was very tasty as the cow had been killed the previous day.

In the evening we attended what was for me a more regular church (and made up mainly of white people), Grahamstown Baptist, the oldest Baptist church in the country (older than Childs Hill). There three ladies (two with guitars) led us singing songs I mostly did not recognise and then as the pastors had taken the young people away there was a video instead of the live sermon - Steve Lawson on the wisdom of God. We enjoyed chatting after with the pastors Dirk Coetzee and Brian Marx from Zimbabwe.

On March 11 I had a similar day only in Cape Town, Western Cape.  We began at another Zionist church in a township. This was a more regular service but included communion where 24 took part. I don't think I have had wafers before, though I have had port or whatever it was. Typically, the pastor kindly asked us back to his home to eat. Very kind. Again, in the evening we attended the BU church - Goodwood Baptist Church. The pastor there is Martin Drysdale and the preacher that night was Jaco de Beer. A little band led the worship using Getty type numbers. He introduced Amos and it was a little Bible study like but he realised that and that counts for a lot. It was good to have fellowship after with the members and young people, including a Welshman and a man who lived in Cardiff for a year. Numbers in Cape Town were greater than in Grahamstown.

Wales beat South Africa

Wales beat South Africa 29-11 and so win their fourth of four this Autumn and complete a nine match run of victories, the most consecutive wins this century. Brilliant! Great game well reffed.

"Day off" Week 39

The luxury of a day off is not always possible and so it has proved this week. What I did was to stagger it across Monday Tuesday - not ideal but better than nothing. I had hospital visits (just tests) on both days and those took up a chunk of time as did a visit to Kensington to pick up a visa for a forthcoming trip. One good thing was that the fitbit 1000 steps were easily achieved and more on both days. Otherwise, I did some reading (Nobel winner J M Coetzee's 1999 Booker prize winning novel Disgraced is a bit tawdry in its subject matter but well written and thought provoking with regards to South Africa and the wider world) and put together a Billy bookcase over in my study and watched the latest episodes of Vanity Fair (excellent) and Strangers (not so hot) as well as doing some blogging. Interleaved with all this was the beginnings of sermon preparation and a basic Bible study on the Tuesday night (only one person extra made it). Coffee and crossword puzzles also had their place as ever.

Another win for Wales

Wales 27 South Africa 13. Still far from perfect but another win means that on paper at least this has been a pretty good run of games, indeed the best in the Autumn for some time (since 2002).

Slave by Lucky Dube

I came across this interesting reggae song from South Africa recently. Apparently Rastafarian Dube was murdered in 2007 in Johannesburg by carjackers. He was 43.

10 Fontein places in South Africa

Cariboe55, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

A fontein is a fountain

1. Aalwynsfontein, Northern Cape (Alwyn's)

2. Bapsfontein, Gauteng

3. Biesiesfontein, Western Cape (Busy's)

4. Bitterfontein, Western Cape (Bitter)

5. Bloemfontein, Free State (Flower)

6. Jagersfontein, Free State (Hunter's)

7. Koffiefontein, Free State (Coffee)

8. Randfontein, Gauteng (Edge)

9. Stilfontein, North west (Silent)

10. Yzerfontein, Western Province (Yzer's)

Others - Bultfontein, Free State (Hill); Springfontein, Free State (Spring); Matjiesfontein, Western Cape (Matjie's).

Provinces of South Africa plus Lesotho

1. Eastern Cape (Capital B[h]isho, largest city Port Elizabeth)
2. Free State (Bloemfontein)
3. Gauteng (Johannesburg)
4. KwaZulu-Natal (Capital Pietermaritzburg, largest city Durban)
5. Limpopo (Polokwane (Pietersburg))
6. Mpumalanga (Nelspruit)
7. North West (Mahikeng (Mafikeng), largest city Rustenburg)
8. Northern Cape (Kimberley)
9. Western Cape (Cape Town)
10. Lesotho (Maseru) an independent kingdom landlocked by South Africa

The 10 countries of Southern Africa

1. Angola
2. Botswana
3. Lesotho
4. Malawi
5. Mozambique
6. Namibia
7. South Africa
8. Swaziland
9. Zambia
10. Zimbabwe

Midweek Meeting October 19 2016

Seven of us gathered last night for our midweek meeting. I simply reported back on my trip to South Africa, which I hope was edifying. I put together four little films, which I hope to put on Youtube soon. These were a fair reflection of the experience I hope - lots of time on the road, some fun times, plenty of singing and one or two unusual meetings. We had a good time of prayer to follow. There is always a lot to pray about. (The above picture was taken in Mooi River and features a ewe and a two week old lamb. One of my subjects at the conferences was The pastor as shepherd).

Lord's Day October 9 2016 Plus

Today I preached in Queenstown Baptist, South Africa, where Michael Watson is the minister. The church is a modern building and the congregation was around sixty, a good mix age and ethnicity wise. The worship group (synthesised piano, acoustic guitar and drum kit with two voices) was louder than what I had experienced the previous week but not over the top (the drummer could keep time too). We sang five or six numbers projected on to the screen. I knew none of them but the words were quite acceptable. Apart form one or two extras the only other element was my preaching. I chose to preach on 1 John 3:1-3 and it seemed to go well. It was nice to meet some of the congregation over coffee afterwards.

I then headed out into the country with my host here to Lady Frere and the Zionist church there, where a special service was in full swing. The Zionists like to dress up and to use the big African drum and to do a sort of dance. Despite that many of them appreciate the truth and when we finally got through all the rigmarole (all in Xhosa) we had a testimony from my friend Sihle Xulu and a sermon from Nico Van Zyl that was excellent and much appreciated. After that my host and I prayed over the sick and needy (not something I have ever done before).

The Sunday before I had been in Mooi River Baptist Church where Clinton Stone is the pastor. They again had a praise band first (two acoustic guitars and an electric piano). Someone led, including a prayer, and I preached. They also chose a good hymn to finish with. I preached on Isaiah 57:5 and that went okay too.

More from South Africa

I do hope to give a full report in this trip to South Africa when I get back to London. Meanwhile, I am currently based in Queenstown where I have been speaking at an APC (African Pastor's Conference). The two days went well with good attendance, good messages and a good question time. I am preaching in the Baptist Church tomorrow. We then head off to Bloemfontein for the final APC I'm doing here on Tuesday, Wednesday. The previous conferences were in Estcourt (one day) followed by preaching in Mooi River and East London (three days) where the numbers dipped a bit. Picture shows me with Sihle Xulu and a man who has just received his certificate at Estcourt.

In South Africa

I am currently travelling around South Africa preaching to pastors in APCs (African Pastors Conferences). I arrived on September 30. Do pray for me. I am here until October 13.

Brave Wales Pipped

Wales gave of their best but sadly giving away too many penalties finished us. 23-19 to South Africa.

Celebrating Sundays

Day One have just brought out an excellently produced magazine style booklet Celebrating Sundays. The author is Jonathan Holdt from South Africa. Son of Martin, when Jonathan and Adele were at LTS they worshipped here with us. I've bought several for the congregation here and would like to commend it to others too.

Notes on holiness 01

Speaking to the students the other day I began with this newspaper story about an incident that occurred in 1995 just to get thtme thinking.

Workman strangles attacking leopard

by Ray Kennedy

A drill operator who was attacked at a mineral exploration site in the Kalahari Desert by a leopard fought back against the animal and eventually strangled it.
Frik van Heerden, 35, nursing painful bites and scratches at his home in Bothaville in South Africa’s Free State province described the attack 10 days ago deep in Botswana. He said he was walking the short distance from his caravan home to another trailer used as an office ‘when I heard a noise and spun round. As I did so, a leopard pounced on me.’
His shouts alerted his wife, Alta and their two young sons, but they could do nothing to help as Mr van Heerden wrestled for his life.
‘I punched and fought with it but I could not get it off me’ he said. ‘I did not know what I was doing but I suppose the survival instinct took over. Somehow I managed to grab its throat and eventually I felt it go limp. I had strangled it’
Mrs van Heerden radioed for help and her husband was flown by helicopter to hospital in Gaborone, the Botswanan capital He will be returning to work soon.
Leopards, known as silent killers, are solitary beasts and regarded as among the most dangerous by wildlife experts. They circle their prey and attack from behind. The animal that attacked Mr van Heerden probably was attracted to the family’s camp by the smell of food.

(You may wonder what that story has to do with the subject of holiness. All will become clear as we proceed I trust.)