Message from Africa: ‘Stand firm’
By Parker T. Williamson, The Layman Online, June 17, 2005
EDINA, Minn. – “I was reading the Epistle to the Hebrews where it speaks of Abraham and other persons of great faith leaving their land,” said Dr. David Githii, moderator of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa. “Scripture says that if those people had been thinking of the country from which they came, they might have returned to it. But they did not, because they longed for a better country, a heavenly one. When I read that, something clicked in my mind.” David Githii
That “click” was Githii’s recollection that missionaries left Scotland and America in the 1920s to take up residence in Kenya. “They came to us. They lived and died with us. They preached the Gospel to us.”
“Before that time, we were ‘the Dark Continent.’ Our people prayed to different gods. They were praying to Mount Kenya [as if it were a god]. They did not know Jesus Christ. Your missionaries brought us the gospel and a book, the Word of God.”
Many tribes inhabit Kenya. Through the work of Wycliffe Bible Translators and others, each tribe has the Bible in its own tongue. Githii expressed profound gratitude for this widespread access to the Word of God. He said that his people thrive on it.
‘God’s Word does not change’
But, he said, it is precisely that love of the Scriptures that has caused them such concern over their relationship with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Referring to II Thessalonians, which speaks of foreign ideas that poisoned the minds of believers, Githii church officials in the United States who have blessed sinful sexual practices. “God’s Word does not change,” he said. “We do not listen to these people.”
Githii lamented the arrogance that he sees among Presbyterian Church (USA) leaders and others in the West who may have once loved the Word of God but now do not obey it. “Spiritual life in the West has been diluted,” he said. “We Africans speak of God every day, many times a day. We believe in divine intervention. But Western thinking allows little place for God. Why is this? We see divine intervention every day and say ‘praise God.” You see it and say ‘it is coincidence.’ There is no ‘coincidence.’ If it were not for the Lord, these things would not have happened!”
Vows are sacred
Referring to the refusal of Presbyterian Church (USA) leaders to obey their ordination vows, he said “We wonder what happened to the vows that your people take. Even elders and deacons, forget their ordination vows. When you take a vow, this is serious. God hears the vow. It is better not to take a vow than to take one and not fulfill it.”
Githii said it appeared to him that many people in the West have replaced Biblical truth with their own ideas. Referring to Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he said “You foolish Galatians, are you so foolish to think that you can do this by human effort? We are praying that the Lord will deliver the church from such things.”
Githii said he believes the American problem is not with the Book of Order. “The problem is spiritual,” he said. The Word of God is not in your heart. You have filled your heart with other things. The Bible says that marriage is for one man and one woman. You have to agree with the Bible. You cannot say, “I know more than the Bible.”
The power problem
Weaver places his hands on Githii’s head and thanks the Lord for faithful moderator.“There is the attitude here that says, ‘I am the one who has the power. I am the one who has the money. That was the attitude [Paul talked about] in Romans. The people claimed to be wise, but they became fools and exchanged God for images. Men lie with men and women with women. They did abominable things.”
“It surprised me one day when one of your leaders came to my office and said that what they do in National Capital Presbytery and Detroit [bless homoerotic relationships] is a small thing. They don’t know the Bible, and that is not a small thing.”
Githii said that Presbyterians of East Africa don’t have much money or power, but they are praying for Presbyterians in the United States. “God sends those who are powerless to save those who are powerful. We pray your minds will empty the spirit of individualism and the political and be open to God, that your ideas will be replaced by the living Word of God.”
Githii said that in his land, where there are huge refugee problems, poverty and danger, people understand that they are vulnerable and they need God. This understanding is more difficult for Western people, and especially for Americans, he said. “But 9/11 told you that in spite of your might, you also are very vulnerable, and you need God. Where there is suffering, we turn to God more.”
Spiritual warfare
Because people in the West are less attuned to spiritual things, Presbyterians in America may not know the enemy, said Githii. “The Presbyterian Church does not understand spiritual warfare. There are spiritual forces of evil and you have to stand firm … You must receive the Word of God and the Holy Spirit will come. You cannot worship God without the Holy Spirit. You cannot keep him out in the corridor. You cannot tighten your lips. He will make you kneel … and he will make you strong.”
Githii ended his address thanking Presbyterians who supported him in Richmond, Va. where he was shunned by denominational leaders during the General Assembly meeting. He said that his decision to cut off relations with National Capital and Detroit Presbyteries had been costly for his people, but he insisted that in obedience to the Gospel, “Africa will not compromise.”
The New Wineskins audience responded to his presentation with a standing ovation. Then Rev. Dean Weaver placed his hands on Githii’s head and thanked the Lord for this faithful moderator and his people not only because of their witness in East Africa, but for returning the Gospel to their brothers and sisters in the United States.