Bye Bye Butterflies

Today, I had the incredible experience of preaching at a church in the slums of Nairobi. One of the normal speakers was absent and they asked me to fill in. Since I am by no means a “preacher,” a wave of nerves and fear hit me the minute they asked. However, I decided that I needed to conquer this fear and just do it. So I agreed to fill in.

I want to tell you first about the church. It is the Made in the Streets church in Eastleigh, the place where all of our street evangelism takes place. This includes all our outreach to kids, adults, mothers, fathers, grandfathers- really anyone on the street that we come across. On Sundays, the center is turned into a church welcoming any and all people to come worship, as they are. My first time at this church was months ago, and I go at least once a month; however, every time I go I’m constantly in awe. The “members” are people straight off of the street in their torn and dirty clothing. They stumble in on their high or drunkenness and come to praise. I can’t describe the smell- it is unpleasant, yet completely pleasant at the same time…because it is so real.

This is how a church ought to be, am I wrong? It is to be a place where anyone is welcome, in any stage of their Christianity, in any form of clothing, without stuck-up and non-Biblical tradition ruling the hierarchy of church government. No one is wearing a suit, a collared shirt or even a polo unless that is the only piece of clothing they own. Even if they do have “nicer” clothes, they are covered in dirt and garbage juice to the extent of ruin. Most members are missing teeth, are physically shaking due to their long-term drug use side effects, are sleeping because they are coming off their high or maybe up dancing in the aisle because they are still on their high. It really is a beautiful sight when you think about it deeper than its first appearance.

So here I am, a white guy from middle Tennessee going up to share the Word in a part of the church's series on the Gospel of Luke. I preached on Luke 2 and the fact that Jesus was born in humble beginnings. He beat his surroundings to become the King of Kings and to be seated at the throne next to God. I encouraged the churchgoers that they too could beat their surroundings because there is hope in Jesus Christ. In the middle of my lesson, the translator asked me to stop so that he could get the people to all stand up. We sang “Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes” in order to wake up the majority of the congregation due to their detoxing. I had to smile. Getting interrupted during a speech can be a nightmare- here it was comforting.

Now I don’t know how many of them will remember a single word that I spoke. Some of it I’m sure was lost in translation from my English to the translator's Swahili. A lot of them slept through the whole thing (except for during the head and shoulders game). However, what God said to me was not lost in translation. This was the first time in all of my public speaking that I did not feel one bit of nerves. Not even for one second did I feel nervousness. I wrote the devotional the day before and had only read it once- an unusual practice for when I’m public speaking. I usually run through it a couple of times in my room or to a friend before I speak publicly. Now I’m giving a message of Christ to a bunch of Kenyans who are high/drunk coming the streets, in a different language than they understand, with minimal practice- and I wasn't nervous. When I finished, I felt accomplished. I had defeated any fear or worry that was placed in me with the initial request of my speaking. God had delivered me.

The only reason why I think this happened is because I was “preaching the Truth,” literally (capitalization on purpose). I was speaking about the power of a Savior who by no means came into this world as royalty. I had nothing to worry about because I was and still am secure in the Gospel of Jesus in every moment. What do we have to be nervous about when we are talking about the One who gives life, the One who loves unconditionally, the One who invests in us, the One who shows us grace and mercy, the One who wakes us up in the morning and puts us to sleep at night, the One who paints the prettiest skies and the One who is hope.

All this to say, I am thankful to have a church that I can go to where tradition is torn down- raw Christianity at its finest. I’m also thankful that I got to be play an active part of it today by sharing a little bit about a very special baby in a manger.

Rep. By Keb