a Linguistic take on Discipleship

The world of our experience must be enormously simplified and generalized before it is possible to make a symbolic inventory of all our experiences of things and relations, and this inventory is imperative before we can convey ideas. -Edward Sapir

To put simply the words of Sapir, words are poor communicators. In the context of discipling and mentoring we have to remember that there is no substitute for bringing someone along side you as you live your life. I am all for meetings and conversations, but lets not make this a substitute for real life shared. To teach someone to obey Christ we much use our lives as the medium. We have to know that true discipleship true Christlike discipleship is about time and experience. This is why Jesus came. The prophets had been teaching about Jesus for hundreds of years but man did not truly know Jesus until he came to live with us.  

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. -John 1:14

The people we disciple/mentor need to see us about the work of God. We need to give them something to see. Something that they can model their lives after. This cannot be done over Skype or email. These are great ways to communicate but not the best. So, make yourself available to those who need you and your words. Yes, this takes time but it seems like this is how God planned it! Our example has to be complete. Our words explain our lives and our lives expound our words. May we never say, "do as I say, not as I do." My generation has had enough of that. We see through the lie. We have to say with Paul:

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. -I Cor 11:1

only then will our words have strength. Only then can we move the church out of the mire of hypocrisy. We know the words of Christ were true because his life proved their worth. Now, we are not Christ and we will fall, but we must get back up as we follow the example of Christ and show others how to return to the truths we teach.
  

The Birth of a Church

Dhel is strong even for a Dinka. He is broad through the shoulders and sets upon a set of powerful legs. The traditional marks on his forehead tell an untold story of cattle keeping, raids, and skirmishes fought with other tribes that inhabit the swamps of Warrap. His early youth as a cattle keeper came to an end and the season to take a wife had come. 

Dhel choose a young woman as strong as him. She told him he would make a good husband but he was lacking one thing. He had no training in the Word of God. She made this a requisite to her entering his home. With his new inspiration, Dhel came to our training. Bob and Nancy Calvert had traveled to Kuajok to teach our young leaders how to communicate the stories from the word of God and plant a church. After a week’s training Dhel returned home to Oun-Abyei. There he began to tell the stories he had just learned. The people liked the stories and many came to hear. The Dinka Rek do not yet have the Old Testament translated into their language; for most, this was the first time to here the story of creation, Abraham, and Noah. Upon hearing these stories more than thirty believed for the first time the truths of Gods Word. 

The next Friday Moses came the my house and said, “Robert, there is now a church in Oun-Abyei.” The following Sunday Moses and I went to see this young church. We appointed leaders and saw the baptism of 35 Dinka Rek who are now identified as followers of Christ. 

Pray for the new church in Oun-Abyei. 

Now starts the persecution.   

Update On The Current Meandering of the Lanes

These past few months have been a challenge. Our lives are lived in the pendulum of extremes. Our difficult times are brutal and our good times are elating. This is part of who we are. I will go back and unpack a few of these events in subsequent posts but for now I am wanting to catch you up on where we are in reverse order. So make a cup of coffee and enjoy the next four minutes. 
We are currently in Johannesburg, South Africa for meetings with our organizations. Jo'burg is cold and we have been loving the chill. Shep on the other hand is concerned with the temperatures. We attempted to condition this equatorial child to the cooler weather by placing him in our freezer three times a day (this last fact is completely untrue). 
Shep has enjoyed the interaction with the other kids. He loves to stand in the midst of the playground and watch the others play. I find this interesting because in Sudan the roles are reversed and the local children generally watch him play. The children here all speak english and my son speaks an odd form of pidgin gibberish, but he has encountered little trouble in the making of friends. 

Our travel to South Africa was nothing short of an adventure. We had planed to make the drive to Wau and catch a flight, but the plane had a mechanical issues and our tickets were canceled. Maridith went into overdrive finding an alternate means of travel. The most efficient option would be to charter a small plane. The least would be to travel by foot, but we estimated this would take six years and we would need to travel with a small militia, which was available for a price. After some discussion we opted to give the boys a raincheck and travel by air, which makes for a less interesting story, it was a good flight nonetheless. I found Juba calm and after tasting the pizza–the best in the country–I understood the abundance of soldiers on the streets. The next day we traveled on to Nairobi and then to Entebbe. Entebbe is a happy place where Mrs. Renee had prepared the most delicious of meals centered around a tender pig. Still after all these years pork takes me home. Being southerner we love pork and I guess if I had to be cast out of the body of a man, I too would choose the body of a swine (please don't think on that for too long). 
Ok, where was I? Yes, Sudan. We labored in Kuajok for only a short time before we saw many lives changed. We had the privilege of hosting Bob and Nancy Calvert last month. Bob led a training for local church leaders and planters. Nancy led the teaching for the women. It was an excited time for us all and a landmark in the work with the Dinka. I will introduce you to one young man named Dhel and the young church he planted in his home...Shoot I got to go. Stay t(y)uned and I will get his story up asap. 
-Much Love