Ridgell's Originals

Just returned last week from Malawi. Great trip. over 250 preachers, elders, deacons and their wives spent two days in leadership training. Over 300 teenagers came to a youth rally and over 1500 showed up for an evangelistic event. And most of them walked, some up to two hours each way. Sure makes it hard to complain about traffic.

Our luggage showed up five days after we did. Being an experienced traveler, I had carried an extra pair of boxers in my carry-on. So it was wear one, wash one for almost one week. And the wardrobe selection was pretty easy. Janis Joplin was right: "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose..."

I didn't worry about what to wear, I didn't have options. Life was simpler, easier, and I did survive. Maybe less is more.

The other thing that really struck me during the training were the questions. They are the same ones I get when I do leadership training in the States. The topics resonated just as much in Malawi as they do in Texas: how to guard against sin in our personal lives, how to restore fallen leaders, how to confront sin among the flock, and how to get along when we disagree over various doctrinal issues. The sin issues were much the same: sex, greed, alcohol, pride., and gossip. Same things we face here. The doctrinal issues were amazingly similar also: disputes over how to worship and how you handle disagreements, including what to do when another church or preacher condemns something your congregation allows. Glad we don't have that problem in the States. :)

So I was reminded that people all over the world are the same, we face the same struggles, and the church everywhere deals with the same issues. And the answer to all our problems and issues remain the same: Jesus and his death, burial, and resurrection.