In Africa, the lack of resources available for education, coupled with traditional beliefs and practices, leads to misunderstandings of the Living Word.
From the congregational level to the national church body, an overwhelming need exists for basic doctrinal teaching for Lutheran pastors and evangelists.
Martin Luther in his preface to the Large Catechism, urged pastors and laity to give themselves to the daily meditation on the chief parts, or the ABCs of the Christian faith:
- the 10 commandments
- the Creed
- the Lord’s Prayer
- the Sacrament of Baptism
- Confession and Absolution
- the Sacrament of the Altar
- Daily Prayers, and the Table of Duties.
His exhortation was to “teach the devil to death”.
“Teach the Devil to Death”
To that end, I have been teaching a spiritual formation process the past two weeks at the Lutheran School of Theology (the training center of Lutherans In Africa).
I created a course called The Receptive Life. It is a distinctly Lutheran spiritual “cruci-formation” process that is rooted in the Scriptures, anchored in the weekly Divine Service, and framed by the chief parts of Martin Luther’s Small Catechism.
The teaching modules and accompanying resources of the course help nurture the personal spiritual life of the men studying to become pastors and equip them with practical tools for cultivating a vibrant devotional life.
Through Scriptural and Christ centered content, simple and practical step-by-step frameworks, and a return to and a daily repetition of the Christ centered spiritual disciplines of the Christian faith, the students are learning how to …
- defend themselves against the “unholy trinity” (the devil, the world, the sinful flesh) with the promises and work of Jesus
- fight the spiritual forces of evil with the “sword of the Spirit” (the Scriptures)
- and rest and receive all of the gifts that only the Triune God can give
The devil is called the master of a thousand arts. But what shall we call God’s Word, which drives away and brings to naught this master of a thousand arts with all his arts and power? It must indeed be the master of more than a hundred thousand arts.
Martin Luther, Large Catechism, Introduction, paragraph 12
If you would like to work through the same resources that the African students are using, you can access all of the materials below.
Video Vlog Update
Here’s a brief video about the mission of Lutherans in Africa and its Lutheran School of Theology. By God’s grace the goal of the school and all of its ministry is to “teach the devil to death” and …
… to form African Lutherans to be teachers of the faith.
Sign Up for Updates
If you would like to follow along with our trip and time in Africa, you can sign up for email updates in the buttons below. When the videos are created, I’ll send them directly to your inbox.
I also wanted to provide you with a way to sign up for the Lutherans in Africa email updates as well. You can access both in the buttons below.
Thank you again for your generous support, encouragement, prayers and many kindnesses.
We’ll commend all into His hands. Come what may, we do belong to Jesus!
If you would like to continue to support the Missionary at Large position through East Bethlehem you can either give a charitable donation by check or through electronic giving. Here’s a link that will give you more information … Support Missionary at Large (here).