He had been born into a well-off family and he went to Eton College before going on to King’s College, Cambridge. It was here that he was converted around Easter time in 1779. On his arrival, he discovered that he was expected to take part in Holy Communion only three weeks later. This filled him with dread and he set about preparing for it by reading all the books he could find. It was thus that he became convinced of his unfitness to partake and was led to Christ.

The rest of his life, eminently interesting and worthy of careful attention, was devoted to his parish and also many and varied causes. Many students were influenced by him. These young men, called ‘Simeonites’ or ‘Sims’, were the forerunners of the Cambridge, and then national and even international, Christian unions. Many of them became evangelical Anglican clergymen. Simeon developed a system of expository preaching, based on a work by a Frenchman, Jean Claude, which became a model for the young men who surrounded him.

Simeon’s influence was not limited to Cambridge or even England. One student, Henry Martyn, is remembered as a vastly influential missionary to India and beyond. Simeon’s journeys around the country to preach took him to Scotland with striking long-term effects, including the conversion of the great missionary to India, Alexander Duff. Anxious that young preachers should not have to go through the same trials that he had, he set up The Simeon Trust, which, (strangely to non-conformist ears, but very effective) bought up ‘advowsons’ – the right to present a man to a vacant living. Thus the trustees could, and still do, ensure that evangelicals were placed in vacant, often strategic, parishes.

Theologically, Simeon worked according to what he called ‘the principle of balance’. He was adamant that the preacher must not distort the meaning of a text to make it fit into his system. This admirable principle, wrongly applied, led him to argue that there was a balance to be found between Calvinism and Arminianism. He seems to have been unaware that the elements of Arminianism that he wanted to include in his balance, such as ‘free agency’ and the reality of biblical warnings against apostasy, were already part of true Calvinism (as distinct from hyper-calvinism).

I just have one real reservation about this biography: the sub-title. Simeon was certainly a man of ‘extraordinary influence’, but an ‘ordinary pastor’ – never.

John Legg           

There is much about this approach which is both necessary and refreshing. And yet this book is bound to generate a good deal of discussion and even controversy. The traditional Reformed and Confessional definitions of righteousness, sin, justification and faith – weighty themes, all of them, not simply in Romans but in the entire framework of Christian truth – undergo various measures of recasting in the course of Dr Holland’s exegesis. The general shift in his thinking is from legal to covenantal categories. Sin, for example, is primarily understood not as the breaking of God’s commandments, but as the forsaking of the covenant relationship with God and entering into covenant with Satan. It may well be wondered whether there is a false dichotomy here. Parallel patterns can be witnessed in Dr Holland’s treatment of the other mighty themes handled in Romans. Though he seeks to put some distance between himself and the protagonists of the New Perspective on Paul and Justification – James Dunn and N.T.Wright – the trajectory and tendency of his arguments seems rather similar in places.

 Paul Yeulett

Challenges

Griffith John faced the task of learning the language of the people, a ‘colossal task’ as he himself referred to it. He had to master six thousand characters that were in constant use. Characters conveyed ideas that were the same in all dialects, but sounds differed from dialect to dialect. Before the end of 1856, Griffith John, with the help of one of the natives, was able to preach in the language of the people, and by 1857 was able to venture out alone to preach the gospel, just two years after leaving Wales.

When he arrived in Shanghai, the city and the surrounding areas were threatened by the Taiping rebels, who were anti-foreign, and advocating social reform. Some of the leaders had been influenced by Protestant missionaries, but the influence was overshadowed by other vague religious principles. For some time Griffith John had sympathy with the rebels, because they wanted to get rid of the tyrannical Manchu dynasty, and wanted to uproot idolatry. The rebels were, however, plundering the cities, and their leaders were living in luxury. Griffith John acknowledged that he had been wrong in showing sympathy towards the rebels.

Another danger, more dangerous than the threat of the rebels, was that of opium smoking. After the opening of some Chinese ports to foreign trade, opium smoking increased, and individuals and families suffered terribly. In the church context, Griffith John would not receive an opium smoker into membership. He found it difficult, however, to deal with a church member that was an opium smoker. Such a person would be advised to enter the LMS hospital, and if he did not stop taking the drug he would be excommunicated.

Transport was another matter that Griffith John had to consider seriously. He was working in a vast country, with beautiful countryside and huge cities. His mission involved miles of walking almost every day, and it is no wonder that the missionary always had a stick in his hand. On his travels he could be carried in a sedan chair, or take a boat on the rivers and lakes, some of them stretching for as long as thirty-five miles. And travelling through gorges could be hazardous. Many times, Griffith John and his co-workers were in peril of their lives.

The word of God

Having mastered the language, Griffith John settled down to translate the scriptures. Pioneering work had been done by Robert Morrison and William Marsham. Griffith John translated from the original, most of the time alone, although the opinion was growing at the time that translation work should be done by a panel. When the matter of the best text was discussed, Griffith John suggested that the text of the Revised Version should be used. He presented two basic principles of translation. When it was difficult to translate ‘ad verbum’ (word by word), the literal version should be forgotten, and the ‘ad sensum’ (the meaning), that is, what was later called ‘dynamic equivalent’, should be adopted. The other consideration was that a translator should keep in mind the genius of the language in which the version was made.

The translated word had to be proclaimed. This was Griffith John’s main reason for going to China, ‘We are here, not to develop the resources of the country, not for the advancement of civilization; but to do battle with the powers of darkness, to save men from sin, and conquer China for Christ.’ At the centre of his message was the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only means of reconciliation with God. As to the method of preaching, Griffith John could follow the traditional pattern of the long sermon without interruption, but he could also preach briefly and invite questions at the close of the sermon. His advice to fellow missionaries was, ‘Preach, Preach, Preach’. When there were conversions, he would, as soon as possible, establish a church. He was church-centred in his thinking. There was need also for preachers to preach the gospel. He helped potential preachers personally, but was not satisfied until a ministerial college was set up in 1899, in which he himself taught the New Testament and Pastoral Theology. Before the end of 1903, a new Divinity College was built, and dedicated in 1904. Preaching and educational work went hand in hand with philanthropy, especially the work with the hospital, in which both his first and second wife played such an important part. It was also a joy for Griffith John to see a hospital for lepers opened in 1895.

Pioneer 

Griffith John was a pioneer. In Hankow, he rejoiced at the first conversion in 1862; first chapel in 1863; first school in 1864, and the first hospital in 1866. He did not confine himself to Hankow, but itinerated in other areas. In 1868, in the company of Alexander Wylie, he journeyed for two thousand miles, preaching and distributing tracts on the way. The two provinces of Szechwan/Sichuan and Hunan, the most anti-foreign of the provinces, attracted Griffith John’s attention. During the first journey to Hunan, four hundred and sixty miles distant from Hankow, he and another missionary were bitterly opposed. During his journey in 1883, he was greeted with the cries of ‘beat’, ‘kill’, and was pelted with mud and stones, but Griffith John could rejoice, because he baptised thirteen converts. When he returned in 1899, 192 candidates were waiting to be baptised. His eleventh, and last visit was in 1904. He had persevered from 1883 until 1904, when Hunan was officially opened to the Christian faith. By this time, the LMS had three main stations with branches in thirteen counties, covering an area of thirteen thousand miles, with a population of four million. Griffith John had the privilege of not only sowing the seed but of enjoying the harvest as well.

Noel Gibbard is a member of Eglwys Efengylaidd Gymraeg, Cardiff, and author of ‘Griffith John: Apostle to Central China’ published by Bryntirion Press.

Firstly, she has served through the administrations of twelve prime ministers from Winston Churchill to David Cameron. Being a constitutional monarch she can, and does, advise but not legislate. She has a long experience and is therefore able to offer wise counsel which is valued by successive prime ministers who meet with her on a monthly basis. She also provides continuity and stability, whereas successive candidates for prime ministerial office emphasise what they will do differently should they be elected!

Secondly, the Queen and her family, in accepting the patronage of numerous charities, give these status and provide them with public acceptance. I speak here from personal experience as a trustee of Caring for Life whose patron is Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

Thirdly, despite the misguided perception of some critics of monarchy, the Queen exercises a remarkable stewardship of castles, residences, libraries, paintings, sculptures and manuscripts, unlike the practice in the United States where the outgoing incumbent seems to depart with the furniture of the White House. This country is the envy of the world for the riches which our monarchy has diligently preserved with the aid of experts in many fields.

Fourthly, the Queen, together with her supportive husband the Duke of Edinburgh, has set a remarkable example of humble, consistent service. Here she has followed in the steps of her beloved father and mother who, in World War II, endeared themselves to the people by visiting the victims of Nazi bombing in the East End of London and by not sending their daughters to safety in Canada.

As I look back over nearly seventy-eight years I thank God for the blessings of a remarkable reign. I also thank God for the abdication of Edward VIII whose reign would have been disastrous!

What light does scripture shed upon government in general and monarchy in particular? In what he says in Romans 13:1-7 Paul clearly allows that government may follow either a republican or a monarchical model. Both may uphold law, punish wrongdoers and levy taxes. A monarch may well do this, as the Old Testament makes clear. God granted Israel a king, aware though He was of the difficulties kingship would bring (I Sam. 8:6-22). David, as king, pointed forward to Christ, great David’s greater Son, who shall come again, ‘that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father’ (Phil. 2:10-11).

Hallelujah! For our Lord God almighty reigns (Rev. 19:6).

David Kingdon is a member of Caersalem Baptist Church in St Mellons, Cardiff.

Being a wife and mother is a real privilege and I take my responsibilities seriously as I try to do my best for my family, recognising that God has given them to me and this is my ‘frontline mission’ at this time.

In terms of moving back overseas into mission I found that this time it was a lot more challenging as I was not just preparing myself but also my husband and son. I felt the practicalities of moving were a real pressure on me particularly as I dealt, not only with my own emotions of leaving family and friends and a culture that I was very independent in, but tried to keep the daily family routines going at a very busy time of change.

Once we arrived in Peru I felt an overwhelming sense of relief that we had made it. We had survived the traumas of packing up our home and getting things shipped and stored, we had said our goodbyes and we had made it through the twenty-four-hour door-to-door journey with our entire luggage and a very exhausted toddler. All we had to do now was adapt to a new time zone, altitude, food, language, climate, routine, values and beliefs, people and environment!

A new role

My role in mission has changed significantly now that I am a wife and mother. To the outside world this season of my ‘missionary life’ may not look as exciting as setting up projects for children with disabilities or working with the marginalised in society but God has called me to be a wife and mother and through this encourage my family to love and serve Him more and hopefully reflect lives that draw others to know Him too.

There are new doors of opportunity open to me as along with our little boy I can encourage other mothers in the church and beyond. So far at church I have been able to set up a children’s corner at the back of church with quiet activities that the children can do during the services until we get others enthused to establish a Sunday school. Keeping a very active toddler occupied during the three hours we are at church on a Sunday morning is quite a challenge. Recently we also ran a holiday Bible club for a week which hopefully will be a springboard for local children coming along to church. Because of the lack of provision for pre-schoolers in the city we have struggled with opportunities for Luis to have friends and play with others. As there are no such things as parent and toddler groups I decided along with a friend to introduce the idea at our church. We aim to encourage parents and their children to be active in their stimulation and play opportunities with the added benefit that we can reach out with the gospel at the same time.

There are lots of opportunities for development at church as the church is small and young. This is exciting for us but at the same time is difficult in the sense that there is little commitment from the young church believers and there are only a couple of spiritually mature members.

Whilst both my husband and I are called into mission it is Eduardo that has the very evident frontline role as he works in church and seeks to get us established for moving into new areas of evangelism and church planting. What a privilege it is though to know that I am being used to support him and to keep our family practically functioning on a daily basis to free him into this ministry that we have been called to.

Life in Peru

Here in Peru a woman’s role is very much focused on the home and family. She is not expected to have time for herself or indeed have opportunities for leisure or hobbies. Daily life is centred on meals and the practicalities of looking after the family. Oh how I long for a tin of tomatoes, frozen peas and baked beans! Convenience foods are non-existent here. Everything needs to be prepared from scratch. Of course this has the added benefit of being a lot healthier but I have had to develop my organisational skills and creativity with meal planning and shopping. Culturally any unexpected visitor or workman is expected to be catered for too!

We make going to the market each week a family time that we all enjoy and we have lots of opportunities to get to know the vendors. We have been able to share many a meal around our table with visitors who have heard the gospel for the first time.

I give thanks that my husband has experienced life in the UK and is a very active father to our little boy. He helps with nappies, bath time, and putting Luis to bed is their special time together. For the past two years it has been a real privilege for us both to be able to have quality time with our son as we have been able to organise our time and be flexible with mission and church responsibilities.

In our experience settling back into a culture that was previously known to us has surprisingly taken us the best part of three months. Along the way we have had many frustrations, tears, laughs but above all we can give thanks to our Lord who has sustained us through these changes. Reverse culture shock has been something that Eduardo has experienced in many ways, especially when dealing with people in a society where trust is not the basis, organisation and time management are not the norm and there is generally no vision beyond the present day. As a wife having insight into this has helped me significantly support my husband during these early days.

We are thankful that the Lord has protected us as we faced being broken into at home and also as we daily have to use public transport and taxis that do not have the same safety measures that we took for granted in the UK. We praise God that the funds for our own vehicle are becoming a reality.

Settling into another culture and environment doesn’t happen overnight. It may not have been easy but we have so much to give thanks for and trust our God in everything as we are sure that this is the place God has called us to and by His grace we seek to be faithful to Him and the people that we have been called to serve.

Esmé Zárate is a UFM missionary working amongst the unreached Quechua people of the Southern Andean Highlands of Arequipa.

Why the decline?

There are a number of reasons why, in the church as in our culture, there is a rapidly declining level of biblical literacy. Not all of them are bad. I am encountering more and more people who have come to faith in Jesus from a totally secular background. They have little knowledge of the Bible apart from the basic truths necessary for becoming a Christian. It is fantastic to see them being converted, but their lack of biblical literacy poses problems for them. When they are encouraged to read the Bible for themselves, they do not know where to begin or how to go about reading this important, but new-to-them, book. They also have massive problems with preaching because most of the sermons they listen to assume a knowledge of basic Bible facts that they do not have. The conversion of these people from a non-Bible background is bound to pull down the level of biblical literacy in the church.

However, there are much more sinister reasons behind the drop in Bible knowledge in the church. One of them is the decline in the habit of daily Bible reading among Christians. When I was converted, I was taught the discipline of thoughtfully and prayerfully reading a section of the Bible each day. And it took discipline because there was homework, rugby training and chores to be done and finding the time was always a struggle. But among many Christians today, discipline is a dirty word. Many only read the Bible when they ‘feel moved to do so’ and Satan makes sure that this happens only intermittently. Coupled with this is the manner in which many Christians actually read the Bible. They use devotionals that jump from place to place all over the Bible and do not take them systematically through every part of God’s word. Often these devotionals consist of only a verse or a phrase from the Bible and then a comment – usually in the form of a story – on that phrase. What people tend to do is to read the comment and not the Bible. Often these devotionals concentrate on a very narrow range of Bible passages, and as a result people are not exposed to the whole of scripture.

Another reason why biblical literacy is in decline in the church is due to the ‘cut-out-the-middleman’ theology which dominates much of the evangelical world. We are told that we can go straight to God without the need for any mediator, so the Bible is sidelined. After all, who needs the Bible, which is so old school, so old-fashioned and boring, when we can have the excitement of being spoken to directly through so-called prophetic words, or in visions, or by hearing voices in our thoughts? The situation is compounded by what goes on in our Sunday services. A colleague had just attended a service in a church whose website described them as being ‘a Bible-believing congregation’. He told me that the sum total of the Bible input into the services was four verses – the four verses the minister read before his sermon and on which it was based. Sometimes there is little Bible content in the regular Sunday services of congregations that claim to have a high view of scripture.

Impact of the decline

This decline in biblical literacy has had a massive negative impact on the church. Our ability to communicate the gospel to unbelievers has been affected. How can we tell them the good news that God has stepped into history in the person of Jesus to save sinners if we do not know the gospel story? The prayer life of the church has been weakened. In the Bible God has not only told us how to pray and what to pray for, but He has even given us words to use in our prayers. If we do not know the Bible, how can we pray effectively? Our worship has been dumbed down. If our aim in worship is to sing the Bible, pray the Bible, read the Bible and preach the Bible, our lack of knowledge of the Bible is bound to have a damaging effect on our worship.

The situation is serious, but it is not beyond repair. What can you do to try to stop the decline? Here are some suggestions. Like every teenage boy, my son had a voracious appetite. He was so skinny that I reckoned he must have had hollow legs: where else did he put all the food he ate? Pray that you will have a teenage-boy-like appetite for the Bible. Pray that you will not be able to get enough of it. And pray that for others too. Start reading the Bible in large chunks. What about reading through a Bible book at one sitting? Try Mark for starters, but do not forget the Old Testament. You will discover that many parts of the Bible are a great read, full of vivid stories and larger than life characters. If you think that that might be a bit daunting, download the Bible on to your MP3 player and listen to it as you read it. Read books that explain the big sweep of the Bible. They will give you an overview of what its main storyline is so that you can read God’s word more thoughtfully. When you are reading stories to your children or grandchildren, read them Bible stories as well as all the old classics. If you take school assembly or the children’s talk in church, cut out the gimmicks. Instead tell a Bible story. Ministers, put plenty of Bible content into your services. Cut out some of the unnecessary stuff to make space for the Bible. Above all else, do not give up on reading the Bible yourself and, if you need a bit of encouragement, read it with other Christians.

Rodger Crooks is minister of Belvoir Presbyterian Church in Belfast and author of ‘One Lord One Plan One People’.

Why has the church generally made so much of Christmas and of Easter? Because they mark great and unrepeatable events. What if there had been no ‘Christmas story’? There would be no Jesus, no Son of God coming in human flesh to save us. What if there had been no ‘Easter story’? Then Jesus would never have died to shed His blood for the forgiveness of our sins, and He would not have risen again for our justification. There would be no salvation, so no-one could ever be saved from his sins. But what if there had been no ‘Pentecost story’? Would you be able to go on and answer that question? In fact the events of that day are uniquely important. They are essential for our salvation, no less than what happened in Bethlehem, or what took place at Calvary.

A great and unique event

Pentecost has a longer history than either Christmas or Easter, because it was one of the ancient Jewish feasts. It had already been kept for well over a thousand years before we come to the second chapter of Acts. The word ‘Pentecost’ comes from the Greek word for ‘fifty’ because this feast came on the fiftieth day after Passover. It was the feast when the firstfruits of the grain harvest were offered, a time when every male was to appear before the Lord, and a time of great rejoicing.

But this particular Pentecost in Jerusalem became a great and unique event. Jesus had died, been raised from the dead, and forty days later He ascended into heaven. In Acts 1:4-5 we read: ‘And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; for John baptised with water, but you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”’  Jesus was predicting a great, once-for-all event. The birth of Christ was an event like this, because in it the second Person of the Trinity was made known in human form. In the same way, God the Holy Spirit now came into the world, sent by the Father and the Son. This coming of the Holy Spirit is no less central and important than the coming of Jesus Himself.

Mighty works of God

All sorts of remarkable things happened on this day. Look first at the disciples themselves. They were together in a house when these miracles began to take place. A sound came from heaven like a mighty rushing wind. Not a wind itself, but the sound of a wind. The word for ‘Spirit’ in both Old and New Testaments is the same as the word for ‘wind’. We know that in the OT the Spirit ‘rushed’ upon individuals. This was happening now, but the whole community knew it. Then there was the filling of the Holy Spirit which enabled them to speak with other languages. And no ordinary speech; rather the disciples were sounding the high praises of God in languages they had never learned, in rich, beautiful, elevated language.

Look then at the devout Jews from other nations who were there in Jerusalem. See the bewilderment and amazement when they heard the disciples telling the mighty works of God in their own languages. This was an astonishing sign from heaven. Like other signs in the Bible, this was pointing to a great and new work that God was doing.

Then look at Peter. Great and powerful preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ began right here. He stood up and preached an amazing Christ-centred sermon with great boldness and eloquence. Can you imagine Peter preaching like this a few weeks earlier? Gone was the blunderer, the coward, the denier of Jesus. He showed the crowds, who had been baying for Jesus’ blood a few weeks earlier, that Jesus is the fulfilment of the OT scriptures. He told them, to their faces, that ‘God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified’ (Acts 2:36).

Finally look at the crowd themselves. When they heard Peter’s preaching ‘they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”’(Acts 2:37). We read of the great events of that day – 3,000 believing and being baptised.

Essential to our salvation?

Pentecost was a life-changing day. All the people mentioned above were involved and caught up in it. What almighty God did on that day affected the way they thought, spoke, felt and lived, for ever. But how are the events of Pentecost essential to our salvation? The whole work of Jesus was geared towards this climactic event of the giving of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, having made full payment for the sins of the people the Father has given Him, was raised from the dead, triumphing over death. Then He ascended to the Father’s right hand, receiving authority to pour out the Holy Spirit upon all His people.

The pouring out of the Spirit is a greatly anticipated event throughout the whole Bible. On one occasion, while Israel were in the wilderness, Joshua was upset for Moses’ sake because two other men were prophesying in the camp. ‘My lord Moses, stop them’, he asked. But Moses was indignant: ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD’s people were prophets, that the LORD would put his Spirit on them!’ (Num. 11:28-29). At Pentecost, Moses’ longing is being answered. The Spirit now comes upon the church – not just upon Israel, but men and women of every nation. The presence of the tongues was to demonstrate the reversal of the judgement of Babel. Whereas once God had scattered people into nations and languages, now He is drawing His people together. ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’ (Acts 2:21).

Of course what happened in the birth of Jesus, and what happened in His death and resurrection, are tremendously important. But it is possible to think of them only as experiences that Jesus had as a private individual. There is a wrong way of thinking about them which detaches the real, living Jesus from us. We might just as well remember the birth and death of Sir Winston Churchill. That is not the way it should be. God’s people do not simply look at Jesus’ life and death from a distance. We are caught up in Christ as participants. When we look at Pentecost, we see that the great ‘Immanuel’ principle of the Bible – ‘God with us’ – is not something hypothetical; it is a living, breathing reality. For without the coming of the Spirit there would be no salvation, no faith, no worship, no prayer, no assurance, no worldwide church. Because of Pentecost the gospel comes to us, ‘not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction’ (1 Thess. 1:5), and ‘righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’ are our present possession (Rom. 14:17).

So, for all these reasons, remember Pentecost – but you don’t have to mark it on 27 May. Think about it every day if you can.

Paul Yeulett is the pastor of Shrewsbury Evangelical Church.

This issue of The Evangelical Magazine contains articles that help us to think through sport from a Christian perspective, as well as highlighting some ways in which Christians will seek to make the most of this opportunity to reach the crowds that gather with the gospel. It’s natural that Christians’ thoughts also turn to our most famous Olympian. Eric Liddell: the Olympic flying Scotsman by Roger Carswell on page X reminds us of the stand he made in the 1924 Olympics because of his Christian convictions. Giving up his place in the 100m because the heats were run on a Sunday was something most people couldn’t understand; but for Liddell some things were more important than sport. He could happily give it up because he had a greater treasure. He would go on to give his life to gospel work in China, to the real matters of life and death.

Day of reckoning

The contrast between Liddell and his great English rival, Harold Abrahams, could hardly have been greater. Abrahams trained intensely, striving for that extra one percent which he described as the difference between ‘supreme success and obscurity’.

In the film about Liddell’s life, Chariots of Fire, there’s a scene with Abrahams having a massage just before he heads down to the track for the 100m final. He says to his friend, ‘I have ten lonely seconds to justify my existence.’ His performance in those ten seconds would determine whether he got a ‘stamp of approval’ on his life.

Many of the athletes competing this summer will feel like that. They’ve lived the last few years with this day in mind – this ‘day of reckoning’. Their performance for these hours, minutes, seconds will determine whether they get that stamp of approval. We’ll see the elation for some, and the devastation for those who fall short.

Why will athletes devote so much time and energy, sacrifice everything, for the sake of that one race? Is it partly because we’re all desperate for a stamp of approval on our lives? In Genesis 3 when our first parents rebel against God, not only do they lose His approval, and so hide from Him, but they feel their shame in front of each other too, and try to hide behind fig leaves. Losing God’s approval means they suddenly fear other people’s opinions too. And it’s true for all their offspring. It may not be sport for us, it may be your performance in work or as a father or a wife, but somehow we’re all looking to justify our existence, we want someone to say ‘yes, you’re a good person’.

Approved by God

In Luke 18 Jesus tells the story of two men looking for God’s approval. A Pharisee and a tax collector both go up to the temple to pray. The Pharisee is confident in his own performance – he’s competing with the people around him and he thinks he’s done better than them – enough to justify himself. The tax collector, on the other hand, knows he’s fallen short; he’s been knocked out in the qualifying rounds! His cry is for mercy; or more literally, for atonement. He’s not asking just to be let off, as if God were some cosmic granddad whom we just need to smile sweetly at. No, the tax collector knows that his sin must be paid for, but he’s asking for God to make atonement on his behalf. It’s an audacious request.

But wonderfully it’s exactly what God has done. In the person of His Son God has made atonement, not just for the tax collector but for all who will, with him, acknowledge that we’ve fallen short and instead of trusting in our own performance trust in Christ’s performance for us. As Martin Luther said, a ‘great exchange’ has taken place: all my sin – past, present and future – has been credited to Christ’s account, and He has paid the penalty in full, while all His goodness (righteousness) has been credited to my account.

The result is that the tax collector (the ‘sinner’), not the Pharisee (the ‘good’ man), goes home justified. Our striving for that stamp of approval – whether it’s through work or sport or relationships or whatever – is a symptom of a much deeper problem, that we need God’s approval on our lives. And that cannot be achieved by our own performance, only through Christ’s performance for us.

As later articles will remind us, we’re free to enjoy God’s good gift of sport. No doubt many of us will find it hard to turn off our TVs during those Olympic weeks, but aren’t we thankful that the gospel doesn’t work on the same basis as those Games? We’re not desperately hoping that if only we work hard enough then when it comes to our ‘day of reckoning’ we might just pass the test. No, we’re justified now, it happened right at the start of our race, because it’s not on the basis of our performance at all but purely on the basis of Christ’s performance for us.

When we know that then, like Eric Liddell, we’re freed from the need to get for other people’s approval, freed to give our lives in service to God and others.

With the Olympics on everybody’s minds, let’s pray for opportunities to point people to the performance of our ‘Champion’ which can gain us not just the adulation of a crowd for a few minutes, but the unchanging approval of the eternal God.

John Richards is a pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Mold.

Keeping your mind’s eye open, now imagine a country the exact opposite. No coastline, no rain most of the year, few mountains, over seventy different languages, average afternoon temperature hovering around 30°F at the moment, and warming up. Sand. Dust. One railway track, one service per week. An elected president since 1984.  Open your eyes, this is Sub Sahara, West Africa. This is the former French colony, Burkina Faso. Welcome.

Now imagine a swarm of mopeds, buzzing around your Nissan Patrol, a green Mercedes-Benz taxi, overloaded with people and goats, and underpowered, grinding its way along the cratered tarmac in front of you. Stop at the lights. (You do; the mopeds carry on in a wincing real life game of Frogger.) Do you want a phone card, some chewing gum or some tissues? There, child merchants are at your window straight away. You are in the capital Ouagadougou. The Fada Road to be precise. A boy, Hannah’s age, arrives with an empty red tomato tin and an upturned hand and with a downturned smile. You know he’s practised the look. You know that thirty pence would give him his bed for the night. He’s a Garabou, sent from the country by his parents to live with a Muslim teacher in the city to learn the Koran. And to beg. There is a great outreach to these boys on a Saturday morning, and from this outreach a church service began last year.

The lights change, a business man in a suit and tie squeezes past your 4×4 on his moped. He looks slightly comic – he should be in a Mondeo. Or a Vectra. Then there’s the naked handicapped man, strolling along, seemingly with not a care in the world. As you turn off at Kamboise after ten kilometres, from the blacktop onto the red dust roads there’s another handicapped man waving again in his wheelchair. Everyday for a year he’s been there. There’s the deaf girl to greet you as you enter Yagma: ‘Don’t talk to her, she can’t hear you.’ Now you are surrounded by half built houses – it’s too expensive to put the roofs on. Pockets of men talk and play Ludo and Dames, while the real dames pump water. Ghostly children, faces white with dust, call out ‘White thing!’ and greet you with a hearty ‘Goodbye!’ This is Yagma. We’ve got a church in Yagma.

Reaching the unreached

You see, everywhere you look in Burkina Faso there are gospel opportunities. There are twelve million nine hundred and seventeen thousand and eighty seven of them. (Operation World, http://www.operationworld.org/burk). I work with UFM, seconded to SIM Burkina Faso. I live here in the capital with my wife Liz, and my children Joshua (eleven), Luke (ten) and Hannah, who is only six, and I’m happy to say has an upturned smile to go too often with the upturned hand.

All the above characters are not caricatures (if only) but they are real people associated with the work of Christian missions in one form or another. The country is wide open to missionaries, and the capital has its fair share of good, Bible-teaching churches, with their various flavours. The challenge is getting out to the villages and smaller towns.

One such town is Djibo in the North, working alongside the Fulani people. Up until thirty years ago, there was little work amongst this Muslim unreached people group, the largest nomadic people group in the world. Found mostly in the North of Burkina, this shepherd people has been reached by missionaries through various ministries, until in 2007 they had their first Fulani pastor.

Now the need is for a reliable translation of the Bible in Fulfude, their language, and training for prospective Fulani pastors. There is a mission involved with both these, opening a Bible School just outside of Ouagadougou for Fulani men to come and be equipped for the ministry, whilst working alongside locals here in Ouagadougou to complete a preliminary translation of the New Testament. There is also a missionary couple reaching the Fulani through innovative radio programmes out of Djibo.

Move down south and you find Mahadaga, a mission station with the aim of helping disabled people realise their place in God’s kingdom by teaching them, helping them, working alongside them with various projects, whilst enabling also the local community to help themselves in different ways.

Reaching refugees

Drive back up to Ouagadougou and back out along the Fada Road and back to Yagma, you will find a unique town of 10,000 refugees. Refugees from a flood which wrecked the lives of over 25,000 people living in Ouagadougou in 2009. Displaced, the government gave families cement and water and a plot of land. A Christian mission became involved early on in providing clothing, bedding and food. As this town has developed so has the mission’s involvement in drilling wells, providing food, and starting small businesses: a sewing group and a soap-making group. In May 2011 this same mission, working alongside a local denomination, helped to plant a church for this community. A much needed witness in the shadow of a mosque and one of the biggest Roman Catholic churches in Burkina Faso. This mission works alongside the local church as it continues its involvement in teaching and evangelism around Yagma.

Come back out of Yagma to Ouagadougou, but this time passing through Tampui, you’ll find a baker’s. There are five workers who have each received a Bible, a couple who seriously want to talk. It’s like that here. People want to talk. It’s largely Islamic, but they want to discuss, and talk. You may not convert them on the spot, but each conversation is an opportunity to give the gospel. Just showing these people the intimate nature of God’s love toward His people is a revelation to them in itself.

What about the man on the moped in his tie squeezing past your 1989 Nissan Patrol? He’s off to his English course in the centre of town. He’s saved his £15 for his twelve week course with complementary half hour Bible study, and comes to a mission’s Centre of Learning, where English is taught, relationships established, and the gospel proclaimed in its Islam-sensitive style. That’s a challenge. If there is one criticism levelled at African Christianity (if there is one African Christianity) it’s that it is a mile wide and an inch deep. This ministry has the opportunity to address this, and try through different courses to challenge unbelievers whilst encouraging believers to go deeper into God’s word through the medium of English.

Gospel opportunities in Burkina Faso? Which Burkina Faso? The gospel is flourishing, yet under attack in the capital. There are Mosques on many corners, and the call to prayer serves as a reminder to us to pray for them daily. It’s making small inroads into Islam in the North, and into the animism of the South. But they’re inroads all the same. At times there are real encouragements, at others incredible discouragements. But Jesus will have His church – here. And the gates of Hell will not prevail against it – here. And God will never leave us nor forsake us – here. And His word will not return void – here. We plod on.

Ben Griffin is a UFM missionary, currently working with SIM in Burkina Faso, Africa.

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• Penecost: a great and unique day
• Apostle to China: Griffith John
• The Queen’s diamond jubilee
• Olympic opportunities
• A question of sport
• There’s more to life than rugby
• Christians in sport: the Olympic challenge
• Eric Liddell: the Olymic flying Scotsman
• Opportunities for the gospel in Burkina Faso
• The decline of biblical literacy
• My new life in Peru
• Book reviews
• Romans: The Divine Marriage
• Charles Simeon: An ordinary pastor of extraordinary influence
• Resources for children’s ministry

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