Training Pastors Worldwide

Hello friends. Here’a a quick update:

Monday morning I leave for Queenstown, South Africa where I will be training a group of church leaders in skills for understanding epistles.

I will be using Ephesians to model and teach these skills. I will also lead the students to discover for themselves the glories of God as unfolded by Paul in Ephesians.

My shoulder is much better, I’m ready to travel, and the time spent recuperating was used studying: Ephesians, oral learning cultures, and developing a more focused orality teaching approach to help my students grasp the Scriptures. Some of my reading is pictured below.

I will return to California from South Africa, be home for 5 days, go to Minneapolis for staff meetings, and then depart for 2 weeks in Sierra Leone.

This will be a busy year: 11 training trips in Africa, and 3 week-long staff meetings in Minneapolis. Pray that each training will be fruitful.

And please pray for the students in South Africa, that they would grasp the concepts, and be amazed by the cosmic view of eternity from Ephesians about the work of God in the church, in the world, and in the coming ages, Ephesians 1:9-12, 3:10, 11. If you can, please read/pray/paraphrase/plead the prayers in Ephesians 1:15-23; 3:14-21, for my students.

Thank you for praying and giving and reading,

Bob

Here are some pics from the last few months.

And some of my reading for the last couple of months. The biography of Elisabeth Elliot is excellent.

Thank you for praying! My recovery from shoulder surgery is going well. I should be traveling to South Africa the first part of February, and then back to the U.S. for TLI staff meeting in Minneapolis, then two weeks in Sierra Leone.

And thank you for praying: I’ve been busy studying and working on the book of Ephesians to make our training more accessible to those who are oral learners.

First – Thanksgiving pic.

Our pastor, Ric Rodeheaver, is preaching through the book of 2 Samuel. It’s excellent. Check it out at CCCLH.org. I was privileged to preach 2 sermons on chapter 7.

And lastly, a couple of insightful, short articles on evangelism.

Christ’s Presence Guarantees Mission Success

A More Spontaneous and Genuine Evangelism

My planned four weeks in Africa has been changed due to an injury at the gym trying to stay healthy and fit. I had shoulder surgery, Thursday, and will recoup for the next several months before I can travel again.

The good news is that I will be working on our TLI courses to better reach students who learn through storytelling, symbols, and a variety of teaching techniques more in line with African culture and orality. Most of the world’s population are oral learners. This includes Africa and the U.S.

The following video is from my last trip to Sierra Leone. Great students, great weeks of teaching.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9r17AfE45k

Please pray for the team going to Freetown and Makeni without me.

In the meantime, I’ve added a few pictures and a couple of links to articles that I have found helpful.

The last link is a famous sermon by John Piper that influenced a gereration of students.

Thanks for praying and giving.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/trevin-wax/idealism-identity-politics-guilt/?amp

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/missions-could-make-you-sick/

https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/boasting-only-in-the-cross

It was a great trip with some very good co-teachers. The students are especially grateful for the training, and they wish to express their appreciation to you for praying and giving. I remind them regularly of your prayer and financial support without which I would not be able to come.

I will be home for a month now and then leave again October 9 for a week of staff meetings, then 2 weeks in South Africa, and 2 weeks in Sierra Leone. We will be ‘test driving’ some tweeks to our curriculum to accommodate those whose learning preferences are more oral than written.

Kitchen crew making lunch for 50 students in Freetown.

Thanks for looking, and reading, and giving. Our account balance is much healthier now. Additionally, I have seen great progress in the students since we began the training.

Bob.