June 2011

John Ngombe: Reaching the Community

John Ngombe is a lay pastor at the Nelspruit Church of the Nazarene in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. That church was started in March 2004 by John, his wife, Betty, and three other families including then missionaries Daniel and Annette Jones. Ezra Maziya, superintendent of the Sunrise District, assisted. The first Sunday there were around 15 people in attendance. Now, the church averages over 70 each Sunday.

Is This the New Normal?

After 36 years of pastoral ministry I find myself perplexed by some trends that are unlike anything I have ever experienced. I wondered if my experience was normal or if only our church was living with some new realities. In response to my inner turmoil, I began a conversation with Tom Nees, Dennis King, and Geoff DeFranca, who have solid track records as pastors and church leaders. We shared our thoughts about what we referred to as "the new normal."

Q&A: Speaking Well of Other Churches

Q: I sometimes hear church people and even pastors speak derogatively towards other denominations, and towards anyone who believes differently than they believe. How can they do this while claiming to live holy lives? It doesn?t seem very Christlike.

Is There Laugh after Death?

Recently a friend remarked, "I'm glad you can laugh! We need to laugh!"

Agreed! I grew up in a family where we laughed a lot. Considering we were eight children plus two parents in small parsonages, it was probably our way of coping with too much togetherness. Laughter and laughing are a part of me.

Q&A: What happens in my local church?

Q: Why can't I know what happens in my local church? What happens behind closed doors at church board meetings, with clergy and lay leadership, is important to me. How can my local church be more transparent?

Perception is as important as reality. The church and its leaders need to appear transparent as well as be transparent because it builds trust and deters critics. Transparency in church finances builds donor confidence.

In Gratitude

We stood together in a circle in an abandoned lot for the street church service that Sunday afternoon. The many homeless men, women, and families participated together in singing, in offering prayer requests, and in listening to the sermon which was an abbreviated version of the one we had heard at our son's church that morning.

This Is Our Father''s World

For the past 15 years I have had the privilege and challenge of living, working, and worshiping with human beings between the ages of 17 and 24 - university students. I have lived in what I call "incarnational tension;" tension between my elders, peers, and students. Missiologically, "incarnational ministry" is a way of identifying with those you are called to serve. It requires learning language, adjusting to different cultural cues, and being willing to look at issues from their frame of reference.

Olga Robles: Role Model and Leader

Olga Robles is superintendent of the Puerto Rico East District Church of the Nazarene and represents the Mesoamerica Region as a member of the denomination's General Board. For 11 years she pastored Rio Grande Church of the Nazarene in Puerto Rico. Prior to that, she engaged in a career teaching high school history. She has a daughter, Mayda, who is an architect, and two grandchildren.

How do you keep your mind sharp?
I read constantly.

As a child, what did you think wanted to be when you were an adult?