Classes are underway at Guyana Christian University! 10 students, supported by individuals and congregations in the U.S. began classes August 31.

This is the second batch of students for the two year school in Lethem, Guyana. Most of the first group of ten are now transitioning into their preaching assignments in the Rupanuni region of Guyana. One is awaiting road conditions to improve after the rainy season so they can move to their new location. Another is working in his congregation as a helper and leader in the community while a third is now working with the school assisting Director Thomas George.

I was pleased to visit with the students for the past two weeks and serve as their instructor.. We covered a wide range of introductory material and taught them how to begin preparing sermons. It was important that we give them rapid, additional grounding as these men will begin preaching right away. Due to a coming change in one of the communities the students will have all preaching and teaching responsibilities there within 6 weeks.

The students are a diverse group. Some came out of the Roman Catholic church, some were from Pentecostal type faiths and one was a Hindu. I am unsure of their exact ages but I would suspect we span from about 20 to 60.

These ten men will study in residence at the Lethem school for two years. About half live in the dorms and the others live in town with their wives and family. Some are separated from their families and that is a great hardship. Nevertheless they are willing to accept the difficulties in order to preach the gospel.

These are young Christians and have a very rapid learning curve ahead. However I am confident that they are up to the challenges. I was pleased to observe that the men were already well grounded in  the basics of the faith. The next two years will deepen their love and knowledge of the word.

The entire group will join the Amerindian Missions team from  the Summerdale church of Christ in October for a campaign into new and fertile regions far in the south of the country. As of this writing we were told that we could not enter the intended village in the south at Kwal-dar. But efforts are underway now to press the village council for a reconsideration of their decision. Failing that there are many more villages which have never had the truth preached in them.

I have posted an almost day-by-day report of the first two weeks for your perusal at the Preacher’s Study Blog. Please take a look and ask any questions or make any comments.

The final full day has arrived. Make no mistake, I am ready to head to Alabama and my wonderful, loving family. But at the same time I am sorry to leave my new friends behind. Their work load is very heavy and the challenges formidable. Nevertheless, with God’s help they will gain souls.

Arrangements are underway for the next campaign in October. Thomas George is headed into the south this weekend to try and make arrangements for workers.

Our studies continued today by dealing first with a wide variety of questions that the students had. Some of these are directly related to our lessons but many have to do with doctrines taught by some of the denominations here. We train the students to search the Scriptures for their answers and we are more than happy to help.

We then looked at a Biblical basis for unity as outlined in Ephesians 4. There simply can be no unity apart from the Bible. When we can all stand together on it then we will have unity.

The afternoon session featured two more students giving their sermons. Kennard Moses and Glenn Browne both did an excellent job

Tonight the church assembles for a mid-week Bible study so we dismissed a few minutes early to allow for preparations.

Tomorrow we meet for about 2 hours in the morning and then it’s off to the Lethem airport for a 10:30 check-in and noon departure. We’ll see but I will be happy if we are off by 2:00.

After a fine evening of sleep I was told that I had to get my bags packed and onto the bus for shipment to Georgetown. It seems the normal bus for Wednesday would not be available. This would have been a significant problem as I would not have add my luggage in Georgetown to bring home with me on Friday. Fortunately our man in Georgetown, Frederick Darrell caught the change and called to let us know. So, I packed quickly and shipped my gear before class. Thanks unto God for helping us avoid that trouble.

Our class studied proper Christian worship. We use the Bible alone as our text and as our guide. We noted that there are several aspects to worship including a public, corporate worship when the church assembles together, a private worship involving only a few and the first day of the week assembly (Sunday) when we do by example things done by the early apostolic-guided church.

Attendance in worship is often not as good as it should be. We discussed ways to bring the people together and to give them a better understanding of the purpose of worship.

The various acts of worship were also detailed with some emphasis on the fellowship inherent in all parts of worship. We began an examination of praying, singing, preaching, communion and giving too.

In the afternoon two students offered their sermons to us. Brothers Persaud and DeFreitas
were the first to present the lessons they had been working on since last week. Both did an outstanding job. Tomorrow two other students will present their work.

A new week begins for our ten students. We have been blessed to have some of the wives attend our classes and a young man named Hoxley Moses who will likely be in our third batch of students next year. Hoxley is a professional beekeeper and has literally traveled the world to observe and study various methods of honey production. He is especially fond of the work of beekeepers in Zambia where the bees are free ranging and produce true organic, sustainable honey. He says Zambian honey is the finest in the world.

Our studies this morning included some quick review and discussion of our previous week along with a follow-up on the date of the establishment of the church. Many hold that the church was established in 33 AD but that cannot be sustained Biblically. An error in the calendars makes 33 AD impossible. However one can Biblically support the conclusion that the church began on the first Pentecost after the  death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.

Students had asked for some help on preparing a funeral service so we offered some pointers. We next began a discussion of death and what happens after one takes his last breath.

After the lunch break we began a discussion of how to add a section in the sermon for the application and invitation. Every sermon should call on the hearers to do something and this is the section for that purpose.

At first the students were far too broad in their applications. For example, they simply called on the hearers to obey God. We showed them that an effective application is very direct, very pointed and very personal. The rest of the day was given to polishing their work.

Saturday morning came all too early for me. At 4:30 I awoke and could not go back to sleep. I sat on the front steps and watched the moon set and the sun slowly climb. At 5:30 brothers George and Dorreck set off on the motorcycle for Karasabai, a village north of Lethem about 3 hours. Otherwise, it was still and quiet.

A period of personal Bible study followed later and by mid-morning I was ready to head out. Guyana Christian University is about a mile from the town of Lethem. It was not yet hot and I headed to town. I stopped at the Takutu Guesthouse to use the internet but found only one computer working and occupied. A bit further was the Savannah Inn and Shop where I picked up some things for meals and the apartment.

On my way back I was excited to see a sign for a local restaurant featuring hot dogs. A quick stop and I found that they were out until at least Monday.

While in Lethem I met two ladies who work with a Bible translation organization. They have lived in Guyana for 35 years and are working with the Macushi and Wapshana tribes to develop Bibles in their native languages. Since our students are from these tribal backgrounds such a translation could be very useful. We will watch the development of the text and hope for great things.

Another half hour and I was back at the school and in  the shade.

Although the students have no classes on the weekend some were found studying in the school library and classroom. They are finishing personal biographies which I will post here in days to come

One of our students, Elroy McGarrell has a young 10 month old son who has had a bout of vomiting and diarrhea for a few days. Young Melroy lives with his mother in the village of Nappi. Such GI problems in a small child can be serious anywhere but especially in the savannahs where health care is limited. We received word today that Melroy was slightly better and the vomiting part had stopped.

Mango trees dot the landscape here like oak trees in Alabama. At this time of year they give off their fruit constantly in shades of green, yellow pink and purple. It’s messy to eat a mango put well worth the effort. There is also a coconut tree beside our school building. I picked up a coconut that had fallen and spent a half hour trying to break through the outer shell. It’s a tough and fibrous husk that protects the coconut on the inside.

After breaking away the husk I was left with nut which is similar to what we see in American grocery stores. A bit more work and I enjoyed the cool coconut  milk and white, sweet fruit. A nice evening snack.

The Lord’s Day dawned beautifully in Lethem as we prepared for worship. Several of the students went to the creek to bathe before sunrise and now return refreshed and prepared for service. I will be preaching again this morning. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 will serve as my text as I speak on the changing power of Jesus Christ.

66 attended this morning which is a good number at Lethem. Two good sisters responded to the gospel invitation and sought prayers. Our students conducted the services save for the Bible class teaching done by Thomas George and the sermon which I offered.

The singing was amazingly beautiful this morning as it drifted out into the grasslands. Just the purity of human voices is a sweet sound that cannot be outdone.

In all my travels I have never been sick – until now. Sunday afternoon I began to feel poorly and soon had a full blown stomach ache with nausea and vomiting. I will blame it on the coconut. Anyway, God brought me though with nothing more than a bit of inconvenience. By midnight I was fine.

The morning newspaper headline was large:

“MORMONS TOLD TO LEAVE GUYANA”

We were unsure what to make of this and were a bit concerned ourselves when we saw the lengthy article in Guyana’s top newspaper. Was this a government crackdown on religion in general or something specific to the Mormons?

A thorough reading showed that the Mormons were alleged to be in ongoing violation of Guyana’s immigration laws and had overstayed their work permits after extensions were denied. All foreign nationals working with the Mormons were first given a week to leave and then that was extended to a month.

Our concern was that the although our doctrines are poles apart and although there is not nor ever has been any relationship between the churches of Christ and the Mormons (the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints), there could be confusion because of the slight similarity of the name. A quick letter was dispatched to Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo  to assure no confusion followed.

To this moment our concerns seem unnecessary and no problem has arisen. However it offered a fine opportunity to remind the students that the day could come when Americans were no longer in Guyana and the church here would be in their hands. I believe this thought impacted the students in a positive way.

It has been our desire all along to help Guyanese brethren plant and build a Guyanese church headed only by Jesus. To date, every congregation here is autonomous as the Bible shows. Americans are supportive financially, physically and spiritually but each congregation makes its own decisions. We pray that our relationship with the brethren across this beautiful country will flourish until  the Lord appears but we also pray for the growth and strength of the native brethren.

(Update: As of today, September 12, 2009 there is still no generally accepted reason why the Mormons are being expelled. Guyanese newspapers are full of speculation but the Mormons, the Guyanese Government and the American Embassy in Georgetown are all very silent. – JBE)

“in many ways, God spoke to our Fathers…” (Hebrews 1:1) So begins the glorious book of Hebrews, penned by an unknown author to Christians of a Jewish background. We took this as our starting point for our Thursday class. The students were given an in-depth lecture on the covenants of God and, more specifically, how God speaks to man today.

Paul told Timothy that he was to “rightly handle” or “divide,” the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:16). It is important to understand that while God himself never changes, his method of dealing with man has. This progression, from direct instruction to the heads of the family to the inspired words of Jesus’ disciples and including the Law of Moses given to Israel alone, show the nature of God and provide learning for us today (Romans 15:4).

In Christ, a new and fresh message of redemption is ours.

We carefully took the students through the three great dispensations of time, Patriarchal, Mosaic or Levitical and Christian. We emphasized that while the Law of Moses was great and glorious, it could not bring salvation (Hebrews 10:4) apart from Jesus Christ who is the only path to God (John 16:6).

In the afternoon students continued work on their sermons by refining their main points and began adding sub points under each. We want the students to understand that sermon outlines are a method or organizing their thoughts. As they gain experience each will develop their own system of sermon preparation.

We established on Tuesday the nature of the church yesterday and demonstrated the ownership of the church by Jesus Christ alone. Notably, the church is not owned by any man or organization. Any church which points to a mortal man as its founder is unsuitable and finds itself in competition with the one true church for which Jesus died (Acts 20:28).

The name of the church is important. In Jesus’ day there were many religious groups. The Jews were predominant in the history of Christianity. Less important initially but still notable were the various pagan religions which flourished in the Roman Empire. One would think that a single name would demarcate the early church from the surrounding groups. However, the gathering of God’s people under Christ were known in a variety of ways. Sometimes as simply the church in a given location (Colossians 4:16), sometimes as the church of God (Acts 20:28) and as the churches of Christ (Romans 16:16). Many other names are also given.

The best understanding seems to be that the term “church” was understood to signify the collection of believers placed into the church by God himself (Acts 2:47). Since there were no denominations in the first century  there was no need for a single moniker for the assembly of God’s people.

We may be assured that the names found in Scripture for the church are acceptable and therefore represent the appropriate names for the church. It is important that church was never known by a mere man’s name.

Some think the name doesn’t matter at all. Ask Pepsi and Coca-Cola if names are important.

In the afternoon, more sermon prep as we refined the “big ideas” from the day before and began to craft three to five main points all of which come from the text itself.

A round of Bible memory work marked the end of the day.