Author: Jonathan Dodson

Bibles, Pastors & Orphans in Uganda

A reflection from a yesterday in Akisan, Uganda:

Today was positively exhausting. After an hours drive into the backwoods, I taught the History of Missions/Missiology course from 10-2, broke for lunch, and then taught an Pastoral Ministry class from 3-5. We discussed everything from stone worship to polygamy. The pastors were very engaged, took notes, and asked questions. Half of them didn’t have Bibles in their own language (Ateso) so Justin took a 3 hour roundtrip motorbike to the closest city to get 50 Bibles.

Receiving Bibles for the First Time

When it came to time to distribute the Bibles, people rushed the front jostling for a copy. We didn’t have enough for everyone, but those that received them were very grateful. One 80 year old man, Amos, had asked for a Bible the day before. When I gave it to him he was overjoyed. When we stopped at a trading post on the way out, and there he was on his bicycle, reading his Bible with another man.

War Orphans

We got out at the trading post and went up to three cement rooms with bamboo mats, where 30 orphans sleep. They asked us to help feed them, provide clothing, and education. Many of the children have been displaced from an insurgency in the area a decade ago, losing their parents in the killings. Some lost their parents to AIDS or malaria.

What would it look like for ACL to respond to these needs? How can you help? There are already three more tribes that want us to come and start more theological training centers. The women begged us to do a womens conference. Opportunities are ripe for mission. Search your heart and ask the Lord

Thank you for your partnership in the gospel, ACL!

ACL Team in Kampala, Uganda!

As I write this blog,  I am sitting in our guest house in Kampala, Uganda. After 24 hours of travel, we arrived at Emmaus guest house around 11:30pm last night. Our team is intact, our bags all accounted for, and we have one new Polish friend we met on the plane. Paul is a fascinating guy who has an interest in alternative energy. We also chatted about the gospel, a word he was unfamiliar with.

This morning we were greeted by a cool breeze and a nice view of Entebe, the former capitol of Uganda. Oh, there were a lot of roosters and birds of all kinds greeting us also! Justin, Jessica, Logan, and Dave are all well and grateful to have a good nights rest. Today we will recover a bit from flying, go into the city, and prepare for our trip to Eastern Uganda (Palissa) tomorrow and preaching on Sunday. The rural pastor training conference starts on Monday.

We love you all and are grateful for your prayers. Our travel was incredibly smooth. We’ re asking God to do great things as we learn how to love and serve these people. Thank you for supporting us and “holding the rope” for us back home!

An Interview on Discipleship

Joe Thorn was kind enough to interview me on the topic of discipleship. I’ve included an excerpt from one of the questions below.

What is the biggest mistake the church is making when working to make disciples?

I can’t answer that question definitively. However, the dearth of suffering, the absence of hope, the trivialization of the Spirit, and the lack of mission among disciples of Jesus is terribly concerning. We have tried to minimize suffering through convenience, eliminate hope through self-made retirement, reduce Jesus to redeemer of the past, and surrendered any sense of discipleship as a call to die to ourselves that others may live. Instead, discipleship has been reduced to having a good marriage, handling finances well, raising good children, securing a future, and knowing your Bible. Our mission is very different than Jesus’ mission, our lives very different than Jesus’ life. This should scare us.

Read the rest of the Interview

Develop Missional Leaders in your Community

The GCM Collective Conference

GCM Collective Conference 2010: The GCM Collective will be hosting their first GCM Conference in Austin, TX this October, bringing together church planters, pastors, and leaders to collaborate on the practice of missional communities. This three-day conference will feature main and breakout sessions under the theme of GOSPEL, COMMUNITY and MISSION.

Speakers: Ed Stetzer, Steve Timmis, Jeff Vanderstelt, Caesar Kalinowski, David Fairchild, Drew Goodmanson and Jonathan Dodson.

More breakout and conference details coming very soon! Keep an eye on the site for updates!

The Porterbrook Network

The Porterbrook Network has launched a two year program for local churches to train up leaders. Porterbrook Learning helps Christians learn how to serve Jesus and his people better — whether they are church leaders, church planters, or simply Christians wanting to become more mission-focused. The course is flexible and has been designed to be integrated with your whole Christian life in whatever context you’re serving. It’s not theology for theology’s sake: the course is written by practitioners for practitioners.  http://www.porterbrooknetwork .org/