Missionary Minds

Godly men are called to fight, but they must pick their fights prudently. “Fight the good fight of the faith,” Paul said (1Tm. 6:12). “I have fought the good fight,” were his last words (2Tm. 4:7). This differs from today’s 11th Commandment: Thou shalt be nice. Break this command and you’ll incur the world’s wrath. How should Christian men go about fighting? Consider the following principles.

Christians have an awesome responsibility to vote according to Christian principles derived from God’s word. For democracy to work effectively it relies on an informed electorate. For this reason, Christians need to be biblically literate on how to best vote even if that vote amounts to choosing the lesser of evils. So, what are some biblical principles South African believers, or any believers fo...

I have often said that Africa has so many churches that you can buy two for a penny. Despite the numerous churches we see around us, it seems to me that there is very little impact on our communities. I am concerned with the lack of growth and maturity among many who carry their Bibles every Sunday morning but don't seem to learn from them, let alone read them. Churches are being planted daily...

You can determine God’s calling by asking three questions. First, what are your desires? What do you long to do? The first qualification of a pastor is that he “desires” the office (1Tm. 3:1). Paul longed to preach (1Cor. 9:16) and Jeremiah said he was like a volcano ready to burst if he stopped preaching (Jer. 20:9). Matthew Henry said that when we make God our heart’s delight, then we’ll have ou...

Many have been asking lately, ‘Should a Christian attend a gay wedding?’  The biblical answer is extremely nuanced and highly complex:  Never, no, not under any circumstances.  In the eyes of God and according to His Word, any such pseudo-wedding is an abominable, blasphemous, profaning of marriage and a pagan celebration of the sodomy that destroys lives, ruins society, makes a mockery of Christ,...

Recently Nigerians considered boycotting a milk company for insensitive remarks they made about the death of Christ. Boycotting is not new to Africa. During the 1970s and 80s, countries around the world boycotted South African goods as a way to oppose apartheid. This is not only a Christian issue. Today, the Muslim association UUCSA is calling on South Africans to boycott Jewish-owned companies li...

One of the central roles to which God calls men is to protect women. Husbands and fathers should protect their families spiritually. God told “the man” not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” (Gn. 3:17) but he failed to protect his wife from the serpent who induced her to sin (Gn. 3:6). This is why the Adam was ultimately responsible for Eve’s sin (Rm. 5:20). Husbands and fathe...

The way different cultures approach the bride price varies, however the concept across the board is generally the same. The intent is to pay the prospective-in-laws a token of appreciation for raising their daughter well and to basically pay for your bride. The charges in the Shona culture can range from $2,000 - $ 10,000 (United States Dollars), some even exceeding those exorbitant ranges, which...

“My body, my choice” is a feminist slogan used to defend a woman’s right to autonomy over her choices. Women often employ this phrase to defend their right to an abortion. How should one respond to this? Does a woman have complete autonomy over her body, including the right to abort her child? Here are six reasons why the argument “My body, my choice” fails.

For those living in Africa, crime is an unrelenting reality that significantly impacts life through the constant threat of violence. Despite the promises of politicians, criminals are exploiting ineffective governance in many African countries to target the weak and vulnerable. Against the hope of the victims and the longings of Christians who understand God’s standards of righteousness and justic...

While Northern Africa is predominantly Muslim, Sub-Saharan Africa is quick to claim Christianity. But has Africa really been Christianized? What if we used a different metric to determine a nation’s religious moorings? What if the metric became the nation’s Christian character rather than the nation’s Christian confession? Perhaps the numbers would look much different.

Enjoy the conversation between boti Paul and pastor Malamulo in Malawi as they discuss aspects of ministry and the Christian life.

Having 'The Talk' with your son can prove to be quite challenging for most men. Sadly, this results in many fathers abdicating the responsibility. In this episode Boti Paul seeks to give fathers some tips for talking about the birds and the bees with their sons.

Whether we like it or not, technology is moving us to a more cashless society. The Payments Association of South Africa is currently implementing strategies to make South Africa cashless by 2030. It remains to be seen if such an ambitious goal is reached in such a short time. The justification for this move toward a cashless culture is that it is much safer for all concerned and it is less expensi...

Despite the influence of Christianity and Islam on the continent, Africans still attach tremendous honour to their ancestors. Ancestor worship is deeply engrained into the African belief system, its influence reaching the heights of political power. Remembering ancestors and requesting from ancestors are very different. Scripture allows the first but not the second. Here are five reasons why.

We thank those that prayed for us during our latest missionary survey trip. It was successful in every way, all of this due to God’s grace and the prayers of his saints. Here are six brief lessons I learned.

As we prayerfully plan for 2024, with our long lists (actual or mental) of goals and resolutions, where does Sunday night church fit in? Thanks to American pragmatism (the church growth, seeker-friendly movement) and rampant secularism, evening worship services have largely vanished. It is a once-holy habit that has now almost disappeared in today’s Christianity. One pastor remarks, “...It can be...

Ousted from the South African presidency in 2018 because of corruption, Jacob Zuma regained great political fame this past December in his announcement of forming a new political party—this all amidst his corruption trial!  So also spiritual leader Shepherd Bushiri from Malawi, while awaiting extradition orders in Malawi for financial crimes committed in South Africa, enjoyed a renewed following i...

Applications for firearm licenses in South Africa have quadrupled over the past decade, according to a recent report written by William Brederode on ⁠News24⁠. Between April 2022 and March 2023, over 139,000 new applications for gun ownership were filed with the South African Police Service, compared to just over 33,000 in the same period from 2011 to 2012. South Africa has seen a 77% increase in m...

the COP28 Climate-Change Conference is underway in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Dubai. Every year for the last 28 years, at this time of the year, the United Nations hosts the COP meetings with up to 70,000 people flying in from all over the world for the two-week extravaganza. The goal of COP and the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change is to meet to discuss ways to limi...

It has been said that the first casualty of war is truth. Many confuse the issue of cannabis (“dagga”, etc) by co-mingling two different aspects of the debate — medical versus recreational use of marijuana. In truth, while related, these are two separate ethical issues that Christians need to approach differently. This episode of TARIF addresses three of the many flawed arguments based on smoke-sc...

A godly father can never fully be replaced as the leader and shepherd of the home. But should the father be deceased or absent, single mothers mustn’t despair. This episode goes into detail about the hope that single Christian mothers can find from the scriptures concerning the spiritual futures of their children.

Parental authority in training and bringing up their children has faced attacks in most parts of the Western world, yet we are now beginning to see this tidal wave on the family hitting the shores of Africa. We must have a clearly laid out view that no academic curriculum is ‘a-theological’, because any form of teaching or philosophy will find answers either in man or in God. Most postmodern insti...

Worldwide, the gaming industry makes more money than the film and music industries combined. In 2021, the gaming world brought in over $180 billion. Companies such as Facebook and Google have invested billions of dollars into Virtual Reality, which is certain to become a major part of gaming in the next 5-10 years. Although using games for harmless diversion and amusement may be a lawful use of le...

The Egyptian pyramids have yet to be cancelled. If Cancel Culture has its way, the Great Sphinx may be next. Ramses II, father of more than fifty sons and Pharaoh of Egypt for sixty-seven years, inscribed these words on his throne: "I am [Ramses II], King of Kings. If anyone would seek to know how great I am and where I lie, let him surpass one of my works." His works were great indeed,...