A Day with Billy Simbo

I had the pleasure of spending the last 24 hours with Billy Simbo, Bishop of the United Brethren in Christ Conference of Sierra Leone, West Africa. He and his son Alan, who serves as the External Business Manager of the conference, spent the evening with Rachel and me. Billy gave a very challenging, thought-provoking presentation of the state of the conference at our missions commission meeting on Monday night. Tuesday morning was spent sipping coffee and discussing the details of what God is doing in this tiny, impoverished, spiritually alive yet embattled country.

Sierra Leone is in a unique position. They are recovering from a devastating civil war, yet the church sees the encroachment of a spiritual war in their country. There are two fronts. The first is Islam of the more militant variety. This is indicated by the growing number of mosques and service organizations that serve as fronts for training Muslim soldiers, mostly teens.

The second front is more subtle, and perhaps more devastating. There is a growing surge of the "health and wealth," or "prosperity" Gospel in the churches of Sierra Leone. If you're unfamiliar, this is the theological error that says salvation leads to wholistic healing and financial gain. God's purpose in saving is to bless, and those blessings are only found in physical well-being and material abundance. This teaching completely ignores what Jesus said about the sort of life his followers would experience while living out his Kingdom purposes in a fallen, sinful world. When this error is preached, it creates congregations that define their walks with Jesus using health and wealth as markers indicating their progress. If God loves you, you'll get rich. If God has problems with you, you'll get sick. The church begins to seek acceptance from God in the same way the world finds its hope. The problem: You can't serve both God and money.

Two fronts to the war for the souls of Sierra Leone. I can't help but see the parallels in our own country. What are the fronts here in the U.S.?