Three Years Later…

Tuesday, January 13^th, 2015. My first day of seminary. I was completely jetlagged and confused. We had landed the prior Saturday evening, gone to church the next day and met one of my heroes, Dr John MacArthur. He told me during our brief discussion that I had come to the right place to study because The Master’s Seminary is dedicated to train men and then send them into the world so that they can train others also. That conversation solidified my resolve not to allow my seminary experience to simply be an academic exercise but to be a time through which I would be shaped more into Christ-likeness and develop a desire to see others come to Christ and His service. I knew from that first day of seminary that I was blessed with a unique opportunity to not only be a recipient of great teaching but a conduit of that truth to others. My wife and I had committed from the time we left that we will return once my studies completed to serve in our home country and get as many as we can to benefit from what we received.

Saturday, January 13^th, 2018. We have been back in our home country for 5 months now. In God’s gracious plan, the time has come to pass on the baton. 41 men and young adults attended the first session of the 3-year training program in our local church called LAFATRA (An acronym of the Malagasy for “Men After God’s Own Heart.” You can read more about it here.)

What a joy to see these men alert and ready to study the Word on a Saturday morning at 6:30am! What a thrill to hear them all commit to the reading, praying, studying, sharing and loving one another involved in the program. What a delight to see them undergo the first-day assessment and hear them mentioning how it was an enlightening moment for them as they realized how much they still needed to learn. I remember scoring 28% on my initial test at The Master’s Seminary; I remember scratching my head wondering what I had done during my time in the Word up to that time. I know many of them are asking themselves the same question, and that’s healthy. A prideful and blasé Christian is not honoring to God; one who constantly hungers for more of Him is healthy. The Lord is unsearchable (Psalm 145:3), there is and will always be more to learn about Him and His will.

Please pray that we will each remain humble, with teachable hearts and malleable minds as we embark on this journey together. Please pray for the families, ministries (present and future) and churches represented by these men. Please pray for a new generation of unashamed and approved workmen, correctly handling the Word of Truth (2 Tim 2:15).