Blog Textual

The church has witnessed fruit from the gospel outreach efforts. This has translated into an increase in church membership over the years, mostly on account of new converts. The increase in membership meant that the available two deacons were bearing more workload. To maintain the effectiveness of the
diaconate office, there was need to add two deacons.

Elder Silvester Hibajene thanked God and the church for the grace shown us during the time of prayer and confirmation by the vote. He challenged the church that the work we were undertaking was serious work before God. He charged the church membership to acknowledge and receive Mr. Peter Nkhoma as elder of the church, promising him all due love, honour, support and prayer. He also challenged Mr. Peter Nkhoma concerning the role he was taking up. He reminded him that he was standing before God and the church, being duly elected and called to the office of Elder.

Women are conditioned to look for text-book-type responses when dealing with life’s situations and circumstances. A godly woman, whether single, in career, facing difficulty or whatever the situation, looks to the Bible for answers on how to respond. The speaker challenged the women that Christianity is not about a list of what one can do. This approach leads to legalism and pride. This, he warned, is the very essence of cults (such as Mormons and Jehovah’s witness) who strive off a desire to prove righteousness
through deeds.

The gift was an old scroll of the Torah—a compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. It was donated to ACU by a generous benefactor in the USA. This North African document dates back to the 1800s. Its exact material value remains a secret known only to a few. In other regards, its value for ACU cannot be measured. “We need a campus and a building worthy of this scroll,” Dr. Baucham declared upon the official handover. The School of Divinity has been making enviable strides in refurbishing and beautifying their Kapyunga building, but even so, a display case for this manuscript would still be but a transitory home.

Under Queen Elizabeth, the persecution of protestants ceased, and the queen began leading England back towards Protestantism. This led to latter editions of the Geneva Bible being published in England, beginning in 1576. Over 150 editions were published, with the 1644 version being the latest. Predating the King James Version Bible by 51 years, the Geneva Bible was one of the earliest mass-produced English Bibles available to the public. It was the primary English Bible used by the 16th-century English Protestant Reformers. Some of its notes written by Protestant Reformers during a time of persecution by the Roman Catholic Church, were plainly anti-Roman Catholic.

Francis Schaefer said, “the Christian should be the person who is alive and whose imagination absolutely boils, which moves, which produces something a bit different from God’s world because God made us to be creative.” We have an important task of being creators of excellent media to
glorify God. For us to be faithful to this task, it is crucial that we learn how to use the gifts God has given us. We must remember that God owns all things— our lives and our service to him.

If religious books are not widely circulated among the masses in this country, I do not know what is going to become of us as a nation. If God and his word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain ascendancy. If the evangelical volume does not reach every hamlet, the pages of a corrupt and licentious literature will. If the power of the gospel is not felt throughout the length and breadth of the land, anarchy and miss-rule, degradation and misery, corruption and darkness will reign without mitigation and without end.

The wise use of Media is one way we can carry out this command in our time. Daniel Webster, in 1823 wrote, “If truth be not defused, error will be. If God and his word are not known and received, the devil and his works will gain their ascendancy.” As Pastor Mbewe once said, “200 years from that quote is our very day and age.” What Daniel Webster warned about is unfolding before our very eyes. Let us not lose more ground.

The African Pastors Conferences are organised from South Africa and are held across the continent of Africa. There are currently over 60 such conferences that are run across the year. They are famous for the great preaching and the lowly priced books that are made available during the conferences. It means that even African pastors who can barely afford to buy books to use for their own ministries can now do so at these conferences.

This hallowed ground we consecrate
With sorrow turned to praise
For Christ our sin and shame did take
And full atonement made

The Lusaka Ministerial College (LMC) grew out of the Reformed Baptist Preachers College, which was established in 1994 under the Kabwata, Lusaka and Mount Makulu Baptist churches. The classes of the RBPC were initially held at the Lusaka Baptist Church and later moved to Kabwata Baptist Church. The main objective was to train men and lay preachers among the Reformed Baptist churches in expository preaching skills and theology.

The vision of planting a church in Mumbwa was born a long time ago among the elders of the Lusaka Baptist Church (LBC). In the year 2008, two mission trips were made with a view of making a general survey of the land. However, in the providence of God, it did not seem to be the right time to plant a church.

he Midlands Reformed Baptist Ladies Rally traces its roots to the Copperbelt back in 1997 when the first ever such gathering was hosted by Central Baptist Church in Chingola. At that time, it was called Copperbelt Annual Baptist Women’s Rally. Overtime, the midlands Reformed Baptist churches saw the need to start a similar conference in the region. In 2011, the first Midlands Reformed Baptist Ladies Rally was held at Kafue Reformed Baptist Church

One of the most neglected sections amongst the people of God today are children. Often, they are regarded as an inconvenience to the adults during their meetings and discussions. As a result, they are locked away somewhere out of sight and kept busy with toys and games. It is important to find out what the Scriptures say concerning this matter. We must search the Scriptures starting with the Old Testament and going on to the New Testament to appreciate what God’s plan is for the children whom he gives to parents as a gift.

Sometime back, on Thursday 8th May 2003, I preached on 3 John 4 and the sermon was entitled “Children.” The apostle says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (ESV). Although John was referring to children in the faith, to me, this is what every Christian parent is aiming to say about his or her children. Let us not forget that children (from the onset at birth) are the emptiest vessels that can be filled up with anything and be moulded into anything!

Many Christians today have little appreciation of the history of the Christian church. As a result, we are unable to learn from the past and, in the process, we make a lot of mistakes which we could have avoided. The deconstruction of stable family units in our church today has adversely affected the raising up of children in many families in the church of Jesus Christ today.

Children are often viewed as sweet little animate toys given to gratify our quest for entertainment. In many ways, they are. But they are more than that. They are humans. Hundred percent humans. Notwithstanding their little frames and silly use of their small brains, they too are body and soul. For this reason, they are moral creatures attracting the interest of their Creator.

Parenting is such an awesome task. It begins with great joy when you realise that God has been pleased to use you to bring a human being into this world. Before long, it dawns on you that this is not a doll but a human being with an eternal soul. You must begin to work hard at weeding the heart and being ahead of the curve as sinful tendencies begin to manifest. That sinful self-centredness must give way to a love for God and for others. Only the grace of God can change that trajectory and so you cry out to God for that grace.

Coming into 2019, the ZBHS steering committee re-printed the
autobiography Paul the Leper—Apostle to the Lambas by Olive Doke. This is
an amazing book carrying the life story of the first indigenous Baptist
pastor/leader in Northern Rhodesia (Zambia). First published in 1955 by the
South African Baptist Press and recently in 2005 by the South African Historical
Society, now in 2018 the ZBHS took the opportunity to bring this piece of
history to the attention of Zambian Baptists.

On the 12th of May this year, our college staff consisting of myself, Charles
Mwanza, and Samba Kangwanda, and in the company of my wife, visited a new
church plant designated as Kabvuma Chisomo Reformed Baptist Church. It is
located in the outlying villages of Nyimba District. Kaluba Baptist Church is
currently providing the immediate oversight.

The Holy Spirit’s work manifests in varied measures. At each and every point it is according to his eternal plan. As human recipients of his work we bless his Name whether in small or large measures. However, we are unable to hide our excitement when we are overwhelmed by his blessings.

The great and necessary work of missions at Kabwata Baptist Church is celebrated as a dynamic living reality that captures, for the most part, the church’s zeal to reach its community and beyond with the gospel. The history of missions at KBC extends some 22 years.

I first met my late husband in 1990 at a youth meeting where he was preaching at Lusaka Baptist Church. Our courtship was good. We were open with each other and discussed many issues, including our faith and purity in courtship. We married in 1992 at Lusaka Baptist Church. Our married life was generally happy.

The six sponsoring churches of the Zambian Reformed Conferences (namely Lusaka, Kabwata, Evangel, Mount Makulu, Crossway and Emmasdale Baptist churches) wish to invite and welcome you all to the 30th anniversary of this conference.

The “Puritans” as the name suggests were an incomparably godly and influential group of minority leaders who emerged during the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries in England. Their spiritual deportment
progressed across the continent with phenomenon religious impact.

Providence has from time to time responded to moral spiritual decay by raising a movement to reverse the tide. In the first century there was a movement called “The Way” (Acts 9:2). It emerged in Palestine to roll
back the perversions of paganism and Judaism, which was a parody of Christianity.

This article is a brief research undertaken into the rise, growth, and dominance of the Puritans from the United Kingdom to the whole of Europe. The Lord Jesus declared that he would build his church and the gates of Hades would not prevail against it (Matthew 18:16).

“Ama Puritans!” is a very common phrase in Zambia. This is especially the case among young people who are new to the Reformed Faith. This often simply refers to individuals who are not dating girls or who are not crazy about football.

[Late last year, Pastor Lawrence Lama made a pastoral move from Bethel
Baptist Church in Kabwe to Ndola Baptist Church. Below is the testimony he gave during his induction as to how the Lord had led him and prepared him for the pastoral move.]

On Tuesday, October 16, 2018, we woke up to the heart-wrenching news of the crossing over from this earthly life to the realms of the blessed of Dr Duncan Dan Chiduliko Mugala.

The leadership of Bethel Baptist Church in Kabwe decided to start holding missions conferences every year in October after they sent Pastor Samuel Kasonde to plant Mapalo Reformed Baptist Church in Makululu, Kabwe.

The 2019 annual Sola 5 Conference will be hosted by Manzini Fellowship in Manzini, Swaziland, from 4–6 September. The theme of this year’s conference is “A praying people: The centrality of prayer in the life of the church.”

Pastor Isaac Makashinyi was inducted to the pastorate of the Emmasdale...
The leadership of Bethel Baptist Church in Kabwe decided to start holding missions conferences...

The best-case scenario for some leadership positions such as pastoral ministry would be for leaders to stay in their roles indefinitely. There are benefits to longevity in one station of ministry. However,...

The failure of continuity in most churches is often due to lack of a deliberate plan to develop leadership while the incumbent leader is in office.

The leadership baton must be passed on to the men we have trained over the years. The passing on of the baton is a metaphor from a relay race, where a round cylinder is passed on to the next in the game.

Among transitioning mortals, need for change of leadership is inevitable. Promotion, realignment, relocation, demotion, resignation, dismissal, incapacitation, or death may trigger need for change of leadership in the church.

Immediately, it dawned on me that we were both planning to move on but we had no one to pass the leadership baton to. At that time, we had served together close to 18 years—just the two of us as elders. The question we asked and wrestled with was, “Where have we been all these years?

The books I read and lectures I listened to about the Reformers and the Puritans were a real challenge to me. I learnt about how they worked hard to purify the liturgy in the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. Some of them separated themselves from these churches to form their own churches.

I am often saddened at the realisation that we Zambian Baptists know so little of our own spiritual history. As I have recently studied this history I have been amazed at its richness. There are so many lessons and challenges we can learn from the sacrifices and victories achieved by the pioneers of the Baptist faith in Zambia.

What is the place of preaching in worship? Preaching holds centre stage in public worship. It is the focal point. Being central, it becomes regulatory of all other elements of worship. As important as the other elements of worship may be, they are curtain-raisers for preaching.

The apostles, energised by the Spirit from on high, also preached the kingdom of God (Acts 28:31). They preached Christ as divine Lord and Redeemer. There was a shift in terminologies among the disciples of Christ. “The message of the kingdom of God had suddenly become [the message of] Christ crucified, Christ raised as Lord” (Preiffer, et al. 1975; 1391).

Preaching is the primary vehicle that God has chosen to deliver his gospel message to sinners, calling them to repentance and faith, and to deliver his word to Christians calling them to sanctification. To put it in the words of Charles Simeon Holdt, 2005: 8), “The purpose of preaching is to humble the sinner, exalt the Saviour and promote holiness.” Let us look at each of the saving and sanctifying purpose of preaching in a little more detail.

He also wrote a popular book on church life called God’s Plan for the Local Church, published by Grace Publications. He then came out to Africa as a missionary, together with his wife Margaret. He first served for about three years in Kenya, where he participated in the pastors’ training programme at Trinity Baptist Church in Nairobi.

The aim of having the conference at Evelyn Hone College this year was to minister to the students. Over 800 invitations were distributed to the students.

John Calvin’s thoughts on this important subject are reflected mainly in his comments in the Pastoral Epistles. But before we turn to that, we must read Calvin’s definition of piety. He wrote: “I call ‘piety’ that reverence joined with love of God which the knowledge of his benefits induces”

He must watch his life in relation to his domestic sphere. The entire pastoral calling rises and falls on this very point. The apostle Paul in writing to young Timothy says, “If a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?” (1 Timothy 3:5). The pastor cannot promote piety in the church of God if he fails to promote piety in his own backyard!

I was able to come up with more than half a dozen books and articles which became my study-room companions for a couple of weeks. That study turned out to be one of the most intense biographical readings I have done in my short life as a Christian. Since that time, McCheyne’s life has had a profound influence upon my life.

To be sure, there are perhaps other Reformed Baptist pastors who have served as long as they have done—if not longer. So, why pick on these two men for this news item?

It is a great thing to begin the Christian life by believing good solid doctrine. Some people have received twenty different “gospels” in as many years;

This belief is guilty of syncretism in many ways. It adds human thoughts and practices to the clearly taught doctrines of Scripture.

Charles Spurgeon was right when he said, “I have my own opinion that there is no such thing as preaching Christ and him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism.

Philosophically defined, Arminianism is the humanistic extreme of Calvinism. Hyper-Calvinism is the fatalistic extreme of Calvinism.

In fact, most often, when people are fighting against a Calvinism that does not believe in evangelism they are actually fighting Hyper- Calvinism. They just don’t know it!

Many years ago, I worked for my parents who own a video production company. Because it is a family business, you inevitably end up wearing many hats and being the czar of many different jobs. I mainly managed projects and worked as a video editor. On production, there were times that I was called on to work as an audio tech and was made to wear headphones on long production days. In those days, having a really good set of headphones that picked up every nuance of sound was essential to making sure the client got what they needed.

Many years ago, I worked for my parents who own a video production company. Because it is a family business, you inevitably end up wearing many hats and being the czar of many different jobs. I mainly managed projects and worked as a video editor. On production, there were times that I was called on to work as an audio tech and was made to wear headphones on long production days. In those days, having a really good set of headphones that picked up every nuance of sound was essential to making sure the client got what they needed.

Just the other day I happened to wake up early. That is unusual for an engineering student. After a long time I could witness the sunrise. I could feel the sun rays falling on my body. Usual morning is followed by hustle to make it to college on time. This morning was just another morning yet seemed different.

When you are alone for days or weeks at a time, you eventually become drawn to people. Talking to randos is the norm. I’ll never forget the conversation with the aquarium fisherman, forest ranger, and women at the Thai market. It’s refreshing to compare notes on life with people from vastly different backgrounds.

R C Sproul says, “The church is called not only to a ministry of reconciliation, but a ministry of nurture to those within her gates. Part of that nurture includes church discipline.” Any church that claims to obey the Word of God in its teaching and practice is bound by Scripture to maintain order in the household of God.