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November 09, 2005

One faith, one baptism…two wives…? (Part 2)

In part 1, I began to tell the story of Yusuf’s struggle to get baptised, and the hesitation of his pastor because of his denomination’s opposition to baptising polygamists.

Several interesting comments were made, generally agreeing that theologically there is no reason why Yusuf should not be baptised. But the issue we faced was how to do that. For Suley to do it would be to dishonour and disobey his leaders. For me to do it would be to undermine the authority of the local church which I am there to serve in Burkina Faso. And to suggest Yusuf goes elsewhere to get baptised assumes the presence of another denomination, an awareness that Yusuf did not possess of such options, and an individualism that is more western than Biblical or African.

The story continues…

In fact, there was another church in the area, and this denomination took the attitude that men with more than one wife could indeed be baptised, without having to send any of them away. They could not of course take any further wives. But they would have to continue to provide for all their wives. (It is interesting to see the proscription in Exodus 21:10 : “If he marries another woman, he must not deprive the first one of her food, clothing and marital rights...”)

Pastor Suley agreed that the best solution would be to approach pastor Pierre of the other church, and suggest that Yusuf join his church.

I don’t know how many church leaders would be so generous and selfless as to actually suggest that a valuable member of their church should join another church because it would be better for their spiritual growth….?

Pastor Pierre, a Mossi like Suley, was very welcoming. Sitting under the mat shelter in the church yard, a pot of Fulani tea bubbling away in the corner, I translated as he interviewed Yusuf about his faith. Pierre thought he could find someone in the church to translate the Sunday messages into the Fulani language for Yusuf. And he asked me to lead Yusuf through the baptism classes.

Yusuf started coming to the new church, a challenge in itself. The Mossi and Fulani have very different cultures, and a history of conflict and mutual distrust (I wrote about some of these issues here). Often, after a church service, Yusuf and I would sit for ages, discussing why things were done the way they were, and looking at the Bible together. With Pierre and Suley’s agreement, I started a mid-week cell group for the Fulani from both churches, where they could worship and develop an understanding of their faith within Fulani culture. On Thursdays Yusuf would walk into town from his village for the main market, and in the evenings we would meet with the little group. Often Muslim Fulani friends would join us too, as they became interested in the story of Jesus. Yusuf would stay the night with me, and in the morning he would head back to his wives and children. But on Sundays, he would come in again to the Mossi church service, and more discussion afterwards.

The day and night of Yusuf’s baptism was one of the highlights of my life. Read about it here.

Back in his village over the following months, Yusuf worked out how to live out his faith as the only Christian in his village. Little by little he shared what he had found with his family and his neighbours. When I visited him, it was great to hear him telling Fulani parables to his visitors, drawing them in as he asked them questions about the meaning, and leading them to the truths of the gospel from within their own culture. I resisted teaching him the “4 Spiritual Laws” approach to evangelism, as I saw the good news being told among the Fulani more effectively than I would ever be able to.

And then one market day several months later, he and his wives and children all came to town and stayed the night with us. Gently Yusuf told us that he thought his wives were interested in following Christ, and would we interview them please? Hawa clearly had more understanding of the message of Christ than Salimata, but they had both seen the change in Yusuf’s life, and that the way of Jesus was good. They were nervous about the consequences, but both decided they wanted to follow the way their husband had chosen. That day Hawa and Salimata both prayed to give their lives to follow Christ, and to receive life in his name.

Another new beginning, and the story continues. Please pray for Yusuf, Hawa, and Salimata as they seek to live for Christ as ambassadors for the kingdom of God among their neighbours and community. Officially, as a man with more than one wife, Yusuf can never be a church elder. But in practice, he is the most mature believer in a large area, and effectively the founder of the church in his village. In the meantime we look for the day when both his wives also choose to take the step of following Christ through the waters of baptism.

Tags: burkina faso africa polygamy burkina fulani church baptism mission

Posted by Keith at November 9, 2005 02:59 PM