In flight

by Jeanine Janzen

I spent a lot of time in the air last year. When you're a member of a Congolese choir named Esengo, flying is a must to get from Africa to India, to Japan and to North America. All this travel brought me a new inspiration. Psalm 63 says that David sang in the shadow of the Almighty's wings. I used to imagine that he was singing with his feet firmly planted on the ground--but wings are meant for flying!

<B>The church in flight<P>

On my world tour with Esengo, I thought about how flying relates to the church. The Ephesians were commended becasue they had persevered and worked hard (Revelation 2:1-7). The Mennonite Brethren Church of North America has worked hard for 60 years to bring the gospel to the people of the Congo. While in the Congo, I heard several people talk about their impressions of the "mother" church. They believed that there must be a great depth to the North American experience because they had seen many dedicated missionaries come to their country. They were impressed with the programs, organizational structures, resources and international links that we have.

Does this mean that the church in North America is flying? The message to the Ephesians continues, "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen!" (Revelation 2:4-5) You can't fall from great heights unless you were once soaring. Is there a possibility that we have fallen and forgotten our first love?

One of the members of Esengo commented that "North America is the mother of the church in the Congo. Now the Congolese children are coming back to their mother to tell her to wake up." He added, "It shouldn't be this way. A mother is meant to set the example for her children."

Could he be on to something? As the years have moved on, have we as a conference lost some of that "first love" passion? When I think of how Congolese youth groups get together for retreats where their sole purpose is to pray, fast, worship and study Scripture, I wonder if we have fallen from great heights. When I think of some of my experiences in Zairian worship services, observing how the people were aware of the presence of God in the midst of their joys and struggles, I wonder if God wants to do more among us too. When I observed a group of students in the Congo passionately seeking to know God and make Him known, I wondered why I have not always had the same motivation and sold-out desire.

<B>Flying in grace<P>

I know that God is in the business of training His children to fly, and fly well. Our Esengo team reminded me of Christ's disciples. What are the odds of surviving when you take a group of 12 individuals with varying backgrounds, visions and maturity, and then move them through drastically diverse cultures over a short period of time? Not very good. Yet I saw how God chose to anoint this ministry from the start. It was only by His grace that our motley crew was able to encourage and minister to the churches we visited.

<I>Flying as a local community.<P>

I left for Africa with the goal of learning more about community since "community" seemed to be the buzz word at seminary. I have grown up in a culture that values individualism above community. Esengo was my first experience living with people for whom the word "solidarity" was part of everyday living. My personal needs (physical, spiritual and social) were owned by the whole group. We were all responsible for each other; there was no other option.

Our world tour reinforced for me that the church is not a bunch of individuals but one body. Jesus prayed in John 17 that the world would come to believe in Christ as a result of the unity found within the church. Esengo observed dividing walls within the church as we toured the globe. On two occasions in particular, several people came up to us and said that walls of division had been destroyed through our concerts.

<I>Flying as an international community<P>

They say that birds of a feather flock together. How, then, does a sparrow learn to fly with a parrot? Throughout this past year, I spent many hours discussing internationalization with Esengo members. What does an international community really look like? Of course, we don't really know, but we each had a dream. For one Congolese, it meant possibly moving to India in order to partner with an Indian development program. For another, it meant reorganizing our mission board to include equal representation from other countries where MBs are present. For me, it meant listening to international communities (who seem to be forerunners in theological thought) and continuing to partner with other cultural groups in mission as I did in the Congo under Youth Mission International and MB Missions/Services.

Travelling throughout the world increased my passion for internationalization. In heaven we will sing with people "from every tribe and language and people and nation" (Revelation 5:9). If it will be that way in heaven, we ought to begin to work towards it now. If the church body is made up of many essential parts, then we as a church in North America have need of our international members. It is easy to apply the body metaphor to the local church, but I believe that it reaches much further. For example, I am the richer for having seen the perseverance of believers in India, where being a Christian can sometimes mean being rejected by society. If a whole culture can have a spiritual gift, then Esengo voted Japan as having the gift of hospitality. The church in the Congo taught me how to worship God and share my faith as never before. The North American church taught Esengo about working hard and passing on our faith through many genrations.

MaluMalu Lungungu, the director of Esengo, composed a song that highlighted the importance of working together as an international community:

[FRED: INDENT THE SONG]

<I>Stand up and let's all build

<I>the church of Christ that has collapsed.

<I>Each one take his/her tool

<I>for the reconstruction of this church.

<I>Africa, America, Asia, Europe, Australia,

<I>stand up and build this large church that has collapsed.<P>

<B>Renewed interest in flight<P>

After many of the Esengo services, we had opportunities to listen to some of the youth as they told about their desire to seek an intimate relationship with Christ and to share this hope with others. I believe that God is raising up a generation who will be ready to give their lives for the harvest of the kingdom. While this was more clearly evident in some provinces and states than others, it seems that the ranks are growing.

I believe that I saw the beginnings of renewal in our North American conference. I spoke with many people who strongly desire to fix their eyes on Jesus and to "fly" with Him wholeheartedly. May these individual desires become that of our whole MB community. Jesus is preparing His bride to be one body which will be pure, spotless and in love with Him. May we not be found with broken wings but, instead, be found in the air as our Saviour descends to meet us.

<I>Jeanine Janzen was cultural translator and facilitator for Esengo, a team of musicians from the Congo who toured North America in 1997 to celebrate MB Missions/Services' Year of Global Mission<P>