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A Holistic Christian Worldview: Redemption (Part 3 of 4)
By Dr. Ken Turnbull, ACU Vice-Chancellor
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"For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."
~ Colossians 1:19-20 ~
The wisdom of the holistic Christian worldview comes by it being unified in the fear of the Lord. Misunderstanding the totality of God's sovereignty over ALL things can lead us towards two errors that were described in parts 1 and 2 of this series. (1) We may diminish the significance of God's transcendent laws over all societal and cultural norms, realising that these governing, creational laws are equal with His laws governing all of nature. (2) We may mistake the directional effects of sin on creation from God's creational structures. The result of both of these errors leads the Christian to take shelter in a falsely constructed comfort of separating the sacred and the secular. Let's examine this in more detail as we look into the holistic Christian worldview in redemption.
Redemption literally means to "buy back". It evokes paying the ransom to buy back the original freedom of one seized and now in bondage. Reconciliation also has a prefix of "re-" indicating going back to an original state. In this case evoking a friendship that has been severed and is being reconciled or returned to the original state of friendship and alliance. Virtually all of the basic biblical terminology of salvation refers to a return to an originally good state. Consider "renewal" - making new again; "regeneration" - returning to life after the entrance of death; "restoration" - returning to the original, unscathed condition; the Greek word for "salvation": sōtēria generally has the meaning "health" or "security" after sickness or danger. All of these suggest a restoration of some good thing that was spoiled or lost. To God, the restoration of all things (and think cosmic in the comprehensiveness of all things) was worth the life of His Son. In Christ, we are rightly reinstated as God's stewards on earth. In Christ, we are to fulfil the original creation mandate to fill and subdue the earth, and to cultivate and keep the garden of culture in which we live. We must redeem all into which we involve ourselves in Christ. Marriage is not to be avoided, but to be sanctified; our emotions are not repressed, but purified; sexuality is not shunned, but redeemed; education cannot be left to the maelstrom of secular humanism, but must be recreated in the Biblical worldview; politics is not off-limits, but reformed; art is not pronounced worldly, but claimed for Christ; business is not a secular practice, but is brought under God-honouring standards. All aspects of the life and work of the redeemed in Christ must yield to His sovereign restoration working through His grace.
The permanent temptation in Christian thinking is to shelter ourselves from the challenging and daunting work of Christ in restoration. Knowing that the societal norms of our fallen culture contradict the truth of God, we turn our backs on the culture and find our comfort within the shelter of our like-minded friends in the church. We avoid the soiling work of bringing Christ's redemption into the fallen world. We readily succumb to limiting the kingdom of our labours to the church. The full-time ministry is only what pastors and missionaries do. They are set aside for the kingdom work while the rest of us work in the world to support the work of the church with our finances. We separatethe kingdom of God from the secular realm. This restricts Christ's sovereign lordship. He is Lord of ALL, not just that considered to be sacred. Christ reclaims all of creational life. This was the core of the Reformation - to bring the lordship of Christ over every aspect of life. God is reconciling ALL things to Himself through the blood of the cross of Christ. Next, part four will complete this series by examining the final restoration of all things united in Christ.
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An Interview with Davey Hoffman
By Kendra Hawley, ACU Librarian
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ACU: Tell us a bit about your family and background. DH: I grew up the oldest of four boys. My family moved from Pennsylvania to Michigan when I was three years old. One of the first things we did after we moved was look for a church. We found a home church at Tyrone Covenant Presbyterian Church, which is still my home church. Our family has always been involved in various church activities, sometimes this meant being at church every day of the week. My brothers and I were home-schooled and during high school we were involved in home-school co-ops and sports teams (basketball, soccer and baseball), which we really enjoyed. During my grade 10 year, I visited Covenant College (my parents' alma mater) and soon decided to attend when I finished high school. During my time at Covenant, I was involved in student ministry, sports and freshman orientation. When I entered college, I planned to major in either Chemistry or Biblical studies. Later, I switched my major to Mathematics with the plan to teach middle or high school students. I minored in Education, but continued to take classes in biblical studies and missions.
ACU: You said you grew up attending church. How did you com e to a personal faith in Christ? DH: From an early age I knew that my parents were Christians and that I needed to come to a decision for myself on it. One day, when I was about six or seven, I was riding in the car with my mom and told her I wanted to pray to become a Christian. A couple years later my grandma died, which was a wake-up call for my faith, because it made me wonder what life was all about. For the next several years, I asked a lot of questions about God and Christianity to my parents and pastor. From this experience, I began to truly unde rstand who God is and what it means to be a Christian. God also used these years to draw me closer to scripture, which is where I found a lot of answers to my questions. Being home-schooled and a regular church attendee helped to strengthen my faith that had begun as a child.
ACU: What led you to Zambia and ACU? DH: Missions and pastoral ministry was on my mind since high school. After reading about many missionaries, such as Jim Elliot, I thought the greatest endeavor in life was to be a missionary, and this idea followed me to college. While at Covenant, I went on a learning trip to Uganda with one of my professors in May 2010. We worked with some missionaries and churches there. This trip gave me a more realistic picture of missions work. Ministry is tough, but has great rewards. However, after this trip I thought that maybe the Lord wanted me to become a pastor, and stay in the USA. But the idea of going into missions stayed in the back of my mind. During my time at Covenant, I became friends with Damarise & Hannah Turnbull (Ken Turnbull's daughters). One day we were walking around Chattanooga and I started talking with them about what their parents did and all about ACU. It sounded like an interesting endeavor. When Ken & Lisa came to their daughters' graduation in May 2013, I talked with them about ACU. It really drew my interest, but I figured it was something that I would not really be able to do. However, that November, Ken contacted me again and said they still needed a Mathematics teacher and asked if I was interested. I prayed and talked with my family about it, and seemed like the right opportunity, so I went for it.
ACU: You are teaching a course in the Scholars Programme. Tell us aout it. DH: I will teach the Mathematics course. The course will cover the usual A-Levels topics, but will be taught from a Biblical perspective while looking at the history of the thought behind Mathematical principles. This is something that is not commonly taught in Mathematics. This subject is usually approached from man-centered reasoning instead of from the perspective of how it helps us understand God's creation. At creation, God put everything into motion and we can observe that through Mathematics. Mathematics is a language by which we can better understand His creation.
ACU: Thanks, Davey. We are glad to have you here. DH: Thanks, I'm glad to be here!
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ACU Update
By Dr. Ken Turnbull, ACU Vice-Chancellor
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"The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build".
~Nehemiah 2:20 ~
The Management Team of ACU was fully prepared to start the Scholars Programme in September. However, the Lord had other plans. While ACU is waiting on the Zambian Ministry of Education for our registration approval to operate as a university, it is actually the God of heaven who will make us prosper. We, His servants, have risen up and we are building. He will determine the result. As soon as we receive registration approval and the restrictions on advertising and enrolling students are lifted, we are ready. We seek God that we might start the Scholars Programme in January, 2015. Please pray with us as God continues to prepare us for His pre-ordained time.
How is God preparing us for His work with ACU? After the news about the registration delay, it was decided that it would be best for Ray Warwick to go back to the USA to be with his wife Peggy,
 | | A healthier Peggy |
who is recovering her health and strength. Ray is anxiously expected back in early December. Recently, our librarian, Kendra Hawley, had her personal computer, camera, phone and wallet, as well as the ACU library computer stolen out of her locked ACU office while she went to the office next door in the middle of a working day! David Wegener, the Dean of the Seminary, who was to teach the core evangelistic Bible course of the Scholars Programme, the Bible's Grand Narrative, needed to return to the USA with his wife Terri to address some personal issues affecting his family and ministry work. Their absence is indefinite and will be sorely felt. This past week, Gilbert Nigh, the SIM missionary who was to teach the Computer Skills course in the Scholars Programme was returning to Canada for personal reasons. While we were busy with all of these matters in Lusaka, squatters had illegally moved onto the ACU campus property up north and were building a concrete structure. Along with a small structure, they have also bulldozed a good portion of the land! To our dismay, they destroyed much of the land's natural beauty - its contours, anthills, trees and bushes. Thankfully, they didn't destroy some of the most beautiful parts of the land, but it was shocking to see what man's selfish, evil intents can do in destroying the beauty of God's creation. To evict them off of our land, a lawyer at Lusaka Baptist Church is serving them with court papers. Please pray that there won't be any complications in this matter. This is often a means to steal the property of others by quickly developing what an owner hasn't yet developed.
Further, the Olive Doke Pavilion at the ACU office property was built with faulty workmanship. It has been a struggle to try to get it reinforced before the rains come which could cause it to collapse. Time is short, and the reinforcement work is only now beginning.
Now consider what we thought was an inconvenience regarding the delay in the registration. Was the Lord asserting His will even in allowing these attacks? As with Nehemiah (Neh 2:18), when we share about "the hand of my God that had been upon me for good", it will include these details mentioned. "God even uses those who "have no portion or right or claim" to accomplish His will (Neh 2:20)." All He does is good and according to His perfect will, not necessarily according to our plans. Clearly, had we started according to our plan, it would have been disastrous with all of these events. He brings us to our knees in complete dependence upon Him. We are thankful that the Lord is in control of it ALL! We appreciate your continued prayers for this work according to the divine counsel of the Lord's will. We continue trusting God saying, "'Let us rise up and build.' So they strengthened their hands for the good work" (Neh 2:18).
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Praise God for Peggy Warwick's improving health.
God protected Kendra Hawley, ACU Librarian, from harm when her locked office was burglarized during office hours when she briefly stepped out. We are thankful for her safety.
Praise God for the outpouring of support from Zambia and the USA for reimbursement of items stolen from Kendra and the ACU offices in the burglary.
Thank God for the arrival of Pastor (Dr.) Rod and Irene Wilton to Lusaka who are investigating the possibility of serving with ACU.
While the squatters on the ACU campus property in Chasamba did extensive damage by grading the natural terrain, trees and anthills, some of the more beautiful parts of the property were left untouched. We are grateful for that.
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Pray for the Ministry of Education to grant registration quickly.ray for the registration to be granted before end of October.
Pray for improved security after the burglary.
Pray for the retention of the ACU campus property in Chasamba from squatters attempting to overtake it. Court-ordered eviction notices are to be filed this week.
Pray for David and Terri Wegener and family.
Pray for Gilbert and Lydia Nigh and family.
Pray for the steel reinforcement of the structurally unsound pavilion.
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Seeking Help
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If God has gifted you as an artisan of excellence in any aspect of the construction trade, consider discipling colleagues and students with ACU. Please contact us if you believe God is calling you to serve His kingdom work in this way.
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Links
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A Letter From Kabwata
African Donations
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