Author: Jojo Agot

Pastor at Victory. Faculty and adviser at Every Nation Leadership Institute (ENLI). MA in Theology and Mission at Every Nation Seminary.

Defense for Christianity

I had this very interesting Facebook conversation with an old friend who is now working for the US Navy. We were college classmates but it was not until she migrated to the US that we started having serious exchange of ideas. Her name is Ruth. She’s smart and very down to earth. Despite the tight nature of our discussion, I assure you that this is a friendly exchange between us. This entry is published with her kind permission.

Ruth: More people have been slaughtered in the name of religion than for any other single reason. That, my friends, that is true perversion.

Jojo: I agree that it is perversion but I genuinely disagree with your statistics and the way people came up with these numbers (not to mention the insinuation it paints in the mind). The flip side of this is that more good has been done to the world by Christianity than any other religion and atheistic philosophy; one of which is our freedom of speech. Without it, we wouldn’t be able to post something like this in a public forum like Facebook.

Another notable gift of Christianity to the world is the elevation of the value of women and children. In pre-Christian era, women were maltreated mercilessly and female children were either killed or left to die by exposure. Christianity is not perfect, it has a bloody history (like the witch hunts and the crusades) but it is the first religion to embrace the leper, feed the poor, build orphanages, fought for humanity’s inalienable rights and freedom of speech, ended cannibalism, and promoted education for everyone.

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When Waiting Is Not Funny

One major point of the two sermons I heard today was the virtue of waiting. Things that really matter take a lot of time to grow. Like relationships, or trust, or faith, or virtue. An oak tree takes 60 years to grow, a mongo seed can do it in a matter of days- in a petri dish! The key here is obviously the time element.

Yes we all know it by heart but that knowledge can never lessen the energy-draining effect of waiting. Whether it’s about repairing a broken trust or pursuing an elusive relationship that doesn’t seem to lead anywhere, it’s always the waiting that kills.

It is easy to tell people to sit it out and just wait for the heavens to grant their prayers. That would sound spiritual and sensible. You can clap your friend’s back when the topic comes up. You can try to make fun of it. We can all have a good laugh.

But remember that it’s not funny for everyone.

It’s not funny for someone who took his board exam the third time around. Not funny for a married couple who still don’t have a baby after many years of marriage. Not funny for a woman is still single while she’s in her late thirties. Not funny for a guy who got his fifth rejection.

Only God knows why some of us are to be tested with waiting. May we have the grace to shut up when we are most tempted to make fun of a friend’s waiting problem.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” –Galatians 6: 2

How to Grow Your Victory Group

Have fun in your victory group meeting. Make it more exciting. Pepper it with laughter to make people at ease. But remember that if you go home without talking about Christ, without saying anything about the crucified Savior, without mentioning the purpose of Jesus’ death on the cross for all humanity, you will have skipped the most important reason why we do victory groups in the first place.

Yes we tell them that relationships are important. Yes we tell them that they need to make the right choices. Yes we tell them that they need to be good, that they need to act in love, that they need to be responsible, and excellent, and honest, and polite, and positive. But if we take away the name of Christ from the whole meeting, if we fail to exalt Jesus, what good is your victory group?

Don’t pamper them with pop psychology or cute quotes. Lead them to the foot of the cross. Bring them to Jesus. Show them the fire of the Holy Spirit. You only have this moment to lead a person to Christ. You will never know how small the window of opportunity you have to touch a person’s life. He may be here today. Who knows where he will be next week?

Cultivate friendships within your group but don’t let that blind you of your purpose to eventually multiply your group so you could accommodate more people. Relationships make us feel good but the supremacy of Christ over us is so much better. Trust me on this: our friendships would have more meaning and purpose if we place them under the Lordship of Jesus.

Learn the art of cutting in the long winding talks of overly talkative people. At the same time, learn the art of drawing the “silent type” into the conversation. Do both with grace. But don’t forget that it’s not so much about information transfer. It is about teaching people to follow Jesus. Play with ideas but don’t get stuck there. Drive all the points to real life application. What good is a truth that doesn’t translate to action?

Know when to laugh and crack jokes. But more importantly, be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and know when to be serious. A person’s life and salvation may depend on that one moment.