Does our Christian faith have anything to do with our political commitments and views? For years, through its radio broadcasts, Reformed Faith and Life has pleaded in favor of such a carefully thought out involvement, following the publication of a book which my father-the late Rev. A.R. Kayayan-and I wrote together in 1995, "The Christian in the Civil Sphere." The effect of such a proclamation-that there is not a single domain of our existence which escapes the rule of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that the ultimate politics-the politics of Christ's Kingdom-should be reflected in national politics. This could not but produce some result in the minds and hearts of some listeners. I recently received an e‑mail from a young Cameroonian pastor indicating that following the reading of the above‑mentioned book, he is eager to deepen his own thinking on these matters, and asks for further guidance. He and several friends are starting a political movement in their country, and hope to achieve something one day in Cameroon.
Guidance, in this respect, first must encourage them to study a lot, to think of the long term and not to rush impulsively into actions which would very soon disqualify their endeavors, as lofty as they may genuinely be. They will have to convince the specialists of economy, constitutional law, public administration, international relations, business management, social work etc., to join them in a common reflection, nourished by serious literature, in order to grow together and be able one day to offer a solid platform of concrete proposals to their fellow Cameroonians.
From Timbuktu (Mali, West Africa) I received the following e‑mail, written by the director of Radio Tanahint: "There are excellent reactions concerning the programs of Reformed Faith and Life here in Timbuktu: people listen to the broadcasts and call the station to ask some questions. Some even come to us or to one of the pastors in town in order to get further explanations. So we notice many changes in the mentality of the population, and little by little the radio is opening new avenues which so far were closed. We can only pray that the Lord will keep blessing this ministry in our hands. At the moment, our needs are of financial and material nature: we have at our disposal only one transmitter which has given us serious concerns lately. Some of our machines must be replaced because they are getting quite old. We also need money to pay our electricity bills. There are excellent reactions concerning the programs of Reformed Faith and Life here in Timbuktu . . . little by little the radio is opening new avenues which so far were closed."
As you clearly can see from this letter, the fruits of the proclamation of the Gospel via air waves in Mali (as elsewhere) are growing, while the means to continue this proclamation are in jeopardy. We do not always know why an African Christian radio station closes its doors or stops corresponding with us. There might be other reasons, like a civil war or some civil unrest. Material difficulties play a role in many instances. That is why Reformed Faith and Life has launched the "Adopt a Project" program (see our website: www.foi‑vie.org.za). By directly sending a modest yearly contribution to a station which airs RFL's programs, you can contribute to the effective long term broadcasting of these messages, ensuring that the fruit of the proclamation described above will keep growing and not wither or eventually disappear. If the congregation you belong to wants to know more about Reformed Faith and Life, you can also download a Power Point presentation of four and a half minutes which we recently put up on our website.
Other News from the Mission
My trip to France in March‑April was preceded by a blessed participation in the European Conference of Reformed Churches in Edinburgh, Scotland. There I met fellow European Reformed pastors and believers, and planning to network further with some of them for the sake of possible collaboration in France, my home country. The stay in France allowed me to make some progress with regard to the distribution of the book "To Give an Account of Hope" published last year.
A lot more needs to be done, but these first steps go in the right direction. Two networks of Christian bookshops operating in France agreed to distribute it. It was also exhibited at the stand of the publisher, L'Age d'Homme, at the widely attended yearly book fair of Paris. Every year in France, about 60,000 books are published, while only 2 percent of those are so‑called religious books. A religious best‑seller will sell a maximum of 30,000 copies. Whether my book reaches such levels or not is not most important: what is important is its contents, and the fact that it should be available for anyone looking for it. I have had a specific public in mind while writing it-the French Roman Catholics, who need to grow closer to Scripture in the midst of the current scandals affecting the Roman church. May those who will read this book realize that beyond and above it, there is the Incarnate Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only head of His Church and who sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to illuminate those who search for Him exclusively where He is to be found: in the inspired and living testimony of the prophets and the apostles.
Please keep praying for the ministry of Reformed Faith and Life, and keep bringing your support faithfully, that the fruit of the Spirit may grow in the lives of those who will hear the Gospel in French.
