My role as a lecturer at Pilgrim Wesleyan Bible College is
stretching me in many ways. I am
training people who are becoming pastors when I myself have never been a
pastor. I have also never prepared
lesson plans or taught classes in a school setting. All of this would be plenty enough to be challenging
and stretching my abilities, but the hardest thing I come up against has to do
with cultural differences.
Besides the obvious concerns of understanding how Zambian
students learn best, what the expected role of a lecturer and student is in the
classroom, and how a classroom functions, there are many theological difference
I encounter that are a result of different cultural experiences.
My life experience and world view are based on a wealthy
upbringing that included a solid western education which allowed me to think
for myself and encouraged and supported me to meet my full potential. My student’s life experience is often the
exact opposite.
My theological upbringing and especially my education at
Houghton allowed me to make theological decisions for myself. Often what is taught in schools here is very
dogmatic, meaning there is always a right or wrong answer to a question. This dogmatic education has been transferred
into the churches ways of educating, meaning that there is always a right or
wrong theological answer. I’ve been
doing my best to challenge and allow my students to think for themselves and
realize there are some questions we just don’t have a good answer to.
All across Africa, as well as in many parts of America, the
Prosperity Gospel is taking advantage of people’s desperation for wealth,
health, and happiness. This misuse of scripture is influencing preachers of
every denomination, and many of my student’s words are laced with a
misunderstanding of what God’s blessings will provide.
African tribal religions are a very present reality. Talk of witches and wizards, demons and demon
possessed, and many other forms of spiritual warfare are challenging my
worldview and understanding of demonic forces.
The role of women in this culture has traditionally been of
lesser importance than men. I’m not saying
they were oppressed as is seen in some cultures, simply not given the same voice
or opportunities as men. Although this
mindset is slowly being remedied by new opportunities for women and there is a
new openness to their equality, the influence of this history is still very
apparent. Wesleyan’s believe, as do I,
that women have an equal role in church leadership. I also believe women have an equal standing
with their husbands. Using scripture to shift
this mindset, for both men and women, is a common discussion in our classes.
Besides these cultural challenges, I find that I’m dealing
with exceptionally bright students who oftentimes have a greater knowledge of
the Bible than I do. When there are
names and stories that I’m not fully certain of, they practically have it
memorized. Coming from a culture that is
used to memorizing stories, they can quickly memorize scripture and are often
very quick on the draw for finding a specific verse.
There are many times in the classroom where I have to
wonder, who is the real student here? My
eyes are being opened to how much I don’t know, and my mind is soaking up new
information every day. It’s an experience
that I know will form the way I think for the rest of my life, and one I will
never regret!
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