Lessons Learnt

After ten days in South Africa I am shortly to head for Johannesburg airport, and the long flight home. I came to learn, and I’ve learnt a lot. Here are my ‘big five’ observations…

1. I still love South Africa! It is always a joy to come here – the people, the landscapes, the sunshine – this is a remarkable country.

2. It is good to remain optimistic. There are a lot of potential threats to the future stability and prosperity of South Africa, from global economics, to HIV-Aids, to firebrand politicians, yet the nation as a whole seems to be getting on pretty well and there are many encouraging things happening. In the UK we tend to hear about the high crime levels and other problems of South Africa, but the generosity of South Africans can be remarkable. An example: the many streets still named after, and statues still standing in commemoration of, Afrikaner heroes of old. That’s just not how things are in most ‘liberated’ nations.

3. PJ Smyth is a remarkable leader. There’s no news there, but it has been fascinating being at Godfirst Church and seeing the outworking of PJ’s leadership gift.

4. The multisite model is working exceptionally well here. The things I like about it are:

·       The benefits of ‘localization’ and ‘centralization’ are plain. Individual site leaders really do lead and pastor their churches, with a team of elders working together in the mission. There is genuine empowerment of these leaders, and they have genuine freedom to contextualise for their setting and significant autonomy in much of how they run their sites – including some of the biggies such as finance. Yet at the same time the benefits of being one team, with big team resources means that each site and its leaders packs a far greater punch and has far greater momentum at their backs than they would if they were out on their own.

·       There is a real ‘band of brothers’ feel to the site leaders team here. The sense of commitment to one another and the overall mission of Godfirst is tangible. Respect for and willingness to follow PJ is clear. But these are not yes men – they are ready to disagree with one another, and push back on areas that need to be debated. This robust camaraderie is very impressive.

·       The commitment to mission as being the sine qua non of Godfirst is very clarifying. This is made explicit in the Godfirst site leaders handbook: I believe that the primary role of church is mission. Without a biblical clarity of the primary purpose of the church, the measure of ‘true church’ becomes the aspect of church that a person is most passionate about. I am certain that biblically there is only one contender for the top spot – mission.

·       Multisite means that Godfirst is incredibly diverse, yet able to focus on reaching culturally distinct communities. For example, yesterday morning I preached at Rosebank, which felt very much like being at home in Gateway – a range of ages, and some ethnic diversity. In the evening, I preached at Wits, which was almost entirely composed of young, black, students. The vibe between the two sites was very different, yet the fact that they are both expressions of the same church rather than of different churches was clear. I love that!

·       This unity in diversity also means that Godfirst is able to work out something of an Acts 2:42-47 dynamic, with wealthier communities blessing and serving poorer ones. Working out how to handle finance in a nation with the inequalities and history of South Africa is a challenge that should not be underestimated – multisite is providing a good vehicle for Godfirst to navigate these complicated issues.

·       The resources generated by a big church allow PJ and team to set an expectation of high standards and to release specialised gifting, but to work this out at a local level so that the church doesn’t feel in anyway impersonal, or out of touch.

·       All of the above points put together mean that the concerns many have about multisite (and which I share) do not seem to be an issue here. That is quite an achievement.

5. God is faithful! I spoke on the faithfulness of God while at Jubilee Community Church and I have really felt the faithfulness of God on this trip. Last night at Wits I was completely undone as soon as we began to worship. In 1988 I landed in Swaziland, a rebellious and gauche 18 year-old. I would never have dreamt that 23 years later I would get to worship with – and preach to – 250 fantastic, passionate students in a democratic and exciting South Africa. God has been very faithful to me.