Deviating from the Plan
Most of us make plans. Some of us have plans for the day and week while others have plans for the month, the year, and the rest of our lives. We talk about our plans, get excited about them, and can’t wait to be a part of them.
When I arrived in Kericho late in January, I planned on doing media and youth ministry. However, God had another plan and presented me with an opportunity to teach guitar to the students and staff at Kenya Highlands Evangelical University. Around 20 students and three staff took lessons. We had classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the chapel, where we would split up into groups and learn songs. If a student didn’t know a chord or understand what I was saying, one of the other students would take the time to show them and would help them until they got it. These students invested in each other as I invested in them. What a beautiful picture of discipleship.
Through guitar lessons, these theology students not only learned how to play an instrument, but they also learned what it means to be a worship leader, worshiping God in “spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24). As we lived life together, we talked about how worship is a lifestyle, not just something that happens at church. For me, worship is my response, both personal and corporate, to God, for who He is and what He has done, expressed in the way I live and the things I say. Many students had not seen worship in this light before. Not only are these students worshiping Christ in their classes and at church, but they are living out a lifestyle of worship. When I asked them what they planned on doing with what they learned, each student said, “I am going to teach others how to play.” Guitar, for them, is now a tool they can take to their villages to lead others in worship and a deeper relationship with Christ.
Currently, my wife, Tascha, and I are at the Africa Gospel Church Baby Centre in Nakuru, serving in children’s and media ministries. Even now that I am in Nakuru, the guitar ministry at KHEU continues. I still talk with, encourage, and help my students as they teach others how to play guitar and what it means to worship God in spirit and in truth.
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