Hard Lessons in Idudi

By Rev. Stephen P. Monahan

 

I have been involved with the ministry of Workers Together With Him for approximately five years. During that time, my wife Debra and I have organized and hosted two Weapons of Our Warfare seminars in my home state of Louisiana (USA). I have become a member of the ministry’s board of directors, and have accompanied my friend, Rev. Tim Sullivan, and others on several overseas missions for the presentation of seminars.
Furthermore, I am called by the Lord Jesus Christ to be a teacher, and was invited by Tim to receive training in teaching the class materials. I have therefore had occasion to teach various segments of the class both at home and abroad.

On 9 February 2006, I accompanied Rev. Sullivan on a journey to the town of Idudi in the Iganga district of Uganda, East Africa. Our mission was to present the Weapons of Our Warfare seminar to a group of Ugandan and Kenyan ministers. Our intention was to share the teaching responsibilities, each one handling two or three segments and thus alternating until we finished. By this means we would determine how ready I was to
teach the entire class. This was a training mission.

Class actually began on Monday morning, 13 February. Our dear brother Henry Musana was our interpreter since few of the students spoke English. We had before us a group of men and women who were ready to receive much more than just another mechanical
teaching on the gifts of the Spirit, more than spiritual methods and techniques. Many were willing to have their hearts opened and searched by the Holy Spirit; to be shown the depths of discipleship.

By Tuesday evening, I was acutely aware of the enormity of a teacher’s responsibility as well as how unprepared I was both mentally and spiritually, to shoulder it.

In 2 Timothy 2:2, the apostle Paul gave instruction to the young minister Timothy, saying, “and the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same
commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” That is, faithful to invest a great deal of time in study and prayer, seeking the Lord. A man must be prepared with knowledge and skills, such as working with an interpreter; but I believe the ability spoken of in this verse is spiritual enablement rather than human aptitude. One must be deeply prepared to follow the Lord’s leading, unhindered by personal issues or ideas. This is why the Apostle warns about being entangled with the affairs, saying, “No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Tim. 2:4). Such was my case in the months prior to this class. Preparation for previous classes availed me very little, so that even sessions that I had taught successfully on other occasions did not go well this time. I also suffered from performance anxiety because I was overly concerned with pleasing Tim. All these things combined left me open to spiritual interference, which occurred
on Tuesday afternoon. My words were confounded. I actually misstated my very beliefs and later had to correct what I had said. The students had come for something better than this, so by the end of the day, I was finished as a teacher. The words of James 3:1 were vividly real to me: “My brethren, be not many masters [teachers], knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.”

From Wednesday morning on, I was a student, having my heart searched and being shown the depths of discipleship. During this time, the Lord was as tender in His encouragement and instruction as He had been harsh in His rebukes on Tuesday. I was very greatly helped and came away from the experience with a greater grasp of this warfare that we are all involved in than I’ve ever had before.

Now, for those who are wondering why I am telling you about my failure, let me say this. Falling on your face is a necessary, unavoidable part of the process of learning how to walk. Yes, it is painful, but as the saying goes, no pain, no gain! I hope to encourage more of you to get out there and fail a bit; to stop hiding in a safe environment and learn how to trust and obey Jesus Christ. After all, that really is what this life is all about, isn’t it?

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From the May 2006 edition of the Vine & Branches