Breaking Dividing Walls

We began our training sessions today. There are 10 of us trainers representing 8 countries and around 60 trainees from Africa and beyond. The majority of trainees are South Africans, but there is a good representation from elsewhere—over 20 countries. It is always an exhilarating and humbling experience worshiping with believers from various cultures. One of the songs we’ve been singing contains the lyrics, “We will break dividing walls.” Pray that is truly so. What Martin Luther King stated about American churches (“The most segregated places in America are in our churches on Sunday mornings”) is a gross understatement for Africa. Racial divides run deep within this culture. We conducted an exercise last night where participants were required to work in groups to reach a consensus. Right in front of my face, I saw black South Africans ignored by the Afrikaaners. Our training team is asking the Lord to begin chipping away at the dividing walls this week.