Transforming a Nation

Tonight I want to share about our outreach to Haiti as well as some principle in transforming a nation. Haiti is considered one of the poorest nations in the world and the earthquake of January 12, 2010 has devastated the country and little has been done to rebuild the nation. The extent of the damage was greater than I had imagined. In Port a Prince, the capital, almost every city block had one or more buildings destroyed. We took a tour of the city and saw the extent of the damage in several areas. One of the most memorable areas was the National Palace which to me symbolizes the state of the nation. It is broken and needs to be fixed yet nothing has been done other than keep people away from it. Over a million people are living in tent cities in tents donated by many different nations. We did not go into any of the tent cities in Port a Prince but we were able to do some ministry in a tent city near the mission house we stayed at our last 4 weeks. All of the people living in the tents have lost their homes and at this point do not have a place to go until their property if they own it can be cleared of the rubble. Many people prior to the earthquake were squatters and had no title to the property where they built their homes. This presents a huge problem for the people trying to get financial help to rebuild a home on property that they do not own. Since the government did give out deeds there have been many parties laying claim to pieces of property which will have to be settled in court. This will bring even greater delay to the reconstruction process of homes, schools and hospitals. 90 percent of the land is legally unclaimed and people are making claim to the land, fighting over it and making rebuilding even harder. Habitat for Humanity is committed to build 40,000 houses in PAP in the next few years. They cannot build the homes because of the claims against the property they want to build the homes.

We saw very little being done to clear the rubble. The heavy equipment needed to clear the rubble has been donated by many countries but it is sitting in the port because the government will not release it. The missionary that we worked with the final four weeks had a vehicle shipped from the USA and when he went to pick it up he saw many heavy equipment vehicles in the same area of his truck that had been donated by governments and relief organizations. Many nations have pledged to help but very little of the money has been given due to the corruption in the government and lack of accountability. 10 billion dollars has been pledged by over 50 countries but only 700 million has been received. The government of Haiti has failed its own people and many officials have stolen money from the people for their own personal greed. The current Haiti government will not allow outside organizations to monitor how the money that is pledged will be spent. The greatest problem facing the nation of Haiti is not the economic problem but the moral problem that have devastated the nation. 34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people. Prov. 14.34

Its greatest need is a transformation of the heart of the people which can only come through the preaching of the gospel and faithfully living it out in every aspect of life.

Haiti has more missionaries per capita than any nation of the world. There are over 9,943 mission agencies in Haiti which means there are thousands of missionaries working in the country. You would think that with that many missionaries there would be more progress on bringing change to the nation. I know God is at work through his people and I know it is His desire to see this nation transformed. It seems like a daunting task yet it is not impossible. Many people are greatly discouraged and even some missionaries are losing hope as they continue to see conditions not getting better.

Charles Kraft is a well-known author and missionary who has worked in countries like Haiti that are controlled by animism and voodoo. In his experience working in these cultures he found that there needs to be three encounters to bring transformation to the people.

The first is a Truth Encounter. At the core of the worldview of the people is their beliefs about what is real and true. Many people have never had the Truth of the gospel presented to them and they live with a worldview that is based on a false understanding of God. They fear their gods because their gods have power to curse or bless. In order to appease their gods and receive what they need, they must practice certain rituals and rites that are very detailed and must be done exactly as told or they will not receive what they need. They do not know of a God of love who desires to give them good things and loves them unconditionally. The truth of the Bible needs to be clearly presented to them to free them from the bondage of the false beliefs they have accepted. Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32. It is the truth of God’s word that will transform individuals, families, communities, cities and nations. The preaching of the gospel is our number one mandate because transformation as God has planned cannot take place apart from the truth of His word.

Great Commission (Matthew 28:19)

We have the model-Jesus “As the father has sent me so send I you.” John 17. 18

We have the motive-love “For God so loved the world…”John 3:16

We have the mandate: Go and make disciples

We have the method: preach

We have the message: the gospel

We have the magnitude: the whole world

The enemy, satan, has blinded them to the truth and he is holding them in bondage. Food, medicine, hospitals, homes, orphanages, schools and other humanitarian aid are needed but they in themselves do not meet the greatest need of the people which is the truth of God’s word. All of these can be vehicles in which the gospel can be shared and must be shared. God cares about the whole person but the greatest need is to have an encounter with truth.

One of the disheartening things we experienced in Haiti was an attitude of “Give me” among some of the people. They were not interested in hearing the gospel and were focused only on receiving something material from us. We saw this in young children and in adults. But we also met people who were seeking for the truth and when the gospel was presented they received it and gave their lives to Christ.

God in His wisdom has chosen the foolishness of preaching to communicate His truth. We must never back down from this mandate and seek for creative ways to communicate the message so that the people will understand. We used the Jesus film children’s version frequently on our outreach. Whenever we showed it we drew large crowds and always had people come to Christ. It was a method that was very effective along with the dramas and testimonies we gave.

The second encounter needed is a Commitment Encounter. Once people have heard the gospel and believe it to be true they must make a commitment to abandon all other beliefs and hold exclusively to the truth of the word. All too often in animistic cultures they people are accustomed to seeing change or answers quickly and when they do not receive answers quickly through their prayers they revert to the spiritists for help. When a person comes to Christ there must be repentance, complete turning away from every belief and practice that is in opposition to the truth. There cannot be a syncretistic mixture that was seen in the Catholic church in Haiti that allowed a mixture of Christianity and voodoo. Christ calls us to a complete and exclusive commitment to follow Him. He challenged those who wanted to be his followers to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow him. If He is the Truth then He must be followed, there can be no compromise or half-hearted commitment. Believing in Him is not a mental assent. The word belief has as its true meaning “by your life”. There has to be a commitment to live your life by the truth of God’s word which means there must be teaching given to them so they understand the Word. One of the things we observed was churches that did not interpret the Scriptures accurately and rejected people who did not conform to their beliefs. We met a couple of ladies who were rejected by a church and not allowed to enter because they wore pants and had tattoos. Not all churches have this warped doctrine but it was sad for us to meet people who wanted to be a part of a church but did not meet the standards to be accepted. We actually helped to start a church in the neighborhood of these ladies who seemed to have a real hunger for the truth.

Several times when we were out sharing the gospel we were confronted by Christian people who seemed to really focus on the issue of women wearing pants. They would get very passionate about their belief that women should not be allowed to wear pants. One time we were witnessing to a group of young ladies when another group of people passing by stopped to listen and then they began a discussion with our interpreter who was a pastor about the issue of wearing pants. The focus of the conversation changed from sharing the gospel to debating about pants. The girls we were witnessing to left the conversation and walked down to talk with Marianne. The pants debate finally ended and we again shared the gospel with the young ladies and two of them received Christ. It is a sad day when the primary focus of some believers is on outward things and not the condition of the heart.

Another thing we encountered was people thought they needed to change before they could really commit their lives to Christ. They felt that they would not be accepted unless they made changes or got themselves to be good enough for Christ to accept them. They did not understand that true change can only happen when Christ comes to rule their lives as they make a commitment to Him. We had to encourage the people with this attitude that Christ would bring the changes as the progressed in their knowledge of the truth. Sanctification is a process that is continually a part of our Christian life. When we make a commitment to Christ to become a follower he takes us “As is.”

The final encounter is a Power Encounter. People who live in animistic cultures have witnessed the power of satan. They have seen demonic power at work and fear it. For these people to convert to Christ they must experience Christ’s power as a greater power than satan. Philip Steyne in his book, “Gods of Power” stated the following:

“Throughout the history of the Church, she has been engaged in power encounters against the forces of evil. Therefore, to presume that a person can come out of the domain of darkness into God’s Kingdom without a power showdown, assumes that Satan will allow transfer of membership without a battle. The Bible doesn’t support this notion.” P. 210

Christ has given us power over the enemy. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but are powerful. 2 Cor. 10:3-5

3 Indeed, we live as human beings,but we do not wage war according to human standards;4 for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments 5 and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Demonic powers must submit to Christ. As believers, “greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.” 1 Jn 4.4

Christ did not leave us clueless or powerless regarding the enemy. We have been given authority through Christ to exercise power over the forces of darkness. The unsaved must see this and experience this especially those who have been involved in the dark side of the spirit world.

While in Haiti we saw Voodoo temples and talked with people who practiced voodoo. Several times after presenting the gospel the people would say no to the invitation. When asked what held them back they would state they were not ready. One man was 92 years old and said he was not ready. His days were definitely numbered yet he did not want to give his life to Christ. We learned that the rejection was often because they were practicing voodoo but did not want to admit it. One lady we shared the gospel with said she could not make a decision to accept Christ without her husband’s approval. Even though we told her that she would stand alone before the judgment seat and be accountable for her decision she was not persuaded. Her husband came home while we were talking with her so she went to ask him to come to talk with us but he refused. Another lady who was with her told us after we left them that the couple was practicing voodoo.

When these three encounters: truth encounter, commitment encounter and power encounter; are experienced individuals will be transformed and the culture can be changed as the truth of God’s word is put into practice in every area of life.

The nation of Haiti is in desperate need of transformation. The beliefs and attitudes that rule the country need to be replaced with the truth of God’s word. The gospel must be proclaimed through committed believers who know the power of God. The church must rise up and begin to exert influence in every area of life to establish the Kingdom of God in the country. It is easy to be discouraged by the corruption and devastation but God is not calling his church to sit back and wait for help. He is calling his church to be on the frontlines setting an example to people who have accepted a counterfeit system of beliefs. We saw very few people actually working to clean up the rubble and garbage that was thrown everywhere. We did see on a couple of occasions a group of people wearing shirts that said “Working for food or money.” I am not sure why people are not doing much to clean up their country and begin the rebuilding process. It is a completely different attitude than what was demonstrated by the people of Germany after WWII when many of their cities were completely destroyed. The German people used their hands and hand tools and wheelbarrows to clear the rubble. In Berlin there remains a large pile of rubble where the people brought it after clearing their property. It remains today as a memorial to the hard work of the people to restore their nation. I pray that this attitude will become part of the transformation of the Haitian culture. Haiti needs a leader or leaders like Nehemiah who had a passion to rebuild the fallen walls of Jerusalem and in doing so reestablished the true identity of the people of Israel who were in captivity. He encouraged the people to “rise and build” and the people responded and accomplished the task in only 52 days because they had a “mind to work.” I believe that God wants to establish a new identity for the people of Haiti which will only happen as they allow God to bring transformation to their nation.

We were blessed to be able to work with a church called, “The Body of Christ.” They were actively involved in relocating people on their property in Babancourt that served as a refugee camp for 1500 people. Most of the refugees have returned to Porta Prince but there are still families living at the site. The church is constructing homes on their property and has a long-term goal of making it a community with a hospital and community center to serve the needs of the people.

Haiti is in the process of electing a new president and representatives in their government. While we were there the first election took place but the results have been disputed and riots have erupted in the capital. Many of the people are angry and are demanding another election. It is perhaps a defining point in the history of this nation and we must continue to pray that whoever becomes the next group of leaders in Haiti will take a stand for truth and justice and work for the good will of people. But above all we must pray for the truth of God’s word to be the foundation of the country and that the values that are taught and principles taught in the Scriptures will become the standards of the nation.

Pray for the missionaries and mission organizations that are working in Haiti. It is not an easy country to live and the spiritual environment is challenging. Pray that more teams will go to Haiti to help bring the transformation that is needed. Pray for encouragement among the missionaries who are giving so much of themselves to help the people. Pray for the church in Haiti to take action and set a good example to the people.