Michael Nhonya - or is it Eddie Murphy?

My host for most of the last 3 weeks has been Michael, the General Secretary of the Baptist Convention of Tanzania (BCT), a collective of about 1,500 Baptist churches. He is a quite extraordinary Christian and someone I have grown to love and hugely respect. He is a doppelganger for Eddie Murphy, but twice as much fun!

Through long journeys (here he is eating his beloved sumaki/fish, tilapia, while driving) and the sharing of stories and many meals together, we have become friends - kindred spirits! His story will amaze you. Here I am with his family as I took them out for a thank you supper on my last night at the old New Dodoma Hotel.

Born into an Anglican Christian family, Michael's father was a natural evangelist and church planter - around 20 in his life thus far. The Anglicans made what he considered an unreasonable demand on him, so he became a Baptist (Hallelujah!) and he continued his work for God.

Having lost his mother at an early age, Michael became a troubled young man who got up to no good! On one occasion he was fortunate to escape the potentially serious consequences of his actions. A short time later a friend took him, reluctantly on Michael's part, to an evangelistic meeting. On hearing the speaker, Michael wanted to know how he knew everything about himself! This was, of course, the Holy Spirit speaking to his heart, which, as the talk continued, began to beat faster and faster. By the end of the evening, Michael had confessed his sins to Jesus, opened his heart and welcomed Him in. 

A year or so later, Michael met and married the love of his life and best friend, Juliette. Michael became a charcoal maker and they settled down to start a family. Their first born was a son, Cosmas. While Michael was away making charcoal he had an urgent message to say that Cosmas was ill and to come home. He left his many bags of charcoal with a friend and set off on a borrowed bicycle. In the meantime, Juliette had asked a neighbour to help get Cosmas to hospital. They had refused and the time delay proved to be critical. By the time she got there, the 2 year old was too ill and he died. Michael got to the hospital too late as well. To make matters worse, if possible, his "friend" sold all Michael's charcoal and absconded with the money, and the bicycle he had borrowed was stolen from where he had left it outside the hospital, leaving Michael with medical bills, a bicycle to replace and overdue rent on their home to pay, all without any money. They were destitute as well as in deep grief. As Michael related this story I was deeply moved, as you might imagine, and I wondered what effect it had had on his faith in Christ? He and Juliette remained firm in their faith and received strength from Jesus to carry on. They now have 3 children. David, Jacqueline and Jessica.

Eventually Michael responded to the call to become a Baptist pastor. His father's passion for planting churches lives in Michael and he has planted many. Eventually he received the call to become pastor of the big international Baptist Church in Arusha. After several years of successful ministry with trips to the USA, he gave it up to pastor a dying congregation of elderly folk near Dodoma and start again. Not surprisingly the church started to grow and Michael began church planting once again. By this time he was appointed by the BCT as vice chairman of the convention, and after he had served his term was looking forward to getting back to devoting his energies to local churches in the Dodoma area. Last August he attended the annual convention, as usual, and at one point was asked to step out of the hall where they were meeting. After half an hour he was asked back in and told that he was being proposed for the office of General Secretary - in effect the national leader of his denomination. He was dumbfounded. It had not crossed his mind that he would be considered for such an important task. BCT has a tradition of electing one of their pastors to be General Secretary for a maximum of two four-year terms, without any application procedure! Michael received well over 300 of the 400 votes at the annual gathering and is already having a profound effect on BCT, not least representing them in a five hour meeting with - and praying for - the president of Tanzania earlier this year, along with other national church leaders. The issues he is constantly tackling are huge and his 2 phones never seem to stop ringing, but he meets each challenge with good humour and godly wisdom. I have talked with BCT trustees, council members and zone officials. He is widely regarded and respected.

Why do I, a very ordinary pastor from the UK, have any involvement with him? And why do I have the honour of staying in his home for my last night in this wonderful country? Well, many years ago God gave me a passion to teach the Bible 'in Africa'. This is a big need in many African churches where theological education is sadly lacking. 14 years ago for my first sabbatical I was given an opportunity to teach in an Anglican college just up the road from where Michael lives. I loved it and felt like a round peg in a round hole. 14 years later, wondering what to do for my third sabbatical, my old friend Simon Moore phoned me and asked if I'd like to consider doing some teaching in Tanzania for a couple of weeks a year on a five-year programme? Well, as they say from where I come from: 'give a donkey strawberries'! The church I serve kindly recognised this as the call of God and released me to serve by teaching in a place I love.

(Michael, second from right, with Dodoma based Baptist colleagues and Simon and me.)

But this is where the story really amazes me. Ten years ago the long term missionary partners of BCT simply upped sticks and left the country, with very little notice. Some missionaries were given 2 weeks to leave having devoted their lives to the Baptist family here. They were the ones who staffed and supported the critically needed theological education for new pastors and many Bible schools were sold. From being well resourced theologically to nothing in the space of a few months. Ten years ago. The BCT have very little in the way of central financial resource. They can't even afford to pay Michael as General Secretary! They simply do not have what is needed to ensure that pastors are properly educated. This is a major concern for Michael, so when Pastor Training International, the charity I am sent by, offered free certificated theological training, albeit very short term, he jumped at the opportunity. So, here I am - little me! - coming alongside my fellow Baptists in a country I love, offering the little I have to help in a challenge that's far bigger than anything I can muster.

In Michael's theological training he was told of the importance of British Baptist origins, starting in 1609, and yet, up and till now, he knew of no contemporary British Baptists, or even if they still existed. It is my profound privilege to be his first contact with the Baptist Union of Great Britain! Please pray for me as I come back with a determination to do something about the plight of my precious Baptist sisters and brothers, as their pastors rely on input from so-called Christian satellite TV channels rather than rigourous, authentic and biblically based teaching suitable for their culture and context.

This is my friend, Michael, aka Eddie Murphy. Please pray for him.

PS I'm currently on the all-day bus to Dar es Salaam where I am due on the first of 2 flights back to the UK, leaving at 3.20am Sunday, arriving at Birmingham at 4pm. I'm looking forward to my own bed!