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| Peter Louwrens, the chief organiser of the AMCF conference |
My preaching ministry takes me to many
places and this time I was preaching at the 4th Africa South
Association of Military Christian Fellowships (AMCF) Conference. It was held in
Manzini, in the Kingdom of Swaziland, from Monday 26th to Friday 30th
September 2011. The mission of the AMCF is “to bring the good news of Jesus
Christ to all the military men and women of the world.” The theme of their
southern Africa regional conference was “Being Passionate for God’s Glory” from
Psalm 29:1-2. It was heart warming to meet men and women in uniform who love
the Lord and want him to be glorified.
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| Major General Jeffrey S Tshabalala officially opening the conference |
The Deputy Army Commander of Swaziland,
Major General Jeffrey S Tshabalala, officially opened the conference. The
president of the worldwide AMCF, General Lee, was also in attendance. It was
good to see the officers in full ceremonial uniforms. Their shoes were so well
polished that I could almost see my face in them! It was also good to see all
the salutes that were being given to those of higher ranks. This was a very
strange sight for those of us who only worship in the context where there are
no ranks.
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| General Lee, from Korea, the president of the worldwide AMCF |
The conferences comprised sermons, seminars,
and reports from various countries. As
the main speaker, I preached five sermons, on (a) Knowing the God of heaven,
(b) Loving the God of heaven, (c) Worshipping the God of heaven, (d) Serving
the God of heaven, and (e) Conforming to the God of heaven.
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| Rev A M C Dlamini, my co-preacher at the conference |
The other preacher was Rev A M C Dlamini,
senior pastor of International Tabernacle Church. I missed his first session
when he preached from Hebrews on intimacy with God. In his second sermon, he preached
from Exodus 33:18 where Moses said to God, “Please show me your glory.” He preached
on desperation for God’s glory. Due to
“public demand” he was squeezed into the programme on the third day, and so he
spoke from Acts 10 (on Cornelius) about divine intimacy and intervention. Rev Dlamini was evidently no small preacher
like me because cameramen always arrived some 30 minutes before he arrived and
set up their equipment to record his preaching. I suspect he is on TV in
Swaziland regularly.
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| "Yours truly" among the men and women in uniform during a group photo |
Listening to the reports from various
countries, it was clear that in some of them there was tension between military
chaplains and the AMCFs, but it was evident that everyone was hoping that in
due season good relations would be restored. Also, in some countries the AMCFs
were not yet in place, in others the AMCFs were weak, while in others they were
fully formed and robust.
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| Various types of handmade candles at the Swazi candles factory and shop |
On one afternoon we went on a tour of three
tourist destinations. The first was a factory that produces beautiful hand-made
candles. The second was a cultural village where we were taken around a village
homestead and given a talk on how life was in an average Swazi village, and
then we watched a cultural dancing group. Finally we went to a crafts shopping
centre where a number of us parted with good money buying souvenirs for home. I
often tell people that travelling is expensive business—and souvenirs are part
of the problem!
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| Traditional dancers showing us how it is done in Swazi villages |
I missed the Zambian delegation at the AMCF
conference. I was told that they were expecting 12 from Zambia. My guess is
that with the change of government in the country only the previous week they
were probably very involved in organising various spiritual activities around
the country. I trust that those who were present returned to their countries
with renewed zeal to serve the God of glory among the men and women in uniform. After all, as Zechariah says, war is won when the Lord is with you!
