A Year In Review: Book Reading List 2024

The year 2024 came with its own surprising twists and unexpected events. Early on, I transitioned from one job to a series of consulting roles until I landed what seemed to be a stable position—but only time will tell. Throughout this major professional shift, my family grew as my wife and I welcomed our fourth son. This new addition to our family brought unexpected demands on our time, more than I had bargained for. Raising four boys is no easy feat, especially when two of them have strong-willed personalities.

Despite the increased family responsibilities, I managed to continue some of my usual activities. I attended some of our weekly Bible Study with the Living Word Association (LWA) and made an effort, though limited, to fulfill my role as a Catechist for confirmation classes at my parish. Though these two commitments took a backseat, two other activities took center stage throughout the year. First, I continued joining Father Raphael and Tigana in offering a monthly Bible Study in our local parishes focused on the Gospel of St. Mark. Second, we launched a series of spiritual journeys for an ecumenical audience (both Catholics and Protestants) with a special emphasis on Charismatic gifts. This latter initiative gained remarkable momentum, growing from an initial 21 participants in 2023 to a regular gathering of 40+ attendees each month.

In addition to the monthly spiritual journey, which began in July 2024, two major retreats were conducted with guest speakers from South Africa: Br. Nesbert, Sr. Olivia, and Dr. Thierry L. Both retreats, one in June and the other in November, provided profound spiritual experiences. Unlike the 2023 event, where we played a supporting role while our guest speakers led the prayers for healing and the in-filling of the Holy Spirit (a term used in Charismatic circles to describe a profound encounter with God's love, often accompanied by physical manifestations in those receiving prayer), this time, we actively involved the participants in praying for one another. Many powerful testimonies emerged from these spiritual gatherings. People shared stories of physical healing, emotional liberation, and spiritual renewal. Some close friends who had embarked on this journey with me, seeking a greater manifestation of the Holy Spirit, were overjoyed to witness the Lord answering their longing in unexpected way.

As I do each year, I am sharing my reading list of books I was able to complete. However, I noticed a significant drop in my reading this year due to my increasingly demanding schedule. This year, and possibly going forward, I will drop the scaling I used to give to my readings:

Catholic Authors:

1. The Signs of His Coming: An Examination of the Olivet Discourse from a Preterist Perspective by David J. Palm

2. Healing - Revised and Expanded (The Bestselling Classic) by Francis MacNutt

3. Hostile Witnesses: How the Historic Enemies of the Church Prove Christianity by Gary Michuta

Protestant Authors:

1. The Quest for the Radical Middle: A History of the Vineyard by Dr. Bill Jackson

2. Nine O'Clock in the Morning by Dennis J. Bennett

3. Angels Are for Real: Inspiring, True Stories and Biblical Answers by Judith MacNutt

4. Understanding Spiritual Gifts: A Comprehensive Guide by Sam Storm

Miscellaneous Books:

1. Testing Prayer: Science and Healing by Candy Gunther Brown (Harvard University Press)

As I look forward to the new year 2025, I do so with hope, praying that it will be better than the last, all for the glory of God the Father.

"I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:6 (NABRE)

A Year In Review: Book Reading List 2023

We finally crossed the year 2023 over to 2024. Last year was an intense year for me on many fronts and I am glad to have survived it. As I have done each year, I have continued my regular weekly Bible studies with the Living Word Association (LWA) which is an inter-denominational association which strive at understanding the Bible and practice its precepts. This year marked an important shift in our bible study protocol. A new study method was introduced that has enriched everybody's learning curve. The method is coined, C.O.C.A. This acronym stands for Context, Observation, Comprehension, Application. Yes, it is easy to remember and even easier to apply. This method was introduced into our local scenery by Father Raphael Manikiza, the Dominican Vicar Provincial of the Provincial Vicariate of Rwanda and Burundi. 

This method, COCA, was initially introduced in our monthly Bible Study at the Dominican Chapel where I have been honoured to work alongside with Father Raphael and the lay theologian Tigana Birasa as we offered our reflection on the Gospel of Matthew for the Liturgical Year-A to the Community. For 2024, we will continue our study and focus on the Gospel of Mark.

Half a dozen year ago, I went into a quest to better understand my Christian faith as a Catholic and I have come enriched and better for it. After completing the reading of the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I turned to the official teaching documents of Vatican II. I have made a slow inroad this last year, after reading the 4 Dogmatic constitutions (Lumen Gentium, Dei Verbum, Sacrosanctum Concilium and Gaudium et Spes) and read the 3 Declarations of the council Vatican II:

1. Gravissimum Educationis, it is the Declaration on Christian Education
2. Dignitatis Humanae, it is the Declaration on Religious Freedom
3. Nostra Aetate*, it is the Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (this one was read the year prior*).

I also started reading the list of Vatican II Decrees. So far, I have read two of them and I am slowly going through the rest:

1. Apostolicam Actuositatem, it is a Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity
2. Ad Gentes, it is a Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church

As I said in my last review, "reading what the Church says in its own words is so refreshing and so encouraging and it sounds at time quite different from what people out there says about the Church teaching", I would now add, it is also so different from what some Catholic clergies have said about the Church teaching, 100% different. I remember in the year 2000 and 2001 when I had first read my whole bible systematically from Genesis to Revelation, I was in shock. The initial shock was not what I found but what I didn't found in it. Things I have heard so many times in popular platform, TVs, Radio, Conferences, etc., about what "the bible say's" but were nowhere to be found in the Bible. Neither did I find them in my second reading, nor the third time I read it. It became clear there are many things' people passes for biblical teaching which can't be found in the Bible itself. It is the same with the official Church teachings. I will dare, even challenge, anyone who has an issue with the Catholic Church teachings to first stop and ask themselves, where did I get these views about the Catholic Church teachings? And then after such honest introspection, I invite you to read the Church OFFICIAL teachings for yourself, either doctrinal or moral or social and find out the truth for yourself. You ought it to yourself!

For example, in Gaudium et Spes, I was gladly surprised, two years ago, to see that the Church takes her evangelistic mission seriously to the point of including it into one of its 4 Constitutions. And this aren't a unique occurrence, similar texts can be read in its Declarations and Decrees:

"It is necessary never to lose sight of the fact that the objective of the Church is to evangelize, not to civilize. If it civilizes, it is for the sake of evangelization." - Footnote Part II, Chapter II, No.7. 

In the same effort to strengthen my understanding of Christianity, I completed a Certification course with Harvard Divinity School on "Christianity through Its Scriptures". There are many reasons I pursued such endeavour, and one of them was to get a neutral view about my faith and to be challenged, and it was challenging to say the least. In our introduction, the professor clearly let us know that we would be studying the Christian sacred scriptures from a standpoint of Academia and not from a Devotional starting point. The message was clear, and we found out soon enough that not only we studied the Canonical texts found in our Bibles, but the Academic view of the Christian scriptures included also other early writings not found in the Bible such as the Gnostic writings of the earlier Centuries. We read them and made dissertations about them. Overall, it was a stimulating intellectual experience, and inadvertently despite the exposure to other competing writings presented to us as Scriptures, I came out of it more convinced of the Christian faith as it is articulated in its orthodoxy.

There is one important item that I should add to my list of memorable activities, namely 'The Strength of Witnesses' conference. It was a 3-day Charismatic Conference organized and hosted at the St. Dominique Parish ahead of the Feast of Pentecost and it was animated by our guests, Dr. Thierry Luhandjula, Sister Olivia Jani and Brother Nesbert Muzamba. This was followed by The Philip Course, a 3-day retreat in October 2023 at the Convent of the Dominican Sister, this retreat delved deeper into the meaning of the Christian Life. It was animated by Brother Nesbert Muzamba and Brother Giovanni Valerio Svegliati. These two events have left participants with no voice and deeply moved both emotionally, spiritually and in some cases bodily. We have come out of these events, better Christians, and more committed as Christians. It is hard to properly describe what transpired without causing misunderstanding so I would simply recommend for a better understanding of what was experienced by participants, both Catholic and non-Catholic Christians, please do refer to Encounter Ministries which is the Catholic apostolate which was our inspiration in the design of this charismatic event.

I will end with my yearly tradition which consist in sharing the list of books I read during the previous year. Each book comes with a scoring metric. This scoring doesn't necessarily mean that the book was either perfect or poor. It simply reflects my enthusiasm at the moment of reading it based on the book content and the appeal of the writing style. These are the books that I read in 2023: 

Religious Books

Catholic Authors

1. "Hostile Witnesses: How the Historic Enemies of the Church Prove Christianity" by Gary Michuta (5/5)
2. "Introduction to Spiritual Life: Walking the Path of Prayer with Jesus" by Brant Pitre (4/5)
3. "Supernal Saints: A School of Ministry from the Saints" by Patrick Reis (4.5/5)

Protestant Authors

1. "Why I Am Still Surprised by the Voice of God: How God Speaks Today through Prophecies, Dreams, and Visions" by Jack Deere (4/5)
2. "Why I Am Still Surprised by the Power of the Spirit: Discovering How God Speaks and Heal Today" by Jack Deere (4/5)
3. "Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? - Four Views" - Edited by Stanley N. Gundry and Wayne A. Grudem (4/5)
4. "The Case for Miracles: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for the Supernatural" by Lee Strobel (5/5)
5. "Investigating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ: A New Transdisciplinary Approach" by Andrew Loke (4.5/5)

Non-Religious Books

1. "Global Pentecostal and Charismatic Healing" by Candy Gunther (Oxford University Press) (5/5)
2. "Reconciliation Is My Lifestyle: A Life's Lesson on Forgiving and Loving Those Who Have Hated You" by Antoine Rutayisire (5/5)
3. "Even in Our Darkness: A Story of Beauty in a Broken Life" by Jack Deere (5/5)

Note: These last 3 books can hardly be labelled as religious books even though their authors may be known for their religious convictions.

...

The year 2023 was an intense year both in my workplace and in my family with its share of challenges. My family has known series of illnesses with different degrees of intensity, from major surgery for my boy earlier in the year to a medical trip at the end of the year. Sickness and Illness became a permanent feature of our household from the beginning of the year to the end. So much so that my wife once told me with an aggravated tone that pharmacists in our neighbourhood now know who we are. It is a miracle that with all these health constraints and intense workload in my job, I was able to read this much and done so much in my community. I guess it comes with the territory, I aggressively attacked the kingdom of darkness, and it expectedly struck back. 

Nevertheless, in all these, I praise the Lord that my wife and I never went through this fire alone. The Lord was always there comforting my family during those long sleepless night with kids fighting with uncontrollable fevers, bizarre diseases and those long hours at the hospitals' queues. 

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, stand firm and immovable, devoting yourselves completely to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." - 1 Corinthians15:58

A Year In Review: Book Reading List 2022

The year 2022 is behind us. A new year has now dawned on us. The year 2022 has been filled with joy and pain, but in all these we express our gratitude to God for having been right there with us. Last year also marked a distinctive rite of passage for me to adulthood as I turned 40. I suppose in some way, I still looked at myself as a Young-Adult but I guess there is now no more reason to add any prefix to the word adult.

I have had the continuous opportunity to have my regular weekly Bible studies with the Living Word Association (LWA) which is an inter-denominational association which strive at understanding the Bible and practice its precepts. Since the advent of COVID, we have never been able to transit back to an in-persons gathering, we are still meeting virtually. This format has its share of challenges. But on the up side, we e-meet with people joining us from different regions including someone from a different continent. 

In my quest to better understand my faith, after completing the reading of the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, I turned to the official teaching documents of Vatican II. This came at the right time as the Church was celebrating in 2022 the 60th anniversary of the council Vatican II. One milestone I was able to achieve was the reading of the Four Constitutions of Vatican II, namely:

1. Lumen Gentium which means 'Light of Nations'. It is the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. 
2. Dei Verbum which means 'The Word of God'. It is the Dogmatic Constitution of Divine Revelation.
3. Sacrosanctum Concilium which means 'The Sacred Council'. It is the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.
4. Gaudium et Spes which means 'Joy and Hope'. It is the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World.

Now that I completed the reading of the constitution, I have the foundational understanding by which I will be reading the remaining Vatican II documents for this year which include: 3 Decrees and 9 Declarations. I have already read one declaration, Nostra Aetate, and I will be bulldozing through the remaining ones in due time, God willing. Reading what the Church says in its own words is so refreshing and so encouraging and it sounds at time quite different from what people out there says about the Church teaching. For example in Gaudium et Spes, I was gladly surprise to see the focus that the Church has of its own mission on earth while waiting for the return of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ:

"It is necessary never to lose sight of the fact that the objective of the Church is to evangelize, not to civilize. If it civilizes, it is for the sake of evangelization." - Footnote Part II, Chapter II, No.7. 

Now, back to the purpose of this post. As I do each year, I will be sharing the list of books I read in the year 2022. I have unfortunately been a bit undisciplined in my reading hence I read less book than in previous years, but there is also a human reason to it, I have been quite busy, in-ordinarily busy this year and It took me a bit by surprise. I will do better this year in organizing myself with the help of the Lord and be better focus this time in my priorities. Each book comes with a scoring metric. This scoring doesn't necessarily mean that the book was either perfect or poor. It simply reflects my enthusiasm at the moment of reading it based on the book content and the appeal of the writing style. These are the books that I read in 2022: 

Religious Books

Catholic Authors

1. "The Early Church Was the Catholic Church: The Catholic Witness of the Fathers in Christianity's First Two Centuries" by Joe Heschmeyer - (5/5)

2. "A Mighty Current of Grace: The Story of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal" by Alan Schrek - (5/5)

3. "Overcome By The Spirit: The Extraordinary Phenomenon That Is Happening To Ordinary People" by Francis MacNutt - (5/5)

4. "Deliverance from Evil Spirits: A Practical Manual" by Francis MacNutt - (5/5)

5. "The Healing Reawakening: Reclaiming Our Lost Inheritance" by Francis MacNutt - (4.5/5)

6. "The Practice of Healing Prayer: A How-To Guide For Catholics" by Francis MacNutt - (4/5)

7. "Pope Peter: Defending the Church's Most Distinctive Doctrine in a Time of Crisis" by Joe Heschmeyer - (4/5)

8. "Four More Witnesses In The Early Church: Further Testimony from Christians before Constantine" by Rod Bennet - (3.5/5)

Protestant Authors

9. "Bearing False Witness: Debunking Centuries of Anti-Catholic History" by Rodney Stark - (5/5)

10. "Preparing for the Glory: Getting Ready for the Next Wave of the Holy Spirit Outpouring" by John & Carol Arnott - (4.5/5)

11. "A Study of Effects of Christian Prayer on Pain or Mobility Restrictions from Surgeries involving Implanted Materials" by Randy Clark - (4/5)

12. "Strangers to Fire: When Tradition Trumps Scriptures" by Robert W. Graves - (3.5/5)

13. "Two Paradigms for Divine Healing: Fred F. Bosworth, Kenneth E. Hagin, Agnes Sanford and Francis MacNutt in Dialogue" by Pavel Hejzlar - (3/5)

Non-Religious Book

14. "Tearing Us Apart: How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing" by Ryan T. Anderson & Alexandra DeSanctis - (5/5)

....

Overall, the year 2022 was a good year, though not without its share of challenges. See you for the next list in one year time, God willing.

Endurance: A Year In Review (2019)

The year 2019 was an unexpectedly difficult year for me and my loved ones (family and friends). My family went through a heart-wrenching experience with the quasi-sudden death of my beloved Mother. How sudden you may wonder? Well, in the month of March 2019 we were discussing an important document to present to an interested third party investor who had confirmed to meet with us during the month of July 2019. The very first week of July, she had passed away from this life into the Eternal City, and we never had that planned meeting. Her sickness was a traumatic short-lived illness to all who were close to her. The wound left behind by her sudden departure hasn't been healed. It is too soon. And yet, the faith I have learned from her has carried me through this difficult past year, and I still cling to it to carry me throughout the year 2020. My Mother's death has put many of my personal projects on a halt and slowed down others. Despite the deep sadness experienced when She passed away to eternity, my family was comforted by the birth of two awesome and cute little Boys (Noah B. and Josh G.). The timing couldn't be more awkward but we received them as divine signs, as a rumor from another World which reached out to our hearts to appease our sorrows and anoint our hurting wounds!

Much more had happened in 2019 but this is no place nor the right time to speak about them. Nevertheless, I'd like to make an exception by pointing out one particular thing though. Something that I have learned from my parents, especially from my late Mother - the habit to learn through reading. She loved reading, especially Her Bible. Her favorite book of the Bible was the book of Psalm. I have developed a similar reading habit from my beloved Mother and I read the Bible and study it on a weekly basis with a group of dear friends from the Living Word Association (LWA).

To my regular bible reading, I also do some additional readings. Last year, I gave my 2018 reading list of books that shaped my mind and invigorated my spiritual commitment to the Lord. I want to follow on that new tradition and list the 2019 list of books that have reinforced my understanding of Christianity. The year 2019 also introduced me to a series of online debates with atheists and agnostic(s)? on different aspects of science, ethics, spirituality, politics, and other themes that intersected with religion. The debates have been spirited and at time pleasant, saved for some unavoidable toxic exchanges which are expected from the most virulent and militant atheists. These unexpected encounters led me to diversify some of the reading materials I was exposing my mind to. Below is the list of books I read and which I would also recommend with different degrees of enthusiasm. The rating simply reflects the way the book contents moved me at the time I read them. It is not an indictment of the quality of its content, but simply a reflection of my emotional response to the way it intrigued me.

Catholic authors:
1. "Evangelical Exodus: Evangelical Seminarians and Their Paths to Rome" by Douglas M. Beaumont (5/5)
2. "Diabolical" by Milo Yiannopolous (3.5/5)
3. "Christian Initiation & Baptism in the Holy Spirit: Evidence from the First Eight Centuries" by Kilian McDonnell & George T. Montague (4/5)
4. "Bad Shepherds: The Dark Years in which the Faithful thrived while Bishops did the Devil's work" by Rod Bennett (4/5)
5. "Jesus the Bridegroom: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told" by Brant Pitre (4/5)
6. "Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic" by David B. Currie (5/5)
7. "Teaching with Authority: How to Cut through Doctrinal Confusion and Understand what the Church really says" by Jimmy Akin (3.5/5)
8. "Making Sense of Mary" by Gary G. Michuta (4/5)
9. "Salvation: What Every Catholic Should Know" by Michael Patrick Barber (4.5/5)
10. "The Salvation Controversy" by Jimmy Akin (3/5)
11. "Answering Atheism: How to Make the Case for God with Logic and Charity" by Trent Horn (3.5/5)
12. "The Myth of Religious Violence: Secular Ideology and the Roots of Modern Conflicts" by William T. Cavanaugh (4/5)

Protestant authors:
13. "Against Calvinism: Rescuing God's Reputation from Radical Reformed Theology" by Roger E. Olson (5/5)
14. "Stealing From God: Why Atheists Need God to Make Their Case" by Frank Turek (4/5)

Non-Christian author:
15. "Did Jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for Jesus of Nazareth" by Bart D. Ehrman (4/5)

As I look back to the year 2019, I am full of gratitude to all who have contacted me (international calls), wrote to me and visited me during my beloved Mother's funeral. God has shown His goodness toward me through family and friends. God had given me a fantastic support system that I didn't even know existed until tragedy struck home!

Thank you to all from the bottom of my heart for your love, friendship, words of affirmation and comforts, spiritual counsel and heartfelt prayers during those terrible moments. When my heart will be a little bit lighter and the wounds a little bit painless, I will write some more about my Mother and give Her a fuller tribute! Until then, God Speed!

My Mother was a Heroine of faith, and now She surrounds us with all the other Heros of faith. Though She is gone to Her Lord, I know by God's grace She is also still with us, surrounding us and witnessing my race and the good fight I continue to fight in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ whether in favorable or unfavorable time (Jeremiah 42.6)!

Hebrews 12:1-3;

"1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Fishers of Men - Evangelism in 21st Century/Apologetic 101

I thought of sharing a post I wrote in 2011 in a restricted forum. For this reason, I will keep names in original article out but I will keep the first letter of the names though. Miss J had asked the group a pertinent question on how to do effective evangelism for those who have no access to pulpits in order to share the good news of Jesus Christ. My response was only of the different intervention to her so I only spoke of what I thought was missing on previous interventions. The basic biblical text I based my response was this, 

"And He said to them, Follow Me, and I will make you FISHERS OF MEN"- Matthew 4:19

Enjoy!

......

Introduction to conversational evangelism

Today, I thought it was time to answer 'J' question as promised. Few have attempted to give her an answer and some informed me that they were unsure if they would have been successful in touching the nerve of the question as raised by our sister "J" from Europe.

Nevertheless, three persons - R, O and M - have contributed with good advises and to those I will add nothing. I particularly was interested by the practical and culture-sensitive approach advises from R. R gave us a beautiful illustration on how you have to stay in touch with your unconverted audience and be sensitive to his/her culture, ideologies and interests in the process of bring the good news of Christ. That was just excellent and I'll follow his example below.

I have had the privilege a) to sometime bring people directly to Christ, b) sometimes indirectly to Christ and c) sometime never to Christ but left them respecting my faith as being a dependable and intelligent one. However this ability to bring people to Christ from very different persuasions from mine didn't come overnight. There was a time when It was not always the case. Hence I can understand "J" frustration as well as others who might feel overwhelmed by the task on how they could possibly become fishers of man in this complex 21st century! 

If any one of you want to bring people to the saving faith in Christ, you will have first to make them understand what this faith of yours entails which means you'll have to be able to give an answer - a credible answer to the skeptic you are evangelizing. It seems to me through my observations, personal and through hear-say and readings, that the westernized skeptic is a new type of skeptic. This kind of skeptic doesn't just want to hear old tales of a dying God who came back to life. What they want to know among others things is how on earth can you believe that and secondo why should s/he care? The first question voice the rationality of your beliefs and the second the relevance of it. You see now why I like them? 

As Christians, we should be up to the task, for in a way their salvation depend on how serious we believe in this bible verse quoted below: 

"But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy [and acknowledge Him] as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully." - 1 Peter 3:15 Amplified Bible (AMP)

1 Peter 3:15 is the apologist maxim. It is his 21rst Century credo for evangelism. Any Christian apologist (i.e Christian Thinkers) knows that in our age, skepticism has known a veritable renaissance - hence the need to change our approach to bring the good news to the people. The essence of the message must remain the same but the form will have to change and the evangelist will have to adapt depending on who s/he meets. Take the example of a fisherman. Sometime a fisherman will use a simple fishing stick but at other time a net. Sometime the fishing is done close to the shore, sometime away from the shore. Sometime it is done at night, sometime during the day. The purpose remains the same, but the methodology changes as the environment changes.

Practically, what does it mean? 

Lee Strobel the bestselling author of the books, 'The Case for Christ', 'The Case for Faith', 'The Case for the Creator', 'The Case for the Real Jesus' comments: 

"When 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to "always be ready" to defend our faith—well, here is the kind of preparation that all of us need ... issues as the existence of God, science versus Christianity, and the reliability of the Bible, but ... also ... touchy social topics such as abortion and homosexuality."

In brief, you have to know your target. You have to understand your prey so to speak before you decide to start hunting or fishing them out of their natural habitat and comfort zone. They like their comfort zone - for it feels comfortable and they'll fight to stay there. Some will even give you the fight of your life and unless you are ready they'll make mince-meat of you.

In Mark Mittelberg's book, "The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask", there is an interesting story that I suspect most of you can relate:

"I first experienced that phenomenon when I was a young Christian and volunteered at our church to respond to questions submitted on cards at our weekend services. One Sunday I got an inquiry from a twelve-year-old girl who said she just wanted to know more about Jesus. When I called her, she invited Leslie and me to her home to talk with her and her father about Christ. "Aw, isn't that cute?" I said to Leslie as I hung up the phone. "This is gonna be fun!"

But as her father ushered us into their apartment, I glanced at the coffee table and saw stacks of heavyweight books. It turns out her dad is a scientist who had spent years studying scholarly articles and weighty tomes attacking the foundations of Christianity. Over a dinner of pizza and soft drinks, he peppered me for hours with tough objections to the reliability of the New Testament and the divinity of Jesus. While I was able to answer some of his questions, he kept raising issues that I had never even considered. Before long my head was starting to spin—and I began to experience spiritual vertigo.

Here's my prediction: if you've never felt this sort of divine disequilibrium, the chances are you will and soon, because challenges to the Christian faith are coming fast and furious in best-selling books, popular magazines, college classrooms, television documentaries, and on the Internet. Your family members, friends, neighbors, and colleagues may be influenced by what these skeptics are saying and they may very well come to you with their doubts and concerns."

Here is my question to you, when those question comes what are you gonna do? My lady friend "Y" made me laugh few months ago when she told me that her Christian life took an unexpected turn when she went to Singapore and lived with a Muslim girl. I could relate since I was myself 'baptize' in that fire when I went to South Africa and realized with some horror for the first time in my life that I couldn't use the Bible to preach to people the Gospel because they just didn't wanna consider the Bible as a source of authority on true spirituality. In one of my encounter with a pastor from Europe in visit to South Africa, I was left laughing when he told the audience that it is even difficult to speak about God as a Father in certain places where he lived in Europe. Here is one of his stories. 

He approached a group of young people and started sharing with them the love of God when one of them raised his hand to interrupt him with these questions.

'Sir', the young man asked, 'when you say God - are you talking about that divine Guy who had only one Son that He loved so much?' The pastor said 'yes'. Then the young man proceeded. 'The Dude had only one Son and he gave that one Son to be killed by people who didn't know him nor care about him?' The positive answer came at once, 'yes'. Then the young man shook his head and waved him away saying, 'if that is the God you are talking about I am not interested in Him'. 

'A guy who sacrifice his only son to strangers is a mentally sick dude!' The pastor was in shock! He didn't see that coming. When He reported that to us telling us how close hearted people hearts have become, I  couldn't help myself but laugh. Actually, I sympathized more with the skeptics than with the pastor. I guess I would have reacted similarly if I didn't know better. Those guys were not rejecting Christianity nor Jesus' gospel. They were showing their revolt against a concept that didn't make sense to them and I could understand them and probably sympathize with them to an extend.

Lesson: Find Common Ground

Don't assume that people you preach have the same theological or the same historical background knowledge as yours. To the immortal words of Ravi Zacharias, 'Don't give too much too soon' when you preach the gospel to skeptics. First find a common ground, find a point of reference and proceed from there. 

I brought once a young man who was into 'Black Islam' literatures à la Malcolm X, Minister Farrakhan, etc - to consider Jesus teachings while playing chess with him. I didn't bring him to Christ that day, but the day that followed he gave his life to Christ publicly in a Church I visited with him. Another time I brought similarly a young man to faith by talking with him regularly about his favorite subject that I happened to like too - 'Latino dancing', 'movies' and else. The year was 2006 at Randburg / Jo'Burg. 

I can't emphasize enough the importance of R's advise. Find a common ground and you won't even have to compromise your faith and your Christian ethics.

As 1 peter 3:15 states, be prayerful and in a good holy communion with the Lord. Though I was playing chess and in full conversation I was praying in my heart for the gentleman for almost the whole duration of the mind game. You have to train yourself if you want to be a good 'hunter'. 

Practice the few points I have shared and you'll be better at it with time. Don't be in hurry neither. Be patient too, just like fisherman are. 

A last example, I met twice a month with a lady sharing my faith and responding to her objections for 4 months. It went from August 2006 to December 2006. On the first week of December 2006, she gave her life to Christ and I prayed for her though still amazed by the impossible miracle that had just happened. She never gave me even the impression that she was agreeing with any of my answers all along, but she surprised me by her conversion. God works in mysterious way. God will do his part, let us do ours which of being always 'ready to defend' the hope that is within us from all attacks foreign (skeptics) and domestic (sects).

May the Lord bless you all in Jesus' name.

How to approach Muslim

In 2010, my friend Ngabe requested that I give few advise on how to conduct a possible effective evangelism to Muslims. Since they planed to do small evangelistic team of two to preach the gospel of Christ. Below was few advises i gave them. I thought it might help some of you too involved in Christian's ministry.

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Since i might not be available as i am all week long outside Kigali, i'll rather give some tips for the possible Muslim evangelism at Atenee (Kigali) so that the whole evangelistic team of L.W may know what to do or  expect from Muslim prospective convert to Christianity.

1. The conversation will be quite long depending on what type of Muslim you'll meet. I can almost guaranty that they will not go down without a fight. So the usual evangelism style might not work with them. You'll need to mix it a bit with some apologetic, while avoiding to be argumentative. Avoid a complete debate style emphasis, do consider to compromise on some points that are not necessarily part of your objective. E.g. you may find yourself using Issac as the sacrifice Abraham wanted to give to God, and you'll realize at the insistence of your Muslim interlocutor that it was Ishmael that was presented as sacrifice. At this point of the dialogue, it will be a waste of time to start arguing historically who was the real son who was given as sacrifice. If you want to prove your point at all cost, you may as well forget your evangelism purpose, because you'll have an endless, fruitless and frustrating discussion and before you know it, it will be time to go home. So for the sake of argument just grant some points that are immediately irrelevant to your objective and focus to the salient point the Holy Spirit has put in your heart to share.

2. Most Muslim are somehow apologists of their faith, which means that they are trained to defend it, so they have some way to put sticks on your wheels. one of them is to accuse you of ignorance about their religion and one of the way of doing that is to ask you if you speak Arabic. Since the expected answer is no, they continue saying that the day you'll speak Arabic, you'll understand the beauty and truth of the Koran. Here is an Ex-Muslim scholar that explains how to respond to these charges that are real conversation-stoppers.

3. Another charge of ignorance that they usually use, depending of who you are meeting with of-course, is to accuse you of taking the text out of context while they'll be doing a lot of that themselves. But since most of Christians aren't familiar with Islam they can't identify where they are being played - by the Muslim. I have to say that at time, the accusation of some Muslim of non-Muslim misrepresenting them are indeed correct. So in order to avoid that i hope that our evangelists will do at least a minimum reading about what their Muslim friend believe in. You can start with the 36 pages PDF that i have added to the J.C archive this week. But do not also just believe everything that they say to you. Verify their context too. Here is a link that will arouse your awareness about that. Example:

"For instance, after September 11, 2001, many Muslims and apologists of Islam glibly came out with the following Koranic quote to show that Islam and the Koran disapproved of violence and killing: Sura V.32: "Whoever killed a human being shall be looked upon as though he had killed all mankind". Unfortunately, these wonderful sounding words are being quoted out of context. Here is the entire quote: V.32: "That was why We laid it down for the Israelites that whoever killed a human being, except as a punishment for murder or other villainy in the land, shall be looked upon as though he had killed all mankind; and that whoever saved a human life shall be regarded as though he had saved all mankind. Our apostles brought them veritable proofs: yet it was not long before many of them committed great evils in the land. Those that make war against God and His apostle (Muhammad) and spread disorder shall be put to death or crucified or have their hands and feet cut off on alternate sides, or be banished from the country."

4. Be patient and resilient. And ask a lot of questions. Do not assume to know what he believes. Let him/her be the one who informs you about his/her belief. Keep asking questions, ask a lot of questions. In this way, you'll will not be accused of not knowing about the specifics of his/her belief system, since it would be him/her who has informed you about it. If you know better, propose to make some corrections. Do not assume that s/he will be honest in everything that s/he'll say. Remember point 3 above.

5. For Christ' sake please, before you start talking, at least know what Jesus said as reported in your Bible. Sure, you may not have read your whole Bible, but at least read what Jesus said in the Gospel since He is the one that you are going to preach. I am serious. If you haven't done that, then let your partner do the talking and you can just shut up and pray as s/he speaks. This is evangelism not public debating performance. If you intend to do the first one, you need to understand the gospel and if it is for the latter one, you need to know the Law of logic and some other basic philosophical tools and historical knowledge to stand firm during the exchange. So decide, 'are you out there for evangelism or for a debate purpose?' Or both? Which is also possible.

6. Finally, here is a small personal story that happened between the year 2004-2005. I was at Eaton Hall Hotel, it was a Sunday morning. I didn't go to Church that morning because i usually attended the Evening Mass at the Pretoria Cathedral Sacred Heart. I can't quite remember what i was doing that morning. I was either reading or watching the SmallVille series. The phone rang, and on the other end, a lady friend of mine asked me to come immediately in her room. She didn't tell why, but i knew her enough to sense that it was important. So i did. When i entered the room, she greeted me with a smile and as i look around i saw an unknown guest, a perfect stranger. She told me that he was a Muslim friend of her and that she was a bit confused after an hour or so of conversation with him. I thought to myself: "Is that so?!" and i smile as i understood then the reason of the emergency call.

So here's what happened in brief. We exchanged some polite greetings and before we knew it, the religious topic was up. Embarrassingly, the Muslim had been correcting her about some important New Testament topics before i came. So i had to agree with the Muslim about her mistakes as they briefed me about the previous dialogue between them. She was shocked, not so much with me. Not anymore.  Then i also made some statements. Our Bibles were still closed. Then after some arguments which happened to have been overwhelming to him, he struggled in answering and in formulating a defense and that is when he just spitted these words: "These are from this hooligans of Paul who taught these heresies (falsity)". I smiled nervously as i felt that i was about to return the favor about Mohammad but i cooled myself (and for the sake of the argument, I ignored his rude outburst about St.Paul). I then said: "Actually no. What i have been telling you is from the Injil (the Gospels). Not from Paul" I then asked him, 'do you believe in the Gospel?' Imagine his answer? ofcourse he believed it. He had no choice. I was smiling and excited. Then he wanted to rant some more against St. Paul again, but i reminded him that i can prove to him that it wasn't Paul who said what i was arguing about Jesus but that it was from the Gospel narrative. He wanted proof. And i was happy to provide them.

Then we opened the Bible, in the book of Luke and we read. He said that it wasn't Jesus who said that but one of his disciples and that the text was corrupted. I smiled and said approximately this,'matter of fact, i wasn't reading Luke commentary but his rendition of Jesus saying.' I insisted again just to be sure that he understood the implication. Since i had that bible that has Jesus sayings in red (it was hers), i said 'the letter in red are Jesus words and in black is the narrator words'. And since he just wanted the Jesus word, he agreed to continue the conversation. I showed him from Mathew, Marc and Luke on the topic we were discussing; at the end he didn't want to answer anymore of my question and wasn't able to ask me anymore question either. He looked confused and i was feeling great! Vindicated!

With a smile, he asked me to give him more time and that he'll come back to me. And with those words we parted company, and our hostess was satisfied and insisted that he should come back soon so that we could resume the dialogue that had ignited her interest on the subject. Well, as you can guess, he never came back! I stayed in Pretoria for another 3 more years but he just never contacted us again.

So don't be surprise if all of them do not immediately convert. Bringing them at least in a position where there are willing to give you a hearing is the first step. Because you'll have earned their respect during the conversation. Preaching Christ to an already committed religious folk is a tough job. One which demands respect and patience. It is the same for all people who have already adhered to another worldview from a different school of thought than yours. Patience and prayer always prevail at the end, anyway. I saw it in other occasions and i wish you also see it regularly in Jesus' name during your evangelism.

Have a great weekend in Jesus' name.
P.S: An excerpt of my book can now be read online. Click here.

E.G Mail: Apologetic 101

Few weeks ago, In a forum I usually moderate I was asked by J.R - a Christian lady living in Belgium about the difficulty to introduce modern skeptic to the person of Christ. Here below is the response i gave her then.
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I have had the privilege a) to sometime bring people directly to Christ, b) sometimes indirectly to Christ and c) sometime never to Christ but left them respecting my faith as being a dependable and intelligent one. However this ability to bring people to Christ from very different persuasions from mine didn't come overnight. There was a time when It was not always the case. Hence i can understand J.R's frustration as well as others who might feel themselves as being in the same boat as her searching hopelessly through the dark night how they could possibly become fishers of man in this complex 21rst century!


If any one of you want to bring people to the saving faith in Christ, you will have first to make them understand what this faith of yours entails which means you'll have to be able to give an answer - a credible answer to the new skeptic. It seems to me through my observations, personal and through hear-say and readings, that the westernized skeptic is a new type of skeptic. This kind of skeptic doesn't just want to hear old tales of a dying God who came back to life. What they want to know among others things is how on earth can you believe that and secondo why should s/he care? The first question voice the rationality of your beliefs and the second the relevance of it. You see now why i like them? smile

As Christians, we should be up to the task, for in a way their salvation depend on how serious we believe in this bible verse and moreover that this bible verse concerns us: "But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy [and acknowledge Him] as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to
account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully." [1 Peter 3:15 Amplified Bible (AMP)]

1 Peter 3:15 is the apologist maxim. It is his 21rst Century credo for evangelism. Any Christian apologists (i.e Christian Thinkers) knows that in our age, skepticism has known a veritable renaissance - hence the need to change our approach to bring the good news to the people. The essence of the message must remain but the form will have to change and the evangelist will have to adapt depending on who s/he meets. Sometime a fisherman will use a simple fishing stick but at other time a net. Sometime the fishing is done close to the shore, sometime away from the shore. Sometime it is done at night, sometime during the say. The purpose remains the same, but the methodology changes.

Practically, what does it mean? Lee Strobel the bestselling author of the books, 'The Case for Christ', 'The Case for Faith', 'The Case for the Creator', 'The Case for the Real Jesus' comments: "When 1 Peter 3:15 tells us to "always be ready" to defend our faith—well, here is the kind of preparation that all of us need ... issues as the existence of God, science versus Christianity, and the reliability of the Bible, but ... also ... touchy social topics such as abortion and homosexuality."

In brief, you have to know your target - you have to understand your prey before you decide to start hunting or fishing them out of their natural habitat and comfort zone. They like their comfort zone - for it feels comfortable and  they'll fight to stay there. Some will even give you the fight of your life and unless you are ready they'll make mince-meat of you.

In Mark Mittelberg's book, "The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask", there is an interesting story that i suspect most of you can relate with.

"I first experienced that phenomenon when I was a young Christian and volunteered at our church to respond to questions submitted on cards at our weekend services. One Sunday I got an inquiry from a twelve-year-old girl who said she just wanted to know more about Jesus. When I called her, she invited Leslie and me to her home to talk with her and her father about Christ. "Aw, isn't that cute?" I said to Leslie as I hung up the phone. "This is gonna be fun!"

But as her father ushered us into their apartment, I glanced at the coffee table and saw stacks of heavyweight books. It turns out her dad is a scientist who had spent years studying scholarly articles and weighty tomes attacking the foundations of Christianity. Over a dinner of pizza and soft drinks, he peppered me for hours with tough objections to the reliability of the New Testament and the divinity of Jesus. While I was able to answer some of his questions, he kept raising issues that I had never even considered. Before long my head was starting to spin—and I began to experience spiritual vertigo.

Here's my prediction: if you've never felt this sort of divine disequilibrium, the chances are you will—and soon, because challenges to the Christian faith are coming fast and furious in best-selling books, popular magazines, college classrooms, television documentaries, and on the Internet. Your family members, friends, neighbors, and colleagues may be influenced by what these skeptics are saying—and they may very well come to you with their doubts and concerns."