WHEN WE FAIL TO SEE THE CLOUD MOVE

How we quickly become irrelevant - when we fail to see the cloud move. 

Growing up, I was raised in an extended family, where being born-again was held in high esteem. I saw the generation of the "Tukutendereza" or "Bazukufu" and the ones that followed immediately after them. When my elder brother Ed joined kings college Buddo, he returned home after his first term a totally changed man; he came in with a new perspective to salvation, one that I could associate with, and yet it was not any less compelling on Holiness.

I took that “version” of gospel on, and on January 19^th 1986, at St. Francis Chapel at Makerere University, during an Anglican church Service I responded to the alter call, walked to the alter and gave my life to Jesus. Then I begun my journey of understanding our LORD and Savior Jesus.

Growing up:

In 1987, I joined Namilyango College and there I met my now long-time friend and brother Julius Wegoye. I attribute my significant spiritual growth and discipline to Julius mentor-ship. He impacted my life significantly and introduced me to a number of spiritual disciplines that to date have not left me. I remember we used to pray behind the pyramid, in the school sports field, at the school farm, behind the chemistry lab and in “Miracle Chambers” (Julius’ room) whenever we had opportunity to (electricity those days was not as stable as it is today); so we used all blackout times to pray. We fasted once a week as a team of about 5 prayer partners (including Adrian Braka and Samuel Kwiri, Baliddawa Hussein).

In 1992 I joined Makerere High school where I now met a bunch of passionate born again girls and boys. I was blessed to lead the fellowship during my last year there and I remember the growth being astronomical. One of the factors that triggered this growth was the miraculous salvation of a brother in the LORD, Frank Rusa, whose salvation became a big testimony. Frank not only got born again but was thrown straight into evangelism and ministering to others in miracles, signs and wonders. I remember in that one year we grew from a regular meeting of 30 people to one of over 200 people. I still remember how we did our first ever mission trip as a fellowship (the concept was not popular then); our fellowship mobilized to go for three days to Namutamba TTC beyond Mityana (The Roads were not that great then) to preach and lead people to the LORD! boy was the harvest big!!! We scaled the entire TTC, and surrounding villages preaching and leading many to the LORD. We crowned it off by preaching at the Anglican church in the area. I recall clearly that the presence of God was massive on this trip.

Shortly afterwards I joined Makerere University, and in came the Main C.U as we used to call the central fellowship of believers at the University, and the LUMBOX FELLOWSHIP. It is amazing how people that fellowshiped in different congregations and Christian faiths laid down their denominational crowns and enjoyed each other in the LORD's presence. To date I still cherish those relationships.

Let me hold it right there in order that I may highlight a bit of what happened in between my alter experience in 1986 and my entry into University. During the holidays I used to pray at an Anglican church in Mpererwe called St. Stephens church. We had some active Christian leaders at the helm; I recall among many a one Dr. Luboga, Mr. Mungherera, and many others like my former Headmaster at Makerere High school Mr. Godfrey Njagala (R.I.P); these men and women led us quite well together with the provost Reverend Wandera. One of the more active and charismatic bits of this congregation was the Youth ministry. We were allowed to lead some Church services during school holidays, be involved in taking readings, and plan unique presentations on high holidays like Christmas and Easter. I remember on this team Rebecca Namirembe, William the organist, Joyce Nakate, my siblings Sarah and Ruth among many other youths. This is where I learned to play guitar and hone my skills. We were blessed to minister to the congregation.

During this period my only growth came from this Anglican church fellowship of youths and significantly from the Namilyango fellowship under different leaders like Bro. Bujingo William, Bro. Magambo Emmanuel, Bro. Mujugira Andrew and many others. A lot of emphasis was made for personal spiritual growth, prayer, fasting and reading the Bible for oneself. We had to preach to our fellow students, carry out deliverance sessions for the oppressed,  do follow-up for new converts,  and challenge each other in righteous living. I also remember that we took on the responsibility to run the Anglican church services at the College working with ministers from Bishops theological college in Mukono.

Something else that a totally helped us to harden was the knack the school leadership had for closing down the fellowship and clamping down on our actions, apparently because too many kids were getting born again (confused as they called it) and leaving certain religious practices they had been brought up with. In fact, on many occasions fellowship was banned from college and we ended up having it, but underground in smaller cells or in the bushes around the school (We too came from the “Bush”). I am grateful for this early confrontation with hatred for the full gospel, because it taught me how important personal growth was and I grew into a relatively hardened Christian that was ready to die for the gospel. Those lock-downs made us! 

I started going to mainstream born again churches in my High school days at Makerere High school; my first church was Kampala Pentecostal church, now Watoto central.  Pastor Gary was and still is very solid on teaching; I learned lots from sitting under his teaching ministry. I learned a lot about order and excellence by just being a member of this congregation. All these learnings have defined me to date. 

So by the time I was walking into Makerere University main C.U, I was a relatively mature Christian that could not be blown around by any wind of doctrine. Here at Main C.U and LUMBOX FELLOWSHIP I became an active member, and served in many capacities: as a worship leader, as a faculty papa, as a Hall fellowship leader, etc. I served even as i grew. Here I was exposed to the mainstream born-again churches and did attend both Redeemed of the LORD Makerere and Miracle Centre Rubaga (at the older location and a bit of the new). 

It is here that I started realizing how blessed I was to be part of what God was doing in the world in my day. I got exposed to global preachers and teachers, and to worship movements of the likes of Hosanna Integrity Integrity music bringing to us leaders like Ron Kenoly, Alvin Slaughter and many others. I was exposed to contemporary gospel music (Steve Ochola and Joni Kasule, thanks to you).  My life grew into the things of God. It was then that I realized, that just as the pillar of cloud and fire to the children of Israel was,  God operated in seasons and that often times when He did something new He moved from the old, literally. I also realized, that having been part of such a great heritage of born again people and experiences, many of the people I could see in my past, people that passionately loved God and lived for him,  people whose walk with God I could not question, people that had been my role models, they had stalled when the pillar of God had moved, and as a result they were left behind and thus sadly missed the new move of God.

Often times listening to them,  they were full of judgment of the new workings of God, which to them often looked diabolical: "they clap their hands", " they drum in disrespect to God in their church services", "they play these guitars and pianos and they dance around and are not humble before God during prayers", "they shout on top of their voices as if God cannot hear", "they use over night prayers to commit immoral acts", etc. The accusations and criticisms went on and on. Meanwhile God worked in us, and He transformed us. We who were inside the movement were moving more and more into liberty and peace as the criticisms grew, and the chasm between “us and them” grew ever wider with each party claiming to know God more and better and claiming to speak for Him. During this time, it suddenly occurred to me that good intention was not good enough in following after God.

I started lifting up a personal prayer that to date I still pray, "...LORD do not ever leave me behind when you move; let me be humble enough, and eyes open enough to see your move and recognize it as such when you do; let me not be ‘too experienced’ to despise your move; let me never be too old to be sensitive to your move; let me never be left behind when the pillar moves..."  This was so because having observed the huge heritage of God loving people I had lived among, I realized that many of them had missed the Holy Spirit movement of our day. They rejected everything that came with this movement, the signs and wonders, the joy of salvation, the ministries of the prophetic and much more. Albeit, they still loved the LORD with a passion!

Pharisaic fetters:

One of the biggest fetters any one can ever break is the pharisaic fetter. It usually attacks mature Christians and those that have tarried long in salvation. My simple definition of a Pharisee is that he/she is one that is well tutored in certain doctrine(s) but is not willing to understand and accept that our God keeps doing new things, yes even unveiling new doctrine(s). It is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, so is the journey to becoming a Pharisee. Pharisees are often religious role models, passionate people, often almost zealots, and that is largely seen as a great attribute by most people that pursue God. All this begins as innocent passions for things God, then it grows into rules around them, and then it becomes a closed box where all other thinking and views out side the box is wrong and ungodly.

Pharisees, in their passion to please God and in their pursuit of righteous, never see this coming. The Pharisee is usually the last person to see themselves that way. They often are well tutored in Christendom doctrines and have massive experiences of the hand of God in their personal lives. They are typically people of integrity. Their lives will exude God Himself as it were. The sad and sudden departure is often around the thinking that our God has stopped doing things new. There is an assumption that all the truths have been unveiled, inspite of  a tenet that Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 13 verses 9 to reading  "9  For we know in part, and we prophesy in part....12  For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known". Thing to note there is that whilst God remains the same yesterday, today and forever, the way we know His workings today does not remain the same; it is ever changing forward to the benefit of the Church. He continuously is working His way into our limited knowledge of Him, by revealing Himself piece by piece, until that day that the church will know her master fully in glory.

As children of God we should not be caught in the business of criticizing those that have gone before us, thinking we are more noble than them.  I remember sitting in a meeting where Apostle John Mulinde was speaking. He mentioned that he was not the first to create a prayer mountain in Uganda, but that the former Arch bishop of the Anglican church of Uganda, Bishop Henry Luke Orombi was the first to do so in Nebbi; now that for me was shocking, but it was the truth. Everything that the current evangelical or prophetic movement is enjoying today, is seated on the foundations that the Martin Luther's, the John Calvin's and other Generals in the faith built. It's only that a bit more has been revealed to us, so we see more clearly than them on certain things.

It is not wisdom for us today to attack anything we do not understand simply because it looks strange and new to us. Let's provide due steer where we see obvious error but often times the mistakes are from the pains of child birth for new things God is doing.  More recently for me has been the grace movement, the rise in the prophetic and apostolic manifestations, the unveiling of the revelations of the love of God and many more to come with ever increasing speed. The mistake as well is the carriers of these new things and revelations have not known how to manage and introduce change in any community, so they have broken the older vessels. God has called us to maturity and balance and to examine doctrines before we reject them fully.

What we shall see more of is this as the young people that you led to the LORD are becoming vessels of God in these new movements, simply because they are more open to God to use for "New wine". God will not put new wine in old wine skins as it will break them. That is why God avoids the "experienced Christians" that have forgotten the place of Grace where we should all habitually fall to refresh our views and hearts. If God poured this new stuff into most of us we would go apostate and be destroyed. I have seen God use men and women I led to Him and mentored to growth, in ways I never even knew about.

May God help us to see the cloud when it moves, and to have the grace to get up and walk after it when we see it move inspite of our current comfort. May we not be so comfortable with the old wine, that we loose flexibility for the new wine that God is pouring out, or else, in His love for us we may be left out of the new move, and in our darkness, we may be caught in ever increasing battles fighting the work of God, battles we shall never win.