Brown-Outs: Reflections on the Universal Church in Kenya

All of Kenya electricity operates out of one company: Kenya Power & Lighting. It is run by the government and is very unreliable, so much so that many have called it, Kenya Power & Darkness. Black outs are frequent, candles and flashlights always ready. You never know when it will go, and once it goes you never know when it will come back, anywhere between 20 seconds and 12 hours. But the strangest kind are what Dennis Omondi calls, 'brown-outs'. The fan makes one revolution every 5 seconds, the lights are dim and pulsating, and it confuses appliances so much that it is better to turn it off.

Brown-outs. Somehow, it describes the state of the Church in Kenya. "You are the light of the world...let your light shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven" (Mt. 5:14,16). It's a bit dim here. Some pastors, some churches, and some 'Christians' are like those confused appliances - it would be better to just turn them off because they are doing more damage than good. Some have no light to shine and therefore no good works to give God glory. If you take the church in Kenya as a whole, it's average is a brown-out. But if you start digging deep, looking for a few good churches, a few good men and women that shine with the brilliant light of Jesus Christ in all they do, there is hope for both Lighting and Power in Kenya.

Some have told us,
"You mean that the pastor of your church isn't all about money and offerings? He's not greedy for power, riches, and fame? That's weird."

"I've never been to a church that preaches God's Word for what it actually says!"

People from our church, helped raise over $2500 and some traveled 1000 km across the country to be present for Evan's burial (for the full story of this faithful man's death, click here) in Busia. They left with 14 people and returned with 4 or 5 people. Why? Because the family turned on them in anger looking for someone to blame and judge for such a tragic and awful event. The light of Christ shined bright by the few into the brown out of the many.

Pray for the church in Kenya, that it might truly be a city set on a hill. Pray for our local church, Word of Life Fellowship. Our church is maturing but is not lacking in its own occasional brown-outs.