Uganda 2008

The dynamic of our trip changed quite a bit on Monday when Shannon pulled into the driveway with a Faculty/Staff/Alumni team from the college.  This team included Dr. Mark Tatlock, the Provost of TMC; Dr. John Stead, a History/Political Science Professor; Dr. John Stead, a judge who also teaches Law at the college; Pete Bargas, Directed of Student Ministries; Hollie Gorsh, Director of Admissions; and alumni Kim Benedict, Pat Hamblin, and Laura Stewart.  Josh Mack, an alumni who serves as a pastor in South Africa, joined us later that night.

 

The main event of the faculty's week in Uganda was the "God, Law, and Justice Conference" at Uganda Christian University.  Composed of about 6000 students, UCU is the second biggest university in the country.  The conference was put together mainly by Dr. Tatlock and Professor George Kasozi, Dean of the Law Department at UCU.  Throughout Tuesday and Wednesday, UCU students and faculty filled the Principal's Hall to listen to about 16 presentations on the topic from our team, UCU faculty, and a few others.

 

All in all, the conference was a tremendous time.  Most of the attendants were senior law students who (according to the Ugandan system) will be able to practice law within a year.  The presentations helped to give all those who attended a biblical perspective on law as a vocation.  Based on the questions they asked and the interaction with our team, the students clearly enjoyed the conference.

 

While each presentation discussed slightly different subject matter, together they offered a comprehensive study on the concepts of God, Law, and Justice.  The conference began with a lecture by Rev. Prof. Steven Noll, Vice Chancellor at UCU (Vice Chancellor is equivalent to President in the US system.)  He made it clear that the church could not withdraw itself from these issues and prepared everyone to continue listening to the rest of the presentations.

 

Dr. Stead and Mr. Crawford each addressed the conference twice.  Stead talked about "Proximate Justice in a Fallen World" and the Spirit of the Law, and his booming voice brought energy to the hall, just like it does to North Campus.  Crawford discussed "A Biblical View of Human Rights" and "Setting the Prisoner Free."  His first talk presented a clear case that biblical human rights do exist and are God-centered.  Dr. Tatlock asked the question "Is God Concerned About Injustice" in his lecture.  Throughout Scripture, he not only demonstrated that God does care; he also showed that the church should care, too.  Dr. Mack and Mr.  Hamblin presented on topics more specific to their work and ministries.  Hamblin spoke on law enforcement, and Mack spoke on mercy ministries. 

 

Many others, including UCU faculty and other guests, also presented.  Two notable presentations were from Prof. Kasozi and Allison McKinney.  Kasozi, the Dean of Law at UCU, spoke on "Religious Persecution and the Legal Perspective."  His talk was strengthened by his own personal experience; he lived through severe persecution as a pastor in the days of Idi Amin.  He mentioned how persecution purifies and unifies the church.  McKinney is the Director of Uganda's branch of the International Justice Mission, a Christian organization that focuses on advocacy for the poor and oppressed.  She offered several examples of how this ministry has served believers who were being oppressed. 

 

I must conclude with my reasoning for adding the gospel to the title of this post along with the title for the conference.  Throughout both days, one thought came out very clearly as it was expressed by each presenter.  Although they came from various backgrounds, the presenters were very unified on the most important part of the conference--the gospel.  In the midst of discussing God, law, and justice, the gospel kept popping up. At different times, all the attenders joined in singing "Because He Lives" and "Amazing Grace."

 

Near the end of the conference as everyone was singing "Amazing Grace", one UCU student in the back of the room broke down crying.  When escorted outside by one of the presenters at the conference, he said, "I need to repent.  I need to repent."  That day, he repented and placed his faith in Christ.  Above everything else about the conference, this excited me.  Opportunities like this are the reason we put on conferences and God, law, and justice and encourage lawyers to take a stand for the oppressed.  All these efforts are for the sake of the gospel--that people would know that there is a righteousness apart from the law, that which comes through faith in Christ.

 

We have continued to enjoy a great week with the faculty, but time fails me to tell about it.  Amanda will pick that up tomorrow before our team takes off for Gulu.

 

Prayer requests:

-Pray for the Faculty/Alumni/Staff team as they travel back to the States tomorrow.

-Pray for our team as we prepare to travel to Gulu and minister there.

-Pray that the Lord would be exalted by everything our team does,

 

Until next time-

Ben for Team Uganda