A Seminar Enrollment

There he stands, Pastor Ndombe, in his tall, thin frame and hollow-cheeked face with a somewhat recently shaved head and tufts of white hair lecturing on Romans 15 - the way we should live with our Christian brothers. He spoke with humor, authority, and distinction, qualities he has acquired after teaching at LBI for more than 20 years. His gentle spirit honed by suffering one trial after another developed Ndombe's quiet personality. Warm laughter from the students filled the air. I laughed, too, at his illustrations, while trying to keep back the tears at the same time.

My mind's eye sees him in his youth when he came to enroll as a bible school student in the 80s. He came in humility and has stayed humble and grateful till this day in spite of a fire that destroyed his home and his entire precious library, chronic illness which has wreaked havoc on his wife's quality of life, the near death of his teenage daughter as he biked 65 miles to the nearest hospital, not to mention financial hardship. He remarked that when he came to attend LBI, now looking back, he doesn't really know if he was born again, and then turned toward another professor and asked him if that were true. Pastor Kapem readily agreed. Ndombe continued, "I was young and thought my life was under my own control." An hour and a half spent under his teaching was so worth it - a refreshing, cooling spring that washed over my soul.

What a source of comfort and joy after months of dealing with difficult staff issues that nearly broke our hearts. On the matter of gratitude - challenging the students of the need to thank God every time they pray for:

1) What you do have. Don't complain about what you don't have. Don't complain to God if you don't have a car - you may never have one.

2) Salvation. You could be on your way to hell, which we all deserve.

3) Life. You did nothing to keep yourself alive while you slept. We all sleep like dead men. Only God can wake us up.

And then he challenged the students to be generous.

"As a pastor, you have this obligation to help your sick brother even if you only have a dollar in your pocket. Don't just preach the Word of God to him."

Pastor Ndombe, I am so honored to call you my friend, my colleague in ministry, my brother and my teacher. You continue to enlarge my heart and my mind. Today I delight in the fact that God delights in you.