Trafford Publishing: About Life and Uganda

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About Life and Uganda

by Fred Lybrand

128 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #02-1299; ISBN 1-55395-583-8; US$13.93, C$16.02, EUR10.86, £7.20

If you are a Christian, you'll want to know about the incredible things happening in Uganda. If you're a growing Christian, you'll want to know these insights about life and effectively living for Christ.

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about the book about the author Reviews
sample excerpts or Table of Contents catalogue info

About the Book

About Life and Uganda by Fred R. Lybrand, is a book about the amazing transformation of a church from minimal involvement to deep saturation the work of the Great Commission. In a little over three years this modest-size church has sent over 50 members as short term missionaries to Uganda. The results speak for themselves.
In these three years, Midland Bible Church alone has shared with 25,000+ Ugandans in villages, schools, and prisons... seeing over 5,000 converts. In the villages alone 5,000 Ugandans have heard the message of God's grace, with at least 2,500 of those placing their faith in Christ. In these villages, the churches which were established are vibrant and continue to this day in offering God's Word and love to their communities. Back home the church is seeing a rebirth of interest in sharing hope within their own community and with their families.
About Life and Uganda, however, is not just about missions. It is about life and the insights that can move you from a lackluster faith to a vibrant hope and freedom; you, touching your world through the unique spirit God has given you, as you learn to walk every moment with him.
About Life and Uganda is also a book for anyone interested in Christianity, because of the compelling way Grace is presented through the full colour view of the encounters between ordinary American church members and ordinary Ugandan villagers... where the ordinary disappears into wonder.
Fred R. Lybrand writes in a compelling style that provides few exit ramps once you're on the road. Beware, when the journey begins you'll find it hard to stop. Chocked full of thoughtful insights for life and Christianity, About Life and Uganda is a book you'll read again and again.. and just maybe, you'll go to another land yourself.

About the Author

Fred R. Lybrand has 14 years of managment and consulting experience. He provided the background and research to co-found Trim Tab Solutions. He has been a catalyst to develop understanding and skills in Structural Dynamics and the Kolbe Conative Index.
His interest in communication, teamwork, and individual giftedness has led him into Human Resource consulting with a variety of companies and firms including large independent oil and gas exploration companies-Burlington Resources, Marathon Oil, and Pioneer Natural Resources. His work with Pioneer Natural Resources is what led Hermann Eben to develop Kolbe skills and co-found Trim Tab Solutions.
He has provided insight and leadership in the development and growth of a private school that provides education from the seventh to twelth grade. The school provides a "classical education" focused on teaching students through the Socratic method using classical books, interactive science and math, logic, language arts, the creative process, and the foundation of the Bible.
Fred has provided the leadership to build a church of approximately 600 individuals centered on a team concept of leadership. The church is governed by a team of Pastors, six of whom are volunteer; that is they hold full-time postions in additon to their pastoral duties. The church has grown to this position after an intial number of 35 adults, and has built and paid for over 1.5 million dollars of building expansion.
Fred has written and published two books entitled Heavenly Citizenship; The Spiritual Alternative to Power Politics and The Absolute Quickest Way to Help Your Child Change
Fred has lived in Midland, Texas since August 1986. He grew up in Anniston, Alabama, where his father practiced law and served in the state legislature for two terms. He attended the University of Alabama and majored in English, wth a minor in Speech Communication. He was inducted into the English Honor Society and was given a graduate fellowship to teach the introductory Speech Communication course for two years at the University of Alabama.
He attended the University of Alabama School of Law for one year before withdrawing in order to pursue theological studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. He formally graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1989, with honors.
He is certified as a Business Structural Constultant, an Individual Structural Consultant, a Creating What Matters facilitator,a Kolbe Conative Index Interpreter, certified in Myers-Briggs Temperament Indicator, certified consultant in Natural Church Development processes.

Reviews

Thanks for the early copy of your book! I have finished it and have had and "Ah-Ha"! Although my thoughts do not have much to do with Uganda, the book seemed to be, to me, about some great things that you learned while in Uganda. All of which I benefited from. It provoked great thinking, reflecting and hopefully action concerning my personal walk with God.- Leslie Smith

Sample Excerpts or Table of Contents

ALL PEOPLE ARE THE SAME...CULTURE ONLY PUTS A SPIN ON THE SAMENESS

Again, he milks a cow, his cow, as a matter of routine. The cow, the corn, the vegetables, the wife inside at work, the children run about; life is as it should be, or life is as it is - both mean the same thing to the man who repeats each day. He works hard because he does what he has to; then two men arrive, one is from America, the other is someone his wife knows from church. Yes, she attends church, and though the walk is many miles she attends regularly, a Bible study, too; but he works because it is the way life is. The two men sit in the chairs and the man apologizes as he must finish milking, but they are patient and he is patient...much as the whole land of Uganda is patient.

Wars, dictators, rabid and radical fundamentalists of all kinds have killed, maimed, and beaten the people of Uganda. Disease has been a relentless enemy as well, and the strange notion promoted by the shaman, or witch doctor, calls for sex with a virgin to cure AIDS. Many young girls are raped and the disease spreads along with moral violation of young and innocent children. Also, there is circumcision, a ceremonial rite to manhood, performed with a knife used from man to man, and more AIDS and pestilence spreads. People do not often live long in Uganda, and the country has lost its infra-structure and its way, because no one can remember the lessons needed to pass on to each generation about life, and business, and wisdom.

Ugandans know of war and suffering and the weather which turns against them too by giving clouds, but no water, and famine adds to the stuck ways and the stymied world.
So this man works because now he owns his land and Uganda is democratic and a Christian is now the president. Changes are afoot and Uganda is honored as the example in Africa for combating AIDS. Uganda is winning many battles in the two-steps-forward-one-step-backwards way progress is made in the Third World, maybe any world, when the truth is honestly seen; unaltered by the politicians, the media, or our own unstudied opinions about the way the world is.

The man sits and the American opens the Word of God. The man has talked with many missionaries, rejecting each plea for his soul, but his wife sews in the doorway peering at the three men with occasional smiles as she prays, and her husband with his back to her, answers the questions in a different way than before.

*******

THE GIFT

"May I ask a question?" I say and she responds through the translator "Yes", with the egg still held high for my eyes. "I offered you a gift of eternal life through Christ, to which you said, 'No'. Why do you now offer me a gift and expect me to say, 'Yes'?" She listens as he translates, and she looks a bit confused as I reissue the question, "Why should I accept this gift you offer me when you reject the gift I offer you?"

She and I are both struck by the question. I take the egg and invite her to remember that the salvation offered in Christ is a gift for her to receive just as I received her egg.

I walk away from her hut sad but noticing more green and less gray, or brown, or dirt-dark trail. It feels more like Alabama than ever because people seemed more like people than ever. A see-through feeling swells in my heart as I realize something a bit further about this effort in Uganda. This woman had declined. She had not believed, at least, not yet. Was she within her rights? Yes. Must she believe? Not for me. And this is the great point I saw...in the midst of so many people coming to Christ...those who say "no" show what we are seeing with the gospel is not a cultural politeness. It is not simply that everyone in Uganda nicely says "yes" - rather it is a work on the human heart, perhaps en masse, but not for all. No matter how things sometime seem, faith in Christ remains a broadly personal decision.

*******

CHRISTIANITY CAN BE LIVED EVERY MOMENT/

One day at Dallas Seminary, David asked me a simple question, or rather posed a logical riddle. David is the son of a theologian of some renown, so questions from David were the norm. Questions in seminary were the norm as well, but this question and answer session has stayed with me all these years.

"Is it possible not to sin at any given moment?" David began.

"Yes," I said.

"Is it possible not to sin at every given moment?" he continued.

"No," I replied. "It is not possible to not sin at every given moment." David was considering the possibility that Christians can live sinless lives; a premise the Bible flatly rejects.

"Why not?" he asked. "Ought implies can [meaning that if we should never sin, then we are able to never sin by God's design], and if we can not sin at any given moment, then we can not sin at every given moment!"

As I write these words I thankfully notice that I'm no longer in seminary, though I miss David and many other friends.

"David," I said. "Can you be awake at any given moment?"

"Yes," he said.

"Can you be awake at every given moment?" He was silent so I politely said, "No. You cannot be awake at every given moment. Eventually the principle or need for sleep will override the effort to stay awake."

David then looked at me and said, "That's what my dad believes."

I haven't seen David since those days, and I'm sure he has things sorted out, while still asking lots of great questions. I've always appreciated what discussions with David meant to my own growth.

That conversation helped me as I studied my Bible, to conclude that God's expectation for His children is not the ideal we assume. God does not expect us to never sin in this life.

Already I can imagine someone reading this with a ready argument. Please hold on as we think this through. Few insights have meant more to my personal sanity than this one: God does not expect his children to never sin in this life.

"Never sinning" is an ideal. Ideals are impossible and non-existent. Therefore, if God expects an ideal from us, He expects the impossible.

********

LIMITS YIELD INTENSITY

Limits yield intensity. What an odd little phrase this is, that limits yield intensity. Of course, in it is the great explanation for how those who focus, really focus; and for how such contrived epidemics as Attention Deficit Disorder (or ADHD) can be cured for good in any person. It also explains a lot of what we saw in Uganda.

Everything we experienced in Uganda involved the magnitude and the power of this simple observation: Limits yield intensity. I first encountered this insight in Williamston, Vermont, during a week-long training on the creative process led by Robert and Rosalind Fritz.

"This afternoon bring a sack of stuff to the session," Robert instructed us. "What kind of stuff?" Ior someone asked. "Anything," he said a little fiendishly. During the break after lunch I gathered twigs, paper clips, sunglasses, etc. Little did I know this would be an answer to my prayer at the beginning of the week during the long trek on Southwest Airlines. I had prayed specifically, "Lord, teach me how to focus."

For as long as I can remember, I have been in a state of constant interruption. I've been known to interrupt myself interrupting someone else...and don't miss the point; I don't want to be changed. My design is from God and I can show you as many advantages as you can show me disadvantages for my talent.

Indeed, one of the most trying issues of parenthood is making the distinction between character and talents in our children. A distractible child like me is often the same child you don't want to debate when he's grown, since his talent for taking multiple and parallel arguments to his combatant is a talent few can withstand (I've secretly always longed to be on a show like "Crossfire"). These distractible children grow up to become patently brilliant in a crisis or an emergency room. The last thing we need are "uninterruptible" emergency room physicians who tell the patient with a flooding jugular, "You'll just have to wait until I'm through wrapping this sprained ankle."

That child who wiggles and wiggles may be the same hero who climbs a ladder, flight of stairs, or mountain to rescue you. Discipline is one thing, and a very important thing. However, trying to discipline the talents out of a person is a bit of foolishness we might as well lay to rest.

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