In my feeble attempts to be funny I sometimes inadvertently offend the unsuspecting victims of my questionable humor and in my attempts to elicit giggles from folks of other cultures and countries, my record is quite blemished. In fact, it’s down-right scary when I throw caution to the wind, crack a little “southern funny” complete with a story or two told in my native tongue, “Gaffanese” (a form of English spoken by those of us from Gaffney, SC) only to be greeted by a blank stare, a furrowed brow or a left hook. I really messed up many years ago when I greeted a number of our Brazilian brothers and sisters with the OK sign which is the index fingertip meeting the thumb tip, creating a circular finger gesture. I noticed that my fellow believers were not responding favorably to my attempts at connecting. It was then that I was told that I was sharing with them the South American equivalent of what the U.S. citizen, in the midst of road rage, shares when he or she waves at a fellow driver excluding all but one digit.
So I guess you can imagine my phobia when I greeted Rev. Arnold Manase, the current president of the Baptist Convention of Tanzania, and Michael Nhonya, bible translator and General Secretary of the Baptist convention of Tanzania, at Poplar Springs on Sunday morning. Church family, thanks to the African ministry of Aaron Hinton, we hosted dignitaries! Having been educated through my aforementioned failures in international Christian diplomacy, I was cautious and on good behavior and evidently you were too. I was pleased to see the outpouring of southern hospitality and I was moved by Aaron’s call to the altar to bless and affirm our African brothers. You patiently listened as our speakers shared the Gospel in broken English, even venturing to laugh a little when Michael shared his stories with us. The music was superb as the choir sang an anthem reminiscent of something that might be heard in Arnold’s and Michael’s churches and you, Poplar Springs, were your usual kind, gracious, and welcoming selves. Our new friends are in my old neck of the woods, King, NC, this week. Be in prayer for them. I hope Michael tells the Stony Ridge congregation, outside of King, NC, in the shadow of the Sauratown Mountains, the same thing he told me when he was departing good old PSBC, “When I come back, this is my American church!” I am more than willing to share this honorable designation if it means our new friends from Tanzania had a gratifying experience among our fellow NC Baptist Christians.
Just to be on the safe side, I called Aaron on Sunday afternoon. I asked if I had offended our new friends. Aaron should’ve said that the damage was minimal and forgivable but instead he opted to share with me that no harm was done. I was relieved. Thank you Poplar Springs for being a welcoming, loving, and, on Sunday, an international congregation.
Andy O. (704) 300-0062
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