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CCF Missions - South Africa

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Like No Other

9/16/2020

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In 2009, my friends Mingo and Lucy Barron wrote a song whose bridge captivated me. It's been part of my devotional life, and a mini-chorus I've often led in corporate worship, ever since. This August, when ideas started echoing in my head around these four lines, Pastor Mingo gave me permission to recraft a new song around it.
The best part? Charis collaborated with me. So amazing to worship Jesus with my baby girl!

What name could I breathe to make darkness flee
Who else can I call to see giants fall
Whose feet can melt the highest peaks
Whose glory makes the heavens sing
​It’s a name like no other
It’s a love like no other
It’s a grace like no other
Jesus
What love gives its life for an enemy
Who crawls in this ditch just to rescue me
What love would pursue me across the sea
What grace carries me through all my grief
​It’s a name like no other
It’s a love like no other
It’s a grace like no other
Jesus
Jesus
​Jesus
You’re a name like no other
You’re a love like no other
You’re a grace like no other
Jesus
©2009, 2020 Christian City Music by Mingo Barron, Lucy Barron, Mike Noviskie, & Charis Noviskie
CCLI# 7162359

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Living Room Worship

5/13/2020

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by Charis

​Well, we’re stuck inside our houses
With the people we claim to know and love best
And now, with televisions, laptops or radios tuned in
We discover something called worship, online.
And it’s not the same
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​Weird without the coloured lights
The sound of a hundred speakers
And people—hundreds or more—just beside

​But now:

There’re no dimmed lights

No loudspeakers
No crowds
​

Instead we have dizzy sunlight,
Gleaming through familiar frames
And tinny sounds from only one speaker
A couple of people—family
And nowhere else to go

​Suddenly
The sounds of family nearby
Are loud
We can hear every breath
And the exact way that they might sing
And the sound of clothes rustling
No more big, dark, comfy spaces to throw loud voices into
No more forests of raised arms to secure our own hands
No more dimmed lights to hide expression
And, suddenly
My soul is vulnerable
In a different way than before

Can I still worship in such a way?
When the world,
The people around me
Refuse to fade away?
When even closing my eyes seems wrong
And engaging is suddenly so much harder
Because I can hear the kids next door playing
And construction down the street
Someone sneezing
Somebody laughing too loud
I can hear cars and sirens and neighbours
And I can hear dishes clanging in the kitchen
I can smell the spices of home food
I am too distracted to worship!
But all these distractions
Aren’t they just the simple things that were always there?
Gifts
That we’ve forgotten in spectacle—lights, crowds, stages
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Maybe I am learning to appreciate
Richness

​
The copious aroma of life

​Spicy, sweet, tangy
Salty, savoury, tender flavour
The taste and touch and feel of life--
In everyday moments

​I can no longer block out

That the people around me are more precious than spectacles
And that God can be worshipped by us too
Together, in a way that doesn’t deny

This rich aroma
Of our everyday lives
Now I share with God
The kitchen cooking, dishwashing, couch-sitting, pillow-fighting,
Debating, laughing, crying, smiling,
Secret handshakes
Nicknames, chores
Pet projects, pet peeves
Smallest thoughts
Biggest dreams…
The smell of home-cooked food
My everyday life
Because God loves to see life
​Life
Is Richness

© 2020 Charis Noviskie. All rights reserved.
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The King Is My Daddy

12/14/2018

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Heaven has a throne room where angels fear to tread
And life runs in rivers from the glory of the King
Eternity's greatest fall down on their faces
Forever undone by the matchless one
Yet I can reach my hand up for His
And taste the grip of glory
I hear Him laugh and sing over me
​The King is my Daddy
The hands that shook nations have carried my tears
The painter of the universe delights over me
His voice is a thunder that fills me with wonder
As I hear Him whisper my name
Yes, I can reach my hand up for His
And taste the grip of glory
I hear Him laugh and sing over me
​The King is my Daddy
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Won It All

3/21/2018

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Words & Music by Mike Noviskie & Dan Erickson
(When I Survey the Wondrous Cross written by Isaac Watts, 1707)

Verse 1

When I survey the wondrous Cross
Where my Savior died
My richest gain I count as loss
​and throw away my pride
I see from Your head, Your hands and feet
Sorrow and love pour down
Here perfect love and sorrow meet
and thorns make a Victor's crown

Chorus 1

I am free from the shadow of my sin
You've won it all
You've won it all
Your victory is where I start again
You've won it all
You've won it all
You've won it all

Verse 2

Here at the Cross our seas of pain
Forever drain away
Oceans of war and waves of hate
All break on Jesus' name

Chorus 2

We are free from the shadow of our sin
You've won it all
You've won it all
Your victory is where we start again
You've won it all
​You've won it all

Bridge

Greater than all our shame
Deeper than all our pain
Your Cross is big enough
Your Cross is strong enough
You've won it all
You've won it all
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Living richly

8/31/2017

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The local church here in Pretoria is currently busy with a theme called Faith for Tough Times.
One of the first things I thought when I saw the phrase "faith for tough times" is that perhaps one of the greatest, and most important, acts of faith during tough times is to avoid closing oneself off from God and from others.
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Closing off

Maybe it's related to the whole "fight, flight, or freeze" thing. But often, when hard things come, we humans close off. We close off relationships when someone hurts us. We stop investing in organizations, family, or church when we a group or leader fails us. We stop tithing or giving offerings in times of broad economic or personal financial crisis.
It's natural, and intuitive. But I'd like to suggest that it's counterproductive.

Counter-culture richness

A dear friend of mine said something crazy to me in 1993. He'd just been betrayed, profoundly and painfully, by one of his closest associates. The individual had quietly conspired with about a third of my friend's contacts, luring them away to start a competing venture. It was a costly, difficult, and painful time. As the dust was beginning to settle, we were chatting late one night in a parking lot and I asked him what he was going to do.
"I'm going to trust again. Eventually, I'm going to get burned again. But, Mike, I'd rather get burned a hundred times and still love people than close myself off."
I've never forgotten this. I was pretty young in 1993 (and pretty stupid, but that's another story for another day...), and I've always been grateful to have heard this message of forgiveness, trust, and living richly before I ever went through anything difficult myself. What a response! It's easy to be cynical. It doesn't take a lot of courage to believe the worst in others.
But this: this took courage. My friend wasn't planning (or advocating) blind trust in folks with proven poor character. He was resolving to continue to build relationships, allow others to share in his life's work and passion, and to continue to live richly towards others, even when at times he gets "burned".
Counter-intuitive. Counter-cultural. Brave.

Living richly

I took a decision that night in that parking lot, and I'd like to invite you to join me in the decision. The decision?
I will live richly towards others, regardless of what offenses are committed against me.
I've chosen to love and trust the people God's allowed me to have in my life. I don't "check the wind" to determine whether or not to love and invest in others. As another friend of mine says, "I love you, and there's nothing you can do about it!"
The Message paraphrase of 2 Corinthians 6 paints a beautiful picture of living richly towards others, in good times and in tough times. Check it out:
People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we’re beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we’re telling the truth, and when God’s showing his power; when we’re doing our best setting things right; when we’re praised, and when we’re blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.
He's described a few good times and a lot of hard times. Now, dig his response:
Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!
Christ's life inside of us is so magnificently, expansively, great! He is greater than every offense, every betrayal, every economic downturn, every "you-name-it"!
And that's why--He's why--my family and I have decided to always live richly towards God and towards others. Won't you join us?
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June 2016 ministry in the Congo

7/7/2016

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Where we went

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We traveled to Kinshasa, then spent a week in Kananga before finishing our journey in Lubumbashi. Kinshasa, located in the far southwest, is the capital city of the DRC (the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Kananga, a large but profoundly poor city, is the capital of DRC's Kasaï-Occidental province and lies near the Lulua River in the south central part of the country. Lubumbashi is in DRC's extreme southeast, a large city fueled by a booming mining industry.

Who we worked with

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Pastor Willy Tshipamba pastors Ambassade du Royaume de Dieu (Embassy of the Kingdom of God) church in Kananga and leads a network of churches that covers most of southern DRC. Pastor Willy invited Pastors Johan and Electa Potgieter of Hatfield Christian Church to continue the Church Development Plan.  Chandra and I were part of this team, and we ministered to nearly one hundred pastors between the three cities.

What's the Church Development Plan?

It takes good leaders and healthy churches to effect kingdom advance. As such, the Church Development Plan takes a "hearts, heads, and hands" approach to developing pastors and leaders who will build strong churches. Rather than solely dispensing information, the Church Development Plan focuses first on impartation and heart formation of church leaders. When the heart is healthy, then information (heads) becomes more relevant and useful, and there is proper motivation for increasing practical skills (hands). I also adopted this approach for the worship workshops I was able to give in Kananga and Lubumbashi.

The school in Kananga

Several years ago, Pastor Willy's church in Kananga started a school in their city. They modeled the school after Hatfield Christian School here in Pretoria. They planned for a small beginning of fifty students, but finally had to stop enrollment at one hundred. The school has been so successful that the government has asked its leadership to help them establish more schools based on the same model.

During our stay in Kananga, Chandra was invited to minister to around fifty teachers and faculty at the school. She spoke on the value of a child. There was a beautiful impartation  as she ministered, and afterward she was able to pray with many teachers and staff members. We are looking forward to visiting the school next year and building relationships.
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Worship workshops

I was able to encourage senior pastors and leaders in all three cities on corporate worship and relating to worship leaders. These sessions were fun and fruitful! In Lubumbashi, there were also several worship leaders, musicians, and vocalists in attendance. An extra session was scheduled in Kananga with the local church's worship team and choir. We had a great time practically applying the principles we looked at! I have been invited back next year to host an extend worship workshop in both Kananga and in Lubumbashi.
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Visit this album on Facebook for more photos of our time in DRC.
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Love Run Over

5/29/2016

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​To learn how wide, to see how far
to feel how deep and reach the heights
of Your love for me

I  drop my guard, fall in Your arms
to face the unrelenting power
of Your love for me

Father, I'm here with no reservations
Lay bare my heart with no hidden places
Here I am

Let Your love run over me
Search my heart, chase my fears
Love, invade my wildest dreams,
    highest hopes, deepest pain
Love, run over me
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when children praise...

3/4/2016

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Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. (Psalm 8:2)
​We recently witnessed a wonderful move of God at Hatfield Christian Church, the local church out of which we work in the communities surrounding Pretoria.

During corporate worship a group of children found their way to the front of the auditorium, waving flags and dancing. They didn't look like mature worship leaders or professional dancers. They looked like kids having fun. Someone in leadership saw them, and rather than shut them down, he invited them onto the platform to dance and wave their flags before the Lord in full view of the congregation.

Before long, there were reconciliations happening all throughout the building. Generation affirming generation, male honouring female, and every tribe and race embracing and celebrating one another, all in the context of glorious praise to God in at least five languages. It was stunning! And we pray that what God has begun among His people will cover this scarred nation, a salve bringing healing and peace.

Psalm 8:2 says that God has ordained strength from the praises of children to silence the enemy. Everyone's praise is always powerful--because of a mighty God! But there is something special when God moves amidst children's praise. What better to silence the jaded, demonic voices of bitterness, gender tension, and racial strife than the wonder-filled praise of all-powerful God coming from innocent lips!

The millenia-old saying is still true today: there comes a beautiful clarity in the spirit when children praise. What would happen if you and I praise today? What would happen if you and I empower our children to praise today?
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At this, my heart pounds...

12/17/2012

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Most of the book of Job is a long conversation among Job and three of his friends.  When the younger Elihu finally speaks, his words are marked with awe and wonder.  In a sense he is appalled with the matter-of-fact manner the others had discussed God and His ways. He begins with rebuke, but he concludes with worship:
At this my heart pounds and leaps from its place.
Listen! Listen to the roar of his voice,
to the rumbling that comes from his mouth...
God’s voice thunders in marvelous ways;
he does great things beyond our understanding...
The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.
​(37:1,2,5,23)
What happens as soon as Elihu finishes speaking?  God shows up!  I find it poignant and instructive that His presence never manifested while folks were debating the finer points of righteousness, sin, judgment, and suffering.  But when the worshiper began to speak, when God was spoken of with wonder and reverence, He appeared on the scene--immediately.

​Does your conversation about God invite His presence?
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Never Once

11/29/2012

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Matt Redman has written an amazing song, “Never Once”.  This song has become the anthem for our family in 2012, as it has ministered to us unspeakably in a difficult season.  We’d like to share it with you.

….Scars and struggles on the way, but with joy our hearts can say—yes, our hearts can say:  Never once did we ever walk alone.  Never once did You leave us on our own: You are faithful, God, You are faithful!  Every step we are breathing in your grace; ever more we’ll be breathing out your praise.  You are faithful, God, You are faithful!
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Mike & Chandra Noviskie,
​missionaries to South Africa

CCF Missions is a ministry of Christian City Fellowship.
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