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    Isesomo: God’s Servant in Congo
    Isesomo: God’s Servant in Congo
    Isesomo: God’s Servant in Congo
    Ebook118 pages1 hour

    Isesomo: God’s Servant in Congo

    By Joshua Maule

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    About this ebook

    The Democratic Republic of Congo is a country ravaged by two civil wars, tribalism, nepotism and the undeniable hardship of daily life. This is the context of the life and ministry of Bishop Muhindo Isesomo and this book tells the remarkable story of his humble, yet bold proclamation of the Good News of Jesus in the jungles of eastern Congo.

    Born into a life of loincloths, Isesomo, in the midst of a hedonistic and wild youth had a radical conversion to Christ that set him on a path of sharing the gospel at every opportunity and transforming the lives of those God put in front of him. Without ever seeking higher office or power, but serving with integrity and faithfulness, he was consecrated as Bishop of North Kivu and entrusted with unifying a diocese that had seen years of social and political unrest.

    Based on extensive interviews and research, Joshua Maule masterfully tells this true story of a modern hero of the faith. Isesomo continues to declare God’s glory to all who will listen; may this book encourage others to follow his example.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherLangham Global Library
    Release dateFeb 28, 2017
    ISBN9781783681754
    Isesomo: God’s Servant in Congo

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      Book preview

      Isesomo - Joshua Maule

      Acknowledgements

      Thanks are due to many people. To Isesomo, for being so open. To Graham and Wendy Toulmin, for ceaselessly championing Congo. To Ngolas, for translating and explaining. To Mike McGowan, Pieter Kwant, Emma Wild-Wood, Graham Toulmin, Alfred Olwa, Bryce McLellan, Andrew Hanna, Charles Raven and Gerald Bray, for proofreading and feedback. To Mum and Dad, for supporting the project directly and in many other ways. Finally, to my beautiful wife, Sara, for her encouragement and love.

      Introduction

      When Muhindo Isesomo was named the Anglican bishop of North Kivu in Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire, his appointment was controversial. He ticked the right boxes for some but not for others.

      Just before his consecration in December 2010, a group of detractors from Beni, to the north, made their voices heard. A separation had emerged between Beni and Isesomo’s home city of Butembo further south. The secretary of the Beni Diocese Committee circulated an email on 21 October 2010 saying that Isesomo was not qualified to be a bishop.

      The message, written in English, outlined several issues. It stated that during the time of the previous bishop of North Kivu, Munzenda Methusela, the diocese had been a theatre of serious misunderstandings and conflicts. The email then began to psychologize, suggesting a real underlying motive for the conflict – that people from Butembo area were tired with a bishop from Beni and they wanted a bishop from Butembo.

      The subtext? Munzenda, who was from Beni, was being replaced by Isesomo, not because Isesomo was the right man for the position, but because Isesomo was from Butembo. The email thus implied that his appointment was the result of tribalism. Additionally, it criticized the diocesan synod in North Kivu for electing Isesomo as bishop because he did not have a theological degree from a university. It said his election was unconstitutional. As a result, the Beni diocese was launching a campaign to remove themselves from the North Kivu diocese. They wanted their own jurisdiction and their own bishop.

      On the other hand, many supported Isesomo and regarded his election as bishop as a victory for the gospel and the cause of God’s kingdom in Congo. At last, North Kivu would have a bishop who was a born-again believer and a proven servant of others, they said. To them, Isesomo could not have been more right for the job.

      When I was working on this biography, I asked Isesomo about this email. Isesomo characteristically refused to discuss the matter: Don’t worry about the letter from Beni, he wrote back. I could have pressed him about it, but church politics is not his game. He is what is called a grassroots leader.

      Isesomo was not a man born to privilege, nor has he enjoyed an easy life. On the day of his consecration his elaborate robes – paid for by friends abroad – belied his humble upbringing. His Christian commitment and calling came unexpectedly in his early years of adulthood at great cost financially.

      It is not controversial to say that Bishop Munzenda, the previous bishop of North Kivu, saw his position as an opportunity for personal gain. That much is clear from Leadership and Authority, a book by Bishop Titre Ande of the Aru diocese in north-eastern Congo. In it, Bishop Ande uses Munzenda’s legacy as a case study to show the dangers of nepotism in church leadership.

      Isesomo, for his part, had never wanted to become a bishop. He had been working as the National Coordinator of Evangelism for the Anglican Church, and believed he could continue effectively with that work. It had been a portfolio which allowed him to see more than eight thousand professions of faith among the national army, according to records his team kept. His preaching among soldiers, who are often the perpetrators of unrest, was emblematic of his personal ministry philosophy. Where there was an opportunity to preach the gospel, he would take it. Where not, he would attempt to make one.

      When he first began preaching to military units in 2008, he faced many challenges. He would take his place in front of an array of green-clad men clutching rifles, war-hardened men who had taken part in both the twentieth and twenty-first century’s unrelenting brutality. A Congolese journalist described the national army as reasonable men during the daylight hours, but raging lions by night. They had played their part in turning Congo into what one UN official called the rape capital of the world. The population in eastern DRC knew what to expect of their army. The people fled when they heard others shrieking – a warning siren in that region. The perpetrators might have been rebel groups or opportunistic bandits, but they could just as likely have been the national army.

      Although Isesomo was a seasoned public speaker, it took a while before he was at ease with these men. He delivered a confrontational message to them: Are you a part of the problem or a part of the solution? But his message was a word offering forgiveness and reconciliation with God despite the things they had done.

      Back then, Isesomo did not have church governance in mind. He believed his position as Coordinator of Evangelism was an opportunity to advance the preaching of the good news. He would see the events which eventually led to his consecration very simply. First, he had faith in Jesus Christ. Second, he was committed to spreading the gospel. Third, he had a good reputation with people. If that meant God wanted him to be the bishop, then it needed to be that way.

      I am delighted and humbled to have been entrusted to tell the story of Isesomo’s journey towards leadership in probably the most socially and politically volatile Anglican diocese in the world.

      I was eleven years old when I first met Isesomo during his visit to my church in Springwood, New South Wales, Australia. Ten years later I started writing his story. He had endeared himself to our church family through his openness. Gospel ministry in the Democratic Republic of Congo became vivid to us. His stories touched us more deeply than we believed possible, making the knowledge of God’s grace all the more awe-soaked.

      During my two trips to Congo to research Isesomo’s life, he was frequently needed to translate during my interviews with his friends and family, but whenever someone else could do so in his place or could give an interview in English, he would leave the room. He also arranged for me to interview people who did not see things the way he did, because he wanted people to give their side of the story. I am grateful that during those trips he allowed me to stay with him and to meet and interview members of his family. I was welcomed into his home to eat, sing, relax and sleep.

      Based on all I had read from historians and journalists, there was a temptation to be stiflingly serious about Congo. In my own country I’ve known people (myself included) afflicted by deep solemnity at matters far less important than the trials of the Congolese. But Isesomo, for all his responsibilities as a church leader and a preacher, resists that temptation staunchly. The matters of crushing weightiness he has left with God.

      Joshua Maule

      Sydney, 2016

      1

      Into the Fray

      God has sent me here to help everyone. But if you want, you can kill me instead. Isesomo made the declaration at the door of his home in Bunia. Two Lendu boys lay quiet, hiding in two of the rooms inside. The men at the door were members of an opposing tribe – Hemas – who had lived with the Lendus for generations, sometimes peaceably, other times not. In the mid-1990s, with unrest and genocide spreading from the refugee camps near the Rwandan border, eastern Congo was not a peaceful place. Isesomo, well known in the community for his daily radio sermons, was living in Bunia and coordinating the work of evangelism for the Anglican Church. What exactly led him to offer himself as a sacrificial lamb? This sort of violence was happening all over the place. The human reasons for taking such a stand may seem obvious; but ethnic cleansing had its irrational hold and wasn’t going to be stopped by an idealistic pastor standing in his doorway. What would lead him to make other similar difficult decisions – to protect people, to preach the gospel, to live in parts of Congo where his life was at risk? The answer begins with his own story of a modest village upbringing, an early career in school teaching and, most importantly, a personal encounter with Jesus.

      He entered the world as Muhindo Isesomo Adolphe on 30 January 1957. He was the tenth child of his mother, Kavugho Muswagha, but only her fourth living child. She lived with her polygamous husband, Kakule, the village chief, on Kasone mountain in Eastern

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