Christian Youth Leaders in Church, Young Adult & Student organizations

Yesterday’s young adults' track event was amazing and very informative. The theme of the day was abuse and violence. Besides having a very entertaining and articulate speaker, Dr Tony Campolo, there was also space for creativity. The delegates were entertained by a dance drama, which wrapped up the day's theme but also created the platform for dynamic debate in the group sessions.

Dr Campolo stressed that the ultimate reason for abuse and violence on any level was because of power. He firmly believes that rape has to do with power. Men who rape are turned on by humiliating other human beings. An important point, which Dr Campolo made, was that there is an inverse relationship between love and power, in that whoever loves the most gives up the most power.

This example was illustrated using the example of Christ and the crucifixion. The fact that Jesus came into the world to love meant that He had to give up all power. Therefore He had to die for us.

The important lesson is that at no point can we as humans love and have power at the same time. We have to choose either one or the other. We can never be both at the same time. Also, if you have chosen to love or have power, it is close to impossible to shift between the two.

The drama was about breaking down barriers in all spheres and being united through Christ. It was a great summary to a successful track.

Lesley Malgas

"Where is the hope? The hope that everyone has. I want millions to tell me that the hope they have is in the Lord Jesus Christ".

These are the lyrics from a song by Steven Curtis Chapman. It encompasses the Young Adults track theme for the day, which was hope. I found this session, led by guest speaker, Dr Molefe Tsele, very stimulating. His discussion was based around poverty, unemployment and crime.
A major point that came out of this session was the link between crime and poverty. Also highlighted was the misconception of poverty. When we think about poverty, we think of it in terms of financial distress. A more important aspect of poverty, however, is found in spirituality. If you are suffering from spiritual poverty, it means that you are completely or partially seperated from God. The issues of crime, poverty and unemployment were later creatively linked through a monologue.

From the group discussion I was in, it was clear that the monologue had been very successful. It illustrated God's hope and constant desire to restore hope in our lives. Valuable discussion time followed in which concrete solutions were sought out. I'm looking forward to Friday, when groups will be placed in provinces to discuss and implement all that they have learned. The purpose is that they would go back to their respective communites and collectively work towards change.

Lesley Malgas

Yesterday's Young Adults track theme was 'Repentence'. The aim was to establish concrete out-comes and action plans, regarding HIV/AIDS, Racism and Sexism. The track had two main speakers for the day, Mrs Esme Bowers, chairperson of African Enterprise and Kim Ward.
Esme Bowers drew a connection between violence against women and HIV. An interesting case which she mentioned was one in which a male became mysogenistic toward a woman, claiming that she was responsible for infecting him with the HIV virus. This is an interesting point that illustrates some of the negative attitudes toward HIV. It is always the other parties' fault. What young people in relationships tend to forget though is that sex can only occur between two parties, so the blame should be shared. Kim Ward elaborated on the stance that the South African government adopted regarding HIV/AIDS. An interesting point was that South Africa, who have the fastest growing HIV/AIDS rate in the world, choose not to promote abstinence. This is in sharp contrast to Uganda who's HIV rate has dropped becuase they have lost all faith in the condom and are telling Young Adults to abstain from sex.
A novelty of today's track was that it allowed a space for people to testify about what God was doing in their lives. A panel of three allowed the delegates to completely absorb themselves in the issues of racism and sexism.

Lesley Malgas

The young adults track is co-led by David Nefdt and Andiswa Flatela. Based on what these leaders have heard about the first SACLA event, graduating students were responsible for taking SACLA into the business world.
Students were also responsible for inspiring other Christians. This is therefore their main aim at SACLA 2. Part of the track’s aim is to challenge churches to lead this objective from the front.
Both Nefdt and Fltela trust and believe that SACLA 2 will be a major inspiration to both students and young adults. This track’s main objective is tp promote awareness surrounding the seven giants faced in South Africa.
Both David and Andiswa share the sentiment that they do not want shallowness. “We want deep debates or rather real issues to create a common understanding to reach a workable solution.”