Interview with Traveling Professor and Field Liaison Pastor Doug Weiser

What do you do as WELS Liaison to Nigeria? 

Our Wisconsin Synod is blessed with two independent Lutheran church bodies in Nigeria with whom we have a close fellowship connection. They are Christ the King Lutheran Church of Nigeria and All Saints Lutheran Church of Nigeria. Each of those synods has over 25 congregations and about 5,000 members.

The WELS World Missions Africa Committee appointed me to be their contact with our sister churches in Nigeria. That’s what a “liaison” is. So I make sure that I or other WELS pastors visit the Nigerian churches at least twice a year. We want to show them how dear they are to us, and exchange every sort of information that will encourage our Nigerian brothers and sisters in their work to hold the cross of Jesus up in their country.

In addition to regular visits, WELS World Missions stands behind the program of Christ the King Lutheran Seminary. This is the only seminary of our fellowship in Nigeria. At the seminary men from both synods are brought together to study for two years in a pre-seminary program. Then after a year or more of preaching and teaching, students return for three years of seminary studies. Special gifts for the Nigeria work support this seminary’s entire program, including salaries for Nigerian teachers, food for the students, school supplies, and the costs of our WELS traveling professors on the seminary level. My job is to recruit and manage the volunteer WELS pastors so that three teams of two teach each year of seminary classes. 

I also pass along to our sister synods the gifts of WELS members to help them build churches for congregations, buy motorcycles for the new pastors, and dig bore holes. Pure water is one of the greatest causes of disease in Nigeria.  Bore holes are deep, sanitary water wells. We place our bore hole, generator, pump, storage tanks and distribution “house” right next to our congregations. That way, the people of the village coming for free water get to know our churches, their pastors and their people.

What is it like to travel in your host country? 

Life on Nigerian roads is dangerous. Life in the village is quite safe. The people of Nigeria are so generous and loving that it is a joy to visit them.

Life for the typical Nigerian is very basic and full of labor.  It is a country rich in resources, especially crude oil, but its citizens are poor. Life for the WELS visitors is quite comfortable, on a level about like a camping cabin.

We are grateful for our cook and caretaker, Johnny John. He was trained in cooking for “western” workers for the oil companies, so he knows how to feed us well and keep us from getting sick. And if one of us gets too sick, Johnny’s wife is a nurse, so that helps.

We land in Lagos, fly to Calabar, rent a driver to take us to the village of Uruk Uso outside Abak. From that point on, our life is a bit rural and basic, unless we take a hired car and driver to visit one congregation or another.  Sometimes we ride to places as passengers on motorcycles. That’s enjoyable since it gets us into cool moving air.

On almost every visit I take a trip to Ogoja, 250 miles north, to visit All Saints Lutheran Church. That involves a hired driver and his van for up to a week. Some of the back roads in rural Ogoja can be a lot like off-roading.

How long have you been going to Nigeria? 

My first trip to Nigeria was in 1997. I was asked to accompany the liaison of that time because I had been a missionary in Zambia years ago. I’ve been the appointed liaison since 2001. So now I’ve made over a dozen trips to Nigeria. The Lord has always been gracious to hold us in his protecting hand as we travel for his work.

Name one of the greatest blessings and challenges the churches in Nigeria face.

The greatest blessing is the strength of our sister churches in Nigeria. They have strong men, women and youth, who make their churches powerful forces for reaching out to the weak with the gospel of Jesus.

The greatest challenge is trusting that all the people of our sister churches will work in a cooperative way so that the Kingdom of Jesus grows among them. We have no missionary living in Nigeria to watch over them like minor children. They are our brothers and sisters. Depending on their faithfulness takes trust in the Lord and his Word.

What do you like best about being a WELS liaison to Nigeria? 

I enjoy the love that our Nigerian Lutherans have for God, for worship, for celebrating together, for hard work.  There is so much to learn from faithful Christians in a difficult living environment.

 

Picture includes Liaison Pastor Doug Weiser (l) and Pastor Joel Nitz (r)

Interview with Traveling Professor Pastor Joel Nitz

What do you do as a traveling professor? 

We instruct the seminary students from Christ the King and All Saints Lutheran Churches of Nigeria.  We meet at Christ the King Lutheran Seminary in the village of Uruk Uso, Nigeria.  We adapt courses and materials to suit their culture and situation.  Some of the courses are similar to those taught at our Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, such as Greek exegesis of Romans and other New Testament books.
Other courses are unique to their situation, such as the study of native African religion.
 
What is it like to travel in your host country? 

If you grew up taking summer camping vacations, you can adapt to the living conditions.  We have very little reliable electricity.  Usually it is very hot with little relief.  No TV.  Some radio, such as BBC news.  Limited Internet access from an Internet cafe 5 miles away, which may or may not be functioning when we arrive. Limited cell phone service to make calls to the U.S.  For most of the time, you feel cut off from the rest of the world. 

Our cook, Johnny John, uses a propane stove and oven to make our meals.  He does a great job with limited selection of food items.  We eat a lot of eggs and chicken almost every day.  We also bring snacks from America to supplement our diet. Nigerian beer is very good.  We drink bottled water and avoid drinking local water.
 
 
How long have you taught in Nigeria? 

Three trips, 2003, 2006, and 2007, about a month each time.
 
 
Name one of the greatest blessings and challenges the churches in Nigeria face.

Blessings--working from the ground up with the seminary students.  They receive an excellent education from our traveling professors.  When they grasp what they have learned, especially the proper distinction between law and gospel, they will have a great influence on the future of the church bodies.

Challenges--corruption in the country and the churches, pastors and church leaders not properly distinguishing between law and gospel, confusion on church fellowship issues, strife between different generations of pastors. 
 
 
What do you like best about being a traveling professor?

I like best teaching the seminary students.  That's why we visit.  It advances God's kingdom there.  It benefits our brothers and sisters in these church bodies.