Tag Archives: Tim Cantrell

Divorce Disqualifies Boshoff & Co.

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— Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

“Stay out of my private life!”  We expect to hear that in the world, but not in the church.  Unsaved professionals might live a two-faced, double life – shining in public, while masking a home life in shambles.  But if there is any one place, amidst this world of lies, where we expect integrity and honesty, it is God’s house, “the pillar and support of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15).  

That’s why we are rightly angered and dismayed every time we hear of hypocrites in the pulpit.  In recent years in Africa, there have been an appalling number of public scandals of high-profile preachers who are now biblically disqualified by divorce, yet they refused to step down or soon returned to the pulpit: Ray McCauley; Chris Oyakhilome; Enoch Phiri; Joshua Iginla; Aloysius Bugingo, and the shameful list of villains goes on and on.

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Pray for Madagascar: How God is at Work Amidst Suffering

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— Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

As if last October’s coup was not bad enough for impoverished Madagascar, now this month brings more disaster through two devastating cyclones.  In recent weeks, our church also enjoyed a special visit from a Malagasy pastor bringing good news of all that the Lord is doing there in His Church and through their suffering.  God has raised up Faly, his church (where he is an elder) and his ministry in the capital city, Antananarivo, to build a healthy church, to train up faithful pastors, and to plant and strengthen churches and serve believers across that island in a myriad of ways.  

Through Faly and others, God has given our church in Johannesburg a twenty-year close friendship with beloved Malagasy believers, and a burden for the Lord’s work there.  I have been there many times, and I always come away deeply encouraged.  Here are some ways you too can rejoice and pray more intelligently for the cause of Christ’s kingdom on that beautiful-but-beleaguered island.

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Helping the Poor: Wealth Creation or Wealth Redistribution

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— Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

What a stark contrast between the two G20s: November 2025’s G20 here in Johannesburg prioritised climate change and redistribution of wealth to reduce inequality, which has never worked.  All this is driven by the socialistic, flawed philosophy of globalism.  

2026’s G20 will focus on “economic prosperity by limiting regulatory burdens, unlocking affordable and secure energy supply chains, and pioneering new technologies and innovations” – prioritising wealth creation instead of redistribution.  Which approach will prove more helpful to the poor?  

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Can We Unite With Catholics & Mormons? Gospel Purity & Civic Duty

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–– Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

In preparation for November’s G20 Summit to be hosted in South Africa, an Interfaith Forum was recently held in Cape Town to unite religious leaders to “strengthen peace-making efforts” in global conflicts.  The All Africa Council of Churches accounts for some “200 million Christians” across the continent.  In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s murder and a conservative resurgence in the USA, there are new calls for reconciling Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, and others (especially when both the 2nd and 3rd in command are devout Catholics—Vance & Rubio).  Meanwhile, others are calling for believers to come out and be separate from any political alliances with unbelievers.

How do we resist the temptation of ecumenism yet remain engaged in society? We’ll look at legitimate and illegitimate cooperation with unbelievers, all hinging upon the purpose for which we are uniting.

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Reading the ANC’s ‘Bible’: A Christian Response to the Freedom Charter

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–– Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Last month was the 70th anniversary of South Africa’s Freedom Charter, once called the ANC’s “Bible” by former president, Jacob Zuma. Hailed as the true ‘voice of the people’ for liberation since 1955, it is often elevated to the status of religious dogma, and exalted above our national Constitution. As image-bearers of the Almighty, God has placed this cry for freedom and human dignity in all of our hearts, as we’ve often argued here on TARIF. Muzzling the consent of the governed and trampling on human rights is abominable in God’s eyes and must be opposed.

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Should Christians Celebrate Ancestor’s Day?

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–– Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Traditional leaders and political voices in South Africa keep calling for 8 May to become a public holiday, “Ancestor’s Day”, so as to decolonise the Christian calendar with pagan celebrations.  How should the Christian respond to such proposals?  Why do many professing Christians in Africa still worship the ancestors in times of trouble or to ward off evil?  How do believers handle family pressure to join in blood sacrifices to appease and honour the forefathers?  God’s Word offers solid answers to these burning questions.

Christian, could you explain the difference between the blood required by pagan religions compared to Christianity?  The Book of Hebrews often tells us how the blood of Christ was “better”, better than the blood of Abel, better than the blood of bulls and goats, better than the old covenant.  But how is the blood of Christ also better than African Traditional Religion (ATR) sacrifices? 

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Should Churches Be Self-Supporting, or Even Talk About Money?

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–– Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Everyone can see that the brain drain has dealt a heavy blow to Africa.  Skilled professionals emigrate overseas, while locally the working class are forced to leave their villages for our African cities in search of work, as our continent continues to urbanise.  All of these factors severely impact churches and their income.  Recent news told of a local pastor having “sleepless nights” because of losing so many faithful givers in his church to emigration.  While there are many causes of brain drain, my aim here is simply to answer two practical, related questions: (a) ‘How important is it for churches to be self-supporting?’; (b) ‘How should churches respond to a financial crisis?’  

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How Merry Should Your Christmas Be? A Christian View of Drinking 

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–– David de Bruyn & Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

The holiday season is fast approaching, with all of its blessings but also its dangers – of which one of the most notorious and widespread is the abuse of alcohol.  It was more common in my father’s generation for Christians to stand firm and swim upstream as teetotallers who abstained from alcohol.  But in our day, a trendy ‘Young, Restless & Reformed’ generation has arisen and at times foolishly flaunted their liberties in an effort to be more contextualised and hip with the culture.  A hyper-grace (antinomian) mood has fallen on the modern church and calls a “legalist” anyone who makes you uncomfortable in their zeal for holiness.

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Unequally Yoked in Business

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–– Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

‘Pastor, should I start a business with an unbeliever?  Would it be wise for me to partner with this person or not?’  I’ve been asked this question many times, and I believe the Bible has answers.  

Right now in South Africa, about 29% of the workforce is self-employed.  Over 80% of South Africans believe entrepreneurship is a good career path, and there is a growing interest in starting new businesses, despite economic hurdles.  But for the believer, the first question must not be, ‘How much money will I make?  Will it succeed or not?’  

Christian decision-making always begins with, ‘What does God’s Word say about this?  What will be most pleasing to my Lord?’  To answer this question in relation to business partnerships, let’s ask three questions:  (1) What does it mean to be unequally yoked?; (2) How does that differ with employment?; (3) Will this partnership compromise my Christian witness?

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Calvinism: The Cure for Racism, Not the Cause 

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–– Adapted by Tim Cantrell from Dr. Flip Buys

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Historian Rodney Stark describes how the early church was the first institution in the history of the world that brought people together across ethnic barriers. They were inclusive because they believed that there is one God who gathers His new people from every tribe tongue and nation.  Longtime GK pastor and professor, Dr. Flip Buys, was a white Afrikaans pastor in a black church in the 1980s in Sharpeville township, home of the infamous Sharpeville massacre of 1961 (commemorated every 21 March on Human Rights Day in South Africa).  He often had to drive to church services through burning tyres on the streets and police barricades.   

Yet Dr. Buys powerfully testifies to the gospel’s impact in seeing black and white young people converted and learning to reconcile.  He tells of how, in those tumultuous times, their church truly experienced how Christ has torn down the wall of racial division and created the “one new man” (Eph. 2:14-16).  Nothing is more potent for racial harmony than a biblical vision of God as absolutely free, gracious and sovereign – a God who truly saves sinners!  Whether we wear the Calvinist label or not, every Bible-believing child of God says ‘Amen’ to that testimony. 

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Marriage Procrastination: Eight Excuses for Staying Single

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–– Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Currently, in South Africa, we have some 24 million singles, well over half of our adult population, and marriage statistics continue their rapid decline with more and more youth waiting longer and longer to get married, if ever. Top reasons South African singles give for delaying marriage are: “Desire for independence; self-esteem and relationship reluctance; economic and social reasons; past relationships and fear of commitment”. All four of these reasons have one thing in common: they are usually selfish excuses. It is no minor offence to reject God’s good institution of marriage, His wise creation ordinance that is the cornerstone of civilisation and the primary building block for all of society. As the view of marriage rises or falls, so does an entire nation. 

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Am I Gay?

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–– Tim Cantrell

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

“Unlike the rest of the African Continent, South Africa is worlds apart when it comes to being classed as an LGBTQ+ welcoming destination.”  This is the opening line on a popular gay travel website.  According to the South African National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and other studies, approximately 5-10% of our South African population supposedly identify as homosexual in some way.  Every year in the church I pastor I hear of more friends and family of our flock being drawn in by the aggressive gay agenda in this land, and I must be ready to minister the gospel to any repentant sinner who walks through our doors or seeks biblical counsel.  Here is one example of how my wife and I have sought to minister to youth and young adults who are tempted by same-sex attraction. 

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Good News for African Girls: Child Marriage & Christianity

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–– Tim Cantrell

Audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Amidst all the world’s bad news, good news was heralded from Sierra Leone last week about the outlawing of child brides, where one-third of girls are forcibly married off before the age of 18, leading to a high number of maternal deaths (because of premature pregnancy).  Child marriage is a longstanding, pagan practice in many African countries, with West and Central Africa currently leading the world with nearly 60 million child brides.  In East Africa, fathers in the Maasai tribe can give away a 12-year-old daughter, against her will, to a polygamist old enough to be her grandfather.  In the Muslim country of Mauritania, it is common in villages to find brides as young as 10 or 11 years of age. 

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May I Marry Any Christian?

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–– Tim Cantrell

Audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

A recent study showed that South Africa is one of only three countries in the world where religious involvement has increased in recent years, with over 85% of the country now claiming some kind of Christianity.  But this raises the immediate question, “What kind of Christianity is it that is growing?  What kind of gospel is being preached?” It also raises pastoral questions such as one I’m asked by young people: 

“May I marry anyone who claims to be a Christian?”   

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Potholes and Pitfalls: When Christians Stumble

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–– Tim Cantrell

Audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Potholes have been a way of life on roads in Africa for a long time; with South Africa now attributing 25% of all road accidents in the country to poor road conditions.  Fail to spot a pothole and you’ll pay for it in lost time and replacing that tyre!  How much more crucial then in our spiritual lives that we learn to spot potholes and pitfalls, where eternal souls are at stake and everlasting consequences await us?

Jesus warned His disciples often about stumbling blocks to be avoided in the minefield of this enemy-occupied territory, a Satanic system of darkness and deception.  Jesus said, “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks!  For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” (Matt. 18:7).  Believers toy with temptation and stumble into sin because they don’t see the stumbling blocks.  Our Lord plainly shows that Heaven and Hell are at stake, as He urgently pleads with us about this life-or-death struggle against sin (Matt. 18:8-10).

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Institutionalised Envy: How the 10th Commandment Can Make or Break a Country

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–– Tim Cantrell

Audio version of this article available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Institutionalised Envy: How the 10th Commandment Can Make or Break a Country

As we in South Africa approach a major election, it is crucial for Christian voters not to be naïve or ignorant, but to recognise that all political systems are not created equal.  Every form of government is fallen, but not in the same way or to the same extent.  

Constitutional democracy and a free market are rooted in many biblical principles, when rightly applied. Socialism (and its end goal, communism) is rooted in envy, greed and covetousness.  It has bred all kinds of theft and trampling over private property rights (as enshrined in the 8th commandment against stealing) and discourages a biblical work ethic.  As Margaret Thatcher famously said:  “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”

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Gay Weddings & The Christian

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–– Tim Cantrell

Listen and subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Many have been asking lately, ‘Should a Christian attend a gay wedding?’  The biblical answer is extremely nuanced and highly complex:  Never, no, not under any circumstances.  In the eyes of God and according to His Word, any such pseudo-wedding is an abominable, blasphemous, profaning of marriage and a pagan celebration of the sodomy that destroys lives, ruins society, makes a mockery of Christ, and merits eternal punishment (Gen. 1-2; Gen. 19; Lev. 18; Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; 1 Tim. 1:10; Eph. 5:22-33).

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Resolved to Rejoice in Sunday Evenings

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–– Tim Cantrell

Listen and subscribe: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Dear Christian friend – as we prayerfully plan for 2024, with our long lists (actual or mental) of goals and resolutions, where does Sunday night church fit in? Thanks to American pragmatism (the church growth, seeker-friendly movement) and rampant secularism, evening worship services have largely vanished. It is a once-holy habit that has now almost disappeared in today’s Christianity. One pastor remarks, “…It can be downright difficult to get the family out the door once on a Sunday, not to mention twice; and your neighbours will be convinced that you’re crazy for doing it.”

Here are five reasons our churches must recapture Sunday evening services:

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Dating Apps and the Christian

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–– Tim Cantrell

Listen and subscribe: Youtube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Should Christians use dating apps?  One study claims that 1 in 3 South Africans uses online dating and that only 11% do it to find a marriage partner, while 48% do it for fun, 41% to find friends, and 13% for sex.  Our Police Minister Bheke Cele has recently warned of the increasing use of dating apps for kidnapping.  Yet global revenue from dating apps for 2023 will add up to US$8.7 billion, from 441 million users – a colossal industry indeed!  What does God’s Word say about this massive trend in our society?

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TARIF: Hate Speech vs. Free Speech in South Africa

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The Africa Review in Five highlights African current affairs from a Christian perspective. Listen and subscribe through Youtube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Today is Tuesday, August 1st, A.D. 2023. This is The Africa Review in Five, written by Tim Cantrell and presented by Yamikani Katunga.

Hate Speech vs. Free Speech in South Africa

Last Saturday in Johannesburg, in the massive FNB stadium in Soweto, Julius Malema (leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters political party) stood before a stadium of tens of thousands and gave us yet another perfectly blatant example of genuine hate speech:  https://twitter.com/i/status/1685542774601371648  If shouting, “Kill the Boer (white Afrikaners), kill the farmer!” (while making gun sounds and hand-gun motions) is not hate speech, what is?2  If “explicit words meant to incite violence”3 still has anything to do with hate speech, surely Malema should’ve been behind bars long ago. 

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