Broken for the Master's Use: The Diaspora Pastor a Memoir

by Teresa T.S. Dangwa

Overview

Often in the Western world you hear conversations about subjects to avoid which are politics, religion and finances. Some even expand in that these are touchy subjects to discuss on a first date, when you first get introduced to your in-laws, at work, on public transportation or any public gathering. Pastor Tee believes it is because one's beliefs or convictions on these things are not always lined up with the next person or present company. She, on the other hand, believes first "dates" are best place to discuss these touchy subjects because it determines if either of you will entertain a second "date". Pastor Tee feels like once you can discuss those things without storming out on day 1, then if anything you've gained a friend. Pastor Tee would like to present that there is a fourth subject that has to be added to the mix. Outside politics, religion and finances she is yet to come across a subject that draws emotions to extremes like immigration. There are those who make the rules but have never been on the receiving end of immigration, at least not directly. Then there are those who have experienced it as a guest in another country except their experience was significantly different from the majority of immigrants because they hold a passport that is ranked among the top 10 of the passport index. Those people cannot get what the hullabaloo is all about surrounding immigration. One thing that is striking is that when Westerners immigrated to Africa, they were not called immigrants; that was reserved for fellow Africans leaving their native lands and going into another African country or even outside Africa. Westerners were called something more endearing, expatriates or expats in short. Preachers and Evangelists from the West are skillfully called Missionaries while their counterparts from Africa are either immigrants or simply "Visiting Pastor" or some form of Clergy identifier. The Diaspora Pastor is intended to open up dialogue on these and many issues impacting immigrants and quite frankly their new neighbors. It is Pastor Tee's hope that such dialogues be welcomed at the pulpit from a Biblical perspective in order to educate, inform and most importantly empower all congregants, immigrants and otherwise. Now more than ever, it is imperative that the Body of Christ no longer ignores these issues and ignorantly shout, "I receive". An informed and empowered congregant is a wholesome individual who will be a responsible citizen, not just of the country of residence but of the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781736124390
Publisher:	Teresa Dangwa
Publication date:	11/09/2020
Series:	Broken for the Master's Use , #2
Pages:	244
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.51(d)

About the Author

Teresa Dangwa is a first generation immigrant. Pastor Tee, as she is affectionately known, is a woman on a mission determined to use her life experiences to change lives. She has gone through her share of trials and tribulation some of them private but a significant of them public. She was denied access to education at a very young age, disowned by her father as a teenager causing her to drop out of high school which impacted her high school graduation and given to marriage to a practical stranger for all intense and purposes. Managed to escape that situation with her womanhood intact and runs to the church for solace only to be molested and raped by men in church leadership positions. Pastor Tee was introduced to masturbation and sex after giving her life to Christ by church leadership. She had given her life to Christ in 1984 while in high school. She had a child out of wedlock and was ostracized by fellow church-folk and leadership. Being estranged from her family left her vulnerable but her vulnerability was often hidden in that “vibrant smile” everyone notices and was often mistaken for strength by some and for confidence by others but for her, underneath that smile was deep pain and pure survival mode. She hopped from one church leader’s house to another having been banned by her father from going to any of her relatives’ homes. This house-hopping exposed her to ugly and ungodly secrets in Christian marriages. Church leadership will preach one thing at the pulpit but then live a totally different lifestyle in their homes. This experience led to Pastor Tee making a radical decision never to get married.
In 1997, after having been unceremoniously deported from the United Kingdom the prior year, due to a series of events orchestrated by Omnipotent God, Pastor Tee was offered a job in the US while in Zimbabwe. Arriving at BWI that September 12th brought with it raised hopes for a new lease of life and a better future only to find out later that the American dream she had been promised was a nightmare. She was caught up in a cleverly hidden modern-day slavery type of arrangement by the very people who purported to fight for civil rights for the Black community. It is in this situation where she was introduced to two realities: 1. Hunger in the land of plenty and 2. God was all she had and had to strengthen her belief system or she would not survive. It is the realization of these things that made her resolve to “running away from her captivity”.