Not dancing...less than Christian: Contextual Theology

Contextual Theology takes on new viability for me as I’ve listened to, ate with and lived the daily rhythm with people from all over eastern Africa. I’m not sure how to do contextual theology or how it can truly take on different shapes in different contexts. Yet for the gospel to transform lives rather than only "save souls" it needs to become contextual. It needs to become contextual inorder to allow people to be fully Christian and fully human. Africa isn't the only place that needs to benefit from contextual theology; North American contexts, and Korean contexts need it too!

I sat face to face with people who are trying to figure out what it means to be Christian and “Nigerian”--Christian and “Congolese”--Christian and “Kenyan”. They are trying to figure out their Christian identity in a way that doesn’t just blindly accept the forms which are distinctly western. (or Korean)

As I talked with a group of Africans on Monday, May 7, my heart sank. I’m aware now from their eyes, from their stories, that a gospel packaged in a foreign (mostly western) culture steals a part of their humanity. It dehumanizes them because it quenches a creative, imaginative and intuitive spirit. The problem with the western packaged gospel was and is that when the African became a Christian, their new faith took the African out of the Christian. It took a part of who they are from them. Now they are trying to regain who they are while remaining Christian.

Africans sing and dance; it is a part of their communal soul. I watched the joy on the faces of the group light up we were called out by country to dance in the middle of the conference worship space. Even I, the Nazarene, danced! Our African friends worshiped fully in dance. Their bodies moved with the rhythm and their hearts beat to the spirit of worship. When I was in Rwanda I attended an Anglican church. When the Anglican liturgy arrived it came with its staunchness; I saw it quenched the African spirit. Even after the service the priest told us that when he is in the robe he feels stifled. I think about our own Nazarene confessions in light of dancing. Why would we stifle the beautiful human expression which flows out of these people? This is only one example of culture expression which has been labeled less than Christian. In truth, for the African, it may be less than Christian not to dance during communal worship.

The speaker, Dr. Kenzo, reminded us that when we take the African out of the Christian that it does injustice to the incarnation. When we take the African out of the Christian we have at least a weak theology of the incarnation. We also must have a weak theology of the atonement and resurrection. (and that is just for starters) Christ lived, died and rose again to reclaim and redeem all parts of human life, even the cultural parts. We often say that Christ transforms culture. Yet how often has our western packaged gospel gone to the nations to transform them in the name of Christ into western Christians? I’m sure that is not what Christ intended to transform! Christ transforms culture but not from one people’s culture to another people’s culture.

Frankly, although I’m saddened by the effects of colonialism on African Christianity I see the difficulties. I realized that because I am western and from the United States that I work out of a colonializing context by nature. I’m formed to do so. I need to be de-formed! I do not even see that what I do could dis-empower or dehumanize those I intend to minister to. We are called to listen more! Learn more! Create space for the other more!

Also, when we talk about contextual theology I have to ask, “what are those parts of our theology that are essential and what are non-essentials?” Is there anything that must transcend culture? Can anything within a theology be without cultural packaging?

Living: Amahoro Africa Gathering

Unofficially the conference has begun. The conference begins tonight but the conversation already started.

Today I met Pastor Musa who is from the Congo. Currently he is not a pastor of a church. He leads a ministry for developing leaders and works for reconciliation in the Congo. Pastor Musa spoke to the dire need of discipleship. He suggested that pastors have put the emphasis on their work in the wrong place. He and his Congolese mentor sat in front of me over a cup of coffee and said something like, “It is not that we don’t have money or other resources, we do. The problem is that we don’t have good leaders who know how to live out the Christian Ethic.”

Pastor Musa also mentioned his hurt for pastors. Preaching is the pedestal of pastoral ministry and in Pastor Musa's estimation we've missed something. Our work is to invest in people’s lives, i.e. make disciples. He cautioned that the church has focused too much on what it does while forgetting to be who they are in Christ especially in terms of disciple-d living.


Often I talk about “having a call to ministry” or when asked “what do you do?” I say, “I do ministry”. Yet what if instead of focusing on what I “do” in ministry I focused more on how I “live” my life?

We are called to “live” over and above our “doing of ministry”. Of course, I’m not just talking about any type of “living”. I’m talking about living out the character and purpose of God. We are called to be a missional people. (Thanks Steve McCormick for this insight and your recent article at the Global Nazarene Conference) In being called to “life” we are invited to participate deeply in the life and purpose of God. I’m wondering, “How does God’s life intersect and fill into the whole of who we are?”

The way we define “life” is not always a God formed and God lived life. More and more I believe that “life” outside of God is not truly “life” and all. It is something less than life. It is something less than what God desires to gift all off humanity. In this way our ministry and our life are not two different areas of who we are and what we do. They ARE who we are and what we do.

This way of thinking, as I listened and talked to my Congolese friends, causes me to take interest in more things than just typical church stuff. It causes me to look at how I “am” with my world around me; even those parts of human life which I often do not “care” about because it is so “other” than “church”. Maybe it isn’t after all. This could be things such as economics, politics, health, conflict, sex, etc. Especially as I’m in this African context I feel that church and all of life are profoundly connected. People are starving. People are dying of AIDS. People are steeling millions of dollars and running off with it. People are killing other people groups. People don’t have basic live- ing necessities. People…. God’s mission for his world is for people.

Admittedly, I’ve been the first person to have “a disconnect” between Church and state politics. I don’t like state politics! It is easier to just not have a voice. There are other “disconnects” that I’m aware of like: “church and environment”, “church and economics”, “church and sexuality”, “church and culture”—just for starters. Yet, is this really “living” when the way of following Jesus enters into absolutely every part of who we are—individually and collectively? What a challenge.

This is the link to Dr. Steve McCormick's article. http://didache.nts.edu/pdfs/GTIIE_McCormick.pdf