{"title":"Pushing the Naked Envelop Further: A Missiological Deconstruction of the Empire and Christianity in Africa","authors":"D. Mashau","doi":"10.7832/48-1-384","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7832/48-1-384","url":null,"abstract":"In re-visiting issues of empire and African Christianity, this article sought to provide a missiological deconstruction of empire and Christianity in Africa, and to draw some missiological lessons that can help shape the agenda of Christianity in Africa moving to the future. Using a liberating praxis of engagement with available literature, this article concluded that the relationship between empire and Christianity is not only historical, but a present reality – it can be traced back from early Christianity, Roman Empire, colonial and imperial era, to post-colonial and independent/democratic Africa. The article discovered that while the empire dominates and enslaves, Christianity in Africa could be liberated to liberate the rest of the world from the stronghold of the empire. Optics – in the form of various hermeneutic lenses – should be used to unmask the empire for what/who it is. The theology of ubuntu and other life-affirming African theologies should be used as liberating tools, not only from the empire but also from the myth that Christianity is a Western religion.","PeriodicalId":31107,"journal":{"name":"Missionalia Southern African Journal of Missiology","volume":"48 1","pages":"41-57"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48178433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reformation & African Christianity: Mapping the Transitional Movement of African Christianity from the Margin of Classical Reformation to the Centre of Modern Reformation","authors":"M. Michael","doi":"10.7832/48-1-236","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7832/48-1-236","url":null,"abstract":"Celebrating the five hundred years of reformation, there is the need to reengage the missionary character of the reformation and its significant impact on African Christianity because African Christianity at the moment appears to house the reformational ideals of the Christian faith. In particular, the paper engages the significant movement of African Christianity from the margins of the reformation to the center of global Christianity, and the attending missionary and cultural politics which invigorate this important missionary enterprise. Similarly, the paper describes the missionary quest of the reformers to contextualize Christianity within the different cultural domains, and the importance of this missiological endeavour for modern African Christianity. Consequently, the study underscores emerging salient patterns in the praxis and expressions of African Christianity, which resonate with the specific trends and trajectories of the reformation, and its indebtedness to this important heritage.","PeriodicalId":31107,"journal":{"name":"Missionalia Southern African Journal of Missiology","volume":"48 1","pages":"7-22"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44222360","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Relevance of Transnational Networking in the Global Ministry of Fredrik Franson","authors":"H. Reifler, C. Sauer","doi":"10.7832/48-1-347","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7832/48-1-347","url":null,"abstract":"CITATION: Reifler, H. U. & Sauer, C. 2020. The relevance of transnational networking in the global ministry of Fredrik Franson. Missionalia: Southern African Journal of Missiology, 48(1):58-80, doi:10.7832/48-1-347.","PeriodicalId":31107,"journal":{"name":"Missionalia Southern African Journal of Missiology","volume":"48 1","pages":"58-80"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42390205","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The church and poverty alleviation: The challenges of Congo Evangelistic Mission","authors":"F. Kakwata","doi":"10.7832/48-1-331","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7832/48-1-331","url":null,"abstract":"Th is study utilised the qualitative methodology in which individual data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews to investigate the challenges facing the Congo Evangelistic Mission (hereafter referred to as the CEM) in its attempts to alleviate poverty in the city of Lubumbashi. The findings of this study revealed that the CEM is neither practically nor theologically equipped to address the pervasive issue of poverty in the city. As a result, the CEM’s level of engagement with poverty alleviation can be described as rudimentary, merely limited to sporadic occasions of assistance. This holds a clear missional implication. It prevents the CEM from effectively fulfilling its holistic mission and inducing the transformation of lives in the society.","PeriodicalId":31107,"journal":{"name":"Missionalia Southern African Journal of Missiology","volume":"48 1","pages":"111-119"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42235151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Imperial Reliance: A Comparative Missiological Consideration of Emperor Figures and Missionaries in Christianity and Buddhism","authors":"Kenneth R. Bieber, J. Beyers","doi":"10.7832/48-1-349","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7832/48-1-349","url":null,"abstract":"The institution of formal empire is not limited to studies of the past, but shows itself as a present possibility. This article employs the new discipline of comparative missiology in order to examine the relationship between missionary religions and empire. As Buddhism and Christianity parallel one another as two global religions that have spread beyond their communities of origin due to the sending of proselytizers, or missionaries, they have relied on the frameworks, features, and power dynamics of empire, whether intentionally or not. Early in their respective histories, each tradition had an emperor who converted to the faith and then promoted the religion by patronizing missionaries. This dynamic continues in the example of the propulsion of the figure of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama onto the world stage. The historical examples in both the ancient and recent past serve to demonstrate the reliance of the missionary endeavors on empire for the spread of their respective religions.","PeriodicalId":31107,"journal":{"name":"Missionalia Southern African Journal of Missiology","volume":"48 1","pages":"23-40"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46125174","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Diakonia and Diaconal Church","authors":"J. Klaasen","doi":"10.7832/48-1-363","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7832/48-1-363","url":null,"abstract":"What are the authentic features of a diaconal ecclesia in contexts of crisis such as the coronavirus pandemic? In the south African context, the response of the church has been both positive and negative. During this period of the outbreak of the coronavirus the church has been very visible and pastoral in Holy Week, and especially during Easter. After Holy Easter the visibility of the church gave way to non-governmental organisations, social responsibility organisations, government social development agencies, and other government departments. These institutions and organizations emerged as active, practical, and concrete sources of hope because they provided the immediate and tangible needs of the people, including food, shelter, medical care, and psychological support. This research investigates the gap in the church as liturgical movement and service oriented. This elicits the question, what is the church in times of crisis? On the assumption that the church is diaconal, what kind of diaconal ecclesia is suited for times of crisis, like the coronavirus pandemic in South Africa? To understand the main arguments and perspectives of the two modes of church, service and liturgy, I will do a literature review with special attention given to the ecumenical church. I will also do a conceptual analysis of the main terminologies and its effects on the development of notions of church. The modes of church will be interpreted through the lens of catholicity in order to formulate a diaconal ecclesia with distinctive features for times of crisis such as the current pandemic.","PeriodicalId":31107,"journal":{"name":"Missionalia Southern African Journal of Missiology","volume":"48 1","pages":"120-133"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45932425","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"AIC theologies and western missions: a South African analysis","authors":"V. Molobi","doi":"10.7832/47-3-338","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7832/47-3-338","url":null,"abstract":"African Independent Churches (AICs) are groups of churches emerging out of western mainline church experiences. They have increased into many small groups with variant names of their interest. The process of constant breakaways gave them the urge to multiply and gain autonomy. The mainline churches constantly criticise the disadvantaged of this uncontrollable proliferation for lack of theological focus. In South Africa, they are in both large and small faith groups. They are, however, growing irrespective of the theological concern of the mainline scholars and researchers. Since they have evolved over many years alongside the mainline churches, they are aware of such criticisms. As a result, they are compelled to work on a strategy to develop their theology to public spaces. The founding leaders and visions form the core of their theologies. Their biblical faith learned from their founders’ leadership and visions. They are Africans who want to teach themselves the Christian ways anchored in their traditional heritages. Can AICs ever have a unique own theologies? This is the core-interest approach to this article.","PeriodicalId":31107,"journal":{"name":"Missionalia Southern African Journal of Missiology","volume":"47 1","pages":"319-336"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45405152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A young church in mission or maintenance mode?: A case study of the Bantu Presbyterian Church of South Africa (1923-1999)","authors":"G. Duncan","doi":"10.7832/47-3-318","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7832/47-3-318","url":null,"abstract":"The Bantu Presbyterian Church of South Africa (BPCSA) was the first autonomous South African church to be established in 1923 as the result of the work of the mission of a Church of European origin (CEO). It had taken one hundred years after the first missionaries of the Glasgow Missionary Society and subsequently the Free Church of Scotland and the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland, which united in 1900 to form the United Free Church of Scotland, had arrived in the Eastern Cape to form an autonomous church. It would continue to pursue its missionary strategy for the next seventy-six years until it united with the Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa in 1999 to form the Uniting Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa. The aim of this article is to explore the extent to which it remained true to the mission of its founders and God’s mission as it became institutionalised. The ecumenical aspect of mission has already been dealt with and will not be considered here. This particular article will concentrate on internal church policies and activities including the role of missionaries, evangelists and church associations, theological education and socio-political issues. This is predominantly an exercise in primary archival research.","PeriodicalId":31107,"journal":{"name":"Missionalia Southern African Journal of Missiology","volume":"47 1","pages":"269-284"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44869950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A CRITICAL REFLECTION ON THE INDIGENOUS CHURCH LEADERSHIP THAT BEHAVES LIKE MODERN-DAY PHAROAHS: THE LUTHERAN CHURCH AS A CASE STUDY AS WE SEARCH FOR SERVANT LEADERSHIP THAT IS LIBERATING AND TRANSFORMATIVE","authors":"O. Buffel, O. Buffel","doi":"10.7832/47-3-334","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7832/47-3-334","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The article argues that when indigenous leadership of churches in Africa took over it was a welcome relief, a process that must never be reversed. That take-over followed the cry for a moratorium and for indigenous leadership that was not given space by white missionaries, who were at the forefront of the process of colonisation. In this article a question is raised as to whether indigenous leadership is offering leadership that is qualitatively different from that of white missionaries who were also regarded as modern-day Pharaohs and who were incapable of liberating and transforming the church. Sadly the indigenous leadership is emulating the behaviours and tendencies of those who were seen as modern-day Pharaohs and subsequently the church is not able to be true to its nature and mission work. The article looks at the ancient Pharaohs and their tendencies and concludes that there are some similarities obetween the leadership of missionaries and indigenous leadership. The article makes a case for different leadership that is selfless, ethical and service oriented as taught and embodied by Jesus Christ.","PeriodicalId":31107,"journal":{"name":"Missionalia Southern African Journal of Missiology","volume":"47 1","pages":"285-302"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42002582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"GRAPHIC TEXT, GRAPHIC DEPICTION: GENESIS 22 AND ITS INTERPRETATION ON A LOUVRE MINIATURE PLAQUE","authors":"C. Lombaard","doi":"10.7832/47-3-339","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.7832/47-3-339","url":null,"abstract":"In this contribution in honour of colleague Nico Botha, the habit of debate between him and the author is here continued, namely of discussing Bible text and current interpretation. That model of dialogical engagement is used here to enlarge the understanding, through an art work in the Louvre, the interpretation possibilities of one of the most disturbing Bible passages, Genesis 22.","PeriodicalId":31107,"journal":{"name":"Missionalia Southern African Journal of Missiology","volume":"47 1","pages":"255-268"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43964849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}