May 1, 2006
Dear Friends,
During the last week of March, Presbyterian missionaries in West
and Central Africa got together for a conference in Kenya. It
was nice to see familiar faces from Louisville as well as some
new and some familiar faces from such diverse places as Ghana,
Cameroon, and Niger. And it was especially nice to see the old
Sudan gang, of which I’m a former member. The conference,
fortunately, was not all business. Being set in the Aberdare Country
Club, which is located in the middle of a game preserve, we were
able to walk or ride on horseback into the preserve where we saw
a variety of animals up close: warthogs, zebras, giraffes and
other animals. Later we spent a night at The Ark, a nearby hotel
that is situated near a natural saltlick and watering hole. The
outside lights are kept on at night so that animals can be observed
in the area. These include a slightly more dangerous variety of
beasts: elephants, hyenas, cape buffalos, and such. We saw no
bloodshed, but things got dicey a few times.
The principal speaker at the conference was the Reverend Dr.
Kwame Bediako, who is the executive director of Akrofi-Christaller
Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture. This is a Christian
research center in Ghana. His name may be familiar to you because
of his book, Jesus and the Gospel in Africa, and because
he was briefly mentioned in the January/February issue of Presbyterians
Today for his participation at a Presbyterian mission conference
in Atlanta last October. Dr. Bediako’s main concern is with
understanding African Christianity in the light of the massive
demographic shift that is now taking place. Lamin Sanneh’s
recent book, Whose Religion is Christianity? The Gospel beyond
the West, which we read for the conference, shares Bediako’s
interest. In 1970, there were 120 million African Christians;
in 2000, 350 million; and by 2025 it is projected that there will
be more than 600 million Christians in the African continent.
This may make Africa the demographic center of Christianity. I
say may because South America should not be discounted.
In any event, given the historical ebb and flow of Christianity
in various cultures (recall that Turkey was at one time the demographic
center of the religion), it now seems that Christianity is rapidly
declining in the West but growing vigorously in the southern hemisphere—in
Africa, South America, but also increasingly in parts of Asia.
It is of course missionaries and mission-minded churches that
have made and are making this possible. But the more important
point for the moment is what this portends for the nature of Christianity
in the future. How might a southern Christianity differ from and
perhaps enliven Christianity in the post-Christian West? How might
such a Christianity go astray? The various implications of these
new developments are things that I regularly discuss with my students,
not without occasional disagreements.
One thing that we all agree on is the distinction between “World
Christianity” and “Global Christianity.” The
latter, like globalization, suggests a dominant form that is imposed
by the stronger on the weaker. Many churches attempt to replicate
their Christian forms in other non-Western countries, and many
non-Western churches assume the forms of their mother churches
almost without thought. In contrast to this is “World Christianity,”
which suggests a church in which every nation, culture, tribe,
and language group makes its own distinctive contribution, praising,
worshiping, and thinking about God in their own indigenous idioms.
Most agree that this is the best, healthiest, and most biblical
approach. Nevertheless, it will mean future disagreements and
struggles. The secular thinking that has permeated much of the
Western church since the Enlightenment will probably be in for
a rough ride. But is that such a bad thing? The West has taught
the world a great deal; still, it would be very arrogant to think
that we have nothing to learn from others. But whatever your opinion,
in the near future the Christianity that we now know is going
to experience some dramatic challenges. Augustine, Aquinas, Luther,
Calvin, and Barth, move over! There are some new kids coming to
the neighborhood.
Let me conclude on a more-down-to-earth note. After several months
of preparation, last Sunday we inaugurated the first English-language
service in the Presbyterian Church of Rwanda. It took place in
Kilgali, the capital of the country, where there are many English
speakers. About 150 people showed up, but many came just to support
our initial effort, and some did not even understand English!
The real test will be over the next few months. I preached at
the first service, and I will be preaching at many more, perhaps
as much as every other service. Please pray for me and for this
service, so that Kilgali’s English speakers may be able
to worship God in a language in which they feel comfortable.
Que Dieu vous bennisse,
Michael Parker
The 2006 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p.
322 |
