Email: Hodari Williams

Dear Friends,

My experience here in Kenya thus far has been good. In many ways this feels like home, and at times I often mistake people for relatives. Kenyans are a powerful and peaceful people. They are welcoming and make me feel as if I were part of the family. The land is beautiful and the history is rich. To be in the cradle of civilization is amazing. To see where humanity began is breathtaking. I have had the opportunity to worship and preach with various communities throughout Nairobi. This experience has also been a painful eye opener.

As I reflect on my time spent here in Kenya, my mind continuously replays this common phrase, “I am saved and Jesus is my personal savoir.” This phrase is used quite often by many Kenyan Christians. I wonder when hearing it what it really means. What is salvation in the Kenyan context and how does it relate to the historical New Testament faith of Jesus? When we speak of salvation we often speak of it in terms of “God forgiving us for our sins.” I often wonder if people unconsciously apologize for their ethnic make-up and what social class they belong to.

To understand what I am saying one must consider the relationship of Christianity, capitalism, and colonialism. Christianity avails itself of many forms. Some of these forms have been sources of liberation and some have been sources of oppression. In most cases Christianity has only been a vehicle of liberation when the religion has been indigenized. This happens when oppressed people take a form of religion and apply their own cultural ideals and values, to pave a road to psychological, spiritual, and physical freedom. This in my opinion seems to be the essence of the New Testament faith that Jesus tried to convey. When thinking of Christianity and its presence in America and on the continent of Africa, I think of the two systems of government. I think of capitalism and colonialism.

These isms or systems have wreaked havoc on the marginalized people of Africa. They have created for many Africans what Du Bois calls the “double conscious.” It is a consciousness that is birthed in white supremacy. This consciousness is reinforced through colonial and capitalistic Christianity and produces a sense of inferiority and shame. Du Bois would say that this consciousness is a “double life, with double thoughts, double duties, and double social classes, which give rise to double words and double ideals.” This is the saddening part of my experience thus far. Echoing the words of Paul Laurence Dunbar I would say that, “We wear the mask.” This mask is not the mask of our ancestral heritage. It is a mask of assimilation and recreation. This mask is not discipleship but it is the horrific model of conversion. Was Du Bois right when he said that, “the price of culture is a lie?” Was Cornell West right when he expounded upon this notion by saying (and I paraphrase) that, “black (African) people will not succeed in American (colonial capitalistic) society if they are fully and freely themselves.”

I say no. Our way to God is not through conformity by way of self-hatred. I say no to a salvation that seeks to dehumanize, devalue, and degrade one’s cultural ideals and heritage. As partners, we should be highlighting African themes within Christianity. We should not be in the business of creating clones. As the church, we must begin to unstitch the seams of colonialism, capitalism, and white supremacy that we have found woven into our belief of Jesus’ teachings. Once we have done this, then and only then can we echo the words of Jesus and say, “the spirit of the Lord is upon me, because God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. God has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

This is how we bring salvation to a people—by helping to change the ills of society. This is the difference between being in partnership and being a missionary. The latter came to convert. The other comes to join with someone to aid in changing societal issues of poverty, poor health, and injustice, while realizing that your partner is just as powerful as you.

Hodari Williams