Gold Legacy Agenda

Under the Radar: I was not prophecied!

2011-10-31T03:52:00.000-07:00

Purpose, destiny, calling are all terms used to identify "meaning." If you come from a deep pentacostal background where prophecies lay a great standard then you will understand the feeling of those who have been under the "prophetic radar." Have you ever been prophecied that great things will happen in your life or God is raising you up for a powerful purpose or calling? If not, then hey, neither have I but then what does that say about people like us? Are we then destined for a lesser purpose than those who are specially chosen? I certainly do not believe so. I believe even more that those of us who have no prophecies hanging on top of our heads are more dangerous to the enemy then those who do.
Seemingly we find our paths as we move along crafting our roles as we grow. In someways we have no burden to carry but rather we create our own future (led by God of course) and the Devil has no clue what is gonna come out.

Paul is clear when he says "no man knows the secrets of another except that man's spirit," therefore unless a word is spoken then not even the Devil knows what is happening in me. This is why we are more dangerous! Now falling under the radar of course is no easy thing because it also means that people will have to see your works before they can acknowledge your legitimacy. Note that I said "people" because just because you are under the radar with them does not mean you are under God's radar too.

Ok then lets dig a bit deeper. I used to ask a question that disturbed me pretty deeply: "does your destiny find you or do you find your destiny?" This question stands in the middle of two critical concepts "timing and action." Pursuing your purpose and waiting on God for your purpose to come. These are common places that many of us have been stuck in because of both our passionate pursuit of God kingdom and the reverence of seeking to obey God's timing. Now I have no final solution to this and I think its a tension we constantly have to carry, but it is made easy when we accidentally bump into destiny while we were pursuing God's kingdom.

Perhaps then this explains my dissatisfaction with the definition of destiny as “a place” in the future rather than the process. When destiny grows organically as you grow in your walk with God then you become the inevitable without having to work hard to attain a future goal because that’s your prophecy. If your purpose is to be a pastor and it’s hidden from you then you will grow with it organically though you have a “sense of it.” On the other hand you may receive that prophecy and it realigns your life focus and though you try to reach it as your inheritance, those who lead you will justifiably put you on hold to avoid inappropriate timing overgrowth but that still does not make it any easier for you (which is why many especially younger people turn out to be seemingly rebellious). Prophecy is good and from God! But I do thank God for keeping me under the radar so I can sniff out my own destiny as I march without pressure to because that which was prophesied. I hope to write a follow up on this which I could entitle “Learning as you do vs. Learn then you do: How to handle allowing young leaders to lead without making them wait till they grow grey hair.”

I just felt lead to write this for those who feel they need a prophetic word to be anything in the kingdom. Not so because by virtue of your existance there is a huge purpose ahead whether its revealed now or when you are actually achieving it.

The power is not in the prophecy but it is in the courage to do what you dream and letting every prophecy testify to what you already know." I was not prophecied but I know I'm called and I'll figure everything else as aI explore God.

From Revolution to Reformation

2011-09-13T02:41:00.000-07:00

Is it still appropriate for the ANC government to refer to itself as a revolutionary organisation or this is an indication that the party is living in the past? At a time of peace, it is often difficult to find enemies and in most cases people tend to become their own enemies. Now that the ANC has achieved freedom, I believe for them the term revolution has expired but that term now has been transferred to civil society who can legitimately spark a revolution against the ruling party should they once again find themselves in oppressive chains.

Martin Luther, the great Christian figure of the 1400s in church history, started an internal wave of introspection within the Roman Catholic Church which caused him great opposition. He sought not to bring a downfall to the Catholic Church but to revert its focus back to the original and orthodox teachings of the Scripture.
Just as Luther had flamed this reformation fire which spread throughout Europe, I believe the right term to be uttered by the ANC in this post-apartheid context is “reformation” rather then revolution. Truly so, one cannot revolt again him/herself but one can indeed reform their own action patterns to bring about internal positive change as well as external positive impact.

If the ANC continues to employ the term revolution, this insists that they are still regarding an external force to be an enemy thus living in denial of the fact that internal corruption is the enemy within the camp and that calls for reformation. The greatest challenge for the current leadership is the transition from “revolutionaries” to “reformers,” because the country is in their hands and there is no apartheid regime to revolt again but now reforms need to be made at the micro and macro levels of society.

The unfortunate part is that, just as it was with Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox etc., who took up the mantle to reform the church and were persecuted by the church, the ANC government has silenced its reformers who would be largely intellectually gifted to reflect on the long term vision of the party and nation. History has deprived us of the Steve Biko’s who understood the deeper complexities of achieving true liberation. Today, the Ramphele’s, Moeletsi Mbeki’s, and others who are agents of reformation are disregarded and replaced with crowd pullers who capitalise on revolutionary thinking.

Charging the masses with revolutionary energy is a fatal flaw that will result in the masses bringing the ANC to its knees and rightly so because the term revolution always belongs to the masses.

It was Niccolo Machiavelli, in his infamous book The Prince, who said, "Reforming an existing order is one of the most dangerous and difficult things a prince can do. Part of the reason this is so is that people are naturally resistant to change and reform.”

Modernising them but leaving them not Transformed

2011-08-19T11:25:00.000-07:00

Defining Terms

Often the use of the term development particularly in secular circles alludes to the subtle interchange with the term modernisation. Dr. Nadine Bowers du Toit looking into the idea of modernisation points out that, this “consumer” approach is identified as being largely a creature of the West, nevertheless, the approach that has gained the most currency in recent years is that expounded by S. Burkey:

Development is more than the provision of social services and the introduction of new technologies. Development involves changes in the awareness, motivation and behaviour of individuals and in the relations between individuals as well as between groups within a society. These changes must come from within the individuals and groups, and cannot be imposed from the outside.

According to W.G. Bragg, in his book, From Development to Transformation:

“Transformation seeks to repel the evil structures that exist in the present cosmos and to institute through the mission of the church the values of the Kingdom over and against the values of the principalities and powers of this world.”

The baggage carried by conceptual terms such as ‘development’ pay very serious intentions in our approach to social engagement. If we are to substitute the initial term ‘development’ with transformation which aligns more with the biblical ideology of a transformed/reconciled earth, then we could juxtapose the two concepts of transformation and modernisation to draw out points of discussion.

Where is the line?

When using the term transformational development, “development” becomes the act and transformation describes the kind of act we engage in. Therefore many nouns can be added to the adjective “transformation” which then could range from transformational justice, outreach, engagement etc. Social justice, particularly through Christian social engagement must be entirely transformative and not exclusively developmental. This is due to the depth of the processes (as presented in the understanding of Christ’s mission to the world) based on the outputs laid out for the Christian premise of engagement as opposed to the secular. Christians aren’t merely deployed to modernisation of the current conditions of human settlement nor be advocates of upward mobility in human strata but are in the business of reconciliation and restoration of things to the order of God.

The connotation of the Third to First world terminology is highly Western and class orientated. Material poverty is relative only in the frame work of modernisation with exception to conditions subject to natural disasters. Somalia may be regarded as a failed stated but only “in relation to…” indicators standardised based on either developing or developed states. In this sense development bears more than anything the mask of modernisation rather than internal qualities that enable self-realisation. This is not withstanding the reality of basic nutritional dilapidation evident in such countries as Sudan, Ethiopia Congo etc.. Therefore clarity of these terms gives clarity of objectives. Shall we all be like the United States of America or European states to have realised true development? Is America itself even developed or are they modernised? This is the discourse of this article.

Transformed Citizenry

South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlante, speaking recently at Wits University in Johannesburg, addressed the social cancer of corruption which government is battling to uproot from within its own systems. He also presented the introduction of ethics within the curriculum of national universities with the hope of producing socially sensitive individuals and good citizenry. This bemoans the rampant criminal activities prominent in society in general. This of course is a breath of fresh air in reflection on government’s ignorance of the essence of developing characteristics of being good human beings (internal transformation) rather than just producing skilled labour and focusing more on creating a modernised environment in hope that it will alter the character of citizens.

The patriarch and first president of the democratic South Africa caught a glimpse of this anomaly early on when he stated that, “In striving for political and economic development, the ANC recognises that social transformation cannot be separated from spiritual transformation.”

Why is spiritual transformation important to social transformation? It is important to note that in essence a human being is primarily a spiritual being. Without anything that touches the internal aspect of a human being and ripples to his/her relationships, then society is unlikely to change. This is also the reason why religion will never die because the spirit is alive and cannot be discounted. Ethics alone, as the Deputy President indicated, are not enough to alter the moral trajectory of human engagement with their immediate relationships and environment. A deeper connection to the source of the ethical code shapes the dimensions of the human spirit more than merely ethics alone. Therefore if a Christ-encounter be not laid as the centre, even in Christian ethics, change will merely be minimal.

When standing on this premise in our enforcement of transformation we dispel the notion of a ‘consumer approach’ of any engagement with “uplifting change.” Therefore the basic element of transformation is to revert to the mending of what Bryant Myers in his book Walking with the poor terms “a marred identity.” Christ draws on this paradox as he states that “man shall not live by bread alone,” as basic as bread is to human life but the precursor to it is “every Word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Dr. A.R. Bernard controversially states that, “the basic unit of society is not the family but rather the individual and his/her grouping of values because these will primarily shape the outcome of his/her decisions.” It is these values that are altered by a Christ encounter which then provides the platform for exceptional transformation.

If transformation is about repelling evil in human societies, as Bragg insists, it inevitably has to address the internal corruption of the human soul and commission the kingdom of God which then overwhelms the external structures.

Conclusion

Modernisation is evolutionary to the human state however it should not be promoted at the expense of freedom of choice, creativity, dignity, justice, innovation, identity or even cautiously self-determination through the God-complexes of those who deem themselves the standard of measure for a developed life.

The threads of transformation seemingly require intricate interweaving into all of societies ideologies, livelihoods, actions and relations.

The Eternal God

2011-08-08T02:32:00.000-07:00

It is C.S. Lewis who suggested that, “All times are eternally present to God.1” This is a true expression of Christ’s own claim as the Alpha and Omega in the book of Revelations. The transcendence of God is harnessed in his pre-existence of time and mystified in his continuous existence after time. Both the Alpha and the Omega are expressed in the ‘I Am.’ He is because He is the ultimate reality encompassing both the beginning and the end. John Frame puts it even better in saying, “God is ‘absolute’ in the sense that he is Creator of all things and thus the ground of all other reality2. He knows and sees all that was and all that will ever be because He is not limited to time but is the architect thereof. The theological notion of God’s omniscience suggests nothing is unknown to Him. God
remains the ultimate objective reality only conforming to His own will. What we know of Him is that which He decides to reveal to us in whatever fashion of revelation that maybe. These are all theological truths about God largely to be found in the studies of systematic theologies and the dogmatic of God of which are not the focus of this paper but important as foundations.

Eternal worldview
If God transcends time, then he bears a worldview not limited to time. He bears an objective view of reality only subjective to His own will. Any human worldview is limited to what he/she can engage with the senses and experiences but God is never subjected to this limitation expect to show us something of Himself.
When God created Adam and Eve, it states He did so differently then He did with the rest of creation. Genesis 2 gives us two significant descriptions, (a) that he made man in his own image – imago dei (b) he breathed his own breath into his nostrils. These two throw us a lifeline into the divine but can only be drawn in through the person of Christ. Scripture further informs us that upon death, the spirit returns to its Creator to bestow upon it its eternal reward.
Through Christ, God has called us to migrate from the finite to the eternal hence to be an expression of the eternal paradigm. This is an awakening of the conscience to that which is outside of ourselves. This paradoxical call enables us to be in the world but not of the world. It is this dimensional transition that allows us to begin to view things from the eternal vantage point of God rather than from the inferior perspective of humanity. Does this mean we become like God as was Adam and Eve in their perilous pursuit? No! We can never escalate to being God. We can never be conscious of the Alpha expect that which He informs us through the written revelation but in Him we can surely partake of the Omega as he draws us back into himself when all time is folded. Even that which we can tap into of the eternal paradigm is only accessible through the eyes of God’s revelation.

The Pauline exhortation not to conform to the standards of this world transcends mere theo-philosophical reorientation of the mind but resounds a call to an eternal perspective as our minds are transformed to understand Gods eternal good and perfect will. It is this migration of time that Christ refers to when speaking to Nichodimus in saying “whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” This eternal life does not wait for the glory of heaven or the return of the Messiah but begins immediately as one believes in Christ. The theo-philosophical reorientation of him who has migrated into eternity is evidenced by the renewal of the mind so as to reflect the divine perspective.

The Eternal Kingdom
The kingdom of God is eternal therefore those who enter it obtain not only an eternal life but also an eternal perspective. This is evidence in the shift of priorities in life of those who have submitted to the Lordship of Christ. Pope Benedict XVI digging into the wealth of the Catholic faith regarding the understand of the kingdom state, “Another variant of this alleged golf between Jesus and the preaching of the Apostles occurs in the now famous saying of the Catholic modernist Alfred Loisy, who put it like this: Jesus preached the Kingdom of God, and what came was the Church.”3 He further continues to say, “The ‘Kingdom of God’ is not to be found on any map. It is not a kingdom after the fashion of worldly kingdoms; it is located in man’s inner being. It grows and radiates outward from that inner space.
Of course this is just one dimension of the Kingdom of God, but it is sufficient to unlock a dynamic truth. If God indwells and rules inside of us, do we not begin to see as he does? We could also regard the person of Christ as the embodiment of the Kingdom and therefore ask, what do we learn from him of the worldview of God? Both questions can lead us to the same point; an alteration of the pre-existing human paradigm. God’s different view of life, humanity, and the world is a continuous theme in the biblical account because his vantage point is entirely inconsistent with our limited time. Our limited capacity to encapsulate the divine paradigm is expressed in the outcome of the Apostles preaching after Christ ascended.

1 Lewis C.S. 1940. The Problem of Pain. London: The Centenary Press
2 Frame, J. M. 1994. Apologetics to the Glory of God. An Introduction. New Jersey: Reformed Publishing Company
3 Ratzinger, J. Pope Benedict XVI. 2007. Jesus of Nazareth. Milan: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Citta del Vaticano

7 Generational Levels of Establishment: Devotional

2011-07-25T07:13:00.000-07:00

Genesis 37

Vs 1: Land where his father was a stranger

God moves us through seven levels in order to establish us in lands that we encountered as strangers. God has designated inheritance for each of us that enables us to venture through the journey of fulfilling a purposeful life.

In this processes he writes our life stories for generations to come. Looking at the stories of Terah through to Joshua, we can identify similarities in process:

7 Generation levels of establishment

Terah - Times of unknowing

Terah unknowingly migrated his family towards God’s calling – This is the level of familiarity but yet not decisiveness/commitment

Abraham - Covenant/Calling out

Abraham was called out and given a covenant in order to establish his role in the kingdom – This is the level of basic entrance into the covenant with God through Christ

Isaac - Conception of nations (Rebecca)/ Displacement

Isaac’s narrative is almost overshadowed by his wife Rebecca: She is the first one in this line to be barren but God conceives two nations through her.

Isaac struggles to find a place to settle down in Canaan

This is the level where the world and the kingdom are in conflict within you and you struggle to distinguish what God is actually calling you into

Jacob - Translation of birthrights/Affirmation of Sonship Identity

There is a shift of birthrights from Esau to Jacob – Jacob becomes a man of very deep struggles to get his blessings – This is a level of increased intercession

Jacob (intercession) alone could not possess the land – just because you have the spiritual assurance does not mean things will just fall on your lap. The state of intercession drives you towards the conception of God vision for you life.

Joseph - Formulation of strategic vision/Alignment

Joseph level marks the clarification of the vision - It is here now that we begin to acquire a sense of urgency in formulating strategic ways to acquire the vision

In this level you are clothed and anointed for the vision but not yet released – inner conflict occurs because you see it and you feel you can reach out for it using you strategic methods but it is not yet time –

This level is to align the consistency of your character (sanctity) with your vision

Moses - Birthing

Egypt was the birthing place of the kingdom of Israel and a Moses was necessary to facilitate this process.

Death of the first born sons – When the vision is born it will break free from other people’s moulds (slave-like oppressions) and might even mess your own reputation

This is a dangerous process because there is the possibility to miscarry or for Pharaoh to abort the vision that’s why tearing away will be painful.

However God will lead you out with might miracles

Joshua - Establishment

This is the level of possession where you now systematically possess the land to divide it for generations to come

Now “Israel” loved Joseph

Jacob loved the kingdom vision (Israel) he saw in Joseph

Judah was the heir of his father’s vision, but Joseph had his own unique vision that would make even his own father bow down.

Though Joseph’s vision was different but it fit into the overall vision of the kingdom God was building (*caution not to take pride in the uniqueness of your own visionary abilities because if it’s from God then it will ultimately fit into the bigger picture of God’s kingdom which everyone else is involved in)

His brothers knew he was loved but it’s only when two things happened that they began to hate him more:

Kingship cloak (kingdom was released upon him) 2 Sam 13:18

i. This cloak were later worn by the king’s virgin daughter

Joseph had a dream

Jacob (those who understand just Sonship) rebukes Joseph (those who hold a strategic vision)

People of a pervious dispensation may not understand the need of a strategic vision however his father kept the matter in mind. Many in the Joshua generation deem their visionary abilities to be superior thus cutting loose from those who are calling them into deeper understanding of Sonship. For to God, true inheritance is passed down through a lineage of affirmed sonship where being able to submit to God-given authority is critical.

Politics of uniformity and authenticity: Hiding the face of poverty

2011-07-12T04:32:00.000-07:00

The concept of uniformity can suggest a resemblance of many parts or people that be, act, or look the same without necessarily being intrinsically the same or united. When related to people, uniformity can be seen in similarity of behaviour, thinking, dress code etc.

When missionaries came to our shores they introduced the idea of church uniforms and school uniforms to many communities co-relating with their religious traditions. Of course, some traditions such as Methodists have formulated symbolic meaning to the red, white and black attire worn by thousands of its ‘black’ affiliates. However, after a conversation with minister’s wives from Baptist and Methodist traditions, another notion emerged within the very same historical narrative, that the uniforms were also utilised to smudge the rich and poor faces of individual variations evident in the church. This was to curb the distinction between the poor and the rich therefore enabling everyone to feel at the same level when in the church community.

A very curious question then comes in this regard. Is then the uniform not an element of disguise from the realities of inequality within the church? If it is meant to give everyone a uniform face regarding their socio-economic status then does it reflect the call to authenticity or is the church not brave enough to face the reality that the poor are amongst us whether we dress them up or not? These questions certainly come with high acknowledgement of other positive possibilities of utilising the uniform system. However, if this element remains part of the uniform ideology then it is a setback to the fight against poverty and justice in the church let alone the call to authenticity before God. It takes courage to present people as they are before God and even more courage for the body of Christ to recognise the poor amongst them as they are and do something about their plight.

On the other end of the pendulum, fancy dressing has taken the church (particularly black church) by storm. This is not only exclusive to prosperity teaching churches. Fancy clothes seem to make a statement but what that statement is can be interpreted in various ways. In many Pentecostal churches, fancy dressing has become the neo-uniform that covers up the reality of people’s situations. People find and strive for fancy clothes for Sunday whether they live in a shack, are in serious debt or unemployed. I should once again re-iterate that there are always two sides to every coin therefore there are also psychological benefits to cleanliness and being well-dressed.

I once visited a church where member of the community where the church was geographically located could not attend that church due to the perceived high economic standard of members of the church. This is a very powerful perception that even though it might be a perception, but the community members believed and lived it out in reality. The impression that the type of clothes I wear to church matter more than those I wear during the week at home, is due to the failing of authenticity embedded in our sub-conscience.

Authenticity is a missing commodity in the church today. Though some churches do not wear church uniforms, but they do struggle with individuals that think and show signs of being different within their church communities. The quest to mould everyone to be similar (uniform) is evident also in many churches. This can be done with varying levels of indoctrination and structural conformity utilising the vulnerability and the need to belong. Legalisms then take centre as the tool to mould and shape the kind of believers that are uniformed around certain theological beliefs, philosophies, traditions etc. When individuals show signs of being different, it is often challenged at the level of unity rather then uniformity.

Muslims argue that the Christian Bible has lost its authenticity due to the fact that it has been translated so many times and therefore has continuously been abridged causing it to lose its original message. They continue to argue that on the other hand the Koran has consistently maintained its original language and who ever want to read it needs to learn Arabic first.

However, the ability of Christianity to be so diverse seems to reflect the very same diversity we witness in the trinity. The emphasis within the Trinity is hardly that of uniformity, but rather that of unity in diversity. Recognising that God the Father is different from God the son yet they are of one substance and one mind shows that unity takes priority over uniformity or in other words authentic uniformity is a by-product of unity.

If the church is to be effective in fighting poverty and injustice, it should first and foremost take the uniqueness of the individual seriously and in priority over the corporate. God knows each of us and calls us by name. I would prefer to be unity with everyone but yet maintain the fact that I am different from everyone because that’s how God has made me. This then becomes the starting point of addressing each individual’s situation, life, family, economics, social status as different from that of everyone else and that that gives nothing to be ashamed of. That is authenticity and from that point on we can appreciate God’s salvation from not just my sins but also oppressive situations that have kept me in bondage.

Inter-disciplinary Education

2011-06-14T05:12:00.000-07:00

It is no mystery that Christians have lost grip of the higher education system of which they have been so vital in shaping. History informs us that the concept of “university” finds its roots in the Catholic Church. It was the Catholics who initiated the first university with key focus on theology. However, many other sciences have evolved out of the pursuit to understand the “creation” of God.

It is due to the understanding that God created nature that can be understood and analysed. God therefore can also be understood through the natural creation. This simply meant that whatever science evolves out of the study of nature, has to be framed within the context of better understanding the Creator. It then is not surprising that science was deeply intertwined with theology. Up until the Enlightenment era, theology was in fact the epitome of higher education, because theology presented the heart of education. Nature could never be properly understood without the Creator.

The university has since mutated itself out of the need of a Creator God. Atheism is increasingly dominant in universities which now have taken a secular stance pledging no allegiance to any theological frame. Though more informed persons would easily identify that atheism is in its own right a religious movement, many are fooled to believe that it stands neutral of any religious influence.

Diagnosis

There are three major elements of concern in relation to young people who come out of secular universities. Firstly, education itself is presented as the key to life. The destructive factor in this statement is that people begin to idolise education itself as the single most important tool to get their heart desires. In one level its true but merely to those who will readily conform to the standards of this world. Once a people begin to elevate education its, it then replaces the need for the Creator who purposefully plan out each individual’s life for a higher purpose. Greeks were well known for their pride in the pursuit of knowledge which never brought them any closer to finding truth.

In the post-modern society, education gains you material wealth, social status, and acclaim. Once one reaches the pinnacle of education, less are the chances they will see the need for God. It is this knowledge that Paul regards as the “kind of knowledge which puffs-up.” So, modern society promotes education itself as the saviour.

Secondly, the content of education has been emptied of the idea of a God. Various philosophies and methodologies have interacted in united opposition of a God Creator. The creation has become the pinnacle of sciences with absolute disregard of the Creator. Nietzsche’s declaration of the “death of God” is taken to heart in universities. Therefore students who came to university loose whatever sense of belief in God that they might have acquired pre-university unless they actively pursue their own faith.

Lastly, by removing God from the university, the university has lost its core and heart. It then is a skills-based institution that produces labourers for an ever hungry capitalist market. The equation revolves around what Walter Brueggermann terms the “fear of scarcity.” Whereas previously the university not only provided the skill but also the heart of why things exist as they are, now all that seems to be overshadowed by producing as many “skilled workers” as possible. This is also the agenda of government to maintain the economy. When God still existed in universities, theology provides the development of quality human beings who had purpose in their pursuit of the sciences beyond upward mobility.

Antidote

How do we then re-engage the field of higher education as Christians to reclaim the minds of young men and women? There is nothing wrong with pursuing the sciences, however there needs to be a deliberate intertwining of the two spheres.

Christians should not merely be satisfied that they are providing alternative means of education in the lower levels of education. In fact, in South Africa, private school, of which many are Christian orientated, provide arguably the best education in the country. This shows the potential should Christians take seriously their role in the university.

There are many campus ministries that exist in probably all universities but sadly they are not at all effective in shaping the university itself. Truly these ministries are not designed to change the university. It is precisely the reason why interdisciplinary education becomes so critical. Many young Christians leave university into the workplace but their faith has very limited impact structurally.

When Christians find a way to integrate theology and the science then hope arises because an army of Christian who have the ability to speak truth in the language of Babylon and excel in do so have been unleashed. The effectiveness of Daniel was not in his ability to quote the Torah exceptionally but rather that his theological frame was integrated with his administrative skills and was able to shift the way administration was done in Babylon. So a corrupt system was witnessed a standard of excellence never seen in Babylon before and Daniel’s adversaries understood that they could not fault his work

Conclusion

Inter-disciplinary education gives both the skill and heart to the learner so they give passionately to what they do seeing it as a God given mission rather than a money making business. It is this perspective of living a missionary life that is formed by interdisciplinary education. Life then begins to have meaning beyond material and substance.

It is imperative the Christians fashion higher education institutions that bring together faith and science in a language that can reach out to modern citizens. The effectiveness of interdisciplinary education is two sided in that it gives young Christians the evangelistic mandate as well as the capacity to implement structural change.

Restitution in the workplace

2011-06-09T04:18:00.000-07:00

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was a brave effort to address mass injustices and provided the platform for reconciliation at a national level. Architects of the TRC set such high standards that the model has been adopted by other countries, like the US, Kenya, Liberia, etc., that have undergone gross human rights violations. However, a major limitation of the TRC was that it provided the platform for reconciliation without restitution. Of course, restitution was not part of the mandate of the TRC; however the need for restitution still had no substitute. In a scenario of a stolen car, the victim has the right to argue, “Why just say you are sorry when you still have not returned my car?” Restitution therefore answers the question of returning the car.

Is BEE restitution?

The ANC led government has initiated other means of restitution such as the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE). According to the BEE Verification Agency CC, “Broad-Based BEE is the economic empowerment of all black people through diverse but integrated socio-economic strategies. BEE is more than a way to address past inequalities, it is a tool to broaden the country’s economic growth and accelerate growth, job creation and poverty eradication.”

Moeletsi Mbeki, brother of form President Thabo Mbeki, makes a very interesting assessment of the situation reflecting on BEE in his book Architects of Poverty. He insists that BEE is focused on fighting for the very same “piece of pie” that whites had instead of creating more “pies” that can feed the rest of the country. In this sense, government should concentrate more on developing new enterprises in SA and focus on helping South Africans black or white who have new ideas that will create jobs. However the broader question though is, “should it be the initiative of the “black-dominated” ANC government to initiate restitution in the first place? Where is the white community both individually and corporately who benefited during apartheid but now are responsible enough to engage in restitution?

The understanding behind such BEE initiatives is that the previously disadvantaged “black people” have been kept at the starting mark of the economic race while “whites” have had the head start monopoly historically through inhumane means. Therefore, the attempt to level the playing fields requires that “blacks” be given deliberate advantage and preference before their “white” fellow citizens. I will attempt not to discuss the implications of such an undertaking; however my interest lies more on two major related issues.

Who should talk of restitution?

The first issue is who should talk of restitution? Restitution by definition can have a legal aspect to it being that a legal or court order can be issued for the restoration of stolen goods or property (Merriam Webster Dictionary). In this sense, the first party that can speak of restitution is the mediator (if there is any, assuming they stand neutral) or the law itself should the offender not see the need for restitution voluntarily. The ideal outcome of restitution then is restoration. When the court or the offender recognises that the victim should have been at a better standard had it not been for the crime committed, then restitution does become meaningful and possibly can bear with it true reconciliation. The reason this is important is because, in this sense, restitution begins with recognising the humanity of the other and unless this occurs then true reconciliation is difficult to achieve. The ideal situation even reflecting on the Biblical paradigm is that the offender initiates restitution even without any legal obligation. This then means the offender has identified the error of their crime and is genuine enough to address the backlog by restoring that which was stolen.

Death by Greed

The second issue then is why should we be speaking of restitution in the workplace and how does that benefit the victims? South Africa still stands at the top as one of the world’s most unequal societies. The Bureau of Market Research in 2010 released its report "Personal Income Patterns and Profiles for South Africa 2009", which shows that 3.8 % of the adult population earns 39.4 % of total personal income, evidence that South Africa has a very skew income distribution. It is no enigma that the black majority stands on the unfortunate end of this inequality bar.

About 20.8 % are in the R50 000-R300 000 (or emerging middle class) income groups, leaving about 75.4 % of adults earning less than R50 000 pa. This is to be considered within the context of previously disadvantaged workers whose predecessors had no stocked up assets or upmarket properties to ensure social and financial capital. Take for example, a students from the shacks of Gugulethu who finishes university with a student loan and now enters the job market however earning R50 000 pa. What does restitution look like for her? Her starting point is obviously far behind then that of the average previously advantaged individual of the same age though the playing fields seem to be levelled. In reality, the playing fields are not levelled! This individual is basically starting from scratch to build a non-existent financial capital (including payment of the loan) and will probably take longer to gain momentum to do so considering social responsibilities. Though this might sound like a probability case study, to many South Africans it is a reality.

Would restitution in this case not consider deliberate salary adjustment in favour of the cleaner, junior or intern instead of the executive director’s bonus or increase? 17 years into our democracy, reality still remains that the white minority still owns the majority of national wealth including more the 80% of arable land.

A breakdown of our wealth gap figures just released by Statistics South Africa is instructive. It shows that our richest 10% are getting richer, especially the CEOs who are averaging an obscene R5,3-million a year, and so, too, are the poorest 20% who benefit from social grants. Manuel revealed at his discussion session that 258,000 of the 362,000 jobs lost in the recession have been in the informal sector – the vast majority young people.

These young people fall between the cracks. They are too old to qualify for the child grant and too young for the old-age grant. Their only hope of being able to claw their way into the economy is through part-time work. But Cosatu wants to stop that. (Business Day)

Though black ownership of JSE listed companies has seen a gradual growth the poor and middle class are still in no better standings. If we are to look at Moeletsi’s analogy of the pie then we can merely say that the greatest shift in wealth redistribution has in fact occurred within the bracket of the elites both black and white however still leaving the majority of black South Africans not much better off. It is the lower category of the labour force that has not experienced much financial transformation. Though genocide in South Africa was not through the barrel of a gun, it was death by greed. Therefore, restoration, reconciliation, and restitution have to address the economic situation of black South Africans who suffered greatly through the blockade on financial opportunities. Leave out the labour organisations, restitution for the Gugulethu girl is a heart issue that sees her as a human being whose net profit is not substantial enough to give her a fair financial foundation due to past injustices.

Tipping the scales of salary adjustment in the workplace can help towards this end. Current BEE initiatives still benefit the higher management of companies that participate however still leaving the lower bracket stagnant. The ANC cannot enforce restitution, because it has to be a voluntary initiative by those who benefited through apartheid.

Conclusion

In conclusion, restitution in the work place is an art of the brave. Brave enough to face up to past injustices. Brave enough to own up and make amends. Brave enough to go beyond the status quo of relevant job description salaries for those companies who take it to heart. According to the Restitution Foundation, restitution is about building or rebuilding people’s lives without necessarily giving a hand out. Unlike BEE, restitution has to be initiated by white citizens who employ blacks with a heart that goes beyond entitlement, pity or charity. The question of restitution in the workplace has to be answered by those who inherited the apartheid benefits in order to change the life story of such as the young university graduate who otherwise would have to work double the number of years to achieve half of what her white contemporaries merely inherited.

Remembering Kairos

2011-06-02T02:04:00.000-07:00

It is hard to critically analyse any historic discourse in an objective manner therefore I think it is important for me to mention the spectacles in which I view this document having come from a black context of the South African history. This is what I bring to the interpretation of the document.

During the apartheid era in South Africa the church, black church in particular, felt a need to not only voice their stand against the aparthied but also to act on behalf of the oppressed. This resulted in the formulation of the KAIROS document. The KAIROS is a critique of the church and its various approaches to apartheid and it concludes by suggesting a action plan.

It is the intention of this paper to review and summaries critically the views of the KAIROS document whether they were justified and valid or radical within their context.

1. Nature of the times

When the oppression come upon people it is hard to avoid a liberationist stance in theology, primarily because of the biblical support of the oppressed and the liberation theology within biblical discourse. The times in which the KAIROS document was formulated set the tone for the content of it. The purpose of the document was founded upon what as happening during the apartheid era. The response of the church to the situation was very important either in support of the government or in opposition. Had the rest of the church in South Africa not responded to the oppression of the apartheid system they would have been branded and rendered useless and apathetic by the activists and the general population of the black majority. This perception still haunts the Pentecostal church of South Africa even today as they had been seen not to have taken a active participatory stance against the regime.

So the nature of the times called for a valid response from the church and so the KAIROS provided that response. The key element of the KAIROS which stands out is its call for action. This being born out liberation theology makes a stark suggestion as to the Christian’s involvement in political issues. But the it also becomes important not to become extremist. I find the objection of the KAIROS to hold a balanced approach in response to the times. It attempts to be contextual and relevant to the needs of the time and counter acts its contemporary theologies.

Such movements as the Black liberation theology were not isolated and unique to the South African context. The U.S. with Martin Luther King Jr. and Latin America with Gustavo Gutierrez were some of the few incidents that account for liberation theologies around the world.

2. Nature of the theologies

The KAIROS document presents a critique of contemporary theologies prevalent during the apartheid regime. It views the theology the state used to support its propaganda [state theology] and the international church’s view on the South African dilemma [church theology]. It then concludes by making an proposition of better theology called a prophetic theology.

Critic of the state theology

I found the KAIROS’ critique of the state theology to be quite valid in that it attempts to expose the lack of fundamental hermeneutical interpretation of particular texts used by the government and also the inability to contextualise those particular texts, primarily being Romans 13 :1-7. The context and manner in which the Apostle Paul uttered Romans 13:1-7 bear no contextual resemblance in that even the audience to which he spoke to he himself was not removed from as a matter of fact he was part of them. Therefore the state even if the context may have been similar, bore no legitimacy in quoting the text.

Critique of the ‘church theology’

The critique used by the KAIROS on this theology lies profoundly on the use and choice of word used by those responsible for the theology. Such wording as reconciliation, peace, non-violence and justice were supposedly key terms prominent in the vocabulary of the English-speaking churches when responding to the apartheid situation in South Africa. This for me poses a question, without excusing either argument, of the legitimacy of quotations addressed here. Could it perhaps not have been misinterpreted or perceptual differences. Even so the ineffectiveness of these church to straight forwardly address the injustices of apartheid leave them under suspicion.

The time required a change in government strategy not a anger management or violence management initiative. This is precisely why anyone who would attempt to advocate for reconciliation in Zimbabwe with Mugabe still as head of state would find themselves under harsh rebuke. The conditions demand a change in the system then reconciliation can take place. So therefore the criticism afforded to the church theology is exempt.

Proposition of the ‘prophetic theology’

It is to be clarified that the liberation approach to scripture is isolated to modern contexts. The Israelites who had ample experience and exercise when it comes being oppressed, demonstrated activism against oppression. Throughout the monarchy epoch to the minor prophets, individuals arose who attempted to stand up for what they believed to be the truth. This required a certain degree of vulnerability. Their actions could cause them to be punished or killed as was the case with the judges, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos etc. all the way down to the Maccabbees. Though physical liberation was not their only goal, they still saw it as being a great part of the picture - a holistic approach. This holistic approach was quite imminent in the ideas of Gustavo Gutierrez, the south American liberation theologian.

According to the KAIROS document the “English speaking church” of the day was being very diplomatic and sitting on the fence without taking any side but in actual fact their silence in rebuking the apartheid government spoke more their than lips. I agree with the fact that there was a need for deliberate disobedience to challenge the dragon of the day.

The action plan given was very non-political and yet in its subtlety possessed the potential for engagement. It needs to be remembered that it is these small gatherings that gave the regime chills down their spins because they bred dynamic ideas.

Conclusion

Taking away my own historical background and allegiance, the KAIROS was relevant for its time and not only that but it holds the potential to be reviewed and utilized for any other context and situation as a direct challenge to the church. I think that this is the type of mentality the church in South Africa has lost and needs to regain in viewing today’s problems.

1985. Challenge to the Church: The KAIROS Document. Braamfontein: The KAIROS Theologians

3 Toools to build effectiveness

2011-05-20T01:10:00.000-07:00

Building on the fact that we are called to be co-creators together with God, it then becomes essential that we nderstand the methods and toold that God used in the creation process. Proverbs 3: 19 highlights there tools utilised in creation "knowledge, understanding, and wisdom" which are equally applicable for us.

Knowledge

Knowledge builds you capacity. Little knowledge is indeed very dangerous but too much knowledge is also very burdensome. What you know cannot be reversed unless you encounter some very serious psychological mishaps. Even so what you know will still remain tucked away somewhere in your sub-conscience and with advanced psychological technical tools it can be retrieved. The point is that though, what limits most people's progress is the factor of lack of knowledge. Try to learn something new every day if not every second day read books, magazine, newspapers etc. and increase your knowledge base. You can only go as far as you know.

Understanding

Understanding builds your skill. As you seek to expand your knowledge base, you are most likely to realize that cognition alone is not enough. The way you interpret the information you receive and translate it in a way that it can relate to reality is called understanding. Unfortunately, not everyone is able to learn in the organized environment because our individual skills of interpreting and understanding internalized information differ. Knowledge that cannot be interpreted remains as data, but once you are able to understand the information you begin to develop a skill, because now you can use the information.

The first thing you need to understand is yourself. By understanding yourself you will begin to identify your internalized skills.

Wisdom

Wisdom informs your implementation. As you grow you begin to realize that you do not have all the answer to life's problems. Wisdom does not entail that you have the answers but rather you know what to do, when to do it and how to do it. Wisdom is the most important tool because it enables you to react to your environment in a constructive way. Perhaps you have heard the cliche, "doing the right thing at the wrong time or the wrong way." of course the results are usually undesirable should this occur. The beauty of wisdom is that it allows you to read the situation before you take action and decided before hand. Wisdom is not an external force but rather internal. It is accompanied by your intentions. Be very sure and aware of your intentions because they will release or hinder wisdom.

Understanding Spiritual Authority

2011-04-19T06:46:00.000-07:00

I have always been cautious about man’s rule over man because I never believed God intended or ordained man to rule over each other. Man has abused authority of every form even spiritual authority. Any form of authority amongst man should be done under relationship not compulsion. When speaking of spiritual authority, it can never be exercised properly without the foundation of relationship.

Relationship allows submission because it is fuelled by love. God himself does not force his authority over us though we are his. In fact he gives us the freedom to willingly or voluntarily submit under his authority though he knows we are in definite danger without him. This is the model of how authority is channelled by love because love is superior to authority. Any authority that imposes itself excluding love eventually becomes an oppressive law.

Every system has its leaders or pioneers. God chooses people whom he invests himself with the intention that those people unveil Him to others. The imbalance in spiritual revelation allows the dynamic of teacher and student. This dynamic is has a horizontal movement as opposed to vertical which would cause one to be above the other. The only horizontal element and that which Christ refers to in saying “can the student be above the teacher?” is in reference to the level of knowledge and experience not in the quality of the relationship. Christ never imposed himself above his disciples but he was above because of what he had to teach them. He maintained a horizontal love relationship that accommodated people from all levels of life but he was superior in the quality of what he had to teach.

In the frame of the kingdom family, God chooses leaders to pioneer the work and give birth to sons of the kingdom. It is then important to note that it is that birthing connection that ties you to that specific individual or church. If this process is significant enough for the leader, he will have a spiritual bond that ties him/her to that individual which then connects them like a child is connected to the parent. That is why when church is designed like an institution, one tends to feel like an orphan. Any child that doesn’t get the attention of his/her parents starts feeling bitter and neglected. However, to draw back to the point, authority is thus brought into play by this birthing process. Christ often spoke of compassion and he even cries to Israel saying “like a hen… I wish to gather you unto myself.”

Inimba (compassion) is a very powerful tie in our spiritual journey. So much so I can say that until you are adopted or birthed by someone who has compassion for you then you really have no spiritual authority over you. Why do I say this? Compassion is the bond of love that connects two people. If your leader has no compassion over you then they probably are not praying for you anyways let alone fight to see you reach your destiny. You probably might be a statistic in his/her prayer time but nothing that is intentional to your destiny. Compassion moves someone to action and this is where authority comes in. Spiritual authority does not refer to someone telling you what to do. Teaching and the Holy Spirit are meant inform you what to do but authority is meant to safeguard anything that opposes you in accomplishing God’s purpose for you. That is why authority has to be exercised with wisdom because it is easy to cross the line into “controlling or manipulation.” If we are to understand it in the context of family we would say the father and mother have compassion over their child but they cannot rule the child in their choices in life (they can only teach and guide) but their authority enables them to safeguard them against everything that may come against or try to destroy them. If this protection is not out of love it will cause resentment and bitterness. It is spiritual authority through compassion that will cause the leader to leave the other 99 sheep and go find the 1 that wondered off. Often many leaders mistaken spiritual authority with church membership but actually it goes much deeper than that to the level of relationship.

The idea of the church being a family safeguards us from spiritual attacks and physical disaster by giving us leverage to remain standing even during hard times because we know we are part of a family. When one sees church as a Sunday event or religious activity they fall in danger of missing out of a deeper connection that God intended the church to be. Spiritual authority enables the leader and the corporate body to stand on behalf of the individual in all situations because of the bond of love. The exercise of spiritual authority is best done willingly and through compassion.

I am perfect

2011-04-14T04:25:00.000-07:00

In Matthew. 5: 48, Christ says, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." I have always wondered about the intention of this verse and how we almost always face the opposite direction of perfection. In this verse Christ insists perfection is achievable and it is something that we actually should be. You will never find anyone stand up in church and declare “I am perfect” because they will be loathed as an arrogant blasphemer. However, Christ himself orders our perfection.

The first thing that stands out here is that perfection is a state of being rather than doing (meaning it’s not primarily about doing perfect deeds). This then means it is internalised or one lives in a state of perfection to reflect God. I suppose this is one of those paradoxical statements Christ makes that are capable of revolutionising our frame of mind. How can a sinner like me be perfect? Besides, is there anyone in the universe who can insist that they are perfect? Probably not, because for one thing we all have a history of bad decisions and we continue to commit bad decisions that reflect our imperfection. However, I just indicated that being is not the same as doing. Christ is calling us to BE perfect and out of that perfection come the doing.

To break it down a bit more Gregory the Great, one the early church fathers, insisted that perfection is not a destination but rather the process or movement towards perfection. This means as we journey in light of Christ we are being perfected. This is a reasonable explanation but something else stood out for me in reflecting on this verse. The latter part gives us the standard of our perfection “as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Now this sets the tone for what kind of perfection we talking about which then, for the relativity sceptic, gives us the definition of our particular type perfection. If you would turn it around one would say “the Father is perfect, so be like the Father and you too will be perfect.” Of course, I turn it with caution that I might not be accused of misinterpretation. However, looking at it this way gives a better perspective on the verse.

Christ in his ministry insisted that “if you have seen me you have seen my Father. For me and my Father are one.” To bring this together, one has to understand that the Father has demonstrated perfection through Christ and therefore Christ grafts us into himself so the very same perfection filters through in us. So when Christ commands that “Be perfect…”, he is not setting an impossible standard or asking too much of us. In fact what he is saying is be like the Father and you will achieve perfection. This then begins the movement from followers to disciples, because unless we be imitators of Christ and acquired the Father’s heart it indeed is impossible to be perfect.

The other thing that stands out is how Christ says “your Father.” Often Christ speaks of God as his Father but here he insists that he is our Father. This then brought to mind the whole issue of imfuzo (genetic or acquired mannerism) from the Father. In this sense, Christ says perfection is a family trait and it is not outside your genetic makeup if you are born of God. So in this way when you are being perfect you are being just like your Father. Despite the perception of arrogance, we are called to perfection and Christ is coming for “a bride without wrinkles.”

Pruning: A Necessary Problem

2011-04-07T05:33:00.000-07:00

² “He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15

Christ begins this passage by insisting that he is the “true vine” meaning that there are other vines that have either preceded him or exist in correlation. He now has to clarify that amongst all vines that humanity has found association he is the “true vine. In the Old Testament, God speaks of Israel as his vine yard transplanted from Egypt whose fruits we to be eaten by all nations (Ps. 80: 8; Jer. 2: 21). Now Christ interjects and states that Israel is no long the vine in who the nations are grafted into but rather he is the “true vine” in which all humanity is a branch.

However, it is verse 2 that holds my attention – the idea of pruning. I do not believe there is any complete explanation for the problem of pain but Scripture at least gives us three major reasons – temptation, trial and pruning. It almost sounds awkward to categories temptation as a form of pain but it often does come in such a manner. To open it up even more I would insist that temptation is “everything conducted by the devil in our lives to deliberately sabotage our relationship with God causing us to willingly forfeit our position in righteousness” and this includes tragedies such as seen in the story of Job. Trial on the other hand is God putting us on the testing ground to ensure the security of our character and walk with him as seen with Abraham. In this passage Christ introduces a third cause which is pruning. This is deliberate pain for the outcome of bearing more fruits.

Christ juxtaposes pruning with the cutting off of branches that do not bear fruit. Interesting enough is that there is a cutting in both incidents but the outcome and purpose is different. Often when God make deep cuts in our lives were tend to believe all sorts of voices that cloud our reaction. We do not have to understand everything in life for life to have meaning we just have to guard out reaction and attentively follow God even if we do not understand. When we have been on the path of bearing fruit we have to expect pain because of these three major causes. However, when what we thought we have been building all these years in our walk with God seems to be destroyed then we know we are encountering pruning.

Pruning is painful because it has nothing to do with the devil that we all love to blame for our pain but rather it is attracted by your productivity and growth. If you have seen a tree that has been pruned, you could believe that nothing will ever grow there again and the pain endured by the tree is as if it’s unto death. When the branches are cut off in the pruning process, it almost seems as though the tree is forced to return to basics in order to recover its glory. Much activity occurs internally though the outside seems dead. We are above all spiritual being and the really significant activity occurs internally. When God prunes us we are forced to return to the basics of our roots and draw strength from the depth faith that we have acquired over the years. It is in this depth that new life spring forth as the roots go much deeper.

The beautify of being pruned while in Christ is that he carries the pain equally as we do. Being his branches, he feels exactly what we do and still keeps us firmly connected to him. He feeds us from the depth and enables us to grow to produces 10 times more than before. Let us endure knowing that our reaction counts more than what life brings to us and at the end of the day our fruits become the glory that God adorns himself with.

Riding the Religious Economy

2011-03-17T04:19:00.000-07:00

The reference to religion can be all encompassing however the focus on this article is Christianity. The church has, since its inception, functioned financially through charity of its members and the giving of the tithe principle. If the church was to be viewed from an economist perspective one would say that the church provides psycho-spiritual services of which members pay for through their offerings and tithes. However, the equation is not quite in this format nor is it understood in this way.

Judging from the impact and contribution of the church in the development of modern civilisations one would say the church should be rather collecting substantial royalties from all of society for invaluable input by the church and its worldview contribution to humanity. However all these contributions have thus far been taken for grant as they have been so merged and accepted as being part of modern reality. It is however helpful to assess the church dynamics in relation to secular economics because this is the lens used by those watching from the outside. Often for the church to move towards more effectiveness it has to borrow these lenses as a form of monitoring and evaluation.

Religious economy can be defined as, “religious persons and organizations interacting within a market framework of competing groups and ideologies.[3] An economy makes it possible for religious suppliers to meet the demands of different religious consumers.[5]”

Reflecting on this definition, we can then draw up what packages or commodities the church is offering the public. Three major categories can be drawn:

1. Development of self-worth or value that is so important to individual success.

2. Exposure to networks that is able to build individual social capital.

3. Advocacy and life skills training

4. Hope of a future after this life

The pastor or minister stands as the CEO or MD of the religious organisation and thus ensures that substantial income is made through tithes and offerings both for the expansion of the ministry and personal resources. Of course if the church were a corporate company this would not be an issue because all corporate companies are profit-driven and in essence this is how the church has been functioning for centuries.

The Apostle Paul alludes to this transaction when he argues in 1 Corinthians 9: 1 – 18 “¹¹ if we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?”

What then distinguish the religious economy from the corporate? The first distinction is that the church has a higher Divine authority that sets its mandate and policies. She does not function as an autonomous body created and run by individuals with a profit margin to maintain. Secondly, the philosophy of the church is entirely different in that the church is commissioned from a voluntary basis rather than economic driven. It is essentially about giving without expecting anything back. This transcends corporate social responsibility because the Church believes it exists to give because Christ gave his own life for the church. Thirdly, the church is primarily spiritual rather than material therefore priority of value comes into place whereas for the corporate setting methods for high profit is the priority. Lastly, the church functions as a community (family) rather than a contractually relating company.

To see the church from this secular economic perspective also allows us to point out exactly these differences. Though the church has for centuries functioned similarly to corporates in seeking organisational effectiveness that is as far as it goes or at least should go in contrast.

Balancing giving with financial strategy

Giving is a key aspect in the religious community. It is undesirable for it to be removed as it is able to release a great level of social consciousness towards others and moves people from selfishness. Many biblical examples relate to giving being able to release God’s blessing upon his people. From this perspective one can even argue that selfishness is the major drive of world poverty today as the half the global wealth remains in the hands of merely a 2% elite (World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)). Unfair trade is also another example of selfishness manifesting itself in cruel ways that continue to enslave the poor. The practice of giving is vital in that it counters these tendencies and allows the Church to curve a better path therefore it becomes important for Christians to learn this discipline.

Having noted that, it is also important in light of the “stewardship” principle for the church to look at its finances in a strategic manner. How does the church in poor communities manage their finances in such a way that the ministries are able to be self-sustaining? If we were to assess the financial state of many churches one would conclude that “churches are functioning on the relief level of income.” This dependency is often unhealthy because it sometimes causes ministers to shift from the authentic message they are entrusted with because of financial strain or donor pressure. For other churches even this income is not sufficient enough to maintain the proper function of the church.

Entrepreneurship

A new level of entrepreneurship is then called for. Various models have emerged over the years such as tele-evangelism, literature and video publishing, fund-raising initiatives etc. Pentecostals have been in the fore in forging these new frontiers of merging business and ministry however this is not an entirely new phenomenon. The Roman Catholic Church has been very prominent is its entrepreneurial enterprises. Despite theological arguments that may prevail against the Roman Catholic church but they have certainly harnessed a lot more for Christianity than they are being given credit for.

Besides the Vatican being an independent state with the interests of maintaining its own economy, Catholics dating from the time of the monks who produced and sold wine for communion to church have been at the forefront of social and economic development wherever they found themselves. Even South Africa has evidence of Catholic schools, hospitals, and clinics etc. which were of invaluable contribution towards the infrastructure of this country. All these were funded by Catholic money derived from their business enterprises worldwide.

The Catholic Church has delved deep into the arena of business owning banks, universities, health care centre, and corporate companies etc. some of which are listed by the BusinessWeek.[1]

This then leads me to the question why is it difficult for churches to invest some of their income from gifts and tithes into business enterprises that would then generate more income in the long term sustaining the church and its ministries? Is this even within the thinking of the church in Southern Africa to be specific? Would this not relieve a lot of pressure from both ministry and church and bring more effectiveness? Why is business not being thought in Bible Colleges and Seminaries? I will not attempt to answer these questions because it is one that needs to be dressed in church fraternal and committee meeting and each church find its own answers.

[1] http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/02_15/b3778004.htm

Hope

2011-03-14T06:59:00.000-07:00

In light of recent political and ecological events occurring worldwide, one is tempted to jump towards dispensational thinking to justify the calamities being witnessed worldwide. Though eschatology plays a central part in our theological anchorage, we still need to approach it with caution bearing in mind that we cannot explicitly reveal the future, simply because we are not capable to do so. Such things are reserved for God and his eternal plan. Glimmers of this future are afforded to us as warning sign posts to guide our decision making with the end in mind. This end is also meant to give us hope that life as we know it may soon end but life in eternity continues thus translating us into hope.

Hope cannot be substituted with optimism because hope is not conditioned by circumstances but rather by truth. If by truth then it is rooted in faith of a sure future. Optimism is mere unsubstantiated positivity relying in random turn out of events. The reality of a glorious future is what distinguishes us from the rest of the world because we live in earnest expectation of a continued life even after death and this is a sure truth.

How do we make sense of everything without drifting towards apathy and apocalyptic capitulation in times that seem to be dark and hopeless? When standing together with those affected by such events whether it be the revolution in Muslim countries or the natural disasters of Australia to Japan we do so not in hopeless abandonment being overwhelmed by the heaviness of the situations but rather we pray in hope believing that a God will lead us to a better kingdom. Our hope then does not falter because we have the assurance in Christ.

We stand in the hope that what is now is not what is destined to be tomorrow. The ending of our story has a happily ever after for those who are in Christ. The apostle Paul so adamantly puts it in saying the “pains and suffering cannot be compared to the glory that is yet to be revealed.” We therefore are fuelled by this hope though we have to live out this hope even within our difficult times. Because Christ in us is the hope of glory!

Where have the PhDs gone? Igniting Innovation

2011-02-28T04:58:00.000-08:00

There is a word that keeps on coming up in many a conversations regarding Africa in a number of fields. Though much can be said of the status of the continent in the global community, the word ‘innovation’ keeps on persisting as one of Africa’s greatest weaknesses. Dambisa Moyo in her book Dead Aid highlights the lack of innovation in the economic development of Africa to counter foreign aid.

Specialists in the field of science also cry about Africa’s insufficient production of innovative ideas to underpin the continent’s technological advancement. Africa’s research contribution is amongst the least in the world yet Africa is by far one of the world largest consumer markets. According to Reuters, “South Africa's 1.55 percent share of research in plant and animal science is the continent's biggest share in any field, it said, with this output surpassing Russia's 1.17 percent but well behind China's 5.42 percent share in the same field.[1]” Though this reflects contributions in the natural sciences field it is also inclusive of the rest of research output.

One of the contributing factors to America’s world dominance is the wide-ranging pool of their innovative ideas that guarantees their step ahead of everyone. Their ingenuity in both economic and technology ideas have ensured that they stay as benefactor but with China taking up the second largest economy this could change this monopoly.

For Africa of course this means an increase on post-graduate students output. Karen McGregor, commenting on the South African PhD Project, notes, “South Africa urgently needs to expand its pool of highly-skilled doctorate holders to be globally competitive. The country is seriously under-performing in PhD output even for an emerging economy: its 27 PhDs per million people compares with 42 in Brazil, 172 in South Korea, 240 in Australia and 259 in the UK.[2]”

The increase in post-graduate studies could have positive impact on the economic land scale of the continent. For example, Moeletsi Mbeki in his book Architects of Poverty insists that if the number of post-graduates who are fit for management positions could increase, then the salary payment of management positions could be standardised precisely because there would not be scarcity or deficit in the pool of management skill. The reason managers are so highly paid is because the demand exceeds the supply for managers. If this is anything to go by then, increasing intellectuals in Africa is fairly necessary for intellectual property development and for future growth of the continent.

It is these post-graduates who are capable of providing innovative ideas that fuel the country’s technological and economic advances. Africa and most importantly the church should pay very close attention to this in their attempt to fight poverty and develop the continent.

[1] http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/04/12/us-research-africa-idUSTRE63B0KY20100412

[2] http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20090529112249793

Conscious Citizens: Decrypting Identity

2011-02-25T02:39:00.000-08:00

If you really consider the idea of the kingdom, you will notice that it is very much politically orientated. A “kingdom” is a governmental concept that obviously will have political implications. We therefore can say Christ came to raise political consciousness and activism, but the key is the nature of the kingdom he came to introduce. Western individualism robs us of the communal vantage point when relating to God’s kingdom. As much as individual salvation is essential we cannot forget that Biblically we are constantly reminded that it is also corporate or communal. Even more interesting is that God first act towards salvation was that of creating “a nation” with very precise social order. Perhaps this intentionally insists that God is concerned with nation-building and corporate living. Very often Christians become apathetic in relating to national, political and social livelihoods.

This is somehow very strange though because when we receive salvation and enter the kingdom, we gain consciousness not only of our identity but also of our surroundings. We get to understand the world in a different way and are deliberately sent to engage it. One can even go as far as saying it is not Christ-like to be apathetic to socio-political matters because Christ is about enforcing a kingdom. To define Conscious citizenship we would have to say:

Consciousness is defined as:

con·scious·ness n

1. the state of being awake and aware of what is going on around you

2. somebody’s mind and thoughts

3. the set of opinions, feelings, and beliefs of a group

4. awareness of or sensitivity to issues in a particular field

5. the part of the human mind that is aware of the feelings, thoughts, and surroundings

Citizenship

cit·i·zen·ship n

1. the legal status of being a citizen of a country

2. the duties and responsibilities that come with being a member of a community

What then does it mean to be conscious citizens? First, it would me the realization that we are legal citizen of two nations with one taking precedence over another. I am a citizen of my country, South Africa, but I am also a citizen of God’s kingdom of which SA fall under jurisdiction. God takes my citizenship very seriously and so should I. My consciousness relates to the awakening of my mind to the presence of these two realities and what my active role in both of them should be. The picture though is incomplete without the mention of the third kingdom that is invasively present – the kingdom of darkness. It is this third kingdom that is actively working towards citizenry apathy.

God has awoken the conscience of believer for one reason and it is so that they can be the light to the earthly nations. When we fall below the radar of being conscious citizens and fail to arouse the consciousness of others who are seemingly living in under oppressive systems (whether internal or external) then we are failing our mandate not only to make disciples but also to set captives free.

We need to continue to push the boundaries of citizenry towards consciousness so that people begin to engage with themselves and their surroundings in a transformative manner. The kingdom is intensely political and well as subjectively personal. The outlook of how our nations are organized has a great impact on our identity as a people. Everything is in one-way or another political. By political I mean, “the way societies organize and govern themselves.” The way our socio-governmental systems are organized and the cultures that emerge from that shape our identity. On the other hand it is the same with our kingdom citizenship – the way God governs us and the way our faith communities shape us provide us with an identity.

It is from this identity that we derive our consciousness. Steve Biko’s black consciousness which later fueled and active engagement of socio-governmental problems began with the finding of identity – black man who are you? Let us ask of our selves – Christian who are you? How can heir and sons of the Most High God live as though they are in a vacuum? Is it not the heart of our Father that justice reign and peace unto all man be realized? Have we not inherited a kingdom that cannot be shaken? Has he not made all the kingdom of this world that of his Christ and made us heirs? Let our consciousness be awakened by our identity as sons and let us take the stand conscious citizenship and see that being lived out in our generations.

Job Creationists, Welfarism and Taxism

2011-02-24T06:06:00.000-08:00

Job Creationists

The budget speech of 2011 by minister Pravin Gordon showed a drastic improvement towards investing in means that will enable job creation and most importantly entrepreneurship. Infrastructure development is primary towards this end. Despite political rhetoric of “government creating jobs”, it is common sense that government itself cannot create jobs but instead government sets up the political architecture that then enable the private sector primarily to generate jobs.

Now this shift of focus is most welcome in contrast to increase in social grants. It is well known that too much of a good thing can end up being bad. I applauded the minister on his insistence that government should “teach South Africans to fish for themselves.” This of course is borrowed Jesus Christ himself who understood that it is unsustainable to continually give someone a fish and not teach them to do it for themselves. This make a growth in South African macro-economic thinking. Though more needs to be invested in infrastructural development and education to match this up, results will be slow to come but will have long-term impact for the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Welfarism

It is impossible to do away with the welfare system especially in light of the sick, orphaned children and pensioners and that outcome is probably undesirable. However, other dynamics anchor in unemployment come into play when engaging welfarism. The issue around welfarism is probably not the pensioners and children but rather with able-bodied people who depend on the welfare system because either of lack of employment or income generation. The millions that do benefit from the welfare system cost the economy billions and many concerns exist that South Africa is fast becoming a welfare state. This is something that needs to be looked at as a matter of urgency and it probably would help the government not to be proactive in addressing root problem rather than providing handouts. Much of this welfarism in intrinsically linked to creating decent and sustainable jobs. It is possible to breakout of welfarism by providing sustainable income but it will take more than income to build an economically sustainable nation. There is both the substance and function of the family unite that needs to be taken into consideration. People are not defined by what they do for a living but rather what they value. This is he first step of breaking welfarism.

Taxism

South Africa is not only faced with an increase in the number of social grant beneficiaries but the doubt deficit stares us in the face as the waves of inflation carry it along. Unfortunately the major link in all this is ultimately the “tax-payer.“ It is the taxpayer who pays towards the welfare system and the payments of national debt. Of course not to be naïve about it there other state income generation sources but the bulk of the money to cover state affair is drawn from taxpayers. What then happens when tax-payers get demotivated towards this end especially due to lack of service delivery from the government who is milking their sacks? This has a direct correlation because people need to see where their money is going. Government needs to remain trust worthy and dedicated to delivery services to the people or face distrust and even the vengeance of taxpayer withdrawal, which then cripples function. It comes to show that no government can undermine its people because ultimately they butter the bread government eats. We see this in the Arab regions of both the continent and Middle East. Our government would do well not just to seek to increase the pool of entrepreneurs who then create jobs but should pay very close attention to its ability for prove services to keep taxpayers motivated.

World Changers

2011-02-21T02:53:00.000-08:00

The church bears the answer to the world! That in itself is a very bold statement and contains dynamite expression that sounds almost arrogant. Those who seem to reduce the church to a religious category and thus secluding it to merely a noble exercise in relation to other religions miss the point of God’s original design. On the other hand perhaps we as the church have giving them the impetus to see us as nothing more then organized religion seeking to establish a large following through a variety of religious activities.

I believe Martin Luther’s reformation was that of theological orthodox however another reformation is exploding but it is that of both the theological and structural architecture of our modern church. The way church is being done is increasingly being impounded by kingdom seekers and will undoubtedly leave an indelible mark for generations to come. The kingdom framework has opened up a floodgate that can no longer be closed towards the “ministry of all believers.”

One of the direct implications of this is that ministers who function on the Levitical fold will increasingly need to re-assess their function. Priority focus will begin to shift from the pulpit ministry being the centre to the members and their callings will take centre stage. Of course then minister re-align their messages towards helping, equipping and empowering believer to be ministers within their specific places of calling. This then reshapes the church not just to a place of fellowship, but also to a destiny training school for the ministry of all believers engaged in everyday life. Ministry then will no longer be reserved for those who feel the special calling to go into ministry or missions but rather for everyone because their salvation was God’s calling.

This shift is necessary if the church is to be the answer to the world. I am used to some ministers saying, “ministry is no child’s play so one must be really called into ministry to survive there.” Of course if contextualized within the Levitical understanding, this expression is rightly posed. However, in relation to the kingdom understanding, it is far off the mark simply because it is an elitist rhetoric (meaning it can only be done by special people).

It is when ministers empower people to be ministers wherever they are that we will see change. The seduction to withhold and reserve that, which is seemingly power, to the “ordained elite,” needs to be relinquished. Let us remember God never wired people with positions but he did so with gifts. That is the order of the kingdom and those who have discovered their gifts need to help the seekers find theirs and in that there is no hierarchy. Can a nose say to the ear I am more important that you? We are all equally members of the same body.

Breaking it down in an African context

I originally come from the Eastern Cape, and amongst the Xhosa, patriarchal tendencies are still overt. Often it becomes difficult to distinguish from that which is a traditional and true Gospel. This syncrestic mode has been so refined that many arguments can be made which are seemly biblical in defense of this.

Perhaps I should start by noting that Paul, of all the authors in Scripture, speaks more on the idea that to be kingdom does not necessarily mean to be a Jews. This draws a line on traditional Judaism and being a kingdom heir. Now to bring it home, in some ways the Xhosa culture finds some reflections of itself in the Jewish culture. For example, women take lesser standing then men in patriarchal Judaism as well as in Xhosa culture. However, since that is overt in biblical literature, it is taken to be right by that culture which sees a reflection of itself in it. Another example would be Paul’s instruction for women to not speak in front of men. I could perhaps note a couple of churches which take that very seriously because traditionally that is what they believe and it so happens to be reinforced by the Jewish culture.

Having said that, it becomes key to note that just because something is Jewish does not mean it is kingdom or else we would all have to turn Jewish. If so then, that means change should be a possibility in many African churches in order to reflect God’s kingdom and not Jewish traditions.

When speaking of theological and structural reform in African churches, we cannot afford to overlook this dynamic because it holds a lot of power in the identity of the African church. Power is an intoxicating element and people very often secure it in very subtle ways such as elevating the idea of ministry to elitist standards so that only few can feel they are worthy partakers. This is deeply traditional yet Scripture is used to ensure its legitimacy.

The last example I could give is that of the age gap between the older generation and new. In traditional African culture whether you move from Kenya to Tanzania to the Eastern Cape you will find that youth are regarded as less wise and incapable of taking key leadership because of lack of experience especially in church. Even more interesting is the understanding that experience now has become the standard for leadership rather than gifting. This is fundamentally traditional (even in Jewish culture) yet Paul addresses Timothy on this very same issue by encouraging him to “not let anyone look down on him because he is young.”

Wisdom is a gift but experience is lived yet it is relative. To say someone is not wise because they are young is nothing short of an insult. If by experience we mean repetition than I would say an innovative young person is better placed than an old person who is used to doing the same thing over and over. Of course, this in no way means that the added value by older people is not needed because it is essential, however it does mean for sustainability, amalgamation and gift recognition across the age gap is needed to move towards effectiveness.

The reform in our African orientated churches is slow but sure. It is necessary because it is only when we challenge these things that the church begins to evolve into world changing light. Making disciples not followers is the best courier for the kingdom and perhaps in Africa this is wrapped in the church taking the family orientation rather than institutional bureaucracy.

Business and Urban Mission: Article review

2011-02-03T03:23:00.000-08:00

The business world is largely rooted in the city and most business people live within the urban or suburban setting. This then makes the business vocation very urban based.

For many years business professionals within the church have been viewed as the financial source for the church mission. In relating to modern urban missions, this perception is fast changing as Christians in the business world are being viewed as missionaries in the vast field of business. In this paper, Phil Lundman’s article, Reconciliation of Business Vocation with Church Mission, provides the basis for us to look developments and challenges faced by the urban business mission field.

In this article, Lundman address the relations between the business world and the mission of the church. Though speaking largely about Christian business professionals he reflects on the contribution of such people to the general work of reconciling all things back to Christ. He gives an analysis of the prevalent economic systems and how they relate to the purpose of God regarding the socio-economic conditions of humanity, giving an example of communism, capitalism and socialism. Those who are involved in the business world are active participants in shaping and reshaping these systems.

Lundman also looks at the separation of church and state has caused the hard headed refusal of “personal faith in the professional zone,” by most businesses in the postmodern context.

In relation to the church, Lundman points out the prevalent notion that businesspeople should just bring the money so that the church mission can continue its mission. His argument lies in the fact that those very same businesspeople, if fully utilized, could be the missionaries necessary in their fields of expertise and bring into the church a dimension of understanding the market place field that others or even the pastor may not possess. Should this be understood, businesspeople might even be more effective in challenging the unjust economic systems that prevent a holist church mission of reconciliation.

Review

This article brought forth some very interesting points that have a huge impact on urban mission and missions in general. The first thing that stands out for me in what Lundman is saying is the issue of who should be involved. The reservation of ministry to pastors and clergy as the “called into ministry ones” has caused a huge delay in the advancement of the kingdom mission. This has lead to the understanding that business people should merely sponsor the missions work leaving very little space for them to actually be involved as missionaries. I believe that the commission given by Christ in Matthew 28 was directed to all who are willing to be his disciples and not just the spiritual elite.

Secondly, the field of missions has begun to open up as the global urban-based market place has boomed. This field is also proving to be a very challenging one too as very deep ethical issue sin a pluralistic society are hard to address. Most businesspeople prove to be highly professional and educated for the average minister to enagage intellectually. Thus having someone who understand and can relate to their world, bringing the gospel in a non-threatening language, they can grow and bear more fruits.

Thirdly, we need to tap into the market place to evangelize business people so we can harvest their ideas and innovation but also so they can be agents of socio-economic change. They have the potential to challenge injustice economic systems as they are stakeholder within the local economy. Lundman addresses these aspects on an even global level but it is as applicable to the local context.

Business people should be grown, empowered and released to be missionaries to their world of business. They have much more to contribute to the church mission within the urban setting and they should be considered as more than financial partner. The Lundman article was very well written and informative.

Reference

Lundman, P. 2004. Reconciliation of Business Vocation with Church Mission. Cied in Transformaion vol: 21 no 4 pg.218- 226

Interview with Moss Ntla, General Secretary of TEASA

2011-02-03T02:42:00.000-08:00

The Evangelical Alliance of South Africa

Interview with Moss Ntla, General Secretary of TEASA

with Luthando Tofu

Interview Questions

How has TEASA evolved since the apartheid era?

TEASA was launched in 1995, a year after the official demise of apartheid at the first nonracial democratic elections of 1994. Before 1994, the `pre history ‘ of TEASA was the largely black organizations called Concerned Evangelicals and the white led organization called Evangelical fellowship of South Africa. These merged to form TEASA. The challenge TEASA faced in the post apartheid era was two fold: firstly, to serve the reconciliation mission of the church, in a context where several TEASA member denominations where uniting to end the era of intra-denominational racial differentiation. The reconciliation paradigm of the Mandela era made this somewhat easier. Secondly, for TEASA to succeed in consolidating this unity, it needed to find a formula to hold the rather incompatible priorities of its white and black members together. The priorities of blacks tended toward development (economic and other human development aspects) as well as the deepening, expansion and consolidation of new found democracy. The White agenda related to the traditional evangelical morality of combating abortion, homosexuality and pornography. TEASA ‘s mission consisted in furthering these two agendas, making for a more holistic embrace of left and right issues on the political spectrum.

How is the rise of many new independent churches posing a challenge to TEASA and its mission?

TEASA membership consists of both new independent churches as well as more traditional churches. The challenge is often TEASA‘s lack of capacity to prosecute a vigorous membership drive to provide an ecumenical home for these churches. The result is that often there is a growth of reckless, unaccountable leaders prone to dictatorial, abusive and sectarian tendencies.

What is the current state of TEASA pertaining to policy advocacy?

As in one above, TEASA seeks to articulate the concerns of member churches, which consists of both conservative as well as more liberal concerns. The campaign on same sex marriages represent one side of the spectrum – the conservative side, while the advocacy on Millennium Development goals, and efforts to make poverty history represent the other side. TEASA believes the rift between left and right is often unnecessary as biblical teaching warrants concern for both.

What is TEASA doing differently from other religious bodies such as The South African Council of Churches?

The question presumes that we have carefully studied SACC to be able to know exactly what they do, and how that differs from what we do. We haven’t. What we do is the following: We are a platform for evangelical cooperation and witness, serving to envision and capacitate our member bodies to do the work of the ministry, while representing their voice by way of advocacy in media and government. TEASA runs commissions on church planting, leadership development, children’s ministries, HIV and AIDs, Women’s development, democracy and anti poverty work.

Our sense is that there are several areas in which SACC and TEASA have different points of departure. For example: evangelical missiology differs in important respects from the ecumenical variety, although some commonalities exist. The question of biblical authority is another area of possible tension. Both these areas account for different mission programmes that one finds in TEASA and SACC, as well as advocacy on moral issues that have characterized SACC and TEASA. For example, TEASA opposed same sex marriages while SACC supported it.

How would TEASA respond to the opinion that the church is silent or has become somewhat invisible in the post-apartheid era in the public sphere particularly as a prophetic voice?

Largely true. I offer my own take on some of the reasons.

The misunderstanding that the end of apartheid meant the church must vacate the political space and let politicians do their job, was widespread. It was articulated, in the period immediately after 1994, by no less a prophetic figure than the archbishop Desmond Tutu! Mandela himself expressed the view that ` a man’s religion is his private matter’, when pressed by many – largely evangelical Christians -to declare whether or not he was Christian. If these two towering figures in our evolving democracy espoused such views, one can imagine that the Christian rank and file must have felt released to mind their `religious business’, and leave politics to politicians.

There is another reason. A deep seated inferiority complex on the part of the Christian church, occasioned by the fact that the church had been largely part of the apartheid problem for most of the life of apartheid. The TRC records show that the Christian church was guilty of supporting apartheid. From high church Catholic to Low Church Pentecostal, the confessions of the church were the same: we have failed to leave up to the demands of the gospel. This point of departure `forced’ a measure of self censorship, deference and reluctance to `speak out’ in many instances. For example, much of the first 15 years of our democracy was really a struggle to frame what we as a nation understand as freedom, and to live it out. Could a Christian Church that was part of the spiritual infrastructure of apartheid oppression be trusted with legislation on what freedom is, say with regard to same sex marriage? In many ways, the nation and the churches were singing from different hymn books.

There was also the question of `Is it really African’ to be an outspoken critic of those who rule by your permission, particularly if they are former comrades? The relative youth of our democracy, and the interplay of Church and State, was such that either side was uncertain of itself. A wait a see attitude prevailed in respect of sharp and public disagreements. I am certain that this will change as Christian leaders and theologians make the determination that the honeymoon is over, and that vigorous engagement is called for.

Lastly the global environment of a secular state in a pluralist context had a de-centering effect on the church’s liberty to be a strong, vigorous and confident voice.

Have there been any in the ranks of TEASA who have entered politics or civil service and how has this strengthened or weakened the work of TEASA?

Yes, several entered the political terrain, leading to several advantages including: Evangelicalism has been better understood in political circles, evangelical influence grew with increased access to political leadership.

In light of the recent dilemma of moral degeneration, what practical responses is TEASA implementing?

The following is being done.

TEASA supports the work of its allies, such as Heartlines, which focuses on Media, and has developed first class movies that communicate values ion the national broadcaster, SABC. This is because our view is that the moral struggle cannot be won if that struggle is not also waged in the media, which has such a controlling and value shaping influence on society.
We have engaged values at a legislative level, such as our advocacy on abortion, same sex marriage and other policy issues. We have also engaged the ruling party at party headquarters (Luthuli House) and elsewhere, on a number of issues of leadership and integrity.
Through the National Religious Leaders Forum, TEASA participated in raising the debate with regard to a bill of responsibilities to go with the bill of rights in public schools. Whether this will be implemented is another matter, but the issue was certainly raised at cabinet level as well as parliament and was widely debated in the press.
The life and witness of the church, from local church upward, remains our strongest contribution to modeling personal transformation.
TEASA churches and networks are engaged in community Policing forums to combat crime. Crime summits have been held to explore public private partnerships in the war against crime.
Prayer is also a key part of Christian engagement. It is not uncommon for police stations to be pleasantly surprised by the reduction in crime following concerted prayer effort by Christians.

To what extent is the influence of TEASA in South African politics?

If by politics is meant party politics, not much. Suffice it to say that there are many TEASA members who hold political office, or serve in the civil service. They do not represent TEASA as such, but we would like to believe that the values of integrity that evangelicalism swears by are important factors in the decisions they take as they serve the community.

If by politics is meant influence in legislation in which have had interest to contribute, there have been some limited successes. The current same sex legislation for example sought to accommodate evangelical concerns that marriage not be redefined to include same sex relations. Such relations, we argued, needed to be regulated under a different heading of same sex union. This is currently the case.

Alternatively, if by politics is meant agency on the ground for economic, developmental, cultural and spiritual renewal, which in the end bear on politics, a growing body of research affirms that TEASA churches are a beacon of hope. (See recent study by Centre for Development Enterprise).

We have been involved in serving several elections processes as part of civil society to monitor elections and offer civil society assessment on the freeness /fairness or otherwise of those elections. The voice of civil society is a critical part of our national wellbeing.

How do you foresee the future of TEASA particularly in the South African public space?

TEASA has an important contribution to play in the public space going forward. This is because TEASA brings to the table, through its member churches, different and unique gifts, earthed in evangelical theology and practice, which normally revolves around, belief in personal transformation, biblical truth, the need for personal morality and a strong sense of mission, which has over the years been increasingly holistic. These charisms are important to the task of nation building, and if wisely nurtured could serve a critical role.

However, evangelicalism would have to get over its inferiority complex and deepen its tools of analysis, as well as invest more in its capacity for study and research. Serious policy influence requires no less.

What do you see as already existing or potential obstacles for the growth of the work of TEASA?

Capacity constraints in driving three critical priorities:

Theological renewal. Such theological education as exists is largely influenced from the west, and is not at the cutting edge of the South Africa context. Add to this the fact that evangelicalism is not known for serious scholarship, and has rather contended itself with superficial answers to complex problems, this is a serious constraint to growth and increasing public influence.
Evangelicals have been growing numerically at around 2-3% per annum over the last decade. This growth, if not harnessed and wisely channeled, could be fragmented, arrogant and self-serving. Creating a sense of ecumenical home for the massive growth of evangelical church is an important priority. This is important both to create a sense of mutual accountability and leadership support.
Evangelical social conscience needs to be strengthened, and expressed through well considered intervention programmes in the communities.

Ministry and research

2011-02-03T02:24:00.000-08:00

I came across something of interest in which a convincing argument, Jack Dennison's article The Power of Information, drives home the point that churches need information to be effective. This of course is the summarized version in a nut shell but nevertheless it is a power statement. He points out that instead of relying on vague supposition and assumptions the church would do itself a favour by doing actual research for the work it hopes to achieve.

Dennison brings to the table the Nehemiah model of research. Nehemiah was able to size down the building of the wall of Jerusalem to 52 days by thoroughly researching before implementation. He was able to calculate what was needed for the exact place and time. From the story of Nehemiah he shows how motivation can be drawn from research as it shows the bigger picture of what the situation is like. When pastors are able to size down the situation in their communities then they can be able to draw up ways of dealing with the relevant issues. More than often, pastors do not know their own contexts as well as they should.

Dennison proposes a model of research (Harvest Force) that encompasses both the church itself and the context in which the church works.

Evaluation

This article poses a very interesting idea which I know in many other places fwould probably raise a few eyebrows. Research, I must say is not very much a top priority for most churches even during church planting initiatives. Pastors are more comfortable with “relying on the Spirit-method” than doing practical research. Though “research does not guarantee success”(Dennison 2000: 72) it can curb a lot of potential mistakes and spare a lot of time.

It is vitally critical to point out that researched information does not guarantee success nor do programmes guarantee results but having the information could be of great help. The extreme would be to rely on accurate research alone and leave very little space for the revelation of the Holy Spirit.

I guess even in the development field research is crucial because assumptions can prove to be exactly what the people do not need. Of course when it comes to evangelism the tendancy is to be once side - they need Christ and all will be well. This leads to the naivity towards the real situations people find themselves.

The other thing about research is that if it is to be done appropriately and accurately, it will either cost someone money or time or even both. These two are usually limited for some churches or church pastors as they focus on “do” rather than an indepth look at “what are we doing?” The Nehemiah case study is a good one to assess the effectiveness of research . It probably is quite difficult to find an outright illustration of the research methods employed in the New Testament as it deals largely with internal spiritual issues as opposed to the societal issues of the Old Testament. The fact that Paul's evangelistic strategies were constantly disturbed by the divine plan tells us that though we may rely on research and strategy they must be flexible enough to be subject to the Holy Spirit's alterations. If they be not, then they are merely another human extention aimed to glorify ourselves or churches.

Bibliography

Dennison, J. The Power of Information. In The Church Planting Alliance, 2000. Transforming South Africa Through Saturation Church Planting. Helderkruin, South Africa: CPA Publisher

Refinding Bonhoeffer

2011-02-03T01:35:00.000-08:00

“With Bonhoeffer’s death the church – and the world – was deprived of a powerful intellect and f a creative Christian.”
Dallas M. Roark

At a time when the world’s eyes were turned to Europe for theological development, many great individuals arose within Christendom and one of these rare intellectuals was a German theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer. What stands out about him is not only his intellectual genius but also his commitment to what he believed. He became a martyr of the Christian faith not because of his provocative thoughts but because he understood the cost discipleship.
Dietrich is a man often misinterpreted. Some say his laid the foundation for the "death of God movement" through his Christ-centric theology thus eliminating the existence the God-figure. His insistance on a “religionless Christianity” is still much debated even today and causes critics to term him an atheist.
His never acquired enough time to fully develop his thoughts as he was killed by the Nazi regime. He engaged with the views of contemporaries such as Paul Tillich, Rudolf Bultmann and Karl Barth and developed the kind of approach which was rare in Germany at that time. He insisted on the importance of Christian communal life and when invited to take over the seminary Pomerania, he fashioned his curriculum in this order.It is key that we look into some of the most important contributions Dietrich made to Christian though. By not looking only at his major theological views based on his published books such as Life Together and Cost of Discipleship but also what main influences shaped his theology perhaps we can reconstruct something of the man Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

1. Historical context and major influences
Early influences
Dietrich was born a twin together with Sabine Bonhoeffer in 1906. Dietrich was the sixth of eight children born to Professor Karl Bonhoeffer and his wife. The Bonhoeffer family was well off and prominent, as Dietrich’s father, Karl Bonhoeffer was professor of Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology. As prominent as he was in the academic field Karl kept a close knit of his family. The values in which Bonhoeffer was brought up form the background of his Ethics (Bethge 1976:10).
Dietrich showed kin interest in studying theology at a very young age. By the age of 21 he submitted his doctoral thesis at the University of Berlin. One of the major characters which featured prominently in his life at this point was Karl Barth.
Apart from Karl, Dietrich drew a lot from the great reformer Martin Luther and his practical evidence of the saving grace in a Christian’s life. This he learnt from Christian activist of the “social gospel” in America while he studied at Union Theological Seminary. The struggle of the black Americans fired his need for theology to speak to the politics of the day. Bethge records that due to the influence of the pacifism in American churches, Bonhoeffer now began to attack the traditional Lutheran separation of the realm of faith and the realm of politics (1976: 25).

2. Theological views and Contributions to Christian theology
Christology
Bonhoeffer was big on everything centring around Christ. His theology is heavy with the Christological theme. For him everything to be understood properly had to be seen through eyes o the person of Jesus Christ. If Christian life was centred in anything else but Christ then it was flawed. Though this is essential and central to biblical themes it is also what Paul M. Van Build used Godless theology based on the historic Jesus (Roark 1972: 27). Without realising or intending it but this opened up a can of worms thus opening up the extreme of the death of God movement and secular theology. Critics of Bonhoeffer may have misinterpreted him and term him a liberal and perhaps even a secular theologian especially with his involvement with the ecumenical movement which gave ample ammunition to the more conservative evangelical scholars. A bulk of this Christological theology is evident in his interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount as seen in book Life Together. This then leads us to our next topic.

Community life
What stands out about Bonhoeffer’s understanding of Christian community life is his Christological approach to it. According to him what we see and should respect in others is the progressive work of Christ in their lives. The key should be to view other in the manner in which we perceive
Christ to view and that which He views us. Brian S. Rosner 2005: 350 further elaborate on his narrative of Bonhoeffer’s perception as to say that, “spiritual love recognises the true image of the other person as seen from the perspective of Jesus Christ. It is the image Jesus Christ has formed and wants to form in all people.” This is due to his understanding of the image of God expressed in Christ.
In his book Life Together, Bonhoeffer explains the need for all humanity to stay in community as God has design but especially the need for Christians not to separate themselves from the rest of the world as this does not represent the ministry of Christ. This comes back and links to his explanation of how Christians should view themselves and others in light of Christ.
The under tone of his passion for the church cannot be bypassed in his of the theology of community. His expressions of the “Christian community” are evidence of this undertone. He defines Christianity as a community through Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ (1954: 10).

Discipleship
“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die (Bonhoeffer 1959: 79).” This profound statement sets the premise of his debate as to the concept of “cheap grace” and “costly grace.” Bonhoeffer’s work on discipleship which is more founded on his interpretation of the Sermon on the Mount, tries to answer the question of what it really means to follow Jesus. For him, discipleship is much easier than man-made rules and dogmas…discipleship maybe hard, but it is not limited to a small spiritual elite. Discipleship is the road to Christian joy (Roark 1972: 75)
Bonhoeffer was convinced of the need for Christians to maintain a high moral and ethical standard as a means of the Church being different. “Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church (ibid 25).” What he could see in the church in Germany was believers professing salvation but their lives failed to show evidence of that salvation. He termed cheap grace as the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance…cheap grace is grace without the cross without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate (ibid 76).
His influence on speaking about this was probably aligned to the in which most of Germany or even Europe for that matter had been Christianised for centuries and the theology had been secularised. People no longer understood the sacrifice need to lead a good Christian life. Much of this background is evident even today and therefore the need for review this particular theological view is very crucial, because the cost is what sets Christians apart from the rest of the world and the humanitarians of this world.

Christian ethics
“Our contention is that Bonhoeffer’s theology is not only intensely and increasingly Christological in character but also has a constant ethical orientation (Forrest 1987: 57).” Many of the academic admirers of the work of Bonhoeffer regard his work on Ethics as the best and most significant of all his work.
As a pastor, Bonhoeffer was very much concern with nature of morality and ethics of the church. The compromise of many a German churches of his time and most of them complying with the Hitler regime, brought upon him the need to write on this topic. The last things and the penultimate things [in Bonhoeffer’s life and writings] belong to the period of Ethics (Bethge 1976: 95). He not only elaborated on the need for Christians to maintain ethics, but he distinguished between worldly ethics and Christian ethics the latter being rooted in Christ himself.

His move back to Germany from the U.S. portrays a lot about his struggle with ethical issues thus he decided to return to his homeland. For Bonhoeffer, since “only the form of Jesus Christ confronts the world and defeats it” the Christian ethic is not based on principles or ideals but on “conformation” to the likeness of Christ (Forrest 1987: 64).

Such a man who contributed immensely to Christian theology indeed was deprived the opportunity to further establish his thoughts and influence. His ethical Christology left a lasting print in theology especially liberal theology. His further contributions were witnessed by the World Alliance movement and other ecumenical bodies he involved himself in. For me, the greatest print he left behind is not merely his theological convictions but rather his willingness to be martyr on account of those convictions

References
Bonhoeffer, D. 1959. Cost of Discipleship. 2nd ed. Rev. New York: Macmillan Co.”
Roark, D. M. 1972. Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Waco, Texas: Word Books Publishers.

Bonhoeffer, D. 1954. Life Together. Munich: SCM Press Ltd

Rosner, B. S. Oct. 2005. 343-352. Known by God: C.S. Lewis and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Evangelical Quarterly. Marshall I. H. & Lane, A. N. S. (eds) Milton Keynes, UK: Paternoster Publishers

Bethge, E. 1976. Bonhoeffer: An Illustrated Biography. London: Fount Paperbacks

Forrest, M. R. Learning from the Struggle in Bonhoeffer’s Christological Ethic. Journal of Theology for Southern Africa. De Gruchy, J. W. Cape Town: Mills Litho

Economic Development: The Longitude Approach

2011-01-24T04:31:00.000-08:00

We all agree that job creation dominates the current national conversation with South Africa sitting at around 25% unemployment rate. It is a major problem as this is a cause of many other social problems. If I were to give a illustration I would say 'job creation' is reflective of the latitude approach. I would then define the latitude approach as the movement from point A to B without necessarily the depth of the quality of the job nor of the person involved. In a sense its not reflective of the intangible elements that are required to produce an effective and satisfied employed person. If we measure our reduction of the unemployment rate by moving from unemployment to getting a job without any implications of social and personal growth then we just moving from point A to B latitude.

On the the longitude approach , if I were to give a definition to it, it would be that it reflects the depth of engagement in the employment act both of the person and the nature of work created. This therefore constitutes not only economic movement but also personal fulfillment and sense of purpose. These intangible elements are as equally important as the job itself. Perhaps we could even define the longitude approach as work in the true sense and the latitude as a mere job. This would then define the terms of our engagement in economic development. Do we seek to reduce the unemployment index by creation of jobs or do we actually want to see growing, passionate people developing and growing as they discover themselves in their work environment? The to what extent do we draw the line between God's purposes and our own God-complexes?

The latitude approach almost seems like a desperate attempt to control the situation and provide as many jobs as possible despite the quality of both person and job. Longitude on the other hand begins by digging the depths of the individual first so that higher ground can be achieved. In a sense it begins by identifying the purpose and passion of the individual and creating work around that.

Defying the legacy of dualism

How are Christians supposed to engage economic development? More often then not,latitude job creation is still the focal point of many Christian attempts to economic development. What many would term the social gospel, especially at its liberal left, is more inclined to see job creation as one of the ways to administer the gospel with personal salvific transformation further down the list. The longitude approach does not dispute the 'creation of employment' but rather its point of departure to creating employment. When we implement economic development from the longitude approach, there are more chances of building a pool of entrepreneurs who will not engage their work as a necessity to survive but rather as an all encompassing legacy worth leaving behind.

If we are to take successful business people who have built their companies from scratch into big corporates or the likes and compare them to other business who have not changed or grown for the past 10yrs it is more likely that the problem is not in the business itself but rather why the business was started in the first place and what level of personal growth and satisfaction the businessperson is gaining out of the experience. Of course there are other external factors that feature in the success of a business but the paradigm involved in starting one if as equally important. To people whom business is merely a means to put food on the table, its more likely that their business will remain stagnant so long as its providing the necessary money he/she wants in order to enable them to continue to do other things. For people whose true purpose is business, irrespective of whether they are educated or not their business will persist and grow because they build it from a passion rather than inclination.

This is the premise of the longitude approach, building economic participation through identity, purpose, passion and personal drive. It requires that the initial step be that of unlocking individual identity and purpose and turning that into an economically viable enterprise. It grows from the sense that each individual is unique and has an inbuilt purpose that contains the entire package of success. Imagine being paid to do what you are passionate about, this is the inheritance I believe God is giving to each of us. To refute the dualistic mindset Christians have in dealing with economic development the longitude approach brings together the both the economic and spiritual considerations in the sense then fighting unemployment in a holistic manner.

Why the church is best situated for the longitude approach

In a research done by the Centre for Development and Enterprise focusing on the Pentecostal revolution occurring in Southern Africa, it was discovered that

A vital function of Pentecostalism isolated by Martin is that it has provided an avenue for the recognition and integration of marginalised people: calling the movement ‘… the mobilisation of the culturally despised’,30 he talks of the evangelical upsurge creating ‘… autonomous social space within which people may participate in the creation of a different kind of sub-society. In this sub-society, those who count for little or nothing in the wider world find themselves addressed as persons able to display initiative and to be of consequence.’¹

The church is obviously the largest and most widespread ground roots civil organisation in the country. Despite its isolation, it still stands as the better placed institution to engage social inequalities and injustices. Its ability to work with the lowest of the low in the economic and social ladder it provides the best personal upliftment necessary to motivate people towards economic development.

What is key about the church is its ability and potential to unearth the people's identities and strengths. The gospel message in its very nature carries the hope and self-consciousness that enables individuals to reflect on their purpose of living. The fact that the Bible does not begin with the Synoptic letters but rather with Genesis frames the fact that people were created for a purpose before they were saved from sins. Therefore salvation encompasses redeeming people's creation purpose. It is this message that becomes an impeccable vehicle for the longitude approach.

It is only the church that is able to harness that personal entrepreneurial spirit and could potentially turn that into economically viable enterprises. If pastor's shifted their focus towards helping individuals identify and express their purposes in such a way that it makes them economically stable, then we could see more of the kingdom of heaven here on earth as people live out their lives to the full.

Some personal questions to ask in building the longitude approach:

If I could do anything without the any limits what that be?
How does that reflect who I am?
What is hindering me from achieving that?
What are the possibilities of entrepreneurship within the idea in a God-glorifying manner?
What steps could I take to make that possible?
What connections and resources do I need?

1Centre for Development and Enterprise 2008. Under the Radar:Pentecostalism in South Africa andits potential social and economic role

Reconstruction of the Tower of Babel

2011-01-21T05:54:00.000-08:00

The Tower of Babel, as known in the biblical account, was the invention of Nimrod the forefather of the Babylonian empire. In the book of Genesis, Nimrod (name meaning “let us revolt”) is known as “the great hunter before the Lord”which indicated his extraordinary character (Gen. 10: 8 - 9). Of course Nimrod turned out to be more than just a mere hunter as he showed great social entrepreneurial ability in forming one of the greatest civilisations known in history.

Archaeologists and historians place Nimrod at around or prior to this time and his philosophical/religious ideologies at the centre of the idea of building the Tower of Babel. Scripture states that:

'Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.” Genesis 11: 4

The tower of Babel had four major philosophical drives that are still present with us even today. These Babylonian pillars continue to be adopted by modern nation states. The book of Revelations speaks of the fall of the Babylonian mystery which kept nations drunk of its intoxicating wine. It is this Babylonian Mystery we see at play then we see why the Preacher in Ecclesiasties states that “nothing is new under the sun.” Lets briefly reflect on these 4 ideas that so deeply shape our modern paradigm.

“Let us build ourselves a city” – Modernisation and Materialism

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia gives this description in reference to modernisation:

Transformation of a society from a rural and agrarian condition to a secular, urban, and industrial one. It is closely linked with industrialization. As societies modernize, the individual becomes increasingly important, gradually replacing the family, community, or occupational group as the basic unit of society. Division of labour, characteristic of industrialization, is also applied to institutions, which become more highly specialized. Instead of being governed by tradition or custom, society comes to be governed according to abstract principles formulated for that purpose. Traditional religious beliefs often decline in importance, and distinctive cultural traits are often lost.¹

It is difficult to separate modernisation from materialism precisely because one over laps with the other. What governments have been doing in the past decades in their attempts to fight poverty both in Third world and First world countries, but with particular focus on the Third world, has been modernisation rather than development. In essence, development means “change” or “the process of change” and this change could either be positive or negative. The concept of course then can be framed with a particular stream of activity such as International Development or Community Development or Social Development etc.

Despite this reflection, development almost always begins from some level of self-consciousness. I guess to give a broader perspective I would ask the question, “why did God not give Adam and Eve a mansion to live in and maybe throw in a Hospital or maybe even a BMW SUV to go along with it.” All he gave him was a garden and a wife. These are the things that come to mind in many development conversations but these largely reflect modernisation rather than development. Of course, the Fall brought in a whole new dynamic and great environmental change.

Something interesting played out after the Fall. Man began to find ways to cover up his shame by using natural elements. Real development forces us to look for the root cause of problems but modernisation and materialism helps us to cover up our shame very quickly. This is the dividing factor between these ideas.

When governments talk about housing, medical, educational service deliveries they are essentially seeing the nakedness of their citizens and are scrabbling to cover them up with the best possible modern medical technologies, best housing infrastructures, telecommunication systems etc. This however is not development but modernisation. Let alone the fact that the way these advancements are provided does not take into consideration the principles of development such as ownership, appreciation, etc. they do well though in treating the symptoms of the problem. Why is the promises of service deliver creating such dependency and sense of entitlement in communities?

Development on the other hand cannot be truly enforced without diagnosing the root problem if one is to “change” or reverse the problem. Development recognises that people are more than their physical needs they are spiritual beings of whom if cut off from their inner peace they are marred and impoverished as well. It is that peace that begins to drive the change process.

When Cain went to build a city for himself it was to cover his shame and protect himself from anyone who would kill him. When we build our cities, we are generally not far from Cain's intentions though our threats may slightly differ. But modernisation does well to cover our shame and make us look socially mobile and in a world of materialism we look somewhat dignified when we have the best of what modernity has to offer except that God still sees our underdeveloped states of consciousness and sinfulness. Abraham looked for a city whose builder is God and it is that city that reflect true development because it has a criteria in order for one to enter.

“a tower that reaches heaven” – Humanism

If man cannot reach heaven they will either throw atomic bombs of ideas to try and destroy the idea of heaven or they will create their own heavens and declare themselves gods. The aim to replace God as the centre of life with man is not by far a new phenomenon. Man will never be satisfied with merely removing God but will always endeavour to reach even the heavens in an attempt to set his throne about God.

The idea of building the tower was not to merely build a tower but to build a tower that reaches to the heavens. The idea of a Sovereign God seated in the high places has always alluded humanity even those who seem not to like him very much still want to compete against him.

The only problem with this is that despite these efforts, reality still reflect the existence of God and his Sovereignty. Modern man continues the quest of building towers whose intention is to see man above all creation and even life itself. Much more can be said about scientific advances such as fertilisation, cloning, neuro/nano technologies, etc. This is the futile quest of man in trying to show that man is the centre of his own world and is in no need of God to exists.

“so that we may make a name for ourselves” - Secular Branding

If you go around motivational talks, seminars, business meetings, and even some churches. You will constantly hear how “YOU CAN” and how important it is to build your own personal brand. Culminating from humanism, building an empire or marketing yourself has become a key feature in “making it” in modern society. Branding is a buzz word from corporates to NGOs to churches. What comes with upward mobility is making a name for yourself.

Babylonian paradigm informs us that we make ourselves who we want to be and essentially making a name for ourselves. Yes, the world is full of professing self made individuals from billionaire to multinational empires and kingdoms.

Opposite of this Babylonian world-view we discover that it is God that give a name because to when God gives you a name he gives you an identity that needs no man's reassurance that you are whom God says you are. Everybody and every corporation wants to be known and possibly make a name for themselves. But scripture tells us that only those who had a direct encounter with the living God had received a name. Everytime God had to change someone's name it had everything to do with that person getting a new identity. Abraham, Sarah, Jacob, Paul, Peter all received an new name but it contained a new identity. However, when God makes your name, it comes with an inheritance. This is the platform which enables one to live out the legacy that will reshape history.

4. “so we will not be scattered” – Globalisation and the creation of a global village

This is tricky because it would almost sound as if God is against global unity. This of course is a great part of the endeavours of the international community today. Perhaps the best reflection is to revert back to God commission to Adam and Eve when he stated that “be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth (Gen 1:28). However, the Tower of babel was direct violation of this command in that the people said “lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth”

Globalisation has produced a number of challenges and created monopolies that keep people in oppression and injustice. Unfair trade, nation states overrun by multinationals, environmental climate change all in the name of globalisation. This disassociation man with his immediate surroundings in a decentralised mode but instead hastily pursuing that which is out there in the hands of others is a token of a Babylonian world-view. Imperial expansions and neocolonialism in the name of free and open trade are never in God's agenda for the nations. Brain drains fuelled by lures of greener pastures actually reflects the growth of self interest rather than what one would term blind patriotism and local responsibility.

What they of the Pentecost phenomenon? This could be viewed as the only legitimate unifying factor of all nations. Where the Spirit of God becomes the epitome of unity in diversity. It is also interesting to note that when the Spirit fell, everyman hear the witness of God in their own language. The Holy spirit did not speak Greek and everyman therefore understood Greek but they each heard as if it were spoken in their language. However, even so the living out of what was heard had to happen in their own different contexts and cultures.

It would then seem that God loves the idea of people expressing diversity without one predominant culture or even language for that matter. The Trinity is unity but yet reflect distinct personalities. This is the God unity in diversity.

It almost seems that the more humanity draws itself together and reconstructs the Tower of Babel it has untold potential to destruct. This time it might be that as humanity reconstructs the tower Christ will eventually return to disrupt the workings of man one last time.

1Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.