Reconciliation as a Model of Mission In Contemporary Africa.
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Date
1999-02
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Tangaza University College
Abstract
It is God's wish to establish a community where brothers and sisters live in
unity, through His Son, Jesus Christ.' In this community or society there will be no
exploitation and oppression, no more war, hunger and thirst. There will be no more
division. Hence, it will be a community of happy and prosperous people. Today, the
reverse has been the case. In Africa, there are wars and violence of one kind or
another. Poverty and the trauma of the displaced has been the African experience.
The words "love", "hospitality", and "peace" which have been important words in
the African vocabulary of life have lost their meaning. There appears to be nobody
brave enough to accept responsibility for the situation.
I believe that the task of building a peaceful, loving and caring African society
can only be achieved if individuals and the community as a whole could go into
themselves and discover, why they have problems, what they are and what the
reasons for them are. Moreover, being able to enter into dialogue and to admit
responsibility where it is necessary. This is because, "a civilization that cannot
solve the problems it has caused is a decadent civilization'. Hence, the selfexamining,
soul - searching and provocative questions which are valid for Africans
today are: Why has Africa remained such a shameless beggar in the world of
independent men and women? Why is the continent the laughing stock and
dumping ground of the civilized world? What has been the nature of the African
Church's mission? Has it been quite successful? What model of mission is suitable
for Africa today?
It is in the line of these questions that I was inspired to write this long essay
under the topic: "Reconciliation as a model of mission in contemporary Africa". I
am doing so with feelings of eagerness, longing and great desire to see African
continent restored to her normal status. It is also my conviction that by taking
Jesus as the "focal point" of our mission, we can break all barriers and engage in
dialogue with ourselves and other people. Thus, we can build a humanized society
where every member experiences the freedom and solidarity of the people of God. In the light of the goal and methodology of the project therefore, I would like
to formulate the outline of the project into three chapters thus:
CHAPTER 1. SEE: The need for reconciliation in contemporary Africa - What
are those areas of life that need to be restored to harmony?
CHAPTER 2. JUDGE: The church as mission - Has the Church been a
reconciling community in the faces of these conflicts and divisions?
CHAPTER 3. ACT: Reconciliation as a model of mission for contemporary
Africa - What does God want?
In chapter 1, after giving a general view of the African society, I will analyze
the present political, socio - economic, and religious conditions experienced by the
people. Moreover, I will illustrate more concretely these points with Nigeria and
Senegal. In the second chapter, I will try to deliberate on the notion: "The Church
as Mission". I shall look at the church's role in this situation. Is their approach to
the situation very successful? Lastly, in the third chapter, I will take on what I
would call the core of this project namely: in the light of the situation of the
contemporary Africa and in the light of our evaluation from a missiological
perspective, what line of action are we to adopt? What are to constitute our
strategies in addressing the issue? With a general conclusion, I close my long
essay.
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Keywords
Reconciliation, Africa, Mission, Political, Social conditions, Economic conditions, Faith, Culture, Church, Traditions, Dialogue, Pastoral