6.2 Reconstruction model
6.2.2 Rehabilitation model
consultation or advise. Some of them were very prominent people like Nicodemus (John 3). Christ counsels younger people such as Mary and Martha accordingly (John 11). This model will, no doubt, continue to inform the African church of the twenty first century and beyond. For Christ did not turn away those who came for help, be it for healing or for doctrinal questions like, "Should we pay taxes to Caesar or not?" (Matthew 22: 17). He listened to their problems and responded accordingly. In most cases Christ helped them to seek their own solutions to their own problems by pausing another question (Matthew 22: 15-22). This was to inspire the counselee to build confidence on himself or herself and overcome whatever sort of stress or depression. It was a way of providing fishing skills rather than just giving a hungry person a fish.179 As a reconciler Christ gives African Christianity an exemplary model for others to draw some lessons from.
(a) Refugees and displaced persons
Itis saddening to note that the constitutional independence in most African countries, in 1960s, did not make the citizens to enjoy a higher standard of living and "experience greater cultural self-actualisation (Mugambi 1976: 176). As a result of the failure of the leadership, in Africa, millions of people have become displaced due to natural and social disturbances. In Kenya for instance, the government has sometimes become unable to respond adequately to displacements caused by droughts (as in the semi arid Northern Kenya) and floods (as in the Lake Victoria Basin). As Mugambi (1995: 177) further says, the Church of the 21 st century and beyond is challenged to become an effective agent of reconciliation between culture and nature, "so that people will not have to be displaced by floods, droughts and other natural disasters". For the church to be effective as an alternative government, it will require of the churches to take science and technology more seriously than in the past. That therefore means, as agents of the future, the church in Africa will require to cooperate with researchers who have expert knowledge on such Issues.
With regard to social issues, the African Church will need to effectively meet this challenge by launching "a long-term programme for conflict-resolution within and between denominations and also in the context of national and international conflicts"
(Mugambi 1995: 177) that lead to civil war, that in turn result in people fleeing to neighbouring countries as refugees, thereby threatening the security of the host community - by bringing crude weapons. An example is the Kakuma refugee Camp in Northern Kenya. This camp, which is maintained by the funds from mainly the United Nations and the Roman Catholic Church, has paused security problems to the locals who were otherwise not used to gunfights.18oThus, by the church, for instance, working with international bodies to bring the civil war in Southern Sudan to an end, the peace for Kenyans living along the KenyalEthiopia border will be assured.
180This information was acquired when I was serving in the remotest part of Northem Kenya-Moyale district, SololofUran parish of the Anglican church of Kenya.
(b) Women
Women as the majority in our congregations and being the doers of 80% of domestic work ought to be given more attention by the church of the future (Mugambi 1995: 177).
It is no wonder that in times of social strife, the majority of the victims are women and children.181 The way to rehabilitate women will include affirmative actions, enabling them to take more active roles in ecclesiastical affairs, enabling them to increase their productivity though income-generating activities, as we saw of John Wesley's case in Chapter three where he encouraged the church to give soft loans for such undertakings.
This will in turn boost self-confidence of women and will help Africa to highlight hope rather than hopelessness.
(c) The hungry
In following Christ's hospitality, the church of the 21st century will have to address the question of hunger as an urgent issue. For food security cannot be left entirely to 'secular' institutions. As Mugambi (1995: 179) says, "the congregations ought to have food security committees to advise the members of the best ways to avoid famine". By taking the question of hunger seriously, Christians can become responsible to one another, helping each other to build food reserves at the local levels. This agrees with Christ's commendation in the parable of the talents where the person who was able to invest in the talent that he or she was given is highly praised.
(d) The disabled
As Africa gets more and more impoverished by some policies imposed from outside such as Structural Adjustments Programmes," there is a great risk that the weak and the disabled might be forgotten" (Mugambi 1995: 178). This therefore means that the Church
181We can affinn our argument by the examples of Rwanda's genocide, the war in the great lakes region and the ongoing war in Southern Sudan. In these wars women and children have been forced to camp in both Ugandan and Kenyan refugee camps in very pathetic conditions. However, we thank God that Rwanda is recovering first enough as climaxed by the first democratic elections in August 2003 since the genocide of 1994.
of the 21st century, in focusing on the future, will have to learn from Christ's hospitality as applied by the church fathers such as Bishop Chrysostom182
and John Wesley183; and embark on specific projects to help the blind, the deaf, the physically handicapped and so on. In any case, the healing ministry of Jesus is exemplary in this respect.
(e) Youth and students
With HIV/AIDS prevalence threatening to wipe the people of Africa, and the youth!
adolescents being the most vulnerable, the churches of Africa will need to focus on youth and students by embarking on such a ministry. This ministry will require training chaplain, counsellors, and the youth leaders. As Mugambi (1995: 178) says, a strong student programme in the All Africa Conference of Churches may help to establish their own responses to this urgent challenge.
(t)Street Children
As poverty increases in most African cities - Nairobi, Pietermaritzburg, Mombasa, Lagos and so on -more children are now seen in the streets (this is my observation). This therefore means that there is an urgent need for pastoral care for street children, who are mainly destitute or homeless. In Kenya, several government ministries have attempted to rehabilitate them but the church input is more important because of its spiritual aspects.
It is no wonder that some of these children have come to the streets after their sole breadwinner dies, say as a result of HIV/AIDS. This therefore calls for the African Church to press the African governments to provide antiretroviral drugs to their citizens who are also taxpayers and are infected by HIV/AIDS as we pray for the discovery of the cure for the disease. We trust that Christ the healer will provide the wonder drug by empowering and enlightening those who are involved in that task.
182Chrysostom features prominently in early hospitality in chapter two.
183Rev. John Wesley features prominently as a leading example in the 18thcentury hospitality in chapter three.
On the whole, the question of rehabilitating street children is crucial, for like other displaced people in Africa, who need to be taken care of, such as widows, the aged, the orphaned and the jobless, street children need to be rehabilitated because they are the most vulnerable resource and they are also our own future (Mutugi 2001:4). A child who is neglected or abused is a future that is lost. Thus, they need help because they are African Children born in a continent whose traditions have placed a high value on the well being of children. In any case, Jesus has modelled the love for children when he says; " Let children come to me" (Matthew 19:14).
Thus, the theme of Christ as the model of reconstruction will no doubt remain prominent in the Africa of the twenty first century as the concerns our time will need to be addressed. Thus, as a reconstructor, Christ manifests himself in rehabilitation, reconciliation, and in restoration. Africa will therefore be at an advantage by focussing on Christ in his reconstruction role.
6.3 Family Model
In his public ministry, Jesus affinns his ties with immediate and extended family, while at the same time, he distinguishes himself from the rest of his kith and kin through his unique ministry to the Jewish community in general and the world at large (Mugambi;
1995: 139). This double identity of Jesus as a family member serves as a model for the African Christian who comes from traditions that place high value on extended family (Compare his genealogy in the first chapter of Matthews gospel). For, Christ, he maintained a status of a member of his immediate family and respects his mother and father (Luke 2:21-52,8:19-21). As a member of the Jewish community, he obeys the law rather than abolishing it (Matthew 5: 17-20) and as a member of the world community, he goes beyond his immediate family, his extended family and the Jewish community to serve the non-Jews such as the Romans (Matthew 8:5; Mark 15:39; Luke 7:2), the Samaritans (John 4:39) and the Syrophoenicians (Mark 7:26; John 19:20; 7:35).
Wachege (1992:205) contends that Christ goes beyond the respected African elders whose reverence is seen in their ability to build up families, to shepherd them effectively and in guaranteeing their communitarian-vitalistic prosperity. Christ on his part established his family i.e., the church and stabilized it by loving it and sacrificing himself for it. He accomplished this so well that, "better than the Agikuyfi elders", he became the saviour (Ephesians 5:23) who gave hope to his family (John 16:33); and this can be noted throughout the gospel (Wachege 1992:205). He fulfilled the above in his conduct, words, parables, miracles and his whole life as we have already studied about his earthly ministry. Indeed, by preaching love of neighbour (Matthew 5:22ff, 22:39;Mark 12:30;
John 13:34-34), mutual forgiveness (Matthew 5:38ff; 18:21-22; Luke 17:4; 6:27ff) and by condemning divorce (Matthew 5:32ff, 19:3ff; Mark 10:lff; Luke 16:18), he superseded our revered African elders in establishing and stabilizing families thereby becoming our model of family life.
As Mugambi says, the definition of family as the nuclear social unit of the husband, wife and children is not strictly biblical. Rather it is a product of industrialization and urbanization (Mugambi 1998: 139). The challenge for the African Christians in the 21 st century and beyond is to decide whether to adopt the Euro-American norm of the family in their own understanding as Christians or revise the understanding of family in the light of Christ as a model through whom we should define ourselves.
By refusing to be dragged into being with his parents during his presentation in the Temple and going to sit among the teachers to listen and ask questions and further contribute to the debates (Luke 2:41-52), Jesus was not rebelling against his parents who looked for him for three days. Rather, he was cautioning the danger of over-emphasizing the immediate and extended family at the expense of the universal community. After all, all human beings regardless of the race, tribe, creed or background are brothers and sisters. It is no wonder that when his mother and brothers came to see him and were unable due to the crowd; and someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you", He replied, "my mother and my brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice" (Luke 8: 19-21).Itis this danger of over-emphasizing
the extended family or immediate family that Jesus changed the definition of a neighbour to mean, anyone in need of help, and she or he ought to be given any hospitality possible (Luke 10:25-37).
The history of the Apostolic Church shows us that the family was appreciated as a significant unit of conversion. This is clearly demonstrated by the conversion of Lydia and her household (Acts 16: 15); and the jailer who was converted together with his household (Acts 16:33). This therefore means that individualistic conversion ought not be popularised as the only possibility184,
As Mugambi (1998:139) says, the risk of over-emphasizing the immediate and extended family at the expense of the universal community could be coped with if conversion is distinguished from acculturation. For example, in the East African Revival Movement, the Christian Fellowship uses family concepts such as 'brother' and 'sister' though it is understood that these concepts refer to the spiritual relationship rather than natural kinship or biological considerations.185 Thus, the Christianity of the 21 st century - Africa -must guard against over individualisation of conversion. And since the family model of Christ shows that there is no need to break vital ties with ones extended family, denominations need not break the family unit, as it has happened in various parts on Kenya.
6.4 Cultural Model
African Christianity will have to learn to value culture from Christ's hospitality, as his earthly life was full of goodness and perfection. Culturally, Jesus was born a Jew and raised as a Jew. He did not disown his heritage. On the eighth day, he was circumcised
184Th'IS IS t e emp aSls among t e Pentecostal churches of Kenya, as my participatory observation wiJl, h h ' h reveal. They, unlike the main line churches like Anglican, Presbyterians, Methodists and Catholics contend that child baptism is not scriptural. These churches that include the FuJl Gospel church, the Redeemed church, the Gospel outreach tend to ignore these household conversion in the Acts and emphasise on the baptism of John the Baptist.
185These are my observation asIinteract with them.
according to the Jewish custom, and at the age of twelve, he was presented in the Temple as demanded by Jewish tradition (Luke 2:41-51).
Itis no wonder that the Christological debates in the early Church were concentrated on whether Jesus was bound by Jewish culture or not (Mugambi 1998:138). Niebuhr addressed himself to this question when he argued that Christ is the Lord of culture, he is culture, and he transcends culture and transforms culture (Niebuhr 1995: 1Off). As a model of inculturation, Jesus teaches contextually by relating the message to the particular Jewish culture in the imperialistic Graeco-Roman setting. He gives, for instance, a contextual example of Jews and Samaritans, to show the ethnic prejudice between the two (Luke 10:25-37).Inso doing, he teaches us about good neighbourliness through addressing the cultural differences that existed between the Jews and her neighbours and shows how tribalism, which is a thorny issue in Africa can be eradicated by changing our definition and attitude towards our fellow members of the human society (Luke 10:25-37) - the neighbours. Interestingly, he instructs us to go to and do likewise, thereby, making it official to not only see our fellow members of the humanity as neighbours who need to assist one another in time of need and also to be proud of our cultural backgrounds and diversities.
As Mugambi (1995:90) says, the disciples were not expected to denounce their cultural heritage. Rather, they were to learn to assert their heritage with due care and consideration of the cultures and religions of those to whom they preached. St. Paul used the same approach with regard to the people he evangelised to in the Mediterranean region (Acts 17:22-34, Acts 19, 20). Without abandoning his Jewish heritage, he demonstrated how thoroughly and constructively he appreciated the people's cultures.
Thus, as Mugambi further says, "we are all, regardless of who or what we are, urged to continue to assert our cultural and religious heritage fairly, while respecting and appreciating the religions and cultures of those around us". He goes on to express his worry, "To what extent has the modern Christian missionary undertaking adhered to this principle?" (Mugambi 1995:91).
The cultural models in the New Testament are very useful in African Christianity as they distinguish between inculturation and conversion. As (Mugambi 1998:138) rightly says, conversion involves a change of worldview, whereas acculturation is a superficial conformity to the norms of a dominant invading culture for the sake of survival or benefit. For when one is fully converted, a shift in cultural way of doing things will have to change. Thus, for inculturation to yield a lasting impact on African Christianity, it must arise from a radical conversion like the case of the Samaritan woman (John 4:29), who even had the audacity to call the rest of the Samaritans who were ethnically not in line with the Jews, to "come and see a man who told me everything I ever did". Such radical conversion is clearly portrayed by St. Stephen (Acts 7), and St. Paul (Act 9) and others in the New Testament.
The cultural model as espoused by Christ, in his hospitality, should help African Christians to appreciate that the African culture, if well harnessed, has something to contribute to the growing African Christianity.
In protesting against clerical domination, which is a by-product of patriarchy, in the modern church, Ruether (1983 :206) says that "once we free ourselves from clericalism we will be able to rediscover the value of special celebration garments ... and special modes of communication such as ritual gesture, chant and song that distinguish liturgy from ordinary life". Perhaps, we may paraphrase Ruther's words and say that, once we accept to learn from Christ's cultural model, we shall therefore begin the process of authenticating the Gospel of Christ in our African context by spicing it with some of the neglected but rich cultural values such as African traditional dance, African traditional songs, use of drama during worship and liturgy, and use of African musical instruments such as drums. We shall be able to indigenise the gospel of Christ through African oral narratives; African myths, proverbs, sayings and riddles hence the gospel of Christ in this great continent that we are called to steward. In so doing, we shall be able to experience true worship which Dr. William Barclayl86 sees as that which sees the whole world and
186Exegesis on Romans 12:1-3.
its creation as the temple of the Lord hence the need to treat life in general as sacred and deserving honour.