« Living letters | Main | Out and about in Cotonou »

January 19, 2005

Emerging church in multicultural society 2

What do we do about Ibrahim?

Ibrahim is a Fulani interested in the gospel. He lives in Gorom-Gorom in the north of Burkina. There are no other Fulani Christians around, and no Fulani church to bring him to. There is a Mossi church, but the Mossi and Fulani are culturally very different, don't speak each other's language, and have a history of mutual distrust. Ibrahim recognises the integrity of the Mossi Christians he knows, but his experience of the Mossi church has been rather confusing so far. Other Fulani too are hearing about Christ, and interested in following his way.

How do we do church in a way that is relevant to the cultural identities of all the different groups in our society? How can we be church in a way that will be outreach-orientated, permitting people to meet God within their own cultural context? These are questions that are as relevant in post-modern UK and US, as in pre-modern Burkina Faso.

In response to the traditional "one size fits all" approach to church, some "church growth" and "emerging church" thinkers have proposed the doing church separately for each cultural sub-group in a society. In Gorom-Gorom, this would mean a church for the Mossi, and a separate church for the Fulani. In post-modern western cities, it may mean a church for youth, a church for post-moderns, a church for Asian immigrants etc.

I've always felt a a tension with this idea. On the one hand I believe the incarnation shows us that God wants to meet us where we are in our humanity. While in some ways the church is clearly to be counter-cultural, there is also a divine approval of the relationship of church and culture. The church should still be incarnating Jesus into every society - that people may meet God and worship him in a way that is accessible to their own cultural identity. The Fulani should not have to become Mossi to be able to meet God.

On the other hand I believe in the unity of the church, and think that having separate churches for each group undermines this unity and risks perpetuating the divisions and distrust that are supposed to be destroyed in Christ. If we all divide up into comfortable monocultural groups, it raises questions about the nature of the resulting expression of church:

• In this multiplicity of church expressions, where is the visible unity and mutual love and concern of slave and free, Jew and Greek, Fulani and Mossi, post-modern geek and hymn-sandwich grandmother that demonstrates the kingdom of God?

• Who will look after the old, frail, needy, and culturally awkward? Where will their place be?

• How will we be able to benefit from those who are different to us? My friend Richard's young son, Joshua came home one day after church, and was talking about a conversation he had had with Gladys, who is 100. Where else in society outside of family do children and the old get the opportunity to benefit from each other, if not in the church? Where else in society do we get the opportunity to benefit from those who are different from ourselves? In what way are we one body, with many interdependant parts?

Jesus welcomed all to himself. His gatherings were a mix of all segments of society. Because that is the nature of the kingdom of God. And the church therefore is only truly the church when it expresses this wonderful mix.

As my good friend Richard Sudworth observes, as he labours to do church in multi-cultural Birmingham:
"My take on the nature of church, which includes, in part, a sense of how we view our "good news", is that it encompasses the young, the old, the rich, the poor, the white, the black etc. There must, then, be some striving towards connectedness that pushes us to learn from each other and to enjoy the riches of diversity within the church....Or is everyone out there assuming that the future of church is fragmentation down to multiple little moncultural units...that cease to be church?"

How do we work out this tension in relation to the need for us to be culturally sensitive so that people can meet God within their own diverse cultural contexts? There must also be ways for the whole church to interact - where grandmothers talk with chidren, where geeks eat with the homeless, where Asians hug the Welsh, where the strong help the weak, where the Mossi and the Fulani demonstrate the power of the gospel by celebrating Christ together.

So what do we do with Ibrahim and his friends? Do I aim to start a separate Fulani church? Or do I try and get him into the Mossi church?

I will write more about some of the ways forward I have been exploring in the Fulani ministry in Gorom-Gorom in Burkina Faso, as I struggled with these questions. But, whether you are writing from post-modern UK or US, pre-modern Africa or Asia, or elsewhere, I'd like to hear any comments.

Part three is here

Tags: burkina faso africa emerging church burkina church fulani mission church and culture

Posted by Keith at January 19, 2005 10:30 PM