Addis Ababa - Day 4

We have completed another day of the Institute here in Addis. Today was a full day, with a bit too much of a good thing. We had a number of good, penetrating, insightful presentations. The day might have been even better with a bit more time for reflection and application, although there was a good hour at the end for group work.

The day began with two presentations, one speaking to the changing economic context of Africa, the other to the educational context. The day continued with presentations on changing religious environments, and the influence that this is having on theological education. This presentation involved Dan Aleshire of the Association of Theological Schools, speaking primarily from the North American context. Nupanga Weanzana of Central African Republic responded to Dan. While both noted many similarities in a rapidly globalizing world, Nupanga pointed out one key difference. While religious commitment and participation continues to decrease among young people (under 30) in North America, there is a strong resurgence of religion among this generation in Africa (where youth constitute a much larger percentage of the population). The day concluded with participants working in groups with 2-3 people from their own school, thinking about implications of the presentations for them.

One of the presenters today, speaking to the role of leadership in changing times, called for greater "self awareness" of African theological schools and those who are part of them. New and creative approaches, rooted deeply in African realities, are necessary not just for financial sustainability but for successful leadership development. This, to me, seems to be an absolutely critical factor when thinking about sustainability. Andrew Walls, a Scottish scholar, shared at a recent meeting that one of the challenges facing the global church is a "crisis of confidence" among the churches of Asia, Africa, Latin America, etc. The rules of the conversation, the modes of acceptable expression and thinking, and the framework for topics of inquiry are still largely dominated by the European/North American world. What is needed, according to Walls, is a rich interaction of Christianity with the cultures of "the southern continents" on their own terms. This is, after all, the demographic heart of Christianity, and the place where it is growing fastest. This growth, however, is mostly in churches that have sunk their roots deep into local soils, bearing little resemblance to the mission-originated churches. For westerners, this forces us to look upon our own beliefs and practices, realizing the sheer impact that our own history and culture have had on our theological thinking and understandings. We will certainly be stretched in new ways as the Gospel sinks deep into the soils of Africa and elsewhere. We all have much to learn. Africans have much to give. It is good to be together.

A few random quotes:

"Change is constant; the only variable is leadership."
"You cannot create or innovate if you don't know who you are."