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I have been blessed to visit South Africa on five occasions: 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005. [My visit in 2003 was a speaking tour called, “The Jesus was Black tour.”] I am scheduled to visit again in March 2006 and participate in a national conference on the church and racism in Cape Town. What follows are summary reflections on my five visits.

July 2000

My visit was prompted by an invitation from Sean Moodley and Alroy Trout to lead workshops at the National Youth Leaders Development Conference sponsored by the Johannesburg chapter of Youth for Christ. This five-day event brought together over 350 young women and men from all across South Africa, and some neighboring countries. While my invitation suggested that I was traveling to South Africa to speak, my real purpose was to assess the progress made toward reconciliation and learn what might have application in the United States. My thirteen-year-old daughter, Rachel, joined me for this two-week trip that mixed ministry, learning, and holiday.
On our first day in South Africa we visited the township of Soweto, a community of several million black residents located next to Johannesburg. We paid our respects to the many children who were killed in the June 1976 uprisings while we stood at the memorial to the first victim, Hector Peterson. We drove by the Regina Mundi church where so many of these martyrs for freedom were eulogized. Next we toured the home of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, where they lived together before his imprisonment. During his long incarceration Winnie Mandela endured the daily abuse of the enforcers of the apartheid regime in this same house. The stories of house arrest and the marks of sniper bullets were all still too fresh. These sites in Soweto were stark reminders of the great sacrifice required by those who struggled for liberation against the brutal apartheid government. Our visit to South Africa ended in Cape Town. On our last full day in the country we took the boat over to Robben Island. We somberly traversed the grounds where many of South Africa’s most courageous activists had been imprisoned. We pensively peered into the small cell where Nelson Mandela spent 19 of his 27 years of incarceration. Between these visits to important monuments to the struggle against apartheid stood a period of two weeks where we experienced life in a new South Africa. A new nation, just six years old, is rising up from the ashes of the old. Most of this time was spent with grassroots church leaders and Christian youth workers. I enjoyed many engaging conversations and experiential moments with these leaders.

The Bible and Culture in the 21st Century Workshop

In the first session we examined the multiculturalism of the Bible. Equipped with maps and biblical references I detailed what has been rediscovered and documented by many biblical scholars of color and recounted in my book, Coming Together: The Bible’s Message in an Age of Diversity, that:

The Bible begins in Genesis with one race, the human race
The Garden of Eden was surrounded by four rivers – two from the continent of Asia and two from the continent of Africa
Black people are not the cursed descendants of Cain or Ham – Cain and Ham were never cursed
People and places from the continent of Africa are mentioned over 850 times in the Bible
There is an extensive Asian presence in the Scriptures
The biblical Hebrews were a multicultural, multiracial people with a lineage rooted in both Asia and Africa and an identity shaped by their faith rather than their race.

The people who gathered in my workshop had never heard this information before. A black South African church leader stated that, “I am finally able to say that I am proud to be both black and a Christian!” A youth worker from Soweto said, “I have always connected to my faith in God through a relationship with a living Christ. Not through the Bible. Discovering that there are Africans in the Bible is empowering. Christianity is not the white man’s religion!”

On the second day I described how white images became the dominant and exclusive representation of Jesus Christ in every part of the world. I spoke of how the domination of these white images, during the last several centuries, damaged and sabotaged the potential of the Gospel to transform people’s lives – particularly in regions populated by persons of color. Then we discussed the racial and cultural heritage of the historic Jesus of Nazareth. I shared that many scholars now speak of Jesus as an Afro-Asiatic Jew. This again was a new revelation! All of the participants had accepted the image of Jesus Christ as a white European. This new awareness sparked quite a discussion. The black South Africans were ready to embrace a black African Jesus. The Indians announced the fact that Jesus was an Asian. The Coloureds took note that Jesus was Afro-Asiatic, therefore multiracial. So they spoke of a Coloured Jesus. The whites in the session acknowledged that whites had “owned” the image of Jesus for far too long and they were willing to accept these new understandings as part of the hope for the future of a new church for a new South Africa.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

The Johannesburg chapter of Youth for Christ is an example of a new para church model busting out of the seams of the old. Youth for Christ in South Africa began many years ago as a ministry primarily by whites to whites. Yet today, Youth for Christ— Johannesburg is thoroughly multiracial in its staffing and ministry outreach. The executive director, Sean Moodley, is from the Indian community, with other lead staff members coming from the black, Coloured, Indian, and white communities. They have intentionally relocated to the south of the City of Johannesburg to focus on the most economically challenged urban communities. Youth for Christ – Johannesburg is a full-scale holistic youth development organization with a flair for reconciliation. The reconciliation work required to maintain an operation like Youth for Christ—Johannesburg is no easy feat given the legacy of apartheid in the south of Johannesburg. Three segregated communities of color were formed under the group areas act: Soweto, Lenasia and Eldoradopark. Soweto was reserved for blacks, Lenasia for Indians, and Eldoradopark for Coloureds. These three communities are not only separate municipalities; they are also each separated by a few miles of empty fields. The architects of apartheid went to great lengths to keep the races segregated, even in urban metropolises. Yet the ministry of Youth for Christ—Johannesburg bridges these communities, as well as white communities. In Lenasia I discovered another sign of the emergence of a new church for a new South Africa. On the Tuesday evening following the conference I preached at the Christian Revival Centre. This congregation had been going through a metamorphous over the previous six weeks. Prior to the evening service, I had lunch with the congregation’s pastor, Rev. Russel Abrahams, and his wife, Sharnu. During our conversation they described how the congregation had constructed a new church building in the previous year. The location of the new building was at the edge of Lenasia and next to an informal settlement (very poor shanty town). As they began their ministry in this new location they believed that God wanted them to not only provide ministry in the Indian community, but also among the residents of this informal settlement, who were all black South Africans facing economic impoverishment. Six weeks prior to my visit, the Christian Revival Centre invited a black South African evangelist to preach a two-week revival. Pastor Abrahams privately hoped that this evangelist would feel called by God to co-pastor the church with him. At the end of these two weeks many blacks from the informal settlement were attending this church previously comprised of primarily Indians. During the last service of the revival the evangelist looked at the new attendees from the black community and pointed to Reverend Abrahams and announced, “Here is your pastor.” Then he looked at Russel Abrahams and pointed at the blacks in attendance and said, “Here are your new members.” After overcoming his initial shock and surprise, Abrahams began to faithfully serve people in the informal settlement through visitation and pastoral care. Immediately, the leadership of the congregation discussed the issue of Sunday morning worship services. They decided to have two services. One service would continue in the traditional format of the congregation. A second service would seek to include members from the informal settlement in its design and leadership. This service would have more of a black South African flavor, in this case, a Zulu feel. Yet during lunch the pastor kept saying to me that he wondered if they had taken the easy way out. That Tuesday evening I preached from the Acts of the Apostles and described how the early church moved from an ethnocentric approach to church in Jerusalem to a multicultural model in Antioch. The pastor phoned me after the service to inform me that all of the members of the congregation’s leadership council had attended the service. They came to him after the service and said that their congregation must not take the easy road. They must have one service for everyone – and this meant incorporating Zulu musical styles into worship. While this might require great sacrifices for the Indian Christians in the congregation, God called the Christian Revival Centre to the ministry of reconciliation. What happened at the Christian Revival Centre in Lenasia was amazing! In the course of just over six weeks they had moved from being a congregation for Indians to a church that was embracing everyone in their community. They were willing to sacrifice something very precious—a worship tradition—in order to follow God’s will. In the United States it often takes us years of arguing and debating to get to the point where we will even consider a change in our worship traditions in order to embrace the people in our communities.

July 2002

My trip to South Africa in 2002 was the result of a request to return to the Youth Leaders Development Conference, this time as the keynote speaker. Thanks to the generosity of many people my entire family was able to join me. Prior to the conference we had the opportunity to see the legacy of apartheid. First we visited Pretoria—the capital of South Africa. It still serves as a monument to the apartheid days, yet is now inhabited by black African leadership. We also spent time visiting the townships on the Southside of Johannesburg reserved for persons of color during apartheid: Soweto (for blacks), Lenasia (for Asian Indians), and Eldoradopark (for people of mixed race called Coloureds). South Africa remains highly segregated as a result of the legacy of apartheid. This will take many years to overcome. In Soweto we visited the former home of Nelson Mandela before he went to prison and the Regina Mundi Church. These were key sites in the struggle against apartheid. We could still see the bullet holes and the effects of the persecution inflicted on freedom fighters. (I also learned that the Converse All-Star sneakers I love to wear are “Soweto shoes.”) Most of the residents of the townships remain poor. And on the outskirts of nearly every urban community are informal settlements (squatter camps) where the poorest of the poor live in circumstances that are often inhuman.

The leadership conference sponsored by Youth for Christ was a real highlight. Over 200 hundred youth leaders, youth workers, and youth pastors attended. They came fresh from settings where they worked with youth facing the challenges of poverty, violence, HIV/AIDS, and racism. The attendees were from all of the racial and cultural groups represented in South Africa (blacks, whites, Indians, and Coloureds), as well as from neighboring countries like Swaziland, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. It was amazing to experience worship in such a diverse setting. The diversity in language, culture, style, and expression was engaging and touching. The worship team effectively blended languages and styles in a way that I have not experienced in the United States. [Seth Naicker, who was the worship leader, is now a student at Bethel University majoring in reconciliation studies and theology. His wife Merrishia is enrolled at Bethel Seminary.]

We then traveled to Cape Town and stayed with Njabulo and Mpho Ndebele. Njabulo is the vice chancellor of the University of Cape Town. We visited Robben Island—were Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for many years in a very small cell. It was a powerful experience for our family to walk through this prison where Mandela formed his thinking on reconciliation. I also had the opportunity to spend an hour with Charles Villa-Vicencio, one of the key theologians in the struggle against apartheid. On our final day in South Africa we spent forty minutes as a family visiting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu at his office in Cape Town. What an incredible honor and delight! He was in good health and continuing to work for reconciliation in South Africa (as well as places like Palestine). Our hosts, Njabulo and Mpho Ndebele had been friends of the Tutu family since childhood. They were so kind to arrange our visit.

As someone who has committed his life to reconciliation I felt particularly fortunate to be sitting with the Nobel Prize laureate. I began by immediately asking Archbishop Tutu a question related to reconciliation. He kindly offered a serious answer to my query. Then he paused and turned to my son Jonathan and asked him about his interests. When Jonathan finished speaking I instantly asked another question. I knew this was a rare occasion. Tutu answered and then spoke to my daughter Rachel asking about her interests. When Rachel was finished, I was again overcome by this feeling that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to dialogue with one of history’s most noted reconcilers and I asked another question. The archbishop took time to respond and then asked Karen about her work. This scenario demonstrates how inclusive Desmond Tutu is in whom he values as worthy of his attention. No one was left out despite my efforts to dominate the time. We left the archbishop’s office that day knowing that we had been with someone who lives and breathes reconciliation and inclusion as though it is natural to his soul.

February-March 2003—The Jesus was Black Tour

My invitation to speak came from several people who attended workshops I presented at the National Youth Leaders Development Conference in 2000 and 2002, sponsored by Youth for Christ in Johannesburg. These workshops focused on the multiculturalism of the Bible and the impact on society of the preponderance of white images of Jesus Christ. In the final session of the workshop in 2002, I asked each individual to send a video greeting to people in the United States. One black South African leader gave his greeting. Then he pointed at the camera and said, “And Jesus was Black!” South Africans of many races in the workshop picked up this litany. From this refrain came the name for this 2003 speaking tour. I also knew that a provocative title would draw attention and produce impassioned dialogue. For sixteen days the Jesus was Black tour took me to four cities—Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and Port Elizabeth. I spoke 19 times and participated in an additional 20 meetings, site visits, and interviews. I spoke at churches, universities, faith-based organizations, and in homes. I spoke in formal and informal settings. My presentations ranged from 20-minute messages to 6-hour workshops. Speaking engagements and meetings were often added with short notice. The pace was hectic and exhilarating. I am normally a person who needs 7-8 hours of sleep. As an introvert I need times of reflection to regenerate. I did not have the luxury of much sleep or contemplation. Yet I did not feel their absence. Out of my absolute necessity to depend on God, the Almighty provided all that I needed. I started and finished my journey in Johannesburg, the New York City of South Africa. Joburg is large and cosmopolitan. I spent most of my time on the south side where the legacy of apartheid’s Group Areas Act remains noticeable with large townships still segregated by race and separated by miles of empty land. I held workshops in Soweto and Lenasia. Soweto is the largest black township in South Africa. With a population of several million it is sometimes called Johannesburg’s twin city. Next I visited Cape Town, a city of great natural beauty with two oceans and mountains that complement its thriving downtown and arts community. The dominant population is the Coloured (mixed race) community, with whom I spent a majority of my time. A very distinct Cape Town Coloured culture has developed with a bilingual style of speaking Afrikaans and English interchangeably. I enjoyed the beauty of this city but also experienced the tragedy of poverty, gang violence, and drugs that impacts families in many of the Coloured townships.

After Cape Town I traveled to Port Elizabeth, a beautiful city that sits on the Indian Ocean. When I arrived in Port Elizabeth I immediately noticed that P.E. is an unmistakably black African city. The architecture might be European but the population and culture are unapologetically black Xhosa speaking. Port Elizabeth is in the Eastern Cape—an area that produced many of the leaders of the anti-apartheid struggle, including Nelson Mandela. I traveled by taxi or walked to most places in Port Elizabeth. Taxis in South Africa are minivans filled beyond capacity (often sixteen people crammed into four bench seats). Most whites, and many persons of color too, refuse to ride in these taxis due to overcrowding, discomfort, and the poor condition of the vehicles. Yet this is the primary mode of transportation for poor and working class people. I walked through the black townships observing first hand the difficult living conditions. Large portions of the townships are shacks; there are working class homes (small 4 or 5 room houses), and a few middle class homes. The unemployment rate is about 60%. After P.E. I went up the coast to Durban, the second largest city in South Africa. Like Port Elizabeth, it is on the Indian Ocean with a lovely beachfront. It is very tropical and lush like Miami, Florida, except in Durban there are many hills. Culturally, Durban is Zulu and Indian. It is located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal where many Zulu people live. It is also home to one million Indians—the largest population of Indians outside of India. Both of these cultures impact and influence the feel of Durban.

The Message

The primary purpose of the Jesus was Black tour was to counter and dispel the idea that Christianity is an exclusive faith. This was the goal in all of my preaching, teaching, and dialoguing. The idea that Christianity is the white man’s religion and the Bible is the white man’s document still prevails. In order to accomplish my goal I described the multiculturalism of the Bible itself. I shared regarding the extensive African presence in the Bible (over 850 references to people and places on the continent of Africa). I noted that many scholars now contend that the Hebrew people of the biblical era came from an Afro-Asiatic lineage. Therefore, this would mean that Jesus of Nazareth was an Afro-Asiatic Jew. Furthermore, I stated that the proliferation of white images of Jesus and biblical characters has sabotaged the Gospel’s ability to be heard and embraced in many settings around the world. (This was affirmed as true in South Africa.) A “white” exclusive version of Christianity was built on heretical notions and political agendas. This is in contrast to Jesus who said he came to build “a house of prayer for all of the nations” (Mark 11:17).

The Response

There were a few settings where the message seemed to be embraced fully. In Cape Town I spoke to 150 students at Cornerstone Christian College. The crowd represented the diversity of South Africa. At the point in my message when I stated that Jesus was an Afro-Asiatic Jew, the students erupted in applause and started cheering in several languages. I have never had that happen when making such a pronouncement. Even the white students clapped. In most settings the response was mixed and intense dialogue occurred. Yet even in these settings people noted how they felt liberated and empowered by the information I was sharing. Often the dialogue heated up when discussing what to do about images of Jesus Christ and the people of the Bible. Should we completely discard imagery, create new and diverse images, or seek to develop historic portrayals in regard to race and culture? I chose not to prescribe a response for the church in South Africa. I challenged leaders to address racism and replace it with truth and reconciliation in the church. In my presentations I would ask people to close their eyes and imagine Jesus walking toward them. Then I would ask them to describe what Jesus looked like. Most people saw a white man with northern European features. This troubled persons of color. Some struggled with the notion that if humans were created in the image of God and they as persons of color imagined Jesus as white—what did that say about their own sense of identity and worth? How could they overcome feelings of inferiority enforced and encouraged under apartheid with white images of Jesus Christ controlling their vision of the divine—and who was made in the image of the divine? Liberation occurred as individuals struggled with this psychological and theological captivity. I was told that after some sessions whites reported struggling with the notion of a Jesus that was black. They said they could let go of a white image of Jesus, but resisted the idea of a black Jesus. They suggested that Jesus was neither white nor black. Interestingly, I never asked anyone to accept an exclusively black Jesus. I just pleaded that they reject the notion of an exclusively white Jesus. I said that Jesus was an Afro-Asiatic Jew—which in the United States does mean that Jesus would be classified as black (at least one drop of black African blood running through his veins). Such resistance demonstrates how deep in the psyche and how emotionally charged are our beliefs about blackness as a negative identity. I would say in the presentations that if we discovered a picture of Jesus of Nazareth that proved he was black our faith should not be affected. If we cannot easily love, serve, and embrace a black Jesus this reveals that our faith is built on the race of Jesus and not on his death and resurrection. (One participant at a workshop told me that he had heard a white person say, “If Jesus is not white then I am not a Christian.”) For many young people the issue was truth. If the church would lie about the color of Jesus, what else has the church lied about? So these presentations served to restore some integrity and credibility in the church through truth telling. Dismantling white supremacy is hard and difficult work—especially in the context of our religious faith, where our deepest values reside. I have learned to expect tensions and discomfort. Change usually does not happen instantaneously. I spoke with several individuals who attended sessions in 2000 and 2002. They testified to the transformation that had occurred in their own lives. Some noted that it was a process. So I am content with the fact that much of what I did on the Jesus was Black tour was to plant seeds of truth that might set us free (John 8:32).

Some Additional Highlights and Insights

I was invited to preach at the Cathedral Church of St. George in Cape Town on my first Sunday in South Africa. This is a high church Anglican congregation where Mass includes incense and the ringing of bells. It is also home to the archbishop. Desmond Tutu presided during his tenure as archbishop. Father Terrance Lester, the canon missioner and presiding priest for the Mass, greeted me when I arrived. He asked if I wanted to be fully vested. I was not completely sure of what that meant but agreed. I was escorted into a room and Fr. Lester proceeded to clothe me with the robe and vestments of an Anglican priest. Then he tied a rope around my waist that hangs down called the girdle. As he put it on me Fr. Lester stated, “This is Father Desmond’s girdle.” What an honor and thrill! I was in Durban on my second Sunday. I preached in the morning at the Emfuleni Missions Church. Just before I spoke, the leader asked that I be given a Zulu welcome in Zulu time. The worship team broke into Zulu hymns while the congregation danced in the aisles. That evening I preached at Living Waters Mission Full Gospel Church of God. This Coloured congregation knew how to prepare the preacher through powerful worship. On Monday evening I spoke at a church in the Phoenix Township where 500,000 Indians live. Nazarene pastor Gabriel Benjamin hosted this gathering. In all four cities I experienced this wonderful diversity and wide interest in the subject. In many settings there were also Africans from neighboring countries attending and participating in the discussion, as well as committed whites. The music of South Africa was a highlight in many locations. The most memorable moment came in the New Brighton township of Port Elizabeth. I accompanied my host, Philile Lobese (a program manager at Youth for Christ), as he went to offer devotions for the Friday morning assembly at a public high school. The school was desperately poor and short eight teachers (due to a lack of funds). The students lined up in the courtyard and stood in close proximity to each other for the entire assembly. Yet when the music teacher led the singing of hymns in Xhosa it was as though time stood still for a moment and angels descended to serenade us with exquisite acappella harmonies. The paradox of such beautiful music in the midst of such dehumanizing conditions was not lost on me.

While in Cape Town I was blessed to visit the work of Brendon and Gaylene Adams and New Hope Ministries. Gaylene is a graduate of the Social Work program of Bethel University. They work with children in one of the poorest townships—an area that looks much like what is called “the projects” in the United States. These children live in settings dominated by gang violence, drugs, and other symptoms of poverty. New Hope Ministries reaches out to children and families with a variety of programs and through loving relationships. In Johannesburg I spent 6 hours with Lutherans in Soweto. I learned after arriving that this was a historic event in the lives of Lutherans in South Africa. It was the first time in years that the Bishops of the two largest Lutheran denominations had been together in a public gathering. Representatives of two other Lutheran communions were also there. I was inspired by the generous spirits of Bishop Ndanganeni Phaswana of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of South Africa and Bishop David Tswaedi of the Lutheran Church of South Africa. I pray that the welcome and embrace that they extended toward each other on that day will lead to greater reconciliation between these church bodies.

The People

When in South Africa I always seek out opportunities to meet people who have played (or are playing) a role in the liberation, reconciliation, and rebuilding of the nation. I also try to meet with persons whose writings or ministries have impacted me. On this visit I was able to greet and meet antiapartheid activists, reconcilers, members of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission, and liberation theologians—some for the first time and others again. This group included Njabulo and Mpho Ndebele, Charles Villa-Vicencio, John and Isabella de Gruchy, Allan Boesak, Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, and Gerrie Lubbe. Yet, nearly everyone I met, whether acclaimed or not, is contributing to the reconciliation and rebuilding of South Africa. Every day I was amazed at the faith and hope I saw exhibited in the lives of people who less than ten years ago lived under the oppressive apartheid regime. Among the people who inspired me most on this trip were the individuals who hosted me in each location. I witness to their generosity in welcome, food (yes I gained some weight), time, friendship, and stories.

The Sponsors

Bethel University, St. Paul, Minnesota
Biblical Institute for Social Change, Washington, DC (Dr. Cain Hope Felder, President)
City Gate Project, Minneapolis, Minnesota
First Church of God, Columbus, Ohio (Bishop Timothy Clarke, Senior Pastor)
Mount Olivet Missionary Baptist Church, St. Paul, Minnesota (Rev. James Thomas, Senior Pastor)
National Association of the Church of God, West Middlesex, Pennsylvania (Dr. Tyrone Cushman, General Overseer)
Park Avenue United Methodist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Dr. Mark Horst, Senior Pastor)
Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, Illinois (Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Jr., Senior Pastor).

January-February 2004

The primary purpose of this trip was to help establish a partnership between Bethel University and Cornerstone Christian College in Cape Town. My wife Karen accompanied me for most of the trip. She is a curriculum and instructional designer and her skills were helpful in seeking to determine how to integrate Cornerstone’s curriculum into Bethel’s proposed reconciliation studies major. Our journey began with some unexpected drama. Shortly after getting off the plane in Cape Town we went to a local marketplace for some shopping. We carried an international cell phone with us because we were both away from our children, Rachel and Jonathan. As we were leaving the marketplace a young man lifted the phone out of Karen's purse. Karen immediately noticed that her purse felt lighter and quickly assessed it was because the cell phone was missing. She saw a couple of young men walking away. She went up to them and demanded the return of the cell phone—which they had wrapped in a newspaper. The young man actually produced the cell phone and said, "Sorry lady."

Content with enough drama on our first day we settled into the work of creating the partnership on day two. We spent two days at Cornerstone working with Alan Jansen (president) and Wayne Herman (academic dean). Karen brought her expertise in curriculum development. I sought ways to enhance our program of reconciliation studies at Bethel University. Vincent Peters, the associate dean for international studies at Bethel, also joined us and remained for a few additional days to finalize the details. We had a very productive time together. Bethel University plans to send students to Cape Town in January 2005 for a semester of study abroad. The future of the partnership may also include faculty development and exchange, as well as the possibility of Cornerstone students spending a semester at Bethel. For the first time in four trips to South Africa I was invited to preach at a predominately white church—a Dutch Reformed Church in Johannesburg led by a progressive young pastor who desires to see the congregation become multicultural. Of course I proclaimed the gospel of reconciliation as preached by an Afro-Asiatic Jesus who called us to build a house of prayer for all nations, cultures, and races. The following day I met with a dozen area pastors, primarily Dutch Reformed, to dialogue on the promise and challenge of developing multicultural, multiracial congregations. Later in my trip I spent an hour with Dr. Piet Naude, a progressive scholar helping to construct a new theology of social justice and reconciliation for the Dutch Reformed Church. I appreciated the opportunity to gain a glimpse into the minds of progressive white ministers.

February-March 2005

The primary purpose of this trip was to visit Cornerstone Christian College where seven students from Bethel University are studying as a requirement of the bachelor’s degree in reconciliation studies. In addition to my visit to Cornerstone I spoke eleven times and met with numerous people as I traveled from Johannesburg, to Port Elizabeth, to Durban, and finally to Cape Town. What follows are a few highlights from nearly 2 ½ weeks of beautiful sunny and warm days in South Africa (often with the backdrop of the Indian Ocean).

First Sunday—Johannesburg

My first Sunday was spent in Lenasia (a predominantly Indian township in the Johannesburg metropolitan area). On my first visit to South Africa in 2000 I had preached at the Christian Revival Centre in Lenasia. This congregation comprised of Indians had just embarked on outreach to Black South Africans living in an informal settlement (shantytown) located right next to the church building. The congregation had at first attempted joint services but eventually chose separate services to accommodate language differences (English and Zulu).

Now in 2005 I had the opportunity to preach a second time at Christian Revival Centre. My hosts made an African shirt for me to wear for the occasion. The church combined their Indian service and Black African service since I was preaching. The worship teams from the two services worked together for the first time to prepare an integrated worship service. We sang in both English and Zulu. The music exhibited both the sounds of contemporary praise songs and the traditional rhythms of Africa. Given that people from both services felt a sense of ownership (“this is my church”) an unusual sense of freedom to worship in the way that best expressed ones culture and personhood was evident in the service. This was most clearly seen in the dance that punctuated the praise to God. After I preached, the pastor requested that people close their eyes. He invited any Indian church members who still had prejudice against Blacks to stand as an act of confession. Then he asked the same question of Blacks regarding Indians. Then he called forward two women who were standing—one Indian and one Black. He asked them to quietly confess to each other (if they desired to) and then embrace each other as a symbol of reconciliation in the church. Then he prayed. It was quite a powerful moment.

After church I joined the pastor on a visit to the home of a church member named Grace who lived with her youngest child in the informal settlement (squatter camp) of Vlakfontein. Her shack had a dirt floor with two small rooms—a bedroom with a single bed where she and her daughter slept together and a front room that had a small table with two chairs, small refrigerator and two burners for cooking. The pastor and I sat on the chairs and she had some stools where she and a neighbor sat. In addition to living in a shack, her life has been struggle. Her husband had run off with another woman some years ago. One of her sons who lived in another informal settlement had been missing for a few months. Yet her name—“Grace”—was appropriate to how she faced life’s circumstances. Her faith was such that she refused to embrace despondency and escapism. She was active in a lot of health related volunteerism hoping that something would turn into a job.

Multiracial Congregations in South Africa

At most of the places where I preached or taught there was a desire to discuss how to embrace authentic reconciliation in local congregations. Many congregations desire to be multiracial and multicultural but find the legacy of apartheid a formidable barrier to overcome. I had exciting dialogues on these issues with students at the Baptist Theological College (Johannesburg) and with persons seeking change in the Reformed Church (DRC and Uniting Reformed). Perhaps the most encouraging discussions occurred as I met with pastors and leaders of the His People Church in Johannesburg and Durban. His People is a network of multiracial congregations found in many cities in South Africa. Yet at this point in their congregations the pastoral leadership is mostly White (in a country where Whites are only about 10% of the population). I was gratified by the openness I found to discuss this internal challenge and a desire to more fully reflect the biblical model.

Second Sunday—Durban

My second Sunday morning in South Africa was spent preaching at the Open Door Assembly in Durban. I had met with the church leadership the previous evening. Open Door Assembly is a congregation comprised of Coloureds (mixed race persons). They have just purchased a former theatre to be their new church building located in a nearby neighborhood that is primarily populated by Indians. Also on the four acres of land where the building sits is an informal settlement whose residents are Black. The Saturday evening dialogue and Sunday service seemed to be a defining moment for the congregation’s leadership as they embraced the call to transform themselves into a multiracial congregation.

Bethel University Students

I spent four days at Cornerstone Christian College visiting seven Bethel University students and conferring with administrators and professors of the school. As requested, I brought the students sweets from the United States as a way to respond to their occasional homesickness. I sat in their classes, joined them for a trip to Stellanbosch, met their host families, and assessed their progress in this study abroad experience. The Bethel students are overwhelmingly positive about their experience at the halfway point. They are excited to experience new cultures and worldviews—exploring a different part of the world. What I found through interaction with the Bethel students and the Cornerstone staff exceeded my hopes.

Jesus was Black

I visited South Africa in 2003 on a speaking tour I called “the Jesus was Black tour.” Once again there was great interest in the multiculturalism of the Bible and the contention of some biblical scholars that Jesus was an Afro-Asiatic Jew. White images of Jesus continue to affect the self perception of South Africans and their understanding of faith. Political liberation from apartheid is not enough. For example, in a session with pastors from the Western Cape, the spiritual liberation from the heresy of white superiority in Christianity was identified as a great need in many areas.

Third Sunday—Cape Town

On my third Sunday in South Africa I preached at the Restoration Life Center. This is a student church based at the University of the Western Cape in Cape Town. The students who are members of this church are overwhelmingly black and come from South Africa, as well as from all across the continent of Africa. The students celebrated the word that Jesus had African blood running in his veins and they welcomed the word of reconciliation as they gathered in this congregation from many different nations and tribal groups. As one would expect of a student church the worship was high energy. The mass choir was powerful in harmony, sound, and dance. There was a real exuberance and joy expressed in the worship. The dance among the choir and those in attendance was amazing and engaging. This day of jubilation was a fitting end to a few weeks that refreshed my own soul.