Transforming Ministerial Ecumenical Formation.

Njoroge, Nyambura J.

The theme of this issue of The Ecumenical Review brings out strong emotions in me as someone who since January 1978 has earned her keep in the business of the church on a full-time basis. During these twenty years and more, I have been a theological student, a parish minister and on the staff of two international ecumenical institutions. I have taught part-time in a pastoral institute for training students preparing for ordination. As such, I have been engaged full-time on a professional basis (even though I have done some tasks voluntarily) in a career in which I am bound by the policies and regulations of particular church institutions. I should add that I was born and reared in a manse and church language has always been part of my vocabulary.

My reflections, therefore, are those of an insider but that does not mean I claim to know it all. My journey in the life and mission of the church has been one of constant struggle -- "wrestling" is maybe the right word -- especially as a woman who has found herself in several pioneering positions. I often wonder why I am still part of an institution where women are more or less treated as second-class citizens, especially when it comes to leadership and decision-making.

I consider my ecumenical engagement as an accident, because nowhere in my Christian upbringing or theological education was I made to understand the ecumenical calling of the church and its implication for ministry and my own journey of faith. This awareness has made me a passionate advocate for ecumenical theological education, which in my understanding is a holistic approach to the recruiting, nurturing, guiding, equipping, training and preparing, in short the ministerial ecumenical formation of children, youth, women and men for a life of faithfulness in God and of critical engagement in the church and the world.

In this paper, I will limit myself to the task of ministerial ecumenical formation of the leadership in the life and mission of the church. The Gikuyu people of Kenya say, Iguthua Ndongoria Itukinyagira Nyeki: "if the leadership is limping, the flock never reaches the grass"! It is my conviction that the task of envisioning a new church and transforming ecumenism in Africa today requires a level of leadership that is deliberately and intentionally trained to be passionate and courageous in the face of a never-ending litany of life-destroying practices with which we have to contend on our continent.

It is not an easy task to lead any social institution or activity, religious or secular, in countries like Angola, Liberia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Rwanda, that have witnessed mass killings of their citizens within a short time or during protracted civil wars. I wonder what people feel when, for example, CNN remind us repeatedly that the civil war in Sudan (in the last 18 years) has killed 2 million people or that genocide in Rwanda claimed almost one million people in a period of four months in 1994; worse still, when the media and agencies like UNAIDS keep telling us that out of the 36 million people infected by HIV/AIDS worldwide, 27 million live in Africa. Africa is in very serious trouble, and in order to get ourselves out of it, we need skilled leadership in all our institutions.

The challenge ahead of us is enormous, daunting. It means taking a hard look at the past and the present, and asking ourselves where we have gone wrong and how we can correct our mistakes so as to bear "fruits worthy of repentance", to use the words of John the Baptist (Luke 3:8). But a word of caution. Tinyiko Sam Maluleke, a South African theologian, has correctly argued: "Christians as well as churches are seldom willing to subject themselves, their theology, their versions of Christianity and their churches to scrutiny."(1) Therefore, we need women and men of all age-groups who will speak out the truth with courage and power and who are willing to guide us even if it means death like that of Jesus, "who died on the cross for his beliefs, his ideas of God, his preaching, his siding with the poor and the outcast".(2)

Before considering the transformation of ministerial ecumenical formation in Africa, it is appropriate to highlight some of the areas in leadership that need urgent and critical attention.

Creative community engagement

We need leaders who will mobilize individual Christians, churches and ecumenical institutions into "creative community engagement". First of all they must "argue out" what has gone wrong in the continent. Only then can we identify ways of solving our problems creatively, imaginatively and effectively. Soul-searching in community provides the best opportunity for people to name all issues that affect them most and identify resources that exist among them. After all, churches and Christians in one geographical area should learn to work together, and analyze critically why they find themselves in different denominations. Proper leadership will recognize that the most effective way of confronting problems is not to go it alone: as we say in my language, Kiara Kimwe Gituuragaga Ndaa, "one finger does not kill the louse". Such leadership must ensure that everyone is well informed, there is no withholding of information, no one is excluded. For creative community engagement to take place people must be empowered to participate fully and be made to feel part of the whole process. Most importantly, members of the community must be encouraged and challenged to accept and embrace God-given differences (of age, sex, tribe and race) as well as other human-engineered differences like religion and culture. Where differences breed conflict, hatred, disagreements, Christians and churches must face their responsibility of being peace-makers. Consequently, creative community engagement should help people in church and society to affirm and celebrate unity in diversity.

We need leaders who will motivate and challenge us to take a hard look at the disunity in the church and in society as a whole -- a leadership that is not afraid to speak the truth when it comes to power struggles and other causes of disunity in the church of Christ. Unfortunately, as Kosuke Koyama, the Japanese theologian, has correctly asserted, one of the greatest evils facing the church is denominationalism, the "tearing apart" and "rending" behaviour in the church of Christ.(3) Let us remember the strong and courageous words of warning by Z.K. Matthews, the South African ecumenist, who saw "denominationalism as a cancerous destroyer of genuine Christianity".(4) Similarly, there are other socio-economic injustices like violence, ignorance, poverty, starvation, ecological disaster and diseases that are tearing Africa apart and these can only be addressed and eradicated through creative community engagement.(5) Responsible creativity that involves attentive listening to many oppressed voices and empathy seems to be lacking, hence the critical need for guidance.

In-depth research

Looking hard and critically into our past and present means that we need to engage in in-depth research and scrutiny of Christianity, the church and ecumenism in Africa. We need leaders who are aware of the need for research, writing and publishing by Africans and on Africa. There is an urgent need for Africans to tell their own story of their faith, struggle and resistance against apartheid, imperialism and exploitation, their quest for liberation, justice and fullness of life. For example, in connection with our quest for unity in Africa, highly commendable research has been done by Efiong Utuk, a Nigerian ecumenical historian.(6)

Whereas Utuk's From New York to Ibadan focuses on African social factors or conditions that helped to shape the global ecumenical mandate, his other work Visions of Authenticity gives us a concise articulation of the inside story of the AACC's six general assemblies and the clear voices of the men and a small number of women who have helped shape its thinking and activities. What emerges clearly in the first book is the failure of the mission church in Africa to take seriously ministerial ecumenical formation of Africans and the steps taken to correct its mistake. The outcome of the discussions on theological education in January 1958 in Accra, Ghana, gave birth to the Theological Education Fund(7) today known as the Ecumenical Theological Education (ETE) programme of the WCC. The other major decision, taken in January 1958 in Ibadan, Nigeria, was to set up the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC), which came into being in 1963. TEF support and the creation of the AACC have greatly contributed towards shaping an autonomous church in Africa and ecumenism, however fragile it may be. Research needs to be done on the work of TEF and its successor programmes (Programme of Theological Education and ETE) to determine fully the contributions (accomplishments and failures) of the global ecumenical movement in Africa with regard to ministerial ecumenical formation.

On the subject of unity in Africa, there is also the pan-African movement on the social, political, cultural and economic level. Once again, a Nigerian scholar, P. Olisanwuche Esedebe, has brought to our attention the critical efforts made by people of African descent to bring unity in the continent.(8) He has done what Utuk has done on ecumenism in Africa by giving voice to the many people and institutions instrumental to the growth of pan-Africanism. Any discussions on unity in Africa must be well informed on these writings, among others. Likewise Africans must research and give voice to all suppressed stories on Christianity, the church and ecumenism in the continent. In other words, we should not continue to be trapped in someone else's story while we have no idea about our own. We must produce Africa's sacred texts of wrestling with the divine and evil forces of this life, as well as her sacred words of wisdom, liberation, justice and life.(9) We must not be content with re-reading ancient patriarchal and colonizing scriptures.(10) For this to happen we need leadership that is motivated, informed and critically aware of what is happening in the world, and that will provoke and encourage people to take scholarship seriously. Only then can we have a well-informed and effective church in the continent, which counts its strength not in numbers, but in how many people have been given a chance to "have life and have it in abundance" despite the grave state of abject poverty, violence, starvation, ignorance, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other chronic diseases plaguing the continent.

Wrestling with the Bible

Similarly, we need leaders who will stimulate us to study the Bible critically. This is true firstly because for many African Christians (even among illiterate) the Bible is central in shaping their faith, but most importantly because the Bible is written from a patriarchal setting and has been subjected to misuse and misinterpretation. As Musa Dube asserts:

 First, the Bible is the most influential book in the West, and it is also
 patriarchal. Second, modern Western imperialism was effected not only
 through military power but also through the use of an ideology of Western
 cultural texts, including the Bible. For me and for two-thirds subjects,
 the Bible is therefore not only patriarchal but also imperialistic ... How
 can I, and all those who seek liberation and justice, read the Bible in the
 post-colonial era without subscribing to its patriarchal and imperialistic
 oppression? How can we address each form of oppression with the seriousness
 that it deserves in our search for liberation and justice?(11)

If we are to envision a new church and transform ecumenism in Africa Africans can no longer take the Bible literally. People deserve to hear the "word of the Lord", the truth from God. But it seems as if, despite the huge numbers flocking to the church, we are living in the days of Eli, the elderly priest, and Samuel, the young prophet. "Now the boy Samuel was ministering to the Lord under Eli. The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread" (1 Sam. 3:1).

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has brought us face to face with preachers who distort the scriptures by claiming that Africans are hard hit because God is punishing them.(12) Certainly, Africans have not forgotten the distorted biblical teachings that laid the foundation for the ideology of apartheid in South Africa. In addition to critical interpretation of the Bible, we also need to unpack the history of racism, imperialism and exploitation of the African people since the days of the slave trade.(13) We need to understand how these evil activities have affected our ways of life, dignity and self-confidence.

Institutional leadership and management

Probably no other area needs more immediate attention than that of institutional church leadership and management. It seems to be assumed that because a person has had ministerial formation and is ordained, he or she can manage church and ecumenical institutions at the local, national or even regional level. It is also assumed that men know how to lead without any leadership training. More often than not, the language of leadership training in the church is associated with the youth and women. Yet, it is no secret that many churches and theological and ecumenical institutions on the continent are at the point of almost total collapse. Some of the churches have been going through major conflicts and power struggles among the leaders, to the extent that some have more than one general secretary or have split. Another critical area where leadership is needed is in creating inclusive communities of faith, where children, youth and women are full citizens. The uncritical adaptation of the African patriarchal family model in the church has been most unhelpful in this regard. A new church and a transformed ecumenism in Africa must deal seriously with the dominance of male leadership in the church and decision-making bodies.

We urgently need leaders who can speak out with conviction and clarity against sexism and the exclusion of women and youth in the leadership of the church, theological and ecumenical institutions. And there is an urgent need to look into the financial (and other resources) side of the church management. Apart from having difficulties meeting their budgets, some churches and church-related institutions have also suffered from mismanagement of resources.

Holistic approach to ministerial ecumenical formation

Finally, we need a leadership that recognizes the need for a holistic approach to ministerial ecumenical formation. Crucial in this approach is the spiritual nurture of the leaders. Much is required of a leader and it is therefore important to be well grounded spiritually and to understand the critical role of a leader in the community of faith as a role model, mentor and nurturer of others. Dependence on the guidance and empowerment of the Holy Spirit is crucial. One must be in tune with God, and this comes with discipline and a life of prayer and reflection. The life of a leader in the church is one of wrestling with God and the human condition in search of clear understanding and empowerment to enable others to reach green pastures and to experience fullness of life. As such, leaders must also be critical thinkers and should be prepared to facilitate a process of critical inquiry and analysis as we strive to usher more people into the body of Christ.

The collective voice of the theological educators who gathered in Oslo, Norway, in 1996 for the global consultation on "Ecumenical Theological Education: Its Viability Today", was expressed thus:

 There is consensus among us on the holistic character of theological
 education and ministerial formation, which is grounded in worship, and
 combines and inter-relates spirituality, academic excellence, mission and
 evangelism, justice and peace, pastoral sensitivity and competence, and the
 formation of character. For it brings together education of:

 the ear to hear God's word and the cry of God's people; the heart to
 heed and respond to the suffering; the tongue to speak to both the weary
 and the arrogant; the hands to work with the lowly; the mind to reflect
 on the good news of the gospel; the will to respond to God's call; the
 spirit to wait on God in prayer, to struggle and wrestle with God, to be
 silent in penitence and humility and to intercede for the church and the
 world; the body to be the temple of the Holy Spirit.(14)

In search of an image or metaphor of effective and fruitful leadership

Taking a cue from Jesus and his disciples, we should search for images or metaphors that will help us articulate what we want to communicate about leadership in the church. I find myself thrown back into my journey of faith as a Christian and as a church leader. I look to see who has influenced my sense of leadership and the biblical images that speak to me in a special way. As a woman and as an African, whose context has largely been influenced and shaped by control and domination as in patriarchy, sexism, colonialism, imperialism, neo-colonialism, globalization in Africa, I search daily for images and models of leadership that are empowering, life-affirming, life-giving and liberating. But I also seek to discover in which ways we are called to be co-workers with Christ and what is required of us.

In this search, the image that captures my imagination is that of a gardener. I am particularly attracted by the many times in the Bible we are called to bear fruits, which reminds me of a garden. On the other hand, I am attracted by the apostle Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9:

 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave growth. So neither the one who
 plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the
 growth. The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose,
 and each will receive wages according to the labour of each. For we are
 God's servants, working together; you are God's field, God's building.

I am particularly consoled to know that, as a gardener, I am not working alone, there are others involved, it is team work, we are co-workers, and in particular with the divine Lord who gives the growth. In other words, to be an effective and faithful leader, we must recognize the community spirit and divine partnership in whatever we do.

Bearing in mind that no image or metaphor can be all-inclusive and all-embracing, let us briefly consider the works of a gardener. Most of us probably do not associate a bishop or a general secretary with the image of a gardener. Certainly it does not match the common image of church leaders that we find in some of our churches, a figure dressed in clerical garb, pronouncing words of authority and demanding obedience. For a gardener brings us face to face with soiled (sometimes wounded and bloody) hands and dirty overalls and leshos.(15) A gardener is subjected to uncertainty, vulnerability, risk and loss. Hence a gardener approaches her or his different tasks intuitively and creatively. She or he is engaged in what he or she does, fully alert and in constant conversation with the environment, the plants and the Creator. A gardener carefully calculates all the dangers that might harm the plants and destroy a whole harvest.

On the other hand, a gardener reminds us of a well-skilled, equipped, hard-working and caring leader whose main task is tenderly to bring forth life -- to help plants flourish and grow. A gardener is a person of great patience, determination, courage, firmness and boldness against all odds that threaten life. A gardener is a much-needed presence for growth to take place, a well-informed worker, who keeps her or his tools ready and knows how to use them appropriately. A gardener is always willing to learn new skills.

Leadership in the life and mission of the church

Effective and fruitful leadership in our continent today -- in a world full of unending woes and disasters in the midst of great resources -- requires full commitment like that of a gardener who is always ready to soil her or his hands. Like a gardener, leaders must be in tune with the environment, listen attentively, and be ready to respond responsibly when the weather changes. A critical reflection on the image of a gardener gives us a picture of a leader who is in the womb of the community, helping the people to articulate their faith in God and to make a difference in the world. Such a person deserves to be properly mentored and equipped. Most important, leaders must be empowered by the Holy Spirit, like the apostles (Acts 2:4). "All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers" (Acts 1:14).

We would do well then to follow the legacy of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, of recruiting, mentoring, nurturing, equipping, training and preparing children, youth, women and men for leadership. In Oslo, during the consultation mentioned above, Samuel Rayan, an Indian Jesuit priest, demonstrated beautifully in Bible studies how God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit carried out ministerial ecumenical formation for leaders in their own time.(16) But my understanding of a church leader is not limited to the ordained and/or commissioned persons. In Africa such persons, who are in any case not always theologically trained, are a very small proportion of the people who actually carry out leadership roles. We need to remember the youth and women who provide leadership in youth and women's organizations and fellowships, and who are not usually counted when we talk of church leaders. Most of the youth, women and lay leaders have to depend on skills learned in other professions when they undertake leadership responsibilities. Usually these persons are denied opportunities to undertake theological education because most theological institutions are still reserved for those working towards ordination.(17) Even though this trend is changing with churches providing Theological Education by Extension (TEE) programmes, in-depth conversation on this subject is much overdue.(18)

The amazing thing is that in the Bible, equipping and preparing the leadership is not limited to the older people: children and youth are included. Others are called for a specific task. I am always struck by the story of Samuel, the son of Hannah and Elkanah, who through the initiative of Hannah and the encouragement of Elkanah was given to the service of Eli, the elderly priest, to prepare him to be a prophet. This was at a time when Eli's sons are described as scoundrels and had no regard for the Lord or for the duties of the priests to the people (1 Sam. 1-3). Jeremiah protested vehemently when he received word that he was appointed to be a prophet because he was only a boy (Jer. 1)! Biblical scholars tell us that Mary mother of Jesus was a young teenager, probably 15 years old, when she was called to be the bearer of the Word, the Son of God (Luke 1:26-38). When Jesus was twelve years old he understood better than his parents that he should spend substantial time in the temple being prepared for his ministry, "sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions" (Luke 2:41-52).

Hence, children and young people should be recruited, taught and encouraged to take up leadership in God's vineyard, however small the task might be. They are not the leaders of tomorrow or the church of tomorrow, as some say: they are full participants today in the life and mission of the church including exercising leadership. Some children lead others in Sunday school classes. And we are told: "Your young people will see visions, your old people dream dreams" (Acts 2:17; Joel 3:1). Rayan comments:

 The dreams and the visions have, therefore, to do with the new earth and
 new heaven, the divinely renewed and transformed world, with new structures
 of life, love and peace in place of the old structures which have spread
 weapons, wars, wretchedness and death.(19)

Critical self-evaluation of formation in theological institutions

Now let us look at the institutions that are traditionally associated with ministerial ecumenical formation, mostly for full-time ordained and commissioned workers of the church, theological and ecumenical institutions: laity training centres, Bible schools, pastoral institutions, Theological Education by Extension programmes, religious/theological faculties, seminaries and colleges.

In order to transform ministerial ecumenical formation in Africa we should evaluate critically what is taught, the methods of delivery and way of life in these institutions. Who is running these institutions and teaching in them? Are they equipped (including financially) to provide the holistic ministerial ecumenical formation required, and prepare a leadership that will facilitate learning, which leads to change?

Given our major concern of envisioning a new church and transforming ecumenism in Africa, as well as overcoming denominationalism or divisions, are these institutions in a position to provide a holistic ministerial ecumenical formation which recognizes and takes seriously the .missionary and ecumenical calling of the church? How well do theological educators and administrators understand this twin calling of the church of Christ: the missionary and the ecumenical? In a continent where evangelism and mission preoccupy the leadership, who is helping to clarify the fact that ecumenism is equally a gospel imperative (John 17)? Are the curricula and methods of delivery relevant, effective, contextual, inspiring, proactive, critically and ecumenically engaging? Do the curricula and way of life in the institution or the way the programme is organized facilitate critical ecumenical consciousness among all those involved? For instance, how would theological educators and administrators respond to these questions:

 How often do we train our clergy to enable the people to cross the
 boundaries of Christian traditions, let alone those of other faiths, so
 that they may share their riches with each other and struggle for truth
 together? Do we include cultural studies as a core part of clergy
 formation? When we have students for ministry from more than one ethnic
 background, do we ... presume that they may have something to ask of the
 dominant group in changing as they take into account the multicultural
 nature of the group?(20)

Furthermore, who prepares and equips those who are invited to participate voluntarily as delegates, representatives and commissioners in decision-making (governing) bodies such as executive committees, assemblies and advisory boards of churches, theological and ecumenical institutions for effective and fruitful engagement? How are they prepared? How well do these volunteers understand the objectives and goals of the institutions that invite them, and the issues to be deliberated on: for instance, in the general committee of the AACC, the central committee of the WCC or even the board of trustees of a theological college? How well do they understand ecumenism?

Given the dearth of theological literature by Africans and for Africa, how are these institutions preparing women and men to recognize the urgent need to research, write, publish and/or preserve their findings in new ways such as musical theatre, or audio-video cassettes? How well do we understand that the task of publishing requires committed and motivated leadership, especially in a continent where oral culture is the way of life? As one who is involved in the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, whose main objective is to recruit and guide women to research, write and publish -- and my involvement includes the time-consuming task of editing articles from these women -- I know the task of publishing is not easy, nor is the financial burden light. This is precisely why we need outstanding leaders who may end up forfeiting their own chance to publish solely to free their time to help others to become skilled researchers, writers, editors and publishers.

Here we need to mention theological associations.(21) These are a product of ecumenical solidarity through the former International Missionary Council that gave birth to the Theological Education Fund (TEF, 1958), and the present-day Ecumenical Theological Education (ETE) programme of the WCC. Through TEF, theological institutions in the South were encouraged to group themselves sub-regionally in order to facilitate and encourage ecumenical spirit, academic relevance, excellence, accreditation and contextuality in ministerial ecumenical formation.

The oldest theological association in Africa is the Association of Theological Institutions in East Africa (ATIEA, 1961) and the youngest is the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, which unlike others is inter-religious and depends on individual rather than institutional membership.(22) The umbrella regional association is the Conference of African Theological Institutions (CATI, 1980). Unfortunately, none of these associations have a permanent office or full-time staff; all tasks are carried out on a voluntary basis, which creates its own problems. They should undergo critical self-evaluation, especially in light of the growing trend of mushrooming denominational Christian universities (which have faculties of theology for ministerial training for their sponsoring denomination). Another area these associations could look into is that of publishing, which as we have already said needs critical leadership as well as creative community engagement.(23)

On the whole, theological associations provide the best ecumenical space and forum for serious dialogue on transforming ministerial ecumenical formation and envisioning a new church in Africa, as long as they include church leaders from the denominations, laity training centres and council of churches or ecumenical institutions in the continent. But this critical self-evaluation would be incomplete without including in the process churches, mission boards and ecumenical institutions outside the continent that financially (and otherwise) support churches and the institutions under discussion.

In December 1998, the WCC's eighth assembly in Harare, Zimbabwe, decided on a special focus on Africa in order to be in solidarity with Africans as they undertake the "journey of hope" depicted in the drama staged at the Africa plenary.(24) It is out of this call journey of hope and the realization of urgent need for transformation of ministerial ecumenical formation in Africa that the Education and Ecumenical Formation (EEF) team and Africa desk in the Regional Relations (RR) Team of the WCC initiated an "interactive process", which will culminate in a pan-African conference in South Africa in September 2002, for institutions and churches to address some of the areas highlighted in this article. The conference is to draw up a five-year plan of action.

But a conference is not enough. We need to engage in an interactive process of self-evaluation and study on how theological education, capacity-building and laity formation are being undertaken in the midst of the growing denominationalism, church divisions and the weakening of interdenominational theological institutions which have been supported by the WCC through its programmes of theological education, laity training and capacity-building (including scholarships).

The interactive process and the conference will take into account the recommendations that have emerged from a number of consultations and conferences in the 1990s. The success of the entire process will depend on participants' creativity and commitment. Denominational church leaders, ecumenical workers in Africa and partners from outside the continent who support the work of ministerial ecumenical formation will be invited to participate in the process.(25)

Formulating and teaching ecumenical theology in Africa

This article would be incomplete without a discussion on ecumenical theology. S. Wesley Ariarajah, a former deputy general secretary of the WCC and now professor of ecumenical theology at Drew University School of Theology in the USA, has given us a snapshot of how ecumenical theology has developed in the 20th century and the challenges it has faced and continues to face.(26)

Ecumenical theology developed out of the search for reconciliation and unity in the divided church of Christ. As a result there have been numerous interconfessional bilateral dialogues and multilateral conversations on doctrinal issues based on scriptures and the traditions of the church universal. But churches have also been divided over social and economic issues, mission and evangelism, Christian education and formation. These too have constituted a major portion of ecumenical debates since the 1920s. For the most part churches and Christians from the North spearheaded these ecumenical dialogues and debates, until the 1970s when the South or the two-thirds-world churches came of age in the field of theology.

It is worth quoting Ariarajah's summary on the significant change in 20th century ecumenical theology:

 Even though the word oikoumene in the original Greek meant the "whole
 inhabited earth" in the geographical sense, the word "ecumenical" for a
 long time had meant "interconfessional" and ecumenical theology was
 understood as theology done together by confessionally divided churches
 whether on doctrinal, missiological or social issues. What the "eruption of
 the third world" in the field of theology has done is to push the frontiers
 of ecumenical theology to the original meaning of the word oikoumene, the
 whole inhabited earth. Thus ecumenical theology today has to mean
 theological reflections not only across confessional barriers, but also
 across cultures, contexts and human experiences that appear to be as many
 as there are communities of peoples around the world.(27)

The change that took place in the ecumenical movement in the 1970s provided fundamental challenges in theology and ecumenical theology. Concepts such as liberation, feminist theology, inculturation, indigenization, acculturation and contextualization entered the language of theology. On the other hand, we hear more of interfaith dialogues and coming together of people of different faiths on matters of global ethics, peace, human rights, racism, violence, environment, and so on, all of which is certainly creating new beginnings for a wider ecumenical theology. The new world of technology, cybernetics, genetic engineering and globalization has forced Christians and people of other faiths to ask new questions, especially about our relationship with God the Creator. "Ecumenical theology, therefore, of necessity needs to keep a close watch both on what Christians are thinking about other religions and on dynamic developments within the other traditions as they too seek to respond to the changing frontiers."(28)

Inevitably the significant changes that have taken place in the 20th century in the field of theology, including ecumenical theology, call for a critical look at how we structure ministerial ecumenical formation. We need to re-examine our theological curricula to ensure that those who train are exposed to the new theological voices that are emerging. Such a move requires the women and men in leadership to be open-minded and to discern what these new theological voices have to say to us today. This is not to say that we will agree with everything we read and hear, but we should not live in ignorance of what others believe, especially Christians.

In Africa, I find that biblical and cultural hermeneutics is high on the agenda of African women biblical scholars and theologians.(29) From experience we know that the Bible has been misinterpreted and misused to keep women and Africans oppressed. Similarly, African religion and culture despite some of the life-giving and women-affirming aspects have been used to silence women and subject them to untold subjugation. Patriarchy, sexism, racism, imperialism, violence, poverty, ignorance and diseases are issues women struggle with every day of our lives and in our theologizing and biblical hermeneutics. Most of the time African culture, religion and context dictate African women's theological discourse.(30) Fortunately, despite many difficulties in the continent that separate us from other women in the world, the ecumenical movement has given us the opportunity to bring our different voices together and many of us have come to value ecumenical forums and dialogues. Hence, even though excluded from church leadership for a long time, African women theologians are making a contribution in the shaping of ecumenical theology.

The steady growth of ecumenical theology, despite the crisis ecumenism has faced in recent times, demands that leaders in ministerial ecumenical formation take it seriously: it should be an instrument for the transformation of ministerial ecumenical formation as well as for the process of envisioning a new church and the transformation of ecumenism in Africa.

More specifically, African theologians must wrestle with what "ecumenical" means from the experiences and perspectives of the African people. It is important to remember that ecumenism is not an option but a gospel imperative, which we must seek to understand. Ecumenical theology is rooted in the scriptures but it must also take seriously African culture, religion and the story of the African people, their struggles for liberation, freedom, justice, peace, wholeness and life.

But we must bear in mind what Ariarajah has observed, that during the 1960s when in the ecumenical movement there was emphasis on the participation and representation of all sections of the church, especially those at the grassroots, a very important link in the process of ecumenical formation was lost. "The movement [right arrow] the professors [right arrow] the theological students [right arrow] the pastors the [right arrow] churches -- this chain was lost to the ecumenical movement."(31) How to re-establish this link without losing all the gains made so far is a part of the challenge facing us today.

Like the gardener, our task is to prepare the ground, select the seeds, plant, and water and weed, while God gives the growth. And may that growth abound!

NOTES

(1) Tinyiko Sam Maluleke, "Christianity in a Distressed Africa: A Time to Own and Own Up", in Missionalia, 26, 3, 1998, p.326.

(2) Megan McKenna, Not Counting Women and Children: Neglected Stories from the Bible, Maryknoll, NY, Orbis, 1994, pp.223-24.

(3) Kosuke Koyama, Water Buffalo Theology, 25th ed. rev., Markynoll, NY, Orbis, 1999, p. 143.

(4) Effiong Utuk, Visions of Authenticity: The Assemblies of the All Africa Conference of Churches 1963-1992, Nairobi, AACC, 1997, p.31.

(5) For further reading see Lloyd Timberlake, Africa in Crisis: The Causes, the Curses of Environmental Bankruptcy, Nairobi, East African Educational Pub., 1994.

(6) Effiong Utuk, From New York to Ibadan: The Impact of African Questions on the Making of Ecumenical Mission Mandates, 1900-1958, New York, Lang, 1991; and Visions of Authenticity: The Assemblies of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) 1963-1992, Nairobi, AACC, 1997.

(7) Utuk, From New York to Ibadan, p.234.

(8) In Pan-Africanism: The Idea and Movement, 1776-1991, Washington DC, Howard UP, 1994.

(9) See Maluleke on how we might go about reclaiming the muted or suppressed story of African Christians in "The Quest for Muted Black Voices in History", in Missionalia, vol. 28, no. 1, pp.41-61.

(10) See Musa W. Dube Shomanah, "Scripture, Feminism and Post-Colonial Contexts", in Concilium, 3, 1998, pp.45-53.

(11) Musa W. Dube, Post-Colonial Feminist Interpretation of the Bible, St Louis MO, Chalice, 2000, pp. 198-99.

(12) For further discussion on HIV/AIDS and the church in Africa see Musa Dube, "Preaching to the Converted: Unsettling the Christian Church", in Ministerial Formation, no. 93, April 2001, pp.38-50.

(13) For instance, Adam Hochschild's book King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa, New York, Houghton Mifflin, 1998, should provoke Christians in Africa to research and study our history with the West.

(14) John S. Pobee, Towards Viable Theological Education: Ecumenical Imperative, Catalyst of Renewal, Geneva, WCC Publications, 1997, p.1.

(15) A lesho is a rectangular piece of cloth commonly used by women in Africa in a variety of ways, one of which is to tie it around the waist and let it hang down to prevent the dress from getting dirty.

(16) Pobee, Towards Viable Theological Education, pp. 12-43.

(17) Nyambura Njoroge and Paraic Reamon, eds, Partnership in God's Mission in Africa, Geneva, WARC, 1994, pp. 16-32.

(18) To initiate such conversations, the article by Dorothy McRae-McMahon, "The Formation of the Laos", in Pobee, Towards Viable Theological Education, pp. 109-20, is noteworthy.

(19) Quoted in Pobee, Towards Viable Theological Education, p.40.

(20) Ibid., pp. 118-19.

(21) The laity training centres also have an association, the Association of Christian Lay Centres in Africa (ACLA), which is part of OIKOSNET, a global ecumenical network of Christian lay centres, academies and movements for social concern, working for just, participatory, sustainable and inclusive communities. ACLA has youth and women's networks as well as sub-regional associations. It has an office in Harare, Zimbabwe. In 2000, ACLA published Equipping the Laity for Social Transformation: A Resource Manual for Courses on Leadership in Lay Training, Accra, Asempa.

(22) The Circle is probably the best-known theological association in Africa because of its publications. Two of the latest are Musa W. Dube, ed., Other Ways of Reading: African Women and the Bible, Atlanta GA, Society of Biblical Literature, and Geneva, WCC Publications, 2001; and Nyambura J. Njoroge and Musa W. Dube, eds, Talitha Cum!: Theologies of African Women, Pietermaritzburg, Cluster Pubs, 2001.

(23) In Kenya, religious scholars from the secular universities and Roman Catholic university have organized an ecumenical symposium, which has met once a year since 1989 in Sagana, where papers are presented, discussed and critiqued. Two scholars are then asked to edit the papers for publication. The group has published several books, most of which are going through a second edition under the leadership of Jesse Mugambi of Nairobi university and Fr Caroll Houle of Maryknoll Fathers (Eastern Africa). This is another good example of creative community engagement.

(24) For background information on the "Journey of Hope" see Diane Kessler, ed., Together on the Way: Official Report of the Eighth Assembly of the Worm Council of Churches, Geneva, WCC Publications, 1999, pp.207-31.

(25) For further information on the interactive process contact the author of this article at the WCC address or nn@wcc-coe.org

(26) Wesley S. Ariarajah, "Changing Frontiers of Ecumenical Theology", in Ministerial Formation, no. 89, April 2000, pp.3-19.

(27) Ibid., p. 10, emphasis mine.

(28) Ibid., p. 14.

(29) A good example is Dube, Postcolonial Feminist Interpretation.

(30) For an in-depth conversation see Mercy Amba Oduyoye, Introducing African Women's Theology, Sheffield Academic Press, 2001.

(31) Ariarajah, "Changing Frontiers", p. 17.

FURTHER READING

Association of Christian Lay Centres in Africa, Equipping the Laity for Social Transformation: A Resource Manual for Courses on Leadership in Lay Training, Accra, Asempa, 2000.

M.G. Capon, Towards Unity in Kenya: The Story of Co-operation Between Missions and Churches in Kenya 1913-1947, Nairobi, Christian Council of Kenya, 1962. Reprinted in J.N.K. Mugambi, ed., Christian Mission and Social Transformation: A Kenyan Perspective, National Council of Churches of Kenya, 1989, pp. 119-226.

Gerald West and Musa W. Dube, The Bible in Africa: Transactions, Trajectories and Trends, Leiden, Brill, 2000.

Rev. Dr Nyambura J. Njoroge, a Kenyan Presbyterian minister, is on the programme staff of the WCC's Ecumenical Theological Education Programme.