FutureChurch

2010 is a big year for us South Africans - World Cup and all. It's also the 4th Amahoro Gathering, in Mombasa from May 3 - 10. I've been to two Amahoro Gatherings and have found them immensely significant, since Amahoro is on the other side of the coin to the emerging conversation (taking place in Western contexts) as it looks at the impact of the colonial narrative on the Gospel, and where that leaves us now.

Brian McLaren spoke about "Post-modern and post-colonial": two sides of the same coin, in Johannesburg just before the first Amahoro Gathering, in 2007. It's one of the 3 best talks I heard that year.

There are many things I like about Amahoro: the family reunion feel, the people, the diversity, the topics we address, and that we're taking theology developed in Africa by Africans seriously. Kenzo Mabiala is the resident theologian of Amahoro; he completed his doctorate under D.A. Carson before returning to the Congo to head up a theological college.

Carson asked him why he was interested in the emerging church conversation (primarily happening in the West), and Kenzo answered that the emerging church is asking the right questions.

For more information: The Amahoro website.

And now to encouraging comments on this post: why is it important to understand how the Gospel was shaped by the rise of the colonialism, and what are the implications for those who live in post-colonial contexts?

Technorati Tags: Amahoro postcolonial postmodern

"Postmodernism" is a loaded word for South African Christians: it polarises people into binary opposites before either side has said anything. It either means that you are doing some really cutting-edge things when it comes to cultural engagement for the sake of the gospel, or it means that you don't believe in truth, the Bible or much else.

If you research postmodernism a little, you'll come across Jacques Derrida, who coined the word "deconstruction."

Most people I know haven't a clue what deconstruction is, but think they do, and use their understanding incorrectly (I know: I used to be one of them).

Below I've posted a few extracts from John Caputo's book, "Deconstruction in an nutshell" (1997) (which has helped me to understand what deconstruction actually is) where he talks about the reaction Derrida has provoked. If you exchange "Derrida" for "the emerging church conversation" you may get a sense of why many of us are frustrated with people who criticise us before they actually understand what it is we're saying. I post this because of the strong resonances with critics of postmodernism and the emerging church conversation in South Africa at present.

Technorati Tags: deconstruction Emerging Church Jacques Derrida John Caputo postmodern postmodernism