3. Kingdom Theology and Eternal Life

(Notice I took the vs. out of the title - it seemed too competitive!)

An escapist view of the gospel – one that centres on salvation as the assurance of eternal life away from the hardships of this life – characterizes the Evangelical church here in Burkina. Kingdom theology, on the other hand, holds that with the coming of Jesus (The Christmas event), the Kingdom has already penetrated the earth. We live in a Kingdom that is already present but not yet fully realised; in a creation that is already being transformed, even though this is at times imperceptible.

In a context where most people are poor with little practical hope of improving conditions, the escapist view is certainly attractive. Who would want to hang around where there is suffering and hunger? Won’t it be glorious to be whisked away to heaven when we die or when Christ returns? It reminds me of old gospel music. One famous group sang the song, “Don’t it make you wanna go home…anxiously awaiting, anticipating, prayin’ that it won’t be long.” Another popular one is, “I’ve got a mansion just over the hilltop.” Such songs almost seem to insinuate that if I could die instantly, I’d be better off. It’s not that this is untrue – who can fathom what eternal life will be like? But it is incomplete.

As disciples of Christ for whom Jesus’ life is normative, we believe we have a duty to reveal how the Kingdom of God has already penetrated the Earth. When John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus asking if he is indeed the Messiah, the one who would save the world, Jesus says nothing about whisking people away. Instead, he responds, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them.” These are characteristics of the Kingdom. The Kingdom’s values could be better understood through the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. Again, the limits of this article do not allow more depth here – Jesus does elsewhere talk about preparing places (in heaven?) for the disciples. “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?” John 14:2

So it seems yet again (and maybe this conclusion holds for most of these articles) that an equilibrium must be found between these two perspectives. Is it insensitive for Mennonite Mission workers in the Burkina church context to focus on Kingdom issues – working for justice, healing, against poverty; trying to bring a whole or more complete gospel to a people (at least in the Christian community) who would just as soon focus on one day escaping the broken systems of government and society? It seems an odd question for those of us from a Western Anabaptist perspective. Often we phrase the question in the opposite way: Isn’t it insensitive to evangelize in a setting where people are firstly hungry or hurting? Is it not better to meet those basic needs and reveal God’s will (or Kingdom/Shalom project) for the healing of Creation?

This latter approach will be a long, difficult process in Burkina Faso. The “escapist view” gives much faster results and is something that the very spiritual-minded Burkinabé can understand. For a more wholesome Kingdom theology to take root here, it will be necessary for Mennonites/Anabaptists to work with, better understand, and not be so critical of this “escapist perspective”.

Am I way off here? I’d like to know. Please respond.

By the way, two authors I really appreciate who talk the "Kingdom talk" are Walter Wink and Lee Camp. Check them out.

2. The Holy Spirit vs. Jesus life as normative

One of my best Burkinabé friends here the other day gave me the following example of how the emphasis on all things spiritual can hurt Africa. To convince people to keep human excrement deep down in a hole, and better yet, covered, is difficult, he said, even though science proves that not doing so can spread disease. A typical Burkinabé does not see things this way. If one falls sick, it is because of God or maybe because of some evil spirit. In any case, it is beyond our human control.

Yet I have witnessed this same friend healing others through prayer. So I have rediscovered this paradox that I think most of us are aware of: there is far more of a spiritual element to our daily lives than westerners care to believe; and far more of a physical element to daily life than a lot of Africa (although I can only speak of Burkina) cares to acknowledge.

So what does this have to do with Anabaptism? By the way, I don’t want to in any way give the impression to non-Mennonite friends who may be receiving these articles that the raison d’être of Anabaptists (aka Mennonites) is to “expand the denomination”. Rather, as I said in the first article, I believe in learning from the richness of the Christian denominations (and beyond) and with that comes the responsibility to participate in this sharing by giving what my tradition has to offer to the discussion.

To put it briefly, Mennonites accentuate and find normative the life of Jesus. This means that the life of Jesus is as central to understanding the will of God for humanity as his death and resurrection. This can sometimes contrast starkly to other Christian views, though it would be preferable if it complemented them. Typically, the “core of the gospel” for most Evangelical Christians is that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins. Mennonites tend to add, “Amen, but what about his life and how he showed us how to live in the present?” Can this emphasis on the earthly existence of Jesus somehow be reconciled with the Burkinabé spiritual worldview?

A Burkinabé sees firstly a spiritual realm in which spirits are fighting each other for power. In Christ’s death and resurrection, we have freedom from the binding spiritual powers that can make earthly existence miserable. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit after he departed from his disciples that glorious yet confusing ascension day. The disciples were filled with this Spirit and did amazing things.

What we can offer the Burkinabé is the aspect of “doing” or acting in faith of the Spirit. The Spirit helps us do and live how Jesus taught us to live. His life is normative for us – our example. (But of course, we will not be able to do all that the Son of God did!) At many times in the Gospels, Jesus is interacting simultaneously with the spiritual and physical realms.

What the Burkinabé can offer western Mennonites in particular is to be more attuned to the Spirit while we are doing. The early Anabaptists were Spirit-filled people – how else does one face that kind of persecution and torture with joy?

Perhaps Burkina needs to top up its “physical realm” tank while we in the West top up our “spiritual tanks”.

Next time: Eternal life vs. Kindom theology

1. Why the Anabaptist/Mennonite perspective can be a tough fit in the Burkina Faso Church – New Discussion Series:

This article marks what I hope will be a change in how this blog is used. Up until now, this blog has given news and personal updates, sometimes posting pictures and interesting videos. Such posts have solicited little feedback from blog readers. This isn’t a criticism of the blog’s readers, but rather of the blog. Perhaps the blog has not been provocative enough. However, my intention is not to be provocative for the sake of provoking, but rather to have conversation with people who might know a little something about the issues with which we struggle here in West Africa. We need your input. Those especially who know a little something about the Mennonite Church or Anabaptist church history – we would love to hear your point of view. I would love to see this blog become more of a place for dialogue than simply a place to read and look.

Part of our job description in Burkina Faso is to provide an Anabaptist/Mennonite perspective on Biblical teachings to a new church in Ouagadougou. This has sometimes been a frustrating task in some ways. I’ll explain why below. I have been wondering about characteristics of “place” and “culture” that cause one to either be welcoming or unwelcoming of Anabaptist principles. Here I will propose some reasons why the Christian church in Burkina Faso is a tough audience for Anabaptist teachings.

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The reasons I propose here may be applicable to other African countries as well. In Burkina Faso, these reasons stem from the values of the Burkina Church (including all denominations). I will be focussing on the values of the Evangelical Church, which is the mainstream Protestant church in Burkina Faso. I can think of at least 5 reasons that make Anabaptism a difficult fit for the Burkina Faso Church today. Today, we look at church unity.

1. Church Unity vs. Denominational Gifts

Putting the word “versus” or vs. in the title here is oversimplifying and only for discussion sake in order to juxtapose two perspectives. It isn’t as if these two cannot go together.

In the Evangelical community in Burkina Faso, church unity is extremely important. Denominations are considered the “devils work”. These denominations are a reality, but an unwanted one. Many in our church are very sensitive about talking about the history of a denomination or the gifts thereof because of experiences with “denominational expansion” in the past. Certain denominations have, in the past, become neo-colonialists seeking to expand their denominational territory, and claiming that unless one is from their denomination, one is not fully Christian.

More recently, the majority of the Evangelical community has been against such approaches and actively speaks against it. This is an important step for the church in Burkina Faso. Christ brings unity to his body. Many good things are happening in this regard.

Enter the Mennonites with their subversive history – ana-baptist, anti-church/state, anti-mansion-o’er-the-hilltop theology. (Anabaptist refers to the history of the people who were against the baptism of infants, and so re-baptized people upon their confession of faith in Christ – for more, see links below.) Mennonites often define themselves in juxtaposition to other traditions – i.e. what we are not: we are not Catholics, but not completely Protestants either; we are against war, against injustice. Our whole history is based on subverting (or else running away from) corrupting systems of power. I see the Mennonite perspective as an invaluable gift to the Christian community. However, in the Burkina Church scene, emphasis on denominational “gifts” sounds a lot like the promotion of a denomination over and above another, and thus is discouraged – in fact, denominations themselves are of the devil.

So how does one respond? We believe that Anabaptism has a unique and paramount perspective to offer the church here. But how does one talk of Anabaptism without coming across as superior to other beliefs or values within the Christian community? Here is a good question even for “western” Mennonites? Do we see ourselves as somehow “better” than other church groups? How important is church unity for the Anabaptist community? How do Mennonites work for ecumenical unity?

Stay tuned for the next article: The Holy Spirit emphasis vs. Jesus’ life as normative

Links: http://www.anabaptistnetwork.com/whatisanabaptism

http://www.thirdway.com/menno/