Our country, and Namibian society, has changed radically since the dawn of democracy on 21 March 1990.
It is wise to pause at this point and ask the question: what does democracy mean for Namibia and Namibians at this present moment with all the challenges?
In a particular way, we as a faith community/church have a great interest in understanding the role that Christians and the church will play in Namibia in this moment and time to come.
What role can, and should, the church play in the present Namibia and the future of our beloved Namibia? What is the nature of hope for Namibia? How can the church and Christians be bearers of hope for the nation at this moment, and in the coming moments?
There are many misconceptions about the role of the church in society.
This is because the church is neither a political institution nor a social organisation, but a mystery of grace.
Theologically, the church is an assembly of the faithful, who are called out to be instruments of grace in a broken world.
The understanding of the church as an instrument of grace in a broken world is based on the Biblical text that the believers are the salt or light of the world, a metaphor for justice and righteousness. (Matthew 5:13-16).
The church as an instrument of grace defines the missiological nature of the church in terms of its authority to ‘preach and provide humanitarian work to improve economic development and healthcare’ (Missiology: Mission). Calvin P van Reken in his social justice writings argues that the church as an institution has a legitimate responsibility to the people that she exists for.
Theologically, the church is modelled around action and praxis propelled by the desire to manage Christ’s mission of redeeming the world from all forms of societal evil, as evidenced by the declaration: “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.’ (John 10:10) It then follows that the church’s prophetic role in the context of social disintegration and natural polarisation demands a socio-political and economic engagement with the relevant arms of governance and political players towards a socio-political contract, which will give birth to peace and democratic space for all.
Therefore, the goal of any relevant Christian church to its society must align with the real need of the people towards enabling a culture of innovation, knowledgeability and industrialisation in the public space.
The church must believe that education through liberation results in knowledge and skills development. Education not only develops one’s intelligence and skills, but also broadens one’s outlook, and makes one useful to society and the world at large.
The church must believe that societal development is possible when the spirit of serving society is cultivated and promoted through the provision and accessibility of higher and tertiary education.
In reasoning about doing ministry today, the church must always be mindful that the Christian church exists in the context of a post-modern world – a world characterised by broad scepticism, subjectivism and relativism; a general suspicion of reason; and an acute sensitivity to the role of ideology in asserting and maintaining political and economic power.
A post-modern world understands truth and reality to be individually shaped by personal history, social class, gender, culture and religion, freedoms and rights of others
. Such a world resists uniformity.
Such a world employs propositional statements to negate truth and promote absurdities and inconsistency.
Since post-modernism is suspicious of people who make universal truth claims -the church included, it becomes imperative for the church to reposition herself for ministry in such a world.
The ability to read the signs of the time is important if we are to remain faithful to our context of mission as a church. The increased level of poverty exacerbated by unemployment, the levels of political uncertainty and corruption, the moral decay of society, and the demoralising scourge of gender-based violence and femicide are constantly challenging the church to discern the signs of the time.
This will locate us at the edge of societal life, where mission and ministry need to be exercised. From an authentic theological perspective, the mission of the church cannot be understood and fulfilled outside the world in which it exists, because its concern is not only the individual’s relationship with God, but also the relationship between the same individual and the world in which he/she lives. An authentic church with relevant modes of ministry remains the only option for promoting a faithful and practical discourse within the present reality in an attempt to move towards a meaningful future.
“The church is constantly being re-evangelised, and by that, it is always being constituted and formed as the church” (General, 1998). The challenge for the church is to re-image and rediscover our calling as the priesthood of all believers, and show a genuine willingness to be gathered, formed, transformed and reformed as a church, and become a sent people who fully participate in God’s redemptive work in bringing salvation for the whole creation. Working tirelessly to bring justice and redemptive work where there are injustices, working for equality where inequality manifests itself both in church and society.
The incarnational character of the church will be in its “preferential option for the poor, the marginalised and the excluded”. If the biblical narrative of doing justice, struggling against injustice, was not an optimal extra of Israelite faith, if it stands at the very core of its faith, then our reflection about justice must result in doing justice.
The church cannot afford to be seen as the one who stands for justice, and yet imposes injustice on the other. The church, as God’s compass to direct humanity for the total good of all creation, should always advocate in favour of peace and social justice.
The late archbishop emeritus, Desmond Tutu, made the point: “Inaction and silence are a sin”.
*Reverend Jan A Scholtz is the former chairperson of the //Kharas Regional Council, and former !Nami#nus constituency councillor. He is the holder of a Diploma in Theology, B-Theo (SA); a Diploma in Youth Work and Development from the University of Zambia (UNZA); a Diploma in Education III (KOK); and BA (HED) from UNISA