Matt Fredrickson. New Testament Churches of Christ

ABILENE CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCHES OF CHRIST, JINJA UGANDA AND AFRICAN
CHRUCHES OF CHRIST MISSIONS
SUBMITTED TO DR. DOUGLAS FOSTER IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF ADVANCED
RESTORATOIN HISTORY BIBH 664
BY MATT FREDRICKSON
APRIL 7, 2015
In this paper, I will show how the theology of Churches of Christ promotes an approach
to missions that emphasizes changing the recipients’ worldview and practices to align with
Western Churches of Christ tendencies. Then, I will show how the New Testament Churches of
Christ Jinja1 team differed from this common approach to Churches of Christ mission, while still
planting Churches that resemble the Churches of Christ tradition. First, I will offer 10 defining
characteristics of Churches of Christ from The Crux of the Matter: Crisis, Tradition and the
Future of Churches of Christ.2 Second, I will show a connection between these characteristics
and African Churches of Christ missions though the reflections of Wendell Broom.3 Third, I will
show how this particular Churches of Christ approach to African Mission leads to a combative
worldview approach in East Africa (through the lens of Shawn Tyler, primarily in Uganda).4
Fourth, I will show the Basoga responded to this kind of approach during the first wave of
Western missionaries in the region. After establishing the Basoga context, I will show how the
NTCCJ missionary team’s approach to planting indigenous churches differed from the Churches
of Christ approach above. In order to show this, I will focus on how NTCCJ missionaries’
1
This title, referred to after this instance as NTCCJ, is not the formal name this team went by.
However, all Churches of Christ missionary teams in Uganda are registered under the name New
Testament Churches of Christ. I’ve added the J, to stand for Jinja. This team consisted of all Harding
University graduates Brent and Heather Abney, Mark and Marnie Moore, John and Sarah Barton, Robert
Chambers, Deron and Becca Smith, and Greg and Jill Taylor.
2 Jeff W. Childers, Douglas A. Foster, and Jack R. Reese, The Crux of the Matter: Crisis,
Tradition and the Future of Churches of Christ (Abilene: ACU Press, 2002). I will explain my reasons for
using this work in the section.
3 http://www.acu.edu/news/2014/140225-annual-broom-colloquium-to-discuss-short-termmissions.html “Wendell Broom was a longtime missions professor and one of the first Church of Christ
missionaries to receive advanced academic training in missiology.”
4 Because there are not very many examples, it is helpful to appeal to a wider sample. Even
though their cultures are vastly diverse, East African cultures do share some commonalities depending on
region. Additionally, it is not irrelevant to gain a larger picture of the ways Churches of Christ
missionaries operate in more broadly—as the visible tendencies may comport with the way indigenizing
missions carry out their work.
approach to Basoga5 traditional religious beliefs and practices differed with the above Churches
of Christ approach. The fruit of this paper is for me consider how I will interact with Basoga
traditional beliefs and practices in my future ministries in Busoga.6
DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS OF CHURCHES OF CHRIST
Because of the high level of local autonomy in Churches of Christ, it is difficult to
identify universal characteristics of the tradition. So, for the sake of this assessment, it suffices to
say that the following generally typify Churches of Christ and are not definitive of all Churches
of Christ. It is partly because of the difficulty of identifying defining characteristics for all
Churches of Christ, that I have chosen to pull mine from The Crux of the Matter: Crisis,
Tradition and the Future of Churches of Christ, by Jeff W. Childers, Douglas A. Foster, and Jack
R. Reese.7 This book, primarily aimed toward church leaders, suggests “ways [Churches of
Christ] can focus [their] conversations on core issues that drive [Churches of Christ] faith and
practice which can transform both what [Churches of Christ] discuss and how [they] discuss it.”8
The work serves this purpose well in my assessment, as I am attempting to illustrate general
Churches of Christ tendencies that were actively and passively operative in Churches of Christ
missionary church leaders. A resource like The Crux of the Matter may help articulate the
theology and general principles that influence Churches of Christ leaders/missionaries, in that the
5
Basoga refers to the people of the Soga tribe (i.e. Soga people = Basoga). The area that these
people inhabit is called Busoga.
6 This is part of the GST Pathways requirements.
7 Childers, Foster, and Reese. These authors are best suited to speak to the theology of Churches
of Christ for the missionaries of this era (1994-2002). However, all of the principles outlined in The Crux
of the Matter can also be found in Brownlow, Leroy, Why I am a member of the Church of Christ (Fort
Worth: Brownlow Publishing Company, 1945); cf. G. C. Brewer, Foundation Facts and Primary
Principles: Being the Restoration Story Related and Re-examined (Kansas City: Old Paths Book Club,
1949).
8 Childers, Foster, and Resse, xvii.
conversation in the book is presumably a large part of the recent discussions in which Churches
of Christ leaders have participated.
The Characteristics include the following: 1) The notion that believers can come to the
truth about matters of God, faith, and life in the Church through reading scripture and using
reason;9 2) The church finds its model in Scripture (i.e. the reconstructed Apostolic church), and
there is a high priority on getting doctrines and practices right (e.g. attempting to speak where the
Bible speaks and to be silent where the Bible is silent; 3) Congregational autonomy and
leadership under the oversight of local elders; 4) Taking the Lord’s supper every Sunday; 5)
9
Childers, Foster, and Reese, 86-88. Churches of Christ “inherited several important
Enlightenment features including belief in the individual’s ability to come to truth, an emphasis on
education, the mandate to require only what the Bible requires, and faith in the reliability of human
reason” (86). The authors claim that these traits have shaped the “personality” of Churches of Christ “in
significant ways for two centuries” (86). From this, I would like to extrapolate two qualities that are
essentially (but not necessarily limited to) Churches of Christ: 1) The individual’s ability to come to truth,
connected to reliability of human reason; and 2) the importance of Scripture as a rule of faith and practice.
These two qualities merge into what I think is a defining feature that is “Churches of Christ”: The
confidence of the believers’ ability to come to the truth about matters of God, faith, and life in the church
by reading Scripture (individually and collectively) in the context of their reasoned, contextual
experiences. This characteristic came to Churches of Christ through the American democratization of
Enlightenment aristocracy. In Europe, natural aristocrats—as the most gifted people in society—were
responsible for determining natural law and the direction of the people. Americans applied this trust in
the ability of human reason and applied it to everyone. What this amounted to is that every individual,
through their own reason and common sense (hence the term “common sense realism”), was thought to be
able to come to the universal truth. In the Churches of Christ, people believed that Christians, unless their
reason or method for interpreting the Scriptures was corrupt, ought to be able to find unity in the same
Biblical truth. This of course, caused a great number of divisions in the movement, as coming to unifying
conclusions was not nearly as common as the ideology suggests.
We will find, in this assessment that the notion that all individuals should be able to come to the
same truth individually is not as operative among the missionaries, as it appears to be an even more
difficult feat in cross cultural missions. However, what does persist in the endeavors of the NTCCJ is the
idea that people can come to knowledge concerning God and matters of faith and practice by reading
scripture individually, collectively, and in dialogue with one another.
Predominantly males in leadership roles;10 6) A capella worship;11 7) Immersion for both the
remission of sins and as a condition of membership; 8) When penitent believers submit to
baptism, God acts, forgiving sins and moving one from the Kingdom of Darkness to the kingdom
of light;12 9) Tend to see little immediate involvement of God in their lives (e.g. activity of the
10
Childers, Foster, and Reese, 95-101. Here, I will address numbers 2-5. The Churches of Christ
were influenced by the Puritan idea that “Christians should go to the Scriptures, find the church depicted
there, and reform the present church to be an exact reflection of that original, true, apostolic one” (95).
Alexander Campbell argued that several institutions from the apostolic church needed restoring. “These
included: immersion for remission of sins. taking the Lord’s Supper everyday, local congregational
governance by elders, and simple worship songs reflecting scriptural concepts” (97). In The Christian
System, Alexander Campbell used the Bible to establish practices that have come to characterize Churches
of Christ. Two of the most significant are “congregational autonomy and leadership under the oversight of
local elders” (96).
These were significant influences on NTCCJ churches. This desired connection between church
and scripture led to numbers 2 through 5, which came about through particular readings of Scripture. The
authors of The Crux of the Matter do not deal with number 5 extensively, but it has become a significant
marker of Churches of Christ. It was Alexander Campbell’s strong desire to restore the practices of the
apostolic church that created “a vision of the church that put priority on getting [these] doctrines and
practices right” (101).
11 Childers, Foster, and Reese, 102-103. “While there were other religious groups that used only a
cappella music in worship, [the] opposition to instrumental music became one of the most deeply
ingrained pieces of [Churches of Christ] identity after the Civil War” (102). The distinctiveness of this
feature became so prominent that “whether or not a church used instruments became a litmus test to
determine its faithfulness or corruption” (103). This sharp exclusionary measure is less common today,
but a cappella music is still a standard marker of most Churches of Christ—even if they have included
instruments as one part of their worship service or in a separate “instrumental service.” A cappella
worship was not an issue of salvation for the NTCCJ; however, because of their supporting congregations,
they were compelled to at least inform their church plants that if they chose to include instruments (such
as drums) it would affect funding.
12 Here, I will address numbers 7 and 8. Childers, Foster, Reese, 98-107. Baptism and Scripture
(number 1) are “two of the most important parts of the theology of the Stone-Campbell Movement and
Churches of Christ” (107). The following statement about baptism will help, for our purposes, in
determining how the missionaries practice of baptism was like that of Churches of Christ.
Churches of Christ [teaching of baptism was different from that of all the other churches.
Like the Baptists, [Churches of Christ] believed that the only proper subjects for baptism
were penitent believers and that biblical baptism was immersion. Unlike Baptists and like
many Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians, [Churches of Christ] believed that
God acted in baptism to (among other things) forgive sins and move one from the
Kingdom of Darkness to the kingdom of light. This was and has continued to be an
essential belief for Churches of Christ. (107-108)
Varying degrees of sectarianism have developed in view of this position on Baptism, although campbell
himself would not condemn a faithful Christian, who bore the image of Christ, but had not receive adult
believers baptism. However, majority of Churches of Christ took a “closed membership” position,
requiring adult believers baptism.
Holy Spirit, etc.);13 10) High view of human nature blended with a high view of scripture.14
Number 10 underlies characteristics 1-9 (esp. 1 and 2). This idea is closely connected to
the tendency of Churches of Christ to lean heavily on facts and ideas. It is telling that the authors
of The Crux of the Matter write, “This book itself is based on our belief that people can think
through issues and change their minds and actions in ways that will bring them more in line with
what God wants them to be.”15 The belief that people can become more in line with God’s will
by changing what they think can lead to a particular missionary strategy that focuses on changing
the people’s worldview.16 In Churches of Christ, number 10, in combination with numbers 1 and
2 above contributed to the notion that Churches of Christ are the most perfect representation of
the church and that it is part of Churches of Christ mission to offer a more perfect vision of the
church.17 This view also leads to a combative worldview approach to mission, in which
missionaries focus on challenging the worldview of the people and their practices, so that they
13 Childers, Foster, Reese, 98-105. The authors characterize the movement as being “short on
emotional expression but rich in facts and ideas” (108). This is where the NTCCJ broke the mold for
churches of Christ, although they remained committed to their teachings about the church, as well as
some of the key elements such as local autonomy and elders. I suppose they would have a closer friend in
Barton Stone, who “insisted that unless the Spirit of Christ characterized one’s life, precise doctrine and
correct practice were useless” (98). Stone emphasized heart and the Spirit more than facts and ideas (at
least compared to Campbell). The emphasis on facts and ideas mined from scripture to determine issues
of faith and practice contributed toward toward the reality that “members of Churches of Christ have
tended to see little immediate involvement of God in their lives” (105). This is partly because of the
emphasis on reason mentioned above. There is a movement toward acknowledging more of the Spirit’s
work in daily life, but it is not the majority view.
14 Childers, Reese, and Foster, 104. “One of the most distinctive traits of [Churches of Christ]
heritage is the attempt to blend a high view of human nature with a high view of Scripture when most
Christian groups hold to one position or the other.”
15 Childers, Reese, and Foster, 104-105.
16 Childers, Reese, and Foster, 105. The authors also depend on God’s blessing in their efforts, but
the emphasis for most Churches of Christ lies in the intellectual content.
17 The missionary’s job to teach scripture and the “Christian worldview” is make explicit by
Gailyn Van Rheenen and Bob Waldron in The Status of Missions: A Nationwide Survey of Churches of
Christ (Abilene: ACU Press, 2002), “missionaries must be effective teachers of the Word of God.
Teaching a Christian worldview as revealed by God in scripture is integral to the missionary task” (82).
This appears to be the view of Wendell Broom in the next section.
line up with their “more perfect view.” I will refer to this as a kind of superiority complex. This
appears to be (at least in part) Wendell Broom’s view.
WENDELL BROOM, CHURCH OF CHRIST TENDENCIES, AND AFRICAN MISSIONS
Wendel Boom, a prominent missiologist in Churches of Christ, appears to promote what I
have labeled above as a combative worldview approach. In 100 Years of African Missions:
Essays in honor of wendell Broom,18 he contributes a chapter that reflects on 20th century
Churches of Christ missions of Africa.19 In his writing, there is a hint of the Churches of Christ
superiority complex. In the context of African missions, this espouses the view that Churches of
Christ missionaries have church practices and an implied worldview that Africa desperately
needs. His comments seem to indicate that the flow of information between Churches of Christ
missionaries and African is (mostly) a one way street, from missionary to recipient. In his
concluding thoughts on African missions in the 20th century. He asks about the “problem” of the
African worldview,
“How do we get under the thin veneer of Christian membership and thoroughly remove
the residual, core heritage of deadly fears of ancestors, sorcerers, evil spirits, devil
covenants? How do we replace all of that with a solid core Christian worldview which
puts total trust in atonement, integrity, life after death, resurrection, final and total
judgment and accountability for both evil and good?”20
These questions imply that the African worldview is inferior, and that “we” (Churches of Christ)
possess a pure “solid” Christian “core” to replace it with. The overall tone of the section is very
one sided. He goes on to talk about the need of missionaries to help “rebuild” Africa’s “failed
18
Stanley E. Granburg, ed., 100 Years of African Missions: Essays in Honor of Wendell Broom
(Abilene: ACU Press, 2001).
19 Wendell Broom, Sr., “Relflections on the 20th Century in African Missions” in 100 Years of
African Missions: Essays in Honor of Wendell Broom) (ed. Stanley E. Granburg; Abilene: ACU Press,
2001), 27-46.
20 Broom, 44.
infrastructures.”21 He adds that “African attempts to ‘fix their society’ have resulted in
generational tragedies…”22 Whatever truth their may or may not be to these claims, the message
here seems to be that the plight of the African requires the response of the Churches of Christ—
both in terms of worldview and practice.
Even though Broom acknowledge that “Africa now has more congregations than the
USA,” he speaks as if the situation is dire. He says that “the battle is not over” and paints a
picture of an Africa that is struggling to get by on its own and is in need of the Churches of
Christ.23
Broom’s reflections on Africa as the emerging center of Christianity are actually difficult
to interpret without an understanding of the Churches of Christ notion that they represent or are
closest to the true church. This is because he compares the numbers of denominations in Africa
and the United States with “demons” that Jesus must heal. Broom writes,
If Africa is the new Christian center of the planet, just what kind of churches are these?”
There are 20,000 new, different denominations in Africa, yet we westerners feel like we
have the real thing, and in the West we have but 300 denominations.24
Here, Broom appears to be saying that while the West, thinking that “we” have a truer form of
Christianity, might stand in judgment over Africa for having such having such a large number of
denominations (this is characteristic of, but not limited to, a Churches of Christ view). However,
the truth is that the West has at least 300 denominations, which according to Broom, is also a
problem. This becomes more clear when he likens the denominations to demons.
21
22
23
24
Broom, 44.
Broom, 45.
Broom, 44-45.
Broom, 45.
Our belief is that despite all these realities the real saving truth of God in Jesus Christ can
be found and can be valid for salvation. If Jesus could bring healing and life in the
presence of 300 demons, can he not do it in the presence of 20,000? Did he not come out
of the grave where more than that many legions of hell were trying to prevent His
resurrection?25
Next, Broom transitions to the freeing power of Jesus’ truth among the different sects of Judaism
in the first century (which he seems to liken to the denominations) and appears to claim that the
Churches of Christ also have access to this truth through Scripture, implying that they too can
bring more perfect truth in “our” conflicting religious cultures.
And did not His truth prevail in a culture of Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, and Herodians
in such a way that His truth could make men free. The power that is in Him (and therefor
in us) is greater than the power that is in them. Churches of Christ have promoted a
biblical approach that has led thousands out of imperfect knowledge of the Word and the
Kingdom and into a New Covenant faith that goes far back beyond the hundreds of years
of “Christian heritage” by holding to a “thus saith the Lord” and “speaking where the
Bible speaks and being silent where the Bible is silent”.26
For an outsider to Churches of Christ, the demon metaphor in this excerpt from Broom could be
very confusing. However, here Broom appears to be applying the world view combative
Churches of Christ missiology to the context of Africa.
Churches of Christ missionary Gailyn Van Rheenen presents a less combative approach;
however, his proposal still operates under the confident notion that the missionary can articulate
the “eternal Christian message” by understanding his or her own context/bias and by
understanding the New Testament in its historical context.27 Van Rheenen writes, “While the
American and African cultures are ‘perceptions’ of reality, the Scriptures reveal “true” reality—
25
26
27
Broom, 45.
Broom, 45.
Van Rheenen, Biblically Anchored Missions: Perspectives on Church Growth (Austin: Firm
Foundation Publishing House, 1983), 62.
although given in a different time period and directed to problems in specific cultures.”28 The
missionary is then supposed to wield this true reality in order to “Christianize the traditional
rites” of the culture.29 Even though Van Rheenen’s proposal is more modest in relationship to the
Western (Churches of Christ30) missionary. It still favors a one way model, in which the
American missionary must “Christianize” the indigenous culture.31
CHURCHES OF CHIST TENDENCIES AND EAST AFRICAN MISSIONS
The view issued above by Broom leads to a stronger opposition to traditional African
religious practices and worldviews. This emerges in Shawn Tyler’s essay, “The Gospel and the
Spirits.”32 Tyler, a Churches of Christ missionary (not of the NTCCJ) in Mbale, Uganda, has
done mission work with the Bukusu, Luo, and Kabras of Kenya, as well as with the Bagisu,
Sebei, and Bagwere of Uganda and with the Lomwe of Malawi.33 Bagwere are technically a
subset of Basoga.
In his essay, Tyler grapples with the issue of addressing East African religious practices,
and those related to “witchcraft.” He begins by telling what appear to be morally ambiguous
28
Ibid., 68.
Ibid., 29.
30 I imply Churches of Christ because that is his background.
31 Van Rheenen, Biblically Anchored Missions, 68. Van Rheenen does say that both American and
African cultures can benefit from one another; however, the emphasis seems to fall on the missionaries
ability to “Christianize,” with the Biblical message, as apposed to African and American Missionary
reading and interpreting scripture side by side—an approach taken by NTCCJ that will be explained later
in the assessment.
32 Shawn Tyler, “The Gospel and the Spirits,” in 100 Years of African Missions: Essays in Honor
of Wendell Broom (ed. Stanley E. Granburg; Abilene: ACU Press, 2001), 341-360.
33 In this paper, Tyler’s work serves as an example of what I think is a more common
representation of Churches of Christ Missions in Africa. His work functions as a good discussion partner
with the NTCCJ, as Tyler’s time in Uganda overlaps with the NTCCJ (Plus, he speaks as an authority on
East African Missions in 100 Years of African Missions.) The two groups even interacted with one another
at one of the national Churches of Christ missionary meetings in 1999. Tyler, Shawn. “National Meeting
October 1-3, 1999,” Letter 195 from Uganda - October 6, 1999. Uganda Newsletters # 171-231. Shawn
Tyler Papers. Manuscripts #268. Center for Restoration Studies. Miliken Special Collections. Brown
Library. ACU.
29
practices of a rain chief who shows a missionary his sacred objects. Afterwards, Tyler begins
posing questions about the nature of consecrated items. He argues that the sacred religious
objects of East African religions need to be treated seriously, and that missionaries sometimes
fail to look beyond the superficial/physical nature of objects used for traditional religious
rituals.34 Then he considers how Africans might underestimate the “consecratedness” of
Christian practices and asks the question, “Does consecration work both ways—to righteousness
and to evil? More specifically, can a simple object dedicated to evil spirits bring harm?”35 Tyler
turns from speaking about what seem to be practically harmless practices concerning “rain
stones,”36 to labeling these religious practices as evil. By doing so, Tyler creates a dichotomy
between the missionary’s acts consecrated in righteousness and the African’s consecrated in evil.
This combative worldview approach seems to be driven by fear. He warns that a seemingly
harmless object “might actually be something set apart for destruction’” (Deut 7:26).37 This
position is influenced by the Western Churches of Christ worldview superiority complex.
In this dichotomy, Tyler also assumes that all practices related to witchcraft arise from
corrupt motives. Tyler claims that “witchcraft releases the user form numerous personal
responsibilities”38 and that some of the primary reasons people engage in such practices is that
they are lazy and refuse to take responsibility for their actions. In addition, he says, “Witchcraft
gives the user the power to manipulate people, spirits, and circumstances around him. … The
34 Tyler, 344. “We overlook these objects’ significance as having been consecrated to demons for
some particular task while we concentrate on its external form and substance.”
35 Tyler, 345.
36 In Abilene, Texas, front yards are littered with signs reading “Pray for rain.” How different are
these objects?
37 Tyler, 345.
38 Tyler, 350-351.
powerful attraction here is that the person becomes is or her own god.”39 In this way, Tyler links
“witchcraft” with idolatry. This is more of an exception in Basoga, however. In general, the
Basoga feel as if, they are at the mercy of the spiritual realm, and “witchcraft” is a means to
simply get by in a hostile world. One of Tyler’s examples describes how Bagwere bury items in
the soil around the compound and place other items under the door step of the home for
protection. This example shows that the people fear meddling spirits or the ill intentions of others
who desire to put curses on them. The Basoga have very similar practices,40 and the impulse is
not greed, desire for power, or idolatry; it is more a matter of survival.41 The desire to prosper
plays a role, but it is not necessarily from a place of laziness, greed, or idolatry that people
engage in such practices. Again, this is part of the worldview superiority complex. Tyler writes
as if Christians do not treat their own practices the same way and seems to assume that all other
practices are prima-facie inferior. This is evident in this troubling statement, “Thus, from birth to
death, spirits and witchcraft cover every major event in an African’s life.”42 This overgeneralized (and clearly untrue) statement is a classic example of how Western missionaries, and
in this case Churches of Christ missionaries, make the assumptions I have outlined above.
Despite the leanings toward a worldview-confrontational approach, Tyler recognizes that
confronting the African’s worldview is, at least initially, problematic. He says “denying the
existence of demons and spirits and the power of witchcraft is not the way for a missionary to
39
Tyler, 351-352.
Barton, John David, Email messages to author, October 2014 through April 2015.
41 Busoga News: News from the Smiths in Jinja, Uganda. June 1995. Shawn Tyler Papers,
Manuscripts # 268. Center for Restoration Studies. Milliken Special Collections. Brown Library, ACU.
Deron Smith writes “The Basoga live their lives in fear of death. it is the fear of death that drives them to
the witch doctor during crises of life. It is the fear of death that compels the Musoga mother to attach
charms to her young children in hopes that these man made trinkets may ward off the level sprits that
bring sickness and, ultimately death.”
42 Tyler, 355.
40
begin.”43 Tyler advises that missionaries need to emphasize the Lordship of Christ and his power
over other spirits. “Missionaries will get much farther if they begin by acknowledging the
existence of spirits and demons, but then go on to explain where the greatest power of protection
and blessing lies.”44 Tyler admits that he has tried the other approach of debating with traditional
beliefs. Tyler has tried asking questions like, “If your children wear charms for protection against
sickness, then why do people in Uganda have life expectancy of 48 years of age and its infant
mortality rate ranks among the highest in the world?”45 These kinds of questions did not work.
Tyler received answers that suggested things would be worse without the charms, or that the
medicines were not strong enough.46 Here, Tyler notes that going in trying to change how the
people think is not effective.
In spite of the initially non-violent stance toward traditional beliefs, Tyler, fearing
“syncretism” turns quickly to the need to renounce everything related to them. “Syncretism is the
only way many Africans can find to appease the spirits, their family, and their missionary
friends; this is a difficult position for the missionary to be in as he or she begins their work.”47
This of course assumes that the missionaries do not also syncretize. Therefore, Tyler asserts that
the African should publicly speak his allegiance to Christ only and renounce all past
association with evil including clan spirits, witchcraft, and traditional spirit practices. The
43
Tyler, 356.
Tyler, 356. This is a slightly more gracious approach toward traditional beliefs. Tyler continues,
“Missionaries and African Christians would do well to preach on Biblical texts that show Jesus’ power
over evil spirits. Jesus casting out the Gadreene demon named Legion (Mark 5:1-20 will make an African
audience take notice” (356). If we follow Tyler’s argument, he says that idolatry, laziness, and greed are
the reasons for witchcraft. If he is right, then does this message suggest that Jesus is a better solution to
get what you want? This could become problematic.
45 Tyler, 356.
44
46
These responses are telling of the reasons that many Ugandans converted to
Christianity through medical missions. They saw how effective the Western medicine were and
converted because they were “stronger” than their own methods. Building a Ugandan Church
47
Tyler, 355. We will see later that Tyler would likely call NTCCJ practices syncretistic.
more detailed and extensive this confession and renouncing is, the clearer his allegiance
to Christ will be.48
This thorough renunciation does not allow for any dialogue between Churches of Christ
missionary and East African. It assumes that any prior traditional beliefs they held were evil and
require complete renunciation. This, combined with Tyler’s claim that “from birth to death,
spirits and witchcraft cover every major event in an African’s life” strongly asserts the “one way”
vision of mission that what the missionary has to offer is superior and what the African has to
offer is inferior. In this situation every major event, and by Tyler’s implication perhaps every
culturally important identity marker of the African, must be renounced. Putting on Christ
requires the believer to take on a new identity, but determining what should be renounced may
not be as easy as Tyler suggests. Do African beliefs deserve a voice in the conversation?
Initially, Tyler suggests that there may be a conversation between traditional beliefs and
those of the missionaries. However, immediately after conversion, hostility toward traditional
beliefs ensues. Tyler explains that with the conversion and renunciation, the remnants of the
former beliefs must be eradicated. “A complete cleansing must take place in the new Christian’s
home and life. The missionaries and church leaders must lead the new Christian in burning all
objects associated with the spirits.”49 Tyler is uncompromising in setting a scriptural precedent
for using violence against such items.
Remove and destroy all symbols and charms of witchcraft, shrines, sacrifice, and objects
of protection. This may involve digging up buried charms, pulling up special plants,
48
Tyler, 357. This does not reflect the multi-directional approach of NTCCJ, which did not
presume to have superior metaphysical knowledge concerning the spirit world. Instead, they engaged in a
dialogue to learn from one another.
49 Tyler, 357. These practices are what caused the Basoga to question the hostility of early
Western missionaries. Tom Tuma, Building a Ugandan Church: African Participation in Church growth
and expansion in Busoga 1891-1940 (Nairobi: Kenya Literature Bureau, 1980)
cutting off amulets from the body, ripping out charms sewn into clothing, and uncovering
all manner of talismans hidden in the roof, bedroom, kitchen, grain storage, and
compound. The public confession of evil deeds and burning of scrolls for witchcraft in
Ephesus provides an important example for such cleansing (Acts 19:18-19).”50
The violence of Tyler’s approach is also apparent in a statement about prayer. “The missionary’s
main weapon from a distance will be prayer—constant and vigilant.”51 The eventual renunciation
of trust in supernatural powers other than Jesus is necessary. However, must the believer
immediately rid his or her self of everything that has been touched by former beliefs? Tyler says,
The African should publicly speak he is allegiance to Christ only and renounce all past
association with evil including clan spirits, witchcraft, and traditional spirit practices. The
more detailed and extensive this confession and renouncing is, the clearer his allegiance
to Christ will be.”52
The call for such a “detailed” and “extensive” renunciation could become confusing and
overbearing. It also appears that Tyler has lumped together, heinous acts related to witchcraft
with traditional religious beliefs (e.g. with the rain chief above). Is it possible that Christ could
use traditional beliefs or redeem them if necessary? What should Americans be burning in their
churches? Is it possible that traditional beliefs have something to offer Christianity? In Tyler’s
assessment, it does not appear that way. According to Broom, VanRheenen, and Tyler, the North
American Churches of Christ worldview and practices are fit to replace or Christianize (though a
one-way flow of information) the world view and practices of East Africans.
THE BASOGA CONTEXT
Understanding some of the history of Western missionaries in Busoga establishes some
perspective for understanding how and why the efforts of the NTCCJ began to differ from those
50
Tyler, 358.
Tyler, 358.
52 Tyler, 357.
51
above. Initially, the colonizing missionaries were highly confrontational toward the traditional
religious beliefs of the Basoga, and they thought that traditional Basoga beliefs would be the
largest obstacle to their success.53 “To the missionaries, Christianity represented civilization and
light while the Traditional Religion represented darkness and the devil.54 In their initial
approaches, early European missionaries contrasted traditional religions with Christianity in
terms of darkness and light, pinning one against the other and requiring “religious conversion.”55
According to Tuma, many of the early conflicts with Christian missionaries were “wrongly
attributed to opposition from Traditional Religion. Most of the missionaries were so quick to
condemn Traditional Religion that they failed to see the positive contribution of the latter to
Christianity.”56 Like the Church of Christ tendencies above, the early missionaries understood
their task as a one-way movement of information.
“It was generally believed, that evangelization would not occur unless there was a
showdown between Christianity and Traditional religion.”57 In fact, several missionaries took
violent actions toward religious shrines and animals used for the purposes of traditional religion.
This violence toward the Basoga people complicated matters and caused a great deal of suspicion
concerning the missionaries; they lost trust with the people.58 This raises questions about Tyler’s
move to any and everything associated with the traditional practices.
53 Tom Tuma, Building a Ugandan Church: African Participation in Church growth and
expansion in Busoga 1891-1940 (Nairobi: Kenya Literature Bureau, 1980), 51.
54 Tuma, 51.
55 Tuma, 51. Conversion was a difficult concept for the Busoga in terms of swearing allegiance to
a single deity.
56 Tuma, 54.
57 Tuma, 53.
58 Tuma 54. It was difficult for the Basoga to break with their traditional beliefs. “It appears that
to most of the Basoga, accepting Christianity merely meant establishing contact with another ‘deity’.
Consequently, those who accepted Christianity could not, at first see the need to break—despite the
missionary demand that they do so—their existing links with the sprit world” (55).
Issues of power were also a significant factor for the first missionaries in Busoga. In the
early 1900s, in the wake of two famines and an epidemic, the Christian medical aid significantly
affected the missions in Busoga. The effective medicines and more advanced medical care
sometimes gave the impression that the Christian God endowed stronger divine powers than the
deities of other traditional religions. In addition, the social disruption alone was enough to
prompt many to start a new life under the “new deity.”59 “Many of the Basoga would naturally
long, in addition to what they already had, to possess the stronger powers.”60 However, this was
not for the reasons that Tyler assumes (related to witchcraft above). “Traditional Religion, like
Christianity, appreciated Man’s finitude and his total dependence on some super-natural
power.”61 Tuma cites an anonymous missional missionary,
… in these beliefs of the people, the Gospel has found a fertile soil … their consciousness
of unseen powers at once vivid and undefined made them ready listeners when face to
face with a message which crystallized their own unformed creed … Thus the ground
was prepared before hand …”
The people felt subject to and dependent on the Spiritual world, and so the fact that the
missionaries said they could depend on Jesus was attractive to them. Tuma argues that this
disposition increased positive responses to Christianity.62 However, this did not make breaking
with Traditional views easy. The Basoga were unable to renounce their former convictions
immediately after conversion, despite the insistence of the missionaries.
The history of suspicion toward missionaries who take a confrontational stance toward
traditional worldview and religious practices (and the acknowledgement of the one-sided view I
59
Tuma, 64.
Tuma, 64 (cf. 61-64).
61 Tuma, 55.
62 Tuma, 55.
60
have presented) is partly what prompted the NTCCJ to take a slightly different tact than the early
missionaries and the Churches of Christ Missionaries described above. Once the missionaries
arrived, they also saw how
Much of the Christian presence in the villages [had] become corrupt and oppressive so
that much of it [had] a dehumanizing effect on the culture as a whole […] This [had]
created a good deal of disillusionment with Christianity, which [had] in turn added to the
hopelessness already found in the traditional culture, which [had] in turn helped produce
levels of immorality, alcoholism, dishonesty, wife abuse, division.63
The team’s first fundraising brochure states that the team desires to “teach the truth of the Jesus
Christ accurately from God’s word while being sensitive to the culture.”64 The combination of
seeing the negative effects that abusive Christianity had on the culture, the “hopelessness” in the
traditional culture, and a desire to be sensitive to the culture is likely part of what caused the
efforts of the NTCCJ to differ from the more typical approaches of Broom, Van Rheenen, and
Tyler.
THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCHES OF CHRIST JINJA
Unlike the early missionaries and the Churches of Christ missionaries described above,
the NTCCJ valued the (potential) contributions of traditional beliefs to the Christian message. Of
course they did not approve of heinous acts related to witchcraft; however, they were willing to
engage in dialogue with the Basoga about their religious beliefs. They attempted to cultivate a
two way flow of information. They believed that “engaging people in authentic, trusting
63
“Uganda Mission,” Barton Newsletter, December 1994, Bol. 1, No. 3. Jinja Uganda. Shawn
Tyler Papers. Manuscripts #268. Center for Restoration Studies. Milliken Special Collections. Brown
Library, ACU.
64 “Pray that the Lord of the Harvest will send forth reapers.” Jinja Uganda. Shawn Tyler Papers.
Manuscripts #268. Center for Restoration Studies. Milliken Special Collections. Brown Library, ACU.
This pamphlet also states that their goal is to “learn the language of the Basoga, study their culture, and
learn how best to present the gospel to them. […] Our goal in planting churches in Uganda is to lead
others to Christ by establishing churches which conduct their won worship have strong leaders, are
evangelistic, give generous support to others, and understand the work of the church in their own culture.”
relationships,” and taking an “incarnational approach to cultural immersion and life
involvement” would lead to “mulit-directional engagement” with the Basoga.65
Using this approach, the NTCCJ “found and used numerous redemptive analogies from
Soga culture, some of which challenged and changed [their] own reading of the scriptures [they]
were ‘teaching.’” Barton puts “teaching” in quotes here to emphasize that the team engaged the
scriptures and learned together, allowing the power of the Holy Spirit to transform them all as
they wrestled with the Scripture together. Brent Abney wrote in “The Pearl” newsletter that after
nearly four years into their stay in Jinja, their “horizions [had] been expanded” and they “now
[viewed] the world through the lenses of [their] cross cultural experience.”66 He then continues
to talk about how this has effected his view of Scripture. “Interestingly, this newly found
perspective on life has broadened us as Bible students. Our understanding of scripture has been
challenged and changed.” He then gives an example of teaching the Eucharist in the Basoga
context. When studying passages like Matt 26:16-60; Mark 14:12-26; and Luke 22:7-23, the
Basoga did not notice any significance in the emblems of bread and wine. Instead, they were
captured by the idea that Jesus chooses to eat with his disciples. Brent Abney says that
Americans tend to only focus on the facts in the text. The Basoga, on the other hand, care mostly
about the relationships. He writes,
It's a thrill to be able to expand the horizons of the Basoga. But it’s also a thrill to be
expanded, and that’s my main point here: we can learn a great deal from those with
different cultural perspectives, experiences and insights.67
65
Barton, John David, Email messages to author, October 2014 through April 2015.
“The Pearl,” Jinja, Uganda. Shawn Tyler Papers. Manuscripts #268. Center for Restoration
Studies. Milliken Special Collections. Brown Library, ACU.
67 “The Pearl,” Jinja, Uganda. Shawn Tyler Papers. Manuscripts #268. Center for Restoration
Studies. Milliken Special Collections. Brown Library, ACU.
66
This strong commitment to identifying with the culture and learning from them is what caused
the NTCCJ to take a slightly different tact that the traditional Churches of Christ view’s above.
Ironically, in this example, it is the emphasis on facts—a concept embraced by Churches of
Christ that drives the traditional missiology presented here—that Abney notes as something he
has had to learn to step outside of at times.
Taking this multidirectional approach allowed the missionaries to discover a creative
analogy for Jesus as the intercessor with the reconciler (mutabagania) in the Basoga religion’s
ekikolimo curse.
The ekikolimo curse is seen as a justified or holy curse meaning that its ideal is to be
protective (i.e., to protect the community) and redemptive because it often has in mind
the ultimate removal of the curse (okulaamulula) and family reconciliation. There are a
variety of rituals that are used to remove such a curse but they typically involve a third
person who acts as an objective reconciler (mutabagania) and a ceremony which includes
a pouring or spitting of water as an act of the removal of the curse, a blood sacrifice, and
then a shared meal confirming family reconciliation.68
For the NTCCJ, the objective reconciler (Mutabagania) as a redemptive analogy for Jesus as the
intercessor was a powerful metaphor that the biblical narrative expanded and changed in radical
ways. The connections here with the Biblical narrative are striking. The involvement with the
objective reconciler who assists in removing the curse through blood sacrifice with a celebration
of a family meal has significant potential to relate to Jesus as intercessor and the Eucharist. This
concept however proved to be challenging for Basoga since the mutabagania of Jesus is at once
the reconciler and the reconciling dinner, as the body and blood are shared in the Lord’s Supper.
While Tyler would likely dismiss the ekikolimo curse as witchcraft, the NTCCJ, though
68
John David Barton, “Causation in modern Africa and the postmodern West: a study of cultural
similarities with special reference to the worldviews of the Basoga of Uganda and the proposal of the
Vatican Observatory/CNTS Project.” (Ph. D. diss., Makerere University, 2001), page 7 of chapter 10.
multidirectional interaction, were able to uncover some of the redemptive concepts of the
traditional practice.
However, as Tyler rightly asserted, power issues are important in this analogy. In the
example of the mutabagania, issues of power become important, as the blood sacrifice in the
ekikolimo curse is no longer needed because the blood of Jesus is powerful enough (or more
powerful). In this example the power of Jesus trumps that of the spirit power of the traditional
religion, but it was not necessary to renounce every association with the the ekikolimo curse as
Tyler suggests. However, it is still necessary to use caution, as “these redemptive ideals… often
get blurred by the complexities of human relationships and the ekikolimo curse often becomes a
dreaded result of jealousy or animosity instead of protection and redemption.”69 Even though
caution is necessary, there is no reason to assume all associations with traditional practices
should be renounced. Same caution should be used toward traditional American practices.
As the example of the ekikolimo shows, the NTCCJ were interested in a two way (or
multi-directional) dialogue. In other words, they do not appear to have exhibited the one-way
worldview superiority mindset that assumes the Western perspective is superior. Another
example of this is NTCCJ’s handling of polygamy, a common practice in Basoga culture. Instead
of rejecting polygamy outright like the earliest Basoga missionaries,70 the NTCCJ missionaries
considered what parallel polygamy had in an American context. According to Greg Taylor, they
did not try to arbitrate Polygamy but realized that Americans were polygamists as well—the
main difference being that Christians in the U.S. take one spouse at a time through divorce,
69
Ibid.
Tuma, 52. In response to early missionaries, the Basoga were particularly concerned about the
missionaries attacks on polygamy.
70
instead of multiple at once.71 This did not mean that the team accepted the practice of taking
multiple spouses. They acknowledged that Western Christians also struggle to stay faithful to
only one spouse. So, instead of attacking polygamy as a non-western African practice, the
NTCUU missionaries encouraged Basoga to develop their own solutions to the moral dilemmas
involved with taking more than one spouse in their own context. This is much different than
merely attacking the traditional practice.
This process of dealing with polygamous Christians differs from the one-way missionary
approach, in which missionaries simply teach against the traditional practices of the people.
Tyler’s approach to polygamy, however, does seem to represent the one-way model, as his
missionary team held marriage seminars that presented lectures including: “A General
Introduction to Marriage (what is marriage and God’s ideals for marriage); Principles of
Communication; Teaching and Discipline of Children; Polygamy; Family Planning; How to
Fight Fair; Making Your Marriage Fun; Budgeting; and sex”72—a largely one-way presentation.
These examples show how the NTCCJ appear to have been less confrontational in their
approaches to traditional religious beliefs and witchcraft. The NTCCJ and Tyler do appear to
agree that some practices of witchcraft are evil, however Tyler is more confrontational in his
approach. For example, On Greg Taylor’s third visit to Bupyana Village, he was asked the
question, “I work for the local witch doctor. If I become a Christian, can I continue to make
money from that?” While Greg Taylor believes that “witchcraft is from Satan and clearly
71
Talyor 1.
Tyler, Shawn. Marriage Seminar 19-21 August, 1999. “Letter 192 from Uganda - 22 August,
1999.” Uganda Newsletters # 171-231. Shawn Tyler Papers. Manuscripts #268. Center for Restoration
Studies. Miliken Special Collections. Brown Library. ACU. These seminars appear to have been one-way
presentations of information, as Taylor follows up this list by saying, “They did not have time to lecture
on Aids and Counseling.”
72
apposed to God, [his] first task was expanding their understanding of Jesus, rather than
hammering on witchcraft on [his] third visit tho their village.”73 He continues, “Witchcraft may
disappear from view by issuing laws, but only by starting with an understandings of the
redeeming work of God in Christ can dependence upon the powers of evil be eradicated from
their hearts…and ours.”74 Compare this with Tyler, who tells the story of trying to convert a
witchdoctor in Katyaime named Gideon.75 Tyler begins trying to convert Katyaime on their first
visit, and Gideon is “arrogant” in his resistance, according to Tyler. “In subsequent visits, Gideon
allowed [them] to read from the scriptures, pray, and preach a little. He confessed an interest in
Christianity and a desire to live in God’s kingdom and not Satan’s.”76 The letter seems to
describe an aggressive attempt to “convert”77 Gideon though preaching that witchcraft is of
Satan. While Greg Taylor would have agreed, about the nature of the practices, his approach was
not nearly as aggressive.
The example of polygamy above helps explain how and why the NTCCJ are not as
combative/aggressive toward traditional practices as Tyler and his team. In the Polygamy
example, the NTCCJ was able to see how the things that lead the Basoga away from Christ
(although different culturally) were not all that different theologically from the things that lead
Americans away from Christ. This is partly why the NTCCJ “never systematically taught
Ugandans or helped formulate formal confessions and renunciations of traditional practices, and
73 From the Taylors in Uganda, “Stump the Missionary,” Shawn Tyler Papers, Manuscripts # 268.
Center for Restoration Studies. Milliken Special Collections, Brown Library, ACU.
74 Ibid.
75 Tyler, Shawn. “An Update on Gideon,” Letter 186 from Uganda - 7 August, 1999. Uganda
Newsletters # 171-231. Shawn Tyler Papers. Manuscripts #268. Center for Restoration Studies. Miliken
Special Collections. Brown Library. ACU.
76 Ibid.
77 Ibid.
didn’t prompt people to burn or destroy things in any kind of formal or official way,” as Tyler
did. John Barton explains, “to me, that would be like going into an American church and
requiring Christians to burn and destroy all items that relate to their materialism which threaten
to undermine the claims of Jesus on their lives.”78 This statement exemplifies the contrast
between the NTCCJ and the Churches of Christ superiority complex I have described above.
CONCLUSION
Monte Cox’s presentation at the Stone-Campbell Dialogue on Foreign missions in 2008,
identified some of the Changing trends in Churches of Christ missions.79 His presentation draws
attention to the how Churches of Christ seem to be following (or not following major trends in
foreign missions, as articulated by David Bosch.80 Cox notes that while Bosch sees a trend in
missionaries attempting to foster indigenous “theology from below,” Churches of Christ are
more resistant.
Bosch applauds the new emphasis on “theology from below,” but cautions that it tends to
elevate context over text. Missions teachers in Churches of Christ accept the “selftheologizing” of Paul Hiebert, but many members would still be hesitant to “allow”
younger churches on the mission field such freedom.81
The NTCCJ actually used the concepts of “self-theologizing” for a time, but eventually they
stopped using them explicitly—not because they felt it elevated the “context over text,” but
because they felt the categories of the “self” were to Western and individualistic. They
maintained similar principles but actually attempted to deepen their cultural relevance. The fear
of putting “context over text” likely arose for other Churches of Christ because of the emphasis
78
Barton, John David. Email messages to author. October 2014 through April 2015.
Monte Cox, “Missions in the Churches of Christ: Trends in Theology and Strategy” (paper
presented at The Stone-Campbell Dialogue on Foreign Missions, St. Louis, Mo., 9 June 2008).
80 Bosch, David. 1991. Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission
(Maryknoll, NY: Orbis).
81 Cox, 5.
79
on facts and ideas and the deep concern for getting Scripture and church practices right—and the
way those beliefs were tied to their underlying (known or unknown) Western/Churches of Christ
superiority complex. As I have shown, the NTCCJ were more than willing to allow the Basoga
culture to shape their communities’ views of Scripture. Barton writes, “God was among us, and
as we engaged with each other, and ‘read’ the Word together, we both learned and saw it in new
light, and taught each other.”82
Considering how the NTCCJ differed from most Churches of Christ, by embracing
Bosch’s concept of “theology from below” rather than shying away, it might be somewhat
surprising that their churches have actually maintained most of the Churches of Christ
Characteristics in the first section of the paper.83 This is partly because their donors expected the
churches they planted to have things like a cappella worship and men in leadership.84 However,
in large part, I think this is because NTCCJ had as their background a strong Churches of Christ
commitment to holding a high view of Scripture and a high view of humanity (number 10
above). However, they did not adapt the same superiority complex that Broom and others show. I
think this is partly because they believed so strongly that believers can come to the truth about
matters of God, faith, and life in the Church through reading scripture and using reason in
community (number 1 above) that they trusted that Basoga believers could do the same thing, in
their own context, together with the NTCCJ missionaries. The NTCCJ still maintained a high
82
Barton, John David. Email messages to author. October 2014 through April 2015.
Mwesigwa, Roy. Email messages to author. January 2015 through April 2015. According to
Jinja resident and musoga Roy Mwesigwa (one of the NTCCJ’s language teachers, a cultural advisor, and
a close friend), The Churches of Christ in Busoga still follow the worship practices established by the
missionaries and identify as Churches of Christ.
84 Taylor, Greg. Email messages to author. November 2014 through April 2015.Taylor indicates
that these issues are not that important to him, and that the missionaries were upfront with Basoga who
wanted to include instruments. They explained to them some of the historical and theological background
of the practice and how it would affect the NTCCJ funding.
83
view of scripture and attempted to start simple churches with Churches of Christ practices based
on Scripture85 and they still tried to use the Bible as a rule of faith and practice.86 Perhaps the
major difference between the NTCCJ and the Churches Christ characteristics in the first section
is number 9 (tending to see little immediate involvement of God in their lives). I think this is
because they were able to look beyond their cultural heritage of focusing primarily on facts and
ideas (see Abney’s realization above), which can sometimes deemphasize movements of the
Spirit in the hearts of believers. The Basoga culture forced the missionaries to see the world
differently. John Barton writes, “all cultural perspectives end up having both vantage points and
blind spots; in fact, Soga sometimes had insights to biblical themes that our western assumptions
hid from us (and vice versa).”87
It seems that while the Churches of Christ characteristic that every believer can come to
truth about God through Scripture has the capability to cause great division, it can—when
practiced in humility—help missionaries respectfully plant culturally relevant indigenous
churches. This has been a helpful study for my own future ministry in Busoga. Before this
assessment, I was not sure if or how my Churches of Christ background might affect my
missiological assumptions. When I move to Uganda, the approach of the NTCCJ will help
inform the way I engage the people and embody/proclaim the gospel.
85
This is very apparent in Greg Taylor, Balaza Story of Fiath in Busoga: A Novel Bible Study.
Kisumu, Kenya: Dan Bell, 2000. This book was a print ministry that taught the gospel though the life of
the fictional Character Balaza. Part of of this book (130-146) contains a section called “Studies about the
Church,” in which he explains how virtually everything the church does is rooted in scripture. Here
numbers 3-8 of the Churches of Christ Characteristics appear.
86 Ibid. Taylor reveals the strong reliance on scripture in the section “The church is the people
who make decision as they stand on God’s Word, Making Decisions in the Church’” (134). While
87 Barton, John David, Email messages to author, October 2014 through April 2015.
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