The Lion Speaks Tonight

Celebrating Black Scholarship in Mission

Welcome to “Global Witness, Globally Reimagined,” where we dream about mission in a postcolonial world. Every Thursday, I share one thought that has spoken to me in the week, some resources I trust will be helpful to you, and three exciting quotes about mission. I pray one of these will energise you in the coming week.

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1. Thought I Can’t Shake Off

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Some of you will know the song, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” from the film, The Lion King. It is partly the inspiration behind the title and what I hope will be a coherent wrap-up of my thoughts during this Black History Month. The other part of the inspiration is a proverb in southern Africa that says, “Until the lions can speak and tell of their experience, the story of the hunt will always glorify the hunter.” It is said in different ways in various languages. Still, the meaning is always the same—many lions (figurative language for the victims of the hunt, the marginalised, oppressed and colonised) do not live to tell their stories. Even those who survive the hunt are often too intimidated to raise their voices. As a result, whatever is said or written about the hunt is usually in the perspective of the hunters, those who terrorised the lions. When my grandfather first told me about this proverb—I was 9 or 10 years old—he made sure that I understood that it serves to subvert the old adage that says, “History is written by the winners.” His actual words were, “Our history is written by the people who killed our heroes.” It can, therefore, never be our history. I think about this a lot when I read mission histories.

Thankfully, there is a great deal of scholarship in theology, history, and mission and theology coming out of Africa and the African Diaspora today. Andrew Walls was right when he wrote, “If anyone wants to know something about Christianity, they must learn about Africa.” This is a lot easier now than it was back in 2000 when he published this. Africans are writing their stories (and their histories). African theology and missiology will only continue to influence the discourses that shape world Christianity. I often get requests to suggest books of African authorship in theology, missiology and other subjects. There are numerous resources out there. If you are looking, you will find them. For example, this African Missiology bibliography that I put together with Joshua Barron is a good starting point. There are many resources here, you will find pointers to what you are looking for. Joshua has several other bibliographies that I believe you will find helpful. All in all, Africans are writing and I am pretty excited about some of the emerging voices in African theology and missiology.

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2. Resources I am Enjoying

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Video: Isaac Boaheng: On Doing African Christian Theology

As we come to the end of the UK’s Black History Month, here is another resource that attempts to introduce and help us better understand African Christian Theology. Isaac Boaheng explores various strands connected to the subject of African Theology. He begins by establishing the origin of African Theology within the Acts 2 context, dating it further back beyond the modern European missionary enterprise era. Of course, he acknowledges the effect of the missionary movement on African Theology and the reactions it has generated among Africans, especially the consequent emergence of African indigenous churches, among others. Boaheng speaks about some contextual issues that shape or must inform African Theology. He hopes that, as with Western theologies, African Theology will also attract more global appeal, as it takes all of us sharing our thoughts about God to know Him more accurately and better understand His all-encompassing mission in the world.

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3. Quotes I am Pondering

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• … it can be argued that from the outset reconciliation propelled by love is the crux of the mission of God in the world. — Uma A. Onwunta and H. Jurgens Hendriks

• … those who call themselves Christians have not yet begun to articulate their faith in Christ unless they have begun to welcome children and ensure that the kingdom of God belongs to them - which is the kingdom of justice, especially for those who are socially marginalized. — Musa W Dube

• Christian mission is not church or human centered, but God centered … The church’s participation in the missio Dei, however, is planted in the mission of Christ (missio Christi), and empowered by the missio Spiritus (the mission of the Spirit). — Kapya Kaoma

I pray that you will be faithful to the mission God has for you this week.