from Claude -

AMAHORO AFRICA GATHERING MAY 7 – 18/2007
KAMPALA – UGANDA, EAST AFRICA

Look to the Margins: Hope for Leadership amid Liminality!

by Claude Nikondeha

According to Alan Roxburgh, the North American church in late modernity is firmly in liminal space; meaning that there is little that is firm or solid as we transition into a post-modern or post-colonial era. In truth, the North American church has been on the margins for some time now, but it has been a comfortable arrangement. In recent years, the church become aware that it is on the margins; the cultural quake got the attention of many church leaders at long last. Many pastors, denominational leaders and faithful disciples are trying to gain their footing in this new decentered reality. They are surveying the aftermath of modernity and see that they are on the margins, and they are not alone. And the question of how to reimagine, retool and rebuild the church overwhelms the most thoughtful among them.

These North American church leaders have lost their point of reference. Like the tsunami that wiped away entire villages leaving nothing standing in its wake, many of the monuments of modernity have been taken out to sea. What is left is a territory with no recognizable landmarks. No wonder so many of us feel disoriented and at a loss. There are no longer any street signs to follow; we need a compass, a remnant of a map or, truth be told, the leading of the Spirit. Alert and thoughtful leaders are trying to chart a new course; but with a very vague map and an atrophied sense of direction. How can we find our way in liminal space? Who knows the terrain of the margins?

There is a hint of direction in Roxburgh’s text; look to the margins! He suggests that resources for navigating liminal space for the North American church will include reengaging Scripture and, to the current point, ‘... listening to the voices of those Christian groups that have long lived outside the center of culture.” He believes that the future direction of the church will be discovered as we engage with ‘dissenting churches’ and ‘ethnic groups.’ “They understand the position of the underling and the outsider. Liminality requires us to listen attentively to their ecclesiologies.” This is one of the most valuable insights gleaned from a reading of Roxburgh’s treatment of liminality — there are leaders who are capable of leading us and who know the terrain; because they have been operating on the margins for years.

Around the world, many denominations are struggling to survive. As regular church attendance wanes, leaders are looking for strategies to bring people back into the fold. Roxburgh would say that many of these renewal strategies and church growth seminars are attempts to return to the hay-day of modernity/colonialism which is not going to happen.

We often wonder if there is anyone out there who has managed this situation before, anyone who can offer insight born from seasoned experience. There are those who can articulate the quandary with great poignancy, but can anyone say that they have some ideas about what to try next? We don’t need a new coach to help us to start new programs (the preferred modern methodology), but we need a conversation, suggestions, personal antidotes from churches around the world, partnerships between churches/leaders to walk together through this disorienting time. Friendships among missional churches/leaders could be the greatest gift for this season, if we can take the time to be together and listen.

In May 7 – 11th of 2007, many African, and some non-African, Christian missional leaders will gather to address these questions at the Amahoro African Gathering. These leaders will meet together in Kampala, Uganda for several days of constructive dialogue, planting seeds of thought and preparing the soil for new partnerships. These hopeful and dedicated leaders will seek to define and embody what it means to “be the church” in the emerging post-colonial/post modern world. Through their conversations and experiences, these African and non-African followers of Jesus will seek His Kingdom together, allowing their conversation to become the framework of long-term partnerships to enrich the work of the emerging church worldwide. The Amahoro African Gathering is the beginning of the conversation and we would like to invite you to consider traveling to Uganda to be at this historic Gathering not as missionaries, but as those seeking to learn together with brothers and sisters in Christ who have been living on the margins from the beginning.

For registration information: Please e-mail Luke Miller at luke@amahoro-africa.com; for more information; visit www.amahoro-africa.com or call Claude Nikondeha at 623 217 3361. To support Amahoro Gathering in Uganda: Click here