Amahoro Africa :: The Blog

Eight African Countries Top the Failed States Index

2007-07-04T20:21:00.000-07:00

Foreign Policy magazine and the Fund for Peace have compiled their list of failed states for 2006. The study examines 12 economic, social, and military factors that contribute to poor living conditions and resultant instability in 177 countries.

Eight of the top ten worst states, according to the study, are in Africa. Sudan topped the list as the most instable country in the world, and Somalia came in third. Because the research is so diverse, one of its strengths is that it can not point to a single factor that makes nations instable, nor does it suggest a single solution.

The study, and the accompanying article in Foreign Policy, point to the fact that our efforts to help these "failed states" will take creativity, vast knowledge, and an understanding of what is happening on the ground. For this very reason, the Amahoro Africa conversation exists. If we truly care about growth and stability in Africa, we must seek to gain intimate knowledge from the innovative leaders working on the ground there. We must learn to abandon our arrogant "big ideas" and develop friendships with those better equipped to change their neighborhood.

The African nations that make the top 10, in order from most instable to least instable, are Sudan, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Chad, Ivory Coast, DR Congo, Guinea, and Central African Republic.

Right now, the articles are available for free on Foreign Policy's website. They're well worth a read.

New Rights for Women in West Africa

2007-07-04T16:57:00.000-07:00

SIERRA LEONE: New laws give women unprecedented rights, protections

DAKAR, 4 July 2007 (IRIN) - Women in Sierra Leone stand to enjoy unprecedented rights under new laws making wife-beating a criminal offence, allowing women to inherit property, and protecting young women against forced marriage.

One human rights coalition said the three laws, enacted by Sierra Leone’s parliament 14 June, will “help to radically improve the legal position of women in Sierra Leone.” In a communique the Taskforce on Gender Bills said, “Until now the issue of redress for injustices committed against women especially in the domestic realm has been an uphill task because of the inadequacies of the law.”

In the past women had no chance of justice if their husbands abused them, experts said. Generally, such matters have been kept in the family or at most presented to a local traditional leader.

“The new law gives tools to police and family support units to take the necessary steps [to go after offenders],” said Tania Bernath, a researcher with Amnesty International. “If women know they have these tools they are more likely to bring domestic violence cases.”

A women’s rights expert in Sierra Leone said given the stigma attached to bringing attention to domestic violence, grassroots organisations are prepared to support women in seeking protection under the law.

Defining Abuse

“People have this idea that domestic violence is a private, family matter that should not be taken into the public domain,” said Jebbeh Forster of the UN development fund for women, UNIFEM. Local women’s groups can provide the backing women need as these laws are implemented, she said.

The definition of domestic violence in the new law is broad. It includes “physical or sexual abuse, economic abuse, emotional, verbal or psychological abuse, harassment, conduct that harms, endangers the safety, health or well-being of another person or undermines the privacy and dignity of another person.”

A member of the Sierra Leonean group ‘50/50,’ which works to increase women’s influence in public policy, said the laws are likely to encourage women to be active in the political domain.

Confidence Building

“These laws will give women confidence,” 50/50 programme coordinator Christiana Wilson told IRIN. “If women are not confident enough, they will not come out for political positions. Women can now say, ‘I’m somebody. My husband cannot just beat me up. I am somebody - and why don’t I go for even more?’”

Wilson said the act giving women inheritance rights in marriage are crucial to women’s empowerment. “Women here are generally poor,” she said. The law “will bring women access to wealth which is a very important factor in getting political positions.”

Amnesty International said in a statement, “The inheritance law ensures that throughout Sierra Leone women have access to the property they are rightfully entitled to when their husband dies, without interference from extended family members.”

The third act, calling for the registration of customary marriages, introduces a minimum age of 18 years for such marriages and calls for the consent of both parties.

(C) IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis:
http://www.irinnews.org

Sudanese Refugees Being Detained in Israel

2007-06-27T08:44:00.000-07:00

ISRAEL-SUDAN: Government reverts to detention policy for Sudanese refugees

TEL AVIV, 27 June 2007 (IRIN) - After a lull of several weeks, the Israeli military have once again begun to arrest Sudanese refugees illegally crossing the Egyptian border into Israel.

In the past month the refugees were released onto the streets of Israel's southern towns and cities, where volunteers from charity organisations tried to help, directing them to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

On 24 June several Sudanese men became the first to be detained in over a month. Six women, and another six children were found on the streets of the southern city of Beersheba by Avishai Cohen, who volunteers his time to help refugees, along with several other students from nearby Ben Gurion University. The women soon discovered that their husbands had been detained by the Israel Prisons Service.

"We get calls every night to come and collect refugees," said Cohen.

"Right now, Beersheba municipality is helping, hosting the refugees until Thursday [28 June] at a hotel here," he said.

Meanwhile, Israeli Interior Minister Ronni Bar-On has set up a new committee to decide the fate of the Sudanese refugees. The committee has completed its work, and filed its confidential conclusions to the prime minister's office.

Experts and government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, because they are not authorised to speak to the press, said the final report, would contain far-reaching conclusions.

Refugees to be arrested

Specialists also estimate that the Bar-On committee will recommend reinstating guidelines ordering security forces to arrest all refugees immediately upon arrival. A similar policy was cancelled about one month ago, after human rights and aid groups protested against the order.

Sudanese citizens are arrested in Israel as they are officially considered a "security threat" since Sudan is an "enemy state". Israel applies this even to citizens fleeing persecution at the hands of the government of an enemy state.

Some Sudanese have spent over a year in jail, partially due to the fact that Israel and Sudan do not have diplomatic relations.

The Israeli military, which patrols the borders and arrests the refugees, said it transfers them immediately after detention to other authorities. The military admitted, however, that the refugees are not a security threat.

"The IDF (Israel Defence Force) apprehends illegal infiltrators from various countries, amongst them Sudan, crossing the border into Israel. Since this is not a security matter but an illegal immigration issue, the IDF is not the proper authority to deal with these infiltrators," military officials told IRIN.

(c) IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.irinnews.org

Pencil This In!

2007-06-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

We interrupt the field trip reports to bring you this exciting news!

Planning for Amahoro '08 is underway!

The Gathering will be held May 19-28, 2008. Pencil this in on your calendars!

Contact Luke at luke@thedetour.net or Claude at claude@amahoro-africa.com for more info.

HIV/AIDS in Africa

2007-06-08T07:25:00.000-07:00

I doubt anyone who reads this blog is unaware of the utter devastation that HIV/AIDS is bringing to the continent of Africa. When in East Africa last month, many of us witnessed both the sorrow and courage of those affected by the disease. There was a sobering article in the New York Times this week about the disease and current attempts to fight it. It's a hard article to read, but hopefully it will inspire those of us who care to continue to work together to fight this horrible disease.

Read the article here and leave comments after reading if you'd like.

Field Trips - Kenya Part Two

2007-06-06T08:37:00.000-07:00

During the Amahoro Gathering earlier this month, the nonAfrican participants participated in field trips to Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. Each group spent a few days "on the ground" in a particular context and got a feel for what life in Africa is really like. Over the next several days, I'll be posting reflections by a participant from each group.

This second report is from Ashley Bunting. As Bob mentioned, the Kenya group split into two groups: one participated in the Theological Conversation at NEGST and the other spent time with a pastor in Kibera slum. Ashley Spent time with Pastor Edward in Kibera. Ashley Bunting lives and studies in Geneva, Switzerland. She is currently completing a French diploma, and looking into graduate theology programs in Europe.

________________________
Having returned from the Amahoro gathering only a week ago, many of the memories are still very present in my mind, and I’m glad to be able to share them with you.

Our first visits in Nairobi, Kenya, were to an AIDS testing center and a support group that met in a slum called Mtumba (meaning “second hand”). The seriousness, and at times the awkwardness, of these environments were almost inevitable, but everyone was also undoubtedly touched by this group of women who could stand, introduce themselves, and say, “I’m HIV positive, but my main concern right now is for my children…”

From there our group split into those visiting Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) and a nearby church, and those visiting City Harvest Church and its ministries: the AIDS support groups and the Kibera Community Center. Those who visited NEGST and the church nearby told us about the small groups of thoughtful and struggling people they met; these people are noticing very similar dysfunctional patterns in Christianity to those we in the West have noticed, and are clearing new paths for their communities to live in the ways of Jesus.

At the HIV/AIDS support groups we spent time with people, hearing the touching stories of what living with HIV/AIDS is like. Many of them are women who tested positive and were left by their husbands (who do not usually get tested); these women must figure out how to care for both themselves and their children. They are incredibly brave and resourceful, and because they have access to ARV’s (Anti-Retroviral drugs), they are able to set up micro-enterprises to support their communities. Several also expressed that they were grateful for City Harvest, as it was one of only a few churches that accept people living with HIV/AIDS.

Kibera (the slum featured in the film The Constant Gardener), is the second-largest slum in Africa, with as many as 1.2 million people living on one square mile of land. For me personally, the over-crowding and lack of sanitation meant breaking through a new threshold of the extreme poverty; I had never experienced anything quite like this before. But for 1.2 million people, Kibera is home, and many said they wouldn’t choose to leave if they could. One of the main themes of the conference was the “Evacuation Gospel” v. the “Transformation Gospel”, and this became real to me in a different way. I learned that the goal should not be to get people out of Kibera, but to transform Kibera, as the Community Center is doing. A school during the week and a church on the weekends, the Community Center serves to equip people both with education and with Hope.

The main emotion I’m left with after visiting Nairobi is one of Pride. I am so proud to be able to call Edward, Beatrice, Silvia, Theresia, Phyllis, Charles, Jine, Caarlie, Aaron, and countless others our brothers and sisters, knowing that they have so much strength and courage against the odds they face. They are the Kingdom Agents who are, as best as they know how, living lives in the Spirit of Jesus to give hope to the world around them.

Field Trips - Kenya Part One

2007-05-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

During the Amahoro Gathering earlier this month, the nonAfrican participants participated in field trips to Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. Each group spent a few days "on the ground" in a particular context and got a feel for what life in Africa is really like. Over the next several days, I'll be posting reflections by a participant from each group.

The first post is from Bob Pyne, who visited Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology in Kenya. Formerly a professor of theology, Robert Pyne is Director of Leadership Development for African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM). He is a member of the Emergent Coordinating Group and is the co-author, with Joni Powers, of LifeSpace: The Practice of Life with God, due out later this summer.

_______________________________

Each of the westerners at the Amahoro Gathering went on a field trip to observe and participate in a local ministry. My group flew to Nairobi, where we had very different experiences. Half of our team served alongside Pastor Edward and others from his church, participating in AIDS support groups in Kibera. The rest of us drove out to the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology to take part in a theological conversation.

We felt a little guilty touring the beautiful campus of NEGST. Part of the discomfort came from the fact that we had just had several days of conversation about the affect of colonialism on theology. Perhaps unjustifiably, that made some of us look a little sideways at such lovely surroundings. Even more so, however, we had just visited one of Nairobi's slums, and we knew that our friends were there again while we were taking pictures of the flowers. I have read, even assigned, C. S. Lewis's essay on being a student during wartime. I knew that our task was important and that education and reflection will never feel as urgent as most other callings. But I was squirming in our comfortable classroom. Frederick Buechner wrote, "Your life and my life flow into each other as wave flows into wave, and unless there is peace and joy and freedom for you, there can be no real peace and joy and freedom for me." Call it a test of connectedness.

The theological conversation went nicely. Brian McLaren was his usual eloquent and winsome self, and everyone rightly appreciated what he had to say. Naturally, I found their pleasant response disappointing. Anticipating controversy, I had been hoping that the miraculous quieting of some theological storm would justify our presence as theologians. But the reception turned out to be as lovely and placid as the campus itself. I was also disappointed that there were not more people in attendance. One of the students told me afterward that postmodern kinds of questions were simply "not on the radar screen" for most of the campus. We had seen a similar response among many of the pastors back in Uganda. Post-colonialism does not necessarily follow the same course as postmodernism, as one may doubt a colonial meta-narrative without doubting meta-narratives in general.

When we all returned to Uganda from our field trips, my story did not feel as dramatic as many of the ones I heard. Compared to theirs, my experience had been pretty routine. Looking back on it, I see that as a good thing. This trip made Africa feel less exotic . . . and more like home.

Photos

2007-05-25T07:35:00.000-07:00

Hi,

If you'd like to see pictures from the gathering, we're creating a group of pics over at flickr. Go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/amahoro/

If you were there, please upload your pictures to flickr and tag them with "amahoro." This will add them to the above group.

If you need help using flickr, please e-mail me at luke@thedetour.net.

TIA - by Brian D. McLaren (brianmclaren.net)

2007-05-23T19:39:00.001-07:00

Red African dirt. So red, like rust-dust, but brighter in the sun, sparkling hot, pure. Twin tire tracks make our path, short green grass between the parallel red trails, tall green foliage on either side. As we walk side by side, you in your track, I in mine, we’re surrounded by a spherical cloud of hovering dragonflies. There are a few pale olive-green ones, almost invisible against the vegetation, and scores of brown ones with four transparent wings marked by paired brown bars. They follow us as they would follow a herd of buffalo or giraffes or zebra, a squadron of mini-helicopters, hoping our footsteps will stir up some small mosquito from the grass which they can swoop down on, scoop up, and eat in flight.

When we stop walking, they hover for a five or ten seconds, and then they settle motionless on the red dirt around us, wings spread like a little girl’s barrettes. When we begin walking again, they arise as one, a cloud of whirring wings in which we move as if attended by angels. Above us, strange birds call, moving among the high branches.

This is what it is like to walk the dusty roads of rural East Africa. Overhead, the yellow-beaked kites circle and soar, constant companions. A gangly stork may fly among them, towing along its oversized feet, or a flock of weaver birds may swirl above us like smoke, chattering, yellower and blacker than bumblebees, drawn homeward to their village of hanging nests, woven grass teardrops dangling like ornaments from white-thorned acacia branches.

Everywhere, it seems, there is the distant sound of children laughing, and in many places at seemingly any time of day or evening, there will also be the sound of singing because church has a way of breaking out anywhere under an elder tree or in a windowless shelter or behind a wall of corrugated tin. Pentecostal joy is itself a revolutionary manifestation of the kingdom of God in the land of HIV, Idi Amin, civil war, genocide, and breathtaking poverty.

If we walk into town, the dusty roads give way to packed clay, mud puddles, deep ruts, sometimes slick and sometimes sticky. Shacks and ramshackle homes jostle with shops, stalls, booths: barber shops, beauty shops, little stores selling everything – phone cards, cell phones, fruits, vegetables, a goat carcass, cow stomachs, little dried fish, big smoked fish (refrigeration is not even imagined here), beer, peanuts in little paper cones, used but highly polished shoes, small stools, irons, clay ovens, charcoal, sugarcane, colorful fabric. Children scramble, goats browse, pigs sleep under a bush, a three-legged cow hobbles from tuft to tuft along the roadside, and cars and trucks and vans and buses scream by, impossibly fast, dangerously close, barely respecting the fading memory of lanes and laws, a kind of commonplace mania of frantic speed and wild trust between drivers in one another’s way.

If we visit an informal settlement – a squatter area or slum, by whatever name - the red dirt and clay often go darker and darker, sometimes turning mucky and mealy black, with greenish and yellowish puddles and smells that could make you retch on a hot, windless day. But then comes a breeze and it’s frying potatoes you smell, or roasting chicken, and there’s almost always a sweet fragrance of woodsmoke that you taste as much as smell. Not far away, a church choir has come to sing and a crowd gathers, some people singing along, others tiptoeing through the muck, holding up their skirts to dodge puddles. Fewer goats here, but lots of chickens, always scratching about, heads bobbing.

TIA – you hear it a lot these days: this is Africa, where God is alive and where Pentecost is perpetual, hope and joy jostling with hunger and fear like trucks and scooters in the chaos of Kampala’s traffic.

This is the context for the experience that about 40 guests shared with about 160 East Africans in early May 2007 – people from Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya. There were Pentecostals, Evangelicals, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists, even an Eastern Orthodox sister at one of our gatherings. We were black, white, colored … from the U.S., Canada, Sweden, Switzerland, Korea, Australia, Liberia, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and South Africa. We met in Mukono, Uganda, just north of Kampala, and then divided into teams to visit churches and leaders in rural Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya before returning to debrief and share our experiences. We represented “the church that is emerging” – emerging from the colonial mindset, the modern mindset, the nationalist mentality, the denominational and sectarian assumptions, the old polarities of left and right, liberal and conservative. We came together for dialogue around the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Is that gospel a message of evacuation – how God will airlift some of us out of this world and its problems, how God wants us to huddle in a holy warehouse between now and then, enjoying blessings and the joys of a church subculture? Or is that gospel a call to incarnation and transformation, to live out the message of God’s kingdom so we, like salt and light, like yeast in bread or seeds in soil, bring new possibilities to our world?

In the coming days and weeks, you’ll hear from a variety of voices sharing moments, memories, insights, questions, and choices that have arisen during and from our gathering. None of us can put our experience into words, but all of us need to try to share what we have seen, felt, thought, and learned together, for our own benefit and the benefit of others too.

Gathering - Thursday, May 10

2007-05-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

Thursday

The last day of the Gathering was a joyful day for participants as they took their last shots together and took down each other’s contact details.

The emphasis of the day was friendships and networks and an encouragement to continue the conversation after the Gathering among the friends made this week and to network with others and so be relevant to the community and the world.

After the worship session, participants were informed that the money collected from the call for jubilee had been distributed to those who had expressed a need to cover expenses accrued from attending the Gathering. The participants were also given a 1,000 Uganda Shilling note to remind them of the challenge they had received at this conference.

Brian McLauren then spoke on friendship, partnership and mission together. He emphasized that Jesus embedded his life in community and his gospel sends us into the world. He reminded participants of the attitudes that bring us together basing on Matthew 5 – humility, meekness etc.

Brian observed that people are brought together around problems and questions and that leads to conversation to be able to face the problems. Friendships are born out of the conversation and once they become friends people can dream together and experiment. There are different reactions to these experiments and we need friends to encourage and appreciate and even criticize us or understand us when others criticize us.

Brian encouraged participants to build friendships from this conversation and continue to network after the Gathering.

After Brian’s exhortation, Claude invited participants from different parts to share their experiences and how they become involved in the conversation. Participants from United States of America, Australia, Costa Rica, Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, Rwanda and South Africa shared. They had all gone through a period of time where they questioned their faith and practice and desired to go to a deeper level in their Christian walk by being relevant to their community.

This was followed by Group sessions in which participants discussed what they had learned during the conversation, what they had to offer to their community and what steps they would take next.

Brian returned and explained some scientific theories and characteristics of networks to guide participants in the understanding of networks. He concluded with a story about the tortoise and the baby hippo, which after being made to share a space in the zoo developed a relationship despite their differences and began to enjoy each other’s company.

The afternoon sessions were dedicated to workshops one on fund raising and another on African Philantrophy. They were able to discuss networking at that level and find out how to form partnerships for ministry.

In the evening session, groups of participants from the same countries discussed the way forward. All the countries decided they were going to meet again when they got home and fellowship together and also strategize on ways to expand the network. The conversation continues.

Friends closed the evening with a time of singing and dancing together.

Gathering - Wednesday, May 9

2007-05-10T03:16:00.000-07:00

Throughout the Amahoro Africa Gathering in Kampala Uganda, we will be posting daily summaries of the conversation written by Aryantungyisa Otiti, a freelance journalist from Uganda. Enjoy!

Wednesday
It was ‘Women’s Day’ at the Gathering today. During the worship session, the men in the Gathering sang the song ‘Arise Shine for your Light has come and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you’ to the sisters in the group. It was affirming the place of women in the church, community and in the Gathering.

The session was led by Grace McLaren (USA) and Elizabeth Elior (Uganda).

The first speaker was an amazing woman from Rwanda. Jane Kanyange pastors a church she started from her ministry to the prostitutes in Kigali. Jane said in the Bible whenever God wanted to do something new, he looked for a woman to use. God is still looking for courageous and willing women to use. Jane’s ministry has faced a lot of resistance and criticism but Jane testifies of the grace of God if we only obey him and offer ourselves to do what he has led us to do. Her challenge was that everyone would have a willing heart, to be used of God and to show the love of Jesus in our communities.

Elizabeth Elior works for African Women Economic Policy Network (AWEPON), an organization that seeks to provide economic literacy by demystifying economics for all women to understand. Women need to be a part of the discussions that take place in the boardrooms. They need to be a part of the issues their husbands are grappling with. AWEPON is meeting the need to empower women to develop the economics of the household. She emphasized that economics really begins in the household and the power of the woman at the household level cannot be ignored.

She went on to explain what empowerment of women means – equal access to opportunities, respect for one another, the opportunity to negotiate with one another and practice their rights. Elizabeth challenged participants to think about the various roles of women and their invaluable support to men, she challenged men to appreciate these roles and support the women in their lives. She stressed that we all have a role to play in the empowerment of women and challenged the Gathering to reflect and contextualise our Christian teachings on what is happening in our families and communities.

Participants were given an opportunity to make comments after Elizabeth’s presentation. The conversation then continued in small groups and participants were able to discuss their understanding of empowerment, what questions they need to ask that could empower women to impact future generations and lastly what hopes and dreams of a post colonial church in Africa where women and men were truly in partnership.

These discussions were stimulating and thought provoking and challenged participants to think about their prejudices and to think clearly on how to empower each other in the building of the Kingdom.

The conversation continued on a field trip to Gaba Community Church in the afternoon.

Gathering - Tuesday, May 8

2007-05-09T02:07:00.000-07:00

Throughout the Amahoro Africa Gathering in Kampala Uganda, we will be posting daily summaries of the conversation written by Aryantungyisa Otiti, a freelance journalist from Uganda. Enjoy!

Monday night
The Transformational Gospel vs the Evacuation Gospel
Claude Nikondeha shared how dissatisfied he got with the gospel he grew up hearing as a son of a Free Methodist preacher. This gospel did not seem to respond to the poverty, hatred and inequality he saw in his life and yet appeared to keep Christians hopeful in these circumstances. Jesus was supposed to be coming back soon and so Christians were supposed to be ready for heaven and forget about the troubles of the world they were living in – for a short span of life.

In spite of the fact that it was presented as a choice between the church and the world, Claude felt he wanted both, he wanted to study and build a career but also be a Christian but in choosing further studies he seemed to be choosing the world.

As destiny would have it, in his pursuit of ‘the world’, he met the Jesus he had been hoping to find, the Jesus who cared about salvation and going to heaven but also cared about life here on earth. He realized that what he had wished was true, the Kingdom of heaven begins here and Jesus cares about life here too.

Claude went on to challenge the participants about the true meaning of the transformational gospel. The Jubilee in Leviticus 25 was God’s way of narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, of curbing the greed of the rich. They could not amass much wealth because they had to give back in the fiftieth year. That was God’s vision of the kingdom coming on earth as it is in heaven. In instructing the rich young ruler to sell all he possessed and follow him, Jesus was teaching the principle, ‘I am only good when you are good.’

He challenged participants to extend Jubilee to one another to give back whatever they could, to sell all they had and give to the poor because the transforming power of Jesus is at work now. Jesus is jubilee and we need to show true love and build a viable kingdom.

After Claude’s talk, participants were challenged to put in practise right away what they had and a participant felt led to remind them about the early church how they shared what they had. A love offering was taken and participants gave of their money. (This money will go to help those who experienced financial difficulties in getting to the conference.)

The evening closed with the sharing of communion.

The second day of the Amahoro Africa Gathering started on a warm note after last night’s fellowship. Participants were challenged to practise the wholistic gospel and are thinking about what it means to sell what they have and give to the poor, what it means to really follow Jesus and extend jubilee to one another, what it really means to build God’s kingdom here on earth.

Tuesday
The Gospel of Reconciliation vs the Gospel of church growth

Antoine Rutayisire who is leader of the African Evangelistic Enterprise in Rwanda and also serves on the Reconciliation Commission gave the first address after a time of praise on Tuesday morning.

Antoine emphasized that reconciliation is for every individual from every nation and not just for nations like Rwanda. Further more, reconciliation is not an event but a lifestyle, an everyday experience and should be everybody’s lifestyle.

Born a Rwandese Tutsi, Antoine calls himself a practitioner of reconciliation and not a teacher of reconciliation. His father was killed when he was five and he hated Hutus more and more with each passing year. He was however looking forward to becoming a Catholic priest and serving God and going to heaven when he died.

Antoine examined what went wrong with the gospel preached before the genocide and believed by 90% of the people in Rwanda. He suggested that the message preached was selective and partial, presented in an intellectual way and presented by messengers who themselves did not practise what they preached, they preached love and were disunited.

He emphasized the need for a new perspective of sin which is the root of alienation, a new perspective of the message of the cross. He challenged participants to be ambassadors of reconciliation, to live as a holy nation here on earth, to love each other and so let the world see that we are His.

Trevor Ntlhola – South Africa
Trevor, a black South African shared his painful experience with apartheid. He grew up in Soweto, the largest Black township in South Africa. He became a Christian in 1984 and was told politics and Christianity do not mix. His racial status demanded an engagement in politics and his heart loved Jesus but the Jesus he preached was irrelevant to life in the streets of Soweto. In 1988, at a time he thought he had no problem with racism, Trevor visited a church he thought was a black church and he found white people there too.

He noted that we need to get out of our comfort zones to really know how racist we are. ‘Reconciliation is a muddy path,’ he added, it is not easy and we cannot have it without a situation.’ As God would have it, that was the visit that started his journey of repentance and reconciliation. And on this journey Trevor has experienced the Jesus of the Bible who is relevant to all of life’s situations.

Trevor shared some of his experiences on this journey and concluded with a challenge to participants reconciliation is revolutionary and is a constant healing process and we need each other for God to use in healing us.

Jurgens Hendricks from South Africa and Faustin Ntamushobora of the African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries also addressed the Gathering before a time of questions in which participants were able to make comments on the presentations and ask questions.

Small groups continued discussions through the afternoon. Where do we go from here? What are the next steps for the Emerging Church in Africa? How do we build the Kingdom of God here and now? In what ways do we need to be reconciled one to another? The conversation continues!

Gathering - Monday, May 7

2007-05-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

Throughout the Amahoro Africa Gathering in Kampala Uganda, we will be posting daily summaries of the conversation written by Aryantungyisa Otiti, a freelance journalist from Uganda. Enjoy!

Opening
The conversation started today with a lively time of praise led by the Worship Harvest Team.

Claude and Brian welcomed participants. Claude greeted them with ‘Amahoro’ – a wish for peace and a call to share peace.

Devotional Note – Edward Simiu – Kenya
Edward noted two aspects about the African culture that make this gathering a unique event – Africa loves conversation and Africa values presence.

The Amahoro Gathering puts these two aspects together, Edward said - we may not all be able to write books, but we can talk and presence ministers and speaks to us. Presence is worth 10,000 words in Africa as a picture is worth 1,000 in the West. He thanked all those who traveled long distances to share the ministry of presence in this conversation.

Brian invited Mabiala Justin – Robert Kenzo and noted that what is most gratifying about this conversation is that it is no longer Western voices being heard alone but now people are listening to one another.

Robert Kenzo presented the first address: On African Postcolonial Theology: The Imperative to Differ

Kenzo was frustrated with Christianity until he started reading Postcolonial theology and realized there is a different way to being Christian.

He noted that the church in Africa is at the crossroads poised to become a major player but will only do so if we have the courage to be different.

The world is becoming a global village and reason has entered its postmodern era. Post modernity is here in Africa too but is being lived under the guise of ‘post colonialism’, which is not a historical period but an attitude. Those whose history has been affected by colonialism cannot move forward until they have dealt with the demons of colonialism. There is a need to deal with colonialism even within the church, Kenzo asserted, ‘if we do not define ourselves, others will define us’ he emphasized. Identity is created and not inherited and we are free to take from the sources and recreate ourselves. Kenzo can for example be both Congolese, an African, modern and a Christian. In Christ we are being recreated.

Kenzo went on to challenge that post colonialism is in reality politics of difference and it is okay to be different as Africans. We need to have the courage to denounce Western theology for, he argued, all theology is contextual. He emphasized the need for Africa to realize the relevance of post colonialism to Africa.

The West has borrowed a lot from us and it is time we reclaimed what they took from us. Post modernity values uniqueness, distinctiveness and we in Africa need to re-state, defend and protect ourselves. Christians need to ask themselves the question ‘What does Jesus Christ mean for us today? Where is the church? And to address the challenge in Africa, Kenzo called on Christians to be bold and creative.

Participants continued the conversation in small groups the rest of the afternoon.

The Nature Of Man

2007-03-06T14:02:00.000-08:00

It is a most incredible thing to recognize the reality that beyond the physical body and the reasoning faculties is the real nature of man, which is spirit or supernatural in existence. Recognizing this fact has enabled some, this writer inclusive, to access the highest realm of reality, the realm of God.

We have come to recognize the fact that man was created an eternal being, with a spirit inside to be in touch with the spiritual world of God and with a body outside to have contact with the physical world of material things. With his soul man would become conscious of himself as a personality, an entity living in the world with free choice.

This being the truth, why is it then that the mass of humanity seem to hardly recognize their spirits nor the realm of God’s existence?

In the beginning two significant Trees were planted in the Garden of Eden; the one possessing inherently the Life and Nature of God typified as the Tree of Life and the other inherently possessing the nature of the Evil One typified as the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Man’s disastrous choice would lead them to partake of the God-forbidden fruit planted by the Evil One. Consequently man would receive the satanic nature into his spirit and thereby estranged from the estate of God’s existence.

The Nature of the Evil One is called Spiritual Death, as opposed to God’s Nature, Eternal Life (Zoë, in Greek). One makes earth a Hell while the other produces Heaven on earth. One is the soil out of which all the hatred, bitterness, misery, mortality, and all manner of horrific terror and torment sprung. The other is the fountain out of which true Life and Love and Light springs forth.

Spiritual Death makes men renegades from the will of God. This answers why the masses, including the so-called scholars or intellectuals, are ignorant of God or His realm of existence. Spiritual Death dissociates the human spirit from the dimension of God’s existence or Life (Death being defined as dissociation from Life).

Man in this state of being is lowered to a naturalistic plane of existence, or in certain instances he is brought into contact with the spiritual realm of Darkness as portrayed by the witches, psychics, eastern mysticism, and all the other devilish phenomena.

Since the unregenerate human spirit is in a state unresponsive to divine things it would be a perfectly normal thing for the unregenerate, or even for the sense-ruled Christian, to doubt the Bible or Supernatural phenomena.

Jesus’ inclusive Death, Burial, and Resurrection brought into being the New Creation Man. When one receives Jesus as Redeemer, God’s very Life and Nature comes into his spirit, absorbing it, taking him over, and building into him the things that he saw and admired in Jesus. This truth received in its entirety rids man of sin-consciousness which gave us an inferiority complex before God and birthed all the human religions.

God created man in His own image and likeness. Bearing this fact in mind, we understand that man therefore must of necessity be a spirit being too since God is a Spirit Being. Man is a spirit being possessing a soul and living in a physical body. With his spirit man contacts God; God contacts man through his spirit, for “the spirit of man is the candle of the LORD, searching all the inward parts of the belly”.

The intuitive part in man – the part that intuitively is aware of the presence of God and at times enables man to access realities beyond the apprehension of the Five Senses and the reasoning faculties is the human spirit.

Men have cultivated the physical body in a Gym; they have also cultivated the soul in academics or scholasticism. The world witnesses the possibilities that these have achieved. And yet it seems like there lies unlimited possibilities man can achieve if he recognizes and begins to cultivate the immeasurably immense potential that lies in the human spirit.

The quality of life of the human spirit is of a much higher dimension than the physical life of the Five Senses. There are various planes or dimensions of life; vegetable life, animal life, physical or carnal human life, Eternal Life or the God-kind of life (Zoë). The regenerate human spirit receives the uncreated Life and Nature of God and therefore is enabled to function from the divine plane of existence.

This staggers human reasoning! But it is the truth. And it is what God willed in the beginning when He created man in His own image and likeness. However, those that have imprisoned their spirits in bondage to sense-birthed theologies will not receive these facts.

The human spirit must gain the ascendancy over the Five Sense for one to begin to apprehend these incredible supernatural realities. The soul or reasoning faculties and emotions need to act as the organ through which the spirit’s intuition is expressed above the impulses and knowledge prompted from the physical body.

Ever experienced unreasonably inward premonitions or promptings, yet when acted upon or ignored you came to validate their witness? That was the voice of your spirit, which should consistently be recognized and gain the ascendancy over the impulses of the Five Senses if your life is to exemplify the Creator, Father-God.

However, we ought to understand that “the Father of spirits” does not reveal Himself to our reasoning faculties but to our spirits. Our reasoning faculties can only apprehend the things that the Five Senses (sight, smell, tasting, feeling, hearing) convey to them. Beyond that they are dumb and futile.

All the knowledge that we have in our schools, colleges, and universities has come to us through the avenue of the Five Senses, for the unregenerate mind is predominantly limited to the impulses and knowledge it receives from the Five Senses. Such Sense Knowledge can only carry one to the frontier of human investigation, but can take you no further.

Revelation Knowledge then comes to the rescue, ushering you to the ultimate of all Reality. Revelation Knowledge is knowledge received by the human spirit from the dimensions of reality beyond the reach of the Five Senses. This knowledge is then availed or brought into the awareness of the soul for the benefit of man.

The element in man which comes into contact with realities beyond man’s rehearsed reasoning abilities is the human spirit. The human spirit is the creative element in man through which all unreasoned ideas and realities simply come floating into our consciousness. It would be puzzling to the mind from whence such unreasoned realities and ideas unacquainted with our imaginations spring until there is a recognition of the human spirit.

But Sense Knowledge does not usher any further than the natural realm. It confines our existence nearly to that of a mere animal. Darwinism and other vain mental concepts and theories are the consequences of how absurd Fallen Man can be lowered.

But the deep searching or craving in man for reality beyond the natural realm is an undeniable testimony of an aspect of man’s nature or being the masses are ignorant of. No amount of intellectualism or carnal ecstasy is able to settle this inward-craving. It is only settled when one comes into union with the Living God, the Source and Goal of Life, for “deep calls unto deep”.

from Claude -

2006-10-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

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

UN: Africa Will Miss Millenium Goals

2006-10-17T16:07:00.000-07:00

Check out this article.

Gentrification in Central Africa

2006-09-13T10:00:00.000-07:00

I just read a heartbreaking article on allAfrica.com. The article outlines the plight of many people living in poverty in and around Africa's cities. Specifically it refers to the current situation in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Government of Rwanda is on a mission to modernize the city of Kigali that began immediately after the 1994 Genocide. Slums are being destroyed and modern highrises are going in their place. It seems that this "progress" is a way to help Rwandans feel as though they are moving forward, beyond the suffering that accompanies the loss of 800,000 of their own.

But is this really progress? Urban Rwandans are now forced to ask the same questions that urban moderns have been asking for some time now. Is it really right to displace the "unsightly" poor in order to bring in new development, upper-class residences and businesses? Our cities may look cleaner and nicer, but at what cost? These are the questions Africans are facing as they experience the rapid modernization of their cities.

Micah 6:8 is a foundational verse for the work we hope to accomplish in Africa: "He has shown you what is good and what the Lord requires - to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God." (paraphrase).

We are working to come alongside innovative African leaders who are asking these questions, and searching for a solution, a solution that has justice, mercy, and humility at it's core. Please pray for these leaders, that they would be instrumental in bringing about God's Kingdom in Africa.

To read the article about Kigali, go to: http://allafrica.com/stories/200609130073.html

Luke Miller | North American Coordinator

Bishop Zac

2006-08-01T12:29:00.000-07:00

There's a great interview with Rev. Dr. David Zac Niringiye at Christianity Today. "Bishop Zac" will be involved in the conversation and he has some really great thoughts on the church in North America and how we relate with the rest of the world. You can read it at:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/007/31.32.html

Please continue to pray as the gathering quickly approaches!

Luke Miller | North American Coordinator

Bono Asked the World a Question

2006-07-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Bono asked the world a question: “What can we do to make poverty history?” So far almost 30,000 people have written back giving him ideas on what needs to be done. Now this tells me two things:

1. The people continue to have a concern for the worlds’ poor in general and Africa in particular. This is not a new concern, but given the kind of extreme poverty that is needlessly killing 9,000 people a day in Africa. The future of a continent is at stake. There is reason for great concern.

2. Bono is not the first person to ask this question - but what’s different is to whom he is asking the question! The usual path for western governments, non profits, etc when addressing a problem is to look for an expert, who then writes an action plan, money is raised, staff is hired and a program is carried out. What’s unique about Bono’s question is that he realizes that the “expert options” haven’t worked for the last 100 years and he is taking the question to the regular people like you and me.

Amahoro Africa takes this further and says: “Solutions for African problems will come from Africans. The best thing the west can do is work along side those young emerging African leaders who are making a difference in their communities as partners.”

In the West, we value visible results, which inevitably lead to pragmatism and systems that are not sustainable in most of Africa today. We hire personnel and superstar community developers and leaders to do the job. We build bigger programs so we can sustain bigger organizations. But in the end, we have little, if any, long term economic impact in the local community.

In the Africa indigenous way of doing things, it is just the opposite. Progress is not tied to programs or processes, but it is linked to people. Trained individuals who carry on the essence of the community. Results are not seen in how many people joined the program. Success is demonstrated in how many communities are transformed by a local sustainable initiative.

Africa has entered what historians and sociologists are calling the Post-Colonial Era. The future of this era is uncertain, but there are voices from throughout Africa calling for an era of innovation, creativity, justice, peace and hope.

What will the communities in Post-Colonial Africa look like? What yokes must be thrown off so that the Gospel of the Kingdom can go forth to transform and empower a continent in desperate need of the transformation that Christ offers? What will the church that is emerging in Africa look like? What concrete steps can be taken to bring hope to the suffering people of Africa? These questions, among others, are vital to the future of the church in Africa, questions that must be asked by responsible Christian leaders looking to see their continent transformed.

That’s why in May of 2007, over 140 emerging leaders from churches, ministries and community-based organizations across Africa, and some non-African, Christian 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 world of Africa. 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 in Africa.

The Amahoro Africa Gathering is the beginning of the conversation… and I hope you can join the conversation. The next 5 years will be critical for African development both spiritually and economically and this conversation could potentially be a part of this major turn over that is already happening all over Africa.

Consider joining us for this unique event!

Claude Nikondeha | African Network Coordinator

The Colline Hotel

2006-07-07T08:06:00.000-07:00

As the gathering approaches, we will be making final decisions on many of the details of the trip, and will keep you posted here as things solidify.

One such detail is the venue for the conference and debrief. We have been offered a great deal on a place that is very centrally located and easily accessible, the Colline Hotel in Mukono, just outside of Kampala. The hotel will provide an all-inclusive package for us (including meals, coffee/tea breaks, meeting rooms, accomodation, etc.), and should be a wonderful environment for the event.

For more details about the venue, please visit the Amahoro Gathering Site.

Luke Miller | North American Coordinator

EmergentVillage Summer Institute

2006-06-15T07:31:00.000-07:00

I've just returned from Minneapolis where I taught a two-hour course on postColonialism and the Emerging Church as part of the EmergentVillage Summer Institute. The course looked at a brief history of colonialism, some distinctives of postColonial thought, the forms and patterns of church that are emerging in the postColonial world, and the role that the western church can play in all of this.

It was encouraging to see people come out who inhabit a vibrant faith in Christ, and who are passionate about being a blessing to the people of the postColonial world. We had great discussion, and many were interested in the Amahoro Gathering.

The week following the Institute, I met with the EmergentVillage Coordinating Group and shared what we're up to with the Amahoro Gathering, and the network between Africa and the West we hope to build. I was thrilled to see eyes all around the room light up with excitement. After my presentation, I was approached by several people who were either interested in attending, or interested in helping us find funding for our African friends.

Perhaps the most surprising blessing for me throughout this whole process has been seeing how many people share a passion for Africa, and desire to see the dream of Amahoro Africa brought to life.

Please continue to pray for us as we continue to make plans for the event... and the network!

Luke Miller | North American Coordinator

Advanced Trip

2006-06-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

The advanced trip is over, I am over the jetlag, my sleep is back to normal and my kids (both two years old) finally remember who I am - so I write again.

You know what they say, “You can take the man out of Africa but you can’t take Africa out of the man.” I am back in the States, but my heart remains close to those laboring on the continent of Africa. My time was very encouraging and left me full of hope for the future of Africa. During the time in East Africa, I met with over 100 emerging/missional leaders who are doing Kingdom work in their communities.

I went on this Advance Trip to East Africa for two purposes. The first one was a time of learning, connecting and setting the groundwork for the Amahoro Africa Gathering and the second one was to continue building the Amahoro Africa network of missional leaders.

The vision of the Amahoro Africa Gathering and network is to see a vibrant and effective community/network of African leaders working together throughout Africa to further God’s Kingdom on behalf of those suffering from physical and / or spiritual poverty. We hope that these leaders will be able to join their strengths together, combine their learning and pool their resources to release the justice and mercy that Jesus spoke of and exemplified in His life. In days to come, we hope these leaders will not be working in isolation, but in synergistic collaboration with fellow leaders from around the world.

The common theme that I saw in many emerging leaders of Africa is that they don’t care if they get credit for what they are doing; they are not concerned if you know their names or not. What’s important to them is that the people in their community encounter Jesus and their lives and neighborhoods are changed. They are more concerned about the advancement of the kingdom and couldn’t care less if their own ‘kingdom’ doesn’t advance or get credit.

They may not care that you know their names, but I made sure that I mentioned their names. I want you to know their names and stories so that we can continue to pray for them. They are laboring in the fields for a great harvest, and we have been commanded to pray for more laborers like them.

Thank you for sustaining me in Africa with your prayers. My commitment is to continue to pray and resource these leaders and I hope you will join me on that journey.

Claude Nikondeha | African Network Coordinator

Bishop Mvume

2006-05-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

Today we met with the big guys. Our meeting was with Rev. Dr. Mvume Dandala, the General Secretary of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC). The mother body of the Church Councils from the various African countries. This is the community of Bishops from all the mainline churches in Africa.

And we, Claude and I, are just two young guys in open neck shirts who are wondering around Africa talking to the little guys, trying to encourage them.

Honestly I did not expect the meeting to last for more than 30 minutes, but two hours later we had been introduced to his core staff and invited back to continue the conversation.

As we shared our vision of Amahoro Africa he was enthralled and told us that they too have been seeking the same thing - the AACC’s founding vision was one of developing a vibrant post-colonial Christianity.

Mvume is a good guy, someone who I have known from the past in the bad old days of Apartheid South Africa where he was at the forefront of the struggle for justice. Today that passion for justice has not waned. He still longs to see the kingdom of God come to Africa, to see the healing power of God impact upon the lives of ordinary people in ways that not only transform them spiritually but also impact on their everyday circumstances.

We have an open invitation to gather our friends and return in October to continue the dialogue and we have extended an invitation to Mvume to be with us in Uganda in May 07.

Once again I am amazed at what God has done through this trip. The people he has connected together, the hearts he has encouraged, the blessing he has been.

Sean Callaghan | South African Coordinator

Kigali

2006-05-24T08:31:00.000-07:00

Meet John and Jane. They sound like the characters from a children’s fairy tale but what they deal with every day is as far from that fairly tale as one could imagine. They are unassuming, incredibly compassionate, church planters. And like Jesus you will find them most often hanging out in bars and in the company of prostitutes.

It is like any other red light district the world over – bars and brothels - drugs and crime and patrons and madams and pimps – all together for a common cause - supply and demand. This one happens to be in Kigali, Rwanda but it could easily be in your city.

John started his ministry to prostitutes and drug addicts two years ago – I preached to some of his first converts last year – then they were a group of 10 or 20 young people fighting against impossible odds. Today they have grown into a powerful force for good in this community. They offer a 24 hour counseling service, assist with HIV testing and treatment for those who now live with AIDS, have started alternative job creation initiatives and provide a safe quiet space for reflection in a world that never sleeps.

Jane leads a church a few bars down. Her congregation, which has grown to over 1000 in just two years, is an eclectic mix of ex prostitutes and working girls, of clients and ex clients, of madams and ex brothel owners, of drug addicts and pushers and those that have finally come clean.

And when they worship they dance – not because they are particularly Pentecostal but because they are free – free from drugs, free from sexual addition, free from the slavery of prostitution. Christ truly has set them free for freedoms sake.

Transformation has not only come to individual lives but it has started to come to the community as well. They tell the stories of bars and brothels that have closed as the owners and workers and clients have come to faith. They tell of a radical reduction in crime and the hope that comes from job creation. And today the two biggest buildings in the area are churches and the biggest crowds gathered are those of the faith community.

Yet what is most astounding is the compassion with which both John and Jane speak of their congregations and their community. There is no hint of condemnation. Surely they have understood that Christ came not to condemn but to seek and save the lost.

Sean Callaghan | South African Coordinator

Stateside Goings On

2006-05-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

I hope you're enjoying all of Claude's great stories from Africa. Sounds like he's having a very fruitful time. I'm not-so-secretly jealous about his trip. I really wish I was there!

Thought I'd take a minute to tell you about some exciting things that are happening here, too! Over the course of the next month, I'll be meeting with some key church leaders who are interested in partnering in one way or another with the Gathering. I'm humbled by and excited about all the positive feedback we've received from churches here in the states.

Next month, I'll be teaching a course called Emerging Elsewhere: postColonialism and the Emerging Church at the Emergent Summer Institute in Minneapolis. The course will focus on the realities facing the postColonial world, as well as the global church's response to these challenges. It should be a great time.

Exciting things are happening. Thanks for being a part of it!

Luke Miller | North American Coordinator

Sean Callaghan joins me!

2006-05-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Sean arrived this morning in Kigali, Rwanda. I was introduced to Sean by Brian Mclaren a while back and he has been very involved in the planning of the Amahoro African Gathering, especially in coordinating the team that will come from South Africa.

Sean is part of the conversation in South Africa and the lead pastor of the Junction Church in Johannesburg. Sean will be with me for the rest of the advanced trip. I am very excited to share this adventure with Sean, get to know him, and dream together of a post colonial church in East Africa.

Here is the remaining schedule and what we are hoping to achieve
Schedule:
Rwanda: May 11 – 17, 2006
Burundi: May 17 &19, 2006
Kenya: May 20-24, 2006

As part of the time in these three cities, Sean and I will be holding a day/half a day conversation with key leaders and in those cities (up to 12) local viable indigenous leaders who are doing Kingdom work (mercy and justice) in their communities with some measure of success. Here are the dates for the conversation:

Kigali May 16th
Bujumbura 18th
Nairobi 23rd

Our hope is that the leaders who come to those meetings will form a core group that will plan and recommend who to invite to The Gathering next year and what sites should be considered for field trips for potential partnerships between the west and south.

Claude Nikondeha | African Network Coordinator

First full day in Kigali, Rwanda!

2006-05-17T12:05:00.000-07:00

The rain started again the day again on my first full day in Kigali. I am not going to talk again about the rain etc… (You can refer to my firs day in Uganda), but I will talk about my friend Justine with whom I spent the day with.

For the last 5 years, I have been in a conversation/friendship with Justine about life, culture and religion. Justine is my age; she currently works for USAID in the capital city Kigali, Rwanda. Her husband is Bosco Kayinamura, a medical doctor, and they have two boys: Zoe (6) and Shima (3). Justine and Bosco recently moved into a new community (Gizozi) and started a fellowship that meets in their home. The small fellowship of neighbors is turning quickly into a community, a missional ‘church’.

Today, Justine and I, along with few different friends at different times and places during the day, shared a lot about the Amahoro Africa Gathering and what it would mean to young leaders in Rwanda who will attend. One cannot talk about Rwanda, the church, and Christians without looking back to the times leading to genocide and the genocide itself.

Why such tragedy in a country that in the European Christian books is referred to as the most successful evangelism story? Over 95% Rwandans were Christian in the years leading up to the worst genocide in the history of humanity. Christians killing Christians while the world watched and decided to do nothing. General Romeo Dallaire who was in charge of the UN ‘peacekeeping' force said this about the church in Rwanda during the genocide time: ““We lost an incredible capability once the genocide started because of the fact that the Church aligned itself with the interim genocide government. If we had had support in the churches we could have created pockets of resistance that could have helped gain international support, could have motivated some of the world powers to give us another look. Love thy neighbor didn’t stand up in the Rwandan genocide!”

You may remember seeing the movie: “Hotel Rwanda”, in which a hotel manager created a pocket of resistance that ended up at saving over 1,200 people. One can only imagine if the church had done that what could have happened. I guess they thought that wasn’t the work of the church. So this led us to the question of the day: “If you had to choose one position between being the mayor of Kigali (the capital city of Rwanda) and being the Pastor of one of the largest evangelical church in Kigali, which of the two would you have more freedom to do the work of God/Kingdom work?” We gave it a little thought, looked at each other, and we knew the answer but we were ashamed to voice it. As a mayor of Kigali, the people of Kigali expect you to serve them, to bring reconciliation and build a culture of peace. Bring economic opportunity to the local people of Kigali, help the poor and bring justice to the city. If you don’t do these things, your chances to be re-elected as mayor are very slim.

As the Pastor, the expectations are very different and don’t include anything in the mayor’s list above. Here is the church list: - Have the best show on Sunday morning.
For that to happen, you have to recruit the best worship team, design different activities for midweek meeting, bible studies etc. This will attract more people and this will mean more offering, better building and a bigger salary for the Pastor. These are the expectations of the members and this we know and except from a church. Now the question becomes if the church in Rwanda is falling back again into what it was the years leading to genocide (it may have never changed). What will happen to Rwanda in the next 10 years? Now you have a government who seems to be able to control and impose security but it doesn’t take much to realize that the people still have a very long way to go. What role will the church in Rwanda play in the peace building process? What role will the global church play in helping and supporting the people of Rwanda? The conversation continues and I would love to hear from you about your thoughts for Rwanda.

Blessings.

Claude Nikondeha | African Network Coordinator

Kampala Leaders Meeting

2006-05-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

May 9, 2006

Today was my second official leaders meeting; about 13 emerging leaders (all local pastors) from around Kampala attended the meeting. We met at Namirembe Guest House where I am also staying while here in Kampala.

Today’s conversation was very exciting and very interesting; to me it was like a sample of how the Amahoro Africa Gathering will be. At the end of the conversation today (this went on for over 5 hours) the two older brothers in the group come to me with concerned looks on their faces, pulled me aside and almost whispered in my ears: “Claude, we have some concerns about the format and what topics the discussion could bring up.”

During the conversation some of the younger leaders raised some major concerns on the need of a Spiritual, social, and Economic revolution in Africa in general, and Uganda in particular. My friend Vincent, part of the leadership of an emerging church called Makerere Community Church, described the church in Uganda as a KATEMBA (meaning in Ruganda that the church is like a drama and the people in the church are actors putting up a show every Sunday without real life to it). This conversation made those older leaders very uncomfortable; they deny the concern expressed by those younger leaders but at the same time they are very scared of this ‘controversial’ conversation and especially not ready for the change that this may bring. I did bring some relief to them when I told them we may not see the changes we are conversing about in our lifetime but at least we can have an honest conversation, laying a good foundation for our children and grandchildren. Give them the freedom from colonial ideas and practices that are not helpful and sometimes harmful for African Christianity. The need to develop an African theology, a system that protects the African church from western imperialist systems like ‘Christian television networks (TBN etc.), Evangelists crusaders who come promising to save Africa spiritually and physically, and western NGO’s who brings western practices that have failed to improve people’s lives for the last 60 years.

They believe that ‘development for Africans will be done by Africans’, and that goes for evangelism, discipleship, and theological training.

At the end of the meeting I was very encouraged and excited about the gathering next year and for the first time I thought next May is too far away, but we agreed to keep the conversation going via e-mail, this amahoro blog etc…

Claude Nikondeha | African Network Coordinator

First leaders meeting: May 4, 2006

2006-05-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

Today I met with a dozen leaders from the city of Jinja. These are young men and women with a heart to see transformation in their local communities. They are pastors and ministry leaders, post-colonial thinkers, and agent of transformation.

Today’s conversation covered a lot of topics on the role of the church in a local community and what post-colonial era means to the local church.

One thing that stood out in our conversation was HIV/AIDS and its affect on the local communities economy and all aspects of everyday life. We hear a lot of the success stories of Uganda's fight against HIV/AIDS and the numbers we have heard over and over again are: 36% of the population was infected with AIDS in the 80’s, and only 6% is infected today. But after this meeting, I realize that those numbers don’t tell the whole story. The story from the hard places, the small towns and the villages. Most of the people tested for HIV/AIDS in Uganda are from Kampala, the capital city. The population of Kampala is 10% of the total population, so in most cases the 6% of infections reflects Kampala. The reality is Kampala is not all of Uganda and over 50% of the population have never been tested. I was told that in the villages and small towns people die every day. The traditional people still believe that AIDS is another scary tactic from the west, it doesn’t exist, sexual misbehavior is still pretty much alive etc. The leaders I met with today summarized that the one single issue that the church in the Jinja region is facing today is AIDS.

One of the benefits of a post colonial church is that they are very creative on how they respond to AIDS by encouraging abstinence for young people in offering incentive for those who stays abstinent until marriage, reach out to the orphans by encouraging members of the local church to have fewer kids of their own and adopt the orphans, and starting private schools for the local community so that the community can help in educating the orphans.

Most often, you don’t hear how the AIDS problem affects local economies, but here in Jinja where food was never a problem before AIDS, it is now a problem because less people are able to grow food. A generation of adults are either dead or dying and they are not leaving the knowledge of agriculture since the ones left behind are to young to carry that burden. Clearly the young leaders that I saw today are the hope for Jinja.

The Church in Jinja is very excited about the Amahoro Africa Gathering, not only because it will be held in Uganda but because it is an African initiative for Africans who are trying to live and follow the examples of Jesus in a post colonial context.

Claude Nikondeha | African Network Coordinator

Saturday, May 6, 2006

2006-05-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

I decided to take it easy today and reflect on the last few days in Uganda, as well as plan for the remaining few days here.

This was the plan until my friends Jerome Ntege (Associate Pastor of Makerere University Community Church and Professor of Social Anthropology at Makerere University), James Ouma (Senior Pastor of Africa Gospel Church and Professor of Theology at Kampala Evangelical School of Theology), Kennedy Kirui ( A 27 years old Kenyan who started 2 years ago a campus church at the largest private University in East Africa here in Kampala.), and Alfred Acanga (recently graduated in economics at Makerere University and now looking for employment and co-lead New City Church here in Kampala.) and I had a meeting/conversation.

Even though this wasn’t planned, it was probably the most stimulating conversation I have had so far. These guys are as smart as any one I know, they very post colonial in their thinking, living out the gospel and loving Uganda and Africa.

They are extremely excited about Amahoro Gathering; they think this is timely for Uganda as a lot things are changing. Politically, economically and spiritually, Uganda’s culture is changing and the Church doesn’t have a theology that speaks the language of the emerging culture. They have great expectations for the gathering and they will do all they can to see it take place and succeed.

Claude Nikondeha | African Network Coordinator

An American in Jinja! May 4, 2006

2006-05-17T11:27:00.000-07:00

Mark Manry is a young American from Rochester, Michigan. Sent by their home church, Mark moved with his family (wife Lori, and 3 children Luke, Connor and Lydia) to Jinja, Uganda six months ago. Mark is a ‘missionary’ with the Busoga Mission group and they are trying to do some innovative things in this region.

When Mark heard about the plans for the Amahoro Africa Gathering he was very excited and looks forward to the gathering. He is is very helpful with sharing what it will mean to the indigenous young leaders that he works with.

Mark completed his M.Div. last year with an emphasis on post modern theologies with a personal interest in relating these to African missions. He is presently working on a degree in post-colonial history from a school in the UK, primarily motivated by the desire to understand the post-colonial condition in order to imagine possibilities for the gospel in Uganda.

I had a wonderful time with Mark and I am glad he is in Uganda. We need a new breed of young emerging missionaries who don’t transport the gospel of Jesus to Africa, but who are here to come along side the indigenous and their experience of God.

If you know of similar missionaries, please share with them about Amahoro Gathering!

Mark’s family website is www.manryfamily.com

Claude Nikondeha | African Network Coordinator

KAMULI May 3, 2006

2006-05-17T11:16:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I visited Kamuli, about one hour from Jinja, Uganda. There I visited Pastor Fred SS and his family and the 80 orphans that he and his wife are caring for.

Fred and his family moved to Kamuli 10 years ago to plant a church. It was hard for them to leave good jobs in Jinja where they lived and worked after receiving the call to go and plant a church in this heavily Muslim town. The first 2 years were spent just getting to know people and forming relationships that resulted in planting the first Pentecostal church in Kamuli.

Today, Fred’s first church has planted 6 other churches in neighboring villages. About 5 years ago, his church community realized that HIV has left several hundreds of orphans in Kamuli and felt that God was calling them to act on behalf of those children. That’s when the ministry of ‘Glades Children Center’ was born. Using innovative ideas, Uganda's way of caring for the orphans, Fred and his church started this center without any help from outside. Today they have 80 orphans living in community with Fred and his family and all the elders and their families in the same compound.

One year ago, they started a primary school and opened up to the town of Kamuli. In the first year, they enrolled over 400 students from the community, hired 17 teachers, one headmaster, and one secretary. 50% of the community children are able to pay for the school and that is stretched to help the rest who can't pay.

I really was impressed with what the Lord has done through Fred and his team. They are very committed to the town of Kamuli and its population of 50,000, by planting churches that produce better disciples, caring for the orphans, and pursuing justice and mercy.

Fred and two of his pastors will join us next year for the Amahoro Africa Gathering.

P.S. Fred is pursuing a Master of Theology at the Uganda Baptist Seminary, an extension of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Part of the program is to attend the main campus in North Carolina for the last 6 months. This will take place next year from June – December. He needs to raise $8,000 to cover those six months, so if you can help in any way (Airline mileage, Housing in North Carolina etc…) please let us know!

Claude Nikondeha | African Network Coordinator

AWEPON: Standing Up to Unjust Economic Policies - May 5

2006-05-11T07:15:00.000-07:00

This Friday morning I spent some time with Elizabeth Eilor, Director for AWEPON, a network of over 500 churches and community leaders in 20 African countries.

AWEPON (African Women's Economic Policy Network) is doing an amazing work across Africa, teaching emerging leaders how to be creative using their limited resources and transforming them into economic opportunities for the community. See some of their stories on their website: www.awepon.org.

AWEPON is working toward male and female empowerment through economic policy analysis, literacy, lobbying and advocacy.

Elizabeth told me that the Amahoro Gathering is an answer to her prayers and assured me that AWEPON will do all they can to support the gathering and the network. It is a rich blessing to have AWEPON on board.

Claude Nikondeha | African Network Coordinator

Prime Time! - May 6

2006-05-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

Alfred Acanga came to pick me up early in the evening for ‘a casual pool side hang out’ as he calls it. We drove for 45 minutes through the heavy traffic of Kampala to Makerere University (the largest and oldest university in East Africa with over 40,000 students). Young people come to hang out here once a week (Saturdays) and listen to ‘Christian’ Hip Hop songs, ‘Christian’ comedians and an evangelistic short message from one of the students or community members.

We got there around 7 p.m. and there were a little over 200 people, which was impressive to me. But by 8 p.m. there were more than a thousand young people gathered around the pool listening and dancing, talking to their friends, laughing at the comedians’ jokes etc… After 8:30 p.m., I couldn’t tell anymore how many young people were there because it was getting dark and the only thing I could recognize was the pool. Everywhere else looked like a black sea of people! Around 9 p.m., a student took the microphone, told his story about how he started coming to the Prime Time not knowing who Jesus was or what it meant to follow Him. His story was short but very touching and he ended by saying that a group his friends and himself are going to the north, where there has been a lot of fighting, to share the love of God with those friends who have had so much suffering.

Jerome, another new friend, joined me on the roof where I was sitting. After observing for a little while what was going on, Jerome told me that when a local pastor first comes to Prime Time, the first question is always: “ Who is the big man (meaning who is the person in charge)? And Jerome’s answer is always the same: “There is no big man, it is a bunch of small guys who invite a bunch of their small guys …” No offering is taken officially (another concern for the denominational church leaders,) no announcements, in brief nothing like a standard ‘church’ is done here. And yet young people come to the Lord running!

Friends, this is a demonstration of post colonial outreach. There is no the problem with overtones of conquest or control. No one feels the need to get credit for what’s happening, no one feels the need to sit up front so that people know he or she is the boss. It’s not a crusade or a soul winning campaign, nor are they pretending to take Uganda for Christ.

It’s a bunch of small guys having fun together with their small guys friends and sharing their stories…many of those stories center on the person of Jesus.

Claude Nikondeha | African Network Coordinator

Uganda - May 3

2006-05-11T06:56:00.000-07:00

Today I arrived safely in Uganda, the first country to visit on this Advance Trip in preparation for the Amahoro Africa Gathering. Thank you for praying and please keep praying for me as the journey has just begun!

It was a long trip, as you can imagine, but for some reason it didn’t feel as tiring as in previous trips to Africa. Much excitement and anticipation of what God will do during this trip could be the reason.

Landing at Entebbe International Airport was unusual because when we first touched the ground, it looked like a clean and clear morning in Kampala. But as soon as I stepped out of the plane, the rain started pouring down heavily. Now I don’t know what the rain means to your culture, but here in Africa rain is a sign of blessing. Rain in this part of the world is not something that just comes down because it is the rainy season, like snow during winter in Canada. Rain is a sign of life, and so an encouragement for me as I start this journey here in East Africa!

If you have been to Africa, you know that you don’t go from the airplane into the airport terminal! You go down, off the plane and then you walk for 100 meters (at least) and then enter the airport terminal. As I stepped out of the airplane, the rain fell and I was glad that I had 100 meters to enjoy the blessing, saying: ‘Thank you, Jesus, for smiling on me and letting me know that You are with me…’

However, it looked like I was the only one who remembered what the rain means to us! In no time, the wonderful Ugandan airport staff rushed a bus to the plane and even had several dozen umbrellas for people to use from the plane into the bus. Of course, I didn’t use the bus or the umbrella (I hope I didn’t offend the airport staff!). As you know, I am from Burundi and the northern part of Burundi hasn’t seen rain in over 3 years. I could only imagine if I had landed in that part of Burundi, and the rain would have followed me of course, the people would had been out dancing and celebrating this gift. But here it felt like a bad thing, something we need to be protected from, something unwanted, unwelcome. Then I remembered that on the plane, 50% of the people were westerners. They have a different view of rain, perhaps. When I lived in England, it rained everyday (or felt like it) and the weather men/women always said that there was bad news: “It is going to rain today.” So I guess among other things, we here in Africa had learned how to protect ourselves from the rain. But let me tell you, if you live in a place where it rains once every 3 years and you depend on it to eat, you will have a totally different opinion on rain.

Please let me know what rain means to you!

Claude Nikondeha | African Network Coordinator

Amahoro!

2006-04-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

Amahoro means peace. It is a word of Bantu origin used widely across Africa. It has special meaning in places like Rwanda, Burundi, and Congo, where violence and genocide have inflicted such pain and suffering. When people from various tribes embrace, shake hands or kiss, and say "amahoro," they are expressing a deep hope for a better future.

I greet you today with this beautiful phrase to welcome you to the official blog of the Amahoro Africa Gathering. We'll be updating this regularly as we find relevant or inspiring information to share. Check back often!

Claude, our African Network Coordinator, will be travelling to East Africa this May to finalize arrangements, make connections, and build the network. He'll be posting stories and news here.

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure and subscribe to our feed!

Luke Miller | North American Coordinator