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Where are the Small Christian Communities?By Japheth KyaloIn his book 'African Religions and Philosophy,' John S. Mbiti describes the African as “notoriously religious.” By extension, the African can also be described as notoriously responsive to music and rhythm.It is precisely this combination of religion and music that makes the evangelicals, or New Religious Movements (as they are called by Paul Gifford in his analysis, 'Christianity: to Save or to Enslave?'), so appealing in Africa today. It is not the theological relevance nor the practical application of the teachings of these New Religious Movements (NRMs) that draw crowds. It is mostly the sweetness of the melodies, not even the words of the songs. Singing and dancing take up at least half the time of a single service or fellowship. Dance rhythms originating from central Africa, especially from the Congo and Cameroon regions, have dominated the musical scene across the continent for decades. Congolese music, such as “ndombolo,” is common throughout Eastern Africa, the Great Lakes Region, and parts of West and Southern Africa. It is the contemporary beat. Crowds at evangelical open-air services are often seen gyrating to the beats of Christianised “ndombolo” and such rhythms. Sweet melodies, rhythmic movements, and a vaguely Christian message: the result is pleasant for a large number of people. Little attention is given to the dubious theological base of the songs. A psychological refuge There is no rigidity of rubrics at the fellowships. There is a high degree of spontaneity, and of inclusive, active participation. These fellowships are welcoming right from the beginning - in fact, from even before they begin! Those who arrive early do not have to get bored. There is normally music, extra loud and live, bellowing out of the guitars, keyboard, drums, and vocalists. This attracts people. The youth do not like quiet meditation, bowed down in deep prayer before service begins. They look for something vigorous: music. And the NRMs provide that. When foreign preachers such as the German Reinhard Bonnke or Korea's Rev. Cho are in town in Africa's capitals, local or regional evangelical groups team up to attend and participate. They make up quite a mammoth congregation. But their music is always “bigger than the congregation." Watching these NRM street fellowships, one sees a church brought down to the people: those who are coming from shopping, the office, bus commuters in transit, idlers on the street, and dance music lovers. They attract the attention of even the staunch Catholic, who stands there simply to gather more criticism of just another one of “these sects.” And not a few of these have ended up “seeing the light,” and therefore coming again to the same place, with some participation next time. With most African economies in "intensive care,” NRMs provide a psychological refuge. Wars and illnesses, too, provide part of the reason for escapism. Those who have been retrenched, the unemployed, the jilted lover, one who has lost a loved one, even those whose marriages are on the rocks, often find refuge there. NRMs provide them with an occasion to be happy, albeit for a while. And this seems to be the only theological basis for most NRMs: forget your pain now, and focus on future paradise. People get so emotionally involved in prayer, song, dance ,and preaching that they are lost from the harsh realities of life. What should the church in Africa do? Do we dismiss NRMs as just another lure of the times, another passing fad? Not so, at least for the time being. They are attracting hordes and hordes of parishioners, and they are succeeding. They challenge us to search for more effective ways of being church in Africa today. The greatest potential of the church in Africa lies in Small Christian Communities (SCCs). They are the new way of being church. SCCs enable laity to take up very important ministry positions: liturgical advisors, lectors, acolytes, song leaders, instructors for infant baptism, guides for catechumens, marriage counsellors, advisors on health, on HIV-AIDS and on environment, co-ordinators for justice and peace work, youth animators, and many others. A forgotten choice SCCs are the fruit of Vatican II ecclesiology. They are an adequate response to the council documents, for instance, Lumen Gentium (n. 14; 26; 32; 37). But the pace at which the Church is moving to implement Vatican II vision can be summed up in the recent words of Bishop Colin Davies of Ngong, Kenya, who was at the council in 1962: “There is a great deal of mental laziness. There is still less openness to things, especially with the involvement of the laity in the church.” (The Seed, December 2000) Bishop Davies goes on to say that the discovery of Small Christian Communities in the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa (AMECEA) countries in the 1970s “was a marvellous (novelty) that has made the church grow.” No doubt it is this vibrant church at the SCC level that prompted Bishop Davies to single out SCCs as the greatest mark of ecclesiastical development on the continent. If theology is a critical reflection on Christian praxis in the light of the Gospel, then theology is happening at the SCC level. The poor and suffering need not seek refuge outside and come back only when all is well. In the SCCs they have the opportunity to “read” their book of harsh life and seek in the Holy Book what God says about their predicament. In other words, in SCCs people read two books: their concrete life situations, and Scripture, which illumines these life situations. There they know, as they say in South Africa, that the (Biblical) text without context is a pretext. With proper guidance, chances of SCCs turning Biblical fundamentalist are remote. The Biblical Centre for Africa and Madagascar (BICAM) is doing tremendous work in this field. SCC members come to know the Bible. In most African dioceses, SCCs follow the seven-step procedure of Biblical reflection. It may be called “the Zobegan Method” in some places and by other names elsewhere. But the essential step of reading and placing the Biblical text into the concrete context of the reflecting community seems to run through. Preaching is not part of these seven steps. SCCs members, when they have time, can express themselves through song and dances. Their emotional needs are catered for in many and deeper ways than in the NRMs. In many aspects, the SCCs are an adequate response to the New Religious Movements. Why, then, has the commitment of the Bishops and priests to promote and nurture SCCs slackened in recent years? The statements regarding SCCs during the time preceding the Synod for Africa in 1994, and in the Synod itself, were very impressive. One could envisage active SCCs in every parish on the continent. It was commonly said that SCCs were “no longer optional.” They were supposed to become the normal way of being church in Africa. Why then have they become optional? Japheth Kyalo, Kenyan, has just completed his Post Graduate Diploma Course in Christian Communication and Development at the Pontifical University, St. Patrick College, Maynooth, Ireland.
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