THEOLOGY

As we think about how change happens, one of our core convictions is that our theology matters; what we believe about God, His world, His redemptive work in the world and all that goes along with this all matters for how we live and engage with others. If we are longing to see the church active and involved in bringing about God’s justice and peace in the world, then our starting point needs to be theological; so that as people of faith, desiring to follow Jesus, we have a clear rationale for why we’re doing what we’re doing.

For this reason, whenever we start journeying with any church or group, our starting point is to sit in scripture together, chewing on the timeless truths we find within its pages. This, we have found, produces lasting change rooted in deep conviction.

We recently heard a phrase from the Gibbs Business School that really struck us: “know-be-do”. This stuck with us because it sums up so much of our theory of how change happens:

for renewed and truly transformational action (or “do-ing”) we need to first start with the work of knowing and then allow this move from just head knowledge to heart knowledge so that we start to “be” the change (we need to “be” different as a result of our knowing). This is why much of our work with churches starts with theology. Because as people of Jesus, as we discuss and chew on scripture together, we are changed and inspired afresh. We know new things which allows us to be new ways which in turn allows for fresh imagination about how we could act (do) to bring life, restoration and hope. This is our rationale for starting much of our work with churches with the work of “prophetic imagination” and sitting together in scripture, dreaming together of its implications for our world

Contextual Bible Studies

This is a methodology developed by the Ujamaa Centre at UKZN is a powerful way of studying the Bible in community to gain fresh insights into the contexts we encounter. The method of Contextual Bible Study uses the ‘See-Judge-Act’ framework. This method invites participants to study and understand their local contexts (see); then to analyse these contexts through dialogue with the biblical text (judge); and lastly to respond in accordance with what God is saying through this (act).

We have used this to delve into a range of complex social issues ranging from hunger and food, to gender-based violence, peace-making, and addiction. These discussions are always so rich and insightful and spaces where we learn so much from the participants.

It has also been a joy to work with and learn from a number of theologians, both academic and practical, to develop skills both in facilitating and writing these sorts of materials. Another amazing resource we have explored is Daniel Erlander’s book, Manna and Mercy, as a resource for group work. All of these processes have yielded robust discussions and have been central in developing imagination for the work that needs to be done.

Imagination: The dictionary defines imagination as “the act or power of forming a mental picture of something not present, especially of something one has not known or experienced”. In our work of journeying with the church towards God’s peace and justice, the first step is developing an imagination for the Kingdom – an imagination for what our neighbourhoods would actually look like if they were “on earth as it is in heaven”.

If you would like to use any of our resources or have us come and facilitate a session with your team, please do contact us. It is always a joy and privilege to work with others on this.