"Doing the Kingdom" in Africa

Recently, I read an interview with Anglican Bishop Tom Wright. Here's the portion of the transcript that caught my attention:

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"Jesus was going around 'doing the kingdom', healing the sick, cleansing lepers, feeding the hungry, he was celebrating at a party with all the wrong people, transforming people's lives and saying cryptic things such as: 'Let me tell you what the kingdom of God is like'," Wright says.

"The church has it the other way around. It has tended to say: 'We must say it, say it, say it as clearly as possible and if there is any energy left over, we'll do a bit of it as well."'

Wright was delighted when one of his theology students returned from a summer in Zambia and told the provost of his university that he was planning to do development work in the Third World. On being quizzed about why he wasn't studying politics and economics, he replied: "Because theology's so much more relevant."

Wright says: "He had seen that what was happening in these African villages was they were worshipping Jesus exuberantly and then going out and 'doing' it, then coming back and worshipping, and then going out, and they were making a real, transformative difference."

"That's why churches are full in Africa."

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Wright's closing statements resonate with our desire to go to Africa. We want to teach future pastors in Cameroon about the Kingdom of God, so that they can be sent out to teach and lead churches to "do the Kingdom." The gospel transforms individuals to image forth a transformed community, in which the reign of Jesus supplants the reign of deceit and anger. As Jesus prayed, may the Kingdom come and God's will be done on earth, in Africa, in Cameroon, as it is done in Heaven (Mt. 6:10).

--tg