Kighoma, Eraston Kambale  <br/><br/>
Church And Mission In The Context Of War—A Descriptive Missiological Study Of The Response Of The Baptist Church In Central Africa (Cbca) To The War In Eastern Congo Between 1990 And 2011 

 - Johannesburg South Africa  South African Theological Seminary  November 2017 
 - 299 pages   PDF  A4  Abstract, TOC 
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<br/><br/> This dissertation is a missiological study about the response of the Baptist Church in Central  Africa  to  the  war  in  Eastern  Congo.  The  study  explores  the  church's understanding of, and approach to, mission before and during the war in the period between   1990   and   2011.   It   compares   and/or   contrasts the   results with   the understanding  of, and  approach  to,  missions  before  the  war.  It  concludes  that  the experience  of  war  informed  the  nature  of  missions  and  the  development  of  local theologies, the  experience  and  method  of  missions, the church’s attitude toward violence and church’s survival during the war. This   study   involves a combination   of   descriptive,   contextual   and   integrative approaches  which  emphasise  attention  to  culture  and  intercultural  dynamics.  It integrates methods and insights from various fields of theological study. The research process comprises face  to  face  interviews  and  focus  group discussions for  data collection.  It  also makes use of  exegesis and a  theological  assessment of  Matthew 5:38-45, Acts 18:1-4 and Hebrews 10:32-34 in order to identify the response of the church  to the  war, including the  four  steps  of  historical  research as  advocated  by Deiros (2011, 136-40) to establish a historical and contextual basis for the study. The completion of the church’s missiological task during war  depends  on  the  way Christian   leaders contextualise the   transmission   of   the   Christian   message, discipleship  and  strategically organize the  routine  of  church  life.  The  church’s response  to war in  Eastern  Congo  is  in  action, both  in ministry  and  mission, undergirded by theology. The latter is shaped in and by war, as sharing the Gospel was confined to the Church’s pulpit and, as a result of war, the church shifted from being  a  mission  force in  the mission  field  to  a  force in contextual  discipleship that needed to address growth, hope and social concerns including poverty and peaceful coexistence.  Rather  than accepting the Christian leaders’ experience of war as a survival story,  the  study  argues  for  a  demonstration  of  God  in mission through  the church pastor fulfilling his mission. It is the reconstruction of church missions centered on the Christian leader in the context of violence and suffering, thus a story of God incarnate,  silent  during  violence  and  suffering  but  present  through  the  local  church pastor. The response of the Church inaction and theology that developed from the 6local experience of missions is linked with the biblical responses to church, violence and war. Therefore, this study integrates the local theologies which guide the church practice with theoretical models of church missions and biblical teaching on Christian responses to the church, violence and war. Consequently, the church’s appropriate missiological response to war must draw on insights gained from an understanding of church and mission in the context of war.