TUMELO faifh| of ^ ic a i) TY\e Peitfecostals Africa \r\ Soa\Y\ Allan Anderson wirtj Saiquel OfwarjS STUDIA ORIGINALIA 17 UNIS A 1993 DEDICATION This book is dedicated to the memory of a friend, Professor Willem Vorster, Director of the Institute for Theological Research at UNISA. His sudden passing, just as this book was being completed, was a profound loss to all of us at the Institute. His unceasing encouragement and support for the Research of the Pentecostalism Project, and the freedom he gave us to get on with the job, was a constant source of inspiration. This study is a small part of this legacy. TUMELO The faith of African Pentecostals in South Africa Allan Anderson with Samuel Otwang A project of the Institute for Theological Research University of South Africa Pretoria © 1993 University of South Africa First edition, first impression ISBN 0 86981 834 1 Typesetting by Mrs N Fouchd Institute for Theological Research Printed by Sigma Press Koedoespoort Published by the University of South Africa P O Box 392, (XX) 1 Pretoria © All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means - mechanical or electronic, including recordings or tape recording and photocopying - without the prior permission of the publisher, excluding fair quotations for purposes of research or review. Contents FOREWORD vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS x Abbreviations used xi CHAPTER 1: RESEARCH METHODS AND TERMS 1 Introduction 1 2 The Soshanguve survey 3 3 Terms for churches in Soshanguve 5 4 The need for qualitative research 9 5 Scope of this study 11 Tables 1-5 13-15 CHAPTER 2: GROWTH AND PROCLAMATION 16 1 Patterns of recruitment and growth 16 2 Proclamation of the Word 29 Tables 6-7 35-36 CHAPTER 3: LITURGY AND LIFE 37 1 African Pentecostal services 37 2 Sacraments 49 3 Church life 55 4 Socio-political concerns 57 Tables 8-9 63-64 CHAPTER 4: SALVATION, HEALING AND DELIVERANCE FROM EVIL 65 1 A holistic salvation 65 2 Healing methods 71 3 Deliverance from trouble 82 4 Salvation in African perspective 91 CHAPTER 5: THEOLOGY AND CHRISTOLOGY 94 1 Theology at the grass roots 94 2 Christology and messianism 99 3 Christ or an African messiah? 106 CHAPTER 6: THE EMPHASIS ON THE SPIRIT 109 1 The Spirit in Africa 109 2 Pentecostal manifestations 114 3 Prophetic practices 122 4 Towards a relevant African theology 133 CONCLUSION: THE CHALLENGE OF AFRICAN PENTECOSTALISM 136 1 The growth of African Pentecostalism 136 2 Contextualisation and syncretism 140 3 The challenge for Christian mission 142 APPENDIX A: CHURCHES ENCOUNTERED IN SOSHANGUVE 145 APPENDIX B: RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRES 153 WORKS CONSULTED 162 SELECTED SUBJECT INDEX 166 vi Foreword Words fail me to express my deepest appreciation to Dr Allan Anderson for making available to the wider public readership his invaluable findings on the little researched and yet important field of study, namely the faith of African Pentecostals in South Africa, whose adherents are growing at the fastest rate among blacks at the expense of the mission churches. Therefore, I feel myself privileged to have been asked to write this Foreword to this rather fascinating study which promises to become another classic on the African Initiated Churches along with Bengt Sundkler’s Bantu prophets in South Africa (1961). Even though some readers might wonder why a descendant of white missionaries should undertake research into an African church movement, I am persuaded that Anderson is eminently qualified to write on African Pentecostals because of his long association with, and membership of and participation in, these churches. Indeed his research findings, which adequately demonstrate a rare ability of entering into and interpreting objectively and yet sympathetically the thought patterns of African Pentecostalism, are his best testimony to the fact that his ‘own personal roots in Africa’ and among his fellow African Christians ‘do run deep’ (pi). Not only does Anderson’s book make for a perceptive and interesting reading on the origins and attractiveness of African Pentecostalism, but also the book is lucidly written, balanced, well researched and documented. Not surprisingly, therefore, most claims and assertions are backed by massive empirical research and data - all of which have placed the conclusions Anderson has drawn on a much firmer foundation. His empirical research has disclosed very useful statistics and facts which should be of paramount importance to students of missiology and theologians of the mission churches, such as: (a) The African Initiated churches accounted for 46% of the total population of Soshanguve in 1991 as compared with 37% of the older ‘mission churches’. This compares roughly with the 1991 official census figures which estimated that 46% of black South Africans belonged to the African Initiated churches as compared with 33% of the mission VI1 churches (p7). These figures indicate that the African Initiated churches have grown at the expense of the mission churches whose membership in 1960 stood at 70% of the African people, but fell to 60% in 1970, and again fell even more drastically to 33% in 1991 country-wide. In the light of the foregoing decline, Anderson comes to a momentous conclusion which should rudely awake the mission churches from their ‘missiological slumber’ when he notes: If the trend continues, the mission churches could be an even less significant proportion (possibly about 20%) of the black population by the turn of this century. In contrast, the indigenous churches would probably be at least 50% of this population by that time (p9. Also sec pl38). African Pentecostalism draws its membership primarily from among the marginalised and underprivileged blacks who are struggling to find dignity and identity in a society dominated by racial and class interests. The racial character of church membership in South Africa goes back to the colonial period during which white people monopolised power both in church and society, thus denying blacks the opportunity of becoming creative agents of their history and destiny. However, in response to black demands which in some cases led to certain secessions as blacks became more and more educated, the white dominated power structures devolved token powers to the educated black bourgeoisie in the mission churches when those blacks embraced the class values of their European masters through mission schools. Commenting on the class character of church membership in South Africa, Anderson points out that African Pentecostalism: ... expanded initially among oppressed African people who were neglected, misunderstood, and deprived of everything but token leadership by their white Pentecostal ‘masters’. These white Pentecostals had apparently ignored biblical concepts like the priesthood of all believers and the equality of all people in Christ (pl36). The African Pentecostal churches are growing more rapidly in an urban environment than they do in a rural one, suggesting that the insecurities inherent in rapid urbanisation among black South Africans provide incentives for people who have been uprooted from their rural settings to now seek and find their home in a new culturally and socially meaningful religious context which the African Initiated churches provide. The import of this observation is that African Pentecostalism has been able to adapt to and fulfil African religious aspirations more relevantly than the mission churches have. More significantly, it is the proclamation of the gospel with the pneumatological emphasis which has given African Pentecostalism an advantage over the mission churches. Concurring and citing the research findings of Turner (1979:210), Anderson writes: ... it is the independents who help us to see the overriding African concern for spiritual power from a mighty God to overcome all enemies and evils that threaten human life and vitality, hence their extensive ministry of mental and physical healing. This is rather different from the Western preoccu­ pation with atonement for sin and forgiveness of guilt (pl37). The implications of Dr Anderson’s research are that the mission churches must go back to the drawing boards of missiology in order to rethink and re-conceive the relevant mission strategies in order to deal with and overcome many shortcomings in their ministry which have created dissatisfaction among their African members, leading them to leave those churches in droves to join the African Pentecostal churches. Anything short of that would merely result in self- inflicted wounds which would bleed the mission churches slowly but surely to death. In my view, Dr Anderson’s well-written book will contribute substantially towards missiological and theological discourse. Therefore, it is with pleasure that I invite all those who are concerned about the declining membership in mission churches to study this book in order to learn from African Pentecostalism how they too could minister relevantly and effectively to African Christians, in whose hands the future and continuity of the Church in South Africa literally rests. Simon S Maimela Professor in Systematic Theology University of South Africa IX