Source: Global Witness, Globally Reimagined, September 14, 2023
Harvey Kwiyani writes:
I grew up in a revival in Malawi—the kind of revival that turned many nominal Christians into fervent followers of Christ, ever ready to pray and evangelize. I learned after leaving the continent that the revival was a widespread phenomenon that touched almost all sub-Saharan Africa and has been going on for decades. In the context of a revival, mission and evangelism tend to be straightforward. I saw many people miraculously convert by themselves because of dreams and other spectacular phenomena. Many of them are still active following Christ today, 30 years later.
Central to all this revival is a theology (shaped by an African worldview) that requires that God acts for and on behalf of people. Even in African (traditional) religion, a god who does not heal or provide is useless and will have no followers.
Yet, such is the God that many other Christians worship, especially in the post-Enlightenment West. Many people profess to follow Christ, yet, they live as if they are atheists. They are Christians, yet they are so self-sufficient that they do not need help from God. They live out their faith as if everything depends on them.
Read the full article and a follow-up, “Will This Jesus Protect Us?” Thought-provoking.