Abstract:
This article dealt with racial diversity in homogenous white Afrikaans faith
communities such as the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC). This study was partially an
account of the researcher’s own discontent with being a minister in the DRC against
the backdrop of his own journey of finding a racially integrated identity in a postapartheid
South Africa. It focused on the question of how a church like the DRC
can play an intentional role in the formation of racially inclusive communities. The
study brought together shifts in missional theology, personal reflections from DRC
ministers and contemporary studies on whiteness. The researcher looked towards a
missional imaginary as a field map for racial diversity in the church. This was mirrored
against contemporary studies on white identity in a post-apartheid South Africa. From
this conversation the researcher argued for a creative discovery of hybrid identities
within white faith communities. Missional exercises such as listening to the stories of
strangers, cross cultural pilgrimages and eating together in strange places can assist
congregations on this journey.
Description:
This research was part of the research done for a MA (Theology) at the Faculty of
Theology, University of Pretoria, under the supervision of prof. CJP (Nelus) Niemandt.