My internship at the church in Sweya officially ended a week ago. Rob and I have decided that over the next two months, I will spend my Sundays visiting eight other different kinds of churches in the Mwanza area in order to understand more about the religious climate of this region.
Numbers of the denominations that I am acquanted with in
America are respresented here, but the way that their ideas, beliefs, and
practices have been adapted here looks different. In America, if
I hear the word Lutheran, I have a very clear picture in my head of the various
kinds of Lutheran churches that are present in America. If I hear the word Baptist,
I have some very clear ideas of the different kinds of Baptist churches that are
in America. The same goes with the titles Pentecostal, Catholic, Assemblies of God, Non-Denominational, Seventh-Day Adventist, etc.
But, those same labels are worn by churches here that look very different.
I want to be able to understand how church life in Tanzania is different than church life in America. As a theology teacher and a mentor of pastors here, I need to understand what kind of errors the churches have to deal with. I need to know kinds of philosophies and beliefs that are influencing church theology and practice here. I need to understand what kind of relationship national churches here have with missionaries from the outside, what kinds of efforts or lack of effort have been put toward reproducing the church here, etc.
There is also a whole host of denominations that are here that have no connection to the West. Some of them are strictly "home-grown". Also, other churches from African nations have started church works here in Tanzania. So, I don't even have an understanding for these kinds of churches or their belief or practices.
So yesterday, I made my first observation visit to a church on the other side of town called Winner's Chapel. It is a work that was started by a church out of Nigeria called Faith Tabernacle, and the church's bishop is named David Odeyepo. Odeyepo was a disciple of Kenneth Copeland, and his churches are throughout Africa teaching that sickness, poverty, or any personal trouble are not a part of the plan of God or the life of a believer. If a believer is in right fellowship with God, he should only expect success, prosperity, and blessing. I don't think I have to tell you that this kind of teaching here is very popular. While I attended both the first and second service yesterday, I took copious notes.
Since returning home, those notes have turned into 9 pages single-spaced in rough draft form. I plan to write such a summary for each of my church visits in order to record my observations, gather illustrations for future teaching and preaching, and give myself the opportunity to think a little bit harder about what I have seen and heard. Eventually these will probably be included as an an appendix in my ethnography or it may end up being an entirely separate paper in itself, comparing and contrasting the churches that I visit. If you have an interest in reading this summary, email me and I will be sure to forward it to you.
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