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Christian Nominalism Within Church Membership a Case Study of the Church in the Town of Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo

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Christian Nominalism Within Church Membership a Case Study of the Church in the Town of Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo CHRISTIAN NOMINALISM WITHIN CHURCH MEMBERSHIP A CASE STUDY OF THE CHURCH IN THE TOWN OF BUNIA IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO By ENOSH ANGUANDIA ADIA EDRE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR of PHILOSOPHY at the SOUTH AFRICAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY in APRIL 2015 SUPERVISOR: DR. KEITH FERDINANDO The opinions expressed in this dissertation do not necessarily reflect the views of the South DECLARATION I, the undersigned, hereby acknowledge that the work contained in this dissertation is my own original work and that all sources used or quoted have been properly acknowledged, unless otherwise indicated. This work has not previously in its entirety or in part been submitted to any academic institution for degree purposes. Signed: Enosh Anguandia Adia Edre Date: April 15, 2015 ii DEDICATION To my parents, the late Reverend Samuel ADIA EDRE and Mrs. Lois KABILE ADEMA, whose love for God and for his people set me in the way of Christ and modelled my love for the development of true Christian faith in those who believe in Jesus. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I owe thanks to God by whose grace this dissertation was carried out. May the final glory be His, not mine! I also take this opportunity to wholeheartedly thank all those who challenged me to undertake this doctoral research. First, my parents Samuel ADIA and Lois KABILE and uncles and aunts Timothy TIYO and Leah BAARU, Emile AKUA and Martha ONDIRUNG’A, all have encouraged me to further studies. The memories of their dedication to serve the Lord as shepherds of God’s flock during their entire active lives have been the motivation behind the completion of this dissertation. Second, South African Theological Seminary encouraged me by taking the distance out of my way, making it possible to complete this doctoral dissertation while working as a full-time lecturer at Shalom University. Third, Dr. Keith FERDINANDO was more than just my supervisor; he not only guided the process, but also encouraged me during dark moments of discouragement until the time I started seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Fourth, Shalom University of Bunia, through its President, Professor BUNGISHABAKU KATHO, the board of the governing council, my fellow lecturers and my dear students, have motivated me and encouraged me to keep going, despite my workload as the head of the missiology department. My theology students and those in the schools of management, development, environmental and agricultural studies, all of whom have taken my course on spiritual development, have challenged my understanding of spiritual formation and have motivated me to research into how churches really understand a genuine Christian faith. iv Fifth, I express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who gave sacrificially towards the cost of this doctoral dissertation, from its inception (proposal) to the entire writing process. Space will not allow mentioning them all and there is the risk of overly praising the contribution of some and overlooking that of others. Others have not provided funds, but have struggled for me in prayers throughout the process of writing this dissertation. Let each one of them be assured that this dissertation is my work as much as it is theirs. May God richly reward every one of them! Sixth, my brothers and sisters with all their families have stood by me throughout the writing of this dissertation. My daughters Esther INZIZARU (her husband Jimmy MATADRI and their children Toussaint, Nathan and Christelle), Beatrice AFAKO and Grace YIKISI and my sons Jonathan MUNGULENI and Benjamin ANGUANDIA have all been patient and supportive throughout even when my attention to this dissertation has stolen time I would have wished to spend expressing my devotion to each one of them. My love to each one of them! Last, but by no means least, my wife, Elisabeth PARICIA, has been working often behind the scenes for the successful completion of this doctoral dissertation. She has been encouraging, self-sacrificing, supportive and patient throughout my venture in further studies from 2000 to this day. I cannot recall all the prayers devoted to this dissertation every day during the family devotion. I am grateful to God who blessed me with such a wonderful family, out of his undeserved love to me. Enosh ANGUANDIA Adia Edre April 15, 2015 v ABSTRACT This study into “Christian nominalism in church membership: A case study of the church in the town of Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo” is an attempt to describe one of the major problems in the growth of the Christian population in the Bunia churches in particular and the African church in general. The purpose of this study was to create awareness among church leaders of the challenges of nominal Christian faith in their respective church memberships, to examine the correlation between their awareness or lack of awareness of the problem of nominalism in their churches and the alleged nominal faith of their church members, and to suggest practical steps for pastors in Bunia to effectively address the challenges of Christian nominalism in order to bring transformation in the life and ministry of their respective local churches. The following are tentative conclusions drawn from the findings of the research into the understanding of Christian nominalism in church membership in Bunia churches: (1) Regarding Christian nominalism in Bunia church memberships, the majority of church leaders and members acknowledge the presence in their church memberships of people who appear to be or are regarded by others as true Christians but are not. The testimonies of former nominal church members imply that some church members and even church leaders have gone through the rite of water baptism and are “actively” involved in the church, but without genuine repentance and authentic faith in Jesus. vi (2) Christian nominalism is understood both as a condition of those who are not Christians at all and as a condition of those who are Christians but who have not grown spiritually. The study shows that the Bunia churches understand nominal Christians more as church members not growing spiritually than those who are not Christians at all. (3) The pastoral leadership may be to blame for, among other things, not preaching the biblical gospel clearly, not doing appropriate evangelism, not following up those who convert to Christ and not being role models in their lifestyle. The research findings of the understanding of Christian nominalism in Bunia church memberships have the following implications for the church and for the field of practical theology. (1) Much needs to be done for Bunia churches to enable them to start effectively confronting Christian nominalism and its challenges. Churches should ensure that evangelism is done not only outside the church but inside it as well. Doing biblical evangelism is one mark of a healthy local church. (2) Pastors need to exercise serious pastoral oversight of the flock to avoid filling the church with unconverted members. They will do this by feeding God’s people, being godly role models for them and watching over them. (3) This study of Christian nominalism can also offer an opportunity for further research on, among others, the impact of a denomination’s doctrines on members’ understanding of what it is to be a Christian, the issue of “quick methods” in winning people to Christ, the relationship between the size of a local church membership and Christian nominalism and the influence of secularism and religious pluralism on the development of Christian nominalism. vii LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Population of Bunia from 2008 to 2012 per gender...............................9 Table 2: Population of Bunia in 2010 per age group and gender......................10 Table 3: Number of churches ECC have planted in Bunia................................13 Table 4: Answers for criteria for true Christians ................................................82 Table 5: Answers for the process of church membership..................................87 Table 6: Answers regarding the presence of nominal Christians.......................93 Table 7: Criteria for recognising nominal Christians..........................................97 Table 8: Indicators of spiritual growth..............................................................105 Table 9: Obstacles to spiritual growth..............................................................110 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION .............................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................ iv ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... vi LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................ viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................ ix CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 1 1.1. Background of the study ...................................................................................... 1 1.1.1 The reality of the growth of the Christian population in Africa ........................ 1 1.1.2 Obvious concerns .........................................................................................
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