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Popular Christianity, Theology, and Mission Among Tanzanian Lutheran Ministers

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Popular Christianity, Theology, and Mission Among Tanzanian Lutheran Ministers Shepherds, Servants, and Strangers: Popular Christianity, Theology, and Mission among Tanzanian Lutheran Ministers by Elaine Christian Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2017 © 2017 Elaine Christian All rights reserved Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ABSTRACT Shepherds, Servants, and Strangers: Popular Christianity, Theology, and Mission among Tanzanian Lutheran Ministers Elaine Christian This dissertation is an ethnographic description of how pastors (and other ministers) in the Northern Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania understand and carry out their ministry: How they reflect, mediate, and influence local Christian practice and identities; how theology and theologizing forms an integral part of their social worlds; and how navigating and maintaining relationships with Christian mission partnerships (including “short-term mission”) becomes an important part of their ministry. Drawing from fieldwork conducted between June 2014 and September 2015, I present an account of Christianity that adds to anthropological scholarship by emphasizing the role of theology as a grounded social practice, and considers the increasingly divergent character of Christian mission and its role in modern Tanzanian Christianity. Additionally, I offer a contribution to existing scholarship on Christianity by focusing on pastors as a central mediating figure in Christianity, showing how, in their work, Christian practice, theology, and mission are experienced in social relationships. I demonstrate how theology and theologizing directly address local negotiations of Christian identity and practice, I examine the articulation between theological debates and Tanzanian experiences of mission, and I describe how mission in Tanzania has been and continues to be contextually understood with reference to the local practice of Christianity. Table of Contents List of Illustrations.........................................................................................................................iii Glossary of terms and abbreviations..............................................................................................iv Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................................v Chapter 1: Introduction...................................................................................................................1 1.1. Scope and rationale............................................................................................................. 3 1.2. Outline of thesis.................................................................................................................. 5 1.3. Overview of research methodology.................................................................................... 8 1.4. Research setting................................................................................................................ 29 1.5. Literature review............................................................................................................... 32 Part One: Christianity in Kilimanjaro...........................................................................................38 Preface to Part One...................................................................................................................38 Chapter 2: Utambulisho (Identity)................................................................................................39 2.1. As Chagga people..............................................................................................................41 2.2. As Lutherans......................................................................................................................58 2.3. As Tanzanians....................................................................................................................68 2.4. Epilogue: Bishops are the new chiefs............................................................................... 80 Chapter 3: Utumishi (Service)...................................................................................................... 84 3.1. Organizational hierarchy: Geography and infrastructure..................................................86 3.2. Organizational hierarchy: People......................................................................................93 3.3. Uchungaji..........................................................................................................................99 Chapter 4: Uhusiano and Ushirikiano (Relationship and Partnership).......................................111 4.1. Conceptual basis for uhusiano.........................................................................................111 4.2. From Uhusiano to Ushirikiano....................................................................................... 124 4.3. Organizational relationships............................................................................................134 4.4. Conclusion.......................................................................................................................138 Part Two: Anthropology with/in Theology................................................................................. 139 Preface to Part 2..................................................................................................................... 139 Chapter 5: On an Anthro-Theology............................................................................................ 142 5.1. Engagements and Parallels..............................................................................................143 i 5.2. Theological possibilities for anthropology......................................................................154 Chapter 6: African theology........................................................................................................169 6.1. African theology after independence.............................................................................. 169 6.2. African Theology in the 21st Century.............................................................................178 6.3. Practical theology............................................................................................................185 Conclusion to Part 2............................................................................................................... 204 Part Three: Mission in Context................................................................................................... 205 Chapter 7: Colonial missions......................................................................................................205 7.1. German mission.............................................................................................................. 205 7.2. American missions.......................................................................................................... 216 7.3. Comparison..................................................................................................................... 220 Chapter 8: Post-independence partnership and mission............................................................. 223 8.1. An independent church & diocese...................................................................................223 8.2. Partnership in Modern Lutheran Mission....................................................................... 234 Chapter 9: Short-term mission....................................................................................................241 9.1. Introduction..................................................................................................................... 241 9.2. American evangelicalism................................................................................................ 245 9.3. Neo__ism: Criticisms of Short-term Mission................................................................. 252 9.4. Problematizing "short-term mission"..............................................................................261 Chapter 10: Conclusion...............................................................................................................271 10.1. Theology and social relationships.................................................................................271 10.2. Theology and the practice of mission........................................................................... 273 10.3. Mission and local Christianity...................................................................................... 275 Epilogue...................................................................................................................................... 277 Works Cited.................................................................................................................................279 ii List of Illustrations Figure 1: Chagga chiefdoms.........................................................................................................43 Figure 2: Trees at Mwika..............................................................................................................53 Figure 3: Mamba [Ashira] Parish,
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