One of the questions I was asked going into this Feast of Tabernacles, and an understandable question in light of the troubled history of South Africa, was the racial composition of the United Church of God congregations here. The United Church of God is scattered in a few areas, with somewhat larger congregations in the Cape Town and Johannesburg/Praetoria areas and other brethren closer to Kruger National Park, Durban, Port Elizabeth, and so on. At least from what I have seen and the people I have talked to over the course of the last few days, the active and established membership and leadership of the South African congregations is racially diverse, with whites, blacks, and coloreds [1], with most of the brethren in Johannesburg and Pretoria being more recent converts, especially of African background from the townships in those areas.

One of the striking observations I have made is that while in the United States the Church of God has always been associated with predominantly conservative politics, the strong emphasis of the church in South Africa–which I have heard in the messages this week during the Feast of Tabernacles–in the universality of the message of hope and peace and in the lack of distinction that God makes among His people with regards to issues of race, class, and gender gives a somewhat radical flavor. What this has meant is something fascinating to observe, in that I have been able to speak with a longtime member in Cape Town who had been a radical anti-apartheid activist in her youth on a path heading to being imprisoned (as Nelson Mandela was) at Robbins Island as a political prisoner. She now sees her former radical associates embittered by the political experience of post-apartheid South Africa, while she maintains her idealism in a world to come that lacks the racial and tribal hatred of this present evil world. I spoke with another colored gentleman who, like me, was on the speaking schedule as a sermonette-giver yesterday at our get-together and had a productive conversation about the problem many post-colonial African nations have had in avoiding tribalism and authoritarianism because of a lack of native context in building consensual society. Such self-criticism would be extremely unusual among America’s political thinkers, but comes about because there is a genuine respect for people of all backgrounds to understand their situation and their times, regardless of their racial identity.

This is not to say that race does not present challenges for the brethren here in South Africa. While there are leaders among people of all backgrounds within the church congregations here, at the same time there is also a noticeable reality in that longtime brethren or those brethren who are coming back to the church after some time not attending, are often better off financially than newer members of African background. Among newer brethren there is a passion to learn, which is praiseworthy, but at the same time there is not the history of decades of faithful obedience as well as the longtime consistent practice of God’s ways in their lives which can lead to more successful outcomes in terms of education or financial position. It is always possible that such a disparity in financial situation between the international brethren or better-off local brethren and those of far more straightened financial circumstances may be a great source of tension or that the experience of some people being the recipients of so much financial assistance leading to dependence and a feeling of entitlement will be a problem, which is something to look out for.

For me, as an observer, it is fascinating to think that despite the similarly troubled racial histories between the United States (especially but not only the American South) and South Africa, that the feeling about matters of race can be so different. The Bible is firm in its position against racial hierarchies, and equally consistently points out that all believers are equal in the eyes of God no matter their national origin or whether they are rich or poor or male or female. Psalm 87 and Galatians 3:26-29 provide the same sort of message in this regard, as do other places. Yet in one place, this truth may be believed but it has hardly been the basis of what could have been judged as a radical opposition to segregation while in the other it has been so and has led to a strong focus on elements of justice within the church experience. It is remarkable what a difference the interests and focus of leadership makes with regards to preaching the same truths that spring from a common belief in the Bible, but different ways of applying the Bible to the societies that believers live in.

[1] In the South African context, coloreds (often spelled coloureds) are those people of noticeably mixed background between African and white.