The African Initiated Churches as an embodiment of the moratorium debate: Lessons for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa Central Diocese

Authors

  • Karabo Makofane University of South Africa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7832/47-1-296

Abstract

The African Initiated Churches pose a challenge to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa/Central Diocese, regarding living up to the challenges of moratorium debate in missions in the 1970s. Among other things, the moratorium debate was advocating for values of autonomy such as; self-governing, self-support, self-propagating and self-theologising (Bigambo, 2001; Kendall, 1978 & Wagner, 1975). In its original sense, a full moratorium meant the cessation of all activity on the part of missionary personnel as well as financial assistance brought to the African churches from Europe and North America. It also means that the missionaries were to return to home from Africa for a period of five years Uka (1989:193). In this article, I do not align myself fully with this definition per se, however, I firmly believe that certain aspects of the moratorium debate illustrated by the African Initiated Churches in this article warrant attention in relation to Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa/Central Diocese.

Author Biography

Karabo Makofane, University of South Africa

Dr Makofane is a Senior Lecturer in the Department Spirituality, Church History and Missiology at the University of South Africa. He can be contacted at makofkm@unisa.ac.za

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Published

2019-08-30

How to Cite

Makofane, K. (2019). The African Initiated Churches as an embodiment of the moratorium debate: Lessons for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa Central Diocese. Missionalia: Southern African Journal of Missiology, 47(1). https://doi.org/10.7832/47-1-296

Issue

Vol. 47 No. 1 (2019)

Section

Articles

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