This section continues with what was described section 1.8 of chapter 1, "Ministry as a hermeneutical exegesis of word and context." Chapter 6, pillar 6 of section 6.8.2, will deal with the same issue.
In order to be responsive to the needs of the urban poor, the Church must be a hermeneutical community. This will help it to interpret the Scriptures, taking into consideration the people's prevailing context. Failing that, the church will be proclaiming a detached god who disregards peoples' experiential realities. Bruwer (1997:63) comments "My contention is that the Church should venture into co-operative programmes in destitute communities, programmes in which the Church participates with the poor, inviting capital for these projects, and to act as trustee." In commenting about the Church as the hermeneutical community, Myers (1999: 127) has made three contributions demonstrating that only the church can provide transformational development. The three critical contributions are:
4.9.3.1 The Church to work for a better social order
The role of the church in transformational development is the same as any development agency, namely to be a servant and a source of encouragement, not a commander or a judge.
Maggay (in Myers 1999:27) notes "Ifthe Church is to lead at all, it is in serving; in applying the creative energies released in Christ towards the stewardship of creation and the bringing of fallen structures closer to God's original purposes."
4.9.3.2 The Holy Spirit: A significant source of inspiration
The church can make critical contributions to transformational development because the Holy Spirit can be a source of inspiration (and perspiration!) working for life and peace. The church is more important as a source of people than as a source of instruction or prophetic word. Newbigin (in Myers 1999:127) comments "The major role of the church in relationship to the great issues of justice and peace will not be in its formal pronouncement, but in its
continually nourishing and sustaining men and women who will act responsibly as believers in the course of their secular duties as citizens."
4.9.3.3 The Church is a community of hermeneutical concern
Only the church, not the world or any other development agency, has a capacity ofhermeneu-tical concern that reads the biblical story and applies it to the concrete circumstances of its time, place and culture. Because of this strategic position accorded her, the church has a capacity to transform human lives, thereby paving the way for the coming of the Kingdom.
Myers (1999: 128) states "This is the community within the community from which the word of God is heard, lived and revealed. This is the community that, because it knows the true story, can and must challenge the delusional assumptions and the web oflies."
4.9.3.4 The church is a hope for the oppressed and exploited
Chapter 6, pillar 6 of section 6.6.2, will further discuss the need for a church to give hope to the oppressed and exploited.
Part of the responsibility of the urban church is to implement the ministry of care and love to those that are in dire need of support. This can best be done if the church seeks to work and implement Jesus' manifesto, as documented in the Gospel of Luke: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ... to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed ...." (Lk 4:18f). Bruwer (1997:64) states
The duty of the Church is to move away from power toward servant-hood. The position of the poor within the Christian community compels the church to be positioned among the poor, rather than to be their security, support and suppliers of goodwill and gifts from above.
Linthicum (1991:21-24) discussed, at length, the tasks of the urban church in his book, Empowering the poor. He notes,
There are three distinctly difference responses that any church or mission organization can make to its city. The response the church chooses to make decides whether that church will playa significant role in the poor's empowerment, will provide social services out of its largess or will simply ignore the needy around it.
The researcher will now attend briefly to the three responses that Linthicum made.
The church in the city: The church in the city, is that church which has ceased to be effective in promoting the spirituality of its attending people. There are no activities of reaching out to its members and no significant commitment to that city's life. Linthicum (1991 :21) states
It [the church] does not feel any particular attachment to that city. It does not particularly identify with the community. It is simply physically present in that community. That happens to be where its bricks and mortar meet the ground. It may have no particular relationship to the people of that community.
This scenario results in a situation whereby people have no stake, no psychological ownership of the church in that community. This is very destructive because these people are not committed to the Gospel message. As a result, they cannot appreciate the difference Christianity brings about.
The church to the city: The church to the city is the church that is learning the lessons of the dying church (the church in the city). Aware that if it is to live, it has to find some way of reaching out to its community, so the church becomes concerned with the needs ofthe people.
The concern of spiritual growth frequently comes the fore; in the process, this sidelines the physical needs of people. Such a kind of ministry is bound to fail to have the desired impact, as poor people struggle to meet the daily needs of life. Linthicum (1991 :22) notes "It is inadequate to be concerned with the souls of the pe<?ple around the church - particularly if those people are poor - unless the church is also going to be concerned about the social and economic needs of the people."
One of the reasons why churches do not succeed in implementing the ministry is that they do not allow ordinary people to take part in decision-making. If people are not allowed to participate, the danger is that whatever the church intends to do it will fail. People know what they need in life. So their participation is the right direction for the ministry. Linthicum (1991:22) states "The reason why is that the church operates out of the unbiblical assumption that, because we know the gospel, we know what is best for that community. Therefore, we undertake ministry in that community out of our definitive understanding of the needs of that community."
This is the mistake that the church makes. It is not appropriate for the church to look at its community and decide what it needs to do to the community in order to change it. Linthicum (1991 :23) warns "Such an attitude is actually colonialist in nature, and reveals a paternalistic attitude toward people."
The church with the community: The third response of the church in the city is to be the church with the city. In this response, the church respects people and sees them as partners in ministry. The church joins with the people in dealing with the issues that the people have identified as their own. The church with community is the approach in which the most authentic urban ministry is actually done. Linthicum (1991 :23) notes
The third response of the church - to be with the people of its neighbourhood - is an approach which enables the church to join with the people in addressing the issues of that community, but doing so from the recognition that the only people who in the final analysis have the capability to change that community and to deal with its problems are the people of that community.
In order to do quality ministry in Malawian urban areas, the church should seek to work with the people as partners in ministry implementation. When the church takes this ministry approach, it incarnates itself in the city. It enters into the life of the community and becomes partners with the community in addressing the community's needs. Linthicum (1991:23) comments "That means the church allows the people of the community to instruct it as it identifies with the people. It respects those people and perceives them as being people of . great wisdom and potential."
The vocation of the urban church has now been attended to. It has argued that some tasks of the urban church involve the proclamation of the Gospel. In addition, the church must also be a community with a difference, since it operates on the basis of love. In order to deliver trans-formational ministry, the urban church ought to be a hermeneutical community - thus taking into consideration the prevailing context at hand. Ultimately, the urban church must seek to be a hope for the oppressed and all victims of their circumstances.
Our next sub-section is on ministry sustainability.