We must begin by being with the people, and looking to see where God is at work in their midst. Building relationships takes time; therefore, we must be patient in this process of knowing our people in our community. Our main task, according to
172 participatory methodology mentioned in chapter 1, is not to set an agenda for them but to learn from their agenda—their concerns, suffering, problems, needs, joys and aspirations. Bonhoeffer (1976:97-99) underscores this fact when he says,
The first service that one owes to others...consists in listening to them...Many people are looking for an ear that will listen. They do not find it among Christians; because these Christians are talking when they should be listening...Christians have forgotten that He who is Himself the great listener and whose work they would share has committed the ministry of listening to them. We should listen with the ears of God that we may speak the Word of God.
In this age of media and technology, we no longer have time to listen. Communication is often interrupted by answering a call, chatting or tweeting while a conversation is on. In such conditions, it is very difficult to listen to what the other person says. Sometimes we are distracted by our environment and possessions. For Adventist to understand the poor in Soweto, and to minister meaningfully, we need to listen more and minimise talking. This skill is still relevant and more needed in the twenty-first century. McDill (1979:61-62), considers five listening skills as follows:
The first one is “an attitude of genuine interest.” According to McDill, we listen because we want to, not because we have to. And we listen not primarily for our sake, but for that of the other person.
The second listening skill is “eye contact.” Where are our eyes focused when we are trying to listen? Are they absorbed in what is being said, or are they bored and searching for something more interesting?
The third skill is “facial expressions.” Our eyes might be on the person we are talking to, but facial expressions can easily betray where our mind really is. Do they show that we are affected by what we hear? Such expressions can reveal whether we are sympathetic or unfeeling, engaged or distracted.
The fourth skill involves being aware of “gestures” such as the movements of the head, hands, and the whole body. Such gestures, even though we may not be conscious of them at the time, nevertheless give subtle clues to the other person and convey a message of their own.
173 Finally, the “responses” we give, such as a laugh, a smile, asking a point of the flow for clarification, and nod, etc., demonstrates whether we are directly in the flow of the conversation.
These listening skills diagnose whether we care about the people we seek to minister to or not. If we follow after Christ and His method of ministry, we will indeed succeed in mission. “Christ method alone...” as Ellen White (1941:143) in chapter 5 postulates, is the only antidote that will bring apt objective of relationships in the Adventist church. Rock in his article “Church and Society” also emphatically acknowledges that the ministry of Jesus Christ as a guide for societal conscience is more pronounced than that of any of the OT Prophets. Quoting Luke’s account of Christ’s vivid societal activity he says: “Christ’s emphasis and concern for the captives, the blind, and the oppressed (Luke 4:18-19), the poor and the hungry (6:20-21), the sick and infirm (7:22-23), the despised Gentile (7:1-10), economic oppression and excess wealth (18:18-28); 16:5), and charity for the needy (12:32-34; 10:30-37), defines His service on earth in terms of society’s victims in ways yet unappreciated by a great percentage of His followers.
Christ not only straightened their limbs and filled their stomachs; He lifted their hopes and freed their spirits from the psychological yokes that an insensitive society had levied upon them. “Rock continues to explicate that corrective measures regarding government—itself—are more subtle but they are seen in His: response to the question about tribute by relegating to Caesar a place subordinate to and critiqued by God (Mk 12:17), reference to Herod Antipas as “that fox” (Lk 13:32), refusal to satisfy the depraved curiosity of that same Herod at the time of His trial (Lk 23:9), bold reminder to Pilate that his vaunted authority was both subordinate and temporary (Jn 19:11), repeated focus on the kingdom of grace as the higher and ultimate source of legal and social ethics (Mt 5), emphasis of the freedom of the soul from all coercion as a superior good (Mt 10:28), counsel on how to assert one’s freedom and one’s dignity by voluntarily doubling the oppressor’s requirements (Mt 5:399-40), and elimination of the fear of death through the power of the resurrection (Jn 6:39-40).
174 Christ never directly confronted the Roman system, but by His words and deeds, He planted capsules of social freedom which, under more favourable conditions in later generations, burst forth in overt, active demands for equity. And this is how the church should vindicate the ministry and life of Jesus Christ. An organic model of ministry also calls for a partnership between the mission and the church. We need to decentralise our structures and build flexibility into our programmes and avoid building large bureaucratic organisations. Based on his extensive experience, (Batten 1972:56), formulates what he considers to be the general principles underlying good relationships and development work between the church and the community32.
These principles can be relevant tools for the church. For, whatever else a church that enters a development field may be, it is an agency working for community development. A direct application of the relevant principles to the work of the church is made by rephrasing them to read:
The church must establish friendly and trustful relationships with the people whom it hopes to influence.
The church must reach an agreement with the people on what the changes should be.
The church must be interested in working with the groups.