Application of II Corinthians I to the Church in Sierra Leone, Part II

INTRODUCTION

The suffering of the church in Sierra Leone transformed the church into an active participant in the political affairs of the nation. A very negative and destructive dimension is the fact that several coup d'etats were staged in the very immediate past, all of which had a Christian as Head of State. These coups have tremendously intensified rather than ameliorated the sufferings of the masses.

A resultant effect of the burning of church structures is a corresponding decline in the membership. The Lutheran situation, though not accurately, generally reflects the state of the art for all denominations. The decline in membership could be attributed to a number of reasons. Although some Christians were killed, a considerable number migrated. This diaspora took Sierra Leoneans to many West African countries. There is presently in Lagos, for instance, a considerable proportion of Sierra Leoneans, some of whom have no intention of returning since they have married to Nigerians or have been established otherwise. Those with influential relatives secured tickets to the western world while the fortunate also entered after winning various resettlement programs.

A very serious effect of suffering in the church is that it was rendered prone to accept different church organizations that claimed to be Christians. It was during this period that The Church of Jesus of the Latter Day Saints, for instance, became popular. These bodies played upon the poverty of Christians. Doctrines that promised a comfortable life were readily accepted by most Christians who saw them as the solution to their problem.

THE CHURCH OF SIERRA LEONE'S RESPONSE TO SUFFERING

The church reacted to suffering in several ways. There was a great response to the gospel followed by a negative reaction, that is, the overemphasis placed on the teachings of the prosperity Gospel. The response of the church to suffering in Sierra Leone cannot be complete without discussing its contribution in ameliorating the suffering of people during the civil wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone and an evaluation of this response in the latter in particular.

Response to the Gospel

The response to the Gospel significantly increased as a result of the decline in the living standards of the people. Hope was completely lost in the political system and all human institutions. There was a general consciousness that the solution to the problems in the country was spiritual. Credit should be given to the Pentecostal Churches that did a lot of evangelism which brought thousands to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Paradoxically, Sierra Leone was probably the first West African nation to receive the Gospel. Yet after over two centuries, "under twelve percent of the country claims to be Christian. Very few denominations have grown spiritually in the past forty years or made a lasting impact on the country" (Johnstone and Mandryk 2001, 564).

The prosperity teaching

The lack of spiritual and biblically trained leadership is a critical issue in the church in Sierra Leone. The Bible colleges are too few and far between. Most of the Pentecostal churches are independent and the leaders are not theological trained. Most preachers are therefore preaching prosperity (discussed in the first chapter) from one extreme and encourage their congregations to resist suffering, including poverty, at all cost.

The economy in the nation did not help the situation either. Mental and social decay, coupled with political corruption and economic mismanagement created tremendous hardship for the majority of the Sierra Leonean population in the late 1980s. Before this period, the church emphasized on a very strong personal confession of its members with a willingness to daily carry one's cross to follow Jesus. The extremely high unemployment rate of graduates and general unavailability of jobs for the youths in general gave a terrific attraction to the prosperity gospel in Sierra Leone. Like the Nigerian situation, "the impact of the downturn was particularly bewildering considering the fact that the same people had experienced unprecedented economic boom a decade earlier" (Awoniyi 2004, 3).

Response to the war in Sierra Leone

In 1991, Sierra Leone became embroiled in a civil war waged by rebel terrorists, many of whom had fled from neighboring Liberia's civil war. The rebels destroyed villages and wreaked havoc on the country. Many of the churches were destroyed and much of the population was forced to flee to Freetown, the capital city, where the population swelled to over a million in a very short time. A great number of these people became homeless or survived in refugee camps. After witnessing an unparalleled orgy of violence during which there was deep pain and suffering, the churches in Sierra Leone were called upon to provide healing of various kinds. The Council of Churches - a coalition of eighteen Protestant denominations throughout Sierra Leone - has been a major force in coordinating the rebuilding and peacemaking efforts of the church community. It partnered with the Inter-religious Council, a chapter of the World Conference on Religion and Peace, made up of different religious faiths, which was also another major organization that eventually worked for peace. In reality, the Inter-religious Council is a coalition of the two major religions in Sierra Leone, Christianity and Islam. It was launched on April 1, 1997 with Bishop Humper, head of the United Methodist Church, as president. The Inter-religious Council represents nineteen of the major Christian denominations in Sierra Leone, including the Roman Catholic Church, and the nine major Muslim organizations in the country. In light of the ruthless massacres that occurred after the presidency was restored in March 1998, the president of Sierra Leone, His Excellency Alhaji Ahmed Tejan Kabba, was reluctant to meet with the rebels on any terms. But leaders of the Inter-religious Council encouraged the president to reconsider. At the same time, religious organizations began to reach out to the RUF members, offering food and humanitarian aid.

Because so many religious bodies were involved, their representatives could safely go unarmed into the rebel strongholds. The rebels, too, were people of Sierra Leone, and the religious organizations did not abandon them. Support for the Inter-religious Council came from the World Conference on Religion and Peace and from the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).
Particular reference must be made of the role of the United Methodist Church, one of the church denominations that played a leading role in the intensive period of suffering in the nation. The war crippled the socio-economic life of a once peaceful people. During the crisis, the United Methodist Church played several roles. Through the United Methodist Committee on Relief and other partners, people in refugee camps received food, used clothing and medicines. Ecumenically, some key church leaders participated in peace talks. Above all, the doors of the churches in the cities remained open to all who wanted to pray and to search for inner peace and God's intervention in the seemingly hopeless situation in the country.

A team of United Methodists who visited Sierra Leone had a first-hand look at the suffering and need for relief in the country. They also discussed challenges related to Christian education, evangelism, worship, stewardship and communications.

At the one hundred and twentieth session of the Sierra Leone Annual Conference, February 22-27, 2000, Bishop Joseph C. Humper repeated his call for international intervention in his country. Humper discussed the church's vision in the context of Sierra Leone's troubles, and he gave conference leaders a twenty-three-point challenge. He encouraged the release of two thousand (2,000) children and young girls who were still abducted and raised concern about the slow pace of the disarmament, demobilization, encampment and reintegration process. The war has devastated families, communities, businesses and churches, and thousands of United Methodists are among those suffering in the aftermath. United Methodist-related schools and educational centers have been destroyed, churches and property burned, and ministers and their families left homeless. The annual conference session of 2000 was postponed because of war-related atrocities that occurred Jan. 6-16, 1999.

Mention must be made of the contributions of a very vibrant Christian organization, the Nehemiah Project. The Civil War in Sierra Leone left a generation of boy soldiers who were traumatized or orphaned children in desperate need. The Nehemiah Project, named after the prophet who rebuilt the city walls of Jerusalem against great opposition, is a rehabilitation project for these traumatized boys. Identifying such people, "equipping, training and supporting them is one of the most important investments the church can make" (Stafford 2002,11). The founder, Lynn Coles, a member of Life Line Community Church, Avril McIntyre, Life Line's United Kingdom Co-ordinator, is quoted of saying that "the aim of the project is to provide care and rehabilitation for these children, and the hope is that they will come to experience the love of God, who can bring about major change in their lives" (Hooper 1999, 7). The task of the project is enormous.

Imagine you are ten years old. You see your parents brutally killed in front of you and then are befriended by fighters who say they will help you avenge your parents' death. They feed and clothe you. You start to clean their weapons. They give you a gun to carry, and they let you fire it once or twice. Soon you begin to get involved in the fighting. Unknown to you they have also been slipping gunpowder into your food. It makes you brave but it is also highly addictive. You go with the fighters and watch as they instill fear into the villagers. 'These are the people responsible for killing your parents,' they say. With a gun or machete in your hand, all the grief and anger wells up, and before you know it you've crossed the line. Now blood is on your hands too. Now imagine that you are called to provide healing for this child. This is the mission of the Nehemiah Project in Sierra Leone (Hooper 1999, 6).

Ordinary Christian brothers and sisters have volunteered to work with several humanitarian organizations. A case in point is Children Associated with the War, an agency of the Archdiocese of Freetown and Bo, is working with United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to help former child-soldiers, who were rescued from rebels who abducted them to fight in the country's civil war. They have succeeded in reuniting many children with their families.

REFERENCE LIST

Awoniyi, H.O. 2003. Curriculum Response as Antidote to the Prosperity Gospel: a Proposal. Paper

presented at the Intellectual Forum of West Africa Theological Seminary, Lagos, Nigeria on February

5, 2004.
Hooper, Lorraine, 1999. Suckled on Gunpowder. Christianity Today, 43(13) : 6-12.
Johnstone, Patrick and Jason Mandryk. 2001. Operation World : When We Pray God Works. 21st ed.

Harrisonburg, Virginia :International Research Office.
Stafford, Tim. 2000. The First Black Liberation Movement. Christianity Today,

44(8) : 4-12.

AUTHOR SIGNATURE
Oliver L.T. Harding, who obtained his GCE O & A Levels from the Sierra Leone Grammar School and the Albert Academy respectively, is currently Senior & Acting Librarian of Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone. He is a part time lecturer at the Institute of Library, Information & Communication Studies (INSLICS), Fourah Bay College and the Extension Program at the Evangelical College of Theology (T.E.C.T) at Hall Street, Brookfields; Vice President of the Sierra Leone Association of Archivists, Librarians & Information Scientists (SLAALIS); a member of the American Theological Library Association (ATLA) and an associate of the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals (CILIP). His certificates, secular and sacred, include: a certificate and diploma from the Freetown Bible Training Centre; an upper second class B.A. Hons. Degree in Modern History (F.B.C.); a post-graduate diploma from the Institute of Library Studies (INSLIBS, F.B.C) a masters degree from the Institute of Library, Information & Communication Studies (INSLICS, F.B.C.) and a masters degree in Biblical Studies from West Africa Theological Seminary, affiliate of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he won the prize for academic excellence as the Best Graduating Student in 2005. Oliver, a writer, musician and theologian, is married (to Francess) with two children (Olivia & Francis).
Email: oltharding@yahoo.com
Mobile: 232-2233-460-330

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