Healing Cultural Fractures

The Holy Spirit as Reconciler of the Urban Soul
Our Lord Jesus Christ birthed a reconciling movement, an international multiracial fellowship. It begins in Luke 4:18-30, as Jesus announces his ministry and is thrown out of the synagogue. The reason? Because he announced that the anointing power of the Holy Spirit involved him in a multi ethnic ministry, and he calls for reconciliation with despised neighbouring peoples.

Part of Christ's call to disciple the nations involves us in a time of opportunity for redefining the meta- themes for a city and new nation - beyond the death, the near collapse of a postmodern Western Pakeha culture in its loss of truth, its promiscuity, murder of children, and loss of authority. It is an opportunity to define a new soul, as Auckland, through leadership by the believers, potentially moves from a bicultural to a reconciled cultural to a multicultural context, from a regional small city to a global mega- city, a centre within the Pacific.

Migration: Energy Source for Redefinition of Cultural Soul

For into this city is pouring a massive Asian and Polynesian migrant stream (currently 35% of Auckland, and 4% NZ born Pacific Island. Added to the 12% Maori, Pakeha are now a minority, others will perhaps be 70% by 2050). This gives the possibility of creating a whole new set of meta-themes as a multicultural pluralistic city in the nation.

One cannot talk of societal transformation without talking of the significant role of the emergent ethnic Christian leadership in such processes of redefinition. We have seen the explosion of 340 new ethnic churches among the 1050 in Auckland, mostly over the last decade. More Samoan children attend Sunday School than all others together.

This is a prelude to a time of high responsiveness to the gospel. It parallels contexts of responsiveness to the gospel around the globe. In Brazil, for example, 90% of the peoples are migrants, who reject past identities. The people have defined a new Brazilian identity. In the midst of this definition of new soul, evangelism has spread like wildfire. Where cultures define new themes, the positive experience lends itself to positive responses spiritually, particularly if the definition of the new themes is lead by Christian values. Similarly, this was the context of the massive sustained revival movements across countries such as Korea or the Philippines. In the Korean reintegration of culture, after the Japanese occupation, Presbyterian Christianity brought rationality and meaning.

This provides a strategic motivation for evangelicals and Pentecostals to heed the call of traditional churches and become involved in societal change. The decades of difficulties to find response to the gospel in the spiritually silent deathness of sexually promiscuous Pakeha are not primarily because of lack of evangelistic methods - there are hundreds. Rather it is the overarching anti-Christian directionality of the culture which has precluded responsiveness. But now we are entering a new season.

Bicultural Reconciliation: Foundational Theology

Maori are now rethinking their culture with themes around old ways. This includes rejection of the Christian heritage. Partly this is because the Evangelical Pakeha church fifteen years ago, in general, failed to obey the Lord, as a number of us in prophetic ministry called it to deal with restitution and reconciliation. Ten years ago, the battle for the soul of the nation was the battle for the soul of the Maori people. I have wondered if the Pakeha charismatic churches had obeyed the prophetic word we brought to them in the 1980's - for elders to go and sit with Maori elders long enough to understand and pull out the thorns - if God would have brought a revival among Maori" which would have enabled a further revival among Pakeha.

The failure has now left the door open for non-Christian Maori prophets to rise up and do that redefinition of culture. Lacking the moral fabric of the word of God, this offers little hope for positively defining the future, of re-establishing a culture that heals deep wounds. At best it may be confused, at worst it will be dark as various recent moral fiascos indicate.

But on the other hand, there are many, many Maori and Pakeha Christians who have walked the way of bicultural reconciliation. It is the broken cross we share which provides the theological foundation for building relationships to the ethnic communities. In the first City Leaders Gathering at Wanganui in 1995, at the time of Motu a Gardens, the Lord was very clear that whatever we do in the cities ofthe nation, must begin with the indigenous people, the tangata whenua. We began the Vision for Auckland process with a gathering ofleaders called by John Komene, a Maori kaumatua (leader) in this city of great stature, and bold speech. When he calls we do well to listen! God has set him in leadership for a time such as this. Repentance and proactive involvement by Pakeha leaders walking together and serving such a new wave of Maori leaders may yet turn the tide.

Gifts of Healing and Reconciliation: Transformation of Pain

The experience ofrejection and culture shock leave permanent scars which can create a permanent divide within the society as new migrants stream into the city. The bitterness of rejection and oppression that migrants feel may become a negative source of energy for societal change movements. The process of movement activism either enables a cathartic release of this pain or it may deepen the levels of bitterness. The latter process leads to enduring societal conflict, as can be seen in the growth of Farrakhan's Nation ofIslam in America.

But if healed these can become a powerful force for positive change, a conversion of negative energy into positive. For in contrast with the traumas of oppression as experienced by migrants into Auckland, those who experience direct encounters with the Spirit of God, find in him the healing balm of Gilead. Their passion to change society remains, with the presence of God impelling the people of God into a broad vision built from the pain but with a healing of the negative woundedness. This becomes a source of healing for the nation. provided our theology of healing moves from the individual to the communal and national.

End Result: Reconciliation As Catalyst to Revival

The question facing Auckland is whether the emergence of a multi ethnic society will find in new ethnic styles of Christianity the central unifying force. The possibilities are there. For the vision of Christians in this city is deeply reconciliatory, multiethnic and culturally pluralistic. It would be a justifiable statement to say the churches are the most serious and significant players in the processes of enabling migrants to enter into New Zealand society. There are 340 ethnic churches which enable new migrants cultural expression and integration, but more than that the majority of the existing Pakeha churches in the city have some service ministry to ethnic peoples - at great cost, this is a beautiful bride.

Part of our role has been catalysing the Vision for Auckland ethnic leaders network. Last year we worked hard to develop a hui (gathering) with John Dawson, international reconciliation leader, adopted Pakeha son ofMuri Thompson, the most famous of Maori prophets and evangelists of the last generation, and carrying his mantle. As he was speaking to the evangelical Maori kaumatuas (recognised leaders) of taking their rightful place as first peoples and host people, an Indian church-planter suddenly stood and said, "I've been here for 9 years and never once been welcomed." The Maori leaders stood, walked over to him and the other Indians, asked for forgiveness, then began to welcome and bless them.

Next Step: Ethnic Leaders Story-Telling Hui

This month, enormous time has been consumed seeking to bring together a gathering of indigenous and ethnic leaders to explore and develop together a theology within each ethnic community. Clusters of 5- 10 invited leaders from indigenous and ethnic peoples of Auckland tell their stories. A theologian will work with each ethnic group to help them identify the themes, along with a secretary with laptop (this is a technological hui). New Covenant Bible College as a multi-ethnic training community have contributed much manpower to this process.

The issues of the pain of migration become a starting point for such a conversational hui. As our peoples have entered the city, there have been many pains. It is good to reflect on these, what God has done to speak into them, and what he is saying about bringing healing to the pain of the land.

The Vision for Auckland ethnic leaders network needs to develop into a council that can speak to issues in the city, and move progressions forward. Men such as John Komene, Ene Sagala, who convenes leading Samoan people for prayer every Friday at 5 a.m., Kien San Dhu, pioneer of five Chinese churches, Tavale Mataia, father of many Samoan leaders, Asora Amosa, leader of the PIC churches, Moses Singh, who convenes the Indian pastors' network, Princess Siuilikutapu, royal intercessor from Tonga, Badhu and Steven Okach from Africa, Pastor Jusak from Indonesia and other leaders from the other ethnic communities need to develop a forum where out of relationships these new cultural formulations can be thought through, and relationships between Samoan and Chinese, Maori and Indian, Korean and Tongan can be developed. We have explored it, initiated steps, but who will commit to serving these leaders to bring such a process about? Who will commit to fund such hard, hard work?

Unity is birthed in brokenness, forgiveness, hospitality, blessing. As barriers are broken, there are physical manifestations of the Holy Spirit as he begins to touch others. These things are the lifeblood of a reconciliation process. They are the heritage of our bicultural roots. Those who lead in these arenas, these ethnic pastors and broken Pakeha and Maori reconcilers will be the source of revival (rather than as some presume (following my colabourer Peter Wagner's heresy?), the biggest and best Pakeha city church and latest imported revivalist?). My brothers and sisters, revival begins in brokenness and obedience not power, history tells us it multiplies among the poor and the oppressed, and explodes from them into judgement on the structures of power that oppress them, until society honours the King from bottom to top.

(These thoughts reflect common vision developed over these years.
The rhetoric you can blame on me alone - Viv Grigg)