CHAPTER SEVEN

SOCIAL STRATIFICATIONS

Social Ranking

In every society there are social stratifications which are either ascribed (by birth, sex etc.) or achieved (by education, skill etc,).  The society adjusts itself to certain structure with its members falling into the right strata. It is convenient to represent them by graphs, with the relative positions along the y axis and the population along the x axis. This of course cannot be done in any exact manner because of the difficulty in ascertaining the class strata and their population. However a rough sketch can always be obtained by assessment. These usually form the shape of a diamond in most cultures. It is customary to speak of the upper class, middle class and the lower class though these do not form hard and fast demarcation. Most agricultural communities have such detailed ranking systems from bottom to top which are inviolable.

It is important for the missionary to realize that people communicate more with people of their own class. That is to say horizontal communications are prominent than vertical communications, Prestigious communications do occur from top to bottom. But this takes place only between adjacent groups. It is a one way communication from top to the next level.

Nida categorizes three types communication approach.

These are:

• Roman Catholic approach
• Communist approach
• Protestant approach

In the Roman catholic approach primary consideration is given to the upper class only. They in turn influence the middle class and the lower class people. The church on their part offers them the best religious service and the best education service and provides leadership in all walks of life that are required for success. This specialized attention to the upper class is not always appreciated by the lover class and the middle class, who often rebels against them. This has happened in countries like Latin America where the Catholic church holds great power. There this has led to civil wars and polarization even from among the clergies

In the communistic tactics, the target group is the lower middle class and the lower classes. Their aim is to replace the upper class by these groups. But once the group comes to the top they place strong barricade between themselves and the middle classes in order to perpetuate their domination.

In the protestant approach also the concentration is on the lower middle class with incentives of upward movement in the social ladder with education and social assistance.

However in the past in most countries various Protestant, Evangelical and Pentecostal churches took over the lower class as the triangle moved up.

This has produced a vacuum below and a new group took over the people left behind. Thus there has been a continuous wave one after the other when one group after the other took ground

The Anglican and the Catholic missions came to the Sudan much earlier than the Africa Inland mission, Presbyterian missions, Baptist missions and the Pentecostal missions. As the Anglican and Catholic mission took firm hold in the Sudanese soil, in time they created an elite class with better education and medical facilities and other social conveniences. This left behind a group of discontented people. The position vas then taken up by other missions, the latest being the Pentecostals.

In order that the gospel may be able to reach all classes, it is important that the contact group must be a group which represents the entire population cross section. any attempt to concentrate on a particular group will certainly lead to unbalanced communication and may even hinder the gospel from reaching certain groups who may make for themselves a blockage. It is best to remember that upward communication is impossible while downward communication by percolation is possible but will take time.

In the early church the gospel was not only preached to the slaves and the middle class merchants, but also to the royalties and to the slave owners. This has brought about the eventual acceptance of the faith by the state.

Face to Face Society

In the pastoral communities however the rank divisions are negligible. They have strong eldership that forms the apex of the system, with all the others forming a broad base kith family and clans form the broad base. The hierarchy is formed by the age of the person within the family, the older wielding authority over the younger. In such tribe we have the following situation.

1. Effective communication must be based on personal relationships.

2. The approach should not be at a lover level, but at the top level, who can pass on the communication within the family grouping.

3. The diffusion of message kill take time and the missionary must be patient and present to accomplish his task.

1. These groups will not act as individuals. They should be treated as one unit. All decisions are made collectively and not individually. Any call for conversion or change of faith must be directed to the persons responsible for making such decision.

This may seem contrary to the usual spirit of Christian conversion as is indicated by the altar calls. This is because of the western way of thinking where individuals are free to act on their own. This is no more true about the urban face to face communities Such family based or clan based conversions are indeed the norm of the early church as is indicated in the following passages. Acts. 9:35, 16:30-34, 18:8

The Masai conversion in Kenya is a typical example near home. This vas sponsored by the Catholic Mission where the whole Masai tribe embraced Christianity as their religion. Such procedure will require much rethinking in evangelical theological perspective. If these people are converted by the decision of the tribal chief, that of course would not mean they became Christians which indeed is the personal acceptance of the Lordship of Jesus as reflected in their personal life. But this would simply mean that the whole group is open for Evangelization. The tribe as a whole will accept the Christian rituals and take the Christian form of worship even though many within the group will still be following other gods and worshipping other gods. In fact impartially viewing this is how all growth in the church took place. Even in the early institution of the theocratic state of Israel, the whole Israel including twelve tribes accepted the Lordship of Yahweh in a ceremonial oath concluded by blood. But evidently not everyone remained faithful to the covenant. We see people still worshipping other Gods. la Joshua renewed the covenant; he again made the same choices of choosing Yahweh as against the gods of Egypt and of Canaan. This principle still remain true in the making of the New Israel, the Church and its covenant of the Lordship of Jesus, culminated by the blood of Jesus himself.

Mission Strategy

Through the history of the missions we have come to realize the foolishness of individual conversions within the culture.

In a predominantly Christian community this is the accepted norm, and the individual conversions are simply the acceptance of the Lordship of Jesus by the person which was originally implicitly assumed but not practiced. It is simply an act of return of the prodigal to his house. In Juba for example people are in an urban atmosphere surrounded by Christians and Christianity is accepted as a better way of life. Here personal commitment to Christ has relevance and meaning and is encouraged by every one even though the various denominations may vie with one another in their own narrow dogmatic way. But outside of the townships, where tribal form of social structure exists, such an approach will be suicidal, because Christianity is not the norm of the society.  One loud and clear principle to follow anywhere will be. 'Do not snatch individuals out of the society to form a different Christian Group.' This is also true where another denomination or group of Christians is also evangelizing. Do not try to pinch people from other denominations. Remember that they are also preaching the same Jesus and his salvation.

In the past, missions employed what Donald A. McGravin calls, 'the Mission Station Approach', where missionaries from richer countries entered another country and started off with a large mission campus. These mission campuses had a church, a school, a dispensary and an administration with large funds at hand. They were able to attract few individuals who were willing to leave their culture for the benefits and attractions offered by the new people. Mostly these people were social misfits in their culture. They were either prodigals, social outcasts, belligerent, dropouts or even criminals. Some of them of course came out of curiosity and some because they are revolutionaries. Many came for the good paying jobs within the compound and to get the Whiteman’s education and medicines. As a result the church it produced was alien to the land and was simply living on borrowed culture. They thrived simply because they had an advantage over the others. This was typical of the colonial era and worked well in that situation.

When colonialism came to an end, it left behind a sub culture within the country, which carried with it many of the foreign cultural baggage. But it was a literate church with very little superstitions. The individuals were from different tribes who relegated their mother culture's heritage and formed a sub culture. A new class of formed which had the great social advantage of medicine, education and constant inflow of foreign money. This method will still work in the neo-colonial period as long as a constant flow of money can be guaranteed. It will create a subculture which can stand the persecution of the mother culture. In extreme persecution they may migrate to another place and start their own nucleus.

Today long after the colonial era, a few neocolonial agencies may be able to sustain such a mission. Even if they can the result is bound to be a failure because of two reasons.

1. The interest of the neocolonialism is limited and they may discontinue their assistance the moment they visualize that their control over the local church is diminishing. It is bound to leave a discontented and bewildered church that will eventually look for a local church formation.

2. The development of the African personality in this period will negate any such movement.

Therefore today our aim should be to produce a truly African church that has both form and content that are Sudanese in nature. In the rural situations in the South Sudan this can only be achieved by group conversions.  The fundamental rule therefore remains that, we should “Never baptize individuals”; unless church can be generated within the culture with its own congregation and social intercourse possibilities, all formal formation of church and its public confessions and activities should be delayed.  A convert will then have less social pressure and less chance of being ostracized from his society and greater chance of personal witnessing and multiplication without popular and organized opposition.

In the mission compound approach, the mission compound is the center of activity. They are able to capture only a few from within the culture, most of whom are either misfit, or orphans, or prodigals or curious revolutionaries or those who are attracted by some advantage

                                
In the urban evangelization, individuals can take independent decisions, because each person is comparatively independent with the tribal hierarchical influence.  In the modern Sudanese townships, the social structure is one which was left behind by the British which is highly individualistic.

In group conversion in the rural areas, individuals who do not conform to the culture are not approached.  Christianity does not produce an alien culture.  It is taken into the culture

The indigenous churches are those that grow within the society. Missionaries especially from those overdeveloped countries are not the means of these churches. They cannot be founded but they simply grow. Usually a spirit filled person from within the culture or from a culture close to it will generate the force.

The result will not be a copy of the churches in England or America. But then the role of the missionary is not to start a Pentecostal Church or an Egoist church or some other denominational church. They are simply the missionaries of Jesus. Actually denominationalism as we see today is nothing, hut the development of some indigenous church somewhere else in the world. The relevance of such denominational churches is simply that they are now found in the Sudan and has already started a subculture in the country.

When Christians are the heroes and ideals and the norm of a culture Christianity is indigenous. He must he the best tribesman according to the best standards of the culture wherein he lives. This can arise only if missionaries stop sabotaging cultures and importing foreign norms. When a tribesman becomes a Christian he should be able to live the ideal tribal life and be a paragon of all virtues that the tribes look. forward to. Such an integrated life is possible only when Christian rites and living styles are expressed in the cultural context. What is the normal way of worship in the culture? What are normal Procedures for assembly, prayer and worship?    How is the emotional worship and praise expressed in the culture? What is the role of singing and dancing in the culture as part of the religious experience?  Almost all forms of tribal rites of passages and rites of intensifications can be successfully adopted within the Christian commitment, at least in the Sudanese context.

This does not mean that changes are not necessary.  In general we can demarcate four spheres following the Willowbank Report to the Luusanna Committee.

Fortunately, the Sudanese cultures have very little to change. Idolatry, head hunting, human sacrifice and other unacceptable forms of tribal practices are not found in the Sudan.  The Spirit worship is actually ancestral veneration.  Dead spirits of the ancestors acting as mediators can be easily replaced by the mediatory office of Jesus.

QUESTIONS

1. Discuss the social structure in your tribe.
2.  Compare two neighboring tribes which are contrasting – one that is agricultural and the other pastoral- and compare their stratifications.

3.    Compare the stratification distribution of various denominations in the Southern Sudan.   Can you make any deductions from these regarding their mission field strategies?

4.  Discuss some of the events in the African history where the tribes rejected Christianity. Explain failure of the missionaries in those areas.

5.  Some tribes in the Southern Sudan readily accepted Christianity. Discuss why they did so.

6,   Make a table of tribes in the Southern Sudan and their social structure. Include how far the gospel has penetrated into these tribes.

7. Discuss the concept of indigenous church.  How far is your church an indigenous church?

8.  Discuss the concept of group conversion and peoples movements. Is it scriptural? What are some of the theological implications of such an approach?  What are its merits? What are its demerits?

9. Under what circumstances is the individual conversion desirable? Under what conditions are they undesirable?

10. Compare mission compound strategy with other strategies?

11. Make a detailed categorization of four spheres in term, of your culture. Discuss as many aspects as possible.