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Fortunately, the church in Africa is experiencing a healthy self-correction. In the midseventies and eighties, a new generation of church leaders arose who brought drums and our own songs into our churches. They encouraged Christians to become involved in politics, even to run for office. Today, more and more are doing that successfully.

Of course, it would be a mistake for the African church to swing to the other extreme and "Seek first the political kingdom, and all the rest will be given to you," as the first president of Ghana urged following the independence of his country. Politics alone has not brought solutions to the challenges of Africa. In fact, since independence, we have had more problems to deal with than ever before. Our problems ultimately are not economic, but spiritual. If we engage the world from this spiritual perspective, we will maintain a biblical balance of being in the world but not of it.

Not all of our problems are inherited ones. A lesson Christians in Africa could learn from those in America is about how to operate in a democracy. In many African countries today, people vote not necessarily for the best candidates or according to issues, but along tribal lines. If Christians in my country (where 80 percent are Christians) and other countries would rise above these tribalisms, they would make a tremendous difference in Africa.

I believe African Christians must also take an active part in forming democracies that are not defined by the West but by the African context. American-style democracy cannot work in Africa for two reasons. The first is that democracy is expensive. It costs a lot to maintain it, and we cannot afford it in Africa with our current economic situation. The second is that democracy can run well only where people are informed about the issues. We are not trained in democracy. Many people in my country have not even finished primary school. And so they depend on their leaders to decide for them what is good and what is right.

But Africa is a land of great potential. It is a sleeping giant spiritually. My prayer is that we can awaken this giant so that we can be a blessing not only to our own countries but also to others around the world. As Christians, we too are called to make disciples of all nations, both in Africa and abroad.

David M. Kasali, 44, is president of the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology in Kenya. He holds degrees from the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. E-mail: pnegst@maf.org

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November 16 1998, Vol. 42, No. 13