The word ‘Redress’ was not there by accident…

i have been sharing some thoughts about The Justice Conference that recently happened in Cape Town with almost 1000 participants and 60 plus contributors from all over the place in various shapes, shades and forms.

And i have touched on this fact. But i want to dive a little deeper into it, because i believe it is a lot more significant than many people might think.

The Justice Conference opens with two female MC’s of colour – Bonolo and René.

There was a Worship Band called We Will Worship Movement – a large group of young people and again not a white person to be found.

The first plenary session is led by René August looking at the question of ‘What does Jesus have to do with Justice?’ followed by the second led by African-American Lisa Sharon Harper  looking at The Very Good Gospel.

René August
We Will Worship Movement
René & Lisa Sharon Harper
Bonolo Qhawekazi

But wait. What’s this? Where are the white middle-aged men doing the talks? The young white men MCing up a storm? The hot GQ magazine cover white hipster leading us into worship?

Where have all the white men gone?

Two of the prominent white men in Cape Town who were at the conference are Craig Stewart and Craig Duvel. One heads up the Warehouse who hosted the conference and the other is a pastor at a Baptist church in Cape Town. And if you want to know where they were during the conference, a lot of the time they were doing their duties [ha ha i wrote doodies!] as part of the cleaning crew, which included cleaning the toilets. And guess who was leading that crew? Not Craig or Craig, but another black woman, Lindiwe.

While Craig did get a little bit of stage time to share some of the vision behind the conference and to invite conference-goers to be prepared to be uncomfortable and be shaken up a little, and while there were occasional white faces on panels and in electives, for the most part it was intentionally part of their role to be behind the scenes, helping people park and register and get coffee…

Gareth Stead, another white male [and one who i greatly admire] who is the pastor at the Every Nation venue where the event was held was another stellar example of someone serving from the shadows and my respect for him grows with every interaction. You wouldn’t have known the senior pastor was ‘just another crew member’ and yet there he was, serving alongside everyone else in an amazing display of humility.

One of the most powerful aspects of this conference for me – and i think they have sent a clear and inspiring message to the other Justice Conferences being run in different countries around the world – was that part of the Justice needed in South Africa, given our history is for white people and men in particular, to step away from the mic and create spaces for the voices of people of colour and particularly women and younger people.

In fact Craig’s 17 year old son, Zach, one of my favourite people in the world, probably got more space on stage than his dad as he shared in the last meeting some of the artwork he had been creating during the conference that summarised sessions and workshops and the general vibe.

HIGHLIGHT MOMENT

On Saturday, due to personal reasons, the team meant to be doing worship could not make it and Brian and Minah Koela stepped in to create one of the highlight moments for me of the whole conference. African styled worship led by one voice and one djembe drum [except for that electrifying moment when Minah joined her husband and we had two djembe drums carving out a glorious beat!].

THE TAKEAWAY

i guess some people might read this and think “Brett is hating on white people again” [for the record i don’t think i ever hate on white people – some of my best self is white] but it’s not that at all. It is the recognition of moment where prominent white pastors [more than  just people called Craig] got to sit under the leadership of black, coloured and indian voices, and women, and younger people. They got to be led in worship by people of colour and they got to be challenged and provoked and made uncomfortable in the workshops by people of colour, women, children.

This does not happen enough in the church in South Africa. And often even where you have a mixed congregation, the leadership will be predominantly white, or the key decision makers will be and so on… The Justice Conference gave us the chance to experience being led by people who don’t look like us and realising God was so much in that.

So again, before a moment of content was uttered or shared or displayed, the lessons were powerful and all around us. The question is, how will the church in South Africa respond? When and where we notice that we are lacking the diversity in some of those areas, are we prepared to do something about it? Are any of us prepared to grab a mop or a parking attendant vest and step aside so that others can take their places?

Brian and Minah Koela
Identity panel
Mickey Scottbey Jones
Re-imagining Education
Black Jesus White Jesus
Mahlatse Mashua
Sivuyela Kotela
Zach Stewart
Wrestling with the issues

i know there are a number of church groups in Cape Town who need to do this when it comes to people of colour. i know a number who could really use the same approach when it comes to women [Sunday school = okay, preaching to big people not okay]. i can think of one denomination at least that could have used this approach to younger leaders about twenty years ago.

It’s not to late. Let’s learn the lessons behind the lessons.

[For more thoughts on the Justice Conference, click here]