Tomorrow, God willing, I will be on my way to Cape Town. I will be going fairly satisfied with the discussion on ethnicity in the Global Conversation. My one major regret is that the paper on ‘Healing the wounds of ethnic conflict’ appeared so late in the day so that there was little time to discuss it before the Congress. I am encouraged that there are a substantial number of fellow believers out there who believe that ethnicity is an issue that needs to be examined more deeply by those that are passionate about seeing the glory of Jesus Christ manifested over all the earth.

 

The complexities of the issue have certainly emerged.

The link between ethnic identity and ancestral land is being challenged in a way that is unprecedented in human history.

Many post colonial countries struggle with their colonial legacy. It is not surprising that multi-ethnic countries established on the basis of a Western political philosophy that is profoundly antipathetic to ethnic diversity should encounter difficulties.

Urbanisation is changing the demographic profile of countries all over the world and especially so in the majority world. International – or interstate – migration is also at unprecedented levels. What it means to be church in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural setting is now a burning issue in so many places.

The Christian world mission from everywhere to everywhere is also challenging for ethnic identity. When enquiring recently about a Bolivian missionary I last met on her way to the field I was told that she is now married to a German and living with her family in Holland. Will her children be Bolivian, German or Dutch – or does it matter what they will be?

Added to this there are the ethnic identities that remain in their ancestral lands. Some of these are militarily and economically powerful and are able to enhance and secure the future of their identity. Others – that are often called indigenous or native peoples – are militarily and economically weak and struggle to survive.

Ethnicity has been associated with conflict in many places in the last half century and has left a legacy of deep wounds in the hearts of millions. DRC, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Tibet, China, Russia, Turkey, Thailand and India are examples of countries where deep wounds have been left by ethnic conflict. In James Minahan’s book, Nations without States the struggle of 210 nations/ethnic identities for political freedom is recorded – so there is plenty of scope for wounding into the future.

The discussion so far has highlighted the complexities of the issue and the validity of the questions posed at the end of the ‘Peace to the nations’ paper.

Discussion in Cape Town and in the Global Link centres around the world will not answer all the questions but the outcomes I hope for are:

1. An affirmation of ethnic identity as part of God’s purpose for humanity

2. Some indication of what needs to be done in order to avoid ethnic conflict

3. Clear strategies for bringing about reconciliation when ethnic conflict has occurred

4. A commitment to ongoing discussion of ethnicity in the global mission community