Mission on the margins: A proposal for an alternative missional paradigm in the wake of COVID-19
This article proposes a critical paradigm to identify missional areas that have received scant attention from the church and to theorise ways in which alternative modes of doing mission in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) present a solution against tendencies which marginalise and...
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doaj-eedcae685a8447149f23df006a9ef8092020-12-23T08:24:52ZafrAOSISHTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 0259-94222072-80502020-12-01761e1e610.4102/hts.v76i1.61494900Mission on the margins: A proposal for an alternative missional paradigm in the wake of COVID-19Buhle Mpofu0Department of Practical Theology and Mission Studies, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria, PretoriaThis article proposes a critical paradigm to identify missional areas that have received scant attention from the church and to theorise ways in which alternative modes of doing mission in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) present a solution against tendencies which marginalise and exploit the poor. Examining ways in which local churches in South Africa responded to challenges posed by COVID-19, the article identifies socioeconomic challenges that have been neglected by the church to posit that COVID-19 has disrupted traditional practices and exposed missional blind spots. Building on Keum’s ideas of ‘reversal of roles’ and a shift of the mission concept from ‘mission to the margins’ to ‘mission from the margins’, the article notes that shifting of religion from public to private sphere as a result of COVID-19 will redefine the church and proposes that church mission should be located where the poor people are. The article concludes that COVID-19 disruptions allow for emergence of alternative ways of being church and new modes of socioeconomic organisation with new possibilities presented through an alternative theoretical hermeneutics of missiology that locates experiences of the poor at the centre. Contribution: This article represents a systematic and practical reflection within a paradigm in which the intersection of philosophy, religious studies, social sciences, humanities and natural sciences generate an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary contested discourse.https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/6149covid-19mission of the churchparadigm shiftcritical theorysouth africa |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
Afrikaans |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Buhle Mpofu |
spellingShingle |
Buhle Mpofu Mission on the margins: A proposal for an alternative missional paradigm in the wake of COVID-19 HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies covid-19 mission of the church paradigm shift critical theory south africa |
author_facet |
Buhle Mpofu |
author_sort |
Buhle Mpofu |
title |
Mission on the margins: A proposal for an alternative missional paradigm in the wake of COVID-19 |
title_short |
Mission on the margins: A proposal for an alternative missional paradigm in the wake of COVID-19 |
title_full |
Mission on the margins: A proposal for an alternative missional paradigm in the wake of COVID-19 |
title_fullStr |
Mission on the margins: A proposal for an alternative missional paradigm in the wake of COVID-19 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mission on the margins: A proposal for an alternative missional paradigm in the wake of COVID-19 |
title_sort |
mission on the margins: a proposal for an alternative missional paradigm in the wake of covid-19 |
publisher |
AOSIS |
series |
HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies |
issn |
0259-9422 2072-8050 |
publishDate |
2020-12-01 |
description |
This article proposes a critical paradigm to identify missional areas that have received scant attention from the church and to theorise ways in which alternative modes of doing mission in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) present a solution against tendencies which marginalise and exploit the poor. Examining ways in which local churches in South Africa responded to challenges posed by COVID-19, the article identifies socioeconomic challenges that have been neglected by the church to posit that COVID-19 has disrupted traditional practices and exposed missional blind spots. Building on Keum’s ideas of ‘reversal of roles’ and a shift of the mission concept from ‘mission to the margins’ to ‘mission from the margins’, the article notes that shifting of religion from public to private sphere as a result of COVID-19 will redefine the church and proposes that church mission should be located where the poor people are. The article concludes that COVID-19 disruptions allow for emergence of alternative ways of being church and new modes of socioeconomic organisation with new possibilities presented through an alternative theoretical hermeneutics of missiology that locates experiences of the poor at the centre.
Contribution: This article represents a systematic and practical reflection within a paradigm in which the intersection of philosophy, religious studies, social sciences, humanities and natural sciences generate an interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary contested discourse. |
topic |
covid-19 mission of the church paradigm shift critical theory south africa |
url |
https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/6149 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT buhlempofu missiononthemarginsaproposalforanalternativemissionalparadigminthewakeofcovid19 |
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