African Perspectives on Multiculturalism and Economic Justice (Gift Mtukwa)

The church should not only perform charity work, but also pursue economic justice.

Dr. Gift Mtukwa joins Dru Johnson to discuss the Kenyan church and Gift's Pauline scholarship. They examine the importance of multiculturalism in the church, which requires navigating cultural differences in language, worship style, and socioeconomic status. Additionally, Gift explains how reading Paul helps the modern Kenyan church understand poverty, economic opportunity, and financial prudence.

Gift Mtukwa is the Chair of the Department of Religion and Christian Ministry at Africa Nazarene University and lead pastor of the University Church of the Nazarene. Born in Zimbabwe, he now lives in Nairobi, Kenya. His research centers on contextual readings of Scripture, especially Paul's letters.

Show notes:

• 0:00 Different Kenyan tribes in the same church
• 3:16 The importance of diverse leadership
• 5:50 Explaining the Kenyan tribes
• 9:24 Kenyan impressions of majority-white churches
• 12:03 Evangelism in Africa
• 13:45 Paul's approach to multiculturalism
• 19:15 Understanding "if you don't work, you don't eat"
• 22:58 Poverty in rural and urban Kenya
• 25:34 How the church can help people in poverty
• 30:49 Pastoral education in economics and community development
• 33:33 Pros and cons of the American church

Show notes by Micah Long

Credits for the music used in TBM podcast can be found at: hebraicthought.org/credits.