1. Introduction
This study paper provides mainly guidelines to stimulate discussion on an understanding of a Theology of Empowerment (TE). My definition of TE hinges primarily on the description of the church and Christians’ Biblical faith, witness and service to fellow human beings in a country where the gap between rich and poor gets bigger and bigger. In South Africa the richest 16,6% (7,5 million people) receive 72% of the income (and this percentage is increasing), whereas in the case of the poorest 50% (23 million people) it is only 3,3%. It is known that the lowest 50% of the population are now in real terms poorer than 20 years ago.
More than half of the South African population is in the grip of extreme hunger and poverty and in places entire rural communities go without food for days, according to a report tabled by the President and founder of African Monitor, Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane. The report comes on the 10th anniversary of the National Poverty Hearings. Poverty in South Africa has deepened over the past 10 years, with more than half of the population grappling chronic food shortages. Hardest hit are rural communities in the Free State, Northern Cape, the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo bearing the biggest brunt (SABC news 22/10/2008).
Empowerment is the process by which a person receives power and shares it with others, and this results to the recreation of the community. Empowerment is the actualisation, enrichment and development of people’s potential and skills and leads to freedom, justice, growth, transformation (Van Niekerk 1997) and interdependence. Empowered Christians reflect the unique and transforming power of God by their actions.
A Theology of Empowerment starts from a distinctive theological point of view, but follows an intradisciplinary approach; borrowing, adapting and integrating concepts, methods and techniques of other sciences e.g. sociology, psychology, economics, developmental studies etc. In doing theology a holistic approach is a necessity; it should lead to “spiritual, social and material change” (Myers 2005). TE is outcome based, contextual, transformative and liberating.
One of the most important problems is whether modern theology can adequately connect to the daily life of people and groups. Until now, it has failed to provide systematic and methodical answers to empirical questions and to incorporate these answers in theological thought. For instance, when and how do modern people have religious experiences, which religious attitudes have an impact on their individual and social life, how do they participate in the life of the church community, and how does the relationship between church and society take shape in ordinary life? It is important not to leave the research on these issues to the social sciences alone, but try to formulate, analyse and answer these questions ourselves from distinctive theological point of view (Van der Ven 1993)
