Letter to Global Ministries from the Church of Christ in Congo
This letter was sent to Global Ministries from the Church of Christ in Congo after the inauguration of Joseph R. Biden as the 46th president of the United States. A similar letter was sent to the National Council of Churches in the United States.
Subject: A call to obedience to the Word of God
Dear Partner in the work of the Lord,
Receive our warmest greetings from the Church of Christ in the Congo in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
This is a call to obedience to the Word of God. Days are so bad, the trials numberless and so varied, but the voice of the Lord calls us not to conform to the present century, but to be constantly transformed by the renewal of intelligence, so that we discern what is the will of God, which is good, pleasant, and perfect. (Romans 12:2)
As I told Rev. Winkler of the National Council of Churches in my letter, I want you to know that your nation, one of the largest on our earth, holds the leadership among the states in the world. From the ongoing health crisis until the last election, even a few days before the inauguration of your 46th President, your society was facing a terrible ordeal like you have probably never experienced since the Civil War.
The post-election crisis was shaking the pillars of your prestigious institutions and your democracy as no one could ever imagine even in a dream! We trust God; we have hope in Him as we pray that the new president in the White House, Mr. Joseph R. Biden, may start healing the country by the grace of the Lord. He did so well as in the midst of his inauguration’s address he called for unity acknowledging that “without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury. No progress, only exhausting outrage. No nation, only a state of chaos.” “Unity is the path forward,” for America.
My beloved in the Lord,
Our church, the Christ of Christ in the Congo, owes its origin, its history, and its testimony largely to western missionary societies, of which those in the USA are among the most remarkable.
All the political crises that our own country has gone through have been the occasion for the involvement and support of the United States in all areas.
This is why we want you to know how much we did care about this historic moment. This moment was certainly full of anguish, but also of promise. It was a Kairos moment, where everything seems both open and decisive, where thick shadows clash, but there is also the clarity and dawning of a new hope.
Though “make America great again” was a patriotic call to all Americans to prioritize America by putting it first in all, this call unluckily did turn somewhat into violence, hateful and terrifying attitudes and acts in the eyes of the world and even inside the United States. America first turned out to be brutally and stubbornly, “My power first!”
We were so sorry to see the foundations of the Common Good and of living together as citizens have been attacked as they rarely have been in the past. Hate and murderous racism assert themselves with violence to the heart of your political system! America was experiencing destructive situations. Old wounds and tears did take on even more frightening dimensions.
My beloved in the Lord,
We have neither gold nor silver to bring you; we have neither the know-how nor the competent people that we would put at your disposal to show our solidarity. However, we feel that your ordeal concerns us for we love you. This is the reason we beg you in the name of the Lord to respond to the call of obedience to the Word of God in everything. We believe if we all obey the Word of God, if we take time to listen to Him instead of trying all the time to have God listening to us and our will, we will be able to make this world a better place for all. So let all of us submit ourselves to the Word of God.
At the Church of Christ in the Congo, we are determined to remain with you in prayer, for faithful and ardent intercession for your country. From the bottom of our hearts, we do believe that your churches will stand alongside the forces of reconciliation, justice, peace, and renewal in the USA.
We are convinced that your church members will strive to maintain just institutions and safeguard democracy while walking and listening to God.
We are proud that your churches do not ally themselves with the camps of fear and brute force, mobilized by privilege in a fight for the gains and the defense of the status quo.
We pray for the United States of America so that fanaticism does not confiscate the very notion of trust and that lies and hatred do not impose themselves as the only way of truth.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can. Hatred cannot drive out hatred; only love can.”
As we look unto the Lord in this New Year that heads us into a new decade, I want to reassure you of my prayers and best wishes.
May the God of love, peace, grace, and hope be with you.
In Him, your brother,
Rev. Dr. André BOKUNDOA-Bo-Likabe
National President of the Church of Christ in the Congo