A regular speaker at newfrontiers conferences, John KpiKpi is a man dear to my heart. He is someone who has run after his dream and is well on the way to seeing it fulfulled. John leads a church in Ghana, and oversees the work of newfrontiers in West Africa.
His book is well summarised on the newfrontiers resource site as follows:
God is about a great work in the earth which encompasses all the tribes and nations of the world. But just what is the nature of this work and what is God’s goal? What should be the relationship between us and our tribes after we have been joined to God’s people through the cross of Christ? What is the relationship between us and people through the cross of Christ? What is the relationship between us and people from other tribes and races who have become joined to God’s people? And what about cherished customs and traditions of the tribes we come from? Do we continue with them? Do we select some and drop the others? In this book, John Kpikpi grapples with these questions, which he believes are foundational issues for the planting and building of local churches all over the world. There is a prophetic call to God’s called out ones to discover their true identity in Christ, and in Christ alone, and to live out the full implications of their new life to the glory of God and the one and only Son of God who loved them and gave himself for them.
John challenges our perceptions that the only problem we have to face is racism. Rather, our prejudice about the tribe we belong to is a real barrier to God’s purpose to build a truly multi-coloured church. The principles in this book are as relevant to the West as they are to the African context in which they are written.
John explains the problem as follows:
“One such horror is that, disturbingly, we seem to be able to live quite comfortably with tribalism, the idea that one’s own tribe is superior to all the other tribes. Widespread discrimination, injustice, division and wars have resulted fromt this sinful belief that has taken root in people’s minds. Furthermore, the exhalting of our tribal identities prevents us from fully embracing God’s way of life, which He has clearly revealed to us in His written word. As a result we allow our customs and traditions to take precidence over the holy word of God.”
John goes on to detail specific examples of this. He bemoans the fact that so many churches are monotribal and do not integrate different kinds of people. This does not, in his view, reflect the heart of God.
“…it seems the restoration of the people of this world should involve the reuniting of these scattered peoples under one God with the shared intention of pleasing and hounouring God rather than one of making a name for themselves (or for their tribes!)”
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