One Sunday, not long after moving to Uganda, our land-lady invited us to go to church with her at her home fellowship, All Saints’ Anglican church here in Kampala. It is one of the more prominent Anglican (aka Church of Uganda) congregations here . Remember that 35 to 40% of all Ugandan consider themselves to be Anglican. We showed up to join a crowd waiting to enter the church for the second of at least 3 Sunday services. Perhaps a thousand Ugandans packed themselves into the church, the pews so close together that I could not quite stand up straight between them. On the outside, two large tents made room for an even larger overflow crowd, with screens broadcasting the service inside. The service was vibrant and Christ-centered, with a pleasing combination of Anglican liturgy and joyful African rhythms leading us to to focus on Jesus. I couldn’t help but worship.
Christ Church in Oxford, England. The Harry Potter movies used this Oxford College as the set for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Don’t miss the irony.
I also couldn’t help but contrast all this with my visit to another Anglican church, the historic Christ Church in Oxford England. That magnificent cathedral also held three different services every Sunday. At that service, a few dozen tourists enjoyed a traditional, liturgical service that has remained unchanged for centuries and an all-male Cathedral Choir that was nothing short of stunning. The music was so beautiful that I almost cried, and I couldn’t help but worship.
In Uganda, packed in with thousands of fellow worshipers, I enjoyed participating in the Body of Christ and was lead by that into worship. In England, surrounded by stunning architecture and lots of elbow room, I enjoyed some of the (new to me) traditions of my faith as they bore witnesses to God’s enduring faithfulness and was lead by that into worship.
All Saints’ Anglican Church in Kampala, Uganda. The topical sermon was about God’s (negative, by the way) view of corruption. The pews were so close together that I could neither stand up straight nor kneel on the floor as traditionally done in roomier services.
But there is no question which place I would prefer to attend on a regular basis. I love God’s people, and they in turn help me grow in God. I can live without the elbow room. Even though the Anglican church in England cannot be stereotyped by Christ Church (there are many other Anglican fellowships in Oxford whose pews are filled and who worship with guitars and drums), it is clear where God seems to be working most powerfully these days.
These two church experiences do provide us with a window of understanding about the state of nations around the world. In the West, affluent nations continue to reap the good fruit of our public institutions and traditions that were built during a time when our nations were more clearly in the Judeo-Christian foundation. But our private and public morality is, in many ways, in decline. In so many ways, we have put our faith in “secular” science and found our joy in consumerism. We redefine marriage away from both natural and biblical biology towards our contemporary notion of equality, and we exalt the autonomy of individual choices above the lives of voiceless and vulnerable children.
Africa does not enjoy the benefit of public institutions and traditions build on a Christian worldview. Therefore, the level of poverty in Africa today can be heartbreaking. But there is no question in my mind where God seems to be working most powerfully these days. The Anglican church is Uganda is absolutely steadfast in their biblical definition of marriage. I have a much easier time finding vibrant Christian Academics in East Africa to supervise my Ph.D. studies that I do in academia in England.
In many ways, the moral tables have flipped. Certainly the “church” tables have flipped, with Europe and North America comprising an ever smaller minority of the Global church. Nonetheless, Uganda will remain poorer than England for the foreseeable future. After all, public institutions and new traditions, like the city of Rome, are not built in a day. Rather, cultures shift by degrees over generations. But the trajectory is clear; how long, then, before the table of nations flips?
I certainly don’t pretend to know, but Source Church is a part of “flipping” the work of mission, using the resources and blessings of Uganda to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ in the nations that used to send missionaries to Africa. It’s a great time to be alive in Uganda!