sacral rule and the Christian Church: An ... - ResearchSpace

mission had been one of the attractions of Christianity and the reason for many
African convertions. With the induction oftheir fellow Africans into leadership, both
groups expected an almost unachievable level ofhumanitarian assistance. The task of
the African Christian leaders was further complicated by the secular view that the
"missionary enterprise had been an offence to African society". The Africans who
held this opinion were expecting the new church leaders who were sons and
daughters of Africa, to reverse the earlier tendency of the missionary work to be
centred abroad and centred it instead at home. Many ordinary Christians helped the
new leaders by confidently doing what they could to keep the missionary task alive
but many others were much more firmly rooted in the African worldview. A group of
people have been selected who had responsibilities both in the Christian church and
in sacral rule. We have given below a critical assessment of what they did in
Cameroon and Ghana, taking in turn each of the three main churches that have issued
from Basel Mission activities in Africa. These churches are: the Evangelical Church
of Cameroon, the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon and the Presbyterian Church of
Ghana.
1- Challenging situations that confronted African church leaders
The points of agreement and disagreement between the Christian mission and
sacral rule in Cameroon and Ghana continued in a dynamic way with more
interaction and changes on both sides. There were regulated practices, prohibited
activities, commands to be fulfilled and omissions to be tackled. The process of
transformation and continuity within Christianity continued with the development of
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