Alexander Venter

The first half of this course is based on his personal story of repentance and reconciliation in South Africa, in the 1980s. For 12 years he crossed the racial and ideological divides under Apartheid to repent from his white racial conditioning to seek reconciliation and justice with black folk, motivated by the theology and praxis of God’s kingdom. He highlights the importance of personal story-telling from opposite sides of societal divides for ‘de-ideologizing’. Our stories find meaning, purpose and transformation in God’s greater story of reconciliation, which Alexander unfolds as God’s Seven Act Drama of His-Story, from Genesis to Revelation. This biblical theology of kingdom reconciliation climaxes in Jesus and his first followers, who, within their context lived out the Gospel Mandate of Reconciliation across the barriers of... race and culture (“neither Jew nor Gentile”), social classes (“neither master not servant”), and gender (“neither male nor female”). He concludes with its application to The Church and all Christ-followers today, as we live out Act Six of God’s drama of reconciliation on the world's stage for all to see... Jesus.

Charles Montgomery

This portion of the course is designed to be complementary to the first, focusing on Charles’ personal story and his call to travel the road to reconciliation. Though growing up in a predominately black American context, the releasing of Nelson Mandela in South Africa profoundly impacted him; he goes on to share how it intersected with the African American experience in the USA. His lectures will also focus on Kingdom reconciliation and how it is actualized in and through the church. Finally, Charles offers recommendations for reconciliatory practices.