Missionary of Reconciliation

Missionary of Reconciliation: The Role of the Doctrine of Reconciliation in the Preaching of Festo Kivengere of Uganda, 1971–1988
Alfred Olwa (Sydney, Australia)

In the period 1971–1988, the Christian doctrine of reconciliation was central to Festo Kivengere’s preaching in Uganda and beyond. This doctrine so gripped Kivengere that it shaped his attitude to life, to others, and even to his enemies. He exhorted his audiences to be reconciled with God and then with their fellow human beings, as part of God’s remedy for a broken world. In his preaching, Kivengere depicts Jesus as a missionary of reconciliation who brings a fresh and alternative life, characterized by the reconciling love and peace from God. He preached the Christian doctrine of reconciliation into a Uganda where Christians lived under the horrors of Amin’s rule and its aftermath. According to Kivengere, the world changes through the preaching of the reconciliation centered in Jesus Christ.