Living the Gospel in Haiti with Konbit: The Intersection of the Gospel and Culture for a Responsive and Responsible Church

Living the Gospel in Haiti with Konbit: The Intersection of the Gospel and Culture for a Responsive and Responsible Church

By Guimond Pierre-Louis, 2020. In Haiti, the relationship between Gospel and culture tends to disrupt relationships and even communities, portraying a church that is more French than Haitian. It is often argued on the account of the Bible that once becoming a Christian, everything old has passed away and everything has become new to the extent of rejecting Haitian culture. However, in Haitian culture there are elements which can bridge the gap between Gospel and culture, and consequently bring people together and strengthen communities. The term “konbit,” defined as an “event” where the community comes together to accomplish something to the benefit of one member of their community or the community at large, is a concept/event that can bring about this theological task. Therefore, I am writing on the topic of “Living the Gospel in Haiti with konbit,” because I want to find out how God is calling the church in Haiti to bear witness to the Gospel together with the culture and the local context. This research will be grounded in a Trinitarian understanding of God and will take into account the modern missionary movement’s theory that the church does not have a mission but rather God’s mission has a church. With that in mind, I argue that the church in Haiti needs to reimagine herself by not seeing the culture as an enemy but rather engaging with it in different ways that seek to witness to God’s love for all people. The same event of konbit that brings bread and wine for the Eucharist is able to help reimagine the work of the church in Haiti.

Louis, Guimond Pierre

Virginia Theological Seminary

2020

@ Copyright 2020, The Rev. Guimond Pierre Louis

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