At a recent gathering of Southern African pastors and church workers, the discussion turned to the World Council of Churches' Program to Combat Racism. This program provides humanitarian aid to groups working for social change, including several which call for the use of force in overthrowing the South African government. Is it right for the churches to aid these groups?

The response was strong and immediate. Rev. S.B. Ngcobo, general secretary of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, wondered about the integrity of Christians suddenly becoming concerned that the church not involve itself with violence. "Western churches have put down, even laughed at, pacifism for years. Why, all of a sudden when we black people are the ones talking about a just war, are those churches wanting to talk about pacifism?"

The struggle black pastors face is how to respond to the youth in their churches, who are convinced that violence is now required. "Surely the church must support them and pray for them. We aren't interested in hearing these white Christians piously talking to us about nonviolence."

Rev. Ngcobo has worked closely with Mennonites for a number of years. Reminded that Mennonites would obviously differ with him on the use of coercion and violence, he responded, "I have no quarrel with the Mennonites. Their testimony is strong and consistent over many years and they have sometimes suffered for it. My quarrel is with the churches that are suddenly changing their minds. With Mennonites, pacifism has integrity."

Christians in South Africa are open to what Mennonites have to say about our understandings of nonviolence. That openness reflects appreciation for our history and theology as a peace church, but together with that openness is a strong critique and a caution. People with white faces who talk too easily about pacifism are often dismissed. We stand always within this tension. North Americans easily forget that choosing the way of peace is a costly choice. We dare not speak lightly, without first hearing and understanding the pain and anger which come from years of oppression. Speaking about peace can only be done humbly and with repentance.

The rise of black consciousness and black theology in South Africa represents a profound shift in thinking about theology, about the church and about how Christians respond to established structures in society. A seasoned Mennonite worker in East Africa once noted that events in South Africa are so much reduced to "black and white" -- to print. Day-to-day happenings in South Africa are recorded by the press, by political organizations and church bodies and by the academic community. This type of information and analysis often reflects Western intellectual categories and is therefore, on the surface, easily comprehended by Western interest groups and supporters. Events in much of the rest of Africa frequently move outside Western categories and can therefore be somewhat outside the comprehending abilities of Western observers.

As the influence of black consciousness and black theology continue to make their mark on South African life, the logic and reasoning behind much that happens will likely appear more and more confusing to those who are new to South Africa. The control and domination of Western styles gives us a handle -- or at least the appearance of one -- for relatively easy comprehension. This handle in the future will likely become less visible and our ability to comprehend the events of South Africa less available.

For Mennonite workers in Southern Africa, the struggle to stay in touch with these directions as they grow and develop will increase in years to come. Western intellectual, social and religious channels will for some time present themselves as powerful and alluring. As power centers move away from Western/European cultural control, however, so move the mechanisms and categories for a ready understanding of such shifts.

South Africa has received a great deal of public attention in recent years, with more media coverage, growing international debates on sanctions and protests world-wide. Many Western church missions or agencies that have not worked in South Africa before are now calling for the initiation of work there in evangelization, reconciliation or missions: "South Africa presents us with an obvious evil, and people know something about it -- so, it's a place work should be started." And some people in South Africa welcome this new energy and capital coming in from the outside.

It is difficult to see how this new wave of foreign input, however well-intended, will fit together with the kind of movement we have been exploring here. Foreign presence can easily add another layer to the highly resourced, Western-styled institutions to which black consciousness and black theology stand as correctives. Mennonites are seeking to avoid these dangers in their work in South Africa by working under or through local organizations or institutions which, as far as can be determined, are built on a base of community support. To work as servants of local people is not always easy when we come from a culture which is accustomed to dominating. To wait and listen is not easy when our customary way has been to decide quickly and act with initiative. But to work in this way can itself be a witness -- of love, of the worth of all persons, of the peace of the Gospel.

South Africans receive much attention and many messages. The Mennonite message will be heard if we work and live with them in a way which makes us credible and trustworthy. And we become trustworthy as we trust, listen and follow their initiatives.