THE AFRICAN PRIEST AND THE IMPERATIVENESS OF AN INCULTURATED PREACHING

Abstract

To the priest in general and to the African priest in particular has been given the mandate to preach the Word of God. This, of course, is in order to feed the flock entrusted to him. With descriptive and analytic methodology, this paper endeavoured to find out how the priest in Africa today could carry out this responsibility better. It was discovered that based on the realities on ground in Africa today, only an inculturated preaching could suffice. Such an inculturated preaching, the paper still made known, would impel him, the African priest, that is, to listen, first of all, to the Word of God, and then to the people in their symbolic world, culture and sociopolitical conditions. While considering also not only the resources available to the same African priest but also the points he should bear in mind as he prepares for this important part of his ministry, the paper did underscore the significance of prayer to and the way of living of the same African priest. It is hoped that this will be an important addition to the ever-growing call for more attention to be given to the reality of preaching in the house of theology, or better, Christianity, in Africa.