Author Biography
Renee Rheinbolt-Uribe, Stellenbosch University
Research Fellow, Faculty of Theology
“Maternal-thinking” in missiology emphasizes the importance of mothers in God’s eyes. Maternal-thinking emphasizes motherhood and womanhood, and it has implications for mission, church, and society. This article examines a case study in Colombia, highlighting the impact of mothers in a congregation in crisis due to the collapse of a mission agency. / Missio Dei acknowledges God’s reach beyond Christian institutions, the space that many times mothers have influenced throughout Christian history. However, in today’s world, the concept of motherhood is often perceived through the lens of the dominant USA culture, identified as the “Age of Systems.” Moreover, related to how the current missions epoch is enmeshed in managerial missiology, the case study is evidence of how inadvertently the oppression of mothers and women from other cultures can be made “in the name of Christ.” This article’s comparison of the dominant culture in the West to a Colombian experience offers suggestions for research and corrective measures.
