For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven. Eccl. 3:1
Background
Last June the Christian Reformed Synod endorsed full participation in the Theological College of Northern Nigeria. But this same Synod hesitated to make TCNN the sole institution for training Reformed ministers in Nigeria. She postponed decision on the request of the Tiv Church for a Reformed seminary located in the Benue area. This means that the Christian Reformed Board of Foreign Missions and the Christian Reformed Synod of 1969 must still give an answer to the Tiv Church request.
The Christian Reformed Church has been hesitant to grant this request because, until now, the opinion of the missionaries on the field has appeared to be uniformly negative toward the idea of an additional seminary. A poll of the missionaries was never taken but at least no one spoke up publicly in favor of the Tiv Church request, while some spoke up strongly against this request. There are valid arguments that can be advanced in favor of maintaining one seminary only (TCNN) for the training of all Reformed students in Nigeria. But unfortunately those who favor the single seminary idea have often overstated the case, suggesting that the Tiv Church is somehow blameworthy for making a straightforward request. In an article that I wrote for TORCH AND TRUMPET a year ago I said, “Some have seen ulterior motives in the request for a theological college in Benue. I feel, however, that the reasons that the Tiv Church has given for this request are sensible and should be taken at face value” (T. AND T., Feb. 1968, p. 20). This article is an attempt to expand and explain that statement. I hope not only to defend the integrity of the Tiv Church but also, at this time, to endorse the Tiv request for an additional seminary and state the reasons for this endorsement. The discussion of this subject revolves around seven important questions which must be frankly discussed if the issues are to be understood. Let us take these questions one by one:
1. Did N.K.S.T. follow proper procedure?
It has been said that the Nongo u Kristu u ken Sudan hen Tiv (The Church of Christ in the Sudan among the Tiv) followed the wrong procedure be· cause she failed to consult with three bodies that she should have consulted before sending this request to the Christian Reformed Church in America. These bodies are the East Benue Church, the TCNN Board of Governors, and the Nigeria Conference of Christian Reformed missionaries. We ought to ask therefore whether NKST had an obligation to consult these bodies and then ask whether this obligation (if it was there) was fulfilled.
The Tiv Church did not feel that she was obliged to consult either with the East Bonue Church or the TCNN Board of Governors. Consultation with East Benue Church would envisage the possibility of a cooperative school between the two churches. But there is no rule in Scripture which says we must invite our neighbour to join us every time we launch out on a project. Some years ago the Presbyterians founded Westminster Seminary and, as far as 1 know, they did not “consult” the C.R.C. before they did it. Was this also reprehensible? Those who press the idea of prior “consultation” neatly overlook the tremendous linguistic and cultural differences that exist between East Benue Church and the Tiv Church. They also overlook the practical difficulties involved in running a cooperative Reformed school. (For example.. which denomination would really have control of such a school?) In addition to the practical problems East Benue does not feel the need for another theological school at this time. This is because the need for more pastors is not as pressing in the East Benue Church as it is in the Tiv Church. Where then is the necessity of prior consultations with the East Benue Church?
A theological college in Benue was also discussed when Pastor lsholibo Sai was present as the Tiv Church delegate at the TCNN Board of Governors. According to Pastor Sai’s account, the Chairman of the Board asked him why the Tiv Church asked for a separate seminary in Benue without first consulting the TCNN Board. His reply was that there is no provision in the TCNN constitution which requires the Tiv Church to do this. It is required in the constitution that a church give prior notice if it wishes to withdraw from participation in TCNN. But NKST does not contemplate withdrawing from TCNN. After Rev. Sai had given this explanation at the board meeting, the matter was dropped.
It has also been suggested that Tiv Church leaders failed to discuss these matters thoroughly with the missionaries in Nigeria. I do not know how this thought could have arisen, for the subject was discussed several times in committee meetings, Evangelism Department meetings, and at Nigeria General Conference. Missionaries were also present at the Tiv Synod which originally passed this request and one of our missionaries is a member of the Executive Committee of this Synod. In November, 1967 the Executive Committee of Nigeria General Conference said, “We also recognize the autonomy of our Nigerian churches and their right to place any request before the Christian Reformed Church that they see fit” (N.G.C. Minute 6(89). Here our missionaries on the field recognized the right of the Tiv Church to address her request to the C.R.C. in the way that she did. Let us therefore not quibble about the procedure followed by our sister denomination in Nigeria, but rather address our attention to the heart of the matter.
2. Is this request a manifestation of tribalism?
Those of us who serve in Nigeria are impressed by the way that tribal animosities have cut into the very fabric of the nation. Many thoughtful Nigerians wish to assist their nation in overcoming tribalism. Christianity surely commands all of us to work in this direction. As missionaries we would not wish to encourage the Tiv Church to become isolationist in its policy or provincial in its outlook.
Tribalism exists in Nigeria and the Tiv Church has a role to play in overcoming tribalism in the country. But it is another thing to suggest, as some have done, that the Tiv Church request arises from a tribal spirit. This is a charge that cannot be proved and therefore ought to be dropped. Of course the Tiv Christians will be happy to have another school in their area. Why shouldn’t they be? Some years ago our people in Northwest Iowa had to choose a site for Dordt College. Various towns wanted the honor. Was this also tribalism? Do not people the world over wish to locate schools, hospitals. post offices, etc. in their own area? Is this desire necessarily bad? I am happy that the Tiv Church has asked for a theological school in her area rather than some other school that might have greater prestige in the eyes of the world and greater financial gain for her graduates.
In this connection we should not underestimate the Reformed character of the Tiv Church as it now exists. Some have suggested that the Tiv Church has only passing acquaintance with the Reformed faith and therefore can hardly be serious in asking for a Reformed seminary. Tiv church leaders probably would not be able to recite the “five points of Calvinism” at the drop of a hat. On the other hand these leaders are aware of the fact that their church differs from other Nigerian churches both in doctrine and in practice. The Heidelberg Catechism is used in many Tiv churches as a guide for monthly classes of confessing church members and sometimes as the basis for Sunday afternoon preaching. I once heard a Tiv pastor quote from John Calvin—a remarkable feat in the light of the fact that Calvin’s works have not been translated into Hausa or Tiv, and the pastor does not read English. We sometimes forget that most Tiv church leaders were trained, especially in their younger years, by missionaries of the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa, and these missionaries were generally thorough in the instruction they gave. When this church says she is interested in Reformed theological training, let us take her words at face value and not search for ulterior motives lurking behind this request.
3. Is there a real need?
The need for an additional seminary in the Benue area can be understood only in the light of the present growth and tremendous potential for growth that N.K.S.T. now faces. Although this church has a communicant membership of 12,000, the attendance at her Sunday morning worship services averages about 150,000 per Sunday. This last figure is a number that equals the communicant membership of the Christian Reformed Church in United States and Canada. The Tiv Church faces the tremendous challenge therefore of bringing all these worshippers to repentance and faith, public confession, and baptism. But that is only part of the story. According to West Africa, a weekly published in London and Lagos, it is estimated that there are now one and a half million Tiv people. Even if one says that there arc only one million Tiv, the 150,000 worshippers make up only 15% of the tribe! In Tiv country today the backbone of paganism has been broken. The younger generation is looking fOr a new religion. At a time when many people in the northern states of Nigeria have turned to Islam ( Mohammedanism ), the Tiv people are consistently rejecting Islam as their religion. And the Christian Reformed branch of the Sudan United Mission is the only Protestant group that has any substantial work among the Tiv people at the present time. We know that our work is dependent upon the Holy Spirit’s blessing, but when one puts these various facts together, he can see the possibility that within the next few years the Tiv Church in Nigeria may grow to be as large as, or larger than, the Christian Reformed Church in North America.
This does not mean that we should be complacent. The Roman Catholic Church is also working hard in Tiv country, not without some success. Recently the Southern Baptists opened work in the Tiv area and they hope to expand this work. They have done this because they heard that the Tiv tribe was “white unto harvest.” The Sudan Interior Mission (not to be confused with the Sudan United Mission with which we are affiliated) has plans to open bookshops in Tiv country. For over 6fty years Reformed missionaries from South Africa and U.S.A. have planted and watered the seed in Tiv country. It would surely be a pity if now other groups moved in to gather the harvest. There is also the possibility that the present readiness of the Tiv people to listen to the gospel may suddenly change for reasons that we cannot now foresee. God has given the Tiv Church and the Christian Reformed mission the opportunity to go out right now and gather the harvest that is ripe.
N.K.S.T. already has many harvesters on the front lines. If one includes the young men who serve as teachers of Classes for Religious Instruction and also as preachers (exhorters) on Sunday, N.K.S.T. has over 1,000 evangelists already in the work. But she has only thirty-one ordained ministers. She hopes to add seven more pastors this year (1969). If one counts the number attending church, each one of these thirty-eight pastors will have an average of close to 4,000 souls under his spiritual care. This figure assumes that attendance will be static (which it seldom is) and does not take into account the thousands in the area of every church who are open to the gospel but have not yet begun to attend church regularly. In 1967 there were two churches in N.K.S.T. with a communicant membership of over 1,000 each, and several churches were in the seven and eight hundred member bracket (these are not families but members). The handful of pastors presently working in NKST has a staggering load to carry! Recently Rev. E. Smith wrote: “Note that only one church-goer in every ten in the Tiv church is a communicant. Allowed to remain so, the nine uncommitted, unconfessing adherents must necessarily endanger the church and bring about its demise. So a strong teaching force is needed” (The Banner, Nov. 1, 1968, p. 15). I believe that many attenders have not become members because there are not enough pastors to instruct them adequately. Also many churches are too large for effective ingathering of the people, but there is little inducement for these large churches to break up into smaller units so long as there is an acute shortage of pastors. If they divided at this time there would be just so many more churches without pastors.
The Tiv Church feels that TCNN has not fully answered her need for pastors in the past, and will not be able to do so in the future. First let us take a look at what has happened in the last few years. When the Tiv Synod met in 1966 this Synod was disappointed over the fact that only about half of the Tiv students who had been studying at Veenstra Junior Seminary gained admittance to TCNN. Rightly or wrongly, she felt that some of her students were not admitted because there was not enough room for them. This situation prompted one of the delegates at the Christian Reformed Synod of last June to ask Dr. H. Boer, “How many Tiv men have been unable to get theological training at TCNN?” Dr. Boer’s reply was, “No student who could meet the entrance requirements has ever been turned down” (T. AND T., Sept. 1968, p. 23). It is true that all Tiv students who passed the entrance examination to TCNN were admitted. It is also true, however, that there were two students from other areas who failed the exam but wcre nonetheless admitted in the class that entered in January, 1967. One of these students was subsequently elected to an important office by his fellow students. By admitting two students who failed the entrance exam, TCNN established the principle that those who fail the exam are capable of studying at TCNN on the certificate level. One of the Tiv students who failed the TCNN exam and was not admitted, later passed the entrance exam to the Gindiri Teachers College, which is supposed to be a higher level of training. These things were first brought to my attention by Rev. 1. Sai, who is the Tiv representative on the TCNN Board of Governors, and later confirmed to me by a TCNN staff member. They form the basis for the Tiv feeling that TCNN has not been meeting their needs.
What of the future? The Christian Reformed Church is now supporting TCNN expansion plans. These plans will enable TCNN to admit more students than she has in the past. Will this solve the problem? The Church is not satisfied with this solution because it does not make TCNN Reformed, and the Church is interested in a Reformed training for her future ministers.
Even on the basis of statistics, however, the expansion plan falls short of the need. It is projected that under this expanded program TCNN will be able to admit forty students on the lower level of study (certificate level) every other year. These forty students will be divided into two classes of twenty students each. How many of these forty students will be Tiv? Certainly no more than twenty and probably less. If 50% or more of the student body at TCNN would come from one tribe, TCNN will have destroyed her own inter-tribal and interdenominational character. A large block of Tiv students at TCNN would pose serious problems for the school. For example, would it be right to hold Sunday morning worship services in the Hausa language, as is now done, if half the students, especially their wives and children, do not really understand this language? It would be possible, of course, to hold two separate services, but this would remove the students from one another. Many other practical problems would arise if too many students came from a single tribe.
Let us say, therefore, that the very maximum number of Tiv students that TCNN can admit every other year is twenty. When one averages this off on a yearly basis TCNN will be able to provide, at best, ten candidates per year for the Tiv ministry. In addition to this, there might be a sprinkling of men who graduate from the higher level diploma course (at present there are two such Tiv students at TCNN). Ten men per year would be far too few for the Christian Reformed Church in America and it will not meet the needs of a rapidly growing church in Nigeria. We are trying to fill the gap somewhat by conducting a four year theological course for twenty-four qualified men in the Tiv language at our Uavande station. It is hoped that most of these will become pastors after four years of study. But everyone recognizes that this is not a permanent solution. At its meeting of October 24, 1968, the Evangelism Department of our mission passed this minute: “Evangelism Department recommends that the Mission suggest to the Churches that in the future instead of training its pastors in a vernacular training program they aim toward a theologically better educated clergy” (Minute No. 444). In a day when all educated Nigerians know the English language, we do well to strive for a more highly educated clergy. And if this is to be the last vernacular pastor’s class, what is to replace it? The most obvious replacement for the vernacular classes would be a seminary where theology is taught in English. The Tiv Church is to be congratulated for having seen the need for many more pastors and for taking steps to meet this need. In this respect she has exercised more foresight than many of the missionaries who work in her midst.
4. Could we find the students and teachers?
It would hardly do to contemplatc a seminary in Benue if sufficient students could not be found to study at it. I believe, however, that a sufficient number of qualified students can be found. When the Veenstra Junior Seminary entrance examinations were given two years ago, there were hundreds of Tiv young men who took this exam. Only twenty-one were actually admitted to the school even though there were some on the reserve list who would have qualified for entrance. This year the Veenstra Junior Seminary is enlarging to include two classes of twenty-five students each. While I do not have the figures before me, it is likely that the majority of these fifty students are Tiv. If this is so, some of them will obviously not gain entrance to TCNN. In addition to this there arc other Tiv Christians who arc not attending Veenstra, but who would qualify to study theology in English. At present there are about 1,000 young men who are teaching Classes for Religious Instruction in the Tiv Church. Aside from some farming that they do because their salary is small, they are already involved in full time spiritual work. These teachers have all had at least four years of primary schooling and many of them have had seven years. Some of them have had additional training at the Benue Bible Institute. Now many of these young men would not qualify for theological study, but among such a large number of persons, qualified applicants could surely be found. The pastor of the Evangelical Church of West Africa, English section, located in Jos and also the pastor of the E.C.W.A. Church at Bukuru, are Tiv men. There are at least six Tiv students studying theology in English at the Kilgoro Bible Institute of Nigeria. Why have these Tiv left their own denomination for another school and church? It is not because they have been attracted by the type of Fundamentalism that these institutions embrace. It is because somewhere along the line we have failed to present to them either the challenge or the opportunity to study at one of am own institutions, and thus to enter the ministry in N.K.S.T. There is no doubt that if our present theological program were enlarged to include a seminary in Benue, there would be students qualified to attend.
But could we find the staff to teach in such a seminary? So long as this seminary would teach students on the “certificate level” (the lower level at TCNN), the finding of staff members would not bc difficult. The basic requirement for teachers at TCNN is that they hold the bachelor degree in theology. Almost every ordained missionary in the Christian Reformed Church holds this degree, and a few of our Nigerian missionaries have done graduate work. One Tiv student is now in the process of obtaining the bachelor’s degree at Calvin Seminary and, in the future, others may follow him. Other practical problems might be raised, but none of them are insurmountable.
5. What would this mean for the East Benue Church?
Our mission in Nigeria is dealing with two churches: The Tiv Church and the Ekklesiyar Kristi A Sudan-Lardin Benue (The Church of Christ in the Sudan-Benne Section ). Would the establishment of a seminary in the Tiv area of former Benue Province involve favoritism for the Tiv Church? Would not the East Benue Church also desire a theological college of its own? Would this not encourage further rivalry between the churches?
This type of thinking is based on the presupposition that both of the churches with whom we are working in Nigeria are identical twins and must be treated in exactly the same way. What is done for one must be done for the other and vice versa. Both churches have noticcd this attitude on the part of our missionaries from time to time, and both feel that their individual progress is impeded by this type of thinking. Both churches have asked, therefore, that the executive authority of our mission be split into two sections, and our missionaries and the Board of Foreign Missions are still grappling with this problem. It is obvious that East Benue Church and the Tiv Church are not identical twins and cannot be treated as such. They both have their own history, their own temperament, their own weaknesses, and their own strong points. If a parent has a child who needs glasses he does not refrain from buying him glasses, for fear that his other children might also want them even though they don’t need them. We must beware of the idea that the development of the Tiv Church must bc stifled in order that equality may somehow be maintained between the two groups. There are other times when East Benue has needs that NKST does not have. When these needs arise our mission docs its best to meet them and will continue to do so. At the present time, for example, we have three linguists learning three languages in the East Benue area, but none in Tiv country because there is not the need in Tiv that there is in East Benue.
The Tiv Church has requested a school with a broad admittance policy. Students from anywhere in Nigeria may apply for entrance, including students from East Benue Church. It would be up to the East Benue Church to decide whether she wanted to send students to this school. It might be pointed out in this connection that under the latest proposed reorganization plan, Veenstra Junior Seminary is expected to become a school of the East Bellue Church. NKST does not for that reason contemplate withdrawing its students from this school. If Tiv students can freely attend a Junior Seminary that is associated with the East Benue Church, what would hinder East Benue students from attending a Senior Seminary that is associated with the Tiv Church? East Benue Church is the proprietor of Wukari Division Combined Secondary School and considers Takum Christian Hospital to be its hospital. But this does not prevent Tiv people from using these institutions in large numbers. Throughout Nigeria, students will freely cross over tribal boundaries to secure an education. We must not allow the “theory of equalitarianism” or a psychology of fear to govern the policies of our mission. If we do, we will surely stifle development in both churches.
6. What would this mean for Christian unity in Northern Nigeria?
The Tiv Church request has been called a “crisis of major proportions” (Dr. H. Boer, Reformed Journal, December 1967, p. 12) because of what the granting of this request might do for Christian unity in northern Nigeria. Dr. Boer and others arc afraid that once a theological college (in Commonwealth countries a seminary is called a theological college) is established in Benue, NKST may withdraw from T.E.K.A.S. (Tarayyar Ekklesiyoyyin Kristi A Sudan, The Fellowship of the Churches of Christ in the Sudan). Although there are many churches both in northern and in southern Nigeria which are not members of TEKAS, TEKAS does bind together in a useful way all the churches founded by the Sudan United Mission, and has the full support of all our missionaries.
If the Tiv Church should withdraw from TEKAS or even inject controversy into TEKAS, there would be reason for sorrow, especially at a time when Nigeria is already tragically divided. But this is not the intention of NKST. In a letter dated April 17 1968 she explicitly states: “We do not outright reject the T.C.N.N. In fact, we will still support it…This does not mean we want to break our fellowship with the other churches in TEKAS” (Acts of Synod, 1968, p. 97).
The idea that the founding of a seminary in Benue Will disrupt the relations of NKST in the Fellowship of Churches is highly imaginative. The founding of a second seminary will disrupt relations in TEKAS only if the other churches or missions begin to agitate against this seminary. The Tiv themselves do not wish to break relations with their fellow Christians in the northern states of Nigeria. Why should they? Nlgenan trlbahsm reached a sort of peak in northern Nigeria during 1966. At that time Tiv Christians were appalled at the events that took place and some of them risked their lives to give help to brothers from another tribe who were being hunted down. And at a time. when others were wavering, the Chairman of the TIV Synod rebuked lawlessness in no uncertain terms. Tiv Christians are deeply aware of the scars that tribalism has brought to their nation in its many manifestations, and they are as eager as any group to remove this evil.
The idea that the Tiv do not wish for fellowship With other Christians in the S.U.M. area may arise from a misunderstanding of the basic character of the Tiv. The British anthropologist, Rupert East, has written about the Tiv:
In this, as in almost everything else, they are the antithesis of the northern Muhammadan people….This contrast m temperaments is only one of the results of a fundamental difference in origin, culture, and environment. Indeed it would hardly occur to anyone even to compare such obviously disparate races, were it not for the fact that, owing to a more or less fortuitous circumstance, the British approach to the Tiv has been, both culturally and linguistically, through the Rausa-speaking peoples of the Muhammadan states.
(Rupert East, translator and editor, Akiga’s Story, by Akiga Sai, Oxford University Press London 1965, p. 13)
I sometimes find that missionaries from outside the Tiv area expect the Tiv to behave just like all the other tribal groups in the northern states. They expect them to speak the same language, sing the same songs, follow the same customs, etc. ‘When the Tiv fail to follow the usual northern pattern, it is supposed that they are schismatics who have rejected fellowship with everyone cIse. This is not the case. They are simply people of a southern outlook who, through historical accident, find themselves living and moving in a northern society. (In colonial days they were administered by the British as part of Northern Nigeria rather than as a part of Southern Nigeria.) So long as they are accepted for what they are, the Tiv Christians will continue to support enthusiastically every endeavor that seeks to bring unity to all evangelical Christians in the northern states and throughout the nation.
It is unfortunate that two of our leading missionaries, Dr. H. Boer and Rev. E. Smith, do not understand the Tiv language, for this is the only language spoken by the majority of the pastors and elders in the Tiv Church. It is difficult for our Hausa speaking missionaries to assess the true character and aspirations of the Tiv, for this is something that one learns only through wide reading, long association, and continuous conversation. In the end the only thing that I and others who work in the Tiv Church can say to other missionaries is this: “We have faith in this Church. She will continue to pursue Christian brotherhood in the S.U.M. area and throughout Nigeria.”
7. Are there any positive arguments for the Benue Seminary?
Much of what has been written so far has been in the nature of an apology for NKST. The leaders of NKST would have been able to say many of these things themselves were they confronted with the arguments and given a chance to reply. In some cases I have simply repeated what I originally heard from them. There remain a couple of positive arguments which do not answer to any specific argument that has been used by the other side.
First there is the fact that the Nongo u Kristfl u ken Sudan hen Tiv is autonomous. She has reflected on her needs and has decided that she needs a theological college in Benue at this time. If we missionaries or if the Christian Reformed Church stands in her way, we will be guilty of paternalism. Indigenous church government means nothing if, in the final analysis, the missionaries hold the veto power. I am told that TCNN came into being in response to the desire of the churches. Should not the Benue Seminary be treated in the same manner?
It has been suggested that the Tiv Church as a whole is not really behind this request. Some have noticed that the correspondence carried on with the Christian Reformed Church was done by the Executive Committee of the Tiv Synod, which is a committee of only four men. They have asked therefore whether this request comes from four men or from the entire church. But when the Executive Committee of NKST first wrote to the Christian Reformed Church, this committee did not write on its own; this committee was simply implementing the decision taken by the Tiv Synod in its meeting of November, 1966. The request for a seminary was also thoroughly discussed at the Tiv Synod of 1967. One of my missionary colleagues who was present at both Synods tells me that the desire for a seminary in Benue was unanimous. That is to say, all who spoke on the subject, spoke for it until a general consensus was reached. (This is the way in which the Tiv Synod normally does its work.) No doubt there were leaders in NKST who were more outspoken than others in promoting the idea of a Benue Seminary, but the mission community has its leaders also. We are thus confronted with the unanimous decision (on the Synodical level) of an indigenous church which ought not to be lightly dismissed.
A second positive argument for the Benue Seminary lies in the fact that this school, when established, could make a real contribution to a nation that is bleeding from many open sores. When the Tiv Church asked for a Reformed theological college, she did not ask merely for a school that would emphasize such things as the doctrine of election or the covenant of grace. She asked for a school that would have a Calvinistic world and life view. She asked for a school that would teach the Christian message for every area of life, that would teach that message within the context of contemporary Nigerian society. There is in Nigeria today a great divorce between Christianity and politics, Christianity and business, Christianity and law enforcement. Tribalism can flourish because the fabric of society is weak Reformed Christianity has the basic apparatus for examining the various diseases of Nigerian society (or any other society) and also suggesting the cures. A theological college in the Benue area would provide the climate where such studies could flourish.
Many Tiv Christians have moved to the cities of Nigeria and many more will follow them in next few years. Many others are employed by the army, the police force, or the civil service. A man who received his early training at our Mkar Christian School, Mr. Joseph Tarka, is now the Federal Commissioner of Transport (a position of cabinet rank in Nigeria). It is likely that when civilian government returns to Nigeria, the United Middle Belt Congress political party, which many Tiv Christians support, will have a larger role to play in Nigerian politics than it did in the past. There is the possibility that these thousands of Tiv who are spreading over (he country and gaining various positions, can serve as a leaven in Nigeria that spreads the knowledge of Jesus Christ as Saviour, and also the knowledge of Christ as Lord over every area of life. But then these Christians need pastors who understand these things and can teach them to others. A R2formed seminary in Benue would aim to produce pastors who had that broad understanding and who could inspire others to be faithful witnesses for Christ in an walks of life. This seminary would not aim at isolation from the world but rather at a comprehensive understanding of, and witness to, the world. 1t could make a strong contribution to the cause of unity and peace in a tragically divided nation.
Conclusion
When I wrote on this subject last year, 1 indicated that there were arguments on both sides of the question. There still are. But circumstances have led me, and others of my fellow missionaries, to feel that there is genuine merit in the Tiv Church request. I have tried to point out where this merit lies. There is a time for everything under the sun. And I believe the time has come for the Christian Reformed Church to say, Yes, to her sister church in Nigeria. This “Yes” should be given without equivocation or reservation. A clear affirmative reply from the Christian Reformed Church will strengthen the spiritual fellowship that Christian Reformed missionaries and Tiv nationals already enjoy.
If our Board of Foreign Missions could present a unanimous report to Synod favoring this request, this would be a wonderful thing. But if the Board report is not unanimous, the Christian Reformed Synod will probably debate this question once more. At our last Synod the Principal of TCNN was present and defended with eloquence the idea of one theological college for all of TEKAS. When Synod meets again it is likely that the Chairman of the TCNN Board of Governors will be present to defend the same idea. But who is to speak for the Tiv Church? Would it be right to decide this important issue without giving both sides an equal hearing? Perhaps the Tiv Church should send a fraternal delegate to this Synod to present its case also. I do not know where she would find the money to do this, but at least it is worthy of consideration.
Rev. Timothy Monsma has served two terms as missionary in Nigeria. He has been a professor at TCNN, and will upon returning to Nigeria, be engaged in teaching at the Pastor’s Training School at Uavande, Nigeria.
Background
Last June the Christian Reformed Synod endorsed full participation in the Theological College of Northern Nigeria. But this same Synod hesitated to make TCNN the sole institution for training Reformed ministers in Nigeria. She postponed decision on the request of the Tiv Church for a Reformed seminary located in the Benue area. This means that the Christian Reformed Board of Foreign Missions and the Christian Reformed Synod of 1969 must still give an answer to the Tiv Church request.
The Christian Reformed Church has been hesitant to grant this request because, until now, the opinion of the missionaries on the field has appeared to be uniformly negative toward the idea of an additional seminary. A poll of the missionaries was never taken but at least no one spoke up publicly in favor of the Tiv Church request, while some spoke up strongly against this request. There are valid arguments that can be advanced in favor of maintaining one seminary only (TCNN) for the training of all Reformed students in Nigeria. But unfortunately those who favor the single seminary idea have often overstated the case, suggesting that the Tiv Church is somehow blameworthy for making a straightforward request. In an article that I wrote for TORCH AND TRUMPET a year ago I said, “Some have seen ulterior motives in the request for a theological college in Benue. I feel, however, that the reasons that the Tiv Church has given for this request are sensible and should be taken at face value” (T. AND T., Feb. 1968, p. 20). This article is an attempt to expand and explain that statement. I hope not only to defend the integrity of the Tiv Church but also, at this time, to endorse the Tiv request for an additional seminary and state the reasons for this endorsement. The discussion of this subject revolves around seven important questions which must be frankly discussed if the issues are to be understood. Let us take these questions one by one:
1. Did N.K.S.T. follow proper procedure?
It has been said that the Nongo u Kristu u ken Sudan hen Tiv (The Church of Christ in the Sudan among the Tiv) followed the wrong procedure be· cause she failed to consult with three bodies that she should have consulted before sending this request to the Christian Reformed Church in America. These bodies are the East Benue Church, the TCNN Board of Governors, and the Nigeria Conference of Christian Reformed missionaries. We ought to ask therefore whether NKST had an obligation to consult these bodies and then ask whether this obligation (if it was there) was fulfilled.
The Tiv Church did not feel that she was obliged to consult either with the East Bonue Church or the TCNN Board of Governors. Consultation with East Benue Church would envisage the possibility of a cooperative school between the two churches. But there is no rule in Scripture which says we must invite our neighbour to join us every time we launch out on a project. Some years ago the Presbyterians founded Westminster Seminary and, as far as 1 know, they did not “consult” the C.R.C. before they did it. Was this also reprehensible? Those who press the idea of prior “consultation” neatly overlook the tremendous linguistic and cultural differences that exist between East Benue Church and the Tiv Church. They also overlook the practical difficulties involved in running a cooperative Reformed school. (For example.. which denomination would really have control of such a school?) In addition to the practical problems East Benue does not feel the need for another theological school at this time. This is because the need for more pastors is not as pressing in the East Benue Church as it is in the Tiv Church. Where then is the necessity of prior consultations with the East Benue Church?
A theological college in Benue was also discussed when Pastor lsholibo Sai was present as the Tiv Church delegate at the TCNN Board of Governors. According to Pastor Sai’s account, the Chairman of the Board asked him why the Tiv Church asked for a separate seminary in Benue without first consulting the TCNN Board. His reply was that there is no provision in the TCNN constitution which requires the Tiv Church to do this. It is required in the constitution that a church give prior notice if it wishes to withdraw from participation in TCNN. But NKST does not contemplate withdrawing from TCNN. After Rev. Sai had given this explanation at the board meeting, the matter was dropped.
It has also been suggested that Tiv Church leaders failed to discuss these matters thoroughly with the missionaries in Nigeria. I do not know how this thought could have arisen, for the subject was discussed several times in committee meetings, Evangelism Department meetings, and at Nigeria General Conference. Missionaries were also present at the Tiv Synod which originally passed this request and one of our missionaries is a member of the Executive Committee of this Synod. In November, 1967 the Executive Committee of Nigeria General Conference said, “We also recognize the autonomy of our Nigerian churches and their right to place any request before the Christian Reformed Church that they see fit” (N.G.C. Minute 6(89). Here our missionaries on the field recognized the right of the Tiv Church to address her request to the C.R.C. in the way that she did. Let us therefore not quibble about the procedure followed by our sister denomination in Nigeria, but rather address our attention to the heart of the matter.
2. Is this request a manifestation of tribalism?
Those of us who serve in Nigeria are impressed by the way that tribal animosities have cut into the very fabric of the nation. Many thoughtful Nigerians wish to assist their nation in overcoming tribalism. Christianity surely commands all of us to work in this direction. As missionaries we would not wish to encourage the Tiv Church to become isolationist in its policy or provincial in its outlook.
Tribalism exists in Nigeria and the Tiv Church has a role to play in overcoming tribalism in the country. But it is another thing to suggest, as some have done, that the Tiv Church request arises from a tribal spirit. This is a charge that cannot be proved and therefore ought to be dropped. Of course the Tiv Christians will be happy to have another school in their area. Why shouldn’t they be? Some years ago our people in Northwest Iowa had to choose a site for Dordt College. Various towns wanted the honor. Was this also tribalism? Do not people the world over wish to locate schools, hospitals. post offices, etc. in their own area? Is this desire necessarily bad? I am happy that the Tiv Church has asked for a theological school in her area rather than some other school that might have greater prestige in the eyes of the world and greater financial gain for her graduates.
In this connection we should not underestimate the Reformed character of the Tiv Church as it now exists. Some have suggested that the Tiv Church has only passing acquaintance with the Reformed faith and therefore can hardly be serious in asking for a Reformed seminary. Tiv church leaders probably would not be able to recite the “five points of Calvinism” at the drop of a hat. On the other hand these leaders are aware of the fact that their church differs from other Nigerian churches both in doctrine and in practice. The Heidelberg Catechism is used in many Tiv churches as a guide for monthly classes of confessing church members and sometimes as the basis for Sunday afternoon preaching. I once heard a Tiv pastor quote from John Calvin—a remarkable feat in the light of the fact that Calvin’s works have not been translated into Hausa or Tiv, and the pastor does not read English. We sometimes forget that most Tiv church leaders were trained, especially in their younger years, by missionaries of the Dutch Reformed Church of South Africa, and these missionaries were generally thorough in the instruction they gave. When this church says she is interested in Reformed theological training, let us take her words at face value and not search for ulterior motives lurking behind this request.
3. Is there a real need?
The need for an additional seminary in the Benue area can be understood only in the light of the present growth and tremendous potential for growth that N.K.S.T. now faces. Although this church has a communicant membership of 12,000, the attendance at her Sunday morning worship services averages about 150,000 per Sunday. This last figure is a number that equals the communicant membership of the Christian Reformed Church in United States and Canada. The Tiv Church faces the tremendous challenge therefore of bringing all these worshippers to repentance and faith, public confession, and baptism. But that is only part of the story. According to West Africa, a weekly published in London and Lagos, it is estimated that there are now one and a half million Tiv people. Even if one says that there arc only one million Tiv, the 150,000 worshippers make up only 15% of the tribe! In Tiv country today the backbone of paganism has been broken. The younger generation is looking fOr a new religion. At a time when many people in the northern states of Nigeria have turned to Islam ( Mohammedanism ), the Tiv people are consistently rejecting Islam as their religion. And the Christian Reformed branch of the Sudan United Mission is the only Protestant group that has any substantial work among the Tiv people at the present time. We know that our work is dependent upon the Holy Spirit’s blessing, but when one puts these various facts together, he can see the possibility that within the next few years the Tiv Church in Nigeria may grow to be as large as, or larger than, the Christian Reformed Church in North America.
This does not mean that we should be complacent. The Roman Catholic Church is also working hard in Tiv country, not without some success. Recently the Southern Baptists opened work in the Tiv area and they hope to expand this work. They have done this because they heard that the Tiv tribe was “white unto harvest.” The Sudan Interior Mission (not to be confused with the Sudan United Mission with which we are affiliated) has plans to open bookshops in Tiv country. For over 6fty years Reformed missionaries from South Africa and U.S.A. have planted and watered the seed in Tiv country. It would surely be a pity if now other groups moved in to gather the harvest. There is also the possibility that the present readiness of the Tiv people to listen to the gospel may suddenly change for reasons that we cannot now foresee. God has given the Tiv Church and the Christian Reformed mission the opportunity to go out right now and gather the harvest that is ripe.
N.K.S.T. already has many harvesters on the front lines. If one includes the young men who serve as teachers of Classes for Religious Instruction and also as preachers (exhorters) on Sunday, N.K.S.T. has over 1,000 evangelists already in the work. But she has only thirty-one ordained ministers. She hopes to add seven more pastors this year (1969). If one counts the number attending church, each one of these thirty-eight pastors will have an average of close to 4,000 souls under his spiritual care. This figure assumes that attendance will be static (which it seldom is) and does not take into account the thousands in the area of every church who are open to the gospel but have not yet begun to attend church regularly. In 1967 there were two churches in N.K.S.T. with a communicant membership of over 1,000 each, and several churches were in the seven and eight hundred member bracket (these are not families but members). The handful of pastors presently working in NKST has a staggering load to carry! Recently Rev. E. Smith wrote: “Note that only one church-goer in every ten in the Tiv church is a communicant. Allowed to remain so, the nine uncommitted, unconfessing adherents must necessarily endanger the church and bring about its demise. So a strong teaching force is needed” (The Banner, Nov. 1, 1968, p. 15). I believe that many attenders have not become members because there are not enough pastors to instruct them adequately. Also many churches are too large for effective ingathering of the people, but there is little inducement for these large churches to break up into smaller units so long as there is an acute shortage of pastors. If they divided at this time there would be just so many more churches without pastors.
The Tiv Church feels that TCNN has not fully answered her need for pastors in the past, and will not be able to do so in the future. First let us take a look at what has happened in the last few years. When the Tiv Synod met in 1966 this Synod was disappointed over the fact that only about half of the Tiv students who had been studying at Veenstra Junior Seminary gained admittance to TCNN. Rightly or wrongly, she felt that some of her students were not admitted because there was not enough room for them. This situation prompted one of the delegates at the Christian Reformed Synod of last June to ask Dr. H. Boer, “How many Tiv men have been unable to get theological training at TCNN?” Dr. Boer’s reply was, “No student who could meet the entrance requirements has ever been turned down” (T. AND T., Sept. 1968, p. 23). It is true that all Tiv students who passed the entrance examination to TCNN were admitted. It is also true, however, that there were two students from other areas who failed the exam but wcre nonetheless admitted in the class that entered in January, 1967. One of these students was subsequently elected to an important office by his fellow students. By admitting two students who failed the entrance exam, TCNN established the principle that those who fail the exam are capable of studying at TCNN on the certificate level. One of the Tiv students who failed the TCNN exam and was not admitted, later passed the entrance exam to the Gindiri Teachers College, which is supposed to be a higher level of training. These things were first brought to my attention by Rev. 1. Sai, who is the Tiv representative on the TCNN Board of Governors, and later confirmed to me by a TCNN staff member. They form the basis for the Tiv feeling that TCNN has not been meeting their needs.
What of the future? The Christian Reformed Church is now supporting TCNN expansion plans. These plans will enable TCNN to admit more students than she has in the past. Will this solve the problem? The Church is not satisfied with this solution because it does not make TCNN Reformed, and the Church is interested in a Reformed training for her future ministers.
Even on the basis of statistics, however, the expansion plan falls short of the need. It is projected that under this expanded program TCNN will be able to admit forty students on the lower level of study (certificate level) every other year. These forty students will be divided into two classes of twenty students each. How many of these forty students will be Tiv? Certainly no more than twenty and probably less. If 50% or more of the student body at TCNN would come from one tribe, TCNN will have destroyed her own inter-tribal and interdenominational character. A large block of Tiv students at TCNN would pose serious problems for the school. For example, would it be right to hold Sunday morning worship services in the Hausa language, as is now done, if half the students, especially their wives and children, do not really understand this language? It would be possible, of course, to hold two separate services, but this would remove the students from one another. Many other practical problems would arise if too many students came from a single tribe.
Let us say, therefore, that the very maximum number of Tiv students that TCNN can admit every other year is twenty. When one averages this off on a yearly basis TCNN will be able to provide, at best, ten candidates per year for the Tiv ministry. In addition to this, there might be a sprinkling of men who graduate from the higher level diploma course (at present there are two such Tiv students at TCNN). Ten men per year would be far too few for the Christian Reformed Church in America and it will not meet the needs of a rapidly growing church in Nigeria. We are trying to fill the gap somewhat by conducting a four year theological course for twenty-four qualified men in the Tiv language at our Uavande station. It is hoped that most of these will become pastors after four years of study. But everyone recognizes that this is not a permanent solution. At its meeting of October 24, 1968, the Evangelism Department of our mission passed this minute: “Evangelism Department recommends that the Mission suggest to the Churches that in the future instead of training its pastors in a vernacular training program they aim toward a theologically better educated clergy” (Minute No. 444). In a day when all educated Nigerians know the English language, we do well to strive for a more highly educated clergy. And if this is to be the last vernacular pastor’s class, what is to replace it? The most obvious replacement for the vernacular classes would be a seminary where theology is taught in English. The Tiv Church is to be congratulated for having seen the need for many more pastors and for taking steps to meet this need. In this respect she has exercised more foresight than many of the missionaries who work in her midst.
4. Could we find the students and teachers?
It would hardly do to contemplatc a seminary in Benue if sufficient students could not be found to study at it. I believe, however, that a sufficient number of qualified students can be found. When the Veenstra Junior Seminary entrance examinations were given two years ago, there were hundreds of Tiv young men who took this exam. Only twenty-one were actually admitted to the school even though there were some on the reserve list who would have qualified for entrance. This year the Veenstra Junior Seminary is enlarging to include two classes of twenty-five students each. While I do not have the figures before me, it is likely that the majority of these fifty students are Tiv. If this is so, some of them will obviously not gain entrance to TCNN. In addition to this there arc other Tiv Christians who arc not attending Veenstra, but who would qualify to study theology in English. At present there are about 1,000 young men who are teaching Classes for Religious Instruction in the Tiv Church. Aside from some farming that they do because their salary is small, they are already involved in full time spiritual work. These teachers have all had at least four years of primary schooling and many of them have had seven years. Some of them have had additional training at the Benue Bible Institute. Now many of these young men would not qualify for theological study, but among such a large number of persons, qualified applicants could surely be found. The pastor of the Evangelical Church of West Africa, English section, located in Jos and also the pastor of the E.C.W.A. Church at Bukuru, are Tiv men. There are at least six Tiv students studying theology in English at the Kilgoro Bible Institute of Nigeria. Why have these Tiv left their own denomination for another school and church? It is not because they have been attracted by the type of Fundamentalism that these institutions embrace. It is because somewhere along the line we have failed to present to them either the challenge or the opportunity to study at one of am own institutions, and thus to enter the ministry in N.K.S.T. There is no doubt that if our present theological program were enlarged to include a seminary in Benue, there would be students qualified to attend.
But could we find the staff to teach in such a seminary? So long as this seminary would teach students on the “certificate level” (the lower level at TCNN), the finding of staff members would not bc difficult. The basic requirement for teachers at TCNN is that they hold the bachelor degree in theology. Almost every ordained missionary in the Christian Reformed Church holds this degree, and a few of our Nigerian missionaries have done graduate work. One Tiv student is now in the process of obtaining the bachelor’s degree at Calvin Seminary and, in the future, others may follow him. Other practical problems might be raised, but none of them are insurmountable.
5. What would this mean for the East Benue Church?
Our mission in Nigeria is dealing with two churches: The Tiv Church and the Ekklesiyar Kristi A Sudan-Lardin Benue (The Church of Christ in the Sudan-Benne Section ). Would the establishment of a seminary in the Tiv area of former Benue Province involve favoritism for the Tiv Church? Would not the East Benue Church also desire a theological college of its own? Would this not encourage further rivalry between the churches?
This type of thinking is based on the presupposition that both of the churches with whom we are working in Nigeria are identical twins and must be treated in exactly the same way. What is done for one must be done for the other and vice versa. Both churches have noticcd this attitude on the part of our missionaries from time to time, and both feel that their individual progress is impeded by this type of thinking. Both churches have asked, therefore, that the executive authority of our mission be split into two sections, and our missionaries and the Board of Foreign Missions are still grappling with this problem. It is obvious that East Benue Church and the Tiv Church are not identical twins and cannot be treated as such. They both have their own history, their own temperament, their own weaknesses, and their own strong points. If a parent has a child who needs glasses he does not refrain from buying him glasses, for fear that his other children might also want them even though they don’t need them. We must beware of the idea that the development of the Tiv Church must bc stifled in order that equality may somehow be maintained between the two groups. There are other times when East Benue has needs that NKST does not have. When these needs arise our mission docs its best to meet them and will continue to do so. At the present time, for example, we have three linguists learning three languages in the East Benue area, but none in Tiv country because there is not the need in Tiv that there is in East Benue.
The Tiv Church has requested a school with a broad admittance policy. Students from anywhere in Nigeria may apply for entrance, including students from East Benue Church. It would be up to the East Benue Church to decide whether she wanted to send students to this school. It might be pointed out in this connection that under the latest proposed reorganization plan, Veenstra Junior Seminary is expected to become a school of the East Bellue Church. NKST does not for that reason contemplate withdrawing its students from this school. If Tiv students can freely attend a Junior Seminary that is associated with the East Benue Church, what would hinder East Benue students from attending a Senior Seminary that is associated with the Tiv Church? East Benue Church is the proprietor of Wukari Division Combined Secondary School and considers Takum Christian Hospital to be its hospital. But this does not prevent Tiv people from using these institutions in large numbers. Throughout Nigeria, students will freely cross over tribal boundaries to secure an education. We must not allow the “theory of equalitarianism” or a psychology of fear to govern the policies of our mission. If we do, we will surely stifle development in both churches.
6. What would this mean for Christian unity in Northern Nigeria?
The Tiv Church request has been called a “crisis of major proportions” (Dr. H. Boer, Reformed Journal, December 1967, p. 12) because of what the granting of this request might do for Christian unity in northern Nigeria. Dr. Boer and others arc afraid that once a theological college (in Commonwealth countries a seminary is called a theological college) is established in Benue, NKST may withdraw from T.E.K.A.S. (Tarayyar Ekklesiyoyyin Kristi A Sudan, The Fellowship of the Churches of Christ in the Sudan). Although there are many churches both in northern and in southern Nigeria which are not members of TEKAS, TEKAS does bind together in a useful way all the churches founded by the Sudan United Mission, and has the full support of all our missionaries.
If the Tiv Church should withdraw from TEKAS or even inject controversy into TEKAS, there would be reason for sorrow, especially at a time when Nigeria is already tragically divided. But this is not the intention of NKST. In a letter dated April 17 1968 she explicitly states: “We do not outright reject the T.C.N.N. In fact, we will still support it…This does not mean we want to break our fellowship with the other churches in TEKAS” (Acts of Synod, 1968, p. 97).
The idea that the founding of a seminary in Benue Will disrupt the relations of NKST in the Fellowship of Churches is highly imaginative. The founding of a second seminary will disrupt relations in TEKAS only if the other churches or missions begin to agitate against this seminary. The Tiv themselves do not wish to break relations with their fellow Christians in the northern states of Nigeria. Why should they? Nlgenan trlbahsm reached a sort of peak in northern Nigeria during 1966. At that time Tiv Christians were appalled at the events that took place and some of them risked their lives to give help to brothers from another tribe who were being hunted down. And at a time. when others were wavering, the Chairman of the TIV Synod rebuked lawlessness in no uncertain terms. Tiv Christians are deeply aware of the scars that tribalism has brought to their nation in its many manifestations, and they are as eager as any group to remove this evil.
The idea that the Tiv do not wish for fellowship With other Christians in the S.U.M. area may arise from a misunderstanding of the basic character of the Tiv. The British anthropologist, Rupert East, has written about the Tiv:
In this, as in almost everything else, they are the antithesis of the northern Muhammadan people….This contrast m temperaments is only one of the results of a fundamental difference in origin, culture, and environment. Indeed it would hardly occur to anyone even to compare such obviously disparate races, were it not for the fact that, owing to a more or less fortuitous circumstance, the British approach to the Tiv has been, both culturally and linguistically, through the Rausa-speaking peoples of the Muhammadan states.
(Rupert East, translator and editor, Akiga’s Story, by Akiga Sai, Oxford University Press London 1965, p. 13)
I sometimes find that missionaries from outside the Tiv area expect the Tiv to behave just like all the other tribal groups in the northern states. They expect them to speak the same language, sing the same songs, follow the same customs, etc. ‘When the Tiv fail to follow the usual northern pattern, it is supposed that they are schismatics who have rejected fellowship with everyone cIse. This is not the case. They are simply people of a southern outlook who, through historical accident, find themselves living and moving in a northern society. (In colonial days they were administered by the British as part of Northern Nigeria rather than as a part of Southern Nigeria.) So long as they are accepted for what they are, the Tiv Christians will continue to support enthusiastically every endeavor that seeks to bring unity to all evangelical Christians in the northern states and throughout the nation.
It is unfortunate that two of our leading missionaries, Dr. H. Boer and Rev. E. Smith, do not understand the Tiv language, for this is the only language spoken by the majority of the pastors and elders in the Tiv Church. It is difficult for our Hausa speaking missionaries to assess the true character and aspirations of the Tiv, for this is something that one learns only through wide reading, long association, and continuous conversation. In the end the only thing that I and others who work in the Tiv Church can say to other missionaries is this: “We have faith in this Church. She will continue to pursue Christian brotherhood in the S.U.M. area and throughout Nigeria.”
7. Are there any positive arguments for the Benue Seminary?
Much of what has been written so far has been in the nature of an apology for NKST. The leaders of NKST would have been able to say many of these things themselves were they confronted with the arguments and given a chance to reply. In some cases I have simply repeated what I originally heard from them. There remain a couple of positive arguments which do not answer to any specific argument that has been used by the other side.
First there is the fact that the Nongo u Kristfl u ken Sudan hen Tiv is autonomous. She has reflected on her needs and has decided that she needs a theological college in Benue at this time. If we missionaries or if the Christian Reformed Church stands in her way, we will be guilty of paternalism. Indigenous church government means nothing if, in the final analysis, the missionaries hold the veto power. I am told that TCNN came into being in response to the desire of the churches. Should not the Benue Seminary be treated in the same manner?
It has been suggested that the Tiv Church as a whole is not really behind this request. Some have noticed that the correspondence carried on with the Christian Reformed Church was done by the Executive Committee of the Tiv Synod, which is a committee of only four men. They have asked therefore whether this request comes from four men or from the entire church. But when the Executive Committee of NKST first wrote to the Christian Reformed Church, this committee did not write on its own; this committee was simply implementing the decision taken by the Tiv Synod in its meeting of November, 1966. The request for a seminary was also thoroughly discussed at the Tiv Synod of 1967. One of my missionary colleagues who was present at both Synods tells me that the desire for a seminary in Benue was unanimous. That is to say, all who spoke on the subject, spoke for it until a general consensus was reached. (This is the way in which the Tiv Synod normally does its work.) No doubt there were leaders in NKST who were more outspoken than others in promoting the idea of a Benue Seminary, but the mission community has its leaders also. We are thus confronted with the unanimous decision (on the Synodical level) of an indigenous church which ought not to be lightly dismissed.
A second positive argument for the Benue Seminary lies in the fact that this school, when established, could make a real contribution to a nation that is bleeding from many open sores. When the Tiv Church asked for a Reformed theological college, she did not ask merely for a school that would emphasize such things as the doctrine of election or the covenant of grace. She asked for a school that would have a Calvinistic world and life view. She asked for a school that would teach the Christian message for every area of life, that would teach that message within the context of contemporary Nigerian society. There is in Nigeria today a great divorce between Christianity and politics, Christianity and business, Christianity and law enforcement. Tribalism can flourish because the fabric of society is weak Reformed Christianity has the basic apparatus for examining the various diseases of Nigerian society (or any other society) and also suggesting the cures. A theological college in the Benue area would provide the climate where such studies could flourish.
Many Tiv Christians have moved to the cities of Nigeria and many more will follow them in next few years. Many others are employed by the army, the police force, or the civil service. A man who received his early training at our Mkar Christian School, Mr. Joseph Tarka, is now the Federal Commissioner of Transport (a position of cabinet rank in Nigeria). It is likely that when civilian government returns to Nigeria, the United Middle Belt Congress political party, which many Tiv Christians support, will have a larger role to play in Nigerian politics than it did in the past. There is the possibility that these thousands of Tiv who are spreading over (he country and gaining various positions, can serve as a leaven in Nigeria that spreads the knowledge of Jesus Christ as Saviour, and also the knowledge of Christ as Lord over every area of life. But then these Christians need pastors who understand these things and can teach them to others. A R2formed seminary in Benue would aim to produce pastors who had that broad understanding and who could inspire others to be faithful witnesses for Christ in an walks of life. This seminary would not aim at isolation from the world but rather at a comprehensive understanding of, and witness to, the world. 1t could make a strong contribution to the cause of unity and peace in a tragically divided nation.
Conclusion
When I wrote on this subject last year, 1 indicated that there were arguments on both sides of the question. There still are. But circumstances have led me, and others of my fellow missionaries, to feel that there is genuine merit in the Tiv Church request. I have tried to point out where this merit lies. There is a time for everything under the sun. And I believe the time has come for the Christian Reformed Church to say, Yes, to her sister church in Nigeria. This “Yes” should be given without equivocation or reservation. A clear affirmative reply from the Christian Reformed Church will strengthen the spiritual fellowship that Christian Reformed missionaries and Tiv nationals already enjoy.
If our Board of Foreign Missions could present a unanimous report to Synod favoring this request, this would be a wonderful thing. But if the Board report is not unanimous, the Christian Reformed Synod will probably debate this question once more. At our last Synod the Principal of TCNN was present and defended with eloquence the idea of one theological college for all of TEKAS. When Synod meets again it is likely that the Chairman of the TCNN Board of Governors will be present to defend the same idea. But who is to speak for the Tiv Church? Would it be right to decide this important issue without giving both sides an equal hearing? Perhaps the Tiv Church should send a fraternal delegate to this Synod to present its case also. I do not know where she would find the money to do this, but at least it is worthy of consideration.
Rev. Timothy Monsma has served two terms as missionary in Nigeria. He has been a professor at TCNN, and will upon returning to Nigeria, be engaged in teaching at the Pastor’s Training School at Uavande, Nigeria.