Suffering and Discipleship : Reading Mark 14:32 – 15:41 from a Charismatic Perspective

Abstract

Many Charismatic leaders, Dag Heward Mills, Enoch Aminu, Duncan-Williams amongst others, preach that suffering in all forms — sickness, death, poverty — is not the will of God in the life of believers. However, suffering is a reality that should be honestly addressed. Moreover, the New Testament stresses that the Christian journey and suffering are not mutually exclusive: Jesus Christ himself indicated cross bearing as an unavoidable experience in the life of disciples. Against this background, the re-search analyses the relationship between suffering and discipleship in the passion nar-rative of the Gospel according to Mark (Mk 14:32 – 15:41) and its relevance to con-temporary Ghanaian Charismatic Churches. The researcher used Ossom-Batsa’s Communicative approach as theoretical frame-work. The author proposes three stages in this approach, namely: the exegesis of the text, the call to action, and the engagement of the text and the culture. To study the text the narrative criticism proposed by Marguerat and Bourquin was employed. Empirical data from two selected Charismatic churches, Lighthouse Chapel International (LCI) and Action Chapel International (ACI) were used as ‘reality’ for engaging the biblical text. The study discovered that from the biblical point of view, not only is suffering part of the human situation, but it also helps in the building up of the disciple. The preaching of Charismatic churches focused on success and prosperity — even if sometimes it motivates people to work hard to relieve themselves out of poverty, and other kinds of unfortunate situations — budges from the theology of the cross, and it is contrary to the principles of God. The fact is that recognition of God in His Glory and Majesty can only come after first appreciating Him in His meekness and humiliation. Charismatic churches should, therefore, accept the fact that a life may be deemed suc-cessful in spite of human failures. Although God does not wish that His children suffer pain and suffering, these are part of human life and can become an instrument of growth in faith and solidarity. The research concludes with recommendations for a comprehensive study on Suffering and Discipleship from a Charismatic Perspective. Besides, there should be an enquiry into the scriptures Charismatic Church Leaders use in support of their argument in fa-vour of a Christianity without suffering. Furthermore, preaching should take into con-sideration the “cross” through which Christ himself, although was abased by human standards, gained victory and brought us salvation. Finally, members of the church should be informed that material gains are good and not bad in themselves, but they are not a proof of God’s reward for faithfulness