“We’re not liberated yet in South Africa”

Abstract

This article makes a case for employing the concept of humanity as the core category in the struggle(s) for liberation in the context of the Central Methodist Mission (CMM) in inner-city Johannesburg. It does so through engaging with the praxis of the leader of the CMM and, in particular, analysing his theological reflection. The concept of humanity offers a flexible framework for an on-going liberationist ministry in a changing society; it also allows the ministry to retain a liberationist edge while it addresses the complex manifestations of inhumanity in actual communities. Moreover, the case of the CMM shows that the content and method of grassroots liberationist ministry overlap: as much as the concept of humanity defines the content, it also has methodological implications for reading the signs of the times.