After taking a look back at the CEAF’s journey, Majagira Bulgarian, founding president of the Churches of the CEAF, attached to the Protestant Federation of France (FPF) evokes the current dynamics and the prospects which are announced.
1. In the prospects that are opening up at the CEAF, what is the first priority that comes to mind?
Keep building. On a double level. Building through training, and building places of worship, places where we can meet.
The first issue is training, which remains at the heart of CEAF’s priorities for the 21st century. I sometimes say that the CEAF is a school where everyone can come and train. I have already had occasion to underline that one of the strengths of our spirituality is to emphasize communication with a God who acts now. It is “God answer me”.
Faith is not speculative, it works at the heart of existence and it changes things in concrete life. The Revival Churches also find themselves in this.
This spirituality advances our Churches, which developt. But with this arises, always renewed, the need to root the faith in a deep understanding of the Bible, with tools and benchmarks. There can sometimes be manipulations, or show for show’s sake… Charisma is good, but charisma is at the service of the “Word of God”. This must be first, understood and applied for the Gospel to do its work.
What makes a servant of God is not what he has, it is what he is. And this identity is anchored in the “Word of life”. In terms of rooting and training, we have set up courses with the FLTE and the IPT and we will continue to invest in this dimension in the years to come; to enhance this training, we have also created an order of pastors, which allows training to be promoted in recognized access to the ministry.
In addition, we will also learn from the Covid years: Internet offers, remote work and study are becoming increasingly important. But in all of this, we try not to create what already exists, but to join and strengthen already existing structures.
2. And what about the issue of access to religious land?
Building through training is good, but you also need premises. This was a glaring priority at the start of the CEAF. In France, we have not inherited any property assets. How to find the square meters, the places we needed? In three decades things have improved a lot, and we have seen, as in the case of ICC, that when a good building is found, the Church grows.
Our communities have no difficulty attracting people. But you need suitable places for that.
I thank the dedicated Foundation, within the Foundation of Protestantism, for the help given. She is precious. Not all projects work, of course, and that’s normal, but the vast majority succeed. I advocate that we do not focus on the project that fails, but on the many projects that succeed.
3. Who says training says openness to different approaches. What about the CEAF?
We have succeeded in cultivating a great internal pluralism within the churches of the AECF. I’m very proud of it. It is a strength for years to come. Cultural pluralism, but also theological pluralisme. We share common traits, among which we must mention the project of evangelizing France, and also a great openness to women’s ministries, but there are also many differences from one local Church to another. And that’s good. I didn’t try to control everything.
I was accompanied, at the CEAF, by personalities who often had strong vocations, and I made sure to encourage them, without hindering them. I let each community express its sensitivity. I believe this is one of the reasons for the longevity of the CEAF. It was said 30 years ago that the CEAF would not last very long. That his churches were going to end up joining the Baptists, the Pentecostals, the Charismatics, the Reformed or whatever… Well, it’s rather the opposite that ended up happening.
Churches from diverse backgrounds join us because we welcome diversity. This is why I invite you to completely rethink the way in which Protestantism, in the FPF, approaches these questions. There was, for a time, the Mosaïc project, which was terminated under the mandate of Christian Krieger’s predecessor. It was an initiative that started from a good principle, but the CEAF withdrew from it after a while because we have to get out of the clichés. African-speaking churches have great expertise in diversity. Things to bring. We are in favor of sharing experiences, on an equal footing, rather than support that mixes goodwill, cliché and paternalism.
“The kingdom of God begins here by transforming lives”
4. What do recent debates on secularism inspire in you?
In France, public speech is seized by politics, but politics does not have all the answers and we do not want a world that silences religions. A misunderstanding of secularism reduces faith to a private matter, but faith affects all areas.
The Church does not have to follow the State. She is responsible for providing guidance.
To say nothing more specific, to only repeat what is said, is not Protestant. We defend, and will continue to defend, the right to be able to bring a recognizable Christian word into society, without hiding. I don’t really like the Catholic expression “rest in peace”, which is pronounced after someone’s death. As if the beyond was only sleep, after a terrestrial life made of effort and suffering. “Suffer on earth and then go to rest”. Nope ! We believe that with Christ, the kingdom of God begins here transforming lives. This life then continues, active, in the hereafter, because Christ came to give eternal life. And the Holy Spirit lives in us. So, no pain. Let’s live and announce the Gospel!
We have a missionary vocation. This is why, moreover, we would have liked to enter more into the bodies of DEFAP (Protestant mission service created in 1971, editor’s note). Having the freedom to share the Christian faith in a public way is one of the essential messages that we carry at the CEAF. Another message is also that the Church of Jesus Christ can build more, as illustrated by the upcoming inauguration of the new building of the Impact Christian Center Church – in total, five ICC assemblies are part of the CEAF.
5. What future prospects await the CEAF?
A change of team at the head of the CEAF, and inaugurations of places for our Churches.
Several churches are growing strongly within the CEAF. I am thinking in particular of the ACER church, notably based in Montreuil, which in less than 10 years has gone from 300 faithful to 1890, with evangelization for young people which works very well. Our Churches have come out of invisibility. The Impact Center Chrétien (ICC) Church of Yvan and Mode Castanou, which is part of the CEAF, also provides a strong illustration.
It is now the largest church in the CEAF, with an extensive network of local assemblies. ICC did not exist 20 years ago! Many faithful have joined it, and it is thanks to their unfailing support that a new building will soon be inaugurated. Even during the pandemic, thanks to teaching and communion devices via the Internet, the members did not relax. It is an international network which today represents 80,000 people! This generosity is a testimony of faith. ICC is a receiving church, but also a giving congregation.
Generosity and recognition. This is why we are delighted with the inauguration, in the coming months, of their new premises in Croissy Beaubourg (Seine-et-Marne). We want to mark the occasion. With the FPF and all the actors of Protestantism, let this be the occasion of a great celebration of thanksgiving, in the presence of the representatives of the nation.
CEAF: current dynamics and perspectives – Protestant Perspectives