Facing whiteness

This article examines whiteness as a neglected theological problem within South African missional theology. Although missional theology has significantly influenced South African churches since the early 1990s, particularly in response to the transition from apartheid to democracy and the challenges of post-Christendom, its engagement with race and whiteness remains limited. Drawing on critical whiteness studies and theological scholarship, the article argues that this omission represents a significant missional blind spot, particularly within the predominantly white Dutch Reformed Church (DRC).The article identifies several factors contributing to this neglect, including the adoption of Western theological frameworks that insufficiently account for South Africa’s colonial and apartheid histories, the influence of predominantly white and middle-class theological spaces, the protection of existing privilege, the role of language and culture in maintaining racialised identities, and a reductionist understanding of the Missio Dei. These factors contribute to a form of maintenance theology that inadvertently preserves white interests rather than critically challenging the structures and cultural assumptions shaping the church.Revisiting the missional insights of Karl Barth, Lesslie Newbigin, the Gospel and Our Culture Network, and David Bosch, the article emphasises that the church is not only an agent of God’s mission but also a recipient of the gospel’s transformative critique. It argues that a genuinely missional ecclesiology requires contextual and cultural self-criticism, an honest reckoning with historical complicity and ongoing privilege, and a willingness to be transformed through encounters with those historically marginalised. The article concludes that confronting and dismantling whiteness is essential if predominantly white South African churches are to move beyond maintaining their institutional and cultural interests towards participating faithfully in God’s mission.