Abstract
Ever been in a contentious church meeting or school meeting? Likely they were meetings where, to paraphrase the lyrics of the old Joe Jones rock classic, “We taw - aw - awawawawk - we talk too much!” Unproductive decision-making processes without civility are one of the curses of church work and even sometimes of life in the academy. Could it be that the early church, inspired by African roots, can provide another model - one that is characteristically African?