Dr Stephen Lakkis has been pastor at the Christuskirche (Christ’s Church) in Pforzheim (Protestant Church in Baden) since September 2022. Before that, he worked for many years as professor of theology at various institutions specialising in public theology. He has worked with NGOs, universities, church groups, museums and ministries (including the Federal Foreign Office) as a consultant on social issues such as economic justice, human rights, democratisation, environmental policy and peace-building.

Rev. Lakkis, what does “home” mean to you? Where do you feel at home?

As a foreigner, I was constantly asked where I came from. That is not so easy to answer. My family is Lebanese, but during the war we fled to Australia. While I still feel connected to Lebanon, it was never my home. I grew up in Australia, but as a migrant I was never allowed to feel at home there. Australia still struggles with racism, and it was made clear to us daily that we weren’t welcome there. So my wife and I left Australia and have spent 30 years living in many countries, most recently Taiwan. Most of all I feel at home when I’m with my wife. I’m happy wherever we are, so long as we’re together.

How has this experience shaped you, both personally and professionally?

It’s painful not having a place of one’s own. But it can also be liberating. Germany is still learning how to build and deal with pluralistic societies, so labels or ideas such as the Milieu theory still play a big role in this pre-pluralistic stage. People want to know which single box they can put others in, often without understanding how diverse a person’s identity can be. Migrants especially exist in multiple groups simultaneously. I belong simultaneously among professors and refugees, am now a pastor of the united Protestant Church of Baden but have spent my life serving ecumenically, I swap between four languages and can find a place at almost any table. Today we speak about cultural code-switching, jumping between different groups. The Apostle Paul would simply say: I have become all things to all people.

Nationalism and xenophobia are currently on the rise worldwide. What does the Christian faith have to counter a policy of ‘us vs them’?

One day during Religious Education in my German school I had to teach a prescribed unit called “Muslims among us.” It was shocking to find this thinking represented in the teaching materials. Minorities are not among us, they are us! We build this society together. There has never been a homogenous Us or pure society. Precisely this type of thinking leads to hate of others and the desire for ethnic cleansing – or remigration as people in Germany are calling it. But all people together create the Us of our society. We will never overcome xenophobia if we don’t learn that.

That is also true for our world. Nations are a recent invention which artificially divide people. And nationalism claims that we are connected with people on this side of the border, but not with those beyond it; that we are responsible for people on this side of the border, but not others. But the Christian faith stresses our connection with all people and our responsibility for all people. God is the Father of all and Christ died for all. That’s why the Christian faith is universal, connecting people from all the world’s countries and cultures. Nationalism claims that different people can’t exist together. But the church is living proof that pluralism really works.

Christians are therefore called to overcome barriers. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the victim is robbed and left naked. Without clothes, all the markers of his identity are gone; we don’t know to which ethnic, religious or social group he belongs. He exists simply as a person in need – and only the Samaritan perceives him as such. In contrast, nationalism wrongly claims that national borders can limit our ethical responsibility to our fellow human beings.

At the EMS General Assembly 2024 in Freiburg, you held the key note speech on the topic of ‘Public Theology’. Is standing up for ‘strangers’ part of public theology?

Unlike other faiths that concentrate on inner religious experiences, the Christian faith is directed outwards. As Jesus stresses, the love of our neighbours is what defines us as Christians. And as the Good Samaritan shows us, love of our neighbours must also include love of strangers. (Without our artificially created borders, the concept of foreigner loses all meaning anyway.) That’s why the Bible repeatedly stresses God’s demand for the care and protection of strangers. Christ sums it up simply: Those who don’t welcome the stranger also don’t welcome God.

How can the church provide a safe home for those who have no home? What does that look like? What does it mean?

Most importantly, we need to stop destroying other people’s homes, forcing them to leave their homelands. Those who do then come to us need the freedom to find a new home here. Some argue that foreigners are lazy, even though it’s a political decision to prevent them from working. And when the German departments for Foreign Affairs refuse to issue appointments or take 6–12 months to process documents, they are actively making life here impossible. We also need to fight for local people in need, who are often ignored by their own country. The church can apply its influence in all these areas to fight for social change.

Finally, the church can also act, not just through church social services but also e.g. by offering sanctuary, as my church has been doing. Nobody claims that the German state is managing things perfectly. Asylum is therefore a service to the state. When human rights or even people’s lives are at risk, the church grants asylum to avert serious damage to life and to the reputation of the state.

How can an organisation like the EMS contribute to this?

Many churches around the world often have more experience with these problems than we do. In our partnerships we can learn from each other. Importantly, we can’t manage change alone. The ecumenical church of Jesus Christ exists purposefully as structured solidarity, bound with church members locally and worldwide. Only together can we improve life for all, until this world finally becomes a home for everyone.

The interview was conducted by: Stefan Schaal