Zambia Hunt

Guest Contributor: Sandala Mwanje. smwanje@cabuniversity.com

Have you ever wondered why the verse, “touch not the Lord’s anointed,” is the favorite Bible verse for some section of the Christian community in Africa? The answer is that the verse resonates so well with the highly revered commodity of respect in our culture. Some conservative churches may not verbalize the “touch not the Lord’s anointed” scripture quotation, but they surely live out every abuse of that verse. “Touch not the Lord’s anointed” is arguably the most abused verse as it’s used to curtail any conversations about holding leaders accountable for their actions. My purpose in writing about this issue of respect is not to trash this element of common grace but to alert us to the extremes.

So, what are some ecclesiological problems accompanying the exercise of respect in the church in Africa?

1. Accountability for leaders: Sometimes, the sin in our context is the fact that someone is confronting the leader’s sins. Confronting leaders is viewed as disrespecting them. This kind of “respect” violates the Matthew 18 principle and our mutual responsibility to keep each other in check. When respect for leaders means no confrontation of sins, mistakes, and bad habits, then we are forgetting the truth that leaders are our brothers and fellow church members who happen to have a responsibility to lead! Remember that no leader should be so respected to be above rebuke. Paul rebuked the great apostle of the church, Peter (Galatians 2:11-21).

2. Incompetence: In the name of respect, a lot of churches in Africa put up with a lot of incompetence among their leaders—leaders who can’t preach, leaders who can’t lead, leaders who can’t do the work! The congregation may suffer for a long time due to leadership incompetence, but that suffering will be done in silence and in “respect.” The effects of this problem are that God’s work is compromised and gospel advance slowed or hindered. Whereas God expects excellence, efficiency, and hard work, the church is comfortable with mediocrity! Do we think this pleases our Lord?

3. Abused church members: When you read in the media that a church leader told his congregation to eat grass, and you wonder how? Think about how Africans view leadership, especially if claims of supernatural powers accompany that leadership… they are given pro max respect! Rogue pastors and some among the good brethren take advantage of their spiritual placement in the congregation and exercise authority in very abusive ways. The Bible is very clear on issues of abusing authority. Leadership must not be lorded over people but exercised in love and gentleness (1 Peter 5:3).

4. Due to our “respectful” culture, leaders are placed on a pedestal. Oh, how challenging humility is in our context! In most of the congregations, the congregants will insist on having a different menu and different chairs for the leaders. The congregation will go out of its way to ensure premium platinum treatment for its leaders, and the leadership accepts this treatment, either willingly or under compulsion. These things are difficult to confront even among the best of our pastors because the privileges are sweet! However, remember the words of our Lord and how he said that the greatest among us must be the servant of all? Where’s servanthood if we allow our congregations to give us a different menu from everyone else, and comfy chairs different from everyone else, and suits and jackets different from everyone else?

The privileges of respect are among the top reasons why some people in the church fight for leadership positions. It’s not for service but for the respect accrued. Remember brothers, that we are brothers! Remember, O servant, that you are a servant!

Love For Titles

This pandemic on our continent is closely connected to the issue of respect. The higher the title, the more respect—and the more respect, the more privileges. The more the titles, the more respect and thus more privileges.

In the mainstream evangelical community among us, the functional title “elder” or “pastor” is the lower rank for those just starting out in the ministry. I think the appetite for titles is now so pervasive that it’s a pandemic! What happened to the greatest among us being the servant of all?

Again, remember, brothers, that we are but brothers and, at best, servants of one another.