Hosia Mviringi
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore,” Psalms 133:1-3 KJV.
The Apostolic Faith Mission Church in Zimbabwe today represents a confused political party which is perennially at war against itself.
The Bible verse quoted above Is testimony of the blessings of God where there is unity and peace, both in the Church and in the nation at large.
The AFM Church has been riddled with unending squabbles since as far back as 2013 when bribery allegations were reported in some districts in Harare with Pastors paying their way to lucrative postings. Counter allegations of nepotism when it came to stationing and transfers of Pastors became rampant.
Since then, two warring factions have existed and continued to dominate Church Politics until now with Reverend Cossam Chiyangwa and Reverend Amon Madawo leading rival factions in the Church.
It therefore, is disheartening that instead of praying and interceding on behalf of the nation, Church leaders are found obsessing with matters of power and wealth.
The AFM Church is by far the biggest Pentecostal movement in Zimbabwe commanding a following of close to 3 million believers scattered around the country at more than 780 Assemblies.
The AFM Church has not known peace since 2013, all at the hands of selfish Pastors who are eager to smuggle opposition politics into the Church.
At the peak of the disputes over properties and trust funds blows were exchanged in Church.
The role of the Church should be that of preaching peace and spiritual comfort for national healing, yet regrettably the AFM has been preaching hatred and division amongst it’s members.
The nation takes natural interest in what goes on in such organisations as the Church as it is a barometer of community stability and cohesion. This can unavoidably translate to a direct threat to national peace and security.
Reverend Cossam Chiyangwa and Reverend Amon Madawo have been the two big elephants in the room.
These two elephants have fought and trampled upon the grassroots congregants for a long time.
Spirits have been broken and souls lost along the way.
But perhaps it is now time for the two men to sit down and ask themselves whose interests they are serving because it is apparent that the duo is now in service of some other god other than creator of heaven and earth.
The two men have given in to political influence and manipulation at the expense of spiritual well being of congregants.
Tales of large sums of money exchanging hands behind the pulpit have been told countless times, with political emissaries making inroads, trying to tap into the religious constituencies for electoral expediency.
Perhaps in the greater national interest, it is time for the two warring factions to bury the hatchet, sit down, smoke the peace pipe and unite the Church and the greater communities.
Court rulings in favour of a certain faction can only serve to divide communities further instead of bringing them together. This inadvertently has a bearing on national cohesion.
One can not celebrate a win from an earthly Court when the truth of the Lord dwells in them. It calls for spiritual introspection of all parties involved.
It can not be business as usual when dealing with matters of spiritual wellbeing of a nation.
Church buildings and property, in reality remain community property as congregants collectively participate in building and acquisition of property therein.
The Church has been a fortress for spiritual growth and social solidarity for as far back in history as can be remembered.
It is thus folly for one to claim to own a portion of the Church at the expense of contributing congregants.
It is most disappointing to note that the precedence set out by the AFM Church squabbles has had a contagion effect in other assemblies such as ZAOGA FIF, African Apostolic Church (Mwazha) and many others where succession battles have taken centre stage at the expense of peaceful worship.
Recent Comments