Tiriso ya Lore mo ketapeleng le mo tumelong: Thuto e khutshwane mo bokaong jwa Mokgatlho wa Banna ba efangele mo kerekeng ya Tshatshe (English Version included)

 

 

Erile ke lemoga gore jaaka moetapele wa mokgatlo wa efangeli mo kerekeng e e katolika, kereke ya Tshatshe, tiro yame e bokete ntle le sedirisiwa sengwe, eleng lore kgotsa yone thobane e e dirisetswang go kaela ba re ba eteletsengpele. Ka bona gole matshwanedi gore ke leke go ka tlhalosa le go ruta ka ga botlhokwa le bokao jwa Lore mo ketapeleng ya tumelo.

 

Pono yame mo thutong e e itshigeditse thata mo dikwalong le dithuto tsa beibele e e boitshepo le sedumedi, mme e lebelele le bokao jwa seno ka leitlho la seAforika, segolothata mo go tsa ketapele mo malobeng le mo segompijenong. Kgangkgolo e le gore, ke lebeletse ka tlhoafalo tsela e dikereke le mekgatlo ka go farologana ga yone e dirisang lore kgotsa dithobane le mefuta emeng ya dithupa le dithupana. Potso e le gore, a na dithupa le dithupana tse, bokao jwa tsone ke eng, a gongwe ke go supa gore botlhe ba ba ditshotseng ke baetapele, kgotsa gongwe go kaya gore re tsile tlhabanong, kgotsa tlhaloso ngwe fela?

 

Karabo ya potso e ereng ‘a fa botlhe ba tshwere dithupa le dithupana go kaya gore botlhe ke baetapele na?’, re e bona mo puisanong yame e e potlana le mokwadi le moitseanape mo go tsa setso le ngwao Rre Sethunya Moss Kgafela, yo o re rayang are "go na le pharologanyo magareng ga motho yo eleng moeteledipele le yo e leng moetapele". Thuto ya ga Rre Kgafela e re ruta gore “moeteledipele ke motho kgotsa batho ba ba romiwang go etelelapele loeto lwa baeng kgotsa moeng yo e kabong e le moetapele kgotsa motho wa maemo a a kwa godimo” (S.M. Kgafela. 15/12/2025). Sekao sa gagwe se setswang mo Beibeleng e e boitshepo se tswa mo efangeleng e e kwadilweng ke ngaka Luka moitshepi, kgaolo ya lesome, temana ya ntlha fa a re raya are, “Jeso o ne a romela barutwa ba le masome a supa le bobedi go mo etelela pele, ba le babedi ka bobedi, kwa metseng le mafelo a a neng a ikaeletse go a etela. Boikaelelo jwa bone e ne e le go dira jaaka baeteledipele, ba baakanyetsa batho molaetsa le loeto lwa ga Jesu” (Luke 10:1). Luka o re raya gape mo kgaolong ya borobongwe, temana ya some a matlhano le bobedi are “Jesu o romela barongwa kwa pele go tsena mo motsaneng mongwe wa Basamarea go ipaakanyetsa go goroga ga gagwe” (Luke 9:52). Mme thuto e fa e tswelela pele e re ruta gore “moetapele ke motho yo o eteletseng pele morafe, setlhopha kgotsa setheo se se rileng, Beibele e e boitshepo e re ruta ka bontsi jwa batho ba mofuta o, go simolola kwa testamenteng e kgologolo goya kwa go e ntshwa, bangwe ba bone ba akaretsa Mose, Josua, Samuele, Esera, Nehemia, Paulo, le ene Keresete Jesu morwa Modimo, le babangwe. Mo thutong e, re ka tseya gore rona mo mokgatlong warona wa efangele, go dumelesegile gore bakaulengwe ba ka tshwara dithobane kgotsa dithupa le dithupana tsa bone jaaka baeteledipele, ba eteletswepele ke moetapele kgotsa baetapele ba setheo, kgangkgolo e le gore ’lebone mo isagong bakabo ba tsogile e le baetapele’, setso le ngwao di re ruta gore “Lore lo ojwa lo sa le metsi”, seo se raya gore ”ngwana o rutwa molao kgotsa tsela a sa le monnye”.

 

Ka jalo re tlhoka gore re ka tlhatlhoba bokao jwa Lore mo ketapeleng, fa re dirisa hisetori, re tla lemoga gore ‘tiriso ya thobane kgotsa Lore jaaka letshwao la maatla le taolo, e simolotse bogologolo go feta bokao jo bo gagametseng jwa Bokeresete’, ke kagonne bokeresete bo simolotse moragorago goya ka testament entshwa. Mo beibeleng ya Sehebere, thobane ya ga Moshe (kgotsa "thobane ya Modimo") e ne e le sedirisiwa sa taolo le maatla a bomodimo se se neng se dirisiwa go dira dikgakgamatso, jaaka go kgaoganya Lewatle le Lehibidu le go ntsha metsi go tswa mo lefikeng (Ekesodu 14:21-29 le Ekesodu 17:5-7). Gape thobane ya ga Arone e ne e dirisiwa jaaka sesupo sa boeteledipele jwa gagwe jo a bo tlhopetsweng ke Modimo. Bofaro le Badiredibagolo ba Egepeto wa bogologolo le bone bane ba dirisa dithobane jaaka letshwao la taolo le puso ya segosi, le badiredibagolo ba bone ba maemo a a kwa godimo le bone ba ne ba tshwara dithobane go bontsha maemo a bone a ketapele. Le mo setsong le ngwao ya seAforika, bagolwane ba Setšhaba sa Kikuyu gotswa kwa nageng ya Kenya, ba ne ba rwala dithobane (muthigi) e le letshwao la konokono la boeteledipele mo lekgotleng la setšhaba (Kiama). Mo go Numeri kgotsa buka ya Dipalo kgaolo ya some le bosupa (Numbers 17), Modimo o ne a laela Moshe gore moeteledipele mongwe le mongwe wa lotso (go akaretsa le Arone) a tle le thobane, fela e ne ya nna thobane ya ga Arone fela e e neng ya tlhoga ka kgakgamatso, ya thunya le go ungwa thamane, e leng se se neng se tlhomamisa taolo ya gagwe ya boperesiti le boetapele, sekao ele gore ‘ga se botlhe ba ba rweleng dithobane eleng baetapele, le gore thobane e tlhomologile e bile e boitshepo’. Re ka adima gape mo ngwaong ya Aforika ya go fetela kwa bonneng, bogolosegolo mabapi le dingwao tsa baSotho, amaXhosa le Batswana, gore “kwa bokhutlong jwa thulaganyo le loeto lwa go bolola, monna mongwe le mongwe o tla rwala thobane ya gagwe go ya kwa gae, e e rwalang matla a a rileng ka ntlha ya go bo e baakanyeditswe tiriso ya yona e e rileng ka tsela e e kgethegileng, ke ene fela. E ka bo e baakantswe goya ka dithapelo tsa se kreste kgotsa tse dingwe tsa se Aforika. Bokao le thuto ya e ke gore ‘go gatelelwa ga Baiseraele gore ba nne le thobane mo seatleng fa ba tswa kwa Egepeto go ne go na le dikarolo tse pedi tse dikgolo tse di botlhokwa mo go yone. Ya ntlha ene ele gore ‘Lore e ne e le letshwao la moeng yo o neng a tsamaya’, lwa bodebi ene ele gore ‘e ne e le sesupo se se bonalang sa matla a Modimo ka nako ya khudugo le loeto lwa sekaka’.

 

Mme, go botlhokwa gore thobane e bo e le e e segofaditsweng, e e neelwang moetapele ke ba ba nang le dithata tse di maleba. Fela jaaka mo segonpienong re ka dirisa Lore kgotsa thobane e e neelwang boBishopo kgotsa bangwe ba ba eteletseng dikereke pele. Babishopo le Babishopo ba Bagolo ba newa crozier ka nako ya fa ba tlhomiwa mo bobishopong jaaka letshwao la seabe sa bone jaaka "badisa ba letsomane la Modimo mo loetong jwa botshelo le bodumedi", fela jaaka Dafita a ne a disa letsomane lwa ga rragwe, mme le Keresete yo o disitseng letsomane lwa Modimo. Baitsedikwalo fa ba tlhalosa bokao jwa Lore lwa baBishopo bare “Ntlha e e gokeletsweng ka tlwaelo e diretswe go gogela dinku morago mo lesakeng, šafote e e tlhamaletseng e emela puso e e siameng, mme ntlha e e motsu ke go "tlhoma ba ba okaokang le ba ba botshwakga". Fa Dafita a ya go tlhabana le monna wa mo filisita, mokwadi wa buka ya ga Samuele o re raya are “Go tswa foo o ne a tsaya thobane ya gagwe ka seatla, a tlhopha maje a matlhano a a borethe mo molapong, a a tsenya mo kgetsaneng ya kgetsi ya gagwe ya modisa mme, a tshotse setlhako sa gagwe ka seatla, a atamela Mofilisitia yono” (1 Samuel 17:40).

 

Ka jalo “Lore lo botlhokwa thata mo ketapeleng, ebile go botlwakwa gofeta gore Lore lo o lo abe lo segofaditswe ka thata ya Modimo”, gonne yo o tla lo dirisang o abo a filwe thata ya go etela letsomane lwa Modimo pele, ka matla a a tswang kwa Modimong.  

 

   

When I realized that as the leader of an evangelical organization in the church, the Anglican Mens Fellowship and Evangelism guild of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, my job was difficult without a tool, a stick or staff used to guide those we lead. I thought it appropriate to try to explain and teach about the importance and meaning of a Staff in the faith.

 

My view on this study is based heavily on the scriptures and teachings of the Holy Bible and religion, and looks at the meaning of this from an African perspective, especially in terms of leadership in the past and present. The bottom line is, I have been watching closely the way various churches and organizations use sticks and other items which appears to be weapons in one form or another, including sjamboks or whips. The question that arises in the context of the faith is “what do these mean, is it to show that all those who carry them are leaders, or is it to mean that we have come to war or perhaps any other meaning or symbolism”?

 

In my short conversation with one of the prominent authors and expert in African tradition and the Tswana culture Mr. Sethunya Moss Kgafela, we find the answer to the question that says 'does everyone holding sticks mean that everyone is a leader?', in his teaching Mr. Kgafela argues that "there is in fact a difference between a leader and disciples or messengers”, he teaches us that “a disciple or messenger is a person or persons sent to lead a visitor's journey, often a leader or person of high importance” (S.M. Kgafela. 15/12/2025). As a believer in faith, he directs us to an example in the Holy Bible that can be found in the Gospel according to Saint Luke the physician, chapter 10, verse 1, where he tells us, “Jesus sent out seventy-two disciples ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go” (Luke 10:1). Luke also tells us in chapter nine, verse fifty-two that “Jesus sent messengers ahead to enter a Samaritan village to prepare for His arrival” (Luke 9:52), we shall call this “the journey of Jesus” and revisit the question of a journey at a later stage. But the doctrine goes on to teach us that “a leader is a person who leads a nation, group or institution”. yes, we can conclude that we in our evangelical organization, it is permissible for brothers to hold sticks and their rods as messengers of God in spreading the Gospel, led by the leader or leaders of the institution or organisation. To this we also borrow from an African wisdom that says “Lore lo ojwa losale metsi”, meaning “a child is taught a law or way at an early age”, this is important in our succession efforts and building of the organisation, building the confidence of those that are in the fold and allowed the space and freedom to grow, the Bible tells us that at age of twelve Jesus the Christ was already leaning the way.

 

We therefore, need to examine the meaning of the Staff (Lore) using history, we will see that 'the use of the rod or Lore as a symbol of power and authority dates back earlier than the strict meaning of Christianity and the faith in general, because religion and Christianity originated after the New Testament, whilst in history many have practiced the use of the rod as a symbol of leadership. In the Hebrew bible, Moses' rod (or "God's rod") was an instrument of divine authority and power used to perform miracles, such as parting the Red Sea and bringing forth water from a rock (Exodus 14:21-7:29 and Exodus 7:29). Aaron's rod was also used as a symbol of his God-appointed leadership. Pharaoh and Egyptian Officials in ancient times, they too used scepters as a symbol of authority and royalty, and their high officials also held scepters to show their position of leadership. Even in African culture and tradition, the elders of the Kikuyu Community from Kenya, carried sticks (muthigi) as the main symbol of leadership in the community council (Kiama). In Numbers chapter 17, God commanded Moses that each tribal leader (including Aaron) bring a rod, but it was only Aaron's rod that miraculously grew, blossomed and produced the first crop. This means that “not all who carry sticks are leaders” and that the rod is unique and sacred. We can also borrow from the African tradition of passage to manhood, particularly in respect of the baSotho, amaXhosa and Batswana traditions, that “at the end of the initiation process, each man will carry home their own stick, which carries particular powers as a result of being uniquely prepared for their specific use, it may be through prayers, praises of African practices of one sort or another”. The meaning and lesson of the story is that ‘the insistence of the Israelites to have a rod in their hand when they left Egypt had two main important aspects to it. The first one was that 'the rod was a sign of the traveler', the second one was that 'it was a visible sign of God's power during the exodus and wilderness journey', in other words “for a journey of faith and life, a special rod that carries the powers of one’s belief is significant.

 

The most important element in all of this is that ‘the scepter is a blessed one, given to the leader by those with the appropriate authority’. Just as today we can use the rod given to Bishops or other church leaders. Bishops and Archbishops are given a crozier at the time of their ordination to the bishopric as a symbol of their role as "shepherds of the flock of God on the journey of life and religion", just as David shepherded his father's flock, and so does Christ who shepherds the flock of God. Explaining the meaning of the Bishop's Rod, scholars say “The attached end is usually used to pull the sheep back into the fold, the straight shaft represents good government, and the pointed end is to appoint the hesitant and lazy”. The Bible tells us that “David took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the brook, put them in his shepherd’s bag and, with his boot in his hand, approached the Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:40).

 

Therefore, “the rod is very important in the faith, and it is more important that the rod that the leader carries is blessed with the power of God, because the one who will use it is given the power to lead God's flock, with the power from God.

Kgosi writes in his capacity as both an individual, a believer and leader in the Church, specifically as the Vice President of the Church guild in question.

The Anglican Mens Fellowship & Evangelism Miracle Baby Manger: A New Born Queen, God’s prophetic Revelation of Godself

 Advent, The beginning and the End

Every year the Church retells with its annual sequence of festivals, the story of our Salvation in Christ Jesus, more especially through its season of Advent that carries the overarching theme of ‘the Christian hope of the coming of Christ’.  Sunday the 30^th of November, the year of our Lord 2025 marked the beginning of this season, which is also the beginning of the church’s liturgical year. The dictionary meaning of the word Advent, from the Latin adventus (arrival/coming) means “the arrival of a notable person or thing” (Cambridge), reason why as believers ‘we put emphasis on casting our eyes on both Jesus' first arrival and anticipating his future return’. However, we also carry with us ‘the hope of the beginning of new and the end of old things in our lives’. In this abstract ‘an end of a life of evangelism and the beginning of a miraculous birth, will be contrasted against that of the miracle of Christ’s birth and future return”.  

 

The End of Life, the Beginning of another

On this very day of the first Sunday of Advent, in attendance of Mass at the parish of St Bartholomew in Kagiso, was among others a member of the Anglican Mens Fellowship and Evangelism guild in the diocese of Johannesburg, Ms. Letta Kearabetswe Vilakazi, a native of a small town called Bakerville, situated about twenty (20) kilometers outside Lichtenburg in the North West province. It would follow that Letta participated fully in the Anglican tradition where her priest would have lit the first candle on an Advent wreath, the candle of hope to mark this day. I’m told that ‘just as it was the case the previous weekend when her beloved AMF & E guild held its elective conference, Letta was not her usual bubbly self, ill-health had taken its toll on her, resulting in her ultimate call to the Father. Significantly, Letta is called home on Monday the first of December 2025 when the church is commemorating Saint Andrew the Apostle, often observed as a special time of intercession for mission. Indeed, Letta was a woman of faith and mission through the AMF & E ministry of evangelism. At her memorial service held on Wednesday the third (3^rd) of December, the many men and women who came to celebrate her life had a common theme in their remembrance of her, and that was her love for singing and preaching the Gospel of Christ, just like St Andrew, letta died with her boots of mission on.

 

The prophetic ancestral call to a census

As the processes of the Anglican Mens Fellowship and Evangelism guild of arranging transportation to fairy its members to any part of the country where its members are to be laid to rest was unfolding, a request to accommodate people who wished to travel to the North West came from the family. Five of these individuals were indeed aboard the AMF & E bus that left Johannesburg for Bakerville a little after Midnight on Saturday the sixth of December. Among the five guests of the AMF & E aboard the bus was a young woman in her twenties whom we learned along the journey that she was mme Letta’s grandchild, little did we know that it was this young woman that will bring about a prophetic dimension to the Advent of an end of a life and a beginning of another life. Mariah we shall call her to protect her identity and preserve her dignity, but the name as revealed by the prophetic God which is always at work, including at the time of writing this reflection, among other definitions means “wished-for child in Hebrew". It was a little after two hours into the trip when Mariah started complaining about stomach cramps to another family member that shared with her the first row seat of the eighty seater luxury bus, but it would appear that these calls were not treated with the necessary level of seriousness that they actually deserved, and that is because Mariah was the only one that had concrete knowledge of her pregnancy, we make this assumption because accompanying Mariah on this bus trip was her six year old daughter. As we approach the little town of Lichtenburg a call for a comfort break was made by one of the AMF & E female members, an agreement to stop at the next filling station was reached and indeed the bus pulled into the Rousseau petrol station a little after four (04:00), little did we know that in a matter of minutes, a child would have been born in the rest rooms of that same filling station. Because female members of the AMF & E guild had already taken keen interest in Mariah’s calls of unbearable stomach pains, they had already posed questions based on their wisdom and knowledge on these matters, and it for this reason that at the point of arrival at the filling station they insisted that Mariah had to also alight the bus in order to receive further attention and examination, and so they carefully assisted Mariah to the rest rooms and discovered that indeed she was a woman in labour.

 

The baby is Born in a manger (wrapped with an expensive purple cloth)

Among the members attending to Mariah, two of them were qualified midwives that had to make the call to deliver the baby without delay, to God be the glory for his prophetic placement of these heroines in that bus on this fateful morning. Even though the synoptic accounts of Matthew and Luke do not make mention of the presence of any midwives at the nativity of our Lord Jesus, we must then rely on the narrative in the Apocryphal Protevangelion of James as he tells us of the presence of Salome and the unnamed midwife that assisted Mary the mother of our Lord (Protevangelion of James Chapter XIX), to ascertain the prophetic nature of this event in the contemporary. The calls and actions of our midwives were primarily informed by the fact that there was great difficulty making contact with the emergency services in the area. Even though everything was unfolding at great speed, as the individual responsible for making all efforts to get medical help I am convinced that there still remains a big challenge in our rural provinces in terms of access to basic services as enshrined in our constitution, I specifically recall my efforts to make contact with the national emergency numbers 10177, 112 to no avail, next was 10111 which could only assist by providing me with a direct number to the local hospital which went unanswered. Our last attempt was a mobile number of a private ambulance service which the petrol attendants had provided, also to no avail. In the meantime, the heroines of our movement had already made the call to purchase all available tools that would ensure the delivery of a healthy new born baby, among others condoms which were used as medical gloves, scissors, paper towels and sanitary towels, and it was inside this frantic thirty minutes to an hour of our trip, a little after 04:00 when this healthy baby girl was born, Like our Lord Jesus as Matthew narrates “she wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Matt 2:7 NIV), it is for this reason that we shall call her “baby manger” for now, because indeed ‘there was no room in the ambulance, nor was there time for an emergency journey to the hospital. After the necessary care for baby Manger’s umbilical cord, like baby Jesus she was also wrapped with a purple AMF & E blanked belonging to the outgoing diocesan secretary, welcomed aboard the bus as the fifty third passenger that had always been there but just couldn’t be seen with a human eye, the trip to deliver her and the mother to the General De La Rey Memorial Hospital (Lichtenburg) for medical care became way too special a journey for anyone not to treasure. Lest we ignore or omit the significance of the purple cloth she was wrapped in. In the Bible, purple symbolizes royalty, wealth, priesthood, and divine authority, stemming from its extreme cost and rarity in ancient times, used for Tabernacle coverings, High Priest garments, and royal attire; in the New Testament, it also signifies Jesus's kingship and suffering (the purple robe used in mocking) and God's majesty, representing a blend of heavenly (blue) and earthly (red) power, here we cannot but recognize the prophetic nature of the end of a life in Advent and the beginning of another in the purple season of Advent. It is for these reasons that it would be amiss for anyone not to open their spiritual eye to see the miracle that baby Manger is, or to ignore the obvious need to juxtapose her nativity to that of the Son of man.

 

The contrast 

The nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ as narrated by various writers, interpreted by scholars and ordinary folk alike, in juxtaposition, tells a story of the baby Manger experience in the contemporary. The reality of the matter is that baby Jesus was a miracle child, born under very strange circumstances that no human being can possibly prove scientifically. We can also conclude that science would dictate that ‘had the young mother’s water broken any earlier than the perfectly ordained timing of God when the bus pulled into the petrol station, we would have had to deal with a baby born inside a moving bus full of men and women in panic and awe, with nothing but the bare hands of midwives with enough knowledge but no resources to compliment that knowledge’, I am convinced that ‘if baby Manger was not a miracle, she would not be alive today’. John Simpson when dealing with the question of the miracle child that Jesus Christ was, argues that “the biblical evidence of Christ’s nativity points to the miracle as the means which God employed in order to bring his Son into the world” (P. Alexander 1973:515), and the same can be argued about the miracle birth of baby Manger, God’s hand was at play from the beginning to the end, God’s mission to bring this baby into the world was fulfilled in every way possible, perhaps to a naked eye it may not make perfect sense, to the mother of the child it may not make sense, perhaps to her at the point when she is told this story it may not make sense, but at times God only makes sense when God’s revelation of Godself and his intentions unfolds. Dobson says “God’s timing is perfect, even when he appears catastrophically late” (J. Dobson 1993:50), catastrophic as the situation may have been, scary for many, those who were present and those hearing the story after the fact, it remains a beautiful story of God’s greatness and presence.

 

God's Revelation of Godself

The prophetic unfolding of events before, during and after the birth of this child cannot be ignored, reason why we must deem it a prophetic event. Motyer makes a point that “biblical prophets were deliberately placed by God at crisis-points” (P. Alexander 1973:372), a prophetic look into these events speaks to exactly that, God’s perfect placement of people and their thoughts, actions and events that unfolded from the day when the fallen soldier of God Mme Letta Kearabetswe Vilakazi fell sick, attending her final AMF & E conference in Soweto, her final Eucharist on Advent Sunday, being called back to the Father, her moving memorial service and the subsequent fateful morning of her burial which was preceded by the miraculous event of the birth of her great-grand daughter baby manger. Jesus Christ could have been born in Nazareth but Joseph had to travel back to his ancestral origin Bethlehem, and so could baby Manger have been born in the city of Johannesburg where the process could have been much easier and probably dignified, but because her mother had to travel back to her ancestral land to lay to rest her grandmother, a worrier of Christ Jesus mme Letta, baby Manger was born in Lichtenburg, her maternal ancestral home. The events surrounding the birth of Christ includes among other things the presence of the Shepherds, the Angels and the Magi, all prophetically placed by God in an effort to ensure the safety of the child in more than one aspect, including his protection from the hands of the evil one ‘king Herod’, equally ‘men and women with the highest levels of professionalism, leadership and love for God’s people were prophetically placed by God in that situation, to ensure the safe birth of baby Manger, care for her young mother and their delivery into the safe hands and environment of the local hospital’, safe to say that ‘upon a post bereavement pastoral call to the family at the time of writing, I received confirmation that the mother and her baby are healthy and ready to be transported back to Johannesburg’.

 

Prophetic Practical Lessons

It is for this reason that as the Vice President of the Anglican Mens Fellowship and Evangelism Guild in the Diocese of Johannesburg, on behalf of the sitting President Reverend Vusi Ndaba and the entire guild, we extend gratitude to God our Father for his mercy, presence, love and revelation of Godself through this miracle nativity. Our experience has not only revealed God’s prophetic nature in this kind alone, but many, including the lesson that God wanted the church to take away, specifically when it comes to church travel and the necessary checks and balances that needs to be done. We need to concede that our travel arrangements to funerals, picnics, conferences, meetings etc lack formal standards and procedures, including health check to ensure that everyone aboard is fit to travel the distance. Perhaps some may argue that ‘in God we should always trust’, but I’m a firm believer in practical theology and belief or rather an action-oriented faith, a faith that makes God make sense. Therefore, I would rather turn the sloganized God into “a God of a lived experience through the birth of baby Manger whom I trust had a lesson to teach me as a believer, that going forward the church ought to manage its mission efforts much safer, to ensure a much more practically consistent growth of God’s Kingdom”.

Kgosiemang Phejane

Writes in his capacity as the Vice President of the Anglican Mens Fellowship and Evangelism Guild

A branch of the body of Christ in the broader Anglican Communion, directly under the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA), in the diocese of Johannesburg.

       

Brothers in Christ: A prophetic call to lead

The Anglican Mens Fellowship & Evangelism guild (diocese of Johannesburg) 2025 elective conference has come and gone, held between the 20th and the 23rd of November, the year of our Lord 2025 in Soweto, and a new crop of leaders were elected. This crop will be lead by a brother whom I cherish greatly, reverend Vusi Ndaba of St Andrews Pimville as President. Now, what informs and inspired me to write about this prophetic outcome of God's ministry is the fact that God through his people, also chose me to be my brother's keeper as his vice president, a prophetic revelation that many are not aware of, but only myself and this brother in Christ, to this Paul writes to the church in Rome and asserts that "all authority comes from God" (Romans 13:1 NIV) and so the spirit said I must write down and record this prophetic revelation that God has put before his people.

But first I must go back in history and lay down the historic background of the movement we have been given four years to lead as President and Vice President. Its history goes back to the year 1967, in the section/district of Koster (Western Transvaal), where at its first conference, the Revd. Canon Reuben Manentsa, Canon Rakale, Venerable Leo Alexander as the Archdeacon of the area and other laymen in Tigane, formally established the movement (https://www.anglicanmensfellowshipevangelism.org/history.html). This means that we have been granted the privilege to participating in leading a branch that is the diocese of Johannesburg of a body of Christ that has been in existence for fifty eight (58) years. Because the organisation's term of office is four year, it would mean that we are in the region of about 'the fifteenth cohort to lead the people of God in the diocese of Johannesburg, a responsibility which we should never take for granted.

At the center of this prophetic revelation is the question of the ministry of leadership in the church, inspired precisely by the election of the incoming President, reverend Vusi Ndaba, and the prophetic nature of God's call upon him and his new cabinet. Given that the man is a brother to me more than anything, i'm of the view that ours is more personal and deeper in how we are going to be lead by the holy spirit, together with the rest of the team to lead the rest of God's flock. It is evident that we have a journey of four years to travel to an unknown destination. Upon reflection I have come to realise that ours is a prophetic call to the task. It only dawns me now that 'our relationship that is founded on the basic principles of mutual respect, brotherhood and love, is but a piece of the bigger puzzle, God's plan'. I'm certain that I could have easily worked in harmony with any individual that God may have chosen, just as it was the case with the outgoing president Revd. Tshepo Hope Maloka. But I strongly believe that "in father Ndaba God couldn't have chosen any better person to travel this journey with". Ours is a simple task as mandated by the people of God "lead our growth strategy, humble ourselves before God's people, in all our efforts look from within and put the people of God in this guild first". We are both well aware that it will not be easy, challenges lie ahead, but our God is on high alert, after all "it is he that will build this house, if not then we shall be laboring in vain" (Psalm 127:1), our human effort is in vain without God's blessing. Just as the author of the second book of prophet Isaiah says to us "do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10) in an effort to demonstrate to us that "all the strength, wisdom and guidance comes from God".

In his sermon during the Eucharist of the masses on day three of the conference that gave us this task, the Bishop elect of Johannesburg Revd. Canon. Dr. Sepadi Moruthane reminded us of the importance of revisiting the past, assessing the present and imagining the future in a positive light, a future that seeks to deepen our relationship with God. I am convinced that "our task is to help God's people in this guild to deepen their relationship with God", and for us to achieve this is to do that which we have been mandated to do "and that is 'to look from within the guild'.



This mandate simply means that "in whatever we do, we ought to first consider the members of the guild, empower them in every way possible, in order for them to see the living God at work in their lives, through the ministry of AMF & E". To this I am drawn to the words of the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews when he says "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Hebrews 11:6 NIV), an emphasis to the reality that "when God's works are seen in practicality, the relationship between God and his people is strengthened". The only reason why the people of Israel continued to believe in their God is because of the works of God in their lives, where challenges arose God was the solution, when they faulted and broke away from the covenant God still remained their refuge, in captivity God remained the only hope of freedom, on the journey to the promised land God was the only best solution to all challenges, because God continuously showed-up in works, through many men and women whom he had chosen to lead his chosen people as his representatives that brought him to Life.

And so this mandate of the conference, understood together with the message of the Bishop elect, says to the new leaders of the guild in the diocese "strive to make God a reality in the lives of the members of AMF & E and God's people in general, so that their relationship with God can be strengthened", strengthen their belief in God by making God a living God, a real God that is seen through works. This then means that ours is a journey of reformation, requiring a delicate approach to managing change, introducing new ways and new ideas, some will be seen as extremes and rejected, but our prayer is that others will be welcomed and embraced by God's people. As the deliberations during the first two days of conference declared and adopted among others "the new policy document that shall be read together with the guild's constitution to guide the diocese towards a number of reforms", we remain alive to the reality of the difficulties that lies ahead, especially in how we are going to manage change, for the greater good and growth of God's kingdom. Among others in practical terms our immediate tasks are to look into: - The different ministries of the guild, including the ministry of its men

- The question of social responsibility that looks from within

- The question of fundraising in light of the Provincial Conference that will be hosted by Johannesburg

- Ensuring a standardised diocese (as per the new policy document)

- Improving member participation

- Improving Cabinet visits to parishes

- Improving Clergy participation

- Improved recruitment methods

My prayer is that God our father who brought himself down on earth through his incarnate son Jesus Christ, will remain with us in this new journey, just as he was with his prophets of old, who led the chosen people of Judas into the land he had promised them. May we not be weary as we encounter the hardships of leading, may we always remember that ours is a prophetic call of God and not our own personal journey. The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews submits that "without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him" (Hebrews 11:6 NIV), ours is a God led journey.

Disclaimer: Kgosi writes in his capacity as the Diocesan Vice President, however, views shared in this personal blog do not in any way represent the official views of the guild in both the province and diocese.

Harboring of bitter envy and selfish ambition to the detriment of God’s ministry, the Anglican Mens Fellowship & Evangelism Guild: A letter in memory of “Alfred Fana Mtshali”

 

 

I am called home

As the church marked the end of the month of compassion on Sunday the 31^st of August in the year of our Lord 2025, the day turned-out to be a day of devastation for the people of God in this my beloved AMF & E ministry, as the news of my passing began to spread like wild fire. But it was already a little over twelve hours when I heard a voice from heaven saying Alfred Fana ‘ngiyayithanda ke leyo’ Mtshali, “come up here, come and join the rest of your fellow stalwarts, so that I can show you what must happen after this” (Rev 4:1 NIV), it is from the open door of my new home in heaven that I am watching with pain and horror the bitterness and envy that is harbored in the hearts of God’s people in the ministry, to the detriment of the church and of my memory. It is for this reason that I pen down this letter of dissatisfaction and expression of continued love, through the hand of him that equally shares my sentiments, has no claim to any fame in the guild that comes any close to that which I commanded while with you, but boast the amount of love and pride that is equal to the rest of all of us, old and new, young and old, male and female.

 

A chaotic display of Love

I observed with pain and sorrow the level of toxicity that seems to be clouding the guild in recent years, months and days towards my departure. Bitterness and envy became clear as daylight on the day when the message of my recall back to the Father in heaven began to fragment across the length and breadth of the diocese of Johannesburg. It would appear that people panicked, entered into a race of wanting to be the first to pronounce and share the news, to the detriment of our guild rules and protocols, but for this I consoled myself in the knowledge that such is a general church and human phenomenon, more especially when a tree of such gigantic magnitude in the church has fallen.

 

But I began to see what God had promised to show me from the heavenly realm, when the fragmentation of information regarding both the repatriation of my mortal remains back to my place of birth in Kwazulu Natal and the subsequent travel arrangements of our general members began to show. I asked myself if it was because I have left a vacuum as a chairperson of the guild at the parish of St Hildas (Senaoane) or if my diocesan leadership (cabinet) had seemingly dropped the ball, as I would often pose my signature questions to members at every opportunity “are you winning, tell me the latest good news”?, often coming from a very deep place of wisdom and love for everyone in the guild. But it seemed like they were not winning, one minute there was a bus organized by my home parish, the next minute there were several taxis organized by individual groupings, a sign of total disunity on display.  

 

In his general epistle to the people of God in the church, James the brother of our Lord Jesus deals with many issues that we in the contemporary are also faced with, among others he addresses questions of “favoritism, the danger of the tongue, oppression of one by the other and patience in suffering”, but most interesting in all of these is the question of wisdom, a trait which I carried with me to the very last day of my ministry and life, making all the efforts in the world to impart as much of it as I possibly could to many of you in the guild, men and women alike. But it has since become very evident in the course of my departure, my arrival at my heavenly home and the planting of my mortal remains back into the ground, that “it is in fact the lack of this very wisdom that these fragmentations exist in our beloved movement, leading to among others the chaotic events since the fateful Saturday of my departure and the days after”. To this I am at pains to remind you that ‘at the service of the renewal of our vows on the 8^th day of June, the year of our Lord 2025, at the parish of St Mary Magdalene (Protea South), the sitting president of this diocese Reverend Tshepo Hope Maloka preached about these matters’, specifically asking a question “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (James 4:1 NIV). I am convinced that ‘it is the lack of wisdom that causes such chaos, lack of love for one another, lack of understanding and a discerning voice of reason’.

 

The Big-Man Syndrome

 It is rather ironic that we all boast about our unconditional love for the guild and the church of God, but the very love can easily be seen with a naked eye that ‘it is at the center of the demise of the guild’, men and women are at war with each other over the control of the guild. Some claim to know it better than others, others claim to love it better than others, while others boast about their ability to render the ministry dead by virtue of their non-participation. I must be bold in revealing that many of these issues are primarily prevalent in the ministry of Men in the guild, we must be honest enough and acknowledge that “the biggest enemy of the AMF & E Men's Lekgotla is the Big-Man syndrome” that ravages its corridors, where men in the guild are at loggerheads with each other and hell-bent in proving to each other as to the individual influence that they yield in the guild. In simple secular terms this phenomenon speaks to “autocracy, patronage and personal loyalty, violation and subversion of good governance and formal procedures, the guild being treated as personal property, and loyalty to individuals dictating access to the various groupings”, all of these can be seen especially when giants such as myself are called home, people fight over the control of the proceedings, when and how the guild tradition of hanging the jacket of a fallen member must be administered, when and how should transport be organized, how should the programme of my memorial service must be structured, who is eligible to travel and in what kind of transport, with whom and by whom, leaders at loggerheads with each other about money and how and who should fund travel, the less we talk about the lack of communication the better, all of this chaos can be attributed to one thing “the egoistic approach of members who claim to love the guild and the church of God”. Observing all of this reminded me of the conflict between prophet Elija and his king Ahab in the Old testament books of 1^st and 2^nd Kings. The theological understanding of the set-up of this guild can be likened to that of ancient Israel, the traditional functions of the covenant leader-mediator in ancient Israel were split between the king and Yahweh’s spokespersons, the prophets”. The story of the conflict between prophet Elijah and King Ahab demonstrates this perfectly, the story outlines the exact nature of the cultural and religious conflict which occurred during Ahab’s reign, essentially demonstrating Elijah’s vehement defense of Israel’s nationhood, deeply rooted in covenantal loyalty and culture, and we are seeing exactly that in our guild today. Seemingly therefore, all this chaos is not new, nor unique. Hence in the contemporary, particularly in our beloved AMF & E, we see it in display, especially during funerals. These are the exact chaos that President Tshepo Maloka preached about on the day of Pentecost of the year 2025, a sermon that was preceded and informed by the chaotic events displayed at the Diocesan Council Meeting held at the parish of St Bartholomew in Kagiso the previous day, the question I ask is “will the disunity of the guild ever come to an end, especially among its men”?

Men's Lekgotla

I am specifically worried about the unity of the men of this guild because the reality is that:

• Our numbers are continuing to decline

Our guild membership is currently seventy (70%) female, apart from natural reasons that includes the fact that women in the church are naturally more than men, our male membership does not at all reflect a picture of a male inspired/instituted guild, especially in comparison to our counterparts across the faith.

• We know of many (including our Clergy) that are not participating, let alone affiliating

The disunity among our male members is a glaring reality that nobody wants to address formally, the public view with pride and joy the display of a united front during funerals and memorial services of stalwarts such as myself Alfred Fana Mtshali, but the real picture of our division can be seen when the visitors and the outsiders are not looking, when Men's Lekgotla is supposed to exercise its ministry of evangelism through street revivals, hospital visits, provincial and diocesan conferences etc. We watch with painful and teary eyes, the efforts of the Men's Lekgotla coordinator when they yield nothing but a non-responsive body of Christ.

• Some choose to run parallel structures outside the guild

It is through events such as the passing of stalwarts that we observe with great pain ‘the egos of our male members being displayed in full view of the rest of the church’, when parallel arrangements and activities are at play, the question I wish to pose to the men in the guild is “why and how did it happen that only a handful of you came to Osizweni to lay my mortal body to rest, in different transports, leaving behind those who are heavily depending on one common transport, among others Reverend David Mapheng whom we all know that he is always willing and was more than eager to travel to Kwazulu Natal with the rest of the membership, but because of the disunity of the guild, yet another stalwart remained behind with a heavy heart?”.

 

It is pointless to claim our love for the guild and our stalwarts when we are unable to honour them with the simplest of the most basic requirement of being called followers of Jesus Christ “Unity and Love for one another”, as opposed to allowing our egos to take precedence over what is best for the Anglican Mens Fellowship and Evangelism ministry.  

• We know that there are many priests who love this guild with all their hearts, but choose to sit back and watch the guild diminish into thin air

Upon my arrival up here when the choir of AMF & E priesthood welcomed me into paradise, the likes of Father Maboe, Ncumeya, Manentsa, Tsubella, Rakale and others, they posed to me a pertinent yet difficult question which I should direct to our beloved clergy that are still enjoying the gift of life and energy to participate meaningfully in the growth of the kingdom of God through the ministry of AMF & E, they said “while God’s ministry diminished before your eyes, what answers do you have for us, explain your stone cold response to the unfolding demise of our beloved AMF & E?”.

 

Earthly and Heavenly Wisdom

I am convinced that the egoistic nature of our men in the guild is as a result of the love they have for God and his kingdom, owing to the wisdom and knowledge of the church and in particular the guild, the wisdom that we as the dearly departed stalwarts imparted onto them. But perhaps they have misunderstood and misinterpreted our wisdom. Once again James the brother of Jesus Christ our Lord writes to the people of God about these matters, in his epistle he makes a distinction between ‘earthly and heavenly wisdom’, he clarifies that “wisdom that is clothed in envy, hatred, boastfulness, revenge, lack of love, pragmatism, patience and perhaps most importantly in our context ‘egoism that is pregnant with historical memory’, is not from heaven but of earthly nature” (James 3:13-18 NIV).

 

As these angels of hope are sent down to you to protect especially those who are traveling back to Johannesburg after laying my mortal body to rest, I call upon every member of this our beloved movement to ponder around these matters, reflect truthfully about the week that was, from the moment you heard about my passing to this very moment when you are reading this letter.

 

What have you learned from my heavenly wisdom, are you willing to turn your back on your earthly wisdom and begin to work towards the growth of the Kingdom of God and not your personal glory, are you willing to set aside your ego and make peace with your beloved brother in Christ, to love them in their inequities so that they can reciprocate the same love?

 

Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior was very clear “leave your gifts by the alter, go back and make peace with your brother, and only then can you come back to offer that which belongs to God”.

 

In addition to my famous statement "tell me the latest good news", I will add "are you a united guild of God?”, I will be very happy if you would unite in my memory and the memory of the rest of our stalwarts.

 

Prepare for me the good new, unite and build God's ministry so that when you arrive, we may welcome you in song.

Kgosi writes in his personal capacity as a member of the AMF & E ministry.            

The Gospel of Christ and Africa : The Demystification of Contemporary Misinformation

  

Africa and the Woke and Cancel Culture

Contemporary South Africa and Africa is deeply engaged in an ongoing discourse over the decolonisation of the continent, its socio-political and economic facets of the African people, rightfully so ‘to dismantle the horrific structural and emotional traces and scars left behind by the evil colonial era’. Among the many facets of this effort that are pursued by diverse quarters of society according to individual or group interest, is the question of ‘religion and Christianity as a weapon used by the evil powers to oppress its people and siphon-off Africa’s wealth to European shores’. However, as an African Christian, it becomes deeply concerning when the discourse seems to be highly immersed in misinformation, disinformation and confusion that leads Africans towards an unintentional war against God and his word (the canon of scripture).

 

The Woke Alkebulan

As African Christians, we observe some of the misleading information with great levels of concern, appreciating many of the realities and challenges that the religion is faced with in the contemporary, among others the deeply concerning decline of Christianity in a world that is becoming either highly secularised or highly pluralist, but certainly “woke”. With the changing world of technological advancements such as Social Media and Artificial Intelligence (AI), allowing easy access to, and sharing of information, ideas and worldviews, the ‘woke culture’ in Africa is evidently growing by day. In fact, this reflection is informed by a plethora of “woke content” on social media platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, You-Tube and X, focusing particularly on the historical fact that is ‘colonialism and its relationship to Christianity’. In his effort to explain “woke culture”, Ken Paulson submits that “the phenomenon has its origins in social awareness, adopted in recent years as a pejorative political term, often used in the same vein as “cancel culture” and “political correctness.” (https://firstamendment.mtsu.edu/article/the-woke-movement-and-backlash/), to this we may add that it speaks to ‘a societal shift that emphasizes social awareness and consciousness on injustices of the past that contributes greatly to those of the contemporary, colonialism being one, including issues such as racism, sexism, and other forms of discrimination’. It encourages questioning of power structures and supporting marginalized groups. While originating in Black culture as a call to social awareness, it has evolved into a broader term, sometimes used pejoratively. For the benefit of this argument it would equally be prudent to add that ‘theology also has a place in woke and cancel culture, perhaps even historical, Black African Liberation Theology can be classified as “woke or cancel theology”. And so, this theological reflection must be regarded as “a woke Christian response to woke Africa on the question of colonialism and its relationship to Christianity and the Bible”.

 

Misinformation in the discourse

The terms misinformation and disinformation have a very close relationship and are generally used interchangeably, the former being the most common of the two, and key to this argument. Generally, Misinformation is false or ‘inaccurate information—getting the facts wrong’. While disinformation is false information which is deliberately intended to mislead—intentionally misstating the facts. Though misinformation around the question of “the relationship between Colonialism, Christianity, the Bible, God and Africa” is at the center of our argument, disinformation often finds its way into the mix to course deliberate harm in the discourse. There is genuine course for Africa to confront the question of “how the colonial power used Christianity and the Bible to oppress, kill and exploit Alkebulan’s mineral wealth and her people through forced labour and human trafficking”, an undisputed historical fact. The recourse to this is the continued effort by Africa to redress the imbalances of this horrific evil era, through practical dismantlement and discourse. However, in the same vein Africa must be careful not to spread misinformation that creates disunity and hatred amongst its people, while seeking to achieve the same goal. The Bible in two of the synoptic Gospels warns us about this danger that “Every kingdom or household divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand" (Matthew 12:25; Mark 3:25 NIV). In this discourse, Africa is divided on the historical facts surrounding the relationship between Colonialism, Christianity, Africa and the Bible, by extension the arrival of and how the Gospel of Jesus Christ was carried into Africa.

 

The Religious Italian Job

At the center of this reflection and argument must be the Bible as our main source of information, supported by all other pieces of available historical data. First we must acknowledge that the Bible is not only the word of God (to believers) but also a piece of literary work that carries with it a lot of historical facts about the Jewish people of ancient Israel, Judaism as a religion, the role of imperialism and colonialism and the establishment of Christianity as a sect of Judaism in Antioch, within the confines of Israel and the broader Ancient Near East region, particularly around the development of its religious and cultural practices, its civilisation and most importantly its documentation of its history through the Bible, both Old and New Testament books and other documents that did not make the cut at the time of its canonization, or official recognition, a process which can be classified as “a hijack of the history of Ancient Near East, the Jewish people and associated nations (Africa included), by imperialists”. It is a historical fact that the Old Testament's origin is rooted in ancient Jewish oral traditions and written records dating back to the 10th century BCE. It is equally a historical fact that the New Testament is centred around the same Jewish history, detailing the life and teachings of a woke Jesus the Christ who stood firm against the same imperial powers, whose wokeness lead to the establishment of the early Church, which was equally hijacked by the same imperial power. It is a historical fact that somewhere between 50 and 100 AD, the separation of Christianity from Judaism happened, perhaps an emphasis on how Greek philosophy would have influenced another form of division within the Jewish communities, the “Jewish Palestinian Christians and Hellenistic Jewish-Christians”. Therefore, from this we ought to register that “It is a historical fact that the Western drama, including the great schism, was a war of imperial power and the big contradiction of the failure to separate Church and State, captured very well by Britannica, highlighting the fact that “as they came to dominate, the Pope and the bishops of Latin Christendom sought to suppress contrary understandings of the essence of the ancient faith, Jews (originators of the faith) were confined to ghettos, segregated and self-segregated enclaves where they did not and could not share the full prerogatives of Christendom, sects were defined as heretical—Waldenses, Cathari, and others—because of their repudiation of Roman Catholic concepts of Christian essence, they had to go into hiding or were pushed into enclaves beyond the reach of the custodians of official teaching. The essence of Christianity had become a set of doctrines and laws articulated and controlled by a hierarchy that saw those doctrines as a divine deposit of truth” (Britannica.com: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity/Aversion-of-heresy-the-establishment-of-orthodoxy), developmental as it was, as can be seen in the contemporary, it must still be seen and defined as “a hijack of the faith”, for the benefit of this reflection.

 

Africa in Biblical History

It is for this reason that we must go back to the Bible to identify the place of the African people in this history and the developmental role they played. But first, the question of the formalisation and establishment of Christianity must be dealt with, primarily because this will allow us to trace the faith back to the epicenter, Jerusalem. In the book of the Acts of the Apostles, Luke tells us that “those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed travelled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch (on the Asian side of modern Turkey), spreading the word only among Jews.  Some of them, however, men from Cyprus (modern West Asia) and Cyrene (modern North Africa), went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:19-21 NIV), “The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch” (Acts 11:26b NIV). Now in as much as these events are happening during the Hellenistic period and the height of the Roman Empire, the influence remains that of Judaism and the Hebrew Bible, given that ‘even though under Roman rule, people were free to also worship non-Greek and non-Roman Gods’. Luke also makes mention of men from other parts of the nearer geographical areas, most interestingly Cyrene (modern Libya) is one of those places. It is for this reason why we will need to reach deeper into the Bible and identify some of the key events and figures that may have easily carried the Gospel of Jesus Christ into Africa without the help or authority of the Imperial-Colonial powers.

 

At Pentecost, before the Christian faith was given a name in Antioch, Luke tells us that “there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven (All over the world, including Africa). When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken (perhaps even Geʽez, an ancient South Semitic language from Ethiopia and Eritrea, it is a biblical historical fact that Ethiopians frequented Israel during that time, or even Doric Greek as it was used by people of Cyrene who are featured all over the biblical text, the less said about Egyptian languages the better)...Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?  Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, [b] Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” (Acts 2:1-12 NIV). One cant help but notice ‘African Christians all over this text, the likes of Simon of Cyrene who is also placed at the centre of the events at Crucifixion’. Further on in the book of Acts, Luke tells us that “there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah” (Acts 8:26-28), another African who clearly frequented Jerusalem for both work and worship, Kenneth Barker submits that “he was either a proselyte or a God fearing Gentile” (K. Barker 19851659), meaning the concept of God and worship was not at all new to him. But, two things are of most interest about this eunuch, first, Parker submits that “he went to Jerusalem on official duty to represent the Ethiopian Queen Mother” (K. Barker 1985:1659), lest we forget what is widely regarded as the legend of ‘the Queen of Sheba in 1 Kings 10:1-13 and 2 Chronicles 9:1-12’, which might in fact provide an opportunity to argue that ‘the eunuch’s visit in the New Testament could be proof that indeed king Solomon may have hosted the Ethiopian Queen as narrated in the Old Testament’. In fact, biblical archaeologist Megan Sauter submits that “this Queen travelled to Jerusalem and had a love affair with King Solomon, conceived a son who later went back to Jerusalem to meet his father and subsequently returned to Ethiopia with the Ark of the covenant which is believed to still be in Ethiopia to this day” (M. Sauter January 18, 2022)’. Secondly, it is in how the eunuch converted to Christianity after Philip had preached to him the Gospel of Jesus Christ, based on the Old Testament prophecy in Isaiah fifty-three (53) and baptised him, before he travelled back home as a Christian, which tells us that in fact “the Ethiopian eunuch willingly carried the Gospel of Jesus Christ back to Africa without the help of any imperial or colonial power”. And it is for these reasons that we ought to look at the sequence of these events or at least the general time frames to enable us the opportunity to demystify some of the existing inaccuracies that leads to the ongoing misinformation, disinformation and confusion within the broader African woke discourse that seeks to rightfully decolonise Africa and its religious practices.

 

Africa’s contribution in the Canon of Scripture

As the Empire grows in lips and bounds, the Greco-Roman influence takes its shape into the world, history has it that “At the Council of Nicaea in 325, Constantine made Christianity (once an obscure Jewish sect) Rome’s official religion” (history.com: 21 August 2020), a religion which none of them never imagined would one day outclass Roman civic religion. In fact, “the Roman state had its own official civic religion which was about worshiping the Roman gods”, but as the empire grew, Christianity seemed to have been spreading like wild-fire, and so the hijack seemed a more plausible option to maintain and retain political power. The growth of Christianity across society from the early centuries to the contemporary, indicates a broad failure of persecution as a deterrent used by the early Roman empire, this extends to the evil use of religion to oppress the people of Africa and loot her resources. The ultimate goal of the Roman empire was to ensure a total extinction of Christianity through persecution, but the end results of this goal were a total opposite, Christianity continued to grow despite persecutions, reason why Constantine saw it fit to adopt it. Next was the compilation of the canon of scripture, Frederick Bruce defines the canon of scripture as “a list of books contained in scripture, recognised as worthy to be included in the sacred writings” (F.F. Bruce 1988:17), none of which have any traces of European authorship. What is most interesting about the compilation and affirmation of the canon of scripture is the process and the parties involved in this God ordained and led history. In brief, the Council of Rome convened in 382 CE set the tone, then its decisions influenced subsequent councils, such as the Synods of Hippo (393 CE) and Carthage (397 CE) both of these events were located in North Africa. Two of Africa’s most influential theologians featured prominently in this historic event and process, Augustine of Hippo (modern city of Annaba, Algeria) and Cyprian of Carthage (a seaside suburb of Tunisia’s capital, Tunis), to this we should also add that “Alexandria (Egypt) remains the epicenter of theology and philosophy to this day”, producing theologians and philosophers such as Cyprian, Clement, Origen and the great son of mother Africa ‘Augustine of Hippo’, the most notable of all African theologians of the early church. These Africans were highly influential in shaping early Christian systematic biblical interpretation and the finalisation of the canon of scripture, they were simply great African Christian leaders who did not need the help of any imperial or colonial power to carry the Gospel of Jesus Christ to African shores, in fact ‘they were at the center of all theological interpretations of the Christological nature of Jesus and his relationship to God’. The council of Nicaea is a perfect example of their participation, at the center of the theological dispute on the nature of Jesus was Archbishop Alexander of Alexandria (Egypt) and the presbyter Arius of Cyrene (Libya). Baur describes the theological school of Alexandria as having to have “quenched the thirst of knowledge of the young Christian in Egypt” (Baur 1994:22). All of this supports our argument that “Africans carried the Gospel of Christ into Africa and the world” and continued to preserve the Christian witness in the continent through the growth of the church, among others the ‘Coptic church of Egypt’, a church that John Baur describes as “the proper Egyptian church” (Baur 1994:23) which continues to exist in present day Egypt under the leadership of Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria (Wikipedia). Therefore, it is my considered view that North Africa’s thought leadership on matters relating to religion, Christianity, Spirituality, Theology and Philosophy, regardless of its Greco-Roman influences, earned Africa great respect throughout the globe, to this day. I have no doubt in my mind that these great Africans in turn, influenced many of our African theologians and philosophers, the likes of John Mbiti, Kwame Bediako, Desmond Tutu, Professor Patrick Loch Otieno Lumumba, Justin Ukpong and many others who have made significant contributions to the development of African theology, which contextualizes Christian faith within the cultural and historical realities of Africa, including the woke Africa that we are today.

 

The Imperial Evangelical mission VS the arrival of Christianity in Africa

There is a general theological belief around the arrival of Christianity in Africa that is centered around St Mark, said to have been around 61 CE, approximately 31 years after the event of Antioch, for the benefit of this reflection let us call it “the original arrival of Christianity”. Fast forward to the 540s, Baur records the official conversion and arrival of Christianity in Nubia as having to have taken place under Justinian around this time, despite all the efforts and participation of the likes of Cyprian, Alexander, Augustine, Arius and others in the early years of Christianity and the Roman catholic church, the imperialist saw it fit to record this as the official arrival, lets call it “the second arrival”. Justinian, a catholic that arrived in Nubia with his Monophysite wife Theodora, who later succeeded in sending Julian as the first missionary (Baur 1994:32), who oversaw conversions in Nubia among the three African kingdoms Nobatia, Maqurra and Alwah between 543 and 575 (TEEC 2022a:30). It is evident that ‘information about ancient kingdoms of Africa is also downplayed in the recording of the African story, and that is why the existence of pre-colonial slavery and African religious practices is such an unknown reality to contemporary woke Africa’. And so the distinction between the ‘African slave trade and the Afro-Euro slave trade’ is of paramount importance when we examine Christianity in the context of slavery and colonialism. In his effort to paint for us the story of ‘the second and evil arrival of Christianity’, Kalu highlights the emergence of a number of descriptions of missionaries coined by scholars, among others we hear of “missionaries as imperialists at prayer, who failed to weave their message into the primal worldview” (Kalu and Hofmeyr 2005:3). Needless to say, the European conquest and its socio-economic and political mission, carried in it a branch of religious mission enterprise that was to reconstruct the cultural identity of its subjects. And in this scramble for Africa, out came some bungled work.

 

The second and evil arrival (the Afro-Euro slave era) started with Henry the Navigator, at the time when the Muslim occupation of Spain and Portugal was at its peak. History has it that both Christianity and Islam claims to be African religions, and so Baur asserts that “Henry decided to carry his war against Islam occupation of his continent into the Muslim land itself” (Baur 1994:44), North Africa. It is therefore evident that this crucial piece of information was chief to his decisions as he studies all possible entry points of attack, which lead to his ships accidentally reaching and/or discovering the West African shores. Baur makes a point that “for Portugal, it was all about its dominance of the sea-borne trade between Asia, Africa and Europe” (Baur 1994:48), as can be seen from Henry’s navigation model that missionary activities were closely connected to the conquests, and this is why the Portuguese through the king, were also in control of the church, a phenomenon generally known as a padroado which in simple terms means “a patronage network between the church and the empire”. The practical way of understanding the Padroado system is in how the Portuguese used baptism as a way of enticing Africans in converting to Christianity for economic gains, Kongo is a perfect example of this. It simply meant that conversion was a doorway to the economic patronage of trade, priesthood, education and all other privileges. This in turn, positioned the church as an upper-class institution, Hasting’s describes the Kongolese church as “a taste among the upper classes for Western finery to wear on ceremonial occasions, and, principally, a host of unruly and uncontrollable slave traders” (Hastings 1999). Scholars Hastings, Isichei and Baur all agree that this era, especially of the Jesuit’s, was a total disaster for Christian mission, this applies to both their attempts to evangelise in Angola and Zimbabwe respectively. In Angola the Portuguese establishment’s main mission was access to Silver and in Zimbabwe gold. But in both instances the implementation of the padroado system through the deployment of Jesuits did not yield much positive results. Instead, in both instances the use of force to convert and evangelise turned Christianity into a less attractive faith for the majority, just as it did in the Kongo, it became a patronage carrier between the Portuguese empire, the local monarchy and a select few that managed to gain access to the elite club. At the end we see in both instances the slave trade emerging rather than the intended control and access to minerals and the spread of the gospel. There was also the emergence of black clergy and scholars that seem to have been one of the most positive aspects that came out of the bungled mission work, which also gave birth to the independent African church, inspired by thought and reason, one such was the Antonian movement in Kongo. It is also to be noted that the European mission contributed significantly in the developmental agenda of the African continent, though unintentional. Just as the sons of Jacob in Genesis sold their brother Joseph for nefarious reasons, only for Joseph to become a senior government official in Egypt (Genesis 37 – 50 NIV).

 

Baur makes a point that “Henry’s quest for commerce on the African continent, was the originator of the ungodly African slave trade” (Baur 1994:45), therefore this means that the trans-Atlantic slave trade from the 16^th century, opened the inter-continental slave trade market. Benefactors in the entire ecosystem included the Kingdoms of Africa, their chiefs whom we understand were the negotiators of deals with the European ship captains on behalf of the Empire, land owners and businesses in Europe who bought the slaves for end use. Within the very ecosystem of slavery, lies the nuances of superiority and/or inferiority complexes that all benefactors of the ungodly trade received, including that which gave birth to discrimination by race or ethnic group. Kingdoms in Africa enslaved each other based on tribal lines, white Europeans certainly chose their slaves by ethnicity. In his effort to answer the question as to whether “The Atlantic slave trade was primarily race or profit based”, the first prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago Eric Williams concludes that “racism was the consequence of slavery” (Williams 1944:7), further making a point that everybody was an “unfree labour”, people of all racial, ethnic and religious backgrounds.

 

The Portuguese had the monopoly of the supply of slaves to other Europeans for a while, one can deduce that this was primarily on the backdrop of the foundation laid by Henry and Portugal’s extensive exploration of Africa, but of cause it was bound to end at some point. With the Dutch being the first to enter the lucrative market, forming the Dutch West Indies Company in 1621 (TEEC 2022a:76), the British and French soon joined the scheme, all of them using the same modus operandi of “establishing companies that were to trade in slaves”. It is said that “the system was eventually dismantled when the Empire of Brazil became independent from Portugal in 1822” (Wikipedia), however, the Vatican could have seen it coming when its very own clergy began to speak out, this includes key figures such as Bartolome de Las Casas, a Spanish catholic clergy that is said to have contributed greatly in the “banning of the enslavement of West Indians”. This he achieved through persuasion and reason by writing, it is said that ‘he pleaded his case before the law makers of Spain and eventually Emperor Charles V conceded’ (TEEC 2022a:78), eventually God’s word and his works prevailed, demonstrating exactly what had been taking place the entire time, that “the Bible and Christianity were only a vehicle for the evil advancement of economic gain”.

 

Separate God’s word (the Bible) from the works of the Evil Imperials

The relationship between the church and the Roman empire had in many instances proved itself to be one that is riddled with conflict of interest, such that the church continues to carry a substantial amount of blame for the atrocities of the Imperial powers across the world, reason why Africa’s woke culture continues to blame God and the Church, but woke theology must guide us to a place where ‘the world agrees that these were atrocities of evil individuals who chose to exploit God and his Word (the Bible) for their own selfish ulterior gains’. The prophecy of Gamaliel in the Acts of the Apostles is one profound scripture that speaks against humanity’s unintended war against God, the learned judge submitted and warned others to “Leave the apostles of Christ alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop them; you will only find yourselves fighting against God” (Acts 5:34-42 NIV). Woke Africa needs to be careful not to repeat the persecutions of the Imperial powers against the contemporary Christian communities, in the name of wokeness and cancel culture against the history of imperialism, Colonialism, and Apartheid racism in the case of South Africa. Modern religion is charged with a new mission, a mission to continue on the path of West Africa’s Africanisation of religion. Africa’s independence of the gospel had always been eminent, even at the time of the arrival of Christianity through among other means “force”. Boaheng notes that “missionaries at that time, had to abandon their uncompromising approach and adopt a more flexible one, which blended African culture in the gospel” (Isaac Boaheng: March 2018 Citation), an ecumenical approach that speaks to religious pluralism in the contemporary, where all nations are one and worship one God, through their respective means and ways.

 

Contemporary African Religion and the future of Christianity

It is my utter conviction that “the Gospel of Jesus Christ was carried into Africa by its own people”, a gospel which found African Religious Practices and lived side by side with them. To this we recall the likes of Thomas Birch Freeman, the son of a black African free man and a white woman, a man that was to play a role in the direction and shape which African Christianity was to take. Though born within an Anglican ethos in England, Freeman’s role was primarily played from a Methodist mission church background. He is regarded the Father of Ghanaian Methodism, as he was the first missionary to be sent to Ghana in 1838 in response to an invitation by a Bible band that wrote to the Wesleyan Missionary Society. Freeman’s role in the growth of the Methodist movement in Ghana and the West African region is seen in many of the activities that formed part of his ministry, among others we note that “Human sacrifice was abolished, he baptised traditional priests that converted to Christianity and was the one that called for a West African Methodist Conference that called for its independence from the UK” (TEEC 2020a: 112-114), these contributed greatly in the growth and independence of the Methodist Church in West Africa as it clearly became more and more rooted in the African way, therefore making it more and more attractive.

 

The growth of African Independence in faith continued on the same trajectory as we see yet another great story of an African contributing to the general growth of the faith. William Wade Harris, a Liberian native who grew up under the roof of a black American settler whom he learned to read and write under his care. Harris was brought up in the African Methodist Episcopal Mission, where he also started his journey as a lay preacher, he had already adopted an anti-traditional religion stance. In other words, he wanted to break the boundaries of the European way of religion, one of the illustrations to be noted is how he abandoned European clothing, perhaps in order to appeal more to the native people. This stance is largely responsible for Harris’ successful ministry among traditionalists, among other key African cultural practices which the traditional religion was against was polygamy, even though he initially spoke against it, he later chose to promote monogamy as preferred, but polygamy as an acceptable alternative. It is to be noted that “Harris comes from a deep traditional influence owed to his father, Poede Wadé, a follower of the African Traditional Religion (ATR) of the Glebo ethnic group” (Gabriel Leonard Allen: 2022). Among many of his teachings we note “the destruction of fetishes, belief in Jesus Christ, baptism and the importance of church (emphasis on Sunday being a day to be dedicated to worship), and the abandonment of traditional medicine being used for witchcraft as opposed to their healing purposes”.

 

Through the teachings of Harris, Freeman and others, it is evident in the modern Church that religion has been Africanised, therefore decolonised. Baur makes a point that “much as traditional religion has survived in the West, it owes this survival to the Independent African Churches and its constructive incarnation into the African culture and society, leading to an African Theology” (Baur 1994:428). A clear indication that the Church in Africa in its independence, is largely influenced by its African culture and background. We must also take cognisanse of the fact that, “to this day, in Ivory Coast, Eglise Harriste continues to thrive as a Church that was established on the teachings and doctrine of Prophet Harris, the Catholic and Protestant church continues to enjoy membership that was passed onto them by Harris, and there is an AIC named the Twelve Apostles which is influenced by the Harris traditions in Ghana” (TEEC 2020b:33) all indicating that the African influence in the Church continues to play a major role.

 

And so as Africans, our belief in Christ Jesus remains the work of God through his Word, which he bestowed upon his writers, ordained upon the historical facts of the people of ancient Israel and the life and times of his son Jesus Christ, reason why:

We believe in one God, the God of our African ancestors,

God the creator of those who have been and those who will be

God the almighty that created the people of Alkebulan in her own image

God of Love, compassion and providence

Creator of heaven and earth 

We believe in one God who created the splendid valleys and Hills of Alkebulan,

Who provides her with trees to protect her environment,

Provide oxygen and improves her air quality

God that ensures Alkebulan’s climate amelioration and conserves her waters,

Preserves her soil, and supports her wildlife and the majestic big five

Father of Jesus Christ our Lord 

We believe in one God of the ancient Alkebulan (Africa)

The African God that did not discriminate  

The God who created one African ancestor

The Lord God who speaks Setswana, Swahili, Yoruba and all languages

African God the Holy Spirit 

We believe in the mighty God that sees no race, ethnicity or gender

Mighty God that lifts no hand against a defenceless woman

He protects his women and children with all his might

Lord of the defenceless and disabled

Lord of the homeless and needy

God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

Kgosiemang Phejane

Writes in his personal capacity as an advocate for "Woke Africanised Theology"