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Church expected to show leadership in the time of crisis
Church in the Community - Media Release in the Herald: 5 June 2023
Source: TCN / Bishop Vincent Zungu
Date Added: 2023-06-05
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General, Issues - Moral Regeneration, Issues - Politics, Issues - Social upliftment,
Date Added: 2023-06-05
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General, Issues - Moral Regeneration, Issues - Politics, Issues - Social upliftment,
In the first half of 2002 I was invited to a religious celebration in the French town of Besancon.
A gracious middle-aged lady asked what country I came from. I told her, "South Africa".
She then said something I have never forgotten: "Blessed are you who come from that beloved country, South Africa.
"We, from the European and international community, never believed you could achieve your hard-won democracy without the bloodbath we have seen in other countries. What your leaders and people achieved is nothing short of a miracle".
Her sentiments reflected the local, public, African and international image of South Africa.
To be told I was blessed because I came from South Africa made me walk tall. It instilled in me national pride, gave me a great sense of belonging.
It emboldened my sense of responsibility and empowered me to give back to my country by using my God-given gifts, talents and skills to transform my home, church, neighbourhood, local council and the metropolitan city of Nelson Mandela Bay to make it a better, safer and healthier place to live in, study, invest and work.
I am sure there are millions South Africans who can share the similar experience of being told how blessed they were to be South Africans.
Next year our country will be celebrating three decades of its democratic dispensation.
If I were to meet that same lady, I wonder what she would say to me nearly 20 years later?
Would she repeat "blessed are you who come from that beloved country South Africa!" or say "shame on you, who come from that country that has fallen from grace?".
In the last 29 years our country has lost its religious, political, social, economic and moral influence and authority.
There is a leadership vacuum that has been filled by rouge elements who are corrupt to the core but appear on the surface to be credible religious, political and business leaders.
Our country, church and society have been impoverished by the passing on of leaders of great calibre who led us to our democracy, made a meaningful contribution to build up our strong institutions, but left behind a huge intergenerational gap that cannot be easily bridged.
The prayer and lamentation of Azariah puts it succinctly: "O Lord, we have become the least of all the nations, despised throughout the world today, because of our sins. In our day we have no ruler, or prophet, or leader, no burnt offering, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, no place to make offering before you and to find mercy" (Daniel 3: 37-38).
The lack of authentic leadership is felt at all levels and sectors of society.
Most of our metropolitan cities are unstable. Local government is in a mess. There is no service delivery.
The Christian church is in "limbo" at a time when we are told this should be a turning point, the "kairos" moment and a favourable time for Christians to speak out and create "good trouble".
All forms of abuse, violence, assassinations and murders have reached pandemic proportions.
We need extraordinary leadership at all levels and in all sectors of society.
Visionary leadership that is influential, inspires confidence in others, is full of moral integrity, courageous, selfless, resilient, inclusive and empowering.
Matthew tells us that, "when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
"Then he said to his disciples, 'the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send workers into his harvest field'" (Mt 36-38).
Visionary leaders go out of their comfort zones into the streets of suffering humanity to be confronted by the fear, pain, anguish, utter loss (isolation), stress and disillusionment that is written all over the faces of the street kids, the homeless, the unemployed youth, the hungry, the drug addicts, the sick and all those who are poverty stricken.
Instead of getting overwhelmed, despondent, hopeless and defeated by the magnitude of the crisis, like Jesus, they see an opportunity and recognize that the harvest is indeed abundant.
Our beloved country is in dire need of such leaders who embody the compassion of Jesus, and have developed empathy and the ability to stand in solidarity with others.
We require leaders who have acquired and developed the values of the Gospel and a strong sense of ubuntu, which includes African values of respect, humility, compassion, hospitality, generosity, sharing and solidarity.
We call on this generation of leaders to a continual process of conversion (metanoia in Greek) which means a radical change of one’s heart, mindset, attitudes, behaviour and life orientation.
For me, one of the goals of the unburdening exercise(s) initiated by the SACC in Gauteng was to foster introspection, examination of conscience, facilitate conversion so that restorative justice can be achieved.
Individuals, families, faith, business and civic organizations were invited and accorded a safe space where they could confess, expose or denounce corruption and criminal activities in which they have been involved or have observed.
All those who come clean, denounce corruption and report it to the law enforcement agencies must be protected under the existing laws of the country.
If we do not speak out against all forms of abuse and corruption, we become complicit and perpetuate the cycle of evil.
The church, our cities, towns and villages need leaders who have a living and dynamic relationship with God, who put the well-being of those they are called to serve first, have upright character and do not simply seek to be popular at all costs.
Bishop Vincent Zungu
Bishop of the Diocese of Port Elizabeth
A gracious middle-aged lady asked what country I came from. I told her, "South Africa".
She then said something I have never forgotten: "Blessed are you who come from that beloved country, South Africa.
"We, from the European and international community, never believed you could achieve your hard-won democracy without the bloodbath we have seen in other countries. What your leaders and people achieved is nothing short of a miracle".
Her sentiments reflected the local, public, African and international image of South Africa.
To be told I was blessed because I came from South Africa made me walk tall. It instilled in me national pride, gave me a great sense of belonging.
It emboldened my sense of responsibility and empowered me to give back to my country by using my God-given gifts, talents and skills to transform my home, church, neighbourhood, local council and the metropolitan city of Nelson Mandela Bay to make it a better, safer and healthier place to live in, study, invest and work.
I am sure there are millions South Africans who can share the similar experience of being told how blessed they were to be South Africans.
Next year our country will be celebrating three decades of its democratic dispensation.
If I were to meet that same lady, I wonder what she would say to me nearly 20 years later?
Would she repeat "blessed are you who come from that beloved country South Africa!" or say "shame on you, who come from that country that has fallen from grace?".
In the last 29 years our country has lost its religious, political, social, economic and moral influence and authority.
There is a leadership vacuum that has been filled by rouge elements who are corrupt to the core but appear on the surface to be credible religious, political and business leaders.
Our country, church and society have been impoverished by the passing on of leaders of great calibre who led us to our democracy, made a meaningful contribution to build up our strong institutions, but left behind a huge intergenerational gap that cannot be easily bridged.
The prayer and lamentation of Azariah puts it succinctly: "O Lord, we have become the least of all the nations, despised throughout the world today, because of our sins. In our day we have no ruler, or prophet, or leader, no burnt offering, or sacrifice, or oblation, or incense, no place to make offering before you and to find mercy" (Daniel 3: 37-38).
The lack of authentic leadership is felt at all levels and sectors of society.
Most of our metropolitan cities are unstable. Local government is in a mess. There is no service delivery.
The Christian church is in "limbo" at a time when we are told this should be a turning point, the "kairos" moment and a favourable time for Christians to speak out and create "good trouble".
All forms of abuse, violence, assassinations and murders have reached pandemic proportions.
We need extraordinary leadership at all levels and in all sectors of society.
Visionary leadership that is influential, inspires confidence in others, is full of moral integrity, courageous, selfless, resilient, inclusive and empowering.
Matthew tells us that, "when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
"Then he said to his disciples, 'the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send workers into his harvest field'" (Mt 36-38).
Visionary leaders go out of their comfort zones into the streets of suffering humanity to be confronted by the fear, pain, anguish, utter loss (isolation), stress and disillusionment that is written all over the faces of the street kids, the homeless, the unemployed youth, the hungry, the drug addicts, the sick and all those who are poverty stricken.
Instead of getting overwhelmed, despondent, hopeless and defeated by the magnitude of the crisis, like Jesus, they see an opportunity and recognize that the harvest is indeed abundant.
Our beloved country is in dire need of such leaders who embody the compassion of Jesus, and have developed empathy and the ability to stand in solidarity with others.
We require leaders who have acquired and developed the values of the Gospel and a strong sense of ubuntu, which includes African values of respect, humility, compassion, hospitality, generosity, sharing and solidarity.
We call on this generation of leaders to a continual process of conversion (metanoia in Greek) which means a radical change of one’s heart, mindset, attitudes, behaviour and life orientation.
For me, one of the goals of the unburdening exercise(s) initiated by the SACC in Gauteng was to foster introspection, examination of conscience, facilitate conversion so that restorative justice can be achieved.
Individuals, families, faith, business and civic organizations were invited and accorded a safe space where they could confess, expose or denounce corruption and criminal activities in which they have been involved or have observed.
All those who come clean, denounce corruption and report it to the law enforcement agencies must be protected under the existing laws of the country.
If we do not speak out against all forms of abuse and corruption, we become complicit and perpetuate the cycle of evil.
The church, our cities, towns and villages need leaders who have a living and dynamic relationship with God, who put the well-being of those they are called to serve first, have upright character and do not simply seek to be popular at all costs.
Bishop Vincent Zungu
Bishop of the Diocese of Port Elizabeth
Source: TCN / Bishop Vincent Zungu
Date Added: 2023-06-05
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General, Issues - Moral Regeneration, Issues - Politics, Issues - Social upliftment,
Back to News IndexDate Added: 2023-06-05
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General, Issues - Moral Regeneration, Issues - Politics, Issues - Social upliftment,
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