Chamburuka, A Theological reflection on Romans 13:1-7 in ...There are churches that seemingly exist as organs of the state, and these
collude with the state in subtle or overt ways. A practical example is that
of the Reverend Obadiah Musindo (African Independent Church) who
was seen on the only TV channel to actively engage in political cam-
paigning for ZANU-PF, even composing propaganda songs to the effect
that the president is divinely given and that he should not be opposed
(ZBCtv 20 March 2008). However, the church should not be used as a
campaigning tool by the state. She must continue to be the watchdog of
the state. Her integrity should not be compromised by any party so as to
maintain objectivity at all cost. The sad part of the Zimbabwean history
is that the majority of the people are fearful of the state machinery espe-
cially the army, police and the central intelligence unit possibly because
of their ruthless lawlessness approach to the public. Be as it may, the
church must be the source of the renaissance of democracy in our
community. She must uphold Christ-like character by standing for the
oppressed, the poor and foster better living conditions to the masses. In
which case therefore, the church must be the source of hope to the hope-
less, substitute hurt with love, strife with peace as well as pave way for
freedom over against oppression and fear.
Many Christians have adopted a pacifist approach on various reasons.
One of the reasons is that they lack a clear orientation on the role of the
church in politics. On this note the blame can mainly levelled on the
quality and relevance of theological training that the clergy receive in
theological colleges and seminaries or lack of the ability to apply learnt
theories and principles. In other words students may fail to bridge the
gap between what they studied and the reality on the ground (parish or
circuit). Secondly, the calibre of the bishops or heads of churches that
are put into office needs to be critically assessed, to check whether they
are the right people for the office or not. This high office demands sacri-
ficial leadership and not mere placeholders. Judging from the crop of
bishops that emerged from the early church, we notice that they were
outstanding such that most of them were prepared to face martyrdom
for the sake of the gospel and the defence of the faith of the people they
led. However, such vibrant and robust leadership has diminished into
seemingly selfish, worldliness, immoral and puppet oriented leadership.
Therefore, the Zimbabwean church (and the whole of Africa) must repo-
sition and reorient herself towards servant leadership as well as to pre-
pare herself for the cost of discipleship.