Empowering for Fullness of Life

Arnold Temple1

The theology of reconstruction underpins the programmatic engagement of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) and its programme priority includes 'good governance and responsible citizenship' and 'overcoming poverty'. Both of these programme priority areas seek to empower God's people for participation in the rebuilding of the African continent in particular and the world in general.

The timeliness of the theme of the Eighth Assembly of AACC, 'Come, Let us Rebuild', cannot be overemphasized and its relation to AACC's commitment to the reconstruction paradigm is obvious. The continent of Africa is beset with conflicts and war. A very frightening culture of politically motivated violence has engulfed the continent. The primary cause is bad governance and irresponsible citizenship – leadership structures devoid of justice and truth that failed to promote the liberty of its citizens – and abuse of power that characterizes governing processes in Africa since independence of the various nations. The daily news bears witness to this and the number of victims grow by the day. We hear of murders, rapes, beatings and abductions. Stories of political leaders instigating violent actions against their opponents are not uncommon. A case in point is Zimbabwe and the Mugabe sage. This is clearly a drama of power play between the powerful West and Robert Mugabe in which the real victims are the ordinary people of Zimbabwe. This is unacceptable and should not be allowed to continue! Power play and violence hamper development and denigrates the dignity and image of the nations and the African continent. A theological understanding of power therefore is necessary to aid the prophetic voice of the church to challenge the misuse and abuse of powers that the world is faced with today.

Power is ordinarily defined as the ability to do or act. It is not evil in itself. It is in fact good when used responsibly. Used in accordance with God's will, it empowers others and glorifies God. Used otherwise, it disempowers and makes caricature of God's image in the human person.

Power is an attribute of God, the omnipotent and all-powerful. It belongs to God and is derived from God. Power is relational. It defines relationship between God as creator and God’s creation; relationship among peoples in the world; relationship between nations, etc. When God's power is encountered, one can no longer be the same. For better or for worse, something new happens.

We encounter God's power in creation. Out of nothing God created everything that exists. In the Old Testament, God's power was demonstrated in the deliverance of Israel from slavery in Egypt, which became the benchmark event for the nation of Israel. God's power was also demonstrated in many political events that threatened their belief in the ability of Yahweh to protect them. God empowered the Israelites in their vulnerability against their enemies-neighbours.

In the New Testament, Mary's song tells of the power of God: “For the Mighty One has done great things for me… He has performed mighty deeds with his arms; … He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich empty away.” God's power is revolutionary! It changes things upside down, but when looked upon in proper perspective, it is really to make things right side up. Jesus understood his ministry in relation to the words of the prophet Isaiah (61.1-2): “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.” In other words, Jesus said to the religious powers of his time, ‘the Father has sent me to demonstrate his power in the world’. The miracles that characterized Jesus' ministry are manifestations of God's power. They were proof that Satan's power was at its end and the reign of God has been inaugurated and was being experienced.

Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, empowered his disciples to broadcast the reign of God and to campaign against the reign of evil. For Paul (1Cor. 4:20), the reign of God does not consist in words but in power. From all this it follows that Christian view of power ought to be creative and liberative because God's power is demonstrated creatively and in liberative encounter.

In Africa, as in many parts of the world, great amount of power is concentrated on the states and this is misused and abused at will. Misuse of power seeks domination, the desire to 'lord' it over others. Power worship is the dominant religion of the world today. People worship power as their god. Lives are sacrificed to the power-god. We can recount the many lives that are lost because they dare to stand in the way of those who crave power. However, the role of the church is to resist power that dominates and makes real God's power of love for the empowerment of God's people and the promotion of the reign of God.

We experience a world that struggles for domination – a world of evil that struggles against God's power of love. In love, the powerful God shares in the powerlessness and vulnerability of human creatures. By the powerlessness and vulnerability of the cross, Christ fully demonstrated God's power, which is the power of love. When power is properly balanced, justice ensues. God's power is recognized in the servant ministry of Christ and in his triumph over the world's powers.

Identifying governance as one of the core engagements of AACC is to take seriously the church's responsibility in the governance of nations of Africa and the world, engaging in reflection and action with churches for just and ordered existence. Governance is ordained by God. The ultimate governance of nations of the world belongs to Godself. God ordained governance for order. God wills economic justice and political freedom and a world order that is stable, free from wars and conflicts. The state should be an instrument of control of power. But the state should not itself enjoy absolute power. The role of parliamentary opposition, the church and civil society is to advocate the balance of power so that people are not overpowered and trampled upon but rather empowered for participation in community and to live their lives in fullness.

Human beings, created in the image of the omnipotent God, have great potential for the exercise of power at various levels. They exercise power in decision-making that affects their lives and those of others. In the exercise of their freedom, they affect the liberty of others.

A theology of good governance and responsible leadership takes seriously the connectivity/interrelatedness of the reign of God that Jesus inaugurated and the continuing struggle for the promised fullness of life. Jesus presented us with patterns of leadership – he led by example and washed the feet of the disciples to demonstrate servant leadership (John 13). True leaders have the interest of people they seek to govern. They create an atmosphere of comfort and wellbeing, fellowship and belonging.

In his teachings, Jesus discouraged autocratic leadership and drew attention to bad governance. He said in Matthew 20:25: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their high officials exercise authority over them. It should not be so with you. Instead, whoever wants to be the first among you, must be a servant.”

Democracy and good governance demands servant leadership – where the first consideration of leaders is to serve the common good of the people. They serve their people by creating the right atmosphere and putting institutions in place that meet the needs of the people that gave them the responsibility to rule. They should create atmosphere to enable people to meet their physical needs – employment so people can earn proper wages and be able to take care of themselves; security so people can enjoy the benefit of investment and development.

Jesus' teachings on democracy teach responsibility – e.g. "give to Caesar what is Caesar's and God what is God's." People, not only the state, are responsible. The church needs to equip its people to be responsible for Christians have a dual citizenship, here on earth and in heaven.

The books of Samuel, Kings and the Chronicles are full of stories of the ways the Kings governed Israel. They collected taxes, provided security, and provided the necessities of their subjects. When that happened, they were commended as good leaders. For example, the wisdom of King Solomon was seen in his display of justice: “When all Israel heard the verdict of the king, they held the King in awe, because they saw that he had wisdom from God to administer justice (1 Kings 3.28). But the same books are also full of examples of bad governance and the lack of participatory democracy. Justice, as a value of the reign of God is a key principle of democracy and good governance. It is in the promotion of the values of love, justice, freedom and truth, values of the reign of God, that good governance resides.

The judgement on the northern nation of Israel that led to God abandoning them to the Assyrians can be categorized in the undemocratic principles that govern most of our states today: "They sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals (they did not value the lives of their people). They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust on the ground and deny justice to the oppressed."

That's how low misgovernance can sink. Corruption is a cancer. There is a dire need to empower our constituencies to confront corruption in our midst. The responsibility for good governance and democracy does not just rest on the political leadership. Society creates checks and balances to aid the working of democracy. The role of the church and civil society is essential towards good governance and participatory democracy. The essential role of oppositions cannot be overemphasized. They are not governments in waiting but have a role to see that the interest of the people are upheld and their rights are not trampled upon; there is also the role of the trade unions in seeking just wages and proper working conditions for the workers. The churches should collaborate with other civil societies and human rights organizations to see to it that the rights of the people are not violated by the state and that they are empowered for the fulfillment of the basic need for self-actualization and growth.

The church has an important role in the maintenance of good governance and empowering democracy. The constituency of the church is large and touches the grassroots of communities. Some of the people in government and some potential leaders are members of our churches. The church has a great potential to influence the creation of an atmosphere for people to imbibe and appreciate the principles and culture of democracy within society. There lies the need for effective civic education within the framework of our Christian and religious education. Some of the curricula of Christian education within the churches lack depth and analysis. Our Christian education should move beyond retelling Bible stories. It should address the real issues that confront our people and advocate positive and creative change in the understanding and use of power within our politics and in interpersonal relationships. When we do this, we put tools in the hands of Christians to instill the values of the reign of God in the secular world. This is part of our responsibility to infiltrate society with the values of the reign of God. When this is properly done, Christian and civic education become a continuous engagement that challenges misuse and abuse of power, bad politics and misgovernance of our time.

But the churches must themselves be seen to be practicing the democratic principles within their own lives and settings. When the church demonstrates bad politics and power that dominates as opposed to democratic principles and the power of love that is creative and liberative, we discredit the gospel. We cannot give what you do not have. If the principles of democracy were not experienced within the structures of our churches, then it would be a contradiction when we try to instill these principles within the state structures. The church's leadership must be credible so that they can stand against all forms of undemocratic practices within the nations.

The church has a moral and ethical obligation to the nations. It must not allow its prophetic voice to cease for any reason whatsoever. When King Jeroboam and Amaziah (the priest) tried to silence the Prophet Amos by threat and bribe, Amos prophesied the more. This was because he was aware of his responsibility towards the people of Israel. He refused to be silent by the powers of his time and challenged the use of political and economic power to trample on the poor. The prophetic voice of the church must not be silent because we have a responsibility towards God's people.

NOTES:

1 Rev. Arnold C. Temple is executive secretary for theology and interfaith relations of the All Africa Conference of Churches.