Abstract
The author reflects on the reality of nepotism in Christian leadership as he has observed in the township of Soshanguve and many other African poverty-stricken communities he has lived in. The leadership of churches in those areas seems to run in the family. This model tends to have a disempowering effect on the other church members in terms of taking responsibility or initiating projects that could expand the impact of the church beyond the borders of its walls. This article recognises the positive impact of nepotism, but it mostly stresses on the negative impact of nepotism on the democratisation of power in the church and society. It uses music, a critical vehicle of knowledge acquisition in Africa, to stress upon the fact that Christian leaders should be equipped to participate in the common good, help in the empowerment of ordinary people around them, starting with their members and be altruistic, like Jesus, and work beyond the boundaries of their families.
Highlights
Many South African townships, such as Soshanguve, have a lot of local churches
There is ample evidence in support of this fact if we look at the genocide in Rwanda, Sudan, Democratic Republic of the (DR) Congo; civil wars and xenophobic violence in many parts of Africa
This article pointed out the reality of Christian leadership transfer that seems to run in the family as observed in many local churches located in the township of Soshanguve
Summary
Many South African townships, such as Soshanguve, have a lot of local churches. As stated by Kabongo (2019a): In South Africa, a township refers to the often underdeveloped, racially segregated urban areas that, from the late 19th century until 1994, were reserved for non-whites. Perkins (1993:18) opines that the gospel is ‘to reconcile alienated people to God and to each other, across racial, cultural, social and economic barriers’ Such reconciliation sometimes requires some activism from the church such as the stance some denominations took to fight against the oppressive system of apartheid in South Africa. The activism of these leaders showed a theology that was as big as South Africa They understood that using the gospel in a way that transcends their spiritual tribe (denomination) would help ‘free ourselves black people from the inferiority complex imposed by a system that apportioned value and human dignity according to a colour code’ (Ramphele 2017:22). Such an approach would give integrity to the church as the ambassador of the message of love as captured in Jesus’ legacy statement to his disciples in John 13:33–35
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