Speak out on national issues - Theologians urged
Theologians in Africa have been encouraged to speak out on issues affecting their countries and Africa at large.
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By doing so they will be helping the Church to play its role as the moral conscience of society.
The Executive Secretary of the Kenya-based Theology Interfaith and Eccelesial Leadership Development, Father Dr John Njorog, who made the call, said the Church’s role as the moral conscience of society did not allow them to be passive in the governance of their respective countries and the continent to which they belonged.
“You are the mouthpiece of God, so you must voice out, theological and prophetic voice of God to African political leaders,” Fr. Dr Njoroge stressed at the opening of the Biennial Conference 2023 and 50th anniversary celebration of the West Africa Association of Theological Institutions (WAATI) in Accra last Wednesday (Aug 3, 2023).
The four-day conference in on the theme: The bible, Migration and Nationalism in Africa.”
Role in national development
The Leadership Development Executive Secretary noted that the development of Africa would be far advanced if theologians commented boldly on national issues without fear.
He said they must be able to ensure that political leaders in Africa created jobs for the youth and a conducive working environment for graduates on the continent.
“Remaining confined to lecturing to theology students, holding only theology-professors-oriented conferences and publishing articles is not very impactive to the society today,” he stated.
He also called on the theologians to be the mouthpiece for the citizens, since they looked up to them to be their advocates.
“The church is an influential social entity and people in Africa are religious, and if they rely on the church as part of the voices to which they can influence the government to be able to act on their behalf, they must be able to voice out the concerns of the people”, he explained
Mentorship
Fr. Dr Njoroge said the reason why most of the youths in Africa were migrating was because Christian leaders had failed to mentor them.
He said most Christian leaders had become prosperity preachers, which he stressed was not the way to mentor the youth.
“When you mentor your children to the right direction, they know where to go. Young people of today feel they are not mentored to be able to achieve their dreams and vision.
“Thus, beside teaching, Christian leaders such as the ministers, theological educators need also to be mentors, they need to mentor our young people.
“The church is our home, it’s our spiritual home whereby we should get mentorship, but what we are getting today in Christianity, in churches is this whole kind of prosperity preaching, prosperity gospel which is not mentoring young people”, he added.
Migration now a pandemic
The immediate past Vice-President of the Trinity Theological Seminary, Legon, Rev. Professor Dorothy Akoto, said migration had become a pandemic in Africa.
She said Africans had become addicted to moving from their countries to other countries to seek greener pastures.
“And it has become a real headache because people leave their countries thinking that there is a pie in the sky in another country but they get there only to see that things are not as rosy as they thought they would be.”
Prof Akoto who was the guest speaker said the church had the responsibility to address the problems leading to the citizens moving away to other countries.
One of those things is unemployment, even if they have employment because the condition of service is not conducive they think when they go outside they can get something better from there. So they keep migrating to those places”
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She also called for a collaboration of all stakeholders to come out with a programme that will train the youth in all aspects of their lives.
In his welcome address, the founder and leader of Perez Chapel International, Archbishop Charles Agyinasare, charged Christians to capitalise on migration to spread the gospel abroad.
Citing Matthew 28:16-20, Archbishop Agyinasare who is also the Chancellor of Perez University College, said Christian missions had the potential of converting none Christians in the diaspora, introducing the chaplaincy to the migrants in the diaspora and engaging in best mission work.
“The international mission brought Christianity to Africa and some part of the globe, now there is the need for Africans to send the gospel to Europe and other parts of the globe,” he intimated.
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