Reverend Jan Scholtz
A famous Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral in London once said that the gospel is a way of walking, not talking.
This statement brings to light the mindset of most people over many years; the impression that the church talks endlessly and that its way of life does not always correspond with its decelerations. The church does not always walk as it talks in society and so many areas of our own integrity have been eroded by our silent and subtle acquiescence and our retreat into a spiritual ghetto, in disconnect with the real world.
The church in my opinion has a critical role to play in the building of a nation. Our country is wracked by a culture of violence (GBV) that threatens to destroy the very fabric of our society. Those who steal, murder, and rape continue the very inhumanity of putting one person against another which characterised our past. Violations of humans continue, in the form of crime committed by those who know neither morality nor authority, those who have given themselves the right to grant life and to decree death.
Like any institution, the church mission provides the reason for each existence. When one talks about the mission of the church, therefore, one talks of the unique and profound task of both the church in its corporate sense in every Christian person.
From this perspective, we (the church) must seek to develop more effective ecumenical witness, study, and action at local, regional and national levels.
Continue calling for divine calmness and unity of purpose for all Namibians, working together in healing the wounds and making Namibia a great nation once again, be prophetic in rebuking all forms of injustices from any quarter, provide pastoral care to those who are in need, continue to preach peace, love and justice in all our churches more so now and in the future, avail ourselves to actively observe the forthcoming elections and finally, to rise above party petty politics and, in humility and under the guidance of God be constructively engage in prayers and finding positive approaches to nation building.
The church in this country is huge in numbers but the impact is minimal and, therefore, the time for talking is over, the time for walking in the ways of God’s Kingdom has come, if the church is to be God’s renewing and reconciling agent in Namibia.
If the mission of the church is to make sense in the Namibian context today, then those who preach the work of God must ask themselves the following questions:
(i) What is our own contribution to social decay and what can we do to salvage the situation?
(ii) What is Christ saying to us today in the context of His mission to the world?
In Namibia’s socio-political challenges, the role of the church is to advance the unfinished business of the church by fighting for justice and peace in the land. Peace is Jesus’ gift to the church.
Domestic violence and GBV must be denounced highly from the pulpit.
Where abuse is known, it must be revealed to competent authorities to act and not something to be assuaged with psalms and sprinkling of oil.
Kairos – now is the time, the church in Namibia cannot put off until tomorrow what God is calling it to do today (Richardson, 316). From a social and historical perspective, it is common for people to turn to religion and religious institutions for solutions to those problems that they lack the power to deal with.
From the aforesaid perspective, the Christian church has a moral responsibility to guide and counsel people towards fighting for justice and peace in the land.
It becomes imperative for the Christian church in Namibia to be proactive in educating people about their rights and duties as citizens – this is its moral responsibility. As a motivating factor, the post-modern church in Namibia can learn from the examples of the early church through the modern era.
Peter C. Hodgson (1988,137) argues that “the fundamental purpose of ministry is to guide and serve the process of ecclesial formation, to be a community of faith, hope and love, a sign and sacrament of the kingdom of God.”
I am constantly reminded of the words of Fr. Trevor Huddleston who, in 1950, when Apartheid was being developed with passion by the Nationalist Government, looked for the guidance of the church and, when he did not see much, declared, “The church sleeps on, although it sometimes talks in its sleep.”
Therefore, all of us must take up the challenges, citizens and churches alike, as we strive together in partnership to build a better life for all.
Tomorrow may be too late!
* Reverend Jan. A. Scholtz is the former Chairperson of //Kharas Regional and former !Nami#nus Constituency Regional Councillor and is a holder of Diploma in Theology, B-Theo (SA), a Diploma in Youth Work and Development from the University of Zambia (UNZA), Diploma in Eduscation III (KOK) BA (HED) from UNISA