Once upon a time the church was an institution of God. It was an institution as well as a place of safety. Believers and non-believers alike looked to the church for emancipation and re-assurance in a turbulent world. The church was the first port of call for troubled souls. Earlier missionary work in Botswana particularly by the London Missionary Society resulted in Christianity being elevated to the level of a state religion. Consequently, many Batswana have been raised in the Christian faith. Christianity is a religion centred on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. It emphasizes fellowship which is founded on self-discipline.
Perhaps this explains why many families introduce children to the church at a young age so as to ensure that they grow up as disciplined and responsible citizens. Christianity is about tolerance, love and reverence for authority. It is partly through religion that many serial offenders have been rehabilitated into responsible citizens. However, the contemporary church has metamorphosed into a wicked, corrupt, abusive and repugnant institution as underlined by a series of scandals that continue to resurface in every corner of the globe including in Botswana. The Voice newspaper of March 7th, 2014 carried a story titled ‘Prophet or Playa’, which basically reveals alleged egregious misconduct of a Maun based Prophet. It is alleged that the Prophet shares his house with attractive sisters who walk about in bikinis for his pleasure.
Many will recall the sex scandals that rocked the Catholic Church the world over. Bulawayo24 News of March 9th, 2014 carries a story titled ‘Pastor orders female congregants to come to church with no underwear for Christ to enter’. The story reports about a Reverend of the Lords Propeller Redemption Church in Nairobi who advised female worshippers to leave their panties and bras home for Christ to enter their lives going as far as labelling the items ungodly. It is further reported that women worshippers apparently did as instructed. These are just a few of the weird scandals that come out of the holy temples in the process undermining the church’s spiritual and moral function in society. The Badge of Courage acknowledges that there is no absolute perfection in life even among the High Priests. All humans err or commit misdemeanours at some point in time.
But when Christians or believers especially those in positions of leadership, by word, deed or omission fail in protecting the sacred image of the church and offer bad example to others, they discredit the church and damage its virtues and integrity beyond repair. Whereas the traditional church had Sunday mornings as their time to gather to worship and encounter God, it would seem that many of the modern churches consider Sunday-only services to be a bore and somewhat restrictive hence they have improvised with all night prayers where fellowship in terms of spending time together has been taken to greater heights. Consequently, many modern churches with their contemporary style of worship have become stokvels for raw sex.
It is noted that Christianity has always condemned the use of condoms because it believes that condom use legitimizes fornication which is outlawed in the Bible. Modern churches dabbles as places of worship and sex initiation clubs where some church leaders function as legendary mentors. Congregants hug exceedingly and passionately to the extent of arousing hormones and inducing hunger. Many of the hierarchs ÔÇô the ambassadors of Christ- in the churches have become sex predators or paedophiles while many female congregants have been christened into willing sex slaves who give first fruits offerings in the form of unprotected sex. On the other hand, unattractive, older female worshippers and married women who refuse to be loaned to some of these ever hungry church leaders give tithes. Modern churches have transformed the church so much that it is virtually impossible to distinguish sisters at church on Sunday from amateur prostitutes. Many sisters have made it a habit to dress immodestly often joyfully revealing their front and rear cleavages for their crocked leaders to salivate and ask for favours in Jesus name.
In similar ways while at church male worshippers focus more on the sumptuous legs of young female congregants instead of encountering God. Many self-seeking church leaders deliberately distort the gospel of Christ to whip their followers into fear so that the leaders are able to get what they want anytime, all the time. Ultimately, Christians no longer live a life inspired by the values of the spirit of Christ and his gospel but instead live a life of deceit, greed and sexual immorality. When your younger sister, daughter or wife leaves for the church you hold your breath worried that they are perhaps part of the leaders’ stock.
When they make pilgrimages to holy places to worship and praise the good Lord, you just pray that they do not come back pregnant. Sadly in the midst of this unholy bustle, the umbrella bodies such as the Botswana Christian Council (BCC), Evangelical Fellowship of Botswana (EFB) and so forth have remained largely unconcerned and detached so much that one would be excused for thinking that they are accomplices who are backing and protecting sex predators, swindlers and the rest of the criminals in their ranks. The umbrella bodies must admit the existence or possibility of such scandals and audit their member churches as an institution typically responds to such dishonourable acts by seeking to clean its house and regain its reputation.
They must loudly condemn their own sex-starved brutes and assure the public that they do not condone these reprehensible acts and that concrete steps are being taken to ensure that such misconducts do not happen again. The church is presently under siege and has lost respect so much that when I see church leaders in their clerical robes, I just wonder how many sisters their own and how many minors they have defiled. The Badge of Courage demands that the umbrella organisations act promptly before their member churches start streaming videos of worshippers in roundtable orgies and trading in pornographic materials. Should there be no immediate intervention from the mother bodies, the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs would have to intervene and firmly regulate churches including making it mandatory that they get permits for their all night prayers and related picnic-like gatherings.
God bless the Church!
