What Is The Future Of The Church

SANDY GRANT | Monday April 19, 2010 00:00

Whilst I admit that it will be a while before the church fully appreciates my utterances things are not waiting for us.There are a few issues that I would like to compound in this publication.When a foreign coach is to be employed there is a body responsible for the screening process.When a foreign Doctor or even a local is to be employed there is a body responsible for the screening process.Before a lawyer can practice there is a body responsible for the appointment.

When it comes to the registration of churches one wonders who is really responsible for the screening process?

The person/s responsible for the registration obviously belongs to one religious grouping or the other.

Given the problem of denominational wranglings, migration of people from one denomination to another one wonders how free from bias is the office of the registrar of societies and the ministry at large.

Having said the above I would like to present some thought provoking questions.

*Should the church be registered the same as a football club or burial society?*Is the current organ really qualified to determine the suitability of an applying church?*What standard of measurement is used to determine this suitability?*Is the bible which is the backbone of the church used in this determining?*Is the church sufficiently informed about the problems faced by the registrar?

*Is the church party to the solutions or it will just be told this is how you are now going to run things?

There are so many things that are not right in our nation insofar as the church is concerned.

In other countries pastors are automatically marriage officers by virtue of the fact of them being ordained. Still in other countries pastors are commissioners of oaths. In Botswana even pastors who are marriage officers are not commissioners of oath.

This means that even if the District commissioners are overloaded with marriages the marriage officers cannot volunteer to help to ease the congestion. Where they do volunteer their presence does not bring any value since they are not commissioners of oath.

According to the Commissioners of Oaths Act the following are commissioners of Oath ; deputy director (programmes) in the Information and Broadcasting, education officers in Ministry of Education, headmasters of secondary schools, game warden in department of wildlife and national parks, chiefs representative, mine secretary BCL and clerk in charge Botswana railways to name a few.Currently the registration of churches is being reviewed with the intent of coming up with legislation that will govern the running of churches. The question is how much is the church consulted? The other question is what is the church doing about it?What I see is that the church is taken for granted in some circles.I believe all this has to change.Currently the church is only involved with opening in prayer in state and other functions (usually less than five minutes). Normally church leaders from BCC occupy the VIP seats at state functions and it is taken they represent all the churches.

I would like to urge fellow pastors to stand up and be counted. Our children are going to dance on our graves in contempt asking where we were when things were getting out of hand. Let us not enjoy the comforts of our denominations instead of being the prophetic voice to the nation.

Percival J. Mtetwa GABORONE