Abstract

MASENGWE, Gift  and  MAGWIDI, Edwin. Africanising the Four-self-leadership Formula in the Church of Christ in Zimbabwe. Studia Hist. Ecc. [online]. 2021, vol.47, n.1, pp.1-20. ISSN 2412-4265.  http://dx.doi.org/10.25159/2412-4265/8159.

The Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (COCZ) has adopted Western philosophies of Euro-American cultures originating from the Victorian age during the Restoration Movement (RM) of the American Second Great Awakening (SGA). This exclusive, divisive and oppressive culture denied women, the poor, and the young, the opportunity to lead. The RM emphasised going back to the founding charism of the New Testament Church, with Christian unity and ecumenism as central elements. Its doctrines became rigid, denying female leadership, constitutions, central headquarters, and further ministerial formation as worldly. This study raises these aspects as indispensable to the contextualising, inculturating and incarnating framework of the gospel in an African context. This reflection takes account of the four-self-leadership formula, as inspired by Magwidi's PhD study (2015-2021), as well as other sources like the minutes of church board meetings and contextual writings by COCZ's local clergy (CBACC 1948-1965; Jirrie 1972; Masengwe et al. 2012). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews that were collated with written sources and heuristically interpreted by the African Cultural Hermeneutics Approach (ACHA) (Kanyoro 2002; 2001). A synthesis of missionary ideology with African narratives of the Christian faith (using ACHA) interpreted the data to understand the "how" of contextual, cultural and religious transformation in the COCZ. The study recommends new, inclusive and transformative modes of leadership empowerment for an authentic African Church.

Keywords : Church of Christ in Zimbabwe; four-self-leadership formula; restoration theology; Victorian culture; contextualisation; Ubuntu/Unhu/Botho philosophy; autonomy.

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