THE church, which in normal circumstances should be a place of solace, is slowly turning into a den of misdeeds.
The church has lately been hit with so many scandals one would wonder if the Sunday School teachings of a real Christian have evolved over time.
A Church we read about in the bible is not the church we are seeing in real life today. A church, we read about is not a trading place but is in modern life increasingly becoming a common market place.
It is not long ago when the Zambia Police burst into a Church in Matero and found a pastor at a pulpit with an AK47 assault rifle. One wonders just what could drive a Man of God into carrying such a firearm in public, and in church for that matter.
It is this and many other incidents that make us agree fully with Mungwi’s St. Margaret Parish priest Mathews Mwamba who has castigated fellow church leaders who are in the habit of defrauding their followers in the name of God.
Father Mwamba notes with sadness that such ungodly acts are on the increase and reflects badly on Christianity and goes against the qualities of genuine shepherds as outlined in the Bible.
In John 13:15 Jesus says “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you” with the Apostle Paul saying in 1 Corithians 11:1 that “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ”.
That seems not to be happening in some churches today.
It is a shame to note that teachings in some Churches these days have departed from salvation and good morals to wealth accumulation, success, job promotion and many other earthly things.
It is unfortunate that Church leaders take advantage of the unquestionable faith the followers put in God and them in turn to amass wealth for themselves and engage in many other selfish motives for personal gratification.
Father Mwamba in his sermon yesterday complained that church leaders are busy preaching a wrong message and misleading the public just to fill their pockets.
He rightly notes also that such Church leaders have departed from their role of being good shepherds in leading God’s sheep.
It is time a check was placed on those who are leading God’s flock into the wilderness. Of course, there are good leaders but there is a trend that is increasing and giving the Church a bad name. It is such that lead to people losing faith in God.
This call for good leaders goes beyond the Church and onto political and traditional leaders who are entrusted with the responsibility of guiding masses. Their primary duty should be to serve the people and not to make their pockets fat.
These three types of leaders need to be upright in deeds in order to lead a community into doing right and upholding God’s principles of love, honesty and integrity.
At the top of this chain should be the Church leaders whom we all should run to in times of strife. If the church leaders become the most questionable in this chain, the nation can collapse into one without morals.
We call for self-introspection from the leaders so they have a decent and God-fearing life.

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