The Sunday Mail
A revolution is taking place at Johane Masowe eChishanu. What a refreshing revolution?
Gone are the days when being a member of Johane Masowe meant poverty, backwardness and resistance to change.
In the past being a member of Johan Masowe meant worshipping under a tree, it meant shunning health care services,, it meant banning the latest technological gadgets like televisions and more fundamentally, it meant shunning the Bible. Soon, all this will change as Johane Masowe is joining everyone else in the present.
During their conference held recently in Harare, Johane Masowe eChishanu UK chapter not only preached the gospel of revolutionising the faith but demonstrated it in style. It was just a marvel to watch.
The conference was punctuated by affluence with men and women dressed to kill while the latter had all forms of make-up and hair dos.
Secretary of Masowe eChishanu UK chapter, Madzimai Lyndiwe Mabote said the local assembly’s current practices were dehumanising and embarrassing having been derived from myths and personal attitudes which were not based on the teachings of Christianity.
Madzimai Lyndiwe said the older generation had been plagued by colonial injustices and as such shunned anything ‘from the western world’.
“These attitudes and beliefs have now affected the way members of Masowe have practised or moulded the current church. For instance, if the church founder was poor and he failed to build a church in 1932 they claim it’s prohibited to worship in a church, rather than acknowledging that the founders’ limited access to resources was why they initially gathered outside.
“Another example is missionaries during the colonial era used the Bible, so to them the Bible is taboo as it was used to ‘colonise’ our minds through faith etc (etcetera).
“We are revolutionising Chipostori namely the Masowe eChishanu faith. There is nothing wrong with using the Bible. It should be used as part of our service and the practice of our faith as it details the origins and history of Christianity,” Madzimai Lyndiwe said. Known for entrusting the prophet to deliver a message directly communicated from God in place of using the Bible, Madzimai Lyndiwe said the Holy book was important to nurture members’ spiritual growth and foster enlightenment of the Christian faith.
“We have the gift of the Holy Spirit as fulfilment of the Pentecost, when Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be our guide when He returned to heaven. As such the Bible and the Holy Spirit form a holistic basis to our faith, and both are essential in our faith.
“Second, basically we are separating myths and cultural practices from the true doctrine of the church. We are removing practices and unnecessary rules that make Masowe undesirable to those who want to worship God.
“We want to bring enlightenment to this faith and dispel such embarrassing myths. People should worship inside buildings, and stop open space and roadside worship. There is no such doctrine kuMasowe.
“We embrace change that facilitates worship of the Lord without punishing people for choosing to worship Him. When people add their own teachings and turn away from the teachings of God, they create a faith riddled with controversy which does not have the welfare of the congregants at heart. We want a faith that respects and prioritises the spiritual, physical, emotional and psychological well being of its members. That is what Masowe should be about so we discredit any myths which go against this endeavour,” she explained.
With close to a thousand apostolic sects registered under the Apostolic Christian Council of Zimbabwe, Masowe eChishanu has not been spared the breakaways that have riddled the churches.
Madzimai Lyndiwe said Masowe eChishanu in Zimbabwe has proper leadership structures that oversee the organisation ensuring accountability and consistent delivery of the doctrine throughout the church.
“The problem is there is no leadership and anyone can gather people under a tree and preach rubbish. There should be a church constitution to harmonise the doctrine and operations if there is to be any progress.
“We are hoping that with time these developments and leadership structures will be put in place to avoid discord which has led to each ‘prophet’ gathering people under his own tree and making up his own rules as he so wishes.
“A proper church needs a single doctrine, a single constitution which members should abide by. This will stop the confusion and power struggles that plague the Masowe church. There should be a leadership body accountable to dealing with these ‘rogue’ practitioners. If this body exists then a single doctrine is rolled out to everyone, minimising discord,” she said.
Madzimai Lyndiwe added that their concern was delivering God’s doctrine for Masowe eChishanu and to remove practices in the faith that make people shun God. “We want God’s name to be glorified and for the church to grow with dignity, those are our concerns.’’
