For the broader community, now that the leaders pastors of whom they seek divine support are involved in such vices, people who may wish to convert to Christianity may be discouraged. The key research question is who will help pastors to resolve their conflicts without causing the church to degenerate into a spiritually paralyzed religious body bearing the mere label of Christianity? Of the major Pentecostal denominations in Zimbabwe, the AFM in Zimbabwe church boasts the singular honor of having been in existent for more than a century.
She claims to have an estimated membership of about 2, 3 million. In , the denomination claimed that its membership was estimated at 2, 5 million [ 6 ]. Due to lack of updates on denominational records, membership figures are liable to amplification [ 7 ]. However, commanding a large membership following was not the impetus behind the choice of AFM in the present article, but numerical age of the denomination was the major drive. As a matter of fact, the numerical age of the AFM in Zimbabwe cannot be overlooked considering that the rise of other popular Pentecostal denominations in Zimbabwe for example, Johane Masowe which trace their origins from the AFM in Zimbabwe [ 8 ].
Other popular denominations that broke away from AFM in Zimbabwe which have been in existent for more than 50 years or so include Apostolic Faith Mission of Mugodhi which broke away in the s and Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa which broke away between the s and 60s.
Thus, numerical age was an important factor in the selection of the denomination under review, as well as the nature of conflict experienced up to this day. The AFM in Zimbabwe church is one of the oldest Pentecostal denominations in Zimbabwe, hereinafter referred to as a faith-based organization, tracing its origins as far back as To exemplify practical instances of conflict among pastors, the researcher identified cases that occurred between and The researcher, therefore, made a conscious choice of the period to , which covered an upsurge of conflict situations resulting from the behavior of AFM in Zimbabwe pastors which resulted in the split of the church under review in Most of these conflict situations were both glossed over and degenerated into various levels of intractability, which have troubled this faith-based organization for 28 years.
For instance, in , Masvingo Province experienced a conflict situation involving allegations of sexual immorality, leveled against a pastor by the church elders.
After investigations by the Provincial Committee the matter was discussed in the Provincial Council meeting and a resolution was passed to suspend the pastor indefinitely. Another example of conflict situation of similar nature, an extra-marital affair, was also witnessed in The case was unearthed following reports by the church elders to the Provincial Overseer. The Provincial Committee made investigations and a resolution to place the pastor under censure for one-year pending reinstatements was passed.
In , two cases were unearthed. The first involved a Provincial Overseer, who faced allegations of promiscuity. Following investigations a resolution was passed by the Apostolic Council to depose him from serving as Overseer with subsequent indefinite period of censure. The second case involved allegations of extra-marital affair, which the probing committee found no substantial evidence.
Also, in , four gruesome conflict situations haunted and shook the church in the same year. A surge of tension occurred within one congregation following allegations of extra-marital affair leveled against a pastor.
A report was forwarded to the Provincial Committee and the pastor denied the allegations. Following this, a resolution was made by the Provincial Committee to transfer the pastor to another congregation and the case came to a standstill. During that same period three more cases heralded.
The first one involved allegations of confiscating church property by a pastor and before investigations were made, it appears the pastor unceremoniously left for another province and the case was left insoluble. The second case involved allegations of polygamy. Following reports to the Provincial Overseer, the Provincial Committee made investigations and the matter was deliberated at a Provincial Council meeting and a resolution to suspend the pastor indefinitely was agreed upon.
The third mishap involved a wrangle over the control of an assembly between a deputy Overseer and a junior pastor. Tension occurred following a decision by the Provincial Committee to place the deputy Overseer at the congregation which was already under a junior pastor.
In , a resident pastor was alleged of attempted rape. Subsequently, the matter was brought to court which some Provincial Committee delegates did attend and the pastor pleaded not guilty. And findings from the court proceedings were presented to the Provincial Council by the Provincial Committee delegates. The Provincial Council resolved that the pastor was to be suspended pending placement under censure by the Apostolic Council.
Apart from that, saw the province under review recording another conflict situation which spilled over to resulting in factions in the same church. Tension occurred following allegations of embezzling church finances being leveled against a Provincial Overseer by some members of the Provincial Committee. The case subsequently translated into violence between and and police had to be called in to restore order at the church premises where the alleged Overseer was stationed.
The Provincial Committee and the Provincial Council discussed over the matter and recommendations were made to the Apostolic Council, which did not resolve the matter promptly. The Daily News newspaper of Tuesday 28, January , confirms that police arrested the alleged Provincial Overseer on allegations of misappropriating church funds, common assault and malicious injury to property. According to the newspaper, the arrest followed disturbances in which the Provincial Overseer was alleged to have teamed up with other members and turned the church premises into a boxing ring.
After a week, the newspaper of February 4, reported that the alleged Provincial Overseer appeared in court for a similar case in which he was charged with embezzlement of church funds but was not asked to plead against the charges. And the two factions waged bitter war to gain control over the affairs of the congregation in which some youths resorted to physical force to ensure their favored pastor retains control. As the story goes, about four youths were arrested in connection with fighting, demolition of church property, the use of force to take over the church premises and driving the church vehicle with flattened tyres [ 8 ].
As if that is not enough, to give an update information on some of the conflicts involving pastors that received wide media coverage. The following newspaper titles demonstrate the size of the problem; Just who is Emmanuel Makandiwa? Herald, 11 February His decision resulted in him being indefinitely suspended. Another case of concern is number 15, which documented the ostracization of a pastor arising from misunderstandings between the parties to the dispute.
Case number 16, represents a watershed conflict that changed the membership the AFM in Zimbabwe church. According to reports, the break-up was due to power struggle and other factors between top leadership involving the long-time and out-going church president, former deputy and the general secretary. These issues are still being decided by the courts of the land. From these cases, one can conclude that the church under review is more inclined toward adversarial position in which case the majority of pastors respond by going through the courts of law as they fight for what they consider as a violation of their rights we discussed in detail on the principles focused on powers and privileges below.
Against this background, this article assess the extent to which the faith-based organization is dealing with conflicts involving pastors with a view to recommend effective strategies.
Whether the current strategies produced sustainable outcomes or just alleviated the impact or not resolved at all, are questions to be considered? Conflict is part and parcel of human life, and neither is the church spared [ 9 ].
As such, if the church wants to make the most of circumstances of conflict, conflict dynamics must be known. There are two major points to remember about conflict here. Conflict, in the first place, is an expressed struggle that implies that it is an open confrontation. In that sense, when all the parties concerned become aware of their differences, that is, in one way or the other, conflict may be said to exist; each party involved must realize that there is discord, tension or clash between them.
Second, disputes are made up of interdependent groups. The tension inside an interaction is crystal clear. Thus, as family, colleagues, workmates, church mates or neighbors, the parties experiencing a conflict engage in different spheres of social interaction.
Faith-based organizations are made up of people who affect each other, such as the teacher of the Sunday school, usher, deacon, deaconess, elder, priest, overseer, church president, to name a few. The actions of one participant impacts others as these individuals interact, thereby necessitating conflict, misunderstandings or disagreements. Conflict thus exists during an interaction [ 4 ].
There are three levels of social interaction from which conflict frequently arises: interpersonal, intra-community or intercommunity interactions [ 10 , 11 ]. Conflict at an interpersonal level includes tension between people. Conflicts typically arise from variations in personality, attitudinal issues, communication failure, different expectations, limited resources and incompatible behaviors at this stage.
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Makandiwa claimed that before he graduated he was called in a vision by God in After graduating, Makandiwa went to Matabeleland where he worked as an assistant pastor under the supervision of Reverend Aspher Madziyire who was once the President of AFM. He was then assigned to be the pastor of an Assembly in Shangani. His sermons were screened on Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation television. It was reported that Makandiwa devoted much of his time to his newly formed inter-denominational church neglecting his duties at his Chitungwiza assembly.
He chose the latter. In November , there was reported a miracle baby which was born after a certain Chitungwiza woman who had an encounter with Makandiwa got pregnant and delivered a baby within three days of conception. The woman claimed that she had normal menstrual periods which ended on 15 November On 18 November , the couple went to the UFIM and when Makandiwa was praying for female congregates whose pregnancies had complications, he then declared that there was to be a miracle pregnancy which was to be delivered within a space of hours, days and weeks.
The prophecy came to pass but the baby died mysteriously. Makandiwa was reported to have performed a miracle that saw some of his followers miraculously having money in their pockets and in their bank accounts.
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