The role of the church in the public space in Zimbabwe (2017–2023) : lessons drawn from Johannine Jesus in John 21:15–18

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Authors

Chamburuka, Philemon M.

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AOSIS

Abstract

The New Testament presents Jesus as a transformational leader whose ministry had a holistic approach to challenges that were prevalent in his contemporary world. This article is a theological reflection of the role of the church in the public space in Zimbabwe as we draw lessons from servant leadership which is derived from Johannine Jesus’ message in John 21:15–18 with special focus on the Zimbabwean socio-political context (2017–2023). It is imperative for the Zimbabwean church to draw lessons from the socio-historical interpretation of Johannine Jesus’ message in John 21:15–18 because the Bible has to speak to our context in the here and now. The article concludes that the Zimbabwean church is compromised because of divisions among ecumenical Christian organisations on how to deal with socio-political issues in Zimbabwe such that an effective application of Jesus’ political ethics is problematic. The article recommends that church should be more proactive by empowering her members and the community at large on how Jesus’ ethics on servant leadership are useful in sociopolitical context in Zimbabwe. This will help the church to remain relevant and transformative in the public space. CONTRIBUTION : The article contributes towards the scope of the special collection on the contextual reading of New Testament in the socio-political landscape in Zimbabwe as it focuses on the lessons drawn from the socio-historical interpretation of the Johannine Jesus’ message in John 21:15–18 towards the role of the church in the public space in Zimbabwe.

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DATA AVAILABILITY : Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no new data were created or analysed in this study.
The author/s are participating in the research project ‘Africa Platform for NT Scholars’, directed by Prof. Dr Ernest van Eck, Department of New Testament and Related Literature, Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Pretoria.
Special Collection: The contextual reading of the New Testament in the socio-political landscape in Zimbabwe, sub-edited Tobias Marevesa and Conrad Chibango, Great Zimbabwe University.

Keywords

Church, Johannine Jesus, Public space, Servant leadership, Socio-political, Zimbabwe

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Citation

Chamburuka, P.M., ‘The role of the church in the public space in Zimbabwe (2017–2023): Lessons drawn from Johannine Jesus in John 21:15–18’, HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 79(4), a8979. https://DOI.org/10.4102/hts.v79i4.8979.