Online Reporter
Lovemore Kadzura
Post Reporter
IN a bold move, the United Methodist Church’s African bishops have vowed to push for the regionalisation of the church’s structures, seeking greater autonomy and louder voice in the global institution.
The decision comes on the heels of the UMC General Conference’s adoption of homosexuality – which sparked intense debate and resistance from African and conservative members.
Last week, African bishops convened at Africa University in Mutare to discuss the implications of this decision and the future of the church.
In an exclusive interview, Northern Katanga Bishop, Reverend Mande Muyombo emphasised that Africans in the church will never accept homosexuality, citing its incompatibility with their biblical interpretation and cultural values.
He revealed that regionalisation has long been a desired goal, aimed at giving regions outside the United States and Europe a greater say in the church’s decision-making processes, while allowing for more culturally sensitive worship practices and greater autonomy.
“It is not the issue of human sexuality that drove the debate on regionalisation. When you look at history, in 1948, the church created a commission called the Commission on Structure of Missions Overseas. The church, which started in the United States of America, was expanding, and one of the bishops suggested that the church was encountering new cultural contexts in Africa, the Philippines, and Europe. It was critical for the church to reflect on finding flexibility in its structure to allow other cultures to fit into the Methodist movement.
“The major conclusion of that commission was to allow flexibility, to decentralise the church so that every region of the world could express their faith and have effective missions within their cultural ethos. The issue of human sexuality came later and many Western countries have navigated this social issue. Marriage is a social and cultural issue, as people marry according to their cultures.
“When the issue of homosexuality became debatable, Africa deemed it unacceptable – that is why we pushed for more autonomy and decentralised infrastructure to make our own decisions and remain faithful to our cultural ethos. Marriage is not a doctrinal issue; it is based on customs and values. Cultural aspects of marriage take precedence over the blessing of the marriage (in the church),” said Bishop Muyombo.
He said by regionalising the church, they would not be pulling out of the broad UMC, but rather creating platforms where members can congregate and make decisions that align with their cultural contexts without them being forced to adopt alien cultures and beliefs through a single general conference.
“We are a connectional church with members in America, Europe, Africa, and the Philippines, and homosexuality became a burning issue from a human rights perspective in the West. However, as Africans, we are clear, firm, and consistent that we will never accept same-sex marriages because it goes against our cultural values.
“In fact, it is impossible to have such marriages because our culture does not allow it. The worldwide nature of our church has drawn us into this debate. One of the benefits of regionalisation is that the debate on homosexuality will no longer be an issue at general conference. We want the Americans and Europeans
to deal with it on their own.
“Many traditional churches with origins in America have gone through similar challenges. Africans, whether Catholic, Anglican, or Methodist, have been firm in their opposition to same-sex marriage. We remain faithful to our cultural understanding of marriage and our interpretation of the Bible, which states that marriage should be between one man and one woman.
“America is also diverse, and not everyone there supports same-sex marriage. There are conservatives who share our views,” said Bishop Muyombo.
Bishop Muyombo also addressed the issue of Americans using their financial influence to impose their views on other regions.
“If the church is regionalised, it will give Africans more financial freedom, including taking care of our own bishops. Currently, bishops’ welfare is catered for from a central pool run from the USA, which members feel is being abused to dictate the pace and direction of the church.
“In Africa, with our membership, we can have more bishops, but financial constraints are holding us back. We need to raise more funds to support our bishops. The US is one country, but it dominates 50 countries in Africa.
The US can no longer be the centre of our United Methodist Church. Membership in the US has been shrinking.
“We have developed our own unique flavour of Methodism. We have what we call connectional giving, where all churches contribute to the episcopal fund, and the funds are distributed to the bishops. We are encouraging Africa to contribute more, to the point where we can support our bishops. If we want to make our own decisions, we should also be able to fund our ministry.
“In regionalisation, we now have an opportunity to establish income-generating projects, secure our own finances, and become self-sufficient. When someone provides you with financial support, they inevitably exert significant influence over you. We must approach theology from our unique African perspective.
“It is essential that we decolonise the church, freeing ourselves from external control. We are fully capable of preaching the gospel using our own resources, without relying on external support,” said Bishop Muyombo.
Ends.
