The church needs to be called out

In an ideal country, the church is supposed to speak the truth against political rhetoric and protect that which is sacred.

This is not the case in Kenya as the church continues to fuel the leadership ineptitude by being part of the greed, and existing as two-faced.

Church leaders are divided on whether to accept money from political leaders whose sources of funds are linked to allegations of massive theft of public funds.

The fact that this simple black-or-white issue has been made so grey by church leaders is truly the non-fictional version of a wolf in sheepskin.

Theft is both a legally punishable crime and a sin. One preacher, during a recent interview, confidently said on national television that they’re not called to be a barometer of where the money is coming from.

It was an admission that the church does not care about its role as an actual barometer, and that the “it’s our turn to eat” mentality that enforces divisive leadership is not just within political space but also strong in the church.

We’ve witnessed pastors allow political leaders to use the pulpit to cleanse themselves after being accused of various crimes and then immediately after offer millions of shillings as donations.

What many are hesitant to admit is that this money may be packaged as a donation but is noticeably the amount used to directly buy the silence of the church.

The political class understands that the only way to maintain control over the people is by gaining access to places of worship.

So, they present themselves before a passive congregation as humble sinners who have merely fallen short and have found their way back.

This is the normalised Sunday service theatre that relentlessly disgraces the house of God with its scams, greed and selective application of scripture.

The church in Kenya needs an overhaul of its leadership. As long as religious leaders enjoy living in loud and large comfort acquired by selling their voice, they’ll forever be an impediment to progressive leadership.

However, what the duplicitous church has succeeded in doing is manipulating its congregation to believing that being religious means being particularly silent in the face of bad leadership.

This is similar to how the tribal leaders have made their followers believe that being a great supporter means you cannot question the leader.

Nothing can be further from the truth, as the essence of the church or political leadership is to provide space where the people can ask questions.

We must, therefore, start to question why the church isn’t using its power to fight for better on behalf of its congregation and call it out for its failure.

We must begin to ask why the church is only glossing over key leadership issues with numerous prayer rallies and zero tangible activities on other fronts. Even the Bible warns against prayer with no action.