–– Seth Meyers

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

In war, the most important news and updates concern the conflict. The great reality beyond all others in Africa is the spiritual war where gazing angels are dazzled by the grace they see when true believers meet (Eph. 3:10). As we evaluate African churches, in this struggle over the souls of men some would say that Christianity in Africa is growing. But what is the nature of that Christianity? Should all of the growth be celebrated? Should missionaries pack up and be directed to other shores in this great battle? As one foot-soldier in the trenches on the Tsonga and Venda front in the northern part of South Africa, I report today on five marks that I have seen over and over in churches that use an African language. 

1.  Their Customs Are Arbitrary

When I say arbitrary, I mean a standard not resting on a solid rock. Different depending on who you speak to or the circumstance at hand.

• At the recent conference celebrating the 150-year anniversary of the Presbyterian missionaries among the Tsongas, I held an interview with one of the leading pastors. He told me that women can be pastors in the churches even though long ago they were not allowed. I asked if men could marry men, which he vehemently denied. But then, “What about when times change, like with women preachers?” Laughing, he said we will see in time. 
• A woman that I baptized came out from a shack church where she testified that the pastor offered to give her a discount on her tithe if she would grant him conjugal benefits whenever he passed by. 

The will of the pastor, the custom of the people, or the fickle mood of the age: these hold authority, and so the church is arbitrary. 

2. Their Religion is Eudaemonic

I first read this word in a hundred-year-old book describing Tsonga culture by one of the first Presbyterian missionaries. He said the Tsonga religion “is purely eudaemonistic, the religious ceremonies having as their sole aim material benefits connected with the terrestrial life, e.g. abundance, health, peace, and good sleep!” (Junod, vol. 2, p. 428, emphasis added) The word pertains to comfort and happiness in this life. 

After having preached the gospel repeatedly on a street, I will ask the 10-20 people a question based on Revelation 20:15, “Is your name in the Book of Life? ‘Yes,’ ‘no,’ or ‘I don’t know’?” Most people say, “I don’t know.” and very few will fall into the other categories

Then after desperately pleading with them to turn to Christ, I ask in closing, How can I pray for you? Anticlimactically, I commonly hear answers like, “Pray that my child will pass in school,” or “I need a job.” On the contrary, It is a mark that the message is actually striking home when some ask for prayer to be written in the book of life, or to have new hearts. 

The prosperity gospel has soared in popularity only because it brings no new affections. They previously loved comfort, and this message speaks much about what they had already loved, merely veiled behind Christian terms like ‘Bible’, ‘accept Jesus’, and ‘church’.

1 John 2:15 says “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” What then should our verdict be regarding a class of churches that clearly loves the world and its things? 

3. Their Hearts Are Fearful

Most Tsongas fear witchcraft the way Americans fear the government. This fear guides their decisions large or small, public or private. Consider these examples:

• Mr. Maleti told me that at his previous church, the pastor warned all the people that if they stepped out from his “umbrella of protection” very bad things would happen to them. 
• The majority of people surveyed at the ZCC testified that they attended that church out of fear of disease and hope that the church could provide a kind of spiritual medical scheme for them. 

4. Their Traditions Are Oral

I have never met a pastor who has admitted to having read the entire New Testament. Many Bibles go to church, but few are used at church or at home. 

In most churches, traditions are passed down, but not written down. Songs spring from social media and famous artists, but rarely from men who work through a text and try to arrange the words beautifully. 

5. Their Religion is Legalistic

Paul wrote Galatians to a group of churches that had been infiltrated by men who taught justification by works. This is the default position of nearly all churches that I have found. 

One of the famous songs that nearly everyone knows says, “It does not take money, but good works to get to Heaven.” Churches sing this song on Sundays and at funerals. The corresponding six-minute video shows the congregation repeating these words, while crosses are on the walls and the signs on the stage say, “The year of grace … To win souls of people”. Would Paul the apostle not call this another gospel (Galatians 1:6-7)? 

Conclusion

After many years of work in Tsonga and Venda, speaking to normal church members and pastors, these five marks have emerged over and over so as to stain the religion in this area the way the Catholic Mass marks Italy. Until the nature of non-English churches is firmly understood by English-speaking churches in Africa, we will probably go on assuming these people groups actually have a significant number of true Christians and churches, and thus we will not send workers.