Category Archives: The Africa Review In Five

Sullivan’s Kidnapping and a Lesson on Risk

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

On Thursday, 10 April, in a coastal town in South Africa, American missionary Josh Sullivan was kidnapped by four armed suspects. The location was Fellowship Baptist Church in Motherwell, a large township in Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) in the Eastern Cape. The men apparently entered the church during a prayer service that Sullivan was leading, abducting him and taking his Toyota Fortuner. Sullivan’s wife and young children were not harmed. There are reports that he is being held for ransom.

According to police statistics, there has been a 264% increase in kidnappings in South Africa over the past decade. 

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South Africa’s National Sin & Stain of Abortion

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–– Tim Cantrell

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

Recently I was struck with two solemn reminders of the scourge of abortion upon South Africa and our world today:

(a) A recent Sunday evening sermon at our church was on Genesis 9 and God instituting the death penalty for all murders so that the sanctity of human life would be upheld as made in His very image.

(b) In our adult Sunday School ethics course, one of the doctors in our church recounted in detail the current stats on abortion. Worldwide, a horrific 73 million infants are murdered annually; in South Africa, it’s abominable that 260,000 babies are slain in their own mother’s womb, one out of every three pregnancies!  

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Black Tax: How Christians Should Care for Ageing Parents (Part 5)

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

The Black Tax has become such a pervasive issue in South Africa over the past several decades that books like Handle Black Tax Like a Pro have become a thing. 

High earning blacks feel such a heavy duty to provide for lesser privileged family members that they often feel lost at sea as to how much and to whom they are bound to give. In this series we’ve observed pertinent biblical passages that address this issue. 

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Literacy, Reading, and Missions

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–– Seth Meyers

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

Who can be a Christian without reading? Some could hear the Word and respond in faith, but without a broad base of careful readers, no church will endure in a culture. If a group were converted simply by listening, could they grow and reproduce on a national scale without first becoming very Bible-centered? 

Paul told Timothy that pastors must give care to reading the Word both in public and private (1 Tim. 4:13 and 15). Individual believers must search the Scriptures to weigh a teacher’s words against the original standard (Acts 17:11). Because man does not live by bread alone, but by the words of God (Matt. 4:4), he must grow as a Christian until he is habitually literate. 

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South Africa’s Sovereignty: Rage or Repentance?

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–– Jonathan Klimek

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

As South Africans, we have heard members of the South African government assert that our nation “will not be bullied” and must safeguard its sovereignty, national interests, and constitutional democracy. In his 2023 State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Ramaphosa rallied the nation to unite against external pressures [1]. These are stirring words, but do they align with God’s design for righteous governance? South Africa stands at a pivotal period in history: Will we cling to alliances and policies that defy Divine justice, or will we repent and pursue the grace and peace God promises to those who honour Him? Scripture offers both a warning and a way forward—if we have the courage to listen.

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African Media: The Flight From Truth

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–– David de Bruyn

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

The past few weeks have moved South Africa into the international spotlight as U.S. President Donald Trump accused South Africa of expropriating property and mistreating various groups. He then offered a form of refugee status to Afrikaner farmers affected by the South African government’s actions.

This produced howls of opposition and derision from liberal media and commentators in South Africa, variously accusing the American administration of lying, deceit and, unsurprisingly, racism. People were quick to ‘fact-check’ the U.S. President and respond with everything from crying foul to thumbing their nose at the cancellation of U.S. money sent to South Africa. Conservatives applauded the U.S. for finally revealing the racism in South African politics and law.

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Black Tax: How Christians Should Care for Ageing Parents (Part 4)

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

The black tax refers to the money black Africans feel obligated to pay in order to support their parents and siblings. Zimbabwean Masimba Musodza says the black tax is “when one person is seen as having made it and is obligated to support all the less well-off relatives, no matter how distantly related.” 

So ingrained is the black tax in African culture that to request absolution from such expectations is like asking a cat to bark. Pardon from the black tax is impossible and should a man ignore it, he best prepare himself to be bête noire. 

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Money Games in the Church

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–– Joe Shoko

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

When self-styled ‘prophets’ don’t spend time reading and preaching from the holy Word of God, they will begin to look for ways to continue keeping their followers hooked.  These cleverly devised schemes would compete with any of the soap operas on television.

Emmanuel Makandiwa of United Family International Church, who has an insatiable craving for media attention was back at it again, this time with a more bizarre challenge. In recent years this blasphemous man has uttered statements like, “I am more gifted than God” and “If you go to heaven and do not find me there you have gone to hell”, yet his followers and his adherents continue to applaud in amusement and support.

Makandiwa is one of the most influential men in Zimbabwe. The services that he holds every Sunday are filled to capacity and that does not show any signs of slowing down. The auditorium can accommodate 10,000 people. This means that 10,000 souls are flocking to hear blasphemy week in and week out. 

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Black Tax: How Christians Should Care for Ageing Parents (Part 3)

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

According to Visual Capitalist, South Africa has one of the lowest effective retirement ages in the world, defined as the average age of exit from the labour force for workers aged 40 years or more. The lowest age in the world is fifty-nine from the country of Luxembourg. South Africa is just a year older at age sixty. 

Luxembourg makes sense, since it has by far the world’s highest per capita GDP at $129,000 per year. But South Africa’s per capita GDP is about one hundred spots lower at $6,000 per year. How can such an early retirement coexist with such a low GDP per capita?

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Black Tax: How Christians Should Care for their Ageing Parents (Part 2)

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

In a now-deleted Tiktok rant, Elsa Majimbo roared to one of her parents: “I was born, I was raised, I grew up, now you’re asking me for money – you lazy [expletive]. I’m not feeding your habits.”

This is how some African adults feel today. They rage at the thought of supporting their parents, especially if it’s a delinquent Dad or Mom. 

What should be the realistic expectations for adult children in caring for their parents? This is a common conundrum in Africa, where fathers and mothers often insist that their children finance them until death. But it’s not only about money. How should children interact with their parents’ transgressions?

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Black Tax: How Christians Should Care for their Aging Parents (Part I)

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

These days, many Africans are feeling the pressure of the “black tax”, a colloquial term referring to the obligation of children to provide for their parents on a continual basis. 

Poverty in Africa adds to the anxiety but sometimes wealth only makes the black tax worse. Some even call it an epidemic. The layers of difficulty are many, especially with first-generation Christians who feel torn about how to help unbelieving relatives, some of whom face financial difficulties of their own making. 

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The State of Society is the Résumé of the Church

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–– Lennox Kalifungwa

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

The Chaos is the Mission Field

In the wake of unravelling chaos—ethnic hatred, the murder of the unborn (and farmers), theft, overdependence on foreign aid, envy and entitlement, high costs of living, corruption, and failed leadership—one force alone can turn the tide: the church’s repentance.

The New Testament does not describe the church as fragile but as powerful. It is the salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13), the light of the world (Matt. 5:14), the bride of Christ (Eph. 5:25–27), the ambassadors of Christ (2 Cor. 5:20), the sons of God (Eph. 1:5), and the heirs of the kingdom (Eph. 3:6). These are not mere embellishments but declarations rooted in Christ’s triumphant work. The church is not meant to scrape and plead for influence—it is assured in faithfulness to Christ, not as a reward for ambition but as the inevitable fruit of our calling.

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How Should South Africa Respond to American Sanctions?

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

In 1662, Jan van Riebeeck and the first Dutch settlers arrived at South Africa’s Table Mountain. By the 1830s the descendants of their Dutch forebears, called Afrikaners, had tired of British rule and friction with the Xhosa. With pastoral life becoming harder to achieve and the broad hinterland increasingly tempting, Louis Trichardt and the trekboers began the Great Trek inland in 1837. 

Since then, the Afrikaner has waged many battles, played both vanquished and victor, imposed her fair share of prejudiced legislation, borne the loss of power, shifted from oppressor to oppressed, and resettled to Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and every corner of the globe. Yet, South Africa has remained her treasured habitation.

Just under 200 years separated the van Riebeeck landing and the first exodus. Now, another two centuries demarcate today from the first wagon wheels rolling north. The question arises: Is 2025 the year of another massive Afrikaner departure from their beloved South Africa?

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Is Witchcraft Real? 

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–– Seth Meyers

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

In December 2024 near Kwa Zulu Natal, a man admitted to a terrible crime. The life of Zandile Kumalo was taken, horrifically documented, and then spread on social media. A reporter far away in Limpopo raised the question of witchcraft in connection with this vile string of events. Enos Magwabeni interviewed a witch doctor (name unpublished, hereafter WD), called a traditional healer by those trying to dignify the sad and dark ways of heathenism, and their exchange discussing the December murder of Zandile by Sibusiso was published in the Limpopo Mirror 17 January 2025 (article not archived online). 

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Six Ways to Shame Your Mother

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

A Puritan once said that some parents, like Eli, bring up their children, to bring down their house. In other words, some parents, like Eli, just don’t know how to parent and they pay the price. 

Proverbs 10:1 says: “A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.”

This got me thinking. Where are the best and worst places in the world to be a mom? Global Citizen says it’s Somalia because over 5% of the mothers die of maternal-related complications and 15% of the children don’t make it to their fifth birthday. 

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Are ‘Points of Contact’ Biblical?

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

Pastor Paseka ‘Mboro’ of South Africa continues to fill the headlines. For years he’s drawn criticism for driving luxury vehicles in a poor neighborhood, claiming bizarre healing ability or, most recently, facing assault and kidnapping charges. But his run-ins with the law are far less concerning than his aberrant theology. 

In a clip from Reggie Yates entitled “Extreme South Africa: The Missionary Preacher”, Mboro insists his parishioners bring underwear to church so that he may bless their “vuvuzelas” and “biscuits”, euphemisms for the male and female reproductive organs. 

Mboro uses common prosperity tactics, in this case “points of contact”, in which the congregants’ undergarments serve as the conduit through which his supposed miraculous power will flow. Is this biblical?

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From Kings to Courts: Does the Bible Support Any Government System?

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–– David de Bruyn

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

The recent riots in Kenya is another example of the weakness of governments in Africa. The failure of governments in Africa regularly make the news. Whether it is corruption, neglect, incompetence, or outright scandal, Africans long for better governments. But what makes for good government, according to Scripture?

Government is meant to serve the good of its people. As Romans 13:4 puts it, “The civil authority is God’s servant for your good.” But what does this actually look like? What should government protect and promote, and what principles should guide its structure? 

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Did You Cross Over into the New Year?

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–– Joe Shoko

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

The beginning of each year is always an interesting time for the observer or onlooker. After the excitement of the festivities passes and the increase of unwanted kilograms dawns upon us, then comes the time for ‘declaring & decreeing’, ‘overnight cross-overs’ and ‘40 days of prayer and fasting’. This has become a ritual in Africa. Many of the adherents of Pentecostal/Charismatic theology prioritise attending the cross-over services which their churches hold on the last day of each year, into the dawn of the New Year. 

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Should Churches Be Self-Supporting, or Even Talk About Money?

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–– Tim Cantrell

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

Everyone can see that the brain drain has dealt a heavy blow to Africa.  Skilled professionals emigrate overseas, while locally the working class are forced to leave their villages for our African cities in search of work, as our continent continues to urbanise.  All of these factors severely impact churches and their income.  Recent news told of a local pastor having “sleepless nights” because of losing so many faithful givers in his church to emigration.  While there are many causes of brain drain, my aim here is simply to answer two practical, related questions: (a) ‘How important is it for churches to be self-supporting?’; (b) ‘How should churches respond to a financial crisis?’  

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The Two Worlds in Africa

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–– Seth Meyers

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

Of the 80 members in the South African Tsonga churches, 15 members have full time jobs. Several of those 15 are informal jobs such as cleaning houses or selling snacks to school children, meaning that the pay is less than R2,000 ($110) per month or R66 ($3.70) per day. One man told me that he is 100% satisfied with the job he has had for a year because it pays R4,500 ($250) per month. Other members work from time to time doing hair, building, or cleaning when part time work presents itself. 

But that should be compared with a friend in Johannesburg South Africa who told me that it would be hard for a family to live with less than R30,000 ($1,666) per month. How could it be hard to live with 10 times more than other Christians are making? 

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Nigeria, a Muslim Catechism and a Boise State Linebacker

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

Nigeria is the deadliest place in the world to follow Jesus. Militant Muslims hunt Christians there the way a lion stalks a wounded gazelle. 

According to the Open Doors Watch List, North Korea is the most dangerous place in the world for Christians, but Nigeria is the most deadly. In 2023, nearly 5,000 Christians were killed worldwide (that’s thirteen murdered a day) and 90% of these martyrdoms happened in Nigeria. More Christians are killed in Nigeria than all other nations combined, most often by Islamist jihadist groups like Boko Haram. 

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Sown, Grown, Blown, Mown, Gone 

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

Every hour, over 300 people in Nigeria die. That’s five people every minute. This is more deaths per hour than any country in Africa and fourth highest in the world. China is first, at 1,300 deaths per hour, followed by India (over 1,000) and the U.S. (340). 

The hundreds of Nigerians that pass into eternity every hour remind us of the brevity of life, as do life expectancy rates around the world, especially in Africa. Though numbers are on the rise compared to just a few decades ago, when life expectancy in Africa was 36 years old in 1950 (compared to 64 years old today), modern life expectancy is minuscule compared to the earth’s earliest days when Adam lived for 930 years and Methuselah died at 969. Enoch went to heaven as a young pup at age 365, but only because the Lord took him away before tasting death.

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The Best of Between Two Cultures: 2024

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Based on traffic, here are the most popular articles from 2024. 

  1. When Are Two People Really Married?
  2. Review: Engenas Lekganyane and the Early ZCC
  3. What Bill Gates, Spurgeon, and Muslims Teach Us About Bible Memory
  4. Am I Gay?
  5. How Long Was the Ark of the Covenant at Abinidab’s House?
  6. A Dozen Practical Ways to Evangelize
  7. Seven Ways a Husband Should Protect His Wife
  8. The Christian and the Bride Price (1): What is Lobola?
  9. Kenya’s Eco-Tax Revolt: A Christian Response
  10. Ancestor Worship in the Church

Unique Christmas Traditions in Africa

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

Christmas did not exist in Africa before Christianity reached its shores. Christianity did not exist in Africa before the missionaries brought it. Therefore, Africans have missionaries to thank for the Christmas holidays. 

Christmas is the holiday in which Christians celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus. Specifically, Christmas commemorates the incarnation, when God assumed human nature in the person of Christ. Unlike theophonies in the Old Testament, where Jesus appeared in human form temporarily, the incarnation was fixed and permanent, so that even today Jesus dwells in a glorified human body and maintains a human nature. 

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Bringing Biblical Balance To A Climate Of Extremes

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–– Mark Christopher

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

One of the constants in the news is climate change. I began studying and following the issue 20 years ago when it was called “Global Warming.” When the earth wasn’t heating up fast enough, the name was suddenly changed to the more general and easily exploitable “Climate Change.” 

The South African government recently applauded the 29th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP29) for committing 300 billion US dollars annually by 2035 to developing economies. This agreement also allows development banks to provide 1.3 trillion dollars annually in loans for climate financing. With this much money available, it is easy to see why the SA government applauds COP29. 

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A Christian Perspective on Male Circumcision Schools

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

Male circumcision schools are as common throughout sub-Saharan Africa as they are dangerous. Recently in Zambia, for example, forty-eight boys were rescued from a circumcision school after parents complained that their children had been abducted. In Malawi among the Yawo people, this rite of passage is called jando, marking a new era of sexual freedom.

Among the Tsongas in South Africa, it is called madlala. I have watched nearly two decades worth of coming home ceremonies, including the days I lived at the chief’s kraal when the boys were met with cheers from the community and dances from hordes of topless women. The father of a strong young Christian in our church tricked his son by capturing him in a vehicle and forcing him to attend the school. 

While differences in this practice vary widely between tribes and countries, I’d like to give a broad biblical perspective on male circumcision schools. 

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How Merry Should Your Christmas Be? A Christian View of Drinking 

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–– David de Bruyn & Tim Cantrell

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

The holiday season is fast approaching, with all of its blessings but also its dangers – of which one of the most notorious and widespread is the abuse of alcohol.  It was more common in my father’s generation for Christians to stand firm and swim upstream as teetotallers who abstained from alcohol.  But in our day, a trendy ‘Young, Restless & Reformed’ generation has arisen and at times foolishly flaunted their liberties in an effort to be more contextualised and hip with the culture.  A hyper-grace (antinomian) mood has fallen on the modern church and calls a “legalist” anyone who makes you uncomfortable in their zeal for holiness.

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Concern Over Christianity’s ‘Growth’ in Africa—5 Common Marks of Rural Churches 

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–– 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. 

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For Richer or Poorer? Thoughts on Formal and Informal Prenuptial Agreements

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–– Paul Schlehlein

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

In South Africa, as in many countries around the world, there are two kinds of marital regimes: “in community of property” or “out of community of property”, the latter of which usually takes the form of a prenuptial agreement. We’ll argue in this article that both formal and informal prenuptial agreements are inappropriate for Christians.

Two Marriage Regimes

“In community of property” means that all the assets and liabilities collected by either spouse before or during the marriage become jointly owned. This means that if Sally comes to the marriage with six figures of student loan debt, her husband, Steve, will incur this financial obligation. If Joseph blows the family savings at the horse races or increases his financial portfolio by 500%, Mary his wife of 30 years feels the pain or pleasure of his decisions. 

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Busted for Selling A Baby—The Reason These Women Did the Unthinkable

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–– Yamikani Katunga

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

The Sale of A Baby

With Black Friday upon us once again, nothing could prepare Zimbabweans for the darkness of the headline detailing the twisted trio of a 16-year-old mother along with her mother and another woman engaging in a sadistic sales agreement. The teen and her mother, Evelyn, appeared in court having been charged with human trafficking for selling her infant for 180 USD. The buyer is a woman named Tore who had apparently been plagued with miscarriages, and upon connecting with Evelyn on Whatsapp opportunism ensued. Rather than abort the seven-month-old pregnancy they conspired with a nurse, induced premature labour, faked a death certificate, and conducted the sale. Only to be ousted by a tip-off nine months after the baby’s birth. 

Upon hearing such a bizarre chain of events, many will rightly ask, what could cause such heinous plots in the hearts of men?

Here are three possible reasons to help understand why this mother would sell her baby. 

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