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

–– 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?’  

Continue reading

TARIF: The Rotten Fruit from Affirmative Action

The Africa Review in Five highlights African current affairs from a Christian perspective. Listen and subscribe through Youtube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Today is Friday, July 14th, A.D. 2023. This is The Africa Review in Five, written by Paul Schlehlein and presented by Yamikani Katunga

The Rotten Fruit from Affirmative Action

This month marks the 20th anniversary that the Maputo Protocol was adopted, a women-specific document urging affirmative action on behalf of females in Africa. 

This document lists a number of women’s rights, including the right not to be discriminated against, which according to this document, means that “states are required to integrate a gender perspective in their policy decisions.” 

Here we see again the evils of affirmative action at play, this time not in relation to race but to gender. This is not about equal opportunity. It is about forcing equality. 

Continue reading