SA churches facing a Kairos moment

THE name Johan Heyns might have been forgotten by many South Africans, but to the people of Vanderbijlpark and surrounding townships such as Bophelong, Boipatong and Tshirela, Johan Heyns is a name they mention every day.

This is simply because the only clinic next to town is named after Professor Johan Heyns. To the people of Vanderbijlpark and the nearby townships, Johan Heyns Clinic has come to symbolise access to quality medical care to everybody, irrespective of race, class, gender and religion.

This is a fitting tribute to an accomplished Afrikaans academic theologian who was a dominant figure in changing the stance of the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk (NGK) from supporting apartheid as established and enforced by the then National Party (NP).

The system of apartheid was so entrenched in the NGK to an extent that the church was often referred to as “the Nationalist Party in prayer”.

During those difficult times of violent repression of anti-apartheid protests, Professor Johan Heyns took a stance and through his leadership, moved the NGK from embracing apartheid to supporting the establishment of a democratic and non-racial South Africa.

Like many other freedom fight- ers, Heyns paid the ultimate price in fighting for justice, freedom and democracy when he was assassinated by the forces of darkness who were bent at eliminating powerful anti-apartheid activists.

Heyns could not remain silent in the face of the wrongs committed by his church. He stood up against to fellow Christians who found nothing wrong with their church supporting apartheid. He was not the only Christian leader within the NGK, who fought against apartheid, there were many others.

I am reminded of a Student Christian Association gathering at Wits which was addresses by Dr David Bosch, also an academic theologian in the NGK who in response to a question from one of the two students about being in the NGK and yet fighting apartheid, quipped “I am fighting in the NGK against the NGK but for the NGK”.

In the mid-1980s, many student activists at Wits University could not sleep when we got the news that black residents were being evicted from a block of flats in Hillbrow. It was in the middle of a cold winter night when I saw women and children with their scanty possessions sitting and some sleeping outside a block of flats.

I approached a white man who was walking among people who were suddenly without a roof over their heads with nowhere to go. The man said he is waiting for a response from the then Supreme Court after he made an application that would force the landlord to let the residents return to their flats. I said to him “Tthis is late at night, how do you expect a court to make a ruling in the middle of the night?”. In spite of me being visibly hurt and irritated, he politely gave me a brief lesson on urgent court interdicts where a judge can be called during unholy hours to make a court ruling. The man was no one else but Bishop Peter Storey, a fierce fighter for freedom and social justice.

It was in 1979 when Alexandra township was supposed to be demolished by the apartheid government that a Christian leader by the name of Reverend Sam Buti took up the fight to save the community from being annihilated by the forces of apartheid.

It’s interesting to note that Reverend Buti helped save Alexandra township at the time when the National Party regime was at the height of its strength. This servant of God did all he could to preserve a township, which later produced many leaders in our society, from extinction.

I will never forget the sight of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in the mid-1980s when he walked out of the Wits campus after addressing students during chaotic anti-apartheid student protests. What surprised me was that despite the heavy presence of the police, Tutu confidently walked out without being surrounded by bodyguards. Tutu’s role in the Struggle is known at all the comers of the world.

In 1985, when the government utilised its might to crush resistance by, inter alia, deploying soldiers in the township and murdering political opponents, Christian leadership convened a conference titled “South Africa in a crisis: our response as children of God”. The main outcome of the conference was a document referred to as the Kairos document (KD).

The Kairos document defined itself as a Christian, biblical and theological comment on the political crisis in South Africa in the mid-1980s.

It positioned itself as an endeavour by concerned Christians in South Africa to reflect on the political situation in our society. It served as a critique of the theological models of the time and determined the type of activities the church engaged so as to resolve the problems of our country. The Christian Church has at different times in our contemporary history responded to crises in a manner that was principled and spoke truth to power.

I am of the view that one of the very serious crisis that the church is faced with today is the distortion of biblical teachings which have resulted in Christian congregants being abused by pastors, prophets, evangelist and other authority figures in churches.

The past few years have brought to public attention shocking Chris- tian practices that have, among other things, revealed:

- Christian congregants being forced to drink petrol, eat grass and other things that a normal person would not consume

- Insect killing sprays being directly sprayed onto the faces of congregants

- Stage managed miraculous healing whereby healthy individuals would sham illness and then be healed after being touched by the pastors who claim to have healing powers.

So much wrong is being done in some Christian churches to an extent that there are legitimate fears that some churches could experience what happened in the US to the followers of Jim Jones. Jones was an infamous pseudo-Christian cult leader of the Peoples Temple who in 1978 led more than 900 followers in a mass suicide via cyanide-laced drink.

The deaths of more than 900 people who followed Jones without question taught the world about the real dangers of unquestioning loyalty to cult leaders who claim to have spiritual powers.

By the look of things, South Africa has not learned from the history of Jones.

The Christian Church in South Africa is in a crisis of heretical Christian teachings and practice, particularly in the townships where gullible and Christians become victims of abuse and exploitation by modern day Jim Joneses.

We are as a Christian community confronted with our own “Kairos moment” – things have come to a head and require decisive action from responsible, principled and authentic Christian leadership.

Our Christian community needs women and men of courage such as Johan Heyns who will take up the fight against heretical Christian teachings and practice. People like David Bosch who would fight in the church, against the church but for the church.

In Limpopo, it took the MEC for Health to approach the courts so as to seek an order that would prohibit the “Prophet of Doom” from using Doom insect repellent on his congregation.

Where were Christian leaders such as Rev Storey who would stay up late at night waiting for an outcome of a court application that would enforce justice and dignity for the poor and vulnerable?

Our communities need leaders such as the late Rev Sam Buti who would stand up and face the forces of darkness in order to save our communities.

Women and men who would display the courage and bravery of Archbishop Tutu and walk into a chaotic situation and say “this should not be done in the name of Christ”.

Faleni is a Member of the Provincial Legislature (North West Province)