Interviews with Church elders and other groups of the Lilongwe CCAP

This section examines further the influence of the Pentecostal movements, as described in chapter 2, section 2.6. In addition, the section further attests the fourth hypothesis of this study.

The Lilongwe CCAP group discussed the following ministry issues:

Pentecostalism and fellowship groups: Pentecostalism and fellowship groups continue to be a challenge in the city. It so happened that, just prior to the research, the General Secretary sent a general letter to all Synod congregations stating that the youth are allowed to attend fellowship groups within the CCAP congregation. It further indicated that the details of the approach and management would be communicated at a later date. The promised details had not yet been communicated at the time the research was conducted. This delay created uncertainty in all the congregations, particularly in the city, where the recommendations were implemented haphazardly.

Another dilemma surrounded the Evangelical Association of Malawi (EAM). The Nkhoma Synod has been a member of EAM from its inception in Malawi. Moreover, Nkhoma played an important role during the time of the registration of EAM in the country. However, there are new developments in the EAM, which conservative Christians are not happy with. These concerns are such that people feel that the Synod should reconsider her stand with the EAM.

Commenting on the issue of "fellowship," the Kafita group expanded on the negative prac-tices, which, if tolerated, are detrimental to the Christian faith. Some negative practices of the EAM are:

1. Dancing during servIces and funerals, which is not compatible with the Synod's church practice.

2. Loud and noisy prayers, which convey an attitude of "holier than thou."

3. The groups emphasize speaking in tongues and regard those who do not speak in tongues as non-Christians.

The group warned that the present dissent is related to the fact that some ministers of the Synod take part secretly in these confusing Pentecostalism practices. This approach is weakening the faith of most urban Christians. During the research it was reported that these groups receive funds from outside bodies, mostly in the USA.

The Masintha team commented that, in order to address fellowship practices, the preachers in both services must preach biblical messages and conduct more revival meetings through which proper teaching can be taught to Christians at all levels. This will help to build the spirituality of congregants. Besides, the ministers need to prepare preaching topics with a view to exposing the dangers of "fellowship" and Pentecostal beliefs and teaching.

Marriage officiation: Another challenge that faces the ministry is the officiation of marriages. Three concerns, levelled against marriage officiation, were as follows:

1. A mixture o/traditions: There are mixed traditions in operation regarding the engage-ment of couples who are in love. Each family wishes to follow its own particular tradition. The dilemma is that people in Lilongwe come from different districts of Malawi.

2. Inability to keep time: Another challenge relates to a lack of punctuality on the day of the wedding. The bride and bridegroom arrive late at the Church for the ceremony.

3. Long services: Sometimes a minister holds a long sermon thereby taking more time than necessary. As a result, there is no time for instructing/advising the newly-weds.

Little wonder that most marriages do not last.

The Masintha CCAP team suggested that, in order to ensure marriage stability, more time is needed for chilangizo (marriage instructions). The team observed that since the couple does not receive effective chilangizo they end up by receiving chilangizo from non-Christians. As a result, they follow a chilangizo with no bearing on Christian principles. In order to ensure that Christian chilangizo is done, concerned church elders must be part of the wedding committee so that they can remind the parents of the importance of adhering to Church regulations governing marriages.

On the same issue, the Kafita CCAP team suggested that the selection of Alangizi (instructors) must be reviewed. Instead of selecting a man and woman, who are not a couple, this should be changed to selecting married couples. This will help to conduct a joint

chilangizo with the new couple without bashfulness. Furthermore, the new couple will be encouraged to contact the Alangizi whenever the need occurs.

Church services: As in other city congregations, the Lilongwe CCAP has two services: in Chichewa (the local language) and in English. The English service takes place from 08:30 to 09:30, and the Chichewa services follows from 10:00 to 11 :30. The challenges facing the church services are:

1. The Church elders of the two services are often in conflict, due to sudden decisions that each team takes and announces to the audience before checking with the others.

The problem is that people receive inconsistent announcements; this confuses the smooth arrangement of Church activities.

2. Frequently, the ministers called to city congregations cannot preach in English. This is a great challenge, as English services are entirely in the hands of visiting preachers, who are not fully conversant with the congregation's plans and vision. Also this makes it difficult for the minister in charge to identify the problem areas and attend to these before they grow and affect Church management.

3. Frequently, the official time for services is not honoured. This disturbs those who have urgent trips to make soon after the services. Besides, time is unnecessarily spent in the vestry arguing about issues, which are not uplifting to the Church. Church leaders then enter the Church services with troubled or disturbed hearts.

The Kafita CCAP team commented on the following challenges affecting the English service:

1. Preachers preach for longer than the official time. As a result, people leave the church during the service. This disturbs both the preachers and the remaining audience.

2. Some preachers find it difficult to deliver a sermon in English.

3. Some prayers are long, which are more ofa showing off than edifying the listeners.

4. It was proposed that the preacher should have quality time for preparation and not be placed under pressure of time when accepting an invitation to preach.

Poor relationships at the Lilongwe CCAP: One of the most important tools in participatory research is direct observation. This emphasizes the use of all senses while observing: smell, listen, touch, taste, sight and participation/sharing in the activities of the community. At the Lilongwe CCAP the researcher noted (through direct observation) that there is a poor relationship between the minister and the church members.

The following were indicators:

1. The telephone line, which was previously in the manse, has since been removed to the vestry. When a call comes for the minister, the clerk has to run to the manse to either pass on the message or call the minister to attend to the call. This is tiresome indeed considering the number of calls coming to the office of the church in a single day. The urgent calls during the night are simply left untended.

2. Very few people turned up to attend revival meetings during Easter. Formerly this was not the case.

3. The general appearance of both the church and manse premises are rapidly deteriora-ting. The once lovely and welcoming premises - with green grass and flowers has turned to be a place of dry and dying flowers. No one is available to water the garden.

4. Even after planning together and several follow-ups, most of the research plans were frustrated. For instance, the minister was unable to participate in some key ministerial forum where he would have received tools and ideas to enhance the management of the congregation.

The sooner modalities are put in place to address the situation at the Lilongwe CCAP, the better. Failing this, the situation will get out of hand.

(Interviews with: Rev. Dangaya, Messrs. Maluwa, Mvuta, F. Banda, Ntchafu Phiri, Nkhata, Phungwako, and S. Jamu at the Lilongwe CCAP on 31 May 2001.)