Prophet Emmanuel Makandiwa’s statements as reported in the Sunday Mail
30 March 2014 perpetuate hate and wrong perceptions about LGBTI people. It is unfortunate coming from a high-ranking church leader of his calibre. As a man of the church, one would expect Prophet Makandiwa to do his gospel duty by standing alongside the marginalised and the social outcast. It is one thing for you to remain silent or neutral about homosexuality; it is quite another for you to castigate us when some of your followers are LGBTI people themselves hence statements such as the ones quoted in the Sunday Mail hinder his ability to reach out to the people that yearn for God’s love. He does not have the right to judge.
As Christians we are called to love just as we would love anyone else. We should learn to show compassion and be willing to associate with those that bear the burdens of life placed upon them by others. Prophet Makandiwa must have conviction of the power of the Gospel he preaches to “convert”. He needs not be a modern day “Pharisee”. We are reminded of (Matthew 23:13-15) One of the fundamental roles of the church is to foster love, unity, empathy and cohesion in society. This does not seem to be reflected in his offensive comments that serve only to reinforce the prejudice against LGBTI people in this country and encourage persecution.
Being a pastor is more about being willing to be led by God and changed by the people you meet than issuing infallible decrees from the pulpit. As a pastor and Christian in order to serve his flock well, he might do so by admitting he is wrong and sharing his frailty than pretending he know Gods will on a given subject.
We hope he will understand that manipulating the authority of the church to fight political battles is the most blatant sin and that he prays for a day when the question of one’s sexuality will become irrelevant and discrimination against lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender people will be relegated to the same heap containing slavery, racism (including anti-Semitism), sexism and discrimination against socially marginalized groups and people.
Source – MSM Global Forum
