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Wednesday, 13 May 2020

A Faith Leader's Prerogative

As faith leaders, we should be committed to promoting what builds up the body of Christ and not stirring up dissensions that breed disaffection, especially on matters that simply poke our preconceived position and dogmatic notion.
We should be wary of exploiting our platforms of privilege to make controversial statements about classic traditions of the Church, particularly, when they reinforce the fundamentals of Christianity.
Our popularity or personality should not delude us into owning some kind of ecclesiastical authority to make heterodox pronouncements that only reek of showy triumphalism, and are devoid of thoughts that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable, and excellent and worthy of praise.
Image may contain: Dotun Anthony Akinsulire, smilingAs responsible faith leaders, we should be inter-accountable to fellow leaders of the body of faith, to the history, theology, and praxis of our common faith. We should never confuse our peculiar insight with the imperative of the orthodoxy of the articles of faith, even when they are expressed in litany or liturgy.
Our argument should be nuanced with the enrichment of scriptures, sound theology, and ecclesiastical history, and not from a conceited whim of personality clout (cult), or a reckless predisposition to rouse the rabble of our undiscerning followers.
What is scriptural or biblical is the description of what is taught in scriptures, regarding faith and praxis, and not a referent or linguistic expression in scripture, which is limited by the variant nature of manuscripts and the pluriformity of modern translations. Terminology is an outgrowth of human ingenuity and creativity, a privilege of our image-bearing proclivity (Gen 2:19), whereas, theology is a reflection and articulation of divine epistemology. Indeed our terminology should reflect our theology.
We should be learning leaders, not letting our 'lofty heights' freeze our potential to learn, grow, and become better versions of ourselves. We should not be seen to be ignorant and arrogant at the same time, lest we put a lid on our growth and that of our followers.

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