Delivering Church leadership from charlatanry and controversy in African Pentecostalism

Abstract

Background: By compounding the sacred and the profane and by talking while walking concurrently as God-men and conmen, many Pentecostal leaders are entangled in a heterogeneity of charlatanry and controversy. African ecclesial leadership is mired in bizarre stories of duplicity, impersonation, blasphemy, sexual innuendo and use of a variety of names and titles, which, in short, is controversial and represents charlatanry. Because Christian leadership is expected to be Christ-like and above reproach, escalating tales of charlatanry and controversy compromise Christian leadership.
Objectives: Although much has been researched and published about the excesses of Pentecostal leadership, such as the commercialisation of the gospel, an analysis of their charlatanry and solutions for the controversies are presently lacking.
Methods: This article employed a literature review and an ethnographic study of selected Pentecostal leaders from Zimbabwe.
Results: African Pentecostal Church leadership is flawed by charlatanry and controversy. Drawing from ethical Christian leadership, it considers that fallen leaders can be restored, reformed and transformed through intellectual conversion, affective conversion, volitional conversion, relational conversion and moral action.
Conclusion: Charlatanry and controversy can deface Christian leadership and tarnish the image of the Church. The remnant of godly denominational and ecumenical ecclesial leaders should correct and help those who have fallen into charlatanry and controversies, so to repent, be reformed, restored, transformed and realigned to God’s will through ethical Christian leadership.
Contribution: This article contributes to Church leadership reformation, restoration and transformation.