The
issue
came
under
the
spotlight
on This
Morning
on
Asakhe,
an
X-Spaces
programme
hosted
by
CITEZW,
where
speakers
shared
differing
views
on
whether
the
church
has
become
too
quiet
on
matters
of
national
concern.
Pastor
Ray
Motsi
said
what
many
see
as
silence
from
the
church
is
a
sign
of
deeper
leadership
gaps.
“The
silence
we
have
in
the
church
is
a
symptom,
not
the
actual
problem,”
he
said.
“We
no
longer
have
church
leaders
who
are
passionate
about
national
issues
or
who
feel
called
to
respond
to
the
struggles
in
our
communities.
We
don’t
have
the
kind
of
leaders
we
once
had.”
He
argued
that
the
church
has
lost
its
place
as
a
trusted
moral
guide.
“The
church
is
no
longer
seen
as
a
moral
compass,”
he
said.
“God
raises
leaders
for
a
season
to
address
specific
issues,
but
right
now
we
simply
don’t
have
leaders
who
are
God-conscious,
spirit-led
and
able
to
speak
confidently
into
our
situation.”
But
Reverend
Kenneth
Mtata
pushed
back
against
the
criticism,
saying
claims
that
the
church
has
been
silent
are
not
entirely
accurate.
“I
am
not
sure
that
the
church
has
been
silent
regarding
the
2030
agenda,”
he
said.
“If
you
look
at
the
government’s
development
plans
under
the
National
Development
Strategy
1,
the
church
has
actually
been
engaging.”
He
said
the
second
interpretation
of
the
2030
debate,
linked
to
speculation
over
possible
changes
to
presidential
term
limits,
is
still
uncertain.
“The
proposal
has
not
been
brought
to
Parliament
or
the
courts,”
he
said.
“But
the
churches
have
already
spoken.
As
far
back
as
January
2025,
churches
issued
a
pastoral
communiqué
explaining
why
constitutional
amendments
could
harm
the
culture
of
constitutionalism.
So
the
church
has
not
been
silent.”
Another
contributor,
EL
Magnifico,
said
expectations
of
the
church
must
reflect
how
much
the
relationship
between
religion
and
politics
has
changed.
“We
can’t
expect
the
church
to
operate
like
it
did
in
biblical
times,
when
a
prophet
could
walk
straight
into
a
king’s
court
and
challenge
him,”
he
said.
“Politics
and
the
church
now
operate
separately.
That
relationship
has
shifted
over
time.”
Political
commentator
Mthulisi
Hanana
said
it
may
simply
be
too
early
for
the
church
to
take
a
definitive
position
on
the
2030
issue.
“As
far
as
2030
is
concerned,
it
would
be
unfair
to
expect
the
church
to
comment
on
what
is
still
a
political
statement
of
ambition,”
he
said.
“The
details
are
not
clear
yet,
so
the
church
can’t
be
expected
to
respond
to
something
that
hasn’t
been
defined.”