Silent voices
Dirtied clothes
Mutilated bodies
Orphaned children
Displaced families
Widowed Mothers
Butchered face
Landless children
Burnt granaries
Blackened huts
Destroyed harvest
Hungered stomachs
Sleepless nights
Tired feet
Frightened humans
Raped Men
Never again!
ARE
YOU THE ONE or SHOULD WE WAIT FOR ANOTHER?
By D.R. Ruhweza
The Gospel of Matthew narrates
a scene in its eleventh chapter, where the disciples of the jailed John the
Baptist inquire about the true identity of Jesus. John had not only leaped in
his mother’s womb when Jesus was still in Mary’s womb, (Luke 1:41) but he had
also declared who Jesus was and then had the honour of baptising Jesus. (John
1:27) In that same breath, John has probably watched in knowing awe when the
Holy Spirit descended like dove upon Jesus. (Luke 3:22) It was therefore
surprising that, whilst in custody, John would ask his disciples to inquire
about the mission or identity of Jesus. The Scripture says in verse 2 –
And when John had heard in prison about the
works of Christ, he [a]sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are
You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:2 NKJV)
Was he experiencing a moment
of doubt? Was he thinking twice about that which he knew? Did John, like many
before him, assume that the Messiah would take on a militaristic engagement
against the Roman Empire? The response of our Lord Jesus Christ seems to
suggest that he gave the answer that John was looking for. He told the
disciples to tell John what they saw –
“Go and tell John the things which you hear
and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the
deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to
them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Matthew 11:4
NKJV)
In essence, Jesus responded by
saying res ipsa loquitur (the facts speak for
themselves). He was basically telling John that I am indeed the one. In other
Scriptures, Jesus states that ‘….
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more
abundantly. (John 10:10 NKJV)
When I answered the call to
lead the Uganda Christian Lawyers Fraternity (UCLF), I had just completed a course
at the Institute for National Transformation (INT). (We had been warned by the
conveners of the course that many of their students, receive the call to lead
when or during their time at the Institute). We were therefore asked to be
ready since some didn’t even finish the course before opportunities to lead – often
at the top of powerful institutions – would come up. When the call comes, it is
often very easy to answer in the affirmative whilst seated in the classroom.
However, reality is different when you answer that call asking you to step up
and lead.
Often times, when the call
comes, it is difficult to say yes. This is what happened with Moses the Prophet
or Israel’s first King Saul. However, there are also situations like John the
Baptist where it is very easy for one to easily say yes but develop self-doubt
about what one has been called to do. At some point in my journey, I felt this
self-doubt about the mammoth task of leading the UCLF –a Christian, membership
based organisation comprising of stellar and senior legal practitioners and
judges and justices on the one hand, and students, newly recruited advocates on
the other. Yet I am reminded of these
powerful words to Queen Esther from her elder cousin Mordecai
In essence, there is always a
divine plan that is beyond our convenience, pay grade, comprehension, ability
and scale. It is a plan that is from the Lord. It is an enormous plan to build
arks, conquer cities and cross rivers and even declare war or death over sons
of Pharaohs. It is often quite scary.
Daniel R. Ruhweza
PhD
Chair Emeritus of the Board of Directors & President of
UCLF 2016-2020
TAKING THE BULL BY THE
HORNS: Dealing with the Fear of Conflict: A Reflecting Journal
Introduction
In the book The Five
Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership
Fable by Patrick Lencioni,
reveals that for a team to be cohesive, members had to trust each other be able to engage
rather than fear conflict, be able to commit
to decisions and plans of action, be able to hold one another to account on those plans, and finally, should focus on achieving collective results. In
this Journal, I highlight a story of a leader who made the efforts to correct
one of those dysfunctions – avoiding
conflict- in the team she was leading.
…….
I agree
with the author when says that the team ought to build on trust first before it engages other dysfunctions. We had therefore held
outings as a team, attended regular prayer altar meetings, and shared openly
about our strengths and weaknesses. We had split up the organization’s mission
statement and allowed each team mate to create and lead teams based on the said
leader’s strengths, passions and personality types. We had also sought to encourage
constructive criticism. This is by ensuring that every team mate is heard, but
also ensuring that they take it in good stride.
Lesson for reflection: Building trust remains an ongoing process.
This has to be done both jointly and severally, so that there is a well-groomed
team and trusted team. We need to continue to build the trust muscle in the
team.
I had
noticed that I tend to avoid conflict as much as possible. Nonetheless,
marriage has taught me how to engage in open and constructive conflict as
opposed to the ‘silent treatment’ or creating artificial harmony.
Earlier
this year, the team agreed to have an event and one of the members (hereinafter
referred to as Omureffu – not his real
name ) accepted to be in charge of organising the event. Omureffu procrastinated
in picking a team, opting rather to discuss the team issues in the Team
meeting. I consistently advised that Omureffu should set up a team to which we may/could
belong. Meetings would often stall for a
few minutes as we tried to convince him to do so. His modus operandi was to work, principally
with me. Unfortunately, this wasn’t made
any easier by his tendency to refuse to listen to other view points.
However, the team members remained resolute that we ought to
confront the brutal fact that
pulling off a event of this magnitude would be impossible without a full team
of differently gifted people. Lesson for
reflection: Leading volunteers is
uniquely different from having paid workers. Since a volunteer can easily walk
away, the leader often seeks to avoid conflict so as to ensure the volunteer
remains intact. However, this just prolongs the issues. While we viewed things
differently, team members saw the need for having a bigger team and their
honest opinions helped in overcoming this challenge.
The
Team finally agreed that the event would be at the beginning of a specific date.
However, Omureffu insisted on getting
approvals for the main guest before proceeding with advertising for the event. This delayed our plans further. After our
prayer meeting, I expressed the fear that if we are to have a successful event,
we should consider postponement for at least 60 days so as to give us time to
mobilise effectively. Omureffu threatened
to resign if we did. I asked him to hear me out just to express my fear. He
instead immediately called the Overall Overseer in my presence to overrule
me. I was honestly very cross with him.
Angry to be exact! Upon the end of his conversation with the Overall Overseer,
I told Omureffu with visibly steeled breath that what he had done was disrespectful
and wrong. I told him that he needed not
have escalated the matter when we were still debating it. At one point he tried
to make ad hominem arguments trying
to undermine the legitimacy of my disapproval of his approach. It took a lot of restraint on my behalf to
not only refuse to get ugly but also to walk away from the conflict. At the end
of the day, I reminded him once again to ensure
that he takes time to listen, (not for the sake of responding,) but so as to
understand the adverse party. At the end of the discussion, we made peace and
he later sent me messages re-iterating how sorry he was.
Lesson for reflection: It is important not to remain instead of walk away from the conflict simply because one
wants to avoid the emotional and other strain such conflict might cause.
Realizing
that event was near, Omureffu finally
called a team meeting but still had struggles working without my constant
presence. In spite of informing him that he had my full trust and he should
know I would support in all ways possible, he seemed unable to allow the team he
had constituted to work. In fact, at one time, during our weekly planning
meetings, Omureffu , who was chairing the session, burst out in front of the
new team, berating my lack of assistance and support. As he spoke, I noticed that I was getting very
angry with him. This is because not only was he making it difficult for others
to respond to what he was saying, but also forgetting to guard his tongue and
speak.
Since
the team was new and we had not yet built any synergies, I chose not to respond
directly to him so as to avoid conflict. With hinssight, it is probably because I didn’t
want open conflict over the issue. I also
had an evening class to teach, so I excused myself.
Interestingly,
one of the members (hereinafter called Mbabazi) took on the role of the miner for conflict. In that tense time, I did try my best to
respond to his questions. I would later appreciate his role after reading the
book under review. I recognition the above with hindsight, that he sought to
ensure –in a humorous way- that we were all on the same page. (Mbabazi is also
the involuntary but helpful miner of conflict in the Team meetings). Indeed, when I left the meeting, he continued
to ensure that focus was not lost on how to move forward. This is because, by
the time my class ended, I received a message from Omureffu via WhatsApp apologising for his
outburst. I asked for time to respond
because I was still angry. Lesson for
reflection: I tried to keep the
communication lines open even when I didn’t want to. I knew that as a leader,
it was upon me to keep the ship on course regardless of what was happening. I
however knew that in dealing with the dysfunctions, they are correlated and one
need not forget emotional intelligence in the process. They all work together
as seen below
The
next day, Omureffu calls asking to step
down from the position of Chair. I knew that he was avoiding conflict because
of his outburst. After a long conversation, we finally agreed that we should
meet with other stakeholders of the group so that we do not lose focus on the
task ahead. We had a frank and candid conversation. We allowed each other to
talk freely and air out what we thought was the issue. In my view, Omureffu is always rush to act or speak. In his view, he didn’t feel like I gave him
the support he needed, when he needed it. The Overall Overseer advised that he
needs to realize that having delegated the matter to him, I need not be the
only team he should refer to. We then agreed on how to run the matter
henceforth.
Lesson for reflection: Do not jump ship at the slightest sign of
conflict, rather, handle the conflict face on and allow yourself to be
vulnerable. By having these uncomfortable conversations, we were able to ensure
that instead of a ‘false peace’ honest concerns and opinions were being shared
and as a result, Omureffu was committed
to the cause. A few weeks down the road,
we had an amazingly successful event.
ENDS
Aluta Continua: Future plans
It is
advisable for teams to use the Thomas-
Kilman conflict mode Instrument so as to understand our natural
inclinations towards conflict and then make conscious decisions on how to react
in future. It is clear that the if we do not handle conflict properly, it
builds residues and the embers left would easily burn at the slightest
provocation. There is no easier way out.
We must all confront our fears and take
the bull by the horns. Conflict is around us, we therefore ought to confront it
positively.
ENDS
UNLEASHING THE ‘LION’ : A Synopsis of Bishop Sunday Adelaja's CHURCH SHIFT
Introduction
The lion is the unmistakable King of the animal
Kingdom. Many know that when it has been unleashed, all the other animals scatter
for safety. So it is with the church –when the true potential of the church is
finally unleashed, everyone’s physical and spiritual being will feel its
impact. All the proverbial hyenas of evil will scamper away and yet there will
be no hiding place for them.[1] Adelaja
argues that one day the church and its
people will no longer be humiliated but will lead nations with the social
answers instead of playing catch up. Just like Bill Hybels,[2] Adelaja postulates
that Church fulfils its mandate
when it changes society and not when it is confined to its sanctuary and school
room Classrooms. I have summarised twelve (12) key lessons from his book as follows:
Lesson 1: Stop being
timid: Adelaja challenges us to beware of the impact of past histories on
the ability of the church to arise to the occasion. He warns that we need to
overcome fear especially in light of possible persecution. However, like the
heroes of old e.g. the Uganda Martyrs have shown, when we overcome fear we are
able to do exceedingly, abundantly, over what we can ever think or imagine.[3]
Lesson 2: Get on the Ground:
Adelaja advises that the
church ought to leave the comfort of its sanctuary and get to where it is
needed most.[4] The church should become a solution provider otherwise, it will remain
irrelevantly ‘at the bottom step of the social ladder.’[5] This
is true, because the non-influential in society are never given any due
consideration. Society and the world
will only stop to listen to those who are relevant to them.[6] Therefore,
ministry should not only be about
preaching, but reaching out to the alcoholics, the derelicts, and all the
invalids in our midst..[7] God will
only trust us with the greatest of His people when we are faithful with the
least in society.[8]
A middle aged roughly dressed man recently took up the microphone at Worship
Harvest KatiKati and rebuked us for the way we treated him. That called for introspection
for those who were in the church.
Lesson 3: Take bold
steps: Adelaja helps one see that the Kingdom
of God has suffered violence and the violent take it by force. Just like Acts 5 shows, the church should not
always be timid and avoid direct confrontation with the government. This is
because, like the school bully, the enemy will use all means to strain and
stress the church. Like Frank Perretti[9] writes, there is a
time when we have to “stand up to the city government” and refuse them to shove
us around anymore”[10] In Uganda, churches have rightfully arisen to
resist the Government’s proposed Religious
Organisations Policy[11] which seeks to
limit the freedom to practice one’s preferred religion and attendant rights. [12]
Lesson 4: Promote the
Kingdom, not the Church: One of the critical lessons from Adelaja’s book is that there
ought to be a difference between building the Kingdom and building the church.[13]
Adelaja opines that the Kingdom is in us.[14]
The core concept here is that nations should be ruled by Kingdom principles and
this is where the church comes in since it knows –or is supposed to know- what
those principles are.[15] The Church therefore needs to focus on ‘taking a proactive position in society, to
go outside (the church) building and enforce His authority over an ungodly
nation and government.’[16]
(emphasis mine).
Lesson 5: The
practical picture Adelaja presents is that, we
ought to (i) teach – and show- the Kingdom principles by
addressing societal needs even if one doesn’t necessarily say the name of Jesus[17],
(ii) create models for programs that
address societal needs so that even the government cannot do without you and
therefore cannot harass you– as seen in the case of Rotary International[18]
and even Watoto Child Care, (iii) Be
excellent organisers, paying attention to detail like Worship Harvest
Ministries does because success can only
be sustained with an effective system of administration, management and
organisation.
Lesson 6: In this regard, the author challenges us that while prayer is very
critical, and indeed taking action without it is foolish, the Kingdom of God
belongs to the doers and not merely hearers of the Word.[19] This
means that a time comes when a Christian and the Church, jointly and severally,
have to stop praying but instead take
up a stand and actively participate bringing about the change they want. I have
a group of young University students, assembled under the grouping called Be
The Change, who I encourage to step up and do that which they know God
has passionately called them to do. [20]This
means that the church must ensure that Christian principles are at the core of
building a nation. Indeed, Adelaja opines that Godly people move into ‘positions
of influence and power when the church takes a strong visible stance in society.’
Lesson 7: For the church or the Christian to make an effective intervention
in the society and the nation, Adelaja challenges
us to find (our) Promised Land or
what Johnny Enlow calls Mountain of Influence.[21]
If we do not do so, then anything we do shall be like a fish trying to swim on
the side-walk. The author argues that God gave us life and talents for a reason
– that is, our purpose. In order to find our purpose therefore, we need to look
out for that place where we; (i) feel love
and pain/ angry and frustration for a particular place or people; and (ii) passionately set on fire and consumed
by zeal. It is there that our time and
talents will be called upon. Adelaja reminds us that we need to be careful not to rush, but hear from GOD. It is
only He who will show us our Mountain Of Influence.[22] This reminds me of a time in secondary school
when I tried ‘my hand’ at singing. Clearly, my calling was not there and I
left.
Lesson 8: Adelaja cautions that our talents were made for others and we
should be faithful
stewards. This means we need to be
intentional about growth as well as having
knowledge of kingdom principles[23]
like integrity, holiness, love, and compassion.[24] It
is these virtues that helped nations
of old to become great. Adelaja is right because without dealing with the value
system/ moral fabric, it is difficult to make any difference.[25]
This was the crux of Deputy Speaker Jacob Oulanyah’s speech at the recently
concluded Anti-Corruption walk.[26]
Lesson 10: Adelaja further encourages us to be Kingdom focused when we find our mountain
of influence.[27]
This means adopting the characteristics
of Jesus Christ. He warns us to avoiding infighting, teaching fragments of
truth, egocentrism, focusing on size of the church (building a fiefdom for ourselves)
instead of having a purpose. He calls us to be humble and full of love. This is
very critical. I have often been pained by the division in the body of Christ
over proposed Religious and Faith Based Organisations
Policy.[28]
Lesson 11: Adelaja also challenges us to work
hard with great
effort and diligence in order to put the
Kingdom principles into practice. Hard work helps subdue the mountain
of influence, keeps us mentally healthy, reveals our gifts and helps us to
discover our potential and abilities. With hard work, we become co- creators
with God, and are able to dominate over God’s creation as we were called to do.
I agree with this view. Pursuing doctoral studies, reviving YOLO Missional
Community, organising fundraising events at UCLF, Transform 2017 & 2018,
as well as looking after a family have showed me that there is no short cut to hard
work.
Lesson 12: Adelaja postulates
that we are deliverers and must
arise to fix the nation’s politics, ungodliness, poverty and restlessness. It
is our responsibility to promote Kingdom principles wherever we are.[29] Even when
persecuted, Adelaja encourages us to thrive
in persecution[30] because
reveals our true character.[31] However, we should also learn to fight back because Justice and righteousness are the
footstool of the Lord’s throne. We should not be timid or afraid, but through prayer,
fasting and diligently seeking God, we can overcome.[32] Adelaja’s
personal story about acquiring land for his church as well as participating in
the Orange revolution are good examples here. Nonetheless, like General
McChrystal warned in Team of Teams,
battles do not cease and there will always be other attack from the enemy.
Conclusion
It is clear that the world awaits the church
to arise and take over all the influential positions of power. The church should not only remain at solving
internal church disputes and personal growth of the individual, but also claim
the Seven Mountains of Influence. Bishop
Adelaja has shown us how the Church can ROAR!
12/04/2019
[1] The Church
fulfils its mandate when it changes society and not when it is confined to its
sanctuary and school room Classrooms-Sunday Adelaja-
[2] Author of Courageous leadership
3] Kevin Ward, 'A History of Christianity in Uganda available at http://www.dacb.org/history/a%20history%20of%20christianity%20in%20uganda.html Kevin Ward, 'A History of Christianity in Uganda available at http://www.dacb.org/history/a%20history%20of%20christianity%20in%20uganda.html last accessed June 10, 2026
[5] Adelaja refers
to this as breaking out of the ‘prison of the pew’
[6] Ministry is
what we ought to do to bring our lives and our sphere of influence (read
‘Mountain of Influence) under the Kingdom rule. It is not about huddling inside
the church sanctuary but being trained to impact the society around us because
we are responsible, as watchmen for this. Adelaja refers to these as spiritual/
social., Government / politics, business/ economy., education, media, culture/
entertainment and sports.
[7] people, or a group of people, regarded as
disreputable or worthless: see https://www.dictionary.com/browse/riffraff
last accessed December 5, 2019. We should not turn our noses to the riffraffs but show go to them and love
them
[8] Adelaja
testifies that when the drunkard and the addict is transformed, then their
mothers, relatives and the wealthier in society will join the church.
[9] See for
example, Piercing The Darkness available at https://www.cumbooks.co.za/media/chapters/9780842363723.pdf
last accessed December 5, 2019
[10] Church Shift,
People Power p.38
[12] Uganda
Christian Lawyers’ Fraternity has been at the forefront of this engagement,
both by providing training as well as engaging with the government. In one
instance, the UCLF lawyers were eve refused to speak at the Ministerial
discussions.
[13] The Great
Commission is about ‘discipline the nations and not the church buildings.
Matthew 28:19
[14] It is mean to
‘inhabit the entire earth and not just the church sanctuary.’ See Luke 17: 21.
In any case, as the stories from the Rwanda Genocide showed, when the
Christians decided to hide in the sanctuary instead of run for their lives or
stand up and fight, many were easily found and hacked to death
[15] This is because
‘we are meant to inherit the nations’. This is the crux of the book ‘Commotion
at the Gates’ by Moses Mukisa.
[16] Psalm 2: 8 Ask
of me and I will make the nations your inheritance
[17] See for
example, Pastor John Maxwell
[18] I recall one
particular instance when Dr Stella Nyanzi was arrested by police after she had
addressed the Rotary Club of Kampala Metropolitan. When blame was being shifted
to the Club, the Police Spokesperson immediately stated that nothing should be
said or done to the Rotary Club. This is because of the great work the Rotary
International does in the country and worldwide
[19] Following
closely to this is what Adelaja says is the time when we need to stop praying.
Action without prayer is foolish, we need to wait upon the Lord, receive
revelation on how God wants us to act and then stop praying because the
solution is in our hands and we have the been given the opportunity to
intervene. However, we must not be timid
or undedicated to the cause.
[20] Imagine if David had never killed the giant, he would never
have inspired other worthy giant killers from doing their part.
[21] See Johhn Enlow
‘ 7 Mountain Prophesy’
[22] Just like the
teaching series ‘Unlicking Heaven’ we need to see it has all been provided by
the Lord, we get it from His word. So Jesus says ‘ I do nothing on my own but
speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me; He has not left
me alone, for I always do what pleases Him. John 8: 28-29
[23] These are the
secrets of Jesus’ dominion. So by seeking knowledge and understanding and
wisdom, we can effectively reign.
[24] This means
getting ourselves educated because ‘people who have cultivated professionalism,
service, and excellence have taken over, even if they do not belong to the
Kingdom of God.’ . Proverbs 13: 16 says ‘ Every prudent man acts out of
knowledge, but a fool exposes his folly’
[25] Like the
protestant reformers were responsible for interventions that brought stability,
health and wealth in the past, thus leading them to worldwide influence, so
should we prioritise values over wealth per se.
[27] Romans 12:2
https://mulengeranews.com/i-have-no-office-to-hand-over-dr-serwadda-tells-off-rival-city-pastors/
last accessed December 5, 2019. See also
‘Pentecostalism becomes an official religion in Uganda through the
‘’efforts’’ of ecumenist Pastor Joseph Sserwadda’s Born Again Faith Federation’
Watchman Africa, available at https://watchmanafrica.blogspot.com/2014/12/pentecostalism-becomes-and-official.html
last accessed December 5, 2019
[29] Stand for Integrity,
Justice, Patience, Honesty, Respect and Compassion
[30] In his view, we
strive in persecution by remaining keen to keep listening to God, learn new
skills, work hard, and refuse to be distracted by the worldly desires
[31] The result
would be Joy and thanks giving, love for the persecutors, freedom from fear to
do God’s work, remaining faithful and letting God be the judge.
[32] The end result
will be that our enemies become our friends, we have flat out victory, and reap
positive results from the fight.
