{"id":14029,"date":"2017-09-14T16:46:18","date_gmt":"2017-09-14T23:46:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=14029"},"modified":"2017-09-14T16:46:18","modified_gmt":"2017-09-14T23:46:18","slug":"leadership-hurts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/leadership-hurts\/","title":{"rendered":"Leadership hurts…"},"content":{"rendered":"

The book by David Welsh, The Rise and Fall of the Apartheid, <\/em>is a book about how black South African\u2019s fought and gained a democratic voice from the elite ruling class of white Afrikaners.[1]<\/a>\u00a0 Welsh\u2019s work was published at the same time I was living in Botswana, a country known for its bushmen tribes, diamond mines, and HIV\/AIDS.\u00a0 This book really impacts me on several levels because I knew and served with people from both sides who survived the Apartheid.\u00a0 They endured segregation, violence, and social injustices and witnessed the creation of a new democratic normal where people of all races, classes, and cultures took the first steps to live, work, and heal together after a half-century of oligarchic control.[2]<\/a>\u00a0 During my Welsh review I discovered three areas of interest that connect me to the supernatural aspects of global leadership and the need for Christian leaders to successfully defend against the forces of evil.\u00a0 The Apartheid was a living example, on a national scale, of the far-reaching impact of spiritual warfare.\u00a0 I picked the following areas because they connect to my ministry purpose of sharing and showing new leaders how to become effective and victorious when they are wearing Jesus Christ as the armor.\u00a0 Racial segregation, key legislative acts, and servant leadership during the Apartheid are the focus of this post.<\/p>\n

First, I was not surprised, but saddened to read that mid-20th<\/sup> Century South African theologians promoted racial segregation.\u00a0 Welsh reports that they had a \u201cbelief that the natural, God-given condition of humankind was its division into \u2018nations\u2019 with differing cultures, which should be kept apart.\u201d[3]<\/a> I believe this is an excellent example of how Satan\u2019s forces of darkness gained a foothold on a few well-meaning theologians.\u00a0 The result, like in so many cases of spiritual warfare, was division, disunity, and discrimination.\u00a0 A mission colleague and friend who served with Flying Mission in the Care Ministry grew up in South Africa.[4]<\/a> \u00a0She told me that during the 70\u2019s and 80\u2019s it was very difficult for her family due to Group Areas Act of 1950, which was \u201cdesigned to eliminate friction between the races.\u201d[5]<\/a> While the Group Act was mainly focused on the discrimination and segregation of Indians, it had a significant impact on blacks, whites, and \u201ccoloured\u201d families.[6]<\/a>\u00a0 Also, another legislative act called \u201cracial zoning\u201d changed the cultural demographics and \u201creconfigured\u201d many towns and cities in South Africa, which resulted in increased human suffering, poverty, poor housing, and unemployment.<\/p>\n

Second, there were several key legislative acts that influenced the Apartheid era of 1948-1994 that I believe are the direct result of a spiritual assault against the well-intentioned theologians who were unprepared to defend against Satan\u2019s schemes.[7]<\/a>\u00a0 Within a few short years after the Afrikaners took power they made the following legislative changes: race registration, segregated living areas, prohibition against mixed marriages, outlawed \u201csexual intercourse between races,\u201d removed voting privileges, and changed educational standards.[8]<\/a>\u00a0 The Group Areas Act forcing segregated living continues to impact the people of South Africa and the surrounding countries some 15 years after the end of Apartheid.\u00a0 For illustration, my wife and I moved into a neighborhood on the outskirts of Gaborone, Botswana in 2009.\u00a0 We were the only lekgowa<\/em>\u2019s, white people, in the entire area.\u00a0 At first it was very uncomfortable, even though we were missionaries to their country, to feel secure and welcomed.\u00a0 We discovered that most of the residents feared that we were Afrikaners and would continue to follow the Apartheid ways, but after they learned we were Westerners, they welcomed us into their hearts and homes as part of their tribe.\u00a0 We learned give Setswana specific gestures, non-verbal greetings, and body language ques to quickly convey our Western culture and relieve the stress of the indigenous nationals who still fear the negative aspects of the cross-border Apartheid movement.<\/p>\n

Third, I think there were some outstanding servant leadership actions and sacrifices that helped unite and guide South Africa towards a negotiated end of the decades of formalized and legislated racism.\u00a0 Two leaders, F. W. de Kelerk and Nelson Mandela, from opposing sides of the Apartheid problem, displayed remarkable courage and leadership to help \u201ctransition from white domination to inclusive democracy\u201d according to the Africa News Service.[9]<\/a>\u00a0 For instance, Mandela publicly framed the joint resolution when he stated, \u201cThe leadership has grasped the principle that they are the servants of the people.\u201d[10]<\/a> Mandela described de Klerk as a \u201cstrong, cautious but flexible man who is prepared to adapt to new ideas and to meet new challenges.\u201d[11]<\/a>\u00a0 De Klerk said Mandela \u201cwas every inch a Tembu patriarch and bore the mantle of authority with the ese of those who are not troubled by self-doubt.\u201d[12]<\/a>\u00a0 Both men were iconic, tested by the firestorm of racism and hate, and yet they displayed themselves as leaders who were both strong, respectable, and self-confident, but also cautious, flexible, and adaptable.<\/p>\n

In conclusion, I appreciate and respect Welsh\u2019s scholarly review of South Africa\u2019s struggle to overcome racism.\u00a0 Yes, I experienced some of the aftermath of the racial tensions and carryover between those who migrated from South Africa to Botswana.\u00a0 However, it was not until I reviewed Welsh\u2019s work that I really began to connect with the deep personal scarring and cultural hemorrhaging that the South African people endured during the Apartheid.\u00a0 I am without words for their suffering, but desperately thankful and comforted that God\u2019s grace and love can heal their hearts and bind all their wounds (Ps. 147:3).\u00a0 As a new student with LGP8 I believe we have a lot to learn in Cape Town.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> David Welsh. The Rise and Fall of Apartheid<\/em>. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2009) 4.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Ibid., 22.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> S. Molodi, Flying Mission<\/em>, (Gaborone, Botswana, 2009) Retrieved from: http:\/\/flyingmission.org\/fmcintro.php<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Welsh, Apartheid<\/em>, 56.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Ibid., 57.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> David Brokensha. “David Welsh. The Rise and Fall of Apartheid.” Journal of International and Global Studies<\/em> 2, no. 1 (2010): 146.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Ibid., 146.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> “The Rise and Fall of Apartheid by David Welsh.” Africa News Service<\/em>. Nov. 19, 2010.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Welsh, Apartheid<\/em>, 355.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> Ibid., 336.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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