An old preacher’s advice to Apostle Amai Chiwenga is simple: the pulpit must remain centred on the Word of God, not political commentary or personal prediction...
An old preacher’s advice to Apostle Amai Chiwenga is simple: the pulpit must remain centred on the Word of God, not political commentary or personal predictions. There is a clear difference between exegesis, where the preacher allows Scripture to speak within its context, and isegesis, where personal opinions are read into the text. When a preacher makes political predictions or comments from the pulpit without showing the biblical passage supporting those claims, the congregation risks hearing the preacher’s interpretation rather than the Word. The question is therefore simple: Where is the Scripture, where is the passage, and where is the exegesis? A microphone and a congregation saying “Amen” do not automatically make an utterance a sermon.
My counsel, as an old preacher, is to revisit the calling and remember that the pulpit is a sacred responsibility. Study hermeneutics and homiletics again; distinguish prophecy from prediction and preaching from political commentary. A preacher should submit to the text, edify the saints, point people to Christ and keep an eternal focus rather than making the congregation citizens of his personal frustrations. Political opinions can be expressed elsewhere, but when one stands before God’s people with Scripture, the responsibility is to speak what God has said. Let the text speak; the rest is noise.
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