The Life of Ugandan Pastors and their wives – By Edward M

The Life of Ugandan Pastors and their wives – By Edward M

Of recent the mass media has been awash with news of a ‘prominent’ city pastor who is reportedly experiencing extreme marital/character issues.

For the last couple of days, I have been coming across many people,some Christians ,majority are religious (Moslems, Catholics, Protestants, etc) while others are unchurched who ask for my opinion on the alleged moral/character failings of  a one city pastor.

Some even falsely think that the actions of the said pastor is evidence of how bad the entire Balokole faith is, how we are hypocrites and a good reason for them to run in the opposite direction, to possibly even comfortably continue in their witchcraft and other evils. I meet many Ugandans who are always looking for excuses not to go to church, so they use (or find comfort in) situations like this to justify their continued indulgence in evil ways.
Of course in situations like this, given that the balookole have high moral standards, it would be ‘understandable’ for religious and unchurched ignorant people to come up with all sorts of allegations that are in line with their biases and be very quick to point out our failures.

I don’t mean to condone the alleged failings of this pastor, and if what’s being said is indeed true, it would be very sad and disappointing as Christians more so pastors, we are supposed to live exemplary lives.
Law 13 of John Maxwell’s 21 irrefutable laws of leadership says that people do what people see.
It summarizes what is often observed in human nature. People tend to mimic the behaviors of their leaders. So I hope that the people close to him and those associated with his congregation may not be so much affected by his alleged moral failures.

With that said, a few questions come to mind.
Is this a problem unique to balookole pastors only, or it’s widespread and prevalent in other faiths too and the wider Ugandan society?
Should all the entire Balookole fraternity be blamed and made to suffer blanket judgment for the alleged failings of one man and one woman ?
When one pastor and his wife do something not in line with Biblical teachings,does that taint the entire faith and everyone associated with it?

I would suggest and think that instead of throwing a blanket judgment and looking at all balookole as a people who have gone astray, we can first and foremost take a deeper look at the Ugandan society, it’s in dire need of good leaders and prayers, the moral decadency is prevalent almost everywhere.Mayuge district (full of religious people) is featured in the news almost every day for bad things. The case is not any different anywhere in Uganda. Remember many pastors and their wives are not superhuman and do emerge out of our broken societies tainted with evil. The Balookole faith has also been highly infiltrated by suspicious people who are posing as pastors but with questionable motives.

So does the fact that there may be bad apples within our faith mean that all of us are bad? I wouldn’t think so. That kind of thinking would beat my understanding.
I don’t know how many times I have heard of stories of moral failures/scandals of Moslem clerics, Catholic fathers, protestant priests, etc. I don’t know how many times I have been cheated by boda-boda riders,lawyers,cement sellers,shopkeepers,taxis,teachers,politicians,etc. Should this be a good justification for the Balookole to also go astray yet they are supposed to lead exemplary lives? it isn’t, but it also teaches us that bad apples are everywhere, be it amongst doctors,,Anglican priests, lawyers,boda-bodas,cement sellers,Moslem clerics, Catholic fathers, teachers ,etc. It also says alot about the urgent need for discipling our people.

Should we condemn all Muslims just because a one Jamil Mukulu engaged in alleged terrorist activities? I don’t think so. So some in our societies who don’t like Balookole should go slow on judging them and not reflect the failings of one man on the entire faith. Even in the Bible, God says that we will be judged on the basis of what we have done as individuals not as a group.

So personally I don’t see any cause for celebration by anyone, including those who may have any axe to grind with the ‘troubled’ pastor. Print and electronic media who are taking advantage of this situation to grab headlines or express outrage further destroy any hope left for the family to re-unite. God is a God of redemption and he writes better stories than we do.

People should also bear in mind that pastors and their wives face a lot of temptations and hardships; many are in the middle of their own sanctification just like the people to whom they minister to.

Another point to note is that balookole churches, just like any other church are full of people who have struggled and some continue to struggle with various sins in their lives. The bitter fact is that we have a fallen nature and we war against it–sometimes without success, which makes our failures all the more visible to the world, a world that’s almost negative by default. Being a Mulookole does not mean we are perfect. Being a Mulokole Christian means that we recognize our sins, try to turn from them, and try to act like Christ. But obviously, we sometimes fail. It’s the grace of God in Jesus Christ as the only answer to our struggles.

I encourage everyone to pray for our country, pray for our pastors and their wives to be protected from the deceitfulness of sin that we all are so prone to. We should also go slow on continuously feeding our minds with negative stuff, they don’t build us at all, Instead of hate, revengeful thoughts, we can respond with more love, care,and forgiveness.

Blessings- Edward