Christian leadership is not optional, the church cannot be alternative

The newly built Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temple at Mountain View Estate along Waiyaki Way on 17 May 2025. [Standard, Kanyiri Wahito]

“Alternative leadership.” Alternative sounds modest. Almost spiritual. Even admirable. But in its ordinary meaning, alternative assumes a centre elsewhere. Something dominant, mainstream, accepted, and widespread already exists, and the alternative is permitted to stand beside it. It does not contest the centre; it survives on the margins. It waits to be chosen. It explains itself when ignored.