Define clearly the Church-State relationship

That’s right! The government now wants all those seeking to preach in schools vetted before they can speak to students. According to Dr Fred Matiang’i, the Education CS, this is ostensibly to protect the young minds from destructive religious ideas and harmful ideologies. Being a reputable church elder himself, Dr Matiang’i must know what he is talking about. This notwithstanding, the generalisation of the proposal and its apparent focus on Christian preachers at school and college Christian services and rallies is what is raising eyebrows in church circles.

It could well be mere paranoia on the part of the Church — which would not be strange, considering the import of some recent pronouncements directed at the Church. We could be fleeing from our own shadows. But, I am beginning to wonder whether there may actually not be a person or persons out there bent on constricting space for the Church in Kenya. In the last while, there has been much negative talk and reporting about the Church. Every little misstep has been highlighted and at times given undue prominence. What follows is a discourse predictably laced with the now growing and apparently popular notion that the Church is rogue and needs to be tamed. And who in his or her right mind would argue with that, especially considering some of the outlandish events and practices that have lately been associated with sections of the Church.

Truth be told, I have personally been on the side of getting rid of the ticks feasting on the blood of the Lord’s flock almost to extinction. I have been fully supportive of the construction of dips for all the flock so they are rid once and for all of this menace. The shepherds likewise need to be scrutinised and sorted on the basis of their propensity to wool loving and mutton roasting. However, considering how this whole thing is panning out, I am beginning to wonder whether I have not fallen prey to a well-orchestrated move to altogether drive God’s flock out of the paddock. Ever since the extensive exposé, a couple of years or so ago, on an alleged fake miracle preacher, to the more recent Kanyari saga; the Church has been systematically painted as an institution of conmen and extortionists. These preachers have been made to be the face of the Church and the true representation of its leadership. This narrative has been repeated so frequently and so persistently that it has become engrained in our national psyche.

The net effect is the apparent concerted push by the public for the reigning in of rouge preachers in particular, and the whole Church in general. The springboard has hence been created for what appears to be a deliberate excuse to establish all manner of rules and regulations to tame the Church.

The government has thus come up with a raft of rules and regulations at various fronts. These include; the marriage certification rules over which the Church complained to no avail. Then there were the controversial Religious Societies Rules which were persistently forced on the Church until the President intervened. Then came the Broadcast Code that seemed to outlaw evangelism on radio and TV, but which after due consultation with the new CS, have since been revised. And now enter the School Preachers’ vetting and control proposals. Many questions begin to beg: Are these mere coincidences or is there a hidden hand behind them? Who is it that does not want the Gospel to be spread in this nation, at least not as easily as it has always been?

Whereas it is base to draw comparisons, it is not lost on keen observers that as doors seem to be shutting on the Church, they are being swung wide open for others. The very positive reporting on such groups and religions, in spite of known challenges, again leaves many questions begging. It is a fact that, by its very nature, the Church thrives in an environment of peace and liberty. Thus, historical records indicate that in every nation where the Church has died, or gone underground, it has always begun by the introduction of strict “guidelines” by the State to regulate Church operations.

It started with the Sanhedrin in the days of the Apostles and has continued into recent history of Eastern Europe, China, Middle East, and North Africa. That is why we must ask: Who or what could be driving the anti-Christian agenda in Kenya?