Governance, Leadership and Ethics in the Church: Literature Based Review
Abstract
The issue of governance, leadership and ethics is at the center of the biggest challenges Africa is facing today. Bad governance, including corruption has become a cancerous growth in many African countries. It has seen proceeds from natural resources and revenue from taxation being diverted to serve a few individuals to the detriment of the many, instead of developing common goods such as education, health services and infrastructure. The World Bank report on sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, characterized the crisis in the region as a “crisis of governance.” Therefore, the question of governance becomes one of African most important needs. Even though Africa is not one country, many countries in the continent have common problems related to governance coupled with a startling lack of accountability among politicians, church leaders, civil servants and other individuals, amounting to widespread moral decay. However, the details, nuances and practical dynamics of the problem can vary from place to place. The Church cannot afford to be quiet on the issues of governance. Both church leaders and the congregations are citizens who are affected directly or indirectly by those responsible with governance. This paper examines the concept of good governance, leadership and ethics in the context of churches and their role in promoting or hindering it. What ought to be the role of African churches in the realm of good governance?
Keywords; Governance, Leadership & Ethics
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