Last night President Zuma attended Godfirst Church which is a mult-site church meeting in seven different locations around Johannesburg. Zuma attended as part of the church’s latest sermon series: “What would God say to …” (the Celebrity series). Each week the senior pastor of Godfirst, PJ Smyth, addresses a different celebrity from a Gospel perspective, or as their own website advertises the series, “We'll be looking at what the Bible says about the things our celebrities get up to.”
During the worship event, Pastor PJ Smyth preached from Romans 13. 1-7 and spoke about the Biblical perspective on governmental authority and how Christians should relate to that.
President Zuma also had an opportunity to respond spoke about the impact of the president’s job on him personally. “It’s not easy to be in charge of a country. It’s a humbling experience. The wheels of government are slow.”
Zuma then spoke about the tremendous impact Christianity has on this country, “South Africa is a Christian country. When we are being sworn in, we say, ‘So help me God.’ We are a nation of believers.”
Zuma mentioned that the church has a history of standing against injustice in this country by saying, “The church has contributed in the fight against oppression. Some went to jail and died.” However, Zuma also criticised the church for being silent on some issues and he urged the church to more actively play a prophetic role, “The church has been too quiet about things it shouldn’t be quiet about.” “The church needs to be a conscience to us as politicians and us in politics.”
(All quotes are taken from News24 columnist Khaya Dlanga on twitter. Image from file.)