The "vhusadzi" theology of ministry

Abstract

Culture and religion have both a healthy and an unhealthy effect on the leadership development of women in Africa, in particular, the Vhavenda women. The position of women in the church today is influenced by perceptions which people hold, either from a religious or cultural perspective. Male dominated leadership in the church continues to remain unchallenged because the Bible is used to support and entrench the system of patriarchy. The reasons that are given to subordinate women in the church are not very different from those given in societies and structures outside the church – and these reasons are invariably based on culture and/or religion. The article de¬scribes the tenets of the vhusadzi theology as the basis of women’s leadership roles in ministry. The article focuses on the deconstruction of cultural and religious discourses that hold the church and women captive in subordinate and non-leader¬ship roles and the shifting of these discourses to healthy church practices and policies under the guidance of the vhusadzi theology.