Call to Africa
A forum of African leaders from more than a dozen nations has heard a clear call for the African continent to turn to God and live according to biblical principles.
Concerns expressed at the African Biblical Leadership Initiative (ABLI) in Uganda, run by Bible Society, ranged from the growing threat of Islamist terrorism, to corruption and how to reach out to heal those traumatised by war.
In his keynote address, Erastus Mwencha, the deputy chairman of the African Union Congress, called for a return to God’s standards. He said, ‘When I look at the Bible, I see the greatest need of the world is to know God’s love, that redemptive love, and to respond to that love. The Bible is full of promises, but they are conditional’.
Mr Mwencha said prosperity continued to elude Africa, because its leaders had failed to embrace God’s standards of morality for their nations and God’s call to love your neighbour as yourself.
By way of example, the forum heard that $1 trillion goes missing each year due to corruption. To combat that, ABLI announced the forthcoming Exposed campaign, aiming to bring corruption into the light.
Exposed will be launched in October by Bible Society, Micah Challenge, the Salvation Army and others. The campaign also sets out to expose inequality.
Dr Dion Forster, from South Africa, said, ‘854 million people are undernourished. Yet annually, North Americans spend about $558 billion on take-out food and $33 billion on weight loss products.
‘There is enough for all of us on the earth to live well. So why are we poor? As a Christian I have a responsibility to do something about the hunger around the world’.
David Smith, international manager at Bible Society, said, ‘The Bible is inspiring a generation of African leaders, whether in business, politics, diplomacy or the church, and ABLI is inspiring the church to apply the gospel’.
Andrew Boyd
