An analysis of the role of Christian leaders in the schisms in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Southern Africa, from 1899 to 1908 by ALBERT EBERHARDT BIWA Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF THEOLOGY in the subject CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF. L. KRETZSCHMAR NOVEMBER 2020 The declaration I declare that, An analysis of the role of Christian leaders in the schisms in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Southern Africa, from 1899 to 1908 is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. I further declare that I submitted the dissertation to originality checking software and that it falls within the accepted requirements for originality. I further declare that I have not previously submitted this work, or part of it, for examination at Unisa for another qualification or at any other higher education institution. Albert Eberhardt Biwa November 2020 Student No. 53686314 i Table of contents The declaration......................................................................................................................................... i Table of contents ..................................................................................................................................... ii List of figures ......................................................................................................................................... vi List of tables .......................................................................................................................................... vii Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. viii Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. ix Key terms ............................................................................................................................................... ix Opsomming ............................................................................................................................................. x Isishwankathelo...................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter 1: Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The aim of the dissertation ............................................................................................................ 2 1.2 The value of this research .............................................................................................................. 2 1.3 The definition of key terms ........................................................................................................... 3 1.3.1 The church .............................................................................................................................. 3 1.3.2 Schism .................................................................................................................................... 3 1.3.3 Christian leadership ................................................................................................................ 3 1.4 The research questions .................................................................................................................. 4 1.5 Theoretical research methodology ................................................................................................ 4 1.5.1 Fields of study......................................................................................................................... 5 1.5.2 Literature review ..................................................................................................................... 6 1.6 Ethical research considerations ..................................................................................................... 9 1.7 Limitations of the research ............................................................................................................ 9 1.8 Outline of chapters ........................................................................................................................ 9 Chapter 2: Christian ethics and ethical leadership ................................................................................ 12 2.1 Leadership ................................................................................................................................... 12 2.2 Christian leadership ..................................................................................................................... 13 2.3 Christian ethics and morality ....................................................................................................... 14 ii 2.4 Ethical leadership ........................................................................................................................ 15 2.4.1 Faithfulness ........................................................................................................................... 17 2.4.2 Love ...................................................................................................................................... 17 2.4.3 Humility ................................................................................................................................ 18 2.4.4 Justice ................................................................................................................................... 19 2.4.5 Integrity ................................................................................................................................ 20 2.4.6 Respect .................................................................................................................................. 21 2.5 Leadership and power ................................................................................................................. 23 2.5.1 What is power? ..................................................................................................................... 23 2.5.2 The faces or types of power .................................................................................................. 24 2.5.3 The abuse of power ............................................................................................................... 24 2.6 Leadership and culture ................................................................................................................ 25 2.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 27 Chapter 3: General church schisms leading to the establishment of the AME Church ........................ 28 3.1 Overview of general church schisms ........................................................................................... 28 3.1.1 The first great schism ............................................................................................................ 28 3.1.2 The Protestant schism ........................................................................................................... 30 3.1.3 The Anglican – Methodist schism ........................................................................................ 31 3.1.4 The Methodist – African Methodist schism ......................................................................... 33 3.2 The establishment of the Ethiopian Church ................................................................................ 35 3.3 The establishment of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Southern Africa ................... 40 3.3.1 The missionary agenda of the AME Church ........................................................................ 40 3.3.2 Socio-political context of the Southern African Districts of the AME Church .................... 41 3.3.3 The merger of the Ethiopian Church and the AME Church ................................................. 45 3.4 Structure and doctrine of the African Methodist Episcopal Church ........................................... 50 3.4.1 Key doctrinal issues .............................................................................................................. 50 3.4.2 The spread of the AME Church worldwide .......................................................................... 51 3.4.3 Meetings, Conferences and Conventions .............................................................................. 52 3.4.4 The ministry of the Church ................................................................................................... 55 iii 3.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 4: The AME Church schisms .................................................................................................. 59 4.1 The schism of 1899 ..................................................................................................................... 60 4.1.1 Events leading up to the schism of 1899 .............................................................................. 60 4.1.2 The secession .......................................................................................................................