An Interrogation of Divisive Conflict, Church Mediated Politics and Leadership Crisis: The Case of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe.

Abstract: 

The last decade has been a rough one for the Apostolic Faith Mission in Zimbabwe (AFM), with the church being marred with serious media attention, court cases, leadership wrangles all that resulting in a split. The church's organizational strategies, corporate governance, and organization development were and are still being put to test as the church continues to both privately and publicly interpret their constitution. It is also invoking the church's charter that speaks to their organogram, hierarchy and leadership structures. Awash in the local news (both print and visual media) is the church's 'fights' and 'disagreements'. This paper, therefore, seeks to interrogate the divisive conflict of church mediated politics and Leadership crisis in AFM. Further, the paper will use an ethnographic approach to examine the media’s influence and effects on the entire church after a century of AFM’s existence in Zimbabwe.