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Chapter Fourteen

The Spirituality of the Synod

14.1 INTRODUCTION
What is spirituality? Jonathan Kamwana defines it thusly:
Accordingly, spirituality is a personal participation in the Christian understanding and institution, interpreted and presented in its confession and ministry regarding redemption from sin and sanctification of life, enabled in and through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. The subjective side of spirituality is linked to the personality of the individual or a group of individuals joined in worship, practising prayer, sharing repentance and active in good works, forgiving one another, reading Scriptures and living what is take to be a holy life. It can be said Christian Spirituality makes a person to be known as a �friend of God.� It is a follower of Jesus Christ who developed an intimacy with God through faithful prayer, walking close with God. It is the sanctification of an individual Christian by the true God, given to His command, �Be holy, for the God who called you, is holy� (I Peter 1:16). According to Scriptures, holy living is only possible when an individual believer is being led by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ. (Kamwana 1998: 1-2)
While the previous three chapters have described political alignments; this chapter will now deal with the spiritual alignments of Nkhoma Synod, focussing on the portrayal of the rich worship that is there. It then will talk about the traditional beliefs, from which the Synod�s people were converted, with attention to the Synod�s countermeasures against traditional belief and practice. It will also talk about another challenge, that of legalism, which is the attempt to reduce the meaning of the faith to a set of external rules. It will be shown that its Book of Order, Zolamulira, while a useful tool, can lead to abuse.

14.2 THE CONFESSIONAL HERITAGE OF NKHOMA SYNOD
According to Article IV of the Constitution of Nkhoma Synod (�The Creed�), it accepts and adheres to the Heidelberg Catechism, the Belgic Confession, and the Canons of Dordt.
The Heidelberg Catechism is divided into three parts, Human Misery, Deliverance, and Gratitude. It contains 129 questions and responses.
The Synod of Dort in 1618-1619 approved the Heidelberg Catechism, and it soon became the most ecumenical of the Reformed catechisms and confessions. The catechism has been translated into many European, Asian, and African languages, and is the most widely used and most warmly praised catechism of the Reformation period (Pratt 2003: 2143).
The Belgic Confession consists of 37 Articles. It opens with Article 1: The Only God, and ends with Article 37, The Last Judgment.
One of the oldest of the doctrinal standards particularly of the Dutch Reformed tradition, is the Confession of Faith, popularly known as the Belgic confession, following the seventeenth-century Latin designation �Confessio Belgica�. �Belgica� referred to the whole of the Netherlands, both north and south, which today is divided into the Netherlands and Belgium. The confession�s chief author was Guido de Bres, a preacher of the Reformed churches of the Netherlands, who died a martyr to the faith in the year 1567 (Pratt 2003: 2155).
The Canons of Dort have five main points. The first is �Divine Election and Reprobation�. The second main point is �Christ�s Death and human Redemption Through It�. The third and fourth main points are, �Human corruption, conversion to God, and the Way it Occurs�. The fifth main point is, �The Perseverance of the Saints�.
The Synod of Dort was held in order to settle a serious controversy in the Dutch churches initiated by the rise of Arminianism. Jacob Arminius, a theological professor at Leiden University, questioned the teaching of Calvin and his followers on a number of important points. After Arminius� death, his own followers presented their views on five of these points in the Remonstrance of 1610. In this document or in later more explicit writings, the Arminians taught election on foreseen faith, universal atonement, partial depravity, resistible grace, and the possibility of a lapse from grace. In the Canons the Synod of Dort rejected these views and set forth the Reformed doctrine on these points, namely, unconditional election, limited atonement, total depravity, irresistible grace, and the perseverance of the saints (Pratt 2003: 2163).
Article IV of the Nkhoma Synod Constitution also accepts �the Articles Declaratory of the Fundamental Principles as contained in Articles 1 to 7 of the (1956) Constitution of the CCAP�. This, in turn, starts by declaring that, �The Church of Central Africa Presbyterian is part of the Holy Catholic or Universal Church�. It goes on to name Apostles� Creed and the Nicene Creed as being received by the CCAP. In addition, it accepts the �Brief Statement of the Faith� as adopted by the CCAP in 1924.
The Brief Statement of the Faith is a series of questions to be asked of ministers at their ordination. Among the items to be affirmed in this is �Do you believe and accept the Word of God as spoken by Him in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the supreme rule of faith and practice?�
The Constitution of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian now includes a Book of Confessions:
The confessions of faith upon which the church is founded and built are contained in the following books of confessions:

3.2.1 The Nicene Creed

3.2.2 The Apostles Creed

3.2.3 The Westminster Confession of Faith

3.2.4 The Larger Catechism

3.2.5 The Shorter Catechism

3.2.6 The Confession of Netherlands

3.2.7 The Heidelberg Catechism

3.2.8 The Belgic Confession

3.2.9 The Canon of Dordt

3.2.10 The Church�s Confession of Faith of 1924

14.3 WORSHIP
The hymnbook used for worship at Nkhoma Synod services is entitled Nyimbo Za Mulungu. It is used in both city churches such as Lingadzi CCAP, and it is used in prayer houses in the bush. The order of worship remains much the same, although some variations may include a children�s sermon or drama on special occasions. There is both an English version and a Chichewa version.
This hymnbook has quite a long history. The old Consolidated Board of Federated Missions of Nyasaland appointed a committee in 1910 to oversee the production of a hymnbook in the vernacular, which it produced in January 1916, with a revised Chichewa edition appearing in February 1954. The preface states that �A more truly African hymnbook is an urgent need�. A set of translated hymns from Chitumbuka from Sumu za Ukristu appears in this edition. The next edition of the Chichewa edition appeared in March 1968. It acknowledged that ownership of the hymnal was now in the hands of CLAIM. The original owner, the Fellowship of Christian Churches in Malawi, had ceased to exist.
The English edition appeared in June 1975. Its preface reveals that 70 new hymns are contained in it. It mentions that in Chichewa there may be an additional syllable or meter to each line; this has in some cases necessitated a change of tunes.
In late 1997, the Music Committee of the Nkhoma Synod sent out to Cape Town an urgent request that the Christian music in and around the church services should be investigated. The styles of the music of the youth especially should be investigated. Rev. Francois Swart was requested to visit Malawi to have a fact-finding tour and discussions with the music leaders of Nkhoma Synod and to draw up a plan of action together with them. With the use of guitars and keyboards are becoming more common, and the question was raised how these instruments could be applied and assimilated in a responsible way within the Africa context to serve as Christian music.
Following his fact-finding tour of Malawi, Swart filed a report, entitled �Why a Music Project in Malawi?� In it, he noted that for many youth the only organized church activity for them is the choir. Such is the creativity of Malawians; these choirs reflect African, American, and European influences. The use of music in worship is all the more important because of the illiteracy of the people. Swart concluded his report with a five-year plan for establishment of music workshops for the youth.
Nkhoma Synod has a Music Committee and its chairman is Rev. JG Maseko, with   Rev. Michael Khombe serving as the secretary. Khombe says that the use of drums, keyboards, and electric guitars are now being welcomed. He says that it was the white missionaries that originally discouraged the use of drums, pointing out that things have changed a great deal in the last twenty years. He would like to see music competitions between churches. �We have to learn to incorporate new things,� he says. However, he goes on to say, as any good Presbyterian minister must, �things must be done decently and in order�. He feels that steps must be taken to insure control, so that �things don�t get out of hand.�
Although he is not a musician, Rev. Katani, pastor of Kaning�a CCAP in Lilongwe, is working on a doctorate in music at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Rev. CL Chimkoka says that Katani is opening the church to new forms of music for the youth.
The 2001 General Synod report known as the Ten-Year Strategic Plan took up issues dealing with worship within all CCAP churches in General.
Anyone visiting CCAP Churches is overwhelmed by the size and enthusiasm of many CCAP congregations. Most congregations have two or more services and support prayer houses to enable other Christians to take part in worship closer to their homes.
Again, most Congregations have large Sunday Schools, often numbering in the hundreds, large youth fellowships and a variety of choirs the women�s guild is strong in most congregations and there are attempts in many churches to encourage mid-week prayers and regular visitation and outreach to the sick, afflicted or bereaved.
On closer examination, however, one sees other trends as well. There is often little theological understanding among the members; youth feel alienated from the decision making process: Sunday School children have no materials and receive almost no systematic training in Bible or theology; and, despite hundreds of people in worship services, the weekly offering is often very small indeed.
It is also notable that in many CCAP congregations, people simply wander into church at any time during the service. There are justifiable reasons for this because of weather conditions and the long distances people travel. However, many Christians feel that it is merely important to �attend prayers� and are not overly worried about the content or challenge of the divine service. It is an indication that it is the �work� of getting to church that is important, not the faith that needs to be challenged, fed and nurtured.
This part of the Ten-year Plan concludes by saying that the laity must be developed and more involved than it is now.

14.4 THE CHALLENGE OF TRADITIONAL BELIEF

14.4.1 Some Principles of Traditional Belief
JWM van Breugel says that Chiuta as the name for God is to be preferred over Mulungu (van Breugel 2001: 32). Chiuta means �Big Bow� and it symbolizes the rainbow, and thus by extension God�s concern for humanity as expressed by the giving of rain (Chisale 2002: 12). He does not directly punish sin, but uses the spirits of the dead to maintain moral order (van Bruegel 2001: 41). The ancestral spirits (mizimu) are generally benevolent.   They are guardians of the customs, so the best way to keep them happy is to faithful to the traditions (van Breugel 2001: 73-81). People, who kept the rules in life, or mizimu, are rewarded; they are called to become ancestors who live in the sacred groves (Chisale 2002: 54).
However, there are the afiti (witches), and one needs protection from them (van Breugel 2001: 111-113). The �true� witches are the mfiti yeniyeni, who wander at night and seek to kill people in order to eat their flesh (van Breugel 2001: 213).
For the Chewa, the belief in mysterious hidden forces that cause misfortune creates a climate of fear. Even today, accusations of witchcraft may prevent people from caring for a sick person or attending a burial. Fear of being accused of witchcraft pushes the individual to follow an elaborate code of behaviour in which politeness and meekness are particularly emphasised, and aggressive reactions, frank speech, and ambitions in daily dealings are strongly discouraged (Chisale 2002: 104).
Rain sacrifices (of animals) occur at three main places: Bunda, Tsang�oma, and at Chinkhuti; in addition, there are village rain sacrifices. These are thought to be propitiation to Chiuta who will then send rain (van Breugel 2001: 48-68).
Before the Chewa approach God, they must be sure they are in conformity with his laws, which are guarded by the ancestral spirits. In the villages, there is a prescribed ceremony, and each member of the community has his or her part. The women brew beer, the shrine officials make repairs to the shrine, and the entire village gathers for the ceremony. They are supposed to remove all forms of evil from amongst them, confess to one another, and drink beer in a code of behaviour prescribed by the ancestors (Chisale 2002: 22).
Matthew Schoffeleers has given a picture of the preparation of beer. He wrote a description of a ceremony that he witnessed in 1967.
The first stage of beer brewing is always the making of the malt. To this end a quantity of the grain is soaked in water and allowed to sprout. After some days the water is removed and the sprouts are allowed to dry. Later on they are pounded, and the malt is added to the beer on the third day. There may be a period of two or three weeks between the soaking of the grain and the actual brewing. The preparation of malt and beer is entrusted to a group of young girls under the direction of a woman who is past procreation and preferably a widow. The two parties seem to provide us with another instance of the theme of the senior wife and junior wives.
Usually, the sacrificial substance consists of flour, beer, and cloth. First, the cloth is laid in the shrine, then the white flour is poured out in the form of a cone and on top of this pounded charcoal is strewn to symbolize the rain clouds. The official, while doing this, intones his invocations to God and the royal spirits, and those outside by soft handclapping and repeating the main invocation:�Imva, Mphambe!� (Hear, Thou, Mphambe!) a small pot which is sunk in the earth is filled with beer and some more is poured out around it (Schoffeleers 1997: 52-53).
Isabel Phiri identifies Msinja, about 63 kilometres south of Lilongwe, as �the centre of Chewa religion�. This was the home of Makewana, a �spirit wife�, and �mother of all the people� (Phiri 1996: 15). The Nyau are a secret men�s society in which, during the dances, they become wild animals that incarnate the spirits of the dead, or mizimu. It is thought necessary to become a part of this society for a man to be regarded as an adult (van Breugel 2001: 126-132).
Beer has a special place in traditional life. There is the Chewa proverb, �mowa ndi chimera (beer is ferment). The drinking of beer together symbolizes brotherhood (Chisale 2002: 93).
Mdulo is defined as
. . . the supernatural sanction enforcing the two main duties of husband and wife, namely: the obligation to avoid adultery (chigolo) and the obligation to favour procreation and to care for their children (kusamala). In a negative form mdulo presents the basic law governing family morality (van Breugel 2001: 170).
The traditional Chewa view of morality is that anything that perpetuates the traditions of the ancestor is what is right, even if it is apparently immoral. What the ancestors did could not have been wrong (van Breugel 2001: 260).
The following 1978 report from South African personnel illustrates the continuing pull of traditional belief.
Simbazako (�Tell-your-stories�) is the name of a witch doctor who operates at present in the north-west of Lilongwe, and draws people from all over the country. Because of his influence, there is backsliding in many of our congregations, especially in the congregations of Mpando, Mang�a, Kambiya, Chiwe, Chimwang�ombe and Nambuma. Hundreds of church members have already been disciplined by the church because they went to him. The situation degenerates further, seeing that headmen of villages force the inhabitants to visit Simbazako, otherwise they are being ousted from the community, their huts destroyed, or their land taken from them.

14.4.2 The Nkhoma Response to the Traditions

In his 1968 Annual Report to the DRC mission office in Cape Town, General Secretary Mgawi described the plight in which Malawian youth found themselves, caught as they were between traditional and Westernising influences. He explained that students in secondary schools were expected to take on Western ways, and many converted to Christianity. Once back home for holidays, however, they were subjected to parental pressure to revert to traditional customs. �This situation is the cause of change of times, in Malawi, and it can�t be stopped�.
In May 1978 the Moderamen noted, �Many Christians are going to witchdoctors because they are forced by people of authority�. The ministers at the Refresher Course at Chongoni asked the Moderamen to do something about it, and they promised to �take immediate action�.
The Moderamen is continuing doing something about this matter. Meanwhile Congregations should not refrain from safeguarding the purity of the Church by way of Church Discipline in accordance with the Word of God and the Laws of Nkhoma Synod. Therefore cases of discipline must be dealt with in accordance with Synod�s laws concerning witchcraft.
An April 1983 meeting of the Synod gives insight into the pressing issues of the day. Dancing at marriage ceremonies was prohibited. Members were instructed not to brew beer upon orders of a chief for those who clear land for �Nyau� (traditional, occultic, involves spirit possession) dancing, nor could they earn money by hoeing for the purpose of hiring such dancers. The placing of flowers upon a grave was permissible, as long as the purpose was not to chase away evil spirits.
Participation in witchcraft had proven to be a temptation to many. What Synod saw aggravated the situation as �different congregations have been treating such cases of discipline differently�.   In 1978, Synod instructed congregations to handle members who went to witchdoctors according to Zolamulira (�instructions�).   Here, it is of interest that Synod expressed concern over a lack of uniformity in how it was being handled at the level of the particular congregations. What is not readily apparent in this response is a pastoral concern.
The �General Secretaries (sic) Report 1981� by IM Kainja touched many pertinent issues. He opened the report by naming the �enemies�, such as polygamy, drunkenness, and witch-doctors, while giving assurance that �the spiritual life of the Church is growing.
The Synod recognized there was a need to instruct the young people about the Holy Spirit. In April 1995, The Synod directed that a section on the Holy Spirit be included in Tiyeni Tikambire (booklet for group Bible Studies). The same meeting denounced the drinking of mchape and smoking.
Noticing that many Christians and catechumens had been going to drink the herbal concoction prepared by the herbalist at Liwonde, and realizing that many had done this before the church had spoken out against it, the Synod urged that all congregations be informed that this practice was unacceptable; that it was heathen; that it was in fact nothing less than the superstitious worship of ancestral spirits. (Deut. 18:9; 13:1-3; Isaiah 8:19; Ezek 14:1). It was also a sign of the end times (2 Tim. 3:1-9). If members of our congregations would still continue this practice, after having been warned, they should still be put under discipline, seeing that this medicine was a superstition, which would not help them in any way.
Spiritual warfare is a reality in Malawi.
� A commission of enquiry will be appointed to investigate the matter and advise the Synodical Committee as to how congregations should handle people possessed by spirits.
� The Synod does not allow its members who are possessed (Christians or Catechumens) to seek help from diviners.
� While awaiting the report of the commission of enquiry, the Synod advises congregations to follow the biblical principle of testing the spirits (1 John 4:1).
� In the case where a person is deliberately meddling with the spirits, he/she should be warned and rebuked.
� Where the person is under the influence of spirits that bring about insanity, he/she should immediately be sent to a hospital, lest an accident might happen, or the person might get hurt, or his/her own possessions, or that of other people, might be damaged.
� If the minister and church elders find that the sick person has been possessed by demons, intending to disturb his/her spiritual life, the Synod refers them to the Scripture passage indicating that this kind could only be healed through prayer (Mark 9: 25-29).
The next item of business at the same meeting was the appearance of a satanic church , especially in Lilongwe and Blantyre; Ministers were given instructions on how to deal with that.
The pastor of Lingadzi CCAP in Lilongwe says that the main causes of church disciplinary cases involve adultery, �eloping�, drunkenness, and �witchcraft�. He maintains that he believes that people can change into hyenas and bats, and can show up naked in strange places, with elongated noses and enlarged buttocks. By magic, he says, one can go to America today. He knows of one specific case in which an Englishman went to London with the use of magic. When this informant was pastor of a CCAP congregation in Mchinji near the Zambian border, an unemployed Mchinji man living in Zambia used magic to get back home. By magic, people can eat fire and knives.
Regarding witchcraft, �The church has taken its stand,� declares CCAP General Assembly General Secretary Rev. YA Chienda. However, he proceeded to tell the story of a minister who went to his session and told them about an mfiti causing his house to shake in the night. Later it was learned that the minister had himself consulted an mfiti previously. Chienda said that the mbusa was not disciplined. Nevertheless, he says, �You cannot condemn witchcraft if a minister is doing it (meaning condemnation of it would be ineffective and unheeded if people know that a minister is doing it)�.

14.5 CHURCH REGULATORY ISSUES
The Christian Council of Malawi proclaimed 28 June 1970, to be Temperance Sunday. All ministers were instructed to preach that day on the �bad effects of intoxicating liquor, tobacco, etc�.   Apparently, Nkhoma Synod is not alone in its zeal for regulating behaviour.
Almost from its origin, the Synod has been consistent regarding the use of wine at Holy Communion. The Synod stated in 1970 that because the Bible does not specify how �the fruit of the vine� was prepared, congregations should �only see to it that the drink at Holy Communion be real �fruit of the vine� (Matt. 26:29) and that it must be sweet not sour� (fermented), like the moskonfyt obtainable at the Bookshop at Nkhoma.   It should be understood that moskonfyt is non-alcoholic grape syrup, not wine.
A number of spiritual and church discipline matters are addressed at every Synod meeting. In 1970, some of these were regarding burial rights: �Christians who are under discipline, together with their children, must be buried in a Christian way, but when they are under discipline for an indefinite period they must be buried as heathens;� a member of a �Hearer�s Class� could be buried as a Christian if he had been attending class faithfully. It also addressed the proper interactions between Christians and sects such as The Abraham Church, which allows smoking, drinking, and polygamy: �we must not sing hymns with them at funerals�. Regarding baptism, children whose grandparents were Christian but whose parents were non-Christians could not be baptized. Concerning marriage between a Christian and a non-Christian, the rule was:
If a Christian fails to convert his marriage partner to Christianity and shows real repentance, he may be restored to the use of the sacraments three years after the date of his first appearing before the Church session.
There were no guidelines offered as to what constitutes �shows real repentance�. Synod also ruled that in the case in which a woman is elected as a leader of Chigwirizano (women�s guild) or female mlangizi and whose husband is a pagan, such election could only be allowed if the congregation agrees that the household is stable. Regarding polygamists, �A polygamist must not be allowed to be baptized or even be taken up in the Catechism Class�.   The practice of polygamy remains a common one in Malawi, and this continues to be an important issue.
Before 1972, Nkhoma Synod would not baptize children between ages 4 and 17. The Twelfth Meeting of the Synod changed the rule so that it conformed to the practice of the DRC in South Africa. A child could then be baptized �in the arms� up to age 7. A child over 8 could receive baptism standing before the congregation, answering questions, and with his parents standing with him.
The Synodical Committee in 1974 acknowledged a �conference on liquor� (but no mention as to who organized it). The committee expressed gratitude that Nkhoma Synod was described in the report on the conference as standing firm on the faith that the Bible �is our foundation� and that �Christians should not at all touch intoxicating liquor�.
Congregational life was affected in an important way when in 1985 the Synod repeated a stern condemnation of consumption of alcoholic beverages. The consumption of alcohol had been prohibited from an early stage. It mandated that such behaviour be denounced in revival meetings, and it advised �elders and deacons to keep an eye on Christians so that they should not become drunkards . . . �
In April 1979 there was scheduled a �Charismatic Spiritual Conference�, and the Synod was requested to send delegates. The response read in part:
Because the conference is arranged outside the Evangelical Association of Malawi and with the purpose of discussing baptism with the Holy Spirit and healing, doctrines about which we differ greatly from the Pentecostal groups, we cannot send our delegates even though a suitable date might be found.
At an October 1981 meeting of the Synodical Committee, several matters concerning discipline arose, leaving an indelible mark upon congregational life. One matter was the funeral of a �fallen Christian�. The minutes read, �It should remain as previously stated (see S. 1251), namely that a fallen Christian would not have the right to ask a (Christian) burial. He should be treated as heathen.�   The Committee also decided that an unmarried deacon should not remain in office. Regarding whether or not a woman whose husband was a polygamist could serve as chairwoman of the Women�s Guild, this matter was referred to the Synod. The Committee overturned the ruling of Malembo Presbytery, which withheld the sacraments from a church member for not paying taxes, saying that this should be referred to Synod.
In October 1982, it came down to the Synodical Committee from General Synod that intoxicating drinks were not to be served at Christian weddings. Church choirs were by this meeting prohibited from singing at funerals.
In 1991, Synod issued a rather draconian pronouncement: anyone who is found joining or organizing a �fellowship� is to be excommunicated.   Four years later, Synod moderated this stand. It distinguished between good fellowships and bad fellowships, and encouraged congregations to identify the good ones and to direct their youth toward them. Individuals who were found to be involved in bad fellowships were to be counselled, and if they persisted in their error, they were to be disciplined (this included the possibility of excommunication).   According to Sam Kawale, ABC graduate and son of the current General Secretary, these fellowships were Bible studies and prayer groups. Some met together overnight. They were originally judged to be objectionable because they were initiated by lay people and without the permission and supervision of church officers and pastors.
The late Hilary Mijoga did a study on legalistic tendencies within the Nkhoma Synod. Starting with the hypothesis that the Synod is known for strictness and discipline, he describes its Zolamulira (book of church rules), and talks about how it originally was intended to bring about good church order, but has now acquired salvific significance. Running an empirical investigation, he found that to the question, �Why do people observe church laws?� 43% answered, �Because they lead to salvation.� When asked what happened when missionaries were running the churches, 74% said that laws were strictly enforced. When asked what happens now that local clergy are in charge, 57% said that laws are strictly enforced. To the question why did the Synod institute Zolamulira, 22% said �To bring salvation to its members.� When asked how does Zolamulira help members, 28% said, �They lead to salvation� while another 28%, said they help develop a sense of belonging. To the question, what do you gain from following Zolamulira, 27% said, �I am morally upright�. Mijoga claims that when asked of their opinion of the Synod, seventy-three percent said that it was legalistic. He gives a summation of responses, which include: there is emphasis on punishment; there is fear/threat of the law; members are not free to speak out; and there is more emphasis on laws than on the Word of God. Mijoga claims that contemporary clergy are carrying forward tendencies set in place by the missionaries of former years. He concludes that this legalistic streak produces several results, including: a sense of fear among members; a sense that the Synod is �the only true apostolic church�; a tendency to disparage ecumenism; and to take a fundamentalist approach to the Bible (Mijoga 2002: 32-39). Unfortunately, Mijoga does not go into great detail about what he means by a �fundamentalist approach to the Bible.�
Years earlier, Nkhoma Synod�s C. Martin Pauw, now retired, addressed the same issue.
Legalism and a legalistic attitude (and by way of reaction sometimes a complete swing over to libertinism) is also very real problem in the church in Africa. Roland Allen is probably right when he says at least part of the blame for this lies on the missionaries, who in their zeal to maintain a high standard of Christian morality, made the mistake of laying down the definition of that morality as a law which must not be departed from. However it must not be forgotten that this legalism also finds a strong precedent in the manner in which in traditional African societies, laws, customs and taboos were enforced and the way offenders were dealt with (Pauw 1974: 141).
Pauw immediately goes on to explain how the early missionaries prescribed specific periods of time for which disciplinary measures were to last. Later it was decided to give elders more freedom to deal with discipline infractions on a case-by-case basis. He also mentions the importance of confession, both corporate and private, as a form of pastoral care.
H Jurgens Hendriks gives his insights regarding the reasons for legalism in African Christianity,
In terms of a traditional worldview, rural congregations tend not to be very accommodating. Although they belong to the larger community, as Christians they see themselves as being different. A legalistic approach towards traditional culture and what may or may not be done, is often evident. Christians identify themselves as distinct from traditionalists. In the Xhosa culture, they speak of the ababomvu versus the amaqzoboka (�red people� vs �school people�). The Herero women of Namibia wear a particular type of uniform to distinguish them. In countries such as Kenya, Malawi and South Africa, one finds �Christian� versions of, or alternative ceremonies for, initiation and / or circumcision (Hendriks 2004: 123).
The charge that Nkhoma Synod has legalistic tendencies is true, laments CCAP General Assembly General Secretary Rev. YA Chienda. He is particularly critical of the use of Zolamulira to discourage teaching about the Holy Spirit, having set time for prayers (because some will only pray at those times), and to �defend weaknesses�. He feels that it is a �disadvantage� to be reliant upon it, that it encourages hypocrisy. On the other hand, he points out that its original aim was good, and that he himself frequently refers to it.

14.6 ZOLAMULIRA
A look at the 2002 edition of Nkhoma Synod�s Zolamulira is rather revealing. It is divided into 25 chapters, as follows:
1. Legal procedures of the Church.
2. Classes (as in catechism class).
3. Baptism of children.
4. Care of Children.
5. Counselling of Children.
6. Regulations for Sunday school.
7. Regulations for schoolteachers.
8. Regulations for ministers.
9. Regulations for elders.
10. Presbytery meetings.
11. General Synod (Assembly).
12. (Nkhoma) Synod.
13. The missions programme of the Synod.
14. Theological training.
15. Revivals and Evangelism.
16. Offerings.
17. Distinguishing between members and non-members.
18. Women�s Guild.
19. Chongoni Church Lay Training Centre (elsewhere identified as Namoni Katengezi Church Lay Training Centre).
20. Marriage.
21. Publications of the Synod- Mlozo and Kuunika.
22. Discipline.
23. Regulations regarding travel.
24. Regulations for worship.
25. Regulations for funerals.
Zolamulira is roughly equivalent to the Book of Order used by a Presbyterian denomination in the USA. It is a 122-page document, in fine print. An example of the detail into which it goes can be found on page 66, Z. 289. This gives precise specifications regarding the official seal of the Synod to be placed upon letterheads.
How easy is it to amend Zolamulira? There is a Zolamulira Committee, which oversees changes. The first edition was produced in 1970, the second in 1986, the third in 1993, and the one in current use came out in 2001. The Synod must give its approval to all changes, but it usually accepts the work of the Committee. Zolamulira is essentially precedent law; it is based on decisions of the past.

14.7 CHAPTER SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
The sixth of the seven �secondary questions� to be answered was, �How has the Nkhoma Synod developed theologically and spiritually during the years included in this study?� In this dimension of the life of the Synod, perhaps little has substantially changed since 1962. It has steadfastly rejected syncretism, the pressure to merge traditional belief with Christianity. The struggle against traditional belief continues, and the Synod seeks to regulate specific behaviours such as the consumption of alcohol. Throughout its history, the Synod has repeated a stern condemnation of consumption of alcoholic beverages. The consumption of alcohol had been prohibited from an early stage. It mandated that such behaviour be denounced in revival meetings, and it advised �elders and deacons to keep an eye on Christians so that they should not become drunkards . . . �
The reason for these ongoing struggles is that the constituency of the synod remains relatively unchanged. Malawian worldview has remained largely unscathed by contact with the West and with expatriate missionaries.
One particular incident may serve as a revealing illustration of worldview in the villages. The following incident actually took place in Mozambique, but among Chichewa � speaking people, living identical lifestyles as Chichewa speaking people in the nearby jurisdiction of Nkhoma Synod. The researcher went with his wife, adopted Malawian infant son, and six ABC students to a location where most people were nominally Roman Catholic. Women and children were wearing charms about their necks and wrists in order to ward off evil and curses. When presented with a Gospel witness, some chose to pray, �to receive Christ�. However, they remained reluctant to remove the charms until it was pointed out to them that the researcher�s infant son thrived without them. At that point, many did in fact remove their charms. In some missiological circles, this may be termed a �power encounter�. To illustrate the importance of �power encounters�, Timothy Warner has said,
The point is, Satan will use any avenue he can to prevent missionaries (or any Christian workers) from carrying on their ministries. And when the local people see that the missionaries do not know how to handle an encounter which they clearly perceive to be demonic, the cause of the gospel is hindered, to say the least. In the minds of the people, when the missionary fails to win in a power encounter, the power of the demon is assumed to be greater than the power of the Christ the missionary serves. A successful meeting of such a challenge, however, is powerful witness to the gospel (Warner 1991: 95).
The ministers of Nkhoma Synod are educated men have to a large degree adopted a Western worldview. This is the worldview of the missionaries, who were their mentors and models. This Western worldview in turn sees a universe of impersonal, natural causes and scientific laws interacting with one another, i.e., Grandfather died because a blood clot hit his aorta. However, the ministers must minister to a people who remain in largely traditional societies and who continue to have many vestiges of traditional belief without Western mechanistic worldview. Spirits and spiritual power remain influential, i.e., Grandfather died because someone paid the �witchdoctor� to put a curse on him. For this reason, in a village setting, people live in a two-tiered system. They go to the CCAP prayer house to learn Christian morality and forgiveness of sins, but when Uncle Zadziko gets spirit-possessed, they often feel they have no alternative but to resort to traditional healers.
This chapter has served to demonstrate the attempts of the Synod to use church discipline to dissuade church members from resorting to such familiar remedies. It is obvious that this complex situation will remain a challenge, probably requiring generations for the process to be completed; such was the case in medieval Europe as well.
Another major issue is the enforcement of church rules � those addressing polygamy, consumption of alcoholic beverages, tobacco, etc. Because of this, Nkhoma Synod is sometimes accused of �legalism�. Nevertheless, all religions have their list of prohibited behaviours. Even in the so-called �Mainline Protestant� churches, or in Reform Judaism, which have jettisoned many traditional rules and prohibitions, this principle remains true.
It has been shown how the Nkhoma Synod legislates detailed rules over who may be baptized, married, or buried by the church; prescribing specific penalties for such infractions as the drinking of alcoholic beverages, in response to questions posed to them and which had to be dealt with. People in largely traditional societies where illiteracy remains common understand authority, order, and structure. They most likely will not understand or appreciate post�Enlightenment German philosophy.
One should be cautious about accepting Mijoga�s description of Nkhoma Synod as �legalistic�. Most churches will feel the need for safeguards against permissiveness. �Holiness� is a common thread running throughout Christianity. Regarding his charge that Nkhoma�s rules lead some members to conclude that strict rule-keeping is necessary for salvation, perhaps further studies should be done to verify this. Many church members will feel a certain security in the enforcement of ecclesiastical standards. It makes them feel that they are being protected from the corruption that permeates so much of society.
In developing its self-understanding of being a church, Nkhoma Synod takes a consistent, determined stand against polygamy, alcohol, tobacco, Charismatic gifts, and practices related to traditional beliefs. In so doing, the Synod distinguishes itself from Pentecostal, Charismatic, and African Independent Church (AIC) groups, seeking to be consistent with the confessional standards to which it gives allegiance. As demonstrated in the previous chapter, it is still distancing itself from the progressive theology of other Reformed bodies. It can be described as being evangelical, calling on people to repent and place their faith in Jesus Christ, clinging to a traditional from of orthodox Protestantism that it inherited from its DRC founders. It remains to be seen how long this theological and spiritual line will be held.

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