Breaking the Glass Ceiling in Malawian Neocharismatic Churches
Keywords:
apostolic network, Church of Central African Presbyterian (CCAP), Malawi Congress Party, charismatic, liberationalAbstract
There is a glass ceiling beyond which women in Malawian churches are unable to advance in their Christian ministry, especially for those who are called to lead a local church or denomination. This is due to the pervasiveness of both cultural and ecclesiastical patriarchy in Malawian churches. This article explains how Nellie Chigamba, a Christian woman with leadership gifts in the matrilineal Chewa central region of Malawi and a member of the Nkhoma Synod of the Church of Central African Presbyterian (CCAP), broke the glass ceiling to become the leader of a neocharismatic apostolic network, the Evangelistic New Exodus Church of God and Missions. The study found that a neocharismatic spirituality with its grounding in the filling or baptism in the Holy Spirit has the theological, experiential and liberational resources to aid women to break the glass ceiling in the religious sphere.
References
Brown, W. L. “The Development in Self-Understanding of Nkhoma Synod as Church During the First Forty Years of Autonomy: An Ecclesiological Study”. DTh thesis, University of Stellenbosch, 2005.
Bruce, S. and S. Yearly. The Sage Dictionary of Sociology. London: Sage Publications, 2006.
Chan, S. Spiritual Theology. Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1998.
Chifungo, P. F. “Women in the CCAP Nkhoma Synod: A Practical Theological Study of their Leadership Roles”. PhD thesis, University of Stellenbosch, 2014.
Evangelistic New Exodus Church of God and Missions. Constitution of the Evangelistic New Exodus Church of God and Missions. Lilongwe: Evangelistic New Exodus Church of God and Missions, n.d.
Fiedler, K. The Story of Faith Missions: From Hudson Taylor to Present Day Africa. Oxford: Regnum, 1994.
—. “The Church in Malawi”. In S. Paas (ed.), The Faith Moves South: A History of the Church in Africa. Zomba: Kachere, 2006: 195–7.
Gondwe, H. C. T. “The Possible Influence of Crucial Pauline Texts on the Role of Women in the Nkhoma Synod of the Church of Central African Presbyterian Church”. MA thesis, University of South Africa, 2009.
Grenz, S. J. and D. M. Kjesbo. Women in the Church: A Biblical Theology of Women in Ministry. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1995.
Grudem, W. “Class Notes – ST 784: Biblical Theology of Manhood and Womanhood”. Deerfield, IL: Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 2002.
Kalu, O. African Pentecostalism: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Kawamba, B. “The Blantyre Spiritual Awakening 1969 to 1986: an Antecedent of the Charismatic Movement in Malawi”. MA thesis, University of Malawi, 2013.
Keener, C. S. “Women in Ministry“. In J. R. Beck and C. L. Blomberg (eds), Two Views: Women in Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001: 58–63.
Madimbo, M. “Supportive Leadership Behaviour Key to Breaking the Religious Glass Ceiling in Christian Communities in Malawi”. The Journal of Pan African Studies 5.2 (April 2012): 27–41.
—. “Transformative Engaging Leadership: Portraits of Women Leaders from Malawi with Implications for Leadership Development”. PhD thesis, Eastern University, St Davids, PA, 2013.
Maliwa, E. N. “Legal Status of Women in Malawi”. PhD thesis, University of London, 1978.
Mwaura, P. N. “Gender and Power in African Christianity: African Instituted Churches and Pentecostal Churches”. In O. Kalu (ed.), African Christianity: An African Story. Trenton, Africa World Press, 2007: 359–88.
Nyika, F. C. “Apostolic Office among Malawian Neocharismatic Churches: A Contextual, Biblical-theological, and Historical Appraisal”. PhD thesis, Mzuzu University, 2015.
OECD. Malawi. Paris: OECD, 2014: http://genderindex.org/sites/default/files/datasheets/MW.pdf (accessed 9 November 2015).
Phiri, I. A. Women, Presbyterianism, and Patriarchy: Religious Experience of Chewa Women in Central Malawi, 2nd edn. Zomba: Kachere, 2000.
Van Breugel, J. W. M. Chewa Traditional Religion. Blantyre: CLAIM, 2001.
Wirth, L. Breaking through the Glass Ceiling. Geneva: International Labour Organization, 2001.
