METROPOLITAN CHURCH DIVISION: ‘I DON’T FEEL SAFE’

MBABANE – The ongoing division within the Metropolitan Evangelical Church-International has resulted in its disputed President, Solomon Nhlengetfwa, fearing for his life.

Despite his strong faith in God, Reverend Nhlengetfwa said he sometimes felt unsafe as he did not trust anyone born of the flesh, especially following the disagreement with other church members regarding the rightful leader of the church.
Nhlengetfwa said he did not know for now how the whole impasse would end.

As a result, he said he was taking note and very careful attention of the small things in life, including when a car was following him or coming to his home.
The reverend said he was aware that the devil worked in different ways.

Nhlengetfwa is said to be the man who the late Reverend Kaiser Fakudze announced to be the next leader of the church.
A video clip, purported to have been recorded some years ago when Reverend Fakudze made the announcement was shown to this publication.
However, there are dissenting views on whether indeed Fakudze appointed Nhlengetfwa as the next leader.

In an interview with Nhlengetfwa, he said his faith in God would not be swayed by the politics unfolding in the church.

He said after everything had been said and done by the late Reverend Fakudze regarding him becoming president and leading the church, he had been carefully thinking about it and also questioning God and what His mission really was for him.
According to Nhlengetfwa, he believes that his appointment came from God and whatever He says; it shall come to pass although it may not be clear as to how at this moment.
Reverend Nhlengetfwa said God was faithful, adding that regarding the impasse and division at the church, they were watching as it unfolded before them.

“You should be aware that in all the noise, I have chosen to keep quiet as per the advice by the late Metropolitan leader that whoever questioned the decision he (Fakudze) had taken should question God.”
However, he said he had never anticipated at any moment after his appointment that there would be anyone questioning it.

Afraid

As a result, he said he was also afraid to talk and give answers about the position of the church as it was not his mandate but that of the Lord. However, he said the church was praying about everything and grace would be upon them.
According to Nhlengetfwa, the dispute was in two folds for him, adding that God was strengthening his faith in Him and also it showed him what kind of Christians they were journeying with.
“We had thought that when God has spoken, nobody questions it, but some of today’s Christians do, as they understand a message differently,” the man of God said.

He said other people had the gift of receiving and taking a message as it was, while others did not but instead had different agendas.
Further, he mentioned that his family had been negatively affected by the dispute engulfing the church as they had not anticipated such.

The reverend said the Metropolitan Church had the privilege of being led by someone you could never doubt he was God-sent in the late Reverend Fakudze.
Nhlengetfwa said being close to the late Fakudze assisted him in a number of ways.

Meanwhile, he mentioned that they had sought the intervention of the Conference of Churches which advised that they should take the video recordings and the church constitution and move forward.
This, he said, did not go down well with other members who were not in agreement with the verdict of the Conference of Churches.
Nhlengetfwa said they were the authors of the same constitution and had the authority to amend it if need arose

“The Conference of Churches also suggested that we amend the constitution to what Reverend Fakudze had said in the video.”
Of note is that Nhlengetfwa joined the Metropolitan Evangelical in 1989 at a very tender age while he was doing Form I at Ikhwezi Mission.
He said he accepted Jesus to become his Lord and Saviour while in Form III and worked closely with the late Reverend Fakudze after being baptised in 1991.
“I worked closely as well with Reverend McCauley, who was a missionary responsible for building and maintaining a number of churches under Metropolitan Evangelical.”

Revivals

Nhlengetfwa said it was around the same period where Reverend Fakudze started to use him when he was ministering in a number of revivals, where he used to play instruments.
Adding, he noted that Reverend Fakudze began to have trust in him after he had tested his faith in so many occasions, hence he began standing in to preach on behalf of the reverend, especially when he was held up somewhere else.
According to Nhlengetfwa, in 1992 while at Mhlosheni High School doing his Form IV, he almost quit school because of the calling he had.

“I wanted to follow my calling to preach the word of God and quit school,” said Nhlengetfwa.
He said he was lucky to have someone like Reverend Nicholas Nyawo who was a head teacher by then and guided him to continue with school.
Nhlengetfwa said Reverend Nyawo advised him that it was not a good decision to leave school as the world he would be preaching to was well educated.

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