People have lost hope - Bishop Masilela

With the tough economic times and several challenges afflicting the world, people have  hope.
Many are in fact wondering whether dreams they once had will ever be realised.
Swaziland Conference of Churches (SCC) President Bishop Stephen Masilela said the onus was upon church leaders and the body of Christ as a whole to assist the nation tackle various challenges in existence.
He said with reports in newspapers painting a gloomy picture of the future as more people are dying each year, everyone looked upon the church to provide something out of this. Within the next 25 years or so the people, society and nation will either be worse off or better off as a result of leadership (within the church).
“It is, therefore, easier for anyone to conclude that everything about us and our people has to do with the kind of leadership we offer.”
He highlighted several challenges facing the nation.
One of such challenges is the increase in the development of technology which has seen movement from word of mouth to telegram, cablegram, telephone, fax, e-mail and now tele-video phones. “Speed and time have become essential commodities; compare 50 years ago the mode of travelling and time. By boat,  you would travel six weeks from America or Europe to West Africa yet by air you now take six hours. I’m told the Concord only takes three hours from Europe to America. Time is, therefore, an essential commodity nowadays.
“The use of codes system to inform and transact our business such that one can access his/her bank balance without walking into bank. We have less personal contact with each other which has resulted in more depression and loneliness,” he said.
Bishop Masilela said he believed the church should be moving in and fill the space through assisting those affected by depression.
The other challenges he highlighted were  paperless and cashless society (in future churches could be computerised so that tithes and offerings were made electronically), increased demand on the individual career developer and media focusing on disasters.  The media’s action (focusing on disasters), he noted, has sent fear and unrest in society, therefore, calling for the church to be relevant, inspire hope, build faith and generate love.